Have any of you ever heard of Oh Sweet Sadie?  I hadn’t until this year when I read about it over on Blue Cricket Design.  I entered a giveaway to win a free mini academy pass, and I won!!!

After a LONG horrible day (more about that later) I was sooo excited to be going, but I couldn’t possibly have imagined the amazing shops and boutiques that were there, and the amazingly talented vendors and teachers that taught my classes!!

It’s on my calendar for next year for sure!!!

The first class was taught by Dani, where I learned how to make an adorable little boy’s tie. 

Can’t wait to bust out some more for my boys for the Holidays!!

The second class was taught again by Dani, and we learned how to make these clever cute monster hoodies.  I think this was my favorite craft, I can’t wait to make these for all of my kids.

Thanks Dani!!

Ok, changing the subject for a sec…  Before coming to this class, I was having one of the worst days ever, you know how that goes, EVERYTHING that could possibly go wrong, went wrong.  Including a trip to the Insta care for some stitches on my 4 yr-old’s head…  Poor kid…

Back on subject, I made this hoodie with him in mind, my monster obsessed boy needed a little cheering up:)  He wore it every day for 2 weeks, and I had to sneak it away to wash it…  I think he likes it:)

And then came the part where I gained 5 lbs.  THE Sweet Tooth Fairy was there.  THE sweet tooth fairy you guys. 

I’m obsessed with her cupcake!!  Especially the vanilla and coconut ones.  They taught me how REAL cupcake lovers eat cupcakes… You tear off the bottom (cup part) and slap it on top of the frosting, forming a sandwich of sorts.  Then dive in!!

If you’re a Utah local, you have to go try them, wait, but then you might get hooked.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!  Heehee.  We learned all sorts of yummy holiday treat recipes from the queen of sweets, and then frosted and decorated some cupcakes!  Sooo much fun!!

And the last class was taught by the Shelby from Material Girls in South Jordan! 

Look how darling her headband is…

And look at the oodles and oodles of ruffles we got to play with!!

Embellished clothing.  Who couldn’t use a few extra ruffles on your cardigan…

This night was so much fun!!  Next year I’m bringing friends, wanna come?

Hey my lovely readers!  Don’t forget to check out our fun giveaway this week!!

I know we’re half-way into October, but I’m still in Halloween mode.  I know Christmas is coming, and it’s gonna kick my bum!  But let’s dive into a little more Halloween shall we??!!

I’m serious, I’m NOT GONNA DO IT!!

So I gotta a few more awesome Halloween ideas for ya this week:)

Check out this totally spooky fall mantel display over at Three Pixie Lane!  I LOVE the Dr. Jekyll theme goin on…

You have to see these darling Halloween canisters at Everything I Love and More!!  It would be so easy to swap these out for multiple holiday candy jars!

Need a super festive halloween recipe!!  Look how adorable these moldy mummies are over at Red Couch Recipes!

Awesome ideas ladies!!  Happy Friday!!

Happy Monday my peeps!!
Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!  Oh my word, today was a much needed relaxing day after a pretty crazy week!

Welp, I’ve got yet another fabulous chocolate cake recipe for ya this week…

I know I know…
I’m chocolate obsessed…
This recipe comes from the kitchen of the Pioneer Woman. She’s amazing.

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:
■2 cups Flour
■2 cups Sugar
■¼ teaspoons Salt
■4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
■2 sticks Butter
■1 cup Boiling Water
■½ cups Buttermilk
■2 whole Beaten Eggs
■1 teaspoon Baking Soda
■1 teaspoon Vanilla

FOR FROSTING:
■½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
■1-¾ stick Butter
■4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
■6 Tablespoons Milk
■1 teaspoon Vanilla
■1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar
Preparation Instructions
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.  My sheet cake pan was a little too small, (translation:  I made a HUGE mess!!).

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.  Once again, woops, totally made a mess…

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

Eat this fast, or give it away, did you see how much butter is in this cake!!

BTW, stay tuned tomorrow for a super awesome giveaway!!!

Linking up with these fabulous blogs:

That was a fun week with Marina!!  So excited to have her on board with Just Sew Sassy!

Sooo, my baby turned two this month!!  He’s obsessed with Nemo, and I knew I had to try my skills at cake decorating…  Hmm…

It’s ok, you can laugh!  I think I’ll stick to sewing…

I’m ashamed to say this cake was made with a box of cake mix… (I was really focusing on the decorating:)

So I had to have something delicious for those of us not into loaded with sugar frosted kid cakes…

Enter Peanut Butter Frosted Fudge Cupcakes!

So once again, I found this to die for recipe on Sister’s Cafe, and you have to try this frosting!!  Oh my word, I could eat it by the spoonful!!

In fact, I did just that!

Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting on chocolate cupcakes…

Start off making your favorite chocolate cupcakes.  (Even if you use a boxed cake mix, the frosting more than makes up for it, hee hee:)  Frost with the following melt in your mouth creamy frosting!

Combine all ingredients but milk in a bowl of electric mixer. Mix on med-low until creamy; scraping down sides occasionally. Add milk gradually with mixer in high speed until frosting is smooth and desired consistency. Frost your cupcakes and refrigerate. The butter in the frosting will melt and ruin the smooth texture of the frosting if you leave it at room temperature.

