Hey guys! Here is a quick fashion recap from BlogHer Food this year in Austin, TX. I didn’t have time to go shopping before the trip, so most everything was just grabbed from the back of my closet. Not sure if anything is current, but maybe you’ll find some fun new brands / places to shop! :) I’m sure their current stuff is much cuter, lol! :)

Emmelee Hot Orange & Pink Hexagon Print Dress — Francesca’s
Earrings & Necklace — Ann Taylor Loft

Navy Blue Dress — Ann Taylor Loft
Crocheted Bolero — Forever 21
Necklace — Francesca’s

Jenny — Birdcage Dress from ModCloth.com

Red dress — Anthropologie
White wedges — Steve Madden

Jenny — Striped Tank Maxi & cardigan from Gap

Coral Polka Dot Dress — Altar’d State (brand is Ya)
Earrings — Francesca’s

Lauren — Striped Maxi (with jean jacket) from Target

Striped tank dress with coral skirt — Spool No.72 McIntosh Dress (brand is Theme)
Teal cardigan — Loft Outlet
Earrings — Silhouette (local boutique)

Jenny — Chevron print dress from The Impeccable Pig
Earrings — Kendra Scott

Pink Striped Maxi — Forever 21
Anna & Ava Earrings — Dillards

Jenny – Striped Maxi from TJ Maxx (brand is Calvin Klein)
Cardigan — Gap
Purse — Kate Spade

Thanks for looking!! If I forgot anything, let me know in the comments! :) Have a great weekend!! :) xoxo

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Welcome to Part 2 of the BlogHer Food 2013 recap from Austin, TX! :) Here’s Part 1 if you missed it. So after lunch with Michael Angelo’s on Saturday, Maria, Jenny, and I stopped by the conference and they were making freshly spun cherry-flavored cotton candy! Fun! I haven’t had cotton candy in years, lol! That afternoon we took off exploring Austin. Loved all the fun boutiques downtown. So many cute jewelry and dress shops! We got in a workout walking all over the city! :)

That night Land O’Lakes treated us to a dinner at Moonshine, hosted by Ree, Maria, Sommer, and Julie. They had a photo booth set up, so of course we had to do it! I can’t resist a photo booth. :) This was our first attempt — we didn’t know it made an animated gif, so we just smiled the whole time, lol!

Here’s where we got the hang of it. Almost! Lol! Too silly.

Loved these neat party favors from Land O’Lakes. They gave us each a vintage-style recipe tin filled with a special recipe from each guest in attendance. Here’s my Peanut Butter Cookies with Homemade Honey Roasted Peanut Butter.

The next day I was so honored to host a lunch for Nestle at the famed Parkside restaurant with two of my favorite friends, Maria and Jenny. Pictured with us are Chris and Cynthia, part of the Nestle team who put together this fabulous event for us. If you are not following Chris on Instagram, head over there and check her out ASAP! She is always posting the most delicious treats she’s created from Nestle products. Chris is the head of the Nestle Test Kitchens and has worked with Nestle for 20 years. Right now the Nestle kitchens are being renovated so the Nestle Test Kitchen is in HER actual kitchen! How fun would that be?? :) Chris is also one of the sweetest, most generous and genuine and people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. It was such an honor to have the opportunity to host this lunch with such an amazing group of gals.

Our lunch at Parkside was downright delicious, and for the perfect ending they created a trio of mini desserts for us with Nestle products. We had a mini key lime pie made with Nestle’s Le Lechera sweetened condensed milk, a Butterfinger mousse with salty peanuts and a scoop of roasted bananas, and a dark chocolate crisp & berry parfait. I cannot get that dark chocolate crisp out of my mind! Chocolate perfection.

Left to Right: Lisa, Maria, Lauren, Shelly, Jessica, Kristan, Jenny, Me.

You know this particular group of bloggers could not get together without going on a little bakery tour of Austin! ;)

We popped into Delish Bakery and had to try the Cookie Dough Millionaire Bar with layers of shortbread, caramel, cookie dough, and chocolate ganache. So yummy! I would totally order this one again. They also had some gorgeous cupcakes. The lemon zest one looked amazing! Kicking myself for not ordering that one now. :)

We heard we had to check out Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop, so we headed there next. They won Cupcake Wars for their “Marilyn Monroe” cupcake — a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting — which of course piqued my interest since that is my favorite cupcake combo! :) It did not disappoint, it was definitely a perfect vanilla cupcake. The ginger molasses cookie up front was another favorite as well! Kristan already has a copycat recipe up. You have to try it! :)

Spicy little devil’s food cupcake!!

