Iced Lemon Pound Cake & a Spring Playlist

Hey foodies! Everytime spring and summer roll around I all of the sudden crave all things lemon… I don’t know why. Especially me as the self professed chocoholic that I am, now that the season has changed and the flowers are in bloom again, want to bake all things lemon. My tastes in food and music seem to change with the seasons. So in honor of spring and the soon to come summer, I have a lovely lemony pound cake recipe for you guys today as well as a spring playlist!

This is a copycat recipe of Starbucks’ ever so popular Iced Lemon Pound Cake. Honestly I usually opt for the brownie myself when I venture to Sbucks but my parents have always been a fan of the lemon pound cake. But in my humble opinion, this one’s better.

So push play on the happy spring tunes below the recipe and get to baking! :)

Iced Lemon Pound Cake -

(Recipe found @ http://picky-palate.com)

The first thing you notice about this cake is that not ten minutes after putting it in the oven your house starts to fill up with the most delish scent! It’s like aromatherapy in cake form.

This cake is super moist with the perfect tangy lemon flavor. And the lemony glaze running down the sides of the cake makes it even better!

This recipe makes enough batter for either one bundt cake or two loaves (below). It turns out lovely either way. This is the second time I’ve made this cake and it’s safe to say that it’s become a staple. Plus, it’s a really simple one bowl recipe, gotta love that! I hope you give it a try! :)

Ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix

4.3 ounce instant or cook and serve Lemon pudding mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

8 ounces sour cream

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Icing:

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray 2 loaf pans generously with cooking spray.

Place all cake ingredients in no particular order into stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Divide cake batter between two prepared loaf pans spreading evenly. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before removing loaves from pans.

To prepare icing, place powdered sugar into a large bowl. Drizzle in lemon juice stirring until smooth and thick. Should be a good drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over cakes and let set for 20 minutes for a firm icing. Otherwise slice while still wet if desired.

Makes about 24 slices.

Spring Playlist -

A List of Things To Do When You Have a Case of the "Blahs"

Hey lovelies! Do you ever have those days or weeks where you just feel so uninspired, bored, or just plain blah? I know we all go through that from time to time. Well that’s exactly how I was feeling a couple weeks ago. Just a really bad case of the “blahs” & just couldn’t shake it for some reason. So I made a list of things that might help me break out of it and find some inspiration… and it actually worked!

So below is a list of things that seem to help me navigate the “blahs”. Hope this helps you too when you find yourself falling into a blah day. :)

*Dance like a manic to "Cray Button" by Family Force 5! Really any song you can rock out to will do but I recommend this one… FF5’s music was kinda made for dancing like a manic to. This is my “jam”, if you will. ;)

*Write a short encouraging scripture, quote, or lyric on your hand or arm to be a sweet reminder through out your day.

*Be a DIY diva and make something pretty! I just made this coffee filter wreath that I saw on Pinterest. It was so fun to make and I love how it turned out!

*Get your behind in the kitchen, put on your cutest apron, turn the music up way louder than necessary, and bake cupcakes! With lots of swirly frosting and colorful sprinkles! Hand them out to family and friends!

*Workout! I know this totally contradicts the one above lol, but sometimes working up a good sweat and getting those endorphins going is totally the cure. I’ve been doing this workout (as well as others) by Tiffany Rothe lately and I’m loving them! They are so awesome! Granted you might feel a little goofy doing some of the moves lol but it totally works!

*Take a walk. I live in a small town and we may not have much (we don’t even have a Wal-Mart, you guys) but we do have a really lovely bay front that’s perfect for evening walks. Being out there in the cool evening breeze, watching the sun set is a sure fire cure for the “blahs”.

*Write out ten things you're thankful for in your journal! I think it helps to see every reason you have to smile all written down in black & white.

*Art journaling! It can be so therapeutic to get out my art journal and supplies and make a huge mess for an hour or two. Being creative is always a "blah buster" for me.

*Get away from the computer. Nothing makes me feel more sluggish than spending too much time on the computer… and I’m so guilty of this! I’m trying to be better about it though. So I vote we take some time away from the computer/cell phone/etc.  and do… anything. Pet your cat, read a book, call a friend, go get coffee, learn French, dust off the old piano and get to relearning it (which is a goal of mine), make earrings out of bobby pins (my sister & I actually did this & they were so cute! lol)…anything.

*Write encouraging letters to strangers and leave them in fun spots all over your town. This is what the organization The World Needs More Love Letters is all about. It’s also very much about forgetting yourself and your problems to focus on the needs of another. Which is something we all need to do more of; nothing can make you feel better faster. Think about partnering with them to spread some words of love and hope with people who really need it.

*Plant some flowers or herbs and watch ‘em grow! I just planted a some indoor herbs last week and they are already starting to grow!

*Make some delish homemade iced coffee for a mid-day pick me up… like this recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

*Make a playlist of happy songs and go for a drive with the windows down.

What are some of your cures for the blahs or your “blah busters” as we’ll call them?

Brightly Wound – An Art Journal Page

“I shall never grow up/Make believe is much too fun/Can we go far away to the humming meadow” 

That’s the chorus to my favorite Eisley song called, “Brightly Wound”. It’s also the song that inspired this art journal page I worked on last night! This song is actually from their very first album entitled, “Room Noises”. I’ve been a huge Eisley fan since I saw them in concert in 2005 and even years later, this is still my favorite song by them. It’s so whimsical and magical! It never fails to make me feel happy and warm whenever I hear it.

I’ve been listening to it a lot more lately than usual and always find myself humming it throughout the day. The lyrics just evoke such a child like innocence. It’s the type of song I will probably sing as a lullaby to my future kids someday. So last night, as I was listening to this song, I got inspired to create an art journal page with this lyric in mind. I’m really happy with how it turned out! In fact, I think it’s the best one I’ve done so far.