I have to warn you, this tastes waaaaaaayyyy better than it looks.  Maybe you can make yours look lots prettier, wait not maybe, probably. 

This was an epic fail in the looks department,

But oh my word is it the most delicious piece of heaven you’ll ever have!!

My MIL wanted me to make her a coconut chocolate cake for her birthday, and I had never really heard of it before, so I searched some recipes and found this one from All Recipes.  I changed it up a bit, and LOVE the result…

Ok, I’m about to show you my picture, it’s pretty, um sad…

Chocolate Coconut Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package dark chocolate cake mix (I just used regular chocolate)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 20 large marshmallows (I used a jar of marshmallow cream)
• 14 ounces flaked coconut (I used shaved coconut and it was yummy)

Directions:

1. Mix and bake cake mix as directed for two 8 or 9 inch layers. Let layers cool then split each one in half horizontally to make a total of 4 layers.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat mix together the white sugar, butter or margarine, and 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the marshmallows and mix until smooth. Stir in the coconut. Spread the filling between the cake layers.

Fudge Icing:

1 cup white sugar
5 Tb butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

So it kinda fell apart when I cut into it, but the result is a super rich, sweet, moist, and yummy bite of cake.  Enjoy!!

Linking up with some fabulous blogs today:)

Whew!!  That was long break!!  But I have to say it was much needed and I’m feeling good; got my 2 kiddos in school, (except for my little shadow baby), the bedroom and furniture painted, baby gifts made, and I even have a little extra free time in the afternoon for playing with my kids!!  Maybe I’ll sneak a little sewing, baking, projects, and Christmas gifts in there too:)

Ok, Ok, on to yummier things:)

Get ready to drool…

If you like a rich, gooey, chocolate peanut butter combo, you will LOVE this yummy treat!

Once again, this one comes from the Sister’s Cafe…

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle

Ingredients:

9×13 pan of brownies, cut into 1 inch pieces
5.1 oz instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
8 oz container thawed whipped topping (Cool Whip), divided
20 peanut butter cups, crumbled (I only had about half, so I added some milk choclate chips and peanut butter chips to make up the difference)
6-8 peanut butter cups to garnish. (Once again, I just used what was left of the peanut butter and milk chocolate chips)

Directions:

Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip.
Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups and chips, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups or chips.  Chill until serving.

This makes a ton, so plan on sharing!!

Linking up with these fabulous blogs!

Ok, this is a must have recipe in every baker’s kitchen.  Why in the world did I just find out about this most amazing and easy dessert!!

Thanks again ladies over at The Sister’s Cafe!!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine dry cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract. Stir by hand until well blended. (Using an electric mixer will break up the cherries.) Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool.

Fudge Frosting
1 cup white sugar
5 Tb butter
1/3 cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, butter, and milk. Boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until smooth. Immediately pour over partially cooled cake.

Told ya it was easy!!!  And wait til you try it, sooo yummy!!!

Ok, you will want to eat your computer screen when you take a look at this most deliciously amazing chocolate cake!!!

Told ya!!!

Seriously though, I just made this for a family gathering and it was gone in seconds and is still being raved about:)

Thank you Sister’s Cafe!!!

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stir in cocoa. Add water, buttermilk, add eggs, stirring well. Cook stirring well until mixture boils. Remove from heat, add to flour mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9×13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully spread peanut butter ( I heated it in the microwave for a minute to soften it) over warm cake. Cool completely. Spread with chocolate frosting. Cool and slice.

I would eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So have you ever craved something, and not had a recipe to make it with…

No?

Ok, I do all the time!  Usually I just give up and move on to something I know I won’t botch up.  I know, I’m weird, but can I still share this recipe from my brain that actually turned out quite delicious!!!

Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

Ingredients:

• box chocolate cake mix
• 2 pints strawberries, divided
• 1 8oz container cool whip
• 1 container strawberry glaze
• 1 jar chocolate frosting
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Prepare cake according to package directions.  Let cool to at least room temperature.  Save 1 strawberry for your garnish, and wash and slice the rest of the strawberries.  Mix them with sugar.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  After cake has cooled, slice into cubes.  Layer your ingredients beginning with the cubed cake pieces.  Cover with half of the strawberries.  Spread half of strawberry glaze over strawberries.  Then spread half of chocolate frosting.  Finally, finish with cool whip.  Repeat layers.  Slice leftover strawberry and use for garnish.

Dig in!!

Linking up with these fabulous blogs, including:

Does 30 sound old to you?  When I was like 10 it did, but honestly I’ve been looking forward to this birthday for a long time.  Maybe just b/c it has taken me so long to grow up, maybe I’m still growing up.  But I feel so much gratitude for the years and experiences I’ve had in my life, the AMAZING people I’m blessed to know, and I’m content.

So how did I celebrate this year???  My husband planned a surprise birthday dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack, (I LOVE seafood).

He had one of my good friends make an UNBELIEVABLE cake! 

Yep, that’s a purse.  Not a real purse.  Seriously, it’s a cake!!  Look at the layers inside this beauty!!!

Chocolate chunk cake, cream cheese and reeses peanut butter cup filling, buttercream frosting= HEAVEN!

We ate yummy food, laughed, had cake, and afterward saw “The Karate Kid,” (which by the way was so awesome, my husband is out seeing it again with my family:) I had so much fun.  My husband rocks.  I’m old and I’m happy.