Strawberries: Bread & Butter

When Whitney brings you strawberries... Make Strawberry Bread and Butter.

I love this bread and butter it is delicious and refreshing, there is really nothing more to say! It's Strawberry season and you must try it!

The Recipes

Strawberry Bread:

1 Cup Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 tsp. Lemon Extract
4 Eggs
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup Strawberry Jam
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
Optional 1 cup chopped nuts

In mixing Bowl, Cream butter, Sugar, Vanilla, and Lemon Extract till fluffy. Add Eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together thoroughly Flour, Salt, Cream of Tartar and Baking Soda in a separate bowl. Combine Strawberry Jam and Sour Cream. Add Jam mixture alternately with dry ingredients to creamed mixture beating till well combined. (optional: stir in nuts now) Also another option is to add fresh diced strawberries and fold into the batter at this time.  Divide batter evenly among 5 greased 4 1/2 X 2 1/2 X 1 1/2 - inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 till done. 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans: cool on racks.

Strawberry Butter:

1 cup of fresh Strawberries. In blender mix berries, 1 Cup softened Butter, and 1 Cup Powdered Sugar. Cover. Bled at high speed till smooth. Scraping sides as often as needed. Makes about 2 1/2 Cups.


Enjoy,
nicole

When life gives you strawberries

This week my neighbor was able to get a killer deal on strawberries and asked if I wanted some. Um, yes of course. I got 8 lbs of fresh ripe strawberries for only $7.50. I went to work right away.

Life gave me strawberries so I made:

1. Strawberry Jam. Alot of it.

2. Strawberry bread. Delicious. (Recipe on the blog soon)

3. And I had to make strawberry butter to go with my strawberry bread

4. Strawberry Vinagriette

5. I needed something to put my strawberry vinagriette on so we had a Spinach Strawberry salad for dinner.

6. Molten Lava cakes with strawberries on top

7. Strawberry icecream

8. And last but not least, I've been having strawberries for breakfast. YUM.

And would you believe that I still have some strawberries left??

XOXO,
Whitney

Streets

The streets of Madrid were so fun to walk along. There is so much character in the buildings and the cobblestone street to top it all off. I couldn't help but look up as I walked every street, I had to keep soaking it all up.

had to share with you a family favorite... the police on he horses. always in unison

nicole

The Last Things Thursday: Numero Uno

Every now and then I like to link up with other blogs. Today I am joining in with The Life of the Wife and doing The Last Things Thursday. It just sounded like fun and something different. So here we go:

The Last Thing I:

Ate:
Great Value Fat Free Cottage Cheese. Yum. I know what your thinking, Great Value brand? But I am somewhat of a Cottage cheese lover and Great Value brand is the best tasting...at least in my opinion. I eat it all the time. My baby girl even loves cottage cheese, probably because I ate it all the time while I was pregnant too?!

Bought:
Last night I bought a mirror for my entryway from Target. Then my entryway will almost be complete. Can't wait for it to come!

Read:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It was our book club book last month and I absolutely loved it. It was refreshingly different from the last few books I have read.

Laughed at:

My Baby girl. She is quite hilarious even when she doesn't mean to be. She says and does things that I just can't help but snicker at. Earlier today she was throwing a tantrum and hit me so daddy put her in "time out" and we tried to get her to say she was sorry. She started to growl instead. I had to bite my lip from busting out in laughter.

Listened to:
Dave Barnes: God Gave Me You & Until You. I love his voice. My Brother in Law's brother sang "I Have and I Always Will" at our wedding. He's.Amazing.

Baked:

Streusel Muffins. Yum. Then I gave them all to my in-laws to eat since my hubby was out of town all week. He was a little upset when he came home and found out I gave them away and there were none left for him, oops.

Wore:
Yesterday I wore my yellow pants with a gray & white striped shirt.

Watched on TV:
Chopped All-Stars. It's on Food Network- as if it is any surprise I would be watching it! I'm a little addicted to that channel!

Got Excited about:
Last week I registered for the Nike Women's Half Marathon with my Aunt Cathy, Cousin Brooke & SIL Lindsay. It is not guaranteed entrance. They do a random draw so the last few days I have been dying to know whether or not our group was selected. Woke up this morning and checked my email @ 7am and sure enough I had email from Nike:

Dear Whitney,

Whether it’s your first or fiftieth race, there really is no other feeling quite like standing at the starting line.

We’re so glad that in 2012, you’ll be sharing that moment with us.

That’s right, you read that correctly. You’ve officially been selected to run in the 2012 Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. Congratulations!

WAHOO! I cannot wait to head to San Fransisco for a girls weekend and participate in my first race outside of Utah. It was the best news to start my day off right!

Happy Thursday Everyone!

XOXO,
Whitney

Sweets

Let's be honest I'm a softy for sweets, and Spain had quite the assortment of them. Every street corner had windows to beacon us. Mother and I are just lucky we walked all day every day while there to work off the sweets.

I had my first Macaroon in Spain and let me just say it was not a bad place to start my addiction. Lets be honest I pretty much loved every pastry I tried.

Also, pastries make for a great mid morning or afternoon snack while touring the city.

nicole

Tuesday Delights

Today is Tuesday and I am considering it my "Friday" since my Mr. doesn't work for the rest of the week. A few weeks ago I did a post about my Tuesday Delights. I am in one of those moods today. Just feel like pointing out things I am delighting over to help fill my day with a little more positivity.

First of all. The weather here in SLC has been fantastic the last few days. Today was exceptional. I spent most of the day outside playing with little ones!

