I have to admit…I haven’t put a lot of effort into my summer decor this year. Maybe because summer just seemed to sneak up on me this year or maybe the joy of having the Princess home 24/7 took a wee bit more time…but mostly because every piece of summer home decor was packed up in preparation for our home renovation. The funny thing is a little bit of summer always sneaks into the house…with a little help. The delights of summer are simple…

Beautiful Sunflowers…

…and seashells collected all over the world.

brightly colored sea glass and sweet lavender linens…

…and the bounty of tomatoes fresh from the backyard garden.

And playing so hard in the pool you just can’t stay awake for one more minute!

Thank you for the kind messages and words this week. Princess is home and on the mend…but not happy about her soft diet.

Inspire me Monday. Inspire me Tuesday. Tuesday at our house. The scoop. Make it pretty. Made by you. Metamorphosis. You’re the star. Tuesday with a twist. Wonderful Wednesday. Talk Of The town. Keep in touch. Beautifully made. Party in your pjs. Wednesday blog hop. Your whim. Home and garden. Waste not. Dagmar’s house. Style showcase. Grandma’s house DIY. Vintage charm. Friday features. Home sweet home. Feather nest. Friendship Friday. Funtastic Friday. Grace at home. Pit stop. Thursday favorites.BFF open house. Morning Cup Of Joe. Home matters. Sweet inspiration. Best of the weekend. Create bake grow. Fresh market faith and family. Sunday at home. Snickerdoodle. Happiness is homemade. Saturday shuffle. Silver pennies. Create with joy. Inspiration Monday. DI&DI. Amaze me. Over the moon. Create And celebrate

My Chocolate Butter Cake was a hit…check it out!

Keep in Touch@ Let’s Add Sprinkles

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming Alice – FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents – Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things – Pin

Penny at Penny’s Passion – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

<span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<p style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”http://www.simplysweethome.com/category/friday%20favorites/&#8221; target=”_blank”><<span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>img</span></span> class=”aligncenter” src=”http://www.simplysweethome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Friday-Favorites-Button.jpg&#8221; border=”0″ /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<p></span>

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading →

July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month

This Spring our family was delighted to learn our Princess would have a surgery free Summer. This is a first for us. A little calm before the storm of orthodontics that will hit our household in the next few years. It is a chance to reflect on the amazing progress that has already been completed, but it is  hard…no, it’s excruciatingly hard…to contemplate what will be happening in the future-but it’s part of the journey…hers and ours. We are grateful for that

Sometime, in the early stages of our adoption journey, my husband and I had to make the difficult decision as to what special need child files we would be open to review. With the average wait of 6 years and climbing for  “healthy” girls from China, the special needs program offered a shorter wait and often included very minor or correctable needs.

After much prayer we listed the needs we felt we could manage and waited for God to put his plan into action. Flash forward about 6 months and we received that highly anticipated phone call and email file! As I gazed at that beautiful face I noticed her big brown eyes and smooth skin, her adorable ears and her gentle hands…I did not even notice her unrepaired unilateral complete cleft…it just did not matter, she was our baby.

Our Princess was 20 months old and living in the remote mountains of Northern China.

But what is a cleft palate/lip?  A cleft is a gap in the mouth that didn’t close during the early stages of pregnancy, and this kind of birth defect happens more often than you may realize. It is estimated that, worldwide, a child is born every 3 minutes with a cleft — about one in 500-750 births. Sometimes a cleft condition can be easy to see because it’s an opening in the lip. Sometimes it’s harder to tell if someone has a cleft because it’s an opening in the roof of their mouth (called the palate.).

There are many risk factors that can increase the likelihood of birth defects. While some causes are still unknown, genetics and family history, pre-existing medical conditions, poor nutrition and exposure to harmful environmental substances can affect the healthy development of a baby. As a result, these factors could also be the cause of a baby born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. We will never know why it happened, but we will never know where her outstanding fine motor skills and dimples came from either…and that’s OK.

Our Princess after we met her in China, already charming her Mama and Baba

Cleft lip and cleft palate can be repaired through a series of surgeries and orthondontics.  While it can be corrected, it really is not an “easy fix”…despite what you may see in Operation Smile advertising.   Our brave girl has had 3 major surgeries and some pretty extensive speech therapy with quite a few more surgeries in her future…continuing into her young adulthood.

Her first surgery at Johns Hopkins

She is a spunky bright little girl who charms everyone she meets. She is opinionated and sassy with a flair for the dramatic. Her empathy has no limits. She is our joy and we are humbled and honored that God has entrusted her into our care.  It really is a miracle.

Really excited to have my Fourth Of July fun featured…

Morning Cup Of Joe@ The Cottage Market

Summer is half way over…so hard to believe…and I have not even crossed Summer picnic off the “Bucket List”.   But the adorable picnic baskets in my feature selection have put me in the mood…even if we never make it off the porch!

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming Alice – FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents – Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things – Pin

Penny at Penny’s Passion – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

<span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<p style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”http://www.simplysweethome.com/category/friday%20favorites/&#8221; target=”_blank”><<span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>img</span></span> class=”aligncenter” src=”http://www.simplysweethome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Friday-Favorites-Button.jpg&#8221; border=”0″ /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
<p></span>

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading →

Wait…How can it be the middle of Summer already? Didn’t school just finish for the year? Remember when Summer felt endless…or at least long enough to feel really really bored of unscheduled routines and wide open days? Simpler times I guess. Ice cream trucks, fireflies, community swimming pool, all day bike rides and balmy nights playing tag…these memories are treasured…perhaps a bit rosier than the reality, but treasured just the same.

