I fell in love with Janie's Cakes in Tyler, Texas

The first official day of our trip to the property (our cabin) took us to Tyler (in Texas).  My friend Sarah told us she wanted to go to Janie's Cakes, as this bakery was featured on cable & in magazines.  So we plugged the address in the GPS and we were off.

We arrived at Janie's Cakes.  I was thinking we could sit down and order here, but it was a pick up and go type of place.  Jane herself was at the front taking orders ... and gave us a sample of her delicious pound cake with a type of frosting that Mike fell in love with.  In fact, he asked to buy it.  It wasn't for sale.  He was pretty sad....  All of the cakes are pound cakes, and all have different varieties.  In fact, they are all bundt cakes, so the specialty cakes have sauces right in the middle of the hole.  So, when you slice it, you get cake and a little bit of sauce in the middle.  What a great idea!

It was also a VERY special day there!  It was a "buy one get one free!" day!  So we lucked out big time and walked away with two cakes (well, four cakes if you count two families!).  Mike got the "Italian Jane" pound cake.  Our "free" cake was the "La Dolce Vita Jane" (a swirled cake of chocolate & plain pound cake).  Sarah bought the "Saucy Jane"... and got a free cake as well (the "La Dolce Vita Jane").  You can click on this link and go to all the options that are offered.  I really wanted to try the Chipper Jane or the Cinnamon Jane cake! 


So we brought them back to the cabin.  The packaged cake is adorable.. I LOVE the blue & yellow packaging that Jane picked out!  The bag... the box... the store.  Perfect!  When we were at the store, Jane's daughter & (perhaps daughter in law?) were packaging up orders for people to ship out.  They were so busy.  I mention this because you can order a cake and they will ship it to you.  Anyways, the way they have it packaged is a good thing.  They have it double layered in protection so your cake is fresh.

Now... I am not one to enjoy nuts in my food, so I didn't try the Italian Jane cake.  Everyone else absolutely LOVED it. (I am regretting not trying it.. it was gone before I could get a bite). I stuck solely to the Saucy Jane cake, and let me tell you.  It was heaven in my mouth.  The pound cake?  Delicious!  Moist!  The chocolate in the middle?  Out.Of.This.World!!!

We still have our La Dolce Vita Jane cake in the freezer.  This will be opened at the perfect time... in fact, our anniversary is next week, so that maybe perfect timing!

I know many people that read this blog are even remotely close to Tyler to make a visit to this bakery, but in all seriousness... order it online.  You will NOT regret it!

Thank you Jane!  We will most definitely be coming back for more in the future!!

P.S.... sorry for the crappy pictures... the lighting at my cabin is simply not the best!!

(disclosure:  Janie's Cakes did not compensate me for this blog post... I am merely shouting from the rooftops that this is an amazing cake... and you need to try it!)

Hartstrings... where the cool kids are dressed

I was given the opportunity to take some money courtesy of Hartstrings and MomSelect and go shopping at Hartstrings at my nearby outlet mall!!!

As a photographer, let me tell you when I read other photographers blogs, I am in awe of the children's clothes.  Literally ... they all look like they're dressed by a designer.  I'm talking layers of different types of colors, prints ... and they all color coordinate so well!  After I took one step in the San Marcos Hartstrings store, I realized .. "ahh... this is where those mothers shop."

Why didn't anyone tell me about this store when my girls were little?  I love the clothes there!  The clothes have fabric that is SO strong & sturdy ... very durable for little boys & girls who need room to romp and play -- but yet look so adorable. 
The girls to choose from were amazing. There were reds, navy blues, pinks, turquoise -- all colors that I have a hard time finding in clothes!  They have the most adorable clothes for babies -- and toddlers.

The staff at the San Marcos store was the sweetest, most helpful staff ever.  They pointed me and showed me the direction to find the things I needed to complete outfits for Maddie. 

I just regret just ONE thing.  I regret just now finding this amazing store -- when Maddie is nearing the size 16, which is at the end of the road for her at this store.  At the age of modesty, where we are trying to keep modest clothes on our children, I was grateful to find several dresses for Maddie that came to her knees.  That covered her shoulders.  There were a few skirts that were mini skirts --- I stayed away from those because we need to keep our children covered!!

Check out Hartstrings at your nearby mall (or outlet mall.. I was able to snag some of these outfits at 60% off PLUS another 20% off that!  SCORE!) -- or "like" Hartstrings on Facebook ... or even become a follower of Hartstrings on Twitter! 
Here are the outfits I chose for Maddie.  Gratefully, she loved all the outfits I purchased!

