Every winter when the weather turns frigid, I start craving citrus. You would think these cravings would arrive in the summer months, but no. There’s something about cold weather that makes me crave what I call “sunshine food”. You know, those citrus foods that taste like bursts of sunshine in every bite? This Orange Juice Cake is the perfect “Sunshine Food” example. Made with orange juice and orange zest, the citrus flavor is perfectly intense….

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Morning is my favorite time of the day. I absolutely love waking up and having some time to ease into my day with a cup of coffee, some writing or reading time, and the stillness of the house. I especially love mornings when our Christmas tree is up and lit, and I can bask in the glow of the beautiful lights. There is something really magical about that time.

I think that’s why I especially love breakfast foods. How you start your day can really effect how the rest of your day goes. A rushed bowl of cereal will never give you the same calm, start to your day as sitting down to savor a slice of warm, fresh from the oven, coffee cake. Mornings are too important to rush through!…

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Of course, I was about ready to duct tape his mouth shut about an hour into our morning when he decided now would be a good time to remind me just how little time he has left at home before heading off to college. SIX years. What the heck? Then he continued to do the math for the rest of my kids, which was absolutely unnecessary. His mention of 6 years had already thrown me into a tailspin of disbelief and after that everything he said afterwards was pretty much “blah blah blah blah” in my head. When it comes to my babies, I am in no way whatsoever even remotely close to prepared for thinking about the day I have to send them off to college. Denial is happily my middle name….

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Holiday baking done? Check.

Wait, no check? You too? What are we doing, with less than a week until Christmas and the baking frenzy hasn’t even begun? Yeah, I don’t really know either, but I just haven’t felt that Christmas spirit push to spend all day in the kitchen baking up lovely treats for everyone. Hopefully it hits soon. I’ll hope so for you too, ok?

I did bake something so good this week. It’s actually a contender for a spot at Christmas morning brunch…Gingerbread Coffee Cake with Ginger Cream. Doesn’t that sound good? It was a soft coffee cake, with a delicious gingerbread flavor, and an indulgent ginger spiked cream to top it off. I’ll take this for breakfast any day, thank you very much!  …

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I am happy.

It feels so good to say that. I am happy and that makes me happy.

After a year of ups and downs, worrying, frets and stress it feels so good to be able to say that I really am happy.

Our summer, so far,  has been one of intentional happiness. I purposely didn’t sign my kids up for camps, activities, VBS, etc. this year because I wanted everything we were doing to be exactly what we wanted to do. I didn’t want to be running around, car pooling, feeling regrets because we didn’t have time to do what we wanted to do. We wake up each morning and everything on our agenda is things we want to do, not have to do. I feel kind of selfish, having a carefree summer, but it has been so nice.

I need to start doing my Happiness Reports again, because there are so many things making me happy right now. So many little things I’m taking notice of that bring me joy.

A hot cup of coffee, made for me by my husband…a thoughtful gesture not unnoticed.

A string of white lights, hung in the trees.

Taking pictures, even if it’s of nothing “special”… just getting out my camera and capturing what my life is full of.

Summer breeze, time to read, lazy mornings….

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The post Happiness is a Bowl Full of Cherries {Recipe: Cherry Cream Coffee Cake} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I’m going to start this post off with a self-slap to my face, a shake, and a loud, “Kristen…get a hold of yourself!!!”. I need to pull it together, and I need to do so quickly. I have been an emotional wreck this week thinking about my middle daughter, Kelly, starting Kindergarten. I know this is normal for moms… heck, I went through it on a slightly less erratic level last year when Jacob started kindergarten. However, the kicker is… I have an entire year before Kelly starts kindergarten, and I am a wreck NOW.

This crazy irrational emotional business started last week when I was filling in the 2008-2009 school calendar for Jacob’s 1st grade year. I started in August, and before I knew it I was already writing “LAST DAY OF SCHOOL” in the month of May. It took me no time at all to zip through the year and get all of the school related functions written in. I feel like with the way time is flying, it is going to be exactly that speedy of a year, and then my darling girl will be setting free to start Kindergarten.