One of the final parties of the weekend was a Strawberry Shortcake party hosted by Driscoll’s Berries. They had a make-your-own strawberry shortcake bar with melt-in-your-mouth buttermilk biscuits, poundcake, angel food cake, fresh strawberries, and freshly whipped cream for us to create our own strawberry shortcake creation. I tried one of each and could not choose a favorite! They were all too yummy! Talk about strawberry shortcake overload. But in a good way. :) They also had these seriously amazing strawberry shortcake cupcakes that were made especially for the party and flown in from More Cupcakes in Chicago. The cupcake was dense, rich, and lightly sweet like pound cake, and the bottom was a shortbread cookie crust. Genius. It was topped with a fluffy whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberries. One of the most perfect cupcakes I’ve ever had. I will definitely have to check out More Cupcakes in Chicago this summer when I’m there for the BlogHer Conference!! (If you click on that link, check out the details for the DSLR Debrief workshop. Look who’s teaching it!)

The final closing party of the weekend was hosted by Ree, Elise, and Jaden at Stubb’s BBQ. They were serving Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches and I was so excited to finally try one! Every time I go to NYC I attempt to hunt down the truck but so far I’ve never been able to find it. Lucky for me, it was right there at the party! :) It was worth the wait, this was one of the most delicious ice cream sammies I’ve ever had. Softest chocolate chip cookies ever with coffee ice cream and OREOS!! How fun is that?? :)

I love seeing everyone at the closing party for one last hug and goodbye. So bittersweet! The weekend goes by way too fast. So fun seeing the Six Sisters again after speaking at their Build Your Blog conference.

Left to Right: Brenda, Sommer, Lori, Jenny, Me, Cheryl, Sandy, Kristen

On the way back to our room we ran into these girls in the lobby and had to squeeze together for one last group hug and photo. Jenny and I found a comfy seat at Starbucks (which was conveniently located right in our lobby) and stayed up way too late chit-chatting with one of my favorite friends Cheryl of Tidy Mom and Amy of Living Locurto.

Left to Right: Karly, Erin, Jocelyn, Aimee, Me, Jenny

Sunday morning came way too quickly. After we were all packed up and ready to go, Jenny (my fabulous travel buddy and best roomie ever) and I headed down to the lobby to hang out and say goodbye to everyone leaving. I am wearing my standard travel uniform, a comfy maxi dress and a cardigan. This is the maxi dress from Forever 21 I was telling you about a few months ago. It works if the plane is freezing cold or burning hot!

Two more sweet girls I wish I’d gotten to see more of this weekend — Ali from Gimme Some Oven and Cassie of Bake Your Day.

Most everyone left around noon, but my flight wasn’t until 5:30 pm so I had most of the day to explore. I was so glad to meet up again with Erin, my Berlin travel buddy, whose flight didn’t leave until 5:30 as well. Yay!

We had a late brunch at Max’s Wine Dive because we kept hearing about the almond crusted french toast with whipped cream and blackberry coulis. We only got a half order which was the biggest mistake of my life. Seriously. I was dying over this french toast. It is my sole mission in life to get myself back to Max’s Wine Dive and order more of this french toast. And get the FULL order this time, for heavens sake! We also ordered the chicken and waffles, which was a last minute decision and I’m so glad we did. We flagged down the waitress and had her change our order. The waffle was seriously unlike any waffle I’ve ever had before. It had a wonderfully light citrusy flavor, not just plain like bread, and the outside was SO crisp — like the exterior of a funnel cake — if I didn’t know better I would say it was fried! So good. I would 100% get both of these if I were to go back tomorrow.

Left to Right: Karly, Aimee, Me, Erin

When we made it to the airport, we were excited to see we had some fellow blogging friends to hang out with while we waited for our flights!

Then we learned ALL our flights had been delayed!! Sad faces for the Delayed Flight Club!  Fortunately Erin and I made it out on time, but I think poor Karly and Aimee missed their connections due to the delayed flight and had to spend a night in Dallas! As far as I know, we all made it home though. WHEW! My luggage arrived a day later than I did, but it all came in one piece. (Not that I would know for sure– I haven’t unpacked yet!)

