Chocolate Pear Cake

My husband laughs at me a little when he peers over my shoulder and sees me browsing cake recipes online. I suppose what he's laughing at is the fact that this is during an average Saturday afternoon, no occasion that warrants a cake, yet cake is on my brain and I just can't shake it. I don't want anything fancy, or too sweet. Just a luscious cake filled with some kind of seasonal fruit that I can eat without too much guilt.
This everyday cake seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Browned butter, chocolate, and juicy pears. Lovely on a Saturday afternoon, and even better for a Sunday morning.

Spiced Nuts

I know I've told you about my friend Renee (the Feisty Chef) and her amazing cooking classes, but if for some reason you've ignored my praise thus far and STILL haven't checked her out, here's a new reason to:

                                
With the help of her talented husband Renee made this great video demonstrating her fantastic Spiced Nuts recipe. Aside from the fact that the recipe is simple and quick to prepare, and that the results look delicious, doesn't this video just make you want to join in?
Well I did this afternoon and I'm pretty sure this bowl of sweet and salty nuts is not going to last long in my house. I used pistachios instead of almonds, and added a bit of smoked paprika and chipotle powder instead of 1 of the teaspoons of cayenne, and I was all out of fresh rosemary. But they're still soooo good!

Simple Chocolate Cupcakes

I've been craving chocolate cupcakes for a week or so now. Light and moist cupcakes with frosting that accentuates the cake rather than overpowers it with sugar. Yup, that's what I wanted and Valentines day proved to be the perfect excuse for me to bake them.

I searched high and low on the internet and in cook books but so many recipes just seemed over the top. Finally I found a recipe from none other than my usual standby (Ol' Martha) and they were exactly what I was looking for when paired with a super simple buttercream.

Home Making

The last few weeks have been full of literal "home making", and it's been so exciting to watch our house slowly turn into a home. One day last week while painting our bedroom I thought "Geez I really miss the days when my days spent working around the house were simple things like cleaning, laundry, cooking, etc." because now a day spent working around the house has an all new meaning and it sometimes feels never ending. But I guess that's the fun of home owning right?

But truthfully as each room comes together I just can't stop staring in amazement and disbelief. Then I realize that (holy crap!) it's OUR house and we OWN it and will hopefully live here for a VERY long time.

I feel like with all the work we've been putting in fixing up our new home I need to show a little tidbit so far. The following are before and after photos of our downstairs bathroom.