I was emotional when Jacob started Kindergarten. I had apprehension and sadness about my baby leaving the nest. The emotions I am feeling with Kelly are ten times more intense. I honestly believe it is because she is my middle one and because of that has been sandwiched in the middle of these two other kids for most of her life. In relation to that, she has been more independent than my other two and has needed me less. I feel like my time with her has especially zoomed by because honestly, she gets the least of it. She demands the least of it and therefore is the one who is always just content to take what she gets and appreciate it.

I swear, Kelly wakes up some mornings and I look at her and think, “Oh my goodness… when did she get so big? When did she become a little girl instead of my baby? Where did the time go to?”

For the next year, I’ve decided that what I must do is to avoid the issue. Anytime the word Kindergarten comes up, I am just going to have to pretend I didn’t hear it and not even think about it. Otherwise, if I let it build up for the entire year, I will be that mom on the front lawn of the grade school, who is in complete hysterics, being carted off to the mental hospital.

Sometimes, issue avoidance is the best way to go, don’t you think? Just like this lovely coffee cake I made this week. Take a look at the recipe and notice the amount of sugar and butter. Yep – a little overboard isn’t it? Add to that the cream cheese factor, and your arteries will probably begin to clog up just thinking about it.

That is why my motto is going to be… Just Don’t Think About It. If you think too long and hard about the amount of fat and calories in this coffee cake, you will talk yourself out of eating it. Missing a piece of this tasty coffee cake just would not be worth all the fuss over calories and fat.

Just Don’t Think About It… that is what I will be doing this year so I don’t miss out on life now with Kelly. I will not dwell on the future, but will appreciate and cherish the now. I hope you sit down with a piece of coffee cake and do the same.

Buttery Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, from Recipezaar

1¼ hours | 25 min prep

SERVES 12

CAKE

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

TOPPING

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter (semi-soft)

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I am always warning my kids not to spill things… “Don’t spill that… chocolate stains”. So, many times I’ll get the question asked of me by my kiddos, “Mommy, does this stain?”. I’m not sure if they are asking because they want permission to spill something, or if they are going to gauge my response in advance before they tell me that they spilled something.

So, yesterday when I was making breakfast and had the blueberries out on the table for them to help themselves to, I heard my 4 year old say under her breath, “Uh ohhhhhh”. Then, I heard the words, “Ummmmm, mommy? Do blueberries stain?” It was at that point that I turned around to see my two year old (who you know has been a challenge lately) covered from head to toe in a blueberry stain of a mess. I am not exactly sure what she did with those blueberries… I’m assuming she used them as body paint… but she sure had fun doing it.

Luckily, I had enough remaining blueberries left from her experiment to make this tasty Blueberry Coffee Cake from the May 2008 issue of Cooking Light. This cake is moist and flavorful… and the turbinado sugar on the top really makes this recipe complete.

Worth any stains you might endure (and the extra baths and loads of laundry), this cake is a delightful breakfast treat.

Blueberry Coffee Cake is my entry in Cook Sister’s Event – Waiter, there’s something in my… berries, featuring fresh berries of the season.

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One of the most popular recipes on my site is a recipe I posted “way back when”. Back when I was a newbie blogger, I posted a recipe for Oooey Gooey Monkey Bread. In that post, I encouraged people to get messy with their kids. Allow them to use their hands to eat and let all of their inhibitions go out the window.

I know that people are going to that particular post for the recipe, as I get a ton of hits on that post each day. I hope what folks are taking away from it, besides a really yummy recipe, is the thought to let loose some, HAVE FUN (if you haven’t seen this video, you MUST!), and that living life without pristine cleanliness is often times a great way to live!

What are you doing to let loose a little? My mom called me the other day and shared something she read on the wall of her doctors office. It was something about raising happy children, and one of the suggestions was to make a cake and let your kids eat it without using their hands! Can you imagine the memory that would make in their minds? Well, we are doing it this weekend and I’ll let you know how it goes!

If you are stuck in a “can’t quite get the whole let loose thing” rut, I am posting a different recipe for a pull apart bread that can be a babystep for you getting started.  I hope that you are enjoying your life because it can be very short… you might as well make the most of it and have fun!

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