Red Velvet cake with the recipe and frosting!

Hi my Prims,
I made a red velvet cake today with homemade cream cheese frosting.
I am posting every step and the recipe for the cake and frosting.
It is not prim or colonial but I am going to post a recipe once a week, just something different for my blog. I hope you try this and it is very easy to make.
Believe me once you make it homemade your family will keep asking you to make it.
There is nothing like homemade from scratch, that goes with cooking as well.
I make my own spaghetti sauce and meatballs and when I make that again I will post the recipe. I always make a double batch of things because I can freeze half of it and freeze it downstairs in our freezer. So, I will always have it on hand.
I try to think ahead.
Here are the pictures for the velvet cake....

I put my velvet cake in a bundt pan.

Already for the pan......

I love the color of a homemade velvet cake. I is so rich looking and very mosit when it is done baking.

Hot and out of the oven.....

Now here is the cream cheese frosting.....

Mix altogether and there you have cream cheese frosting.

Now it is time to eat, YUMMO!
Here is the recipe for the cake.....

2oz red food coloring
2 TBS Cocoa
1/2 C shortening
1-1/2 Cups Sugar
2 eggs
1 C butter milk
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp vanilla( I use the real vanilla, it really does make a difference)
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

Now make paste of food coloring and set aside, cream shortening and sugar,
add eggs and cocoa paste and beat until fluffy, them add butter milk and flour that has been mixed with salt and then add vanilla and mixwell wiith beater, remove from mixer and add vinegar then mix mix by hand then add baking soda and then mix by hand again, bake in a bundt pan at 350 for 30 mins.

Here is the recipe for the cream cheese frosting..

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened(I put my butter out and let it get soft)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl combined all 4 ingredients and mix well untill smooth and creamy.
Then enjoy your red velvet bundt cake and frosting with a cold ice tea.
I hope you love thos recipe as much as I do.
I haven't made this in a long time so my hubby, Mr. Hillcrest is VERY
EXCITED!

Have a wonderful Sunday.
Give your loved ones lots of hugs and kisses,
because life is short. Always let your love ones know how
much they are loved and how much they mean
to you, it is so important. You can NEVER,EVER tell
you Hubby, children and outside family how much yu love them.
I tell my Hubby and sons everyday & many times a day as well.


Happy baking and May Blessings,
Tricia XO

A Little of this and that!

Hi my prims,

I wanted to share a few things with you all.

First I want to say it is already May. Where did

April go????

Here are some flowers that I took.

I just love the beautiful color of flowers. It puts a smile on my face.
We are going to be very busy for awhile. We are getting all new windows and then we are having siding put up and then a new roof. The landscaper's are coming sometime this week. It is going to look like a new COLONIAL HOMESTEAD! We are very excited! I just can't wait for it to get done.

Here are some more flowers...

I love this color so much, it just makes you smile!

Mr.Hillcrest and I bought a new shelf for our livingroom. Here is the before.

Here is our NEW SHELF and the after when I decorated it...

So, there you girls go. I hope you loved the flowers and my new shelf.
I am just so excited about our new window's, the livingroom and the kitchen are getting each a Bow window and the other ones are double hung but with
colonial grids and also the Bow windows will have the colonial grids as well.
Can you tell I am very excited.
We are transforming our homestead on the outside the pure coloinal look.
Then Mr.Hillcrest and I will be retiring in about 7 to 10 years and moving to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee for the next chapter of our lives, we can't wait for that either.
We have alot of plans ahead of us.

I will be taking pictures of our home has it comes all together.
I am excited about it because it will be all done so we can OPEN our in ground pool.......WOOOHOOO!, most of you know that I need my pool in the summer. I don't handle the heat to well.

Love each other and give those extra hugs & kisses
to your love ones.
May Blessings,
Tricia XO

Happy Easter & Passover

Hi my Prims,
I wanted to say Happy Easter and Happy Passover to everyone.
I hope and pray you all are having a blessed day with your family and
maybe friends!

I also wanted to show you what my friend Angie sent me this week.
The return address said The Easter Bunny GIGGLE but I knew who sent it.
My Buddy and VERY dear friend Angie, here is my goodie box.
I am sending out a goodie box to her this week.Last week was a hard week for me.

