Cakes Cakes Cakes

My cake "business" has really been booming! I have been averaging about 3-4 cakes per weekend, with about 2-3 wedding cakes/ month, which is wonderful, but it sure can burn you out.... But I love doing it!
I've already started to get orders all the way through December. I'm not fully booked yet, but it's looking promising. I urge anyone who has a party or special occasion coming up, if you are interested in anything sweet, shoot me an email! the.sweet.life@live.com (that's an email address)-
I just updated my "Sweet Life Business" blog with a couple of cakes within the last month or so.... This should give you an idea of what's really going on at the King household, especially on Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays....

Lots & Lots of projects are still happening over here at the King house. (especially while my cakes are in the oven & baking...)- Sometimes it helps me be more productive to see how much I can accomplish before the oven timer goes off! And it works!
I will hopefully post pictures of all the things going on over here within the next day or so!

Until then, check out my cake blog here and get in the mood for something sweet & give me a shout! :)

Back.....

It's sure been awhile since I posted last..... If you forgot, I have been at a place like this all week with my little sister on a Sister Beach Trip. We sure did read a lot, get a bunch of sun, eat lots of yummy food as well as drink drink drink. But hey, when you are on vacation, "do as the locals do" and by locals, I mean fish..... since we definitely drank like them!

And after 6 full days of 85-88 degree weather in the wonderful sun, you can imagine our surprise as we stopped for gas right outside of Montgomery, AL and thought, "Man, the wind has picked up a little bit!" Needless to say, as we made our way back north, we stopped again for lunch and were freeeezzzzing in our little sundresses and shorts that we had on as the weather dropped to 67 degrees & rainy. We skipped the ice cream after lunch that we had planned on getting and opted for Hot Chocolates to go...

After this little realization, we started talking about fall and started noticing the slightest change in color in some of the leaves on the trees passing by like in the examples below....

After an evening snuggled underneath a big family quilt with my sweet husband and a bowl of Chicken & Dumplings in both of our laps, I awoke this morning and all I wanted to do is get outside and do some fall chores....

So I made a list (I love lists!!!- Sometimes I even make a list of different kinds of lists that I need to make. Yep! I'm OCD)- Anywho, I made a list of things to do around the house that would allow me to get outside, along with the necessary things that needed to be crossed off on of those lists from awhile ago.....

After an afternoon at Lowe's and a shopping cart full of different "projects" (blogs to follow this week & next on all of those projects), I headed home to begin. Ever notice that shopping for projects or certain items can be mentally draining & exhausting, especially when you don't really know what you are looking for or what all you need??? (I guess that is where another list would have been handy, but oh well...)- I think I was in Lowe's from 2 p.m. until 4:45 p.m. today....

And "Oh the possiblities.... you can find at Lowe's "

(at least that's what the commercial says)

I know this little product below has been out for a couple of years now, and I just never had the urge to purchase it. But today, Lowe's had it on Sale, so I thought, "Oh what the hell"-

4 little sponges for $3.50- not bad

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We have lots of marks on our walls as well as smudges around the house, especially on stairwells, from moving in, rearranging furniture, carrying luggage & groceries that bang against the walls, etc, etc.... As well as the usual oily hands along the walls and doors and cabinets.
I started gently rubbing these marks with this Magic Eraser and all I could think of is....

"I think I love you!! I think I love you!!! I think I love you!!"
(sung from the David Cassidy Partridge Family clip
you tube it for the full effect, if you can... )

I was quickly jumping from room to room looking for more things to clean and magically erase....
John thought it was hysterical as I was singing the song above as I erasing all the dirt & grime. I just love love love it! He was pretty impressed too, (with the eraser, not my singing)

I just love little discoveries like the one today...... So I urge all of you to try it out, and you might just fall in love with Mr. Clean's eraser like me....

Recipe Monday (2)

Since I will be at the beach the rest of this week until next Monday, I decided to go ahead and publish the recipe for next Monday....

