TRIPLE CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE

In the spirit of Valentine's Day, since I only put up one little decoration , I thought I'd share the gift of chocolate with you. This is one of my favorite go-to recipes for company, and I almost always have the ingredients on hand.  Back when I was teaching, probably around 15 years ago, one of my colleagues invited me to a Southern Living Cooking School event in Fort Worth.  It was a fun evening and they sent us home with a cookbook full of their delicious recipes.  This one is super easy and quick, with an impressive Wow! factor if you put a tiny bit of effort into the presentation. Southern Living's Triple Chocolate Pound Cake Ingredients: 1 box Devil's Food cake mix 1 6 oz. package instant chocolate pudding mix 1 1/4 cups water 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 large eggs 1 12 oz. package semisweet chocolate chips 1 6 oz. package semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 c. whipping cream garnish: pecan halves and strawberries **I omit t......

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VALENTINE'S DECOR, WORD SLINGERS, & A SKI TRIP

I've been out of town and away from internet access for a few days, but I have lots to share with you today!  Thank you for all of your input on my mattress questions...lots of you really love your Tempurpedics!  I'm filing away all of your advice and we plan to go shopping soon.  If you didn't have a chance to weigh-in, I'd love to hear your thoughts on selecting a new mattress here. If you know me personally or have read my bio, you know that I'm a minister's wife. Well, let me back up.  First and foremost, I'm a believer in Jesus Christ, who I have a personal relationship with, which is the only thing that truly matters.  Having said that, I was raised in a Southern Baptist church.  I am humbled yet proud to be a part of a denomination known for serving others, through our Disaster Relief team, and also known for our desire that all may know Him, facilitated by prayer and the unequaled support we give our local and international missionaries thro......

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WANTED...SWEET DREAMS

I'm getting closer to making a concentrated effort on redecorating my master bedroom.  One thing we know for sure, my husband's only request is that we switch from a Queen sized bed to a King.                                                                      Source: pinningbrandi.posterous.com via Jennifer on Pinterest So, mattress shopping is in our near future.  Now, I consider myself a pretty savvy shopper, but we are NO GOOD at choosing mattresses!  When we first married almost 19 years ago, we bought the best mattress our $350 could get, and it lasted almost 10 years.  Since then, we've been through 4 other mattre......

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SUCCULENTS...STILL GOING STRONG

Last summer I came across some 75% off succulents and couldn't resist giving them a try.  Since then, you've seen them here, and here. Through Christmas they hung out in my bathroom windowsill while waiting for me to make room to bring them back into our main living area.  I lost a few that were a different variety, but this type seems to be indestructible...great for me! While thrifting recently, I came across this great wooden bowl.   I liked the simple shape, but the finish had seen better days.  I could tell it would be a snap to sand it off and start again.  The bare wood was pretty, but it needed something to bring out the beautiful grain.  Using an old sock, I rubbed it with a bit of lemon oil. And the glorious wood came to life! I decided that it needed to be the new home for my un-dying succulents.  Whenever using an unconventional container for live plants, I like to line the bottom wi......

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IT HAD MY NAME ON IT FOR A MONTH!

Do you like a good treasure hunt story?  I love knowing the details behind a good thrift purchase.  If you don't, I'll see you tomorrow.  :) I'll try to make a long story shorter.  I was out thrifting sometime around New Year's.  I saw this chair and thought it was interesting.  The price was smudged, but it looked like it said $160.98 (everything at this store is 1/2 of what it's marked, but still...$80?  at a thrift store?  No.).  I asked a worker about it and he basically said, "Yeah, that's what it looks like, we normally don't price things that high. We'll do markdowns in a few weeks."  I left knowing that no one would be beating down the door for that one.   When I feel like I'm going out on a limb (for me) a little bit, I like to bounce things off of my sister.   I texted her the picture and she thought it was cool.  The next day she opened her Better Homes and Gardens and saw this...  I lov......

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