For Brandy

I thought of Brandy when I saw this bag in Dublin. It would make a great diaper bag. We need to recreate it!

New Things to Play With

Charlotte and I went to drop the girls off at her in-laws and it was only 20 minutes from Macon so we met my mom and Charlotte's sister Jenny at the Fresh Market. The Fresh Market was amazing!! It's probably good that we don't have on here...I would spend way too much money. I stocked up on Lady Fingers and got some awesome spices, curry sauce and elderflower water. It was a lot of fun.

Purchases from the Fresh Market


We finally have more than Walmart in Statesboro!! The Hobby Lobby, TJ Max and Books A Million opened up this month. I got these really cute ramekins at TJ Max...can't wait to make souffle in them.


We had a graduation party for me last Saturday. It was so much fun! I got some really fun gifts. Charlotte got me some spice jars (which are already filled with my spices from the Fresh Market) and Brandy got me my first cake plate and a day planner. Can't wait to use all of them!! I have such wonderful friends!

Quick Trip...Too Quick

I just returned last week from vising the UK and Ireland for a week. This was my third trip to the UK but I have never been to Ireland. I really enjoyed Dublin probably because I had never seen it. I would love to go back for a longer stay and see the countryside. Unfortunately because I was on a budget I didn't get to try all the foods I would have liked but I did get a few meals that were fun.


Falafel's in Edinburgh-falafel's are fried balls or patties made from fava or chickpeas. They are usually served with pita bread and a yogurt sauce.


Chicken and onion pie with a apple cider glaze and Magners Cider (also in Edinburgh)

Chicken soup and Bulmers Cider-this meal was awesome after a day of walking in the Dublin rain.

Coffee in Dublin

Our breakfast at our hostel in Dublin-there was more than just scones I just wasn't feeling well so I was eating light.

Potatoes and Cider in Dublin



Our snack on the train to the London airport. The train broke down so we missed our flight to Dublin and had to wait an extra 5 hours in the airport.



Pastry cafe in London. I was sooo excited!!

I have tons more pictures so if you want to see them just ask!

In The Kitchen With Charlotte

On Monday's I usually go over to my friend Charlotte's during the afternoon. We usually bake something yummy and drink tea. Yesterday we were in the kitchen and Charlotte had gotten a package of smoked pork out of the refrigerator and we were eating it. It was really good but a fly happened to fly into the bag (gross!) so we put it in the oven to heat it up and kill the germs. After it was done heating Charlotte took it out of the oven and put it on the stove and covered it with a dish towel. We had mixed up a bowl of granola and put it in the oven after we took the meat out. While the granola was cooking we decided to drink some tea and look for maternity clothes for Charlotte. Charlotte put the kettle on and we went into the studio to get on the computer. We were hanging out for about 15 minutes when Brownie ran in to the room yelling "FIRE, FIRE, MAMA THERE'S A FIRE IN THE KITCHEN"! We both jumped up and ran into the kitchen. The towel on the meat was engulfed in flame. Charlotte had turned on the wrong burner! Charlotte grabbed the towel and threw it in the sink and I opened the back door to try and let some of the smoke out of the kitchen.

Charlotte and the towel


What was left of the towel


15 Minutes later we were back to drinking tea but it was definitely an insane moment. It's never dull in the Carroll household.

Coconut Cake

Some of the best recipes that I have I got from my grandmother. I grew up learning how to cook in her kitchen and learned all kinds of great things. The summers were always fun because my grandparents planted a huge garden so there was all kinds of fun things to can. She always made the best salsa and dill pickles. One of my favorite cakes she makes is her coconut cake. It's a really simple recipe but it is so good. I'm always surprised to hear how many people don't like coconut. As soon as I round up enough people to eat a whole cake I'm going to make one.

Coconut Cake

1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
1 (12-ounce) bag frozen coconut
2 cups granulated sugar
1 white cake mix

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Bake in 3 layers. Mix sour cream, coconut and sugar until sugar dissolves. Frost cake before the cake has completely cooled. Punch holes in cake so icing will soak in.