I could eat these things every single day. John always says that if he sees one of 3 things on a menu at a restaurant, he knows I will order them....

1) Scallops 2) Shrimp 3) Crab Cakes

In keeping with my island mood, I am leaving you with yet another summer/ beachy recipe....

Maryland Style Crab Cakes & Remoulade Sauce
2 lbs fresh lump crabmeat
1/2 cup minced green onion
1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Italian-Seasoned breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Mayo
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 tsp pepper
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp butter

-Rinse, drain & flake crabmeat, being careful not to break up lumps. Remove any bits of shell.
Saute green onion & bell pepper in hot oil in large nonstick skillet 8 minutes or until tender.
Stir together green onion mixture, breadcrumbs & next 6 ingredients. Gently fold into crabmeat. Shape mixture into patties that are 1 1/2" thick. Place on aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Cover & chill for 2-8 hours.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over Medium heat. Add patties. Cook in batches (3-4 minutes/ side until golden). Drain on paper towels. Keep warm on wire rack in a 200 degree oven until time to serve.

Remoulade Sauce
2 cups Mayo
1 tsp Dijon Mustard (I sometimes use Whole Grain Mustard)
3 Tbsp minced capers
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp chopped Tarragon
Several dashes on hot sauce

-Mix well & refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving.

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**Tip: Purchase a squeeze bottle (Craft stores like JoAnns sell these, & I'm sure Wal-Mart does as well....)- They run about $1.00 each (if that....)- and drizzle your remoulade sauce on top of your crab cakes....

Other things that you can use a Squeeze bottle for:

Melt chocolate in your squeeze bottle & drizzle over strawberries, cheesecake, or dessert bars

Melt Caramel & drizzle over your coffee


I sometimes use squeeze bottles to put my icing in for large cookie projects.

These are wonderful to use when you are icing cookies with kids. They can easily see the colors of the icing, and they are dishwasher safe for easy cleanup!

Put some of your olive oil in a squeeze bottle. How many times do you want just a drizzle of oil to coat the bottom of the pan & have to drag out your large bottle of oil.... Make it easy by keeping some in a bottle. Also a great way to drizzle olive oil over your asparagus before broiling it in the oven.....

I immediately thought of one of my best friends, Jo Marie, when I saw this. She loves Mojitos and she is always making them for us at girls night..... She says that simple syrup is easy, but a pain to make. How much easier will mojitos be to whip up with simple syrup premade & kept in the fridge for weeks at a time in a squeeze bottle.

One of my favorites: Put a topping in a squeeze bottle to make an easier distribution of your favorite topping. I personally love sour cream but hate when I get a big mouthful of it with tacos or nachos.... Thanks to the squeeze bottles, you can put your sour cream in there and drizzle over your tacos, nachos, or whatever else you love.

*Also good for butter & a little bit of salt in it to drizzle over corn on the cob.*

A Great Read......

I just got finished reading this book, and I highly recommend it!

I'm never good at describing a book without giving too much away- So I found a review that I thought described it perfectly......

"A new classic has been born. Kathryn Sockett's "The Help" will live in hearts and minds, be taught in schools, be cherished by readers. The three women who form its core, idealistic Skeeter, loving Aibileen, and sarcastic, sassy Minny, narrate their chapters each in a voice that is distinctive as Minny's caramel cake no one else in Jackson, Mississippi, can duplicate.
These stories of the black maids working for white women in the state of Mississippi of the 60s have an insiders' view of child-rearing, Junior League benefits, town gossip, and race relations.

