I'm 2 Months Old Now !!

Isn't Miss Justyce so dang cute !! I haven't even had the chance to hold my new little niece yet. Since I live far away I have to wait until my summer visit to see my family in July and after my visit I will bring David & Lynde home with me to NC to stay for awhile during the summer. My sister just uploaded these new pics and let me tell you she looks so much like her older brother. I am such a proud Auntie and have to confess that my nephew and two nieces are so sweet, adorable and oh so wonderful ... yep ,they are just like their Auntie!

I am so excited that I won an award !! It's in my sidebar .. Woo Hoo!!

Take Care,

And The Winner Is ...

Kara from Bringing Home Ava

Congratulations ...

Thank you everyone for participating it was a blast. I look forward to the next one and I'll be giving away more than one prize. I hope you had fun and come back and see me soon!

Take Care,

Wow ! I'm so happy to the response of my giveaway ... you guys are awesome! I am already planning and looking forward to the next one and I think I am going to go with more Food Network goodies since it seems to be such a hit. Now the question is what should it be ... I have brand new RR pans, RR mixing bowls, RR cookbooks as well as Mario Batali Cookbooks and aMario bowl set or maybe Paula Deen since I have cookbooks of hers and maybe I can throw in some Paula Deen spices .. I told you I was a Food Network junkie.. lol. What would you like to see at my next giveaway more Rachael, Paula or maybe Mario ... I'd love if you comment and let me know. Thanks for visiting and I hope you come back often!

Take Care,

Bloggy Carnival Giveaway

Welcome to my blog Yummy Things & Cupcake Dreams ... Woo Hoo! It's carnival time again and in celebration of my new blog and The Bloggy Giveaway Carnival I am giving one of my lucky visitors a new Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl and a new Rachael Ray 2,4,6,8 Great Meals For Couples or Crowds cookbook as well. (Note: Garbage bowl is NOT ceramic but is made from durable melamine.)

To enter just leave a comment below telling me who's your favorite chef or favorite show on Food Network (Sorry,Open to US residents only) You do not need to have a blog to enter, only one entry per person (sorry, any repeats will be deleted), please make sure to have your email visible or you may leave it in your post so I can reach you if you're the winner, The giveaway will end April 26th at 12:00 am. A winner will be randomly selected on April 27th then posted here on the blog.

My Friend Barb is having a giveaway as well so hop on over to The French Elements and say hi.

There are so many blogs participating in the carnival you can go here for the list or click the button in my sidebar. So make sure to stop by check out some great blogs and enter their giveaways to ... Good Luck and have fun! I am off to visit some new blogs and who knows maybe I'll get lucky and win a giveaway to.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back often, Don't forget to check back Sunday April 27 to see if you won!

Food Network & My Giveaway

Hi! My name is Marilyn and I am a Food Network junkie! Yep, that's me the gal who is known to have the Food Network channel on blaring in the background. Well it seems rather fitting since I love to cook, bake and most of all EAT ! I happen to be a big fan of Ina Garten(Barefoot Contessa) She's constantly feeding and entertaining someone. I wonder often is she's just one lonely woman ..lol, Giada De Laurentiis (Everyday Italian) I love this show but I swear there are times I think if she tries to smile any bigger she is sure to swallow her head, Paula Deen(Paula's Down Home Cooking) How can you not love a cook who doesn't care whats good or bad for you as long as it tastes good and she's just so outgoing and bubbly ..yep she ROCKS! Then we have good ole Sandra Lee (Semi -Homemade) I like this show because I'm all for short cuts and cute entertaining ideas but am I the only one that notices she never reveals the tablescape of the day before downing some of the cocktail she made for cocktail time? Last but not least we have Rachael Ray(30 min meals) Can we all say yumm-o! I love her show but I will confess there are times I want to stick my head through the TV to scream CALM DOWN! Wow she's a hyper one but despite some small annoyances she's up there with Ms Paula she ROCKS!

Ok, which leaves me thinking about having a Rachael Ray goodie basket to giveaway for the Bloggy Giveaway. With a RR Garbage bowl, RR Cookbook and I'm not sure what else yet ... What do you think?