Thanks so much for looking and following along on our Austin adventure!! :) Do you guys want a fashion recap?! I can post one tomorrow or Friday! :) Have a great day!! xoxo

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What a blast this past weekend in Austin was! The annual BlogHer Food blogging conference was in Austin, Texas, this year, and this weekend fabulous foodies from all over were in attendance. It’s in a different city every year, and when they announced Austin as the destination for 2013 I was so excited for the chance to visit such a fun foodie city. It was my first time in Austin, and I loved every minute of it. And oh my goodness did we find some good eats, lol! I cannot believe this was my fourth year attending BlogHer Food. I had no idea what I was getting into the first year in San Francisco — it was my first blogging conference ever — but it was such a wonderful combination of inspiration, friendly faces, amazing talent, and way too much fun packed in one short weekend that I’ve attended every year since in Atlanta, Seattle, and now Austin. Can’t wait to hear where it will be next year!

Here’s a little recap of what you can expect at a blogging conference… :) Way too much fun, food, and silliness ahead! :)

I arrived in Austin at about 10 am on Thursday. No worries, I only had to get up at about 3 am to catch my flight, lol! Of course I went to bed at a reasonable hour and was not still packing at 1 am. Ahem. At the airport I met up with Sommer (pictured above) who writes the delicious blog A Spicy Perspective, and we hopped in a cab to the conference hotel.

We had nearly the whole day to ourselves, so after hanging out in the room for a few hours gabbing and girl-talking, we were suddenly famished. We had heard all about the Austin Food Truck scene, and we definitely wanted to check out a food truck for lunch. We took a cab to South Congress, (or SoCo as the locals called it) where all the food trucks congregated, and found Torchy’s Tacos. On the menu was a fried avocado taco and we were instantly sold. We also got the green chile pork taco which was, while not as photogenic, AMAZING and might have been our favorite of the two. Everything on the menu looked incredible! They also have a secret menu, so be sure to do a search for it if you go! ;)

We’d heard the queso was not to be missed, and I’m glad we decided to get it at the last minute. It was delicious!

But oh my gosh, you guys. I could not believe my eyes when I saw this on the menu. Deep Fried Cookie Dough. I had never had anything even remotely like it, and I knew we had to try it. It had a crunchy, almost Frosted Flake-like outer coating…

And inside was warm, gooey, melty, chocolaty cookie dough. SO YUM!

Next we walked just a block up the street and met up with Jessica, Tina, Lauren (and her sweet buddy Blake!), and Jenny at Gourdough’s Gourmet Doughnut Truck.

And this happened.

We had heard all about Gourdough’s and knew it was a must see. They had decadent flavors like this Blackout Doughnut with topped with Brownie Batter, Chocolate Fudge Icing, Chocolate Covered Brownie Bites and Chocolate Syrup. A chocolate lover’s dream.

Reese’s Pieces, for the chocolate and peanut butter lover.

And an insanely decadent Banana Split doughnut with strawberries, bananas, brownie bites, a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce all on top of a doughnut. Ridiculous.

My favorites were the more simple, fresh and fruity doughnuts, like the Strawberry Shortcake doughnut (a doughnut topped with vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries) and this Key Lime Pie doughnut.

The Peach cobbler doughnut was also a favorite! We ended up walking the 2 miles back to the hotel to try and walk off all our doughnuts, lol!

Left to Right: Lori, Sommer, Sandy, Heather, Betsy, Jenny, Lisa, Me, Maria

By the time we made it back it was time to start getting ready for the first official party of the weekend. Our first event was appetizers at the Tasty Kitchen party, which was hosted by the fabulous Ree and her beautiful sister Betsy at Malverde, the gorgeous upstairs space of La Condesa. It had such amazing light! An amazing space. We were all oohing and ahhing. Oh! GUESS who else was there! Marlboro Man! It was a family event. Ree’s two adorable boys were there too. They were little angels! Ree’s mom and Betsy’s sweet little boy were there too. Such a fun family!

Left to Right: Maria, Julie, Sandy, Me, Lisa, Jenny

My favorite part of conferences is getting to spend actual face time with the amazingly talented bloggers I’ve gotten to know over the years through our blogs.