Hilly is the town's white Queen Bee with an antebellum attitude towards race. She hopes to lead her minions into the latter part of the century with the "enlightened" view of making sure every home in Jackson, Mississippi, has a separate toilet for the help. Her crusade is, she says, based on clear hygienic criteria, which will save both blacks and whites from heinous diseases.
Despite the fact that the maids prepare the food, care for the children, and clean every part of every home, privy to every secret, many of the white women look at their black maids as an alien race. There are more enlightened views, especially those of Skeeter, a white, single woman with a college degree, who aspires to more than earning her MRS. Skeeter begins collecting the maids' stories. And the maids themselves find the issue of race humiliating, infuriating, life-controlling. Race sows bitter seeds in the dignity of women who feel they have no choices except to follow their mamas into the white women's kitchens and laundries. Aibilene says, "I just want things to be better for the kids." Their hopes lie in education and improvement, change someday for their children.

There is never a dull moment in this long book. It is compulsively readable while teaching strong truths about the way the United States evolved from a shameful undercurrent of persistent racism to the hopes and dreams of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. Ultimately, will the next generations children learn (and be taught) that skin color is nothing more than a wrapping for the person who lives within? "

A great great great read! I found myself not wanting to put it down & picking it up every chance I had to, "I have 10 minutes free, let me read just a "couple more" pages...."

Recipe Monday

Today's posts are going to be a little different.....

Tomorrow, I am headed here:

Orange Beach


With this girl:

My little sister, Blair

and read a bunch of these:

While doing a lot of this:

Relaxing and laying out

While drinking a lot of these:

Pina Coladas.... mmmmm

So, for today's recipe, to get in the beach bum mood, I am doing one of my favorite things to eat at the beach:

Neelley's Coconut Shrimp & dipping sauce

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup beer
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups flaked sweetened coconut
24 large shrimp (peeled & deveined)-I run a small paring knife down the back of the shrimp to create a butterflied shrimp. To see how to do this, please visit here
3 cups oil for frying

Shrimp:
Get out 3 Medium Bowls. In 1st bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer & baking powder. In 2nd bowl, place 1/4 cup flour. In 3rd bowl, put coconut.

Hold shrimp by tail & dredge in flour, shaking off exceses. Dip in egg/ beer mixture & allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut & place on baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Meanwhile, prepare dipping sauce & then refrigerate sauce) *Refrigeration of the shrimp after being dipped in very important! I have tried all different ways, but this keeps the batter on the shrimp as well as lets the flavors come together when frying.*

Prepare oil for frying in deep fryer or a cast iron skillet. Fry shrimp in batches, turning once for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp on paper towels to drain. Serve while warm.

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup orange Marmalade
2 tsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp horseradish sauce
a dash of salt
a couple of pinches of coconut

Mix together in a bowl. Refrigerate until time to serve. (The longer you refrigerate, the better it is, allowing the flavors to blend together.

Mums the word......

Yes, I said this to Mr. John King & we both got very excited! He thought I was talking about babies, which was immediately followed by a disappointed frown when I told him that I was talking about potted Mums for our front porch. Which didn't seem to excite him as much as it did me after my little explanation on how mums can be so beautiful!.... Oh well.... Onward! I say......

I went to Costco yesterday.... Oh, Costco! I love you, Costco! (I sure do hope there is one in heaven! Along with those people that serve you all those free samples.... )- I'm getting my usual stockup on household supplies, food, and of course, my baking stuff- when I saw Costco has brought in their mums for the season! I immediately grabbed 3 of these beautiful babies up! Lowes sells some pretty mums too. They are about $10 each (same as Costco) but they are about 1/2 the size..... Yet another reason why Costco is on my "love you" list.
*Note- When purchasing Mums, you are probably automatically drawn to the Mums that already have some buds that have bloomed- but I was informed last year to make sure that you purchase Mums with not a lot of buds that have bloomed (if any)- this will insure that your Mum will start to bloom a little bit later and you will be able to enjoy it longer....*

While setting out my Mums on our front porch, I started thinking of all the beautiful fall decoration pictures that I have saved in my little file on my computer for future ideas..... These pictures sure do give me some inspiration to decorate, enjoy the seasons as they come, and save our $$$ to one day have front porches like these..... I decided that I would share some of my favorites to hopefully inspire you to enjoy such a gorgeous season heading our way!

