The Gray Bakery

Despite the 4,000 things I do on a typical day, I have turned our house into a bakery! Not really, but it feels like it. I've made three cakes, two veggie trays, homemade ranch dip, and the list goes on. I have fallen in love with Paula Deen's Simply Delicious Strawberry Cake and made it for two different parties this week. Most of her recipes are fairly easy to make, and usually make their way to my table quite frequently. The second time I made it this week, I had an icing catastrophe. It was very runny, but still tasted delicious. I'm not sure why, but I have yet to take a picture of this cake.

The other cake I made was a test run of Jaxson's birthday cake. I baked a two-layer yellow cake and did a crumb layer of homemade chocolate buttercream icing. Next, I covered the cake with homemade fondant icing. It was my first time making both of those icings, and I was so excited at how they turned out! Here's a picture of my test cake.

Awards!!

I got two awards (despite my lack of postings recently)!! Talk about excited! I am on Spring Break this week, and I have lots to blog about!

But first, here are the awards I got:










This is from my reader at Cheap By Choice. Stop by and check out her blog!
I have to tell 7 things I like and pass the award to 7 blogs.
Seven things I like:
1. Spending time with my family
2. Cooking/Baking
3. Saving money
4. Scrapbooking
5. Dancing and exercising
6. Being outdoors
7. New clothes :)

Seven blogs:
1. Sugar and Spice: Celeste is always posting delicious recipes to try!
2. Cents To Get Debt-Free: Phoebe has some awesome advice for helping you set and reach financial goals!
3. Fabulously Frugalicious: Trina posts on a variety of topics, from saving to crafts, she always has something fun for her readers!
4. FiddleDeeDee: Sarah is always on top of the deals at Publix. If I haven't had time to scope out the ad, I always check out her site!
5. Organizing Junkie: Laura will help you find ways to get and keep your life organized. She also hosts Menu Plan Monday each week!
6. Jane4girls $800 Annual Budget: I am always intrigued by the different solutions and suggestions I find on here to save money!
7. The Saving Momma: I love to see all the deals that she posts each week! She has lots of pictures to give her readers a view of what she gets with her money!

Menu Planning Monday

Menu Plan Monday is hosted each week by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie. Check out her site for more menu ideas. Here's what we're eating this week:

Sunday: Dinner at church
Monday: Pizza night
Tuesday: Coconut chicken with apricot dipping sauce, garlic butter pasta
Wednesday: Pork roast and sauerkraut
Thursday: REPEAT Thursday (our leftover night)
Friday: White Chicken Chili with tortilla chips
Saturday: Birthday party

Have you had your break today?

Got lunch plans? For those who like to eat out for lunch once a week, McDonald's is offering a cheaper option. I'm not necessarily a McDonald's advocate, but a $0.49 burger is definitely worth the mention!

That's right! Every Friday through April 24, McDonald's will serve $0.49 hamburgers and $0.59 cheeseburgers! Check with your location to make sure they're participating, because some stores are running the deal on Tuesdays.

Eat up!