I think my favorite elements are the floral fabric I used for the background and the letter stamps I used to add the lyrics onto the page. It was a really fun page to create! It was fun to go crazy and make it just as whimsical as the song. :)

P.S Eisley has a new album coming out on May 28th entitled, “Currents”. You can listen to a song from the new album here: “Drink The Water”.

Spring Crafts & Easter Photos!

Hey friends! Hope y’all had a lovely Easter! Can’t believe it’s already been over a week ago now! It’s always the holiday that feels like the official start of spring to me.

My Easter Sunday was spent with my family. My dad preached a really good Easter message at our church & after service we had an egg hunt for the kiddos. My mom & I cooked Easter lunch and my aunt and cousin joined us for the feast. And feast we did! We made what has become one of our favorite meals ever, Stuffed Chicken Marsala! Along with mashed potatoes, green beans, and French bread. I meant to take a picture but everyone was pretty starved and I didn’t have time lol. But I did however get a a couple photos of our desserts.

Banoffee Pie and Maple Nut Chocolate Eggs! Neither of which I think turned out especially pretty lol (The pie was supposed to look like this. Yeah, not so much.)…but both were so delish! And that’s what counts, right? :)

Okay, if you’ve never tried Banoffee Pie…do it. Do it now! It was my first time making it and now my family and I are hooked! Graham cracker crust, bananas, thick and rich toffee, whipped cream, & chocolate shavings (was supposed to be chocolate curls but whatever…I apparently can’t curl chocolate). What’s not to love?

The filling for these eggs is unbelievable! I bought a small bottle of maple flavoring from a cupcake place called Bliss while I was visiting my sister in GA and the taste that it gave these eggs was just out of this world. A creamy maple center with chopped walnuts covered in chocolate. Really sweet but amazing.

 

Colored eggs to use for decoration! I tried to be all fancy and give a couple the “ombre”effect… again, not so much. But I did have a little too much fun with a gold paint pen and while they’re not all fancy and “ombre”… I dig ‘em.

The “sun design” on the purple egg just kinda happened on its own after I used the paint pen. Yay for happy accidents!

Maybe it’s the spring air but I’ve been in an especially crafty mood lately. And have been enjoying days of crafting and listening to music. Not to mention pinning new crafts like cray (Yes, I just said “cray”… too much Family Force 5 & only ff5 fans will get that. Ok, anyways.) These are the projects I’ve been working on lately:

French Script Easter Eggs -

I found the tutorial for these French Script Easter Eggs on Pinterest. They were so easy to make! My mom and I made them with some wooden eggs she had in her closet. After we did a few of the French Script ones we got the idea to cover some in sheet music. I printed out free sheet music of Amazing Grace (that I also found on Pinterest) and covered the rest in that. I love they way they all turned out but I think sheet music eggs are my favorite!

Spring Napkin Rings -

These spring napkin rings actually happened on accident as they originated from a totally different idea. I had seen a tutorial for Burlap Easter Bunny Napkin Rings on Pinterest and thought they were so cute! I had gotten a good amount of burlap from my sister who has tons of it left over from decorating her wedding, so this seemed like a fun way to use some of it.

I set out to make the bunny napkin rings but half way through was just not really feeling it. So my mom had the idea to use some left over fabric we had lying around to make some spring inspired napkins rings instead!

I think they turned out really cute! They were made out of paper towel rolls, hot glue, fabric, ribbon, and fake flowers. Below is a picture of them on our table as well as the one lone bunny napkin ring we made lol. 

Spring Bunting -

Using up more of the fabric and burlap, I made this Spring Bunting! It was super simple to make and didn’t require any sewing. I hung it up in my bedroom over my closet and I think it totally brightened up the room! Really loving it!

I think spring inspired crafts are the perfect way to start the season! Like I said, I’ve been in a crafty mood lately so I have a couple more DIY's on the list for this week! Happy spring, lovelies! :)

March Foodie Penpals Reveal!

Hey fellow foodies! It’s March Foodie Penpals reveal day! Well technically it was yesterday and I’m a day late but still lol. I took a few months away from FPP and really missed it so I was so glad to be back participating again last month!

I was paired with Julie who sent me a lovely package full of delish treats!

*Lavender Vanilla Sugar – Knowing how much I love to bake, Julie sent me a bottle of Lavender Vanilla Sugar! This may be one of my most favorite things I’ve received in a FPP package so far! It smells like heaven! I haven’t used it yet but I’m in search of the perfect recipe to try it in. A recipe for homemade Lavender Vanilla Marshmallows I saw on Pinterest has been calling my name though! :)

*Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans – As a coffee lover, these could become addicting! So delish! Love them on their own but I’m kinda dying to put them in or on cupcakes!

*Trail Mix – A sweet and spicy blend she bought from a local grocery store. So flavorful and just the perfect amount of spiciness. This was gone way too fast, let me tell you! Was so sad when it was gone lol.

*Justin’s Maple Almond Butter & Chocolate Hazelnut Butter – You just can’t go wrong with these. Always love to have some on hand!

*Homemade Date Balls – Julie made these delish and healthy date balls and gave me the recipe for them! Always a fan of homemade goodies in my FPP packages!

I want to thank Julie for all these yummy goodies! I loved everything! Also a thanks to Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean for putting all this together! Oh and if you want to see the treats I sent to my FPP, Lisa, check out her blog: 3 girls and 1 boy.

If you would like to join in all the foodie fun check out the info below! :)

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-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian & European residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by April 4th as pairings will be emailed on April 5th!
*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.
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