I adored this skirt so much ... it was the first thing I picked out!

I received the free products as part of a promotional program with Hartstrings and MomSelect. 

All comments and opinions are my own.

Leatherneck BBQ rocks...

A few weeks ago my friend Shelly send me a package in the mail. It was a nice sized bottle of Leatherneck BBQ -- a BBQ sauce developed by Shelly's husband, Ryan. 

Now -- I come from Kansas City -- the land of all things BBQ.  We have major competitions in Kansas City on who holds the heavyweight championship of the best BBQ.  We have the best BBQ restaurants (don't even attempt to challenge me in this category with your city -- KC is the best.  Period!)  In Kansas City, the BBQ sauce is generally a sweeter sauce.  However, I love all things BBQ'd, so I couldn't wait to try this out!

I marinated my chicken with the sauce for a bit.  I used my George Foreman grill (bought it at a garage sale for $5 bucks!) to cook the chicken -- our grill was out of propane and my husband was nowhere to be found to change it out for me.



I served it to the family.  Katie immediately fell in love with the BBQ sauce.  "ooh!  Yummm!"  Maddie loved it as well.  Me?  It truly brought me back to the land of Kansas City -- a sweeter BBQ sauce that I fell in love with.  Even Mike gave a nod at it and said "not bad!!"  That's pretty high marks coming from him ... he never says he loves anything.  Except me.  He loves me.  Most of the time.

I can't wait for my friends to get this BBQ sauce bottled.  If you are interested in finding out more information, you can find them here on Facebook.  Like them while you're checking them out!  I hope more good things come from this place!

Yanni ... definitely not a YAWN-ee

My brother and I took piano at the exact same time when I was a teenager -- he might have been 11 or 12.  He was playing Moonlight Sonata within a year.  I was still on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

OK, I kid... but he was a prodigy with the piano!  It was then that Yanni came out with a CD, and just captured our ears.  And our love.  We loved Yanni!  My mom bought the piano book to Yanni's music, and my brother went forth and made miracles sound out of the piano.  Beautiful!

When I was offered a few weeks ago by One2One Network to download Yanni's newest CD "Truth of Touch" and listen to it... I jumped at the chance!  I love calm, beautiful music, and this CD did NOT disappoint!

taken from http://www.yanni.com/

One of my favorites is called "Echo of a Dream" ....

calling all barbie lovers!

As a little girl, I loved Barbies. Never mind, make that Barbie. I only had one. But, it was the most loved Barbie of all time. My mom made dresses for Barbie and I wished for Ken to be by her side. But then Cabbage Patch Kids came to the scene, and there went my love for Barbie. Darn those Cabbage Patch Kids!

Then I had two little girls. I grabbed my Barbie doll that fit into its case along with all the outfits my mom made for it. And I introduced her to Katie... when she was little. She fell in love. Birthdays & Christmases later, she had about .... oh... I'd say ... about 30 Barbie dolls? Yeah, that little butt. Spoiled rotten butt.

Miss K fell out of love with Barbies, and that is when Miss M fell in love with Barbies!! Oh my! She had (and still has) an intense love for all things Barbie! and Ken! and Skipper! In fact, she stopped playing with them a few years ago, so I bagged them up and took them back to my mom's house. She found them ... and started playing with them again.

When the movies of Barbie came out years ago, I bought them for my girls. I loved them. Loved them all!! I loved how the music was classical music, and the storylines were traditional folk stories..... and Barbie herself was just a sweet little gal. My girls were in LOVE!

Then one day I get an email in my inbox from MomSelect. "Hey Amy..... you interested in watching & reviewing this new Barbie movie?" ((OK, totally paraphrasing, and they didn't use my name)), but I jumped on it and said "YES!"

The movie was sent to us, we watched... and sighed. Big smiles all around on Maddie's face. We loved it. Miss M is a total die hard Fashion Diva. This movie was perfect for her!

What did I love? I love that it was set in Paris! I loved the theme of the movie: to NEVER give up... and hard work always pay off! Basically, the story is about Barbie helping her aunt, whose fashion house is about to be shut down by someone evil.... and with the help of special friends, they work together and find ways to save her aunt's fashion house!

Maddie's review: "My funniest part was when Ken split his underwear.... with hearts on it." So there, you have it from the mouth of an 8 year old! Wanna see Ken's underwear?! See this movie!

Many thanks MomSelect!!! Also, Maddie LOVES playing on Barbie's website, they have tons of games to play! Check it out!