• Appetizers,  Holiday,  No Bake,  Party Food,  Quick,  Side Dishes

    Loaded Baked Potato Dip

    I am so happy that life has settled down a little bit, and that I finally have more time to spend in the kitchen.  April, May and June this year were just insane.  My niece was born, my brother got married, May was a blur of holidays, birthdays, graduations and my blog redesign, and June found me camped out at the ballfields and gymnastics studio almost every night of the week.  I had some serious blogging and baking withdrawal happening! Since we were on the…

  • Banana,  Dessert,  Pie

    Vanilla Coconut Banana Cream Pie

    I’m pretty sure that you aren’t supposed to make cream pies when it’s 100 degrees outside…I’m pretty sure that could probably get you in big trouble in some parts of the world. But when you catch a summer cold, are stuck inside in the air conditioning with a sore throat and a fever and really need to update your blog, that’s exactly what you do.  You make a cream pie. You also dip extra bananas into the filling and eat them like a fruity-creamy fun…

  • Blog,  Home,  Pantry,  Personal

    A Pantry Makeover Part 3: Glidden Paint

    When we built our house just over five years ago, I was so overwhelmed with decisions that I just took the easy road when it came to our paint colors. With the exception of my daughter’s room, I went all-out subdivision beige. I just couldn’t make another decision. Floors, appliances, windows, furniture, lighting, faucets…I couldn’t do it. So, subdivision beige it was. Over the years, we’ve slowly been updating rooms to fit our taste and decor style. It’s been a slow, arduous process and I…

  • Cupcakes,  Dessert,  Peanut Butter

    Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Cookie Frosting

    So, close your eyes for a minute, and imagine with me. Wait, don’t close your eyes yet.  You have to read this first. Ok, in a minute, you’re going to close your eyes and imagine a soft, perfectly-chocolate cupcake.  It peels away from the wrapper in one piece, and is just strong enough to hold the weight of the frosting without being too dense or heavy. You bite through a soft, sweet layer of peanut butter “cookie” nestled atop a generous layer of dark, slightly-sweet…

  • Blog,  Giveaway,  Home,  Pantry,  Personal

    A Pantry Makeover with Organized Living™ (Part 2: After)

    (This is part two of a two-part series.  To see part one, click {here}.) This post has been so long in the making that I really can’t believe I’m actually finally typing it.  I’ve been working with the folks at Organized Living for a few months now, working out the details of this project, getting it installed and working out a giveaway for you guys, and now it’s all done – and I am in LOVE with my new pantry. In.  Love. Over the past…

  • Blog,  Home,  Personal

    A Pantry Makeover with Organized Living™ (Part 1: Before)

    Ok.  I feel like I need to make excuses and be defensive about my pantry for a minute. First of all, yes, the picture above is my pantry.  This is what my pantry looked like the day after my daughter’s Rainbow Party just a few weeks ago. I’m not proud. I have an awesome pantry, which was a requirement when we built our house five years ago.  In fact, we even made it bigger than the plans originally called for because it wasn’t quite big…

  • Bread,  Grilling

    No-fail Homemade Hamburger Buns

    On Mother’s Day, back in May, we also celebrated my Dad’s birthday at the same time.  My family all gathered at my parent’s house, and we had a lovely cookout, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, brats and lots of yummy sides (which is my favorite part).  My brother stopped and bought hamburger and hot dog buns (that was his “job”) and we enjoyed the day. Now, fast-forward almost a month.  Last week, we found ourselves rushed for dinner so my husband just threw some hamburgers…

  • Cupcakes,  Dessert

    Strawberry Cupcakes with Ice Cream Buttercream

    Hold.  The.  Phone. Did I really just make ICE CREAM BUTTERCREAM? Um, yes.  Yes I did.  And know what it tastes like on top of a strawberry cupcake?  Yep, just like you think it would taste, only better.  Kind of like strawberry ice cream, but without the brain-freeze. And, it’s only four ingredients, and it’s E.A.S.Y. So, strawberry cupcakes, buttercream that tastes EXACTLY like ice-cream, and no brain freeze. Best cupcake ever, right? I’ve been on a bit of a strawberry cupcake kick lately –…

  • Blog,  Cupcakes,  Dessert,  Entertaining,  Kids,  Party Food,  Personal

    A Rainbow Party

    Last weekend we celebrated my daughter’s and niece’s 4th birthday with a Rainbow party.  They’ve been talking about it forever, pretty much since the day after their Princess Party last year.  We were a bit hurried, especially after we ate dinner because the weather was supposed to get bad, and everyone kind of left in a mad rush to beat the storms. As usual, I focused the decoration for the party around my dessert table.  A simple white table cloth allowed the rainbow colors to…

  • chocolate,  Cupcakes,  Dessert

    Turtle Cupcakes

    So, first things first, what do you think of the new look here at Lemon Sugar?  I’ve been working tirelessly with Cory at Zesty Blog Consulting for months now, trying to make my ideas come to life.  I have to say that Cory has done a great job, and I would highly recommend his work to any of you working on a blog or website.  He’s patient, quick and can make just about anything happen! There are a few changes to the blog as you can…