Note- I am not digging this witch with a broom on the front door....

BUT, I do like the pumpkins & mums and ferns.....

And I saved my favorite two for last......
I have had both of these pictures in my "Saved file" for about 3 or so years....
I just love them!

Dove Shoot

This past Saturday was the day of our 2nd Annual Dove Shoot out at our farm. It ended up being a beautiful day with some cloud cover, so it kept some of the heat down and the wind blowing.

We did a big BBQ spread with some sides and, of course, sweets! We had about 50-60 people come out, which was a nice small crowd. The doves were a flying and John said that everyone hit their limit.....

It was a busy busy busy morning and I was really bad about not getting any pictures, (shoot y'all!) but below are some pictures of the Dove Shoot from this year as well as a couple from last year.....

Some of the girls sitting around while all the men were in the field

Sweet little Annabelle is the daughter of one of our friends. She just loved being around all the labs that were there to help hunt. She was convinced that all dogs favorite food was Cheetos.

Annabelle wasn't so sure about me after I told her that Cooper and the other doggies were full of Cheetos.

Picture from last year with some doves....

A great surprise was that Bill Haslam stopped by to the Dove Shoot....

This is a horrible picture of me, but great of Haslam & John. I had definitely been sitting close to the keg all day, and this was getting pretty late in the afternoon........

All in all it was a great day! Long, but great! We can't wait for next year as more people are invited and the dove shoot just gets bigger and better with every year passing.

Recipe Monday

The nights are getting cooler and Fall is definitely blowing in....
John & I enjoyed a wonderful weekend full of fun, food & friends. We hosted our annual Dove Shoot (more on that in another post) and the weather (which was forecasted for rain) held off and ended up being a great day!

We awoke yesterday with not a cloud in the sky and decided to go to our favorite restaurant to eat on Sundays:

The Mt. Pleasant Grille is just about 3 minutes down the road from the lake cottage on John's parent's farm. It is owned by one of my dad's best friends, Jim & Jennifer Barrier. They restored this old building and made it into a beautiful restaurant!

It has a very 50's vibe to it, with old pictures of Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, etc...
John & I are a HUGE fan of their Sunday Brunch. They offer the traditional Southern Sunday food ranging from fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac n cheese, broccoli casserole, pinto beans, okra, etc, etc...and 3 different dessert options. The main meat, changes weekly. They always have fried chicken, but they offer 2 other options ranging from Pot Roast, Turkey & Dressing, Mexican Casserole, Meatloaf, etc, etc.... Yummy Yummy Yummy!!


After lunch, we headed down to the farm and decided to enjoy the beautiful day. We took 2 chairs up to the top of our farm and just enjoy each other's company and the leftover beer from the dove shoot. (Yesterday was NOT the day that we were watching what we were eating or drinking in regards to our waistlines! But you need days like that every now n then!)

Sitting on top of the hill made me think that picnics are so wonderful in the fall!
Don't these pictures below make you just want to call a bunch of friends, gather with some good bottles of wine, everyone bring a picnic basket full of fall goodies & enjoy the weather, together!

So, for Monday's recipe, I'm letting y'all in on one of John & I's favorite soups! I'm actually making this tonight for dinner & thought that this would be perfect to share on this beautiful Monday in September. This soup is very popular when I bring it or serve it to friends & family, and the best part about it is.....

It's so EASY!!

Neelley's Corn & Sausage Soup

1 lb of ground sausage (mild)- [if doubling, use 1 lb mild and 1 lb hot]- browned & drained

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced (about the same amount as the red bell pepper diced)

2 Tbsp of butter or margarine

1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 1/2 - 2 cups of frozen corn, thawed..... I like lots of corn in our soup.....

1 1/2 cups of milk

2 cups Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese

1/4 - 1/2 tsp of Ground Red Pepper (depending on your love for spiciness)- Is that even a word?

salt & pepper to taste

- Brown & drain sausage. Set aside.