Here is what Angie lilraggedy sent me..

Holy Cannoli, Angie sent me so much.

Here is another picture...

Isn't he a cutie pie. Almost everything that Angie sent me she made just not the molds and this sweet little bunny above. She ordered that for me.

LOOKIE at my chocolate bunny. No not real chocolate but doesn't he look like you could eat him!
I LOVE him. This is Angie's OWN pattern she made up herself.
Someone else took Angie's pattern and made it her own, which I don't find
a nice thing to do. The way you should do it is email the gal and ask if she could use that pattern and I know Angie well enough that she would have said "YES" and just give Angie credit for the pattern because Angie has a heart of GOLD, she would have been so happy to share her pattern.

I don't craft much but I do know that this is what you SHOULD do in blogland.
More pictures..

WOOOHOOO, My eggs that I fell in love with and do you see one of the copper molds I put them in.

LOVE, LOVE the heart!XOXO

I love pink and this is a box that is going on my desk in my office. LOVE it.

Another recipe, YUMMY!

Now check this out...

Isn't he the best thing you have ever seen. I love her work and she also puts A LOT OF LOVE in her work.

Here is what I made for our setting for Easter dinner. They were already made, I bought them. I just added our names and date.

I thought they were so cute. So, yep I bought them.

Now I wanted to share with you all a gift that a special friend sent to me.
It is K as we her friends call her.
It was a surprise. My hubby got the mail and said here this is for you. I opened it and it said that this was from Kathleen.
Kathleen ordered this for me and here it is and I will then tell you the great reason why.

I love her, thank you K so much. It made me cry but in a great way. I was so touched.
It is made my Angels for Hope and here is what it said(sorry it came out blurry so I am going to type it).

Someone special requested you to receive this "Angel for Hope" so you would know you are cared about and loved.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Well, K I lost it when I read this and then Hubby said why are you crying and I read it to him and he giggled and said see you are loved and cared for.
It was HAPPY TEARS but it meant the world to me.
I treasure our friendship and enjoy our talks on the phone.
I just wish we lived closer.
I think you know how much this means to me and she is going somewhere VERY special. You can't pick your family but you can pick your friends.
Love you K very much!!!

As some of you know I passed kidney stones a while back and when they did the cat scan (it was God's Blessing for the kidney stones) and I know you are saying HUH, WHY??? well, they found a cyst. that covers my whole right kidney but they couldn't do anything because of the lump on my breast and the surgery was in a week and then radaition treatment, now that the lump is gone and I pray that it is GONE for GOOD, and treatment is done and I have it in the back of my mind( ALWAYS) that it might come back but like hubby told me and my sweet dear friend Colleen told me you CAN'T think and worry everyday about that. So, I have got in touch with The New England Urology Associates. So, I will be dealing with some testing and seeing what they will be doing about the cyst on my right kidney.
I asked my Hubby what can one person go through. My husband has been there very step of the way and has been so supportive and loving,he is my ROCK. I know that I have said this before that he is my ROCK but my Husband deserves a metal for
being the BEST #1 Hubby in the world.
When I just need to talk we talk, when I just need to pray we pray together when I just need to cry (and that is a lot before and after my breast surgery and treatment), he just holds me and lets me cry.
My Hubby also makes me laugh and that is the best medication EVER!

This year has to be the worst year for me.
I do have to put things in perspective and my hubby does that for me. We are very blessed for SO many things in our life and  one of the BIGGEST blessing is our sons and they are healthy, strong and happy.What more can we ask for but there is SO much more to be thankful for but I am not going to make a list.


Okay I think I rambled enough but thank you for reading it and understanding.

I couldn't ask for better friends that I have here on blogland, another blessing I have.

In closing please hug and kiss
your loved ones and say "I LOVE YOU"
everyday to them.
My hubby and I say it many times a day and
when he calls me from work and when he comes home
from work and when we go to bed we have NEVER not kissed
and say I LOVE YOU!
I am one lucky girl, as many of you out there are lucky and blessed to have wonderful, loving and supportive husband's too.

