It’s June in Florida, which means temperatures are well into the nineties, sweet tea is a daily necessity and I’m thanking God daily for creating Willis Carrier.  I can barely stand to turn on the oven, let alone be bothered to blow dry my hair, so this means I walk around looking like a damp, frizzy Komondor more often than not.

{my Komondor lookalike}

Last week I found something worth turning my oven on for….twice!

This cake is a little bit of magic and a whole lotta yummy goodness. When I first had a go at it, I couldn’t find any good looking strawberries (it’s a little late in the season, admittedly) so I picked up some blueberries and tried those instead. It turned out very nicely, but it still left me with the itch to try it with strawberries. My friend Elaina told me that I don’t have to be too picky with the strawberries because the sugar ends up baking them down into a delicious jammy goodness.

After giving the strawberries a go, I decided that I definitely prefer it that way, but really, you could try this cake with quite a few different summer fruits! Maybe fresh apricots, raspberries, blackberries or even cherries.

One of the things I love about this cake is that it’s quite easy to make. The also sugar forms this amazing crusty on the top that is delightful and maybe a little addicting!  I would suggest baking it in either a 9” or 8” cake pan (springform or regular) instead of a pie plate.  You could certainly serve it with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, but it’s really fabulous on it’s own.

I would post this recipe, but because Martha {I’m so sure} did such a great job of creating it, I’ll just send you right on over to get the recipe from her!

Strawberry Cake  by Martha Stewart

xoxo

L

I spent last weekend celebrating my birthday in all sorts of fun ways! It was probably one of the best birthday’s I’ve had in a while because I got to relax, do everything I wanted to do, and spend it with some of my favorite people. Here are a few of my favorite photos from my special day.

It wouldn’t be a birthday without breakfast in bed!

(don’t worry, breakfast was small because I was about to go have brunch too!)

My birthday cake was so yummy!

Here’s my little Butch Cassidy.

I thought he looked a little unhappy to be photographed, and as it turns out, I had to take him to the vet the next day because he had a bit of an infection! Poor dear. He was laying around, all lethargic like and just not his spunky self. But, we got him some pain medicine and some antibiotics and the following day he was feeling much better. This is how I knew he was getting healthy again:

Naughty kitty was trying to eat my birthday flowers!

I’m so grateful for all of my friends and family who made my day weekend so special. I’m such a blessed gal!
 

xoxo

L