cattle drives + gun fights

sunday we met some friends for a day of food, shopping & people watching.  and the best place to do that??

the fort worth stockyards during spring break. 

husband and i have been there numerous times, but its one of those places that i can visit over and over again and its always fun for me. the food is spectacular.  a little a bit of everything down there.  but if you're a first timer, Risckys BBQ or Steakhouse is the way to go. We prefer the BBQ route, because honestly you can't go wrong with a chopped beef sandwich with a larger than life glass of sweet tea. And for starters, fried pickles seems to be the only way to go anymore. 

after filling our bellies, we headed out for some wandering, shopping, and people watching.  and the stockyards never disappoints. rich culture is something you will always find & if you venture down at the right time, you might find yourself at a rodeo or in the middle of a cattle drive.  oh and "gun fights" are regular, so watch for those too.

and before you leave, dont forget to stop by the candy barrel for all your favorite mouth watering sweets, old and new. 

its a twitter party

twitter is becoming a bigger and bigger tool for social media these days and i want to link up with all my friends who have it.  too, this gives you a chance to link up with others as well, that may not be on your list yet.

great exposure and networking if you ask me. so do your thing, and link up below.

anam cara & red velvet cake

Good Tuesday morning my lovely blogger friends!



totally sinful!!


I got a recipe from a dear friend of mine's blog, Anam Cara , for some amazing Red Velvet cake.  And if you know me, I love Red Velvet Cake.  Its up on the top of favorites when it comes to anything edible.  So when she shared the recipe she uses for Red Velvet, I knew I would have to borrow it and make some of my own.  Thanks Bekah for sharing!!

So for Valentine's Day ♥ this year, I plan on doing just that.  Red Velvet Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting (of course!) with fun Valentine ♥ sprinkles for those I love. 

I will post pictures of my creations as soon as I get them done.  Along with the cupcakes, I plan on making pasta salad this weekend.  I know they don't go together, but man I've been craving my pasta salad so what better way to fix that craving than by making it??

Are you baking anything special for Valentine's Day ♥?? If so, share your recipes and pictures, as I would love to see!

XO

Cheers,

sands and stones

♥

I got the email below from a co-work a few days and thought its a good reminder of how we should live our lives and treat our friends.

"Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument; and one friend slapped the other friend in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything wrote in the sand, "Today my best friend slapped me in the face."  They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.  The one who had been slapped in the face got stuck in the mire and started drowning,  but his best friend saved him.  After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone, "Today my best friend saved my life."  The friend who had slapped him and saved him him asked, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you wrote on a stone.  Why?"  The friend replied, "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away.  But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

Life is too short to worry about petty things.  Friends are a very rare commodity these days and the ones we have, we should cherish forever. 

Tell a friend today you love them.  Let them know you care about them.  You never know when they may need it.

The Great Cook-a-palooza

weheartit - edited by me.

We are T minus 12 days until Christmas and the list of what I need to make keeps growing and growing and growing!  Like seriously...  Maybe I'm in over my head.  I know I can do it, but sleep is a little important to me.  

Here's my list so far:

• Cherry Danish - the Mister's dad's family side Christmas party - Saturday the 18th
• Corn Casserole - my mom's mom's side of the family Christmas reunion - Sunday the 19th
• Sausage Balls (Mild & Spicy) - My work's week of Christmas Food Craze Days!  - Monday the 20th
• Seasoned Pretzels - Christmas treats for all the coworkers - thats like 25 people folks -  Tuesday the 21st
• Holiday Pretzel Rods - Christmas treats for all the coworkers - thats like 25 people folks - Tuesday the 21st
• Rice Crispie Treats - Christmas treats for all the coworkers - thats like 25 people folks - Tuesday the 21st
• Pretzel/Rolo Candy Treats - Christmas treats for all the coworkers - thats like 25 people folks - Tuesday the 21st
• Some kind of munchies (TBD) -for Christmas eve w/ my family - Friday the 24th
• Mexican food (TBD) - for Christmas eve w/ Damon's mom and family - Friday the 24th
• Christmas Day food (list TBD) - food required for both get togethers - my side and his side.

And thats just what I have so far.  That's so overwhelming to type out then read.  Eeps.  I can do it!! *sound the Rocky song**

I really would also like to make some holiday cupcakes - maybe those can be for Christmas Eves with the families.

**If I have leftovers of Christmas treats (which I'm sure I will) and you would like me to send you a small sampler, send me an email with your info - sugarbearbear@live.com **  PS must be United States address!

Everyone needs to be able to enjoy the yumminess of the Christmas season!

Cheers to tons and tons of FOOD!

“A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it”

-Danielle Steel

both photos via weheartit.com

It's about that time, that the oven needs to start up and the flour needs to start flying.

It's Christmas treat making time!

Every year, I make it my mission to distribute treats and yummies to loved ones and those I work with. We typically have a cookie exchange at work, giving everyone oodles and oodles of yummy, chewy goodness, but this year, it seems everyone wanted to opt out of the "flour fun." I still plan on having my BAKE-A-THON come hell or high water.

I think it would reallllly be fun to start a treat exchange a la interwebs with all my blogger buddies - but this year i feel that its too late into the season to get anything to anyone in a timely manner. Working in the shipping/export world, I know all about the shipping difficulties during the holidays to other countries, plus the fact that shipping food overseas is extremely difficult. But if anyone domestic (within the US) would like to take part (it may be after the holidays before you get your goodies), let me know.

I think this could be a fun thing to start!