reading

Current book The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller. I’m about 1/3 of the way into it and so far it has been a light, easy read.

Current Drink I literally just finished drinking a Dunkin’ Donuts coffee as I started this post. ‘Twas delicious.

Current beauty product DevaCurl shampoo and conditioner. As I mentioned in my last post, my hairdresser really wanted me to try this out. I feel like it’s too soon to tell a difference since I haven’t used it for a solid amount of time, but I’m liking it so far!

Current goal Cleaning out our closets and donating clothes we no longer wear. Also, finishing writing my book. I’m at 81,000 words and so close to wrapping up the first draft!

Current obsession Guys, I’m in cake mode again!! I was asked to make my father-in-law’s wedding cake since he’s getting married in May and I’m 100% obsessed with all things cake right now.

He and his fiancé asked for a Harley Davidson-themed cake, so I’ve been nailing down exactly what I want to do in terms of details and just practicing layering the different tiers of the cake. My fingers are stained with gel food coloring and I’ve been highlighting and studying a guide on working with fondant. I am one happy girl when I’m in cake mode 🙂

Three layer wedding cake with fondant and Harley Davidson colors

A super bare-bones trial run.

Current mood Excited (for spring and Daylight Savings!).

Current blessing Jimmy. He’s just so sweet, kind, caring, and hardworking.

Current excitement Mavis has reached the highest level of training (Adult Level II) at our local pet store and has her last class and Canine Good Citizen test tonight! We have been taking her to training once a week since August, when she was 10 weeks old. She’s basically grown up in this pet store, haha.

It’s definitely bittersweet to be ending this part of her journey because we love the trainer we’ve been working with. I’m sure there’s more training at different facilities in Mavis’ future, though!

Current confession I’ve been so slow about doing laundry lately. I have no problem washing it… it just sits in the laundry basket all clean for like three days until I fold and put it away 😉

Current prayer Healing for all involved in the recent school shooting in Florida.

Current indulgence Researching all things cake-related for my father-in-law’s wedding. I have some flavor combos I’m dying to try!

Current procrastination Catching up on all things computer-related. I have some work for my family’s real estate business to do, I want to catch up on blog reading, clear out my email inbox, and more. It will all get done, eventually!

Current food Thin mints! It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, aka the most wonderful time of the year. What are your favorite flavors of Girl Scout Cookies? My #1 is thin mints and then trefoils.

Current craving I want to paint my nails. I just need to ~~find~~ make the time to do it!

Current need A new wire for our Petzi Treat Cam. Mavis and Lola chewed it while trying to get treats out of the camera so its out of commission for the time being! Naughty pups.

Current question What is your favorite part about spring? I think mine is just seeing green grass again and watching flowers and trees bud. Or maybe more daylight and warmer weather? Or maybe spring rain? Love that sound. It’s just such a beautiful time.

Do you ever get in a reading rut and then you suddenly have like ten books to read? For the past month or so, I just couldn’t seem to find a book to get into, then I found quite a few and now I don’t know which to read first! Here’s my current stack.

From top to bottom, I have The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living, Winter Street, My Life as An Amish Wife, Present Over Perfect, and Troublemaker. Definitely an eclectic mix! Which would you read first?

Also on the topic of reading, I read Proverbs in January and just finished Daniel. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read and study Genesis or Psalms next, and I chose Psalms. Love it!

When I haven’t been thinking about books and reading I’ve been working on little home decor updates. I popped into Marshall’s over the weekend and bought a new blanket and basket to hold our blankets.

I put the basket under our end table and I’m hoping Mavis doesn’t chew on the handles! Or the blankets. Or the basket. I can totally see her trying to chew a steel basket 😉

I also got a new quilt for our bed (for only $41!). I’ve been doing updates on our master bedroom overhaul, and we had a white comforter and duvet cover for a while and decided we just couldn’t swing it anymore since two out of three of our pets have black fur. I’ll try and post some pictures soon since we have added a few other things (a storage bench and throw pillows!) over the past few months.

One last decor update: I hung a new wreath on our front door and replaced our welcome mat. It feels so fresh and springy now!

I have been baking a bit over the past few days, too! I had a bag of apples in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I made an apple pie using my mother-in-law’s crust recipe. I also made rice pudding this evening and it was delicious.

I feel like rice pudding is one of those foods I forget about, and then when I see on TV or in an ad in a magazine it I’m like “that sounds so good!” you know?

I literally ate a bowl of it warm with a few raisins sprinkled in because I just couldn’t wait for it to cool off. The verdict? Warm rice pudding is amazing! I used this recipe in case anyone is wondering 🙂

Living My Full Life

Currently: March 2018

Books to read and small home decor updates

What are you reading/baking/decorating lately?