Finally got to meet the sweet Jocelyn of Inside BruCrew Life! Isn’t her hair amazing??! :)

Our next stop was dinner at Uchiko with KitchenAid, which was incredible — highly recommend — and finally a dessert party with ZipList at Max’s Wine Dive. We went back to the hotel and crashed!

The next day we had lunch with the wonderful Michael Angelo’s family. I had not seen them since our Italy trip and it was so great to see Mike, Sara, and Cheryl again!!

They treated us to an intimate lunch at The Back Space, a casual Italian pizzeria from the chef and owner of Parkside. Their pizzas are authentic Neapolitan-style thin crust pizzas made with the freshest, local ingredients and fired in an Italian brick oven.

Pizza perfection! Such a delicious lunch.

Left to Right: Deseree, Maria, Julie, Jenny, Lindsay, Me

A few of the lovely ladies at lunch!

***

Okay, whew! I had intended to write this recap all in one post, but I am about to crash out! I always need a day or two to recover from these blogging events, lol! I didn’t want to just not post anything today though, so I’ll just go ahead and post what I’ve got now and finish the rest of the weekend tomorrow. So much more fun to come, including a lunch I hosted for Nestle!

Thanks for looking! See you tomorrow!! :) xoxo

Click HERE for Part 2!!

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I know. I’m a day early! I usually post new fonts on Friday, but since I’ll be in Austin this weekend at the BlogHer Food conference, I decided to go ahead and share these fun new fonts with you today! Yipee! Oh, and if you have any Austin recommendations for me, I’d love to try them!! Please share your favorite spots in the comments. :)

I have 12 brand new fonts to share with you today, plus an extra cute doodle font! Head on over to the Fonts for Peas section of Kevin and Amanda to download them all.

Just take a peek at a few of the brand new fonts available today! The text I’m using in the previews below is from the book What Alice Forgot, which I just got done reading and highly recommend if you’re looking for a new book! Go check it out for sure!! :)

This is Pea Aubrey. I am head-over-heels in love with this beautiful script font!

This fantastically carefree handwriting belongs to the fabulous Heidi of Foodie Crush. Heidi has a delicious food and recipe blog at Foodie Crush where she shares her gorgeous food photography and love for her fellow food bloggers. After spending 20 years designing print magazines, she now partners with fellow food bloggers like Maria of Two Peas and Their Pod and Lauren of Lauren’s Latest to create and publish ebooks and ecookbooks.

These next two fonts belong to the adorable Abby of Twist Me Pretty. I met Heidi and Abby at the Build Your Blog Conference in Utah earlier this year. I was so inspired by both of them, and I noticed they both had AMAZING handwriting!! I insisted they hand it over immediately. :)

Turns out, Abby is a huge fan of the Fonts for Peas and uses them exclusively on her blog and in her Ultimate Hairstyle Handbook, an inspiring guide fully loaded with over forty fashionable hairstyles, each with their own set of step-by-step picture tutorials. It’s available as a paperback on Amazon, or you can download the ebook version on her blog.

Abby’s also sharing a fun blogging-themed doodle font, so if you’re looking to spruce up your sidebars with handwritten labels, be sure to check out her doodle font! :)

And this doodle from Pea Sunshine might just be the cutest little dinosaur I’ve ever seen.

Click HERE to visit Fonts for Peas and download all these new fonts and more!! Did you know there are over 500 FREE and unique handwriting fonts available at Fonts for Peas?

If you’d like your handwriting as a font, I’m always accepting new submissions! I’d love to make your font :)

Click Here to Submit Your Handwriting

Thanks so much, guys!! Hope you enjoy!! :)

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Hi guys! I hope you’ll let me share this fun news today :) A few months ago I was interviewed for East Alabama Living magazine, a local magazine from my hometown in Auburn, Alabama. It showed up in my mailbox on Friday, and it was definitely a “scrap-worthy” moment for me. :) Since I don’t do much actual scrapbooking these days, and I like to think of my blog as my online digital scrapbook, I definitely wanted to document it here to remember. :)

Miley and Howie made the contents page! :)

Little stinkers.

Photos: Miley and Howie, The Ultimate Cookie Oreo Brownie, Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Quesadillas, Fjällbacka Sweden.

Look at that giant photo! Miley and Howie always steal the spotlight. ;) Remember that time when Miley and Howie got recognized…. and we didn’t? Hah.

