When Captain Cavedweller and I were at the Oregon coast a couple of weeks ago, I took a few shots on the beach just at sunset.
It was quite lovely. And I really liked having the lamppost in this photo.
The sunset, the salt in the air, the sand beneath our feet … you couldn’t have asked for a better evening to snap a few photos.
She Who Loves Sunsets
Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, Travels | Tagged Beach, blog photo, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield, Sunset | 1 Comment »
I feel the need to confess this morning…
I’ve found a new love. It’s that round, creamy skin that drew me in.
Yep. I am, like, so totally over orange pumpkins as decorations.
White pumpkins are currently making my heart pitter-pat.
They are so dreamy.
Ethereal.
Elegant (if pumpkins can be elegant).
Lovely.
And perfect for fall.
She Who Love White Pumpkins
Posted in Centerpieces, Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Holidays, Home and Garden, Home Decor | Tagged Autumn decor, fall decor, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield, White Pumpkins | Leave a Comment »
1. While on vacation, we went to a museum that showed how whale boning (which is actually baleen from a Baleen whale’s teeth) was used to provide the rigid structure in a corset. Between the front boning and the back lacing, a corset looked exactly like some old-fashioned, and quite often elegant, torture device for women.
2. I am so lucky to have been born long, long after corsets were commonly worn. This girl would not have done well laced into that contraption.
3. Car salesmen, no matter what city you are in, seem to share a lot in common.
4. When left with few options, lunch at Costco can be a tasty and popular choice.
5. Leaving doors open to your vacation rental on a warm afternoon is, apparently, an open invitation for wildlife to waltz right in.
6. Skylights in said vacation rental are the perfect place for uninvited birds to try to escape back outside.
7. Smart vacation rental owners leave ladders available for stupid renters who inadvertently let birds in the rental and have to retrieve them from 18-foot tall skylights.
8. Pie can be a great breakfast food.
9. The super-sized marshmallows burn just as fast as the regular sized marshmallows. Only the insides take longer to become molten under the charred outer crust.
10. I would not have made it as an adventurer with Lewis & Clark. Nope. Not at all.
She Who Is a Homebody
Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, Travels | Tagged baleen whale, Humor Blog, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield, travel blog | Leave a Comment »
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have been on a complete and total pumpkin kick lately. My taste buds are fairly obsessed with thoughts of pumpkin treats.
The other day I needed to make a dessert to take to a gathering and wanted to make a bundt cake (because they are so easy and always so moist and good). Looking for some recipes, I ended up taking the best of three and combining them into a cream-cheese filled pumpkin spice bundt cake. Boy, was that a tasty decision!
This cake comes together quickly and easily and is so, so yummy!
Ingredients
Mix the batter.
Spoon half into a greased bundt pan.
Mix the filling.
Spoon on top of batter in pan. Then top with the remaining batter.
Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until top of the cake bounces bake when you poke it with your finger.
Let cool then remove from pan and invert on a serving platter.
Look at that delicious cream cheese filling!
Are your taste buds dancing in excitement! Enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 sm. can pumpkin
1 sm. pkg. instant cheesecake pudding
1/2 c. oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. water
Filling
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, oil, eggs, pudding, pumpkin, water and cinnamon. Beat on low speed until ingredients are moist then on medium speed until well blended.
Pour half the batter into the bundt pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Pour on top of cake batter in pan.
Top with remaining cake batter and bake about 45 minutes until top of cake bounces back to your touch and edges begin to pull away from the pan.
Let cool then invert onto a serving platter.
To serve, you can dust with powdered sugar, drizzle on a caramel sauce or add a dollop of cinnamon laced whipped cream. Or you can be a freak like me and add a drizzle of chocolate followed by whipped cream!
She Who Is Currently Obsessed with Pumpkin
Posted in Cake, Desserts, Entertaining Ideas, Recipes | Tagged pumpkin bundt cake, Pumpkin cake, pumpkin cake with cream cheese filling, Pumpkin Recipes, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield | 7 Comments »
Savvy Entertaining 