Update

We have been so busy it seems - last weekend went to San Antonio for our last little get away before Audrey is born. It was a blast! We had a great time on the road and an even better time staying on the riverwalk at The Hotel Contessa.

As soon as we got home we began painting the dining room and entry way in a red. It is taking us a while because of all the coats, but I'm anxious to see the final color. We also picked out a color for the playroom and am hoping to paint that room very soon!

I have been doing a lot of cooking recently and wanted to share a recipe with you. It is an "Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake" - I made it from scratch and it was amazing! -- The only thing I would change is double the icing recipe. Evan and I love a good amount of icing on our cakes and with the recipe it turns out a little thin. -- I brought this to a get together with some friends and it was a big hit!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ICING
  
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter. Stir in 1 cup water and 4 tablespoons cocoa powder. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, dissolve the baking soda in 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the cooled cocoa mixture.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the cocoa buttermilk mixture. Stir until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a to othpick inse rted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Ice the cake with Buttermilk Pecan Icing while it's still warm.
4. For the icing: In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter with 4 tablespoons cocoa. Stir in 1/3 cup buttermilk, and heat until almost boiling. Stir in con fectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt and pecans. Remove from heat. Mix well and pour over warm cake.
   

Last night we stayed in Pearland with some of ou r college friends who are also expecting! On our way there we passed by a Carter's children's store. I had never been to one before and tried to go last night but they were closed. So, today I made a point to find one close by. I didn't want to go to the outlet because I was afraid their selection would not be as good as the storey. I found one about 20 min away from our house and it was amazing! Sometimes I'm not too crazy about Carter's stuff because of all the animals or prints on t heir clothes, but I was really impressed with the store and found some great outfits for Audrey this sum mer. They have their summer shorts and onesies on sale for $5 each! So I picked up a few! They even had a great boys selection. Carter's definitely gets my vote!

Have a wonderful week!