Here’s where the article starts. It mentions The Kevin & Amanda Ultimate Brownie (picture above) as our most “pinned” recipe, but actually since the article was written this Chess Squares post has skyrocketed on Pinterest! It now has almost one million pins! Love that this unique little treat is getting the attention it deserves, lol! They are totally one of my favorites too.

The second page of the article features photos from Crater Lake, Cinque Terre, Florence, and our Spicy Sausage Pasta recipe, which is hands down our favorite dinner ever. If you haven’t made it yet, it is an absolute must!! :) It is a legend on Pinterest. We love it!

Here’s a close up of the article, if you want to read. :)

Thanks so much to my fabulous interviewer and article author Jenny Watkins and East Alabama Living for sharing this fun article. If you are in or around the Auburn area, here’s where you can find a copy of the magazine, if you’re into that sort of thing. :)

And a huge thank YOU to my awesome readers who make this blog possible. :) You guys are the best. :)

Thanks so much for reading. Have a great day!! xoxo

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Who wants to get in the pool….????

THESE GUYS do!!!

After waiting months and months after moving into the new house last fall, cruelly, after swimming season was already over, a few weeks ago it was finally warm enough to go for our very first swim in the new pool!!

Howie was thrilled!!

He dove in head first :)

Miley’s first entrance into the pool was not quite as graceful.

But once she got in, she loved it!

Howie has an impressive leap into the pool.

He is the king of belly flops!

His stocky little bottom makes a huge cannon ball splash!

He’s such a strong little swimmer!

They love chasing big bouncy balls all over the pool.

They’ll even bounce them back and forth like little seals!

Uh oh, this doesn’t look good for Howie!

Here comes another belly flop!

Splash!

Miley, as you can see, glides into the pool gracefully, usually.

A comparison: Miley, on the left, glides smoothly into the water. Howie is the crazed lunatic wildly flailing about on the right.

Miley always keeps her head above water.

Howie dives nearly all the way to the bottom and kicks his way to the top.

MADE IT!!

Miley is not too please when Howie splashes her with his belly flop.

Howie finally learns to dive!

Look at this form!

And a, err, mostly smooth entry. Miley approves.

See you ’round the pool! :)

xoxo,
Miley and Howie

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Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I hope you are all having a wonderful, relaxing holiday. Now onto a pressing matter we need to discuss. I need your help!! As you can see, this is urgent. The pool is officially open and Miley and Howie are having the greatest time basically acting like little lunatic sharks. They dive in with reckless abandon and swim like maniacs. We can hardly keep them out of the water. Howie is the king of belly flops! Look for some fun photos later this week. Anyway, it has come to my attention that we are in desperate need of some pool furniture, and in typical Amanda-fashion, I am agonizing over every detail. That’s where you guys come in. I can’t decide. I cannot choose. It’s impossible. I need your help. I need your opinion. I need you to make a decision. Thank you.

Here are the facts:

We already bought this fire pit:

And this sofa (no ottoman) for seating around the fire pit. Yes. In blue.

We also need lounge chairs, cushions, and an umbrella.

What I’m looking for:

I want it to look inviting and relaxing. And fun. A relaxing place where you could just lay out all day, have a fun party with friends at night, and never want to leave. Is that too much to ask??!

So without further ado, here are some *ahem* very skillfully Photoshopped renditions of what our backyard could look like. Don’t laugh. These are the options:

Option 1: Blue, Green & Orange

Pros: Colorful and fun. Looks like a party. Happy and energizing.

Cons: Maybe a bit too much? Too colorful? Does it really go with the rest of my house? Does it need to?

Option 2: Blue & White

Pros: Ahhh… Quiet, calm, serene. Spa.

Cons: Too boring? I’m also really worried about the cream cushions. Will they look dingy? Blend in too much with the concrete? Get dirty really easily and show every single spot??

Option 3: Blue with Green Umbrella

Pros: Matchy-matchy. (Wait, is this a pro?) I really do love the look of the blue chairs with the green pillows though.

Cons: Too much blue and green?

Option 4: Blue & Green with White Umbrella

Pros: A pop of color without being too overwhelming. Clean.

Cons: Is the white umbrella too blah?

Option 5: Blue & Green with Green Umbrella

Pros: Same as above, but with green umbrella.

Cons: Now is it too much green??

Option 6: Blue & White with Green Umbrella

Pros: Love the clean, classic look of these chairs with the black and white striped pillows. This definitely matches the interior of my house.