Summer does allow for more free time. And more free time, at least for me, means more time to track down those antique treasures just waiting to be discovered. Treasures that bring to mind simpler times…just like my remembered Summers of a past time.

A Jadeite seltzer bottle..Summer ice cream sodas.

A vintage cracker box and antique plaid cake holder…Summer picnic lunches.

A beautiful vintage cross-stitch sampler…keeping busy on the porch on a warm afternoon.

Or perhaps preparing for the upcoming school year.

Maybe the magic of summer truly is a state of mind. Even a modern entertainment device is best enjoyed in an old fashioned rocker with a refreshing drink.

inspire me Monday. Tuesday at our house. The scoop. Inspire me Tuesday. Make it pretty. Made by you. Metamorphosis. You’re the star. Tuesday with a twist. Wonderful Wednesday. Talk Of The town Keep in touch. Beautifully made. Party in your pjs. Wednesday blog hop. Your whim Wednesday. Home and garden. Waste not. Dagmar’s house. Style showcase. Grandma’s house. Vintage charm. Friday features. Home sweet home. Feather nest. Friendship Friday. Grace at home. Pit stop. Thursday favorites. Share your cup. Morning cup of joe. Home matters. Sweet inspiration. Best of the weekend. Create bake grow. Fresh market faith and family. Sunday at home. Snickerdoodle. Happiness is homemade. Saturday shuffle. Silver pennies. Create with joy. Inspiration Monday. DI&DI. Amaze Me smell good Sunday. Over the moon Funtastic Friday BFF Open House

Everyone wants to hang out on my porch! Happy to be featured at the following great blog parties!

Inspire Me Tuesday@A Stroll Through Life

Home and Garden Thursday@A Delightsome Life

We are jumping into summer fun with both feet…how about you? Not sure, try my featured Italian Ice Recipe…perfect for these hot days!

Please support and follow our lovely blog party hostesses:

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Maisy at Becoming Alice – FB | G+ | Pin

Sheree at Stage Presents – Twitter | FB | Pin | Inst | Inst

Lisa at Condo Blues – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Amy at A Day of Small Things – Pin

Penny at Penny’s Passion – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst

Kelly at Under a Texas Sky – Twitter | FB | G+ | Pin | Inst | BL

If you are featured this week, be sure and grab a featured button for your blog!

<span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”http://www.simplysweethome.com/category/friday%20favorites/&#8221; target=”_blank”><<span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>img</span></span> class=”aligncenter” src=”http://www.simplysweethome.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Friday-Favorites-Button.jpg&#8221; border=”0″ /></a></p>
<p></p>
<p></span>

You can show your love for this week’s favorites by going over and commenting on the posts and by pinning or sharing!

And if you love all of this week’s favorites, please pin, share, and invite your friends to this week’s linky party! Continue reading →

Is it possible to improve upon perfection. At one time, my answer would have been a firm and immediate no…but now, I’m not quite sure. What has brought about this change of heart? To start at the beginning, I had this wonderful scrumptious butter cake…yes the very one featured in the blog post. It was the cake for which dreams are made. But maybe, possibly, could I add a touch…a really big touch of…wait for it… chocolate? Yes I could and yes I did…the verdict…the perfection of perfection!

The Usual Cast Of Characters

2 sticks butter, melted

1 pkg chocolate cake mix

3 eggs (one egg for bottom cake layer THEN two eggs for filling layer)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup cocoa powder

16 oz confectioners sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

The Steps to Glory

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 convection) and prepare a 9-inch by 3-inch round cake pan OR 9×13 dish. (I have heard a bundt works as well!)

2. Combine the cake mix, 1 egg (you will use the other two eggs elsewhere), and 1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup), and stir until well blended.

3. Pat the mixture into prepared pan and set aside.

4. In a stand mixer on medium speed (or using a hand-held mixer), beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining 2 eggs and the cocoa powder.

5. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the powdered sugar. Slowly add the remaining 1 stick (1/2 cup) of melted butter. Add vanilla and continue to beat the mixture until smooth.

6. Pour filling over cake mixture in pan.

7. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. (check at 30 minutes with 9×13) Be careful not to overcook the cake; the center should still be a little gooey when finished baking.

8. Let cake partially cool on a wire rack before cutting into pieces.

Served wonderfully with Red, White and Blue!

inspire me Monday. Tuesday at our house. The scoop. Inspire me Tuesday. Make it pretty.Made by you.Metamorphosis. You’re the star. Tuesday with a twist. Wonderful Wednesday.Talk Of The town. Keep in touch. Party in your PJs. Wednesday blog hop. Home and garden. Waste not. Dagmar’s house. Grandma’s house DIY. Friday features. Home sweet home. Feather nest. Friendship Friday Funtastic Friday. Grace at home. Pit stop. Thursday favorites. Share your cup. Morning cup of joe. Home matters sweet inspiration best of the weekend. Create bake grow. 5 Things Friday. Fresh market. Faith and family. Sunday at home. Snickerdoodle happiness is homemade. Saturday shuffle. Silver pennies. Create with joy. Inspiration Monday. DI&DI. Amaze me. Smell good Sunday. Over the moon. Your whims Wednesday