In medium sized pot, melt butter over Medium heat. Add onion & red bell pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes or so. Add rest of ingredients to pot. Stir. Bring to a small boil and let boil (stirring continously once boiling) for about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Serve!

** I usually serve this soup with one of 3 different sandwiches. Either:

1) Grilled Cheese (make sure you get the Velveeta Extra Thick Sandwich slices. They make grilled cheeses Soooooooooo much better!)

2) BLTs

3)- Sausage & Cheese stuffed Pitas

- I ground another lb of sausage (usually 1 hot & 1 mild) together at the very beginning of recipe. Take 1/2 of it & put in soup. Take the other 1/2 & set aside. In pan where you browned sausage, take 1 Red Bell pepper & 1 green bell pepper & some onion chop in long strips. Saute in pan with a little bit of butter. Add sausage. I usually sprinkle just a little bit of garlic powder, salt & pepper in there too. Add some shredded cheese and remove from heat when adding cheese. Fill a wheat pita and then I slide in the oven at about 400 degrees for about 5 minutes (most)- just long enough to let that cheese melt all together.

Yummy!

Happy Fall Y'all!!

Who needs a yard guy, when you've got......

As many of you know, John & I got a sweet little black lab, Cooper, on the 4th of July this year. Cooper was already part of the family before we took him home. You see, Cooper's dad, Charlie, is John's 1st lab. Charlie is a sweet yellow lab that has since been adopted by John's mom, Sherry. She was to take care of him when John went off to college for just a year or so, and there have been no signs of seperating them since. They got everywhere together like Bonnie & Clyde!

Cooper the day we got him at 6 weeks old!

Cooper at 8 weeks old

Cooper at 11 weeks old. He LOVES his duck. Duck is like his little stuffed animal/ security blanket. He sleeps with duck every night & often will go find duck to bring him up on the couch or near him when he naps. It is hilarious!

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Well, Cooper is really growing! We can't believe how fast he has grown in just a short amount of time. He loves to sleep and loves to fetch. John has really been working with him on retrieving. (It's a rule in our house that all dogs that do or will ever reside here will all be hunting dogs. Can you take one guess as to who made that rule??)- Cooper will retrieve just about anything that we tell him to retrieve. He is getting very good at blind retrieves. (Where he doesn't see where the duck or stick fell, but will go out in our yard & look back at John & I as to where we point to where he should "hunt it up"- ). I definitely feel like a little Mom, because he is ahead of his "Water Dog Training Manual". Ha Ha- kinda like "Yay!, he has scored high on high ACT's!" , which John explains that this blind retrieve is just as, if not more important, as ACTs.... (Whatever.....)

Cooper today- 16 weeks old

Since he's so great at retriving, there is one thing that I wasn't prepared for..... sticks.

Oh the sticks! I feel like one of the little piggies over here, because I could seriously build a house out of sticks with all the ones that Cooper brings in. Yep, he brings them IN the house! Cooper has a little doggie door in our basement that leads out onto our deck. Since our backyard is fenced in, he is allowed to come & go as he pleases. Well, he goes, but when he comes back in, it is usually with a stick! He runs in the house like he's should have his picture taken because he is the best dog alive & just retrieved the largest stick he can find. It's pretty comical.



But what's so comical about it all, is he tries to find the biggest sticks he can find & tries to fit them through his doggie door. I will be upstairs doing something around the house & hear such a racket going on downstairs. 99% of the time, it is Cooper with a rather large stick. He's either trying to bring it in through his doggie door, or somehow has gotten it all through the doggie door & running around downstairs as the stick is banging up against the tables, walls, chairs, etc. Yep, like the stick in the picture above..... right after this picture was taken, I went back inside & this stick was attempted to fit through the door.

And his sticks turn into chew toys, which turn into a big mess! At least he only likes to carry his sticks into one certain room in the house & play with them there.

Who needs a yard guy when we've got Cooper picking up all the sticks in the yard for us??

Now, about that mess.............