Spring Blessings
Hugs and Kisses,
Tricia XO

My Envelope Swap Goodies!

HI my Prims,
I want to first thank Tam A Primtive Place Blog for hosting this wonderful
swap.
Tam always hits it out of the park.
I really enjoyed having Pam as my swap partner and I really got to know her and Pam is a wonderful, loving gal. I didn't just do a swap with Pam, I also gained a wonderful friend.

Lookie at what Pam sent me.

Everything Pam sent me was made by her and I will treasure each of them.
      ( NOT THE HEART) Pam emailed me and told me she ordered that
and didn't want to take credit for the heart but everything else was made by Pam!!!!!

How awesome is this prim bunny, love him.

Pam also made 3 prim eggs and this HUGE heart that smells SO YUMMY,
that is ordered for me!!!!

My awesome prim carrots. I am going to put them in one of my yellow ware bowls.

Now, check this out...

I LOVE this prim small doll she made me. I am putting her on my theme tree in the kitchen. Pam is VERY talented.
Pam I thank you so much. The minute I spoke to Pam on the phone I felt I knew her forever.
Tammy thank you for setting me up with Pam.
Pam and I decided to do a private swap sometime in April.
Here is Pam's blog, Please go over and say hi. Pam's friend was very sick and Pam was an RN nurse and she went and took care of her dear friend Mary. Pam emailed today me and Mary passed away yesterday peacefully.
Pam did get my swap but she is going through a lot right now and she doesn't have to post it.
I want her to take care of things she needs to take care. That is more important.
I love ya Pammie!
Here is Pam's blog http://basketsnprims.comblogspot.com/

Here is Tammy's blog http://aprimitiveplace.comblogspot.com/

Well Spring has Sprung and I am happy about that.
I hope everyone is enjoying the weather.
I am going to lay down now, I am exhausted. I am going to cuddle with my Hubby.
Spring Blessings and Hugs,
Tricia XO

Two gifts,a giveaway and a cherry wood desk!

Hi my Prims,
I wanted to first thank Grany Trace' Scraps & Squares for an overdue thank you for a wonderful gift that she sent.
Lookie waht Trace' made for me...

Also a beautiful friendship card and a packet of zinnia flower seeds.
Here is where I put my chicks...

I love them Trace'. Thank you for being such a wonderful and great friend.
Please go and visit Trace' blog she is always emailing me and checking up on me to see how I am doing.
You are a wonderful, loving and dear friend!!!!!
I have another good friend that sent me this beautiful prim pot of yellow flowers because Sheila knows I have yellow ware bowls and I LOVE what she made for me.
She knows me well, I LOVE the prim bow that she put on there. Here is what she made me.

Here is where I put my beautiful flowers, at my kitchen sink so I can always see them and think of my friend Sheila.......

Aren't they BEAUTIFUL.

Here is another picture of them.

I LOVE my prim bow that my friend Sheila put on there,Sheila thank you so much and thank you for your email and being my friend. I hold our friendship dear to my heart.
Please go and visit her blog
it is Country Impressions blog.

Now for a wonderful giveaway I won. Dee from Ice House Crafts sent me this...

The blocks, Peeps, Baskets and Chocolate bunnies, so I put them near my bunny and egg.
Thank you Dee so much. You did a great job and thank you SO much for the beautiful card that you put in my package.
I haven't been on to much so my husband called me from the office to tell me I won a giveaway.
See Dee emailed our business and when there is an order my hubby gets it and that is how I found out I won.
Thanks a bunch Dee.
Please everyone go to Dee's blog and say HI!!!!!!!!!

Well the last thing I want to show you is a cherry wood desk that my wonderful husband bought and brought home. It is in my office now.
Our oldest son and Hubby cleaned out my old desk and put in my new desk.

Check this out....

Sorry it is blurry.

LOVE IT!!! Thanks my Hubby!!!XOXOX!!!

Here it is in my office but you really can't see it that well but here are the pictures anyaway!

One more picture....

It was nice all I had to do is tell my Hubby and son where I wanted things.
Thanks to my son and Hubby!!! I love you all very much!

That is all I have for now.
Have a wonderful Sunday.
Spring Blessings,
Tricia