Cons: But… Same worries about the cream cushions: Too boring, blends in with the concrete, hard to stay clean, might look dingy. But maybe the blending in thing wouldn’t be so bad, maybe it would actually give the pool deck a more open feel?

Now it’s time to cast your vote!

Which one do you like best?? Which one looks most relaxing and inviting? Cast your vote using the poll below (you might have to click over to the post to see it) or leave me a note in the comments.

If you can think of another combination that I left out that you think would look better, please let me know in the comments.

THANKS SO MUCH guys!! I really appreciate your help. I’ll make a decision and place an order by Monday night. For sure. I’ll keep you posted. Thank you for voting!! :) xoxo

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Left to right: Rachel, Gina, Megan, Meagan, Carla, Erin, Julie, Me, Jenny, Katrina, Tina and Sommer.

Last weekend was such a wonderful whirlwind of friends, blogging, food, and fun at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando Florida. I had not been to Disney since 5th grade, so it was so fun experiencing the magic all over again! I’d love to go back with Kevin sometime soon when we have more time to ride rides. :) This weekend I was there attending the Food Blog Forum blogging conference with these sweet girls pictured above — plus oh, about 100 more, lol! :) I always say this, but if you have ever considered going to a blogging conference, jump right in and go! They are filled with fun everywhere you turn. :)

You know the first thing we had to do was check out the cupcake situation! :) I met up with Julie, Rachel, Katrina, and Erin for the first of many Disney Dessert parties. :) I loved this S’mores cupcake and the Pina Colada cupcake in the back. Although I think the other girls were totally digging the apple crumb bread in the back! :)

Clockwise from top left: Rachel, Katrina, Julie, me, Sommer.

Next we walked over to Disney’s Polynesian Resort for pineapple Dole Whips! They have a self-serve machine right in the lobby, you know we couldn’t pass that up! :)

Snort! Yes, the two perfectly styled ice creams on the right belong to Sommer and Julie. Let’s not talk about that one of the left, lol. Not sure who made that masterpiece. ;) Thank you Julie for documenting my ice cream serving skills, lol!

Back Row left to right: Aggie, Sommer, Katrina, Megan, Rachel, Erin, Gina, Carla, Audra, Julie
Front Row left to right: Meagan, Jenny, Tina, me

After everyone arrived we had a quick meet and greet with all the bloggers, then it was time to hit the park! :) Thank you to Audra for this fun photo! :)

We got to the Magic Kingdom right at sunset. We rode Space Mountain! Somehow it got much scarier since I rode it in 5th grade, lol! My legs were wobbly the rest of the night. :)

The next morning: Ready for a full day of conference fun with Julie and Jenny! :)

How cute are these little Disney cake pops? :)

For lunch Disney showered us with delicious desserts designed just for us. Loved the Mike and Sully cupcakes!! Loved the Minnie cupcake as well. That is such a fun, easy idea!

That night for dinner Jenny and I headed to Epcot. I have always wanted to taste-test my way through the World Showcase! :)

Passed by the Monsters U topiary! Can’t wait for this movie to come out. :)

Our first stop was Germany! The line was out the door for the Werther’s Caramel Kitchen, so we knew we had to get in it. :) We got a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip caramel cookie, a double fudge caramel cookie, and a dark chocolate sea salt caramel. You may not know this about me, but dark chocolate sea salt caramels are one of my favorite treats ever. I would love a box of these for Valentine’s Day. ;) I always have to try one whenever I see one at a new place! :) These treats totally reminded me of Erin and our Berlin Bakery Tour. :)

Next stop, Italy!! :) There was a cute gelato cart selling these Chocolate Chip Cookie gelato sandwiches with Cookies ‘n Cream gelato. So yummy!

The French Bakery was another favorite! I don’t know what it is, but I am totally digging lemon and lime treats right now. Loved this lemon meringue tart. The raspberry lime macaron was my favorite! Totally wish I had another one of these right now!

Okay, you guys. We did it. :) I have always wanted to ride the Tower of Terror!! I wanted to go back when I was in 5th grade, but we didn’t get the chance. I’ve been dying to go ever since!!

On our last night at Disney we made our way to Hollywood Studios and I talked Jenny into going with me. We took this shot right before taking off on the ride. Can you see the terror in my eyes right now, lol??