Second delight. I went and looked at Hardwood flooring today. We have been checking out Hardwood flooring for the past month and just had one more store to look at before we make the big purchase. We love dark hardwood and soon our house will have flooring something like this:

Third delight. I have the best mom in the whole world. Hands down. She does anything and everything for me. She drove all the way out to my house today and still came even though she ran out of gas! Thanks for always being there for me mom, love you!

And last but not least, The Voice is on tonight. Oh my gosh I love this show. I can't miss it. There are so many great singers and entertainers on the show and most of all I love the coaches. They have such great chemistry together and seem genuine. Love the Voice!

XOXO,
Whitney

Hot Chocolate & Churros

Basically the people of Madrid are genius. Churros w/out cinnamon and sugar, dipped in dark hot chocolate... Really people it doesn't get much better than that. I don't know why it's so good but it is and I could eat it every day, In fact I would go back to Madrid just for that. Plus its the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life, and I don't even like chocolate.

Although this was the only place we had the famous Hot chocolate & Churros, it was an instant favorite. We went back for seconds the very next day. It is just off the main shopping street that connects the Puerta del Sol metro stop and the Opera stop.



A view inside.



Workin it.

The Goods.

Love the Hot Chocolate & Churros.

nicole



Tradition

Since 2008 I have ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon every year. (Except the year that I was pregnant) I love the course and the amount of people running with you is exhilirating. Since I am training for a full Marathon coming up in May I didn't sign up for the race. My friend/running partner was running it and I was feeling a little left out, running that race has become my own little tradition. I checked my training schedule and my long run for that week was only 13 miles. So very last minute, I signed up. Yesterday I ran it. The weather was perfect and I had a blast. It felt like a breeze because I have been running 13 or more miles on my long runs each week. It did get me a little nervous for my full marathon coming up in a month though...getting cold feet. I know I can do it but I am terrified. In the meanwhile I will just keep running and try not to think about the fact that I will be running 26.2 soon.

2012

2009

2008

2011

XOXO,
Whitney

Linds & Troy

The Shields are a happy couple! My cousin Linds got married today and she is a gorgeous bride. Her dress is to die for! I'm swooning over it. I can't even wait to see what the reception looks like!

And while the Grown ups were in at the wedding I got to babysit this cute thing......

Me and Whit of course had to get a picture together, don't mind that I'm smiling like a fool.

nicole

Thursday 13: My 13 Spring Closet Must Haves + Lumpy Loves Kids {a good cause}

It's Thursday! Hip Hip Hooray! That means my Mr. comes home tonight. He's been out of town all week long for work. I can't wait to have him home. It also means it is time to link up for some Thursday 13 fun. But before I get to that I have to tell you about "Lumpy Loves Kids".
My four year old nephew Brock is ambitious and witty. He is small in stature but has a larger than life personality. Sometimes I wonder where this kid comes up with the things that he does. He always keeps our family laughing. It turns out that he also has a heart of gold and is determined to serve others. My sister said that Brock and his older brother Pierce have been wanting to raise money to help sick kids in the hospital. The other day he came home from school so excited for a way to do such a thing: His school is hosting a St. Jude's Trike-A-Thon. Brock asked his mom if she would give him $1000, when she asked why he simply said, "Because mom, no kid should be in the hospital and I need to ride my bike super fast to get them out." I am sure you have all heard of St. Jude's hopsitals, they are so amazing. Whenever I watch the commercials they make me cry and I have always wanted to donate because children deserve the best! If you are feeling generous please go to Brock's Trike-A-Thon page and make a donation. Any donation would be great! $1, $5, $10 - whatever you are willing to give would be greatly appreciated!!

And on to Thursday 13. Here are the 13 things that are a must have for me this Spring.

1. Colored Skinnies. I am obsessed. I have Coral, Yellow, Mint, and Light Blue. And I pretty much want every color out there.

2. Chambray. Say it with me: (shmbr). I just ordered my Chambray shirt from Shade Clothing for only $9.99+they always have free shipping. I can't wait for it to come in the mail. I have so many plans for that shirt!

3. Floral prints. Floral shoes, floral shirts, floral dresses. Floral is so appropriate for spring time!

4. Stripes. Ok. So it's not just a Spring thing, I have been obsessed with stripes for a little while. If you wear them right they can be so flattering. A perfect pairing? Striped top with colored skinnies: color blocking at its best! I'm actually wearing a navy striped top with my mint skinnies today!

5. Layers. In Utah spring weather is all over the place. One day it is 80 degrees and 2 days later it is snowing outside. That is why layers are essential. The day might start out chilly so a blazer or cardi is necessary. Then you can just ditch it later on in the day once it starts to warm up. Here are a few I am loving:

White Blazer

 Blue Cardigan & Stripe Blazer from J.Crew

6. Maxi Dress. I think it is the most comfortable dress out there. Plus it will hide my not so tanned legs until summer time comes.

Red Stripe Maxi Dress

7. Spring Scarves. Because I think a scarf can completely spruce up your outfit...turn something old into something new with just an accessory!

8. Wedges. They are the perfect shoe for Spring time. I always seem to buy a new pair of wedges when Spring time comes around. It just gets me so excited for spring time weather.

Urban Outfitters

9. Sunglasses. It's not quite summer...but summer is fast approaching. After April Showers comes the sun...hopefully! 

I need some sunglasses like this:

10. Mint Handbag. Mostly because I just want one really bad. 

11. Neutral make-up. I generally wear neutral make up just because I think it looks best on me. I love the look of the soft make up on this model. Perfect for spring:

12. Bright Colorful Nail polish. My favorites right now? Banana Republic "Yellow" & Savina "Blue for You"
13. Sunshine. The most importang thing about Spring time is more Sunshine. Here's to hoping for warmer weather!

XOXO,
Whitney

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