Mini rum cake (recipe).

This rum cake recipe is one of my go-to desserts to make. It always gets a fabulous reception, and there's never any leftovers (and easy to make too!). In fact, I've already shared this recipe once as a bundt cake. The other day, I decided to try making mini versions using muffin tins, so that I could bring some to a few friends, and keep some for myself. I quickly whipped up the batter, portioned it out, put it in the oven, then thought to myself "Wow, this cake is so easy to make!" Then I noticed the box of vanilla pudding that was still sitting on the counter... oops!

Crazy things we tell kids (silly stuff).

The other day, I happened upon this comment thread about the crazy things that our mothers told us, and that we tell our children. I was cracking up reading it, and it made me think of some of the crazy things my mom used to tell me too (let's just say wild imaginations run in my family). Now some of these are just plain silly, some of them are borderline genius, and a few of them are almost mean, but they all amused me. 

image source

Since reading through the entire comment thread is slightly time consuming (I think I giggled at least an hour of time away), I decided to condense it into a list. Most of these are adapted from the Reddit thread, and a few are sprinkled in from my childhood (see if you can guess which ones).

Peanut butter and apple sweethearts (Get your chef on).

It's time for the third Get Your Chef On challenge, and this edition is all about peanut butter! To be honest, time sort of snuck up on me. I had grand illusions of baking, but the weather never cooled down enough to turn on the oven, so this is sort of an un-recipe (but pretty darn cute if you ask me). 

Transfer attempt (a craft fail).

The fabulous ladies from Four Marrs and One Venus and Nellie Bellie are hosting a Stinky Linky Party for those crafting, cooking, and DIY projects that don't quite go as planned. I'm sure we all have a few big fails (at least I know I do), and normally they would never see the light of the internet. This linky party gives us bloggers a chance to let it all hang out, and to see that everyone goofs sometimes (which can be easy to forget when we only show off our best work). Make sure to check out the other stinkers, and don't be afraid to show off yours too!

Reclaim your wedding (treasury Tuesday).

Reclaim your wedding.

Beautiful rustic, recycled, and reclaimed pieces for the day you say "I do."

Double decker eggs in a basket (recipe).

It's been hot here lately. Too hot to turn on the oven. Too hot to spend much time "slaving over a hot stove." Too hot to eat a big heavy meal anyways*. Honestly, we've been ordering a lot of pizza, but even pizza gets boring after a while. 

Lemonade meltaway cookies (recipe).

When I saw the Itty Bitty Kitchen's recipe for Lemon Melting Moments, I knew I was going to have to try them.  Nothing says summer to me quite like a big, cold glass of lemonade, and the idea of putting that flavor in a cookie is fantastic.

I didn't do much to change the recipe, but instead of making sandwiches I made frosted cookies. I figure this way I get to eat twice as many ;) Right? The cookies themselves are very tasty, but the real star is the frosting. I think I could happily just eat a bowl of this lemon frosting with a spoon.

I have a blog button (updates)!

Creating a blog button is something that has been on my to-do list for quite some time now. Last week I finally did it. You can now grab a button from the sidebar by copying the text underneath the picture!

The catalyst for getting it done was that I won ad space on two of my favorite blogs, plus one new (to me) blog, last week! Do you remember the birthday giveaway I helped sponsor last week for Dawn at Addicted to Recipes? Well, it must have been my lucky week because I won a prize four out of the five days (there were about five prizes offered a day - it was a birthday extravaganza!).

Head over to White Lights on Wednesdays and Crazy for Crust to see the button in action (and to be inspired by the awesome ladies who run these blogs). I also won an ad spot at Live.Laugh.Rowe., but it  isn't up quite yet (but don't let that stop you from clicking over, Kelly's blog is great). Finally, I won a $20 wally-world gift card from Quick Asian Recipes (a blog full of mouthwatering Indian food). Woo-hoo!

If you missed out on Dawn's birthday giveaways, don't worry. September 16th is Julie's one year blogiversary for White Lights on Wednesday, and she's hosting a pretty fantastic giveaway party to celebrate. There will be eight sponsors providing phenomenal prizes, so be sure not to miss it! I'll be giving away one of my decoupaged Christmas ornaments (winner's choice of book page, sheet music, or map decoupage).

Christmas ornaments from MdoubleM on Etsy