I was absolutely cracking up at the photo they took during the ride!! Wish I had bought this one now, lol!! I love, love, loved it, I wanted to turn right back around and ride it again, lol!

It was Star Wars weekend at Disney, so while we were in Hollywood Studios we had to find the famous Darth Vader cupcake. It’s a DARK chocolate (get it? dark?) cupcake with peanut butter frosting. This was hands down my favorite of all the Disney cupcakes!! So soft, rich, and chocolaty. And peanut buttery. :) I brought this guy home to Kevin since he loves Star Wars, peanut butter, and chocolate. :)

On our last morning at Disney, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to find the infamous big-as-your-head cinnamon bun from Gaston’s Tavern. When I saw Belle’s castle high and off in the distance, and Gaston’s Tavern with the fountain out front where Belle sits and reads her book, I felt just like I was in the little French village from Beauty and the Beast. The magic of Disney!

This fun cinnamon bun is seriously the size of HALF a loaf of bread, lol! We really needed 5 more people to help us eat it, but I had no problem finishing my half, lol! It was surprisingly warm and gooey all the way through. Yum! Be sure to ask for extra frosting… Trust us on this. ;)

Be sure to check out these other fun recaps from our weekend at Disney and the Food Blog Forum 2013 conference :)

Jenny @ Picky Palate
Julie @ Table for Two
Karyn @ Pint Sized Baker
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
Caroline @ Chocolate and Carrots
Audra @ The Baker Chick
Aggie @ Aggie’s Kitchen
Angie @ Big Bear’s Wife
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite
Carla @ Carla’s Confections
Katrina @ In Katrina’s Kitchen

Thanks so much for looking! Have a great weekend!! xoxo

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I was recently asked by Folgers to write a post about my favorite part of the morning and share how coffee and music play a part in my morning routine. It was perfect timing because I was just thinking it’d be fun to write a post about songs that are fun to wake up to in the morning. Anything to aid in waking up on the right side of the bed, lol! I am admittedly not a morning person, so I love finding upbeat songs that instantly put you in a good mood, start the morning off right, and energize you for the day. I keep them on my playlist all day long! Here’s what’s currently motivating us in the morning at our house. :)

Kevin’s Wake Up Song

Everybody’s Working for the Weekend
by Loverboy

Kevin says… “I grew up listening to 80′s music and this song always stuck with me. It’s a fun and catchy reminder that there’s always reason to stay positive — the weekend is coming up soon. I remember hearing it on the radio at the end of the day, but I thought it seemed appropriate to listen to it at the beginning of the day. I made it my alarm clock song to help me stay motivated through the week. I love weekends and every morning I wake up with a fun reminder that the weekend is just a few days away.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahvSgFHzJIc

Amanda’s Wake Up Song

Viva la Vida
by Coldplay

To be perfectly honest, my favorite part of the morning is turning off the alarm, rolling over, and snuggling back under the covers for a few more minutes, lol! Since I only hear the first few seconds of a song anyway, the inspiring, building intro of Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is perfect for my alarm clock song. After grabbing my phone and checking Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, I am usually ready to start the day! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE 

Morning & Coffee

Growing up I would always wake up to the smell of bacon and coffee. Now that really is the best part of waking up, lol! Talk about motivation to get out of bed! :) Breakfast was my family’s favorite meal of the day, and my mom and dad did it right. Every morning before school my mom would fix eggs, toast, and grits while my dad made the bacon and coffee. On the weekends we’d go even bigger for brunch with my dad’s famous homemade biscuits, Belgian waffles, and my mom’s sausage cheese grits. Whenever we visit, I still ask for their famous breakfasts in the morning! :) I still love waking up in their house to the smell of bacon and coffee.  

Folgers + Music

Folgers knows the value of music in young people’s lives and supports aspiring musicians with their annual Folgers Jingle contest. Vote for the best Top 10 Finalist in Folgers’ Jingle Contest! Meet the Top 10! Take a look at Folgers® Jingle Contest Finalists, and listen to the tracks that earned them a spot in The Top 10. Cast your vote once every day through June 19th. You could win exciting prizes, like free Folgers Coffee, iTunes® gift cards, signed CDs from Gavin DeGraw, and even a $10,000 Grand Prize just for voting! Before you vote, follow the Road to the Jingle on Facebook to see how they traveled the U.S. to track down the Top 10 contestants! Remember, you can vote once a day through June 19th! Click here for official rules.

