“Eat your vegetables.” This may be one of the most dreaded statements that children hear while growing up. As a child, my parents were very strict when it came to eating what we were served. If we ever mustered up the courage to proclaim we didn’t like something, the rejected food would still be patiently waiting for us come next morning.

Let me tell you, that rejected plate of veggies somehow had the mystical ability to grow twice it’s size overnight…and horns. I’m sure of it.

While I may have felt my palate was being tragically abused as a kid, I’m glad to say I outgrew my aversion to our cruciferous friends, and love just about any vegetable now.

Except beets. Sorry beets, you’re just gross.

A favorite of mine and especially my son, is corn on the cobb. We have so many favorite ways to enjoy this summer treat, so here’s just a few.

1. Mexican Corn on the Cobb, via Pinterest. Recipe from MarthaStewart.com.

2. Sweet & Spicy Corn, via Pinterest. Recipe from Homesick Texan.

3. Basil Corn on the Cobb, via Pinterest. Taste of Home recipe here.

4. Cuban Grilled Corn on the Cobb with Queso Blanco and Lime, via Pinterest. Recipe here from Oprah Magazine.

5. Coconut Glazed Corn on the Cobb, via Pinterest. Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Did you know May 19th was Devil’s Food Cake Day?  I didn’t. I wasn’t even aware there was a day dedicated solely to the king of all chocolate cake. But I’ll know for next year now. I thought a dedication in honor of this yummy chocolate cake was in order, and a perfect theme for my next Pinteresting post.

This tempting dessert, considered the counterpart to angel food cake, is more moist and airy than other types of chocolate cake. Why? Baking Soda! Baking soda raises the pH level of the cake, making it a deeper and darker color. It also uses hot or boiling water as the cake's main liquid rather than milk.

This collection of Devil’s Food Cake recipes is just the tip of the iceberg, but should be enough to get your taste buds watering, and the kitchen bowls to mixing. You can find the list of goodies below.


1. Devil’s Food Cake Cookies, courtesy of Bakingdom.
2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Devil’s Food Cake Cheesecake. This sounds insanely delicious. Courtesy of Sprinkle Bakes.
3. Perfect Devil’s Food Cake. Photo courtesy of Notions & Notations of a Novice Cook, recipe by David Lebovitz.
4. Heaven and Hell Cake. Describes this perfectly! Courtesy of Whisk Kid.
5. Devil’s Food Cake Balls. Who doesn’t love a cake ball? Courtesy of Pillsburybaking.com

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet. As I’m writing this, there are four movers in my house carrying hoards of boxes and furniture to the gigantic moving semi parked outside our house. Needless to say, I’m a tad busy today!

I haven’t been able to browse Pinterest in a while, but since my life has been all about moving and packing lately, I thought a “Organization” theme was in order. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to all my favorite organization finds. Here’s just a few of my favorites. I can’t wait to put these into practice in my  new house!

1. Pottery Barn Cucina Wall Mount Kitchen Roll. I love how this organizes your paper towels, plastic wrap and foil. Plus, it makes cutting off piece super easy. No more wrestling with those pesky boxes!

2. Pegboard Kitchen Organizer. I’ve always secretly coveted my husbands pegboard that organizes his tools so nicely. I never thought to use it for my kitchen “tools”.

3. Towel Rod Lid Organizer. So simple but such a great idea!

4. Cabinet Door Utensil Organizer. LOVE THIS! What a unique way to use a typically unused space. Paint the inside of your cabinet and add a measurement conversion table. Also a great space to organize your measuring spoons.

Yikes! I’m a day late again on my Pinteresting Monday, so we’ll just call it Pinteresting Tuesday this time. We’re still in St. Louis on our house hunting trip, and we just put an offer in on the house we want. Now we’re waiting on pins and needles waiting for “the call”. Fingers crossed! I’m sitting here in our hotel room with the little guy watching Sesame Street, while I try to get this post up. I didn’t have to think too long about the theme I wanted for this Pinteresting post.  Since we’re moving to St. Louis, home of some very tasty local dishes, and moving from Springfield – also home of some very tasty local dishes. I thought Old vs. New would be perfect!

Anyone from Springfield will be able to guess the number one dish we’re known for…Springfield Cashew Chicken!  Another yummy treat that’s lesser known is our Pineapple Whip. As soon as the weather warms up, I’m impatiently waiting to see the little yellow trailer stands that go up in a few select locations around the city. People, this stuff is heavenly nectar. If you come to Springfield for no other reason, come to try this delicious concoction. I’m not really sure how they make it, and I don’t care, my main concern is how fast I can shovel it into my mouth. It’s not really ice cream, not custard, not really yogurt, and not sherbert, but kind of a hard to explain mixture of all four. It’s dairy free, but really creamy, and when it starts to melt a delicious puddle of pineapple juice forms in the bottom of the cup. THIS is my favorite part. Enough said.

Now onto St. Louis! Of course you have your Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, this stuff is sinful and oh-so-worth it. I love all the different variations you can try. Another local St. Louis dish is Toasted Ravioli. Generally, some type of meat or cheese is wrapped in ravioli, then breaded and deep fried until the shell becomes slightly crispy and golden brown, this is the reason for the toasted name. Add a bowl of tangy marinara sauce for dipping and you have a finger licking good meal!

Note: I've just started having these annoying text enhance links show up in my posts, and I can't figure out how to remove them. Bear with me while I get it taken care of. :)



Photo Credits:
1. Springfield Pineapple Whip via Amber on Pinterest. Pineapplewhip.com
2. St. Louis Ooey Gooey Butter Cake via Amber on Pinterest. Source pauladeen.com
3. Springfield Style Cashew Chicken via Amber on Pinterest. Source Tasty Kitchen.
4. St. Louis Toasted Ravioli via Amber on Pinterest. Source Recipe.com

I know it’s not Monday, but better late than never right? Things are a bit hectic for us right now, we finally got our house sold and now have to begin the process of house hunting. A have to admit, this part of the relocation process will be much more fun than the last few months of trying to sell our home. I like a clean house, but always being paranoid about every little crumb or messed up pillow gets verrrry tiring. I have decided I am on a cleaning strike now, at least for a couple days.

For those that are wondering what the heck I’m talking about, my husband accepted a promotion within his company, so we are moving to the Saint Louis area. I’ll have to restart my photography business once we move, but I’m glad this happened before the little guy starts Kindergarten this fall. The good thing about a blog is you can take it wherever you go!

Well, to get back on topic, I picked a theme for this week’s Pinteresting Monday. Yellow! With spring right around the corner, the color yellow just screams spring is in the air. So here are a few of my favorite “yellow” picks. Enjoy!

I love Pinterest, as I’m sure the rest of you do too. I have to carefully monitor my Pinterest browsing, or else I could easily get so caught up that my housework goes by the wayside, my kid never gets out of his pajamas, and we live on crackers until dinnertime. Seriously, it’s addicting.

One of my favorite categories to browse is the organizational section. There’s just something so fascinating about looking at beautiful images of perfectly stacked household goods, color co-ordinated shelves and neatly stored nick-knacks. I also love finding ways to repurpose things you have lying around.

So, to kick off the start of Pinteresting Monday’s, here are a few of my favorite finds. If you have some favorite re-purposing tricks of your own, I’d love to hear them!




Most mason jars will fit a standard blender, allowing you to use it like your own magic bullet. I can’t wait to try this one!