• A Playroom Makeover: Part 1

    I am so excited to be back with another Lemon Sugar remodel project, and especially excited to be working with my friends at Organized Living again! If you remember, we teamed up several months ago to tackle my pantry remodel, and it turned out SO good that we’ve decided to take on a bigger and more challenging space – a playroom for my girls! This project is a little bit bigger and more involved because we didn’t have an existing space to work with.  Instead,…

  • Baked Cinnamon French Toast

    Welp, the Christmas Tree is packed away, decorations are down, the Christmas music is over until next year, and the girls go back to school tomorrow. The days of staying up too late and sleeping in are in the past, and the countdown to summer has started. Seriously, is it summer yet?  I’m over the cold.  It’s all fun and games until the Christmas decorations come down, and then it’s just cold.  And cold without Christmas is no fun AT. ALL. But – bright side…

  • Coffee Cake

    I don’t have a lot of experience with coffee cake.  It’s not a dessert that my family made when I was growing up, and with the exception of the school cafeteria version, I don’t believe I’d ever had it until my mother-in-law sent it home with my husband when we were in college.  I’m not really sure why we never made it, it seems like something my Mom would be all over – white cake, sugar, butter…seems right up her alley! My husband absolutely loves a…

  • Glazed Doughnut Muffins

    I first saw this recipe on Pinterest several months ago.  They claimed to taste exactly like a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut.  I pinned them and forgot about them (isn’t that what usually happens on Pinterest?) but came across them again recently and haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.  First of all, let me assure you that they taste absolutely NOTHING like a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  They do, however, taste like a cinnamon and nutmeg infused cake doughnut.  They are a wonderful morning treat,…

  • Hot Fudge Sundae Cupcakes

    It was nearly a year ago that I started seriously playing in the kitchen.  My daughter’s fifth birthday party was coming up and I wanted to do something special for her and our guests, but I really didn’t know where to begin.  I’m sure it started with my Googling “little girl birthday treats” or something of that nature, but I’m glad I did because it led me to the wonderful world of food bloggers.  It’s funny to me that it was just a year ago that…

  • Taking a Moment for Myself

    Today’s post is a little bit off topic – I’m not going to share a recipe but instead am taking an opportunity to slow things down.  You all know by now that I am a bit of a worker-bee…I am at my best when I’m busy, when I have a project, when I have a to-do list.  I don’t like to be idle.  I do my best work under a deadline, and I crave the intensity and activity that a busy, planned-out day brings.  …

  • Hot Chocolate Cake with Homemade Marshmallows

    So, my daughter’s 7th birthday is next week.  First of all, it’s really just not possible that she’s turning seven years old.  Not possible.  Second of all, this means that I have a big family party looming on the horizon. That means my house has to be cleaned.  It also means I need to plan a menu, figure out decorations and – oh yeah – do all that cooking and baking without undoing all of the cleaning and planning.

  • Strawberries & Cream Cake

    This cake makes me think spring thoughts.  Warm, breezy, budding-tree, blooming flower, happy spring thoughts.  And even though we are still a couple of weeks away from St. Patrick’s Day (and post-season college basketball – the official start of springtime for me), I’m ready.  I’m over winter, I’m over cold weather, and I’m over cooped-up kids.  So, Strawberries & Cream Cake?  Do. Your. Thang. I don’t mean to complain – I do appreciate the changing seasons – but dude.  I’m done with it.  I’m craving…

  • Spinach Queso Dip

    So, let’s talk football. My family is obsessed. College football on Saturday, NFL on Sunday, Monday and even Thursday sometimes. High school football on Friday nights, fantasy football leagues everywhere I turn, and pick-up games of catch before and after Sunday dinner. Now, I like football as much as the next person (ok, well maybe a *tiny* bit less), but I have to say that I get more excited about the football parties and the tailgating than I do the actual games. And right at…

  • Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

    First of all, I have to apologize for these, because I know they aren’t pretty.  They’re very beige, kind of flat, the frosting has funky spatula-lines in it, but oh holy mother cow, these are so fantastically amazing that you have to make them right now.  Like, RIGHT. NOW. Seriously, go.

  • Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

    My dear brother-in-law has been staying with us over the last week.  It’s awesome because of course I love it when he’s home, and I get excited every year because he’s someone new to cook for – another person to eat the holiday goodies that I’m inevitably churning out. But the truth of the matter is that he really doesn’t eat much.  He’s not a breakfast person.  I know these things.  But I still, every single year, force new breakfast dishes upon him like he’s…

  • Chocolate Sundae Cupcakes

    I made these cupcakes for my daughter’s 5th birthday party.  It was one of those family gatherings in the middle of the afternoon, not knowing how many were coming and how hungry my guests would be…and of course I over-did it.  I did try a number of new recipes for the event and had some good success, so I will post them as I can! These are chocolate cupcakes with vanilla swiss buttercream frosting.  I’d never had swiss buttercream before, but I’m so glad I tried…