What’s Your Wake Up Song?

Do you have a song you wake up to every morning? What songs get you out of bed and help you stay positive and motivated for the day? Let me know in the comments! :)

Iced coffee is perfect for summer and I’m completely obsessed with the velvety-rich chocolate iced mocha pictured at the beginning of this post. Here’s where you can find my easy overnight recipe. Warning: It’s way too good to be legal: Homemade Iced Mocha.

P.S. If you like mocha you might like these Brown Butter Salted Caramel Mocha Cookies. They have coffee in them, so you can totally eat them for breakfast. ;) These cookies would definitely motivate me to get out of bed in the morning!

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© kevinandamanda.com, 2013. | Leave a comment! | Stumble It | Pin It | Share on Facebook | Share on Twitter

One of the things we loved about Seaside that made us feel so immediately at home was where we stayed. Seaside is not like other commercialized beach towns. There are no skyscraper hotels or giant condominiums. An escape to Seaside will simply find a quiet cluster of cobblestone streets, pastel-colored homes, and white picket-fenced cottages. It’s a simpler way of everyday life at the beach.

The Cottage Rental Agency is the premier on-site rental provider in Seaside, and last weekend they hosted us in one of their available homes. The Cottage Rental Agency offers over 200 vacation rentals in Seaside from private one-bedroom beachfront hideaways to spectacular homes that sleep 14 or more.

This is where we called home for the three short days we were in South Walton. This striking cottage is known as the String of Pearls, a picture-perfect 4 bedroom / 4 bathroom southern-style home complete with its very own white picket fence, two story wrap-around porch, and stately columns.

I wanted to move in.

All Cottage Rental Agency guests receive the following amenities:

• Two (2) Complimentary Bike Rentals
• Complimentary bottle of wine
• Welcome Beach Tote with Souvenir
• Unlimited DVD Rentals with Popcorn
• Business Center with Internet Access
• Complimentary Use of Beach Toys Including Boogie Boards
• On-site Check-in and Management Services
• On-site Housekeeping Services Available
• Concierge to Assist you Planning your Day
• Golf Voucher for One (1) Complimentary Round of Golf when you Buy One (1) Round at Baytowne, Raven or Links Golf Courses in Sandestin (includes cart rental)

South Walton is a very pedestrian and bicycle friendly community. We loved cruising all over the beach on our bikes!

Come take a peek inside with me. :) Here was the foyer.

So fun to find our Welcome Beach Tote and souvenir waiting on us, along with a few other goodies from the South Walton folks and the Silver Sands Factory Outlet stores in nearby Destin.

There were two queen bedrooms downstairs. We picked this one because I loved the little sitting area! For some reason I didn’t get a picture of the other room! Doh!

The beautiful, bright bathroom. Okay, I just have to say, this shower had the BEST water pressure of any shower I have ever had in my entire life. It was amazing! I just wanted to wrap this shower up in a box and take it home with me!! I would never get out if I had an amazing shower like this at home, lol!

No need to go to the laundromat on your beach vacation! The String of Pearls has everything you need to do wash those sandy clothes right in the comfort of your own cottage before you take them back home.

How FUN is this cute kids’ room??

I love these bunk beds! I just wanted to get in with a good book and pull the curtain shut. Each bunk even has it’s own reading lamp and light switch built. Too fun.

Lots of cubby, hanging, and storage space for each kiddo.

I don’t know if you can tell, but even the sinks are lowered in here. Such a fun room for kids!

Loved this built-in bookcase going up the stairs.

And one more bright, airy room upstairs. Love the yellow.

I am in love with all the light in this house!!! We curled up on the couch and watched The Truman Show our first night here. :)

I’m never leaving.

Seriously, I’m never leaving.

I could totally blog from this kitchen.

I loved how open, airy, and bright everything was.

Another view of the living room. This would be such a fun house for a big group!

View of the second-story porch. Miley and Howie would have so much fun out here napping on the porch all day and watching the squirrels in the trees!

Our quiet, cobblestone street. Sigh!

Thanks so much for looking, friends! Have a beautiful weekend! :) xoxo

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© kevinandamanda.com, 2013. | Leave a comment! | Stumble It | Pin It | Share on Facebook | Share on Twitter