trying my hand at something new and other random things

If you have never been to this website you have to go. Bakerella has such CUTE baking ideas. So, with being on Spring Break, I thought I would try her red velvet cake balls. It all started out going great...I baked my red velvet cake according to the package directions and then mixed in the container of cream cheese frosting.

I tried to make the balls round, but it was a little more difficult than I thought. Looking back, I think my mistake was not letting the mixture cool enough and taking the time to roll more perfectly shaped spheres.

The dipping in chocolate was extremely difficult. I found it hard to keep the cake balls together in the warm melted chocolate.

They still taste great...they just don't look their prettiest. I think I will try to make these again, but just try a few different tricks next time I make them (like freezing the cake balls for like 15 or 20 minutes before dipping them into the chocolate).

On a completely unrelated note, I got to go to Amanda's baby shower today with Katie in Illinois. Amanda is one of the cutest pregnant girls I have ever seen. She was wearing this stylish dress that I don't know if I could pull off without carrying a pound of meat in my belly. She got so much cute stuff and she was just glowing. It was a really great day (despite the gross St. Louis March weather - yes Kerns, I realize you are probably laying by the pool in LA while reading this so get a tan for the both of us...)!

Tonight I was very productive. Will hung out upstairs while I decluttered my closet (yes, Katie you can do it too). It felt SO good. We take all of our gently loved things to a consignment shop nearby and boy will I have a mother load for them. I counted 48 pieces of clothing that I am getting rid of. It was good having Will there for all those things I was so-so about, all I would have to do is hold it up and he would look at it like, "did you really used to wear that" and I would put it in the sell pile. I also got rid of many pairs of shoes and a few other accessories like purses and belts. Spring cleaning feels very good.

Photo - Walmart

Sometime Monday or Tuesday we are going to Walmart to purchase our new patio set for our deck. I will post new pictures of it once I have it assembled and on the deck. I am very excited to have something to actually sit on out there (and so is our four-legged friend Samson).

Also on my Monday or Tuesday list is purchasing good old fashioned pegboard to organize our tools.

And some hooks... And although we don't have this many tools to organize, I think it will help us find what we do have easier.

We are also going to purchase shelves for our garage. I'll take pictures when we are done (towards the end of Spring Break) to show you our garage makeover. ; ) You would think that my husband would be the one really excited about this, but actually he does not really care - I'm the one who is orchestrating this project on our to-do list.

See you on the blog tomorrow...

A Fun Wreath for Spring!

Sam had a bath on Saturday. He loves to have a bath. He will stand in front of the tub and bark until I put him in and then I have to run the water a little so he can stand underneath it like a waterfall. He just loves it. Whether it is the guest bathroom tub or the big soaker tub in our bathroom - he does not care! Sam loves sitting on the back of the chair in our family room, that way he can look out over his yard and make sure that it is just how he left it last.
Sam also loves to play on the chair...sometimes he scares us if he chomps at our faces! He is just playing though!

Saturday, even though I had a cold, I made a Triple Chocolate Brownie Cake. It was tasty! Will LOVED it. He told me I had to get it out of the house.

Tonight I finished my spring wreath project. I started it last night and finished it up as I was watching the snow fall just now. I got the idea from tatertots and jello. I decided to use mostly greens for my wreath so it has a spring feel to it. It is hanging on our coat closet now (right next to our front door). Will wasn't sure he would like it at first, but now he calls me Martha Stewart. Another thing he says I should sell...

Right now I am watching the snow continue to fall and hoping, just hoping, for a snow day tomorrow. They say 2-4" by tomorrow mornings commute. I am hoping that it is more like 4+ inches and that they can't clear the roads well enough by bus stop time...maybe I'll be blogging tomorrow from home on my day off?!?!