The Amish

I just got done reading the Annie's People Series By Beverly Lewis. I was so mesmerized I couldn't put them down until I finished them. Besides my family, visiting the Amish farms in the summer is what I miss back home in Pennsylvania. Yep, I am a "northerner" or "yank" as I am sometimes referred to here in these parts of the south. I married a true southern gentleman who sometimes gets a negative reaction for marrying a northern gal but I am proud to say he wouldn't have it any other way but, The funny thing is when we go to PA to visit my family I notice alot of ladies falling all over themselves and are always trying to engage him into some kind of conversation just to hear his southern accent. On the last visit home he wanted to see Amish and I wanted to shop and browse their stands along the road that were set up with all kinds of wonderful things they sell from quilts, eggs to produce they farmed on their lands to homemade baked goods which are my favorite. Fresh from the oven and still warm they are packaged and lovingly placed out on the shelves of their stands usually right next to the jars of jelly, jams and all sorts of other canned goods for the "fancy" or "Englishers" to come browse. Oh, the thoughts of the wonderful smells of fresh breads, pies,cookies and cakes has me totally craving an Amish Wet Bottom Shoofly Pie! This gooey molasses pie is oh so good. I was thinking I will make one and I am going to share the recipe with you in hopes you might enjoy a piece of Pennsylvania Dutch as well.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons shortening

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (blackstrap is recommended)
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS
To Make Crumbs: In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and shortening. Cut ingredients together with a pastry cutter or rub with fingers until dough forms fine crumbs. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To Make Filling: In a medium bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the boiling water. Stir in corn syrup, molasses, salt and egg being sure to stir well. Pour 1/3 of mixture into unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle 1/3 of the crumbs over mixture. Continue this process until crumb mixture and liquid mixture have been used up.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Take Care,

What A Weekend !

My goodness I can't believe I wasted my entire weekend trying to figure out the mystery to the hidden Kohls deals. Ok, I readily admit I am totally addicted to these mysterious treasures that are hidden among their online store just waiting for me to find them so I can snatch up the best deal to be had. So I decided to spend the last 2 days trying to figure out how to find them so I could proudly stake my claim at finding a piece of the treasure to my fellow Kohls addicts over at slickdeals. And guess what I could not even find one after trying everything I could possibly think of. Ughhhh .. But I did happen to score a deal thanks to a find from a fellow addict. I got a $30 set of Dora the Explorer jammies for Miss Justyce for the unbeliveable total of $ 2.43 with shipping and tax included for that price I couldn't pass it up even if they are a tad to big for her now, she will grow into them ... eventually. Oh yeah! I was flying high off that one and my poor hubby's eyeballs had to be hurting him something fierce for all the times he rolled them at me while he happen to see me still sitting there searching in vain, looking, waiting ,looking some more..lol

I am also so excited to see my new friend Barb from The French Elements is going to join in on the bloggy giveaway carnival ! Woo Hoo! Since I won her last giveaway I won't be entering this one but you better .. I promise you won't be dissappointed. Ok, you might be a little if your not the lucky winner ... sorry my bad. I just noticed that she has a post up that will give you a touch of a French Patisserie with her recipe for Madeleines. This is actually my cup of tea and anyone who knows me knows I love to bake and I love all things Parisian. I even have my kitchen done in a Paris cafe theme so I am definitely going to bake these and I actually saw the madeleine pans recently while shopping online so off I go to see if I can find a great deal on these pans.

Take Care,

Woo Hoo ! I am so dang excited ... it's that time again for another Giveaway Carnival and it's scheduled for the week of April 21-25 . Oooh, that means lots of people can come visit my new blog and at the last carnival there was over 1000 participants and it was sooo fun entering all the giveaways and visiting all the different blogs that I didn't know even existed. Hmmm, since I have a blog now what can I giveaway ... I am going to introduce my blog at this wonderful event so I think it should be something awesome. If you have a blog and your interested just click on the button to the left in this post it will take you to Carnival Guidelines you never know you just might find yourself participating to!


Take Care,

The French Elements

I had the pleasure of being the lucky giveaway winner at The French Elements and was sent a box full of bath & body products and I wasted no time trying each and everyone of them. I was so impressed with the products that I decided to blog about them. This online store that is filled with many treasures to be had is owned by Barbara Harmon who had the pleasure of living in Europe during her young adulthood she then later returned to the US and started her long career with Clinique. She finally followed her heart and did what she loves most and that is create her own bath & body products and let me tell you she is good at it.

This week their featured product is the Almost Sinful Walnut Scrub and this scrub is amazing. I received this scrub in Creme Brulee scent and it smelled sooo good and exfoliated to perfection without irritating the skin so this would also be perfect for people with sensitive skin. I also tested her bath bombs, Luxe Riviera Shower Gel, Truly Decadent Goats Milk Body Creme and Super Whipped Body Frosting. I have to honestly say that her skin soothers are to die for and are by far the best lotions I have found that actually moisturizes my skin and isn't greasy. You have to try them ... I promise you won't be disappointed with any of the products and they come in many scrumptious scents such as Apricot Cream Puff, Creme Brulee, Orange Creamsicle, Martinique, White Zinfandel, Cote d' Azur and there are so many more scents HERE.

Visit The French Elements Store

Visit The French Elements Blog

The French Elements received 5 Stars

Overall they have exceptional quality products, fast shipping, excellent packing ensuring product protection and outstanding friendly customer service and communications.