Strawberry and Lemon Summer Cake

It is time for a yummy summer treat! 

The cake: Strawberry - you can either use the boxed stuff (which is actually pretty fluffy if you only bake it for about 22 minutes at 350). Or you can use the below strawberry recipe . . .  

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Strawberry-Cake-from-Scratch/Detail.aspx

The icing: Lemon Cool Whip (you cannot buy it, you have to make it)


Ingredients: Lemon Jello Pudding Mix, Cool Whip, Cold Milk
Directions: Fold together 1 package of lemon jello pudding mix, 1 container Cool Whip, and 1 cup of cold milk. Make sure all "chunks" are completely immersed in lemon mix. Let chill in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

After the cake has cooled, use the cool whip icing you have created and add some fresh strawberries. Make sure you use a bread or cake knife to even the top of the cake before icing.

Use the chilled icing to finish off your cake!

Settling In

Main part of the basement - cozy :)

Jeff's favorite part of the house with his leather chair

Our wood-burning fireplace. We are going to make it a stone fireplace this fall.

This is just a quick post documenting the house progress. It is starting to feel like home. I absolutely love the house, the area, and the friendly neighbors. Thanks to my parents, sister, and Jeff's "old" roommate for helping us move in! And to both our families for some very thoughtful 

 

 

 

 

 

housewarming gifts. SO blessed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dining room and living room . . almost done!

I love our new coffee table! It has storage and serving trays. Jeff and I are using it for storing board and card games.

Repainting the kitchen pantry!

First "real" meal in the house. Rice, biscuits, and creamy chicken casserole (one of Jeff's faves).

New chairs for the deck. . .the table is still on back order

My sister helping to put the kitchen table back together. . refusing to look at the camera

boxes and a lot of "stuff"

Jeff and Chris moving us in! Dad helped also!

Putting wood blinds up in the kitchen (they are already in the rest of the house)

I am thinking of a round decorators table for this corner?

New dining room table and china hutch (love them - love Broyhill)

Notice the hardware . . .Jeff put it all on :) Yay!

The HUGE plant Jeff's mom got us! Our deck needed a little color. 

 

 

 

Home Sweet Home

I am sitting on my couch, for the 123,454 hour due to this incessant illness (darn lungs), and I realized that I had a million things in my head about Jeff and I's most recent purchase: our new house. Jeff and I have been house shopping off and on for a few months (I was shopping around for houses with my Dad's help, while Jeff was in Baghdad) and we have seen some interesting spectacles. We even put an offer on a house and it didn't work out (so glad now- this house blows doors off the first house). So, I decided put this large experience into a silly little story (I am without children, but here I am writing a "fairytale").

Goldilocks and her Prince (new twist on the tale) Went into the first house . . it was too retro with it's purple shag carpet. The next house, had a family still at home with a precocious 3 year old who wasn't thrilled about someone else testing out her house. The search continued and there were those who smelled like mold, mud, and plug-ins galore (they just make it worse people and they are a fire hazard - take note).

Until, Goldilocks and her Prince came to their "just right" house. It has a wood burning fireplace, a wide deck, and a stellar patio. Three bedrooms, 2 full baths, 2 half baths, 2 bay windows, and 3 ceiling fans. The kitchen is my cooking heaven with granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and the most adorable window placed perfectly over the kitchen sink.

Jeff and I KNEW that this was the house for us. It was in the neighborhood we wanted, perfectly located by a lake, pool, and park. It has a garage, which Jeff is anxiously waiting to tackle. We will need more furniture and will have little projects to complete after we are settled (making the pantry bigger, reorganizing the closet, adding hardware to the cabinets, etc) which is probably the most exciting part! We get to make this perfect house for us, our little home. 

It is funny because a couple years ago I would have said I only wanted to buy something on my own first. I wasn't interested in having someone "help" me buy a house. Everything changed when I met Jeff. I had met someone that I truly wanted to share all of these experiences yet. Now, I cannot imagine how different things would have been. It is amazing how you think you know what is best, but God always has the bigger, better plan.

Now, to prioritize! New couch, bedroom set for Jeff and I, closet organization system, painting? Decisions, decisions. We'll get to figure them out at the end of the month! :)