Almond Joy Cake

And this cake is pure joy!

I just made this cake as a birthday gift to a friend that requested an Almond Joy Cake years ago! I could not find the recipe she wanted then. I wonder why!

These are the "cookbooks" I use on a daily basis. They are binders filled with magazine rip outs and computer copied recipes. Every once in awhile I go through them looking for a recipe and then find five other ones I want to make!

The recipe I did find is absolutely delicious and when I delivered it today at my bible study, four other women wanted the recipe just on the mention of the name, ALMOND JOY CAKE!

Here it is:

ALMOND JOY CAKE

1 package boxed chocolate cake mix
30 large marshmallows (no more, no less!)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1  14 oz. bag coconut

Frosting:
1/2 cup evaporated milk (one can works for the cake and frosting)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1  12 oz. bag chocolate chips
1 cup almonds, chopped

Bake cake as directed in a 9 x 13 pan (I split mine up into two 8 x 8 pans. One for you, one for me!).
Combine the evaporated milk, 30 marshmallows and the sugar in a medium saucepan and cook on medium until melted.
Add the coconut and pour all over the hot cake.

Frosting:
In a medium saucepan bring the sugar, evaporated milk and margarine to a boil and then remove from heat. Add chocolate chips. Stir until melted. Add the chopped almonds. Pour over warm cake and let sit. Serve when cooled.

It is extra yummy eaten cold out of the fridge...just saying.


I found this part funny. The original recipe says "This cake is very, very rich and should be served in the smallest serving size possible". WHAT??!! NOT!!??

Eat as much as your conscience allows because you won't be able to stop yourself!

Enjoy!!

Happy Mother's day to all the lovely Mom's!!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these fun blog parties this week:

Treasure Hunt Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
The Pin Junkie Friday Link Party
Feathered Nest Friday
diy Sunday Showcase
Sweet & Savoury Sundays
It's a Bouquet of Talent Party
Amaze Me Monday
Marvelous Mondays
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday

April One Day at a Time

Today I am linking up with Show Us Your April Link Party.

Every day for the month of April I took pictures of random things in anticipation of this party. I thought it would be fun and it was! Click on the link to join in on the fun.

Here is my picture story of each day in April...

April 1 ~

Yup, it snowed April 1st. Even my snowman has had enough and has given up.

April 2 ~

Wednesday is my day every week with my granddaughter Chloe. We go to the library for story time and then hang out at my house. She loves her bright pink rocking horse. I love that I got it half price on GMA's half price deals show!

April 3 ~

I saw this idea on another blog and loved it. I just happened to have all the parts to put it together. It is an old gallon glass jar with moss on the bottom inside, a faux nest with eggs, a doily for over the top and a silk butterfly clipped to the edge. Hint, hint Spring, we're waiting for you!

April 4 ~

Every morning before my husband Frank goes to work, Miss Kitty has to have her scratching time with him. A man and his kitty.

April 5 ~

My oldest granddaughter Cassidy was visiting for the day and had just finished dancing her heart out to "Be Happy" by Pharrell Williams. She is also into gymnastics as you can see by the pose!

April 6 ~

Ahhh, sunshine on my front door in late afternoon means it was a sunny, nice day all day....finally!

April 7 ~

 My youngest daughters' 29th birthday today! She let Chloe blow out the candles while hubby Britt looked on.

April 8 ~

Been shopping for Easter candy for the four baskets I make up every year. This is my stash as of today.

April 9 ~

A girlfriend had surgery this week so I made her and her husband a meal. It is Tuscan Chicken Stew, Italian bread, oatmeal chocolate chip M & M cookies and a few candy hearts!

April 10 ~

I went to my first garage sale of the season today and found this fabulous 1950's lime green vinyl sewing box. Let the picking begin!

April 11 ~

Today is my oldest granddaughter Cassidys' birthday - she's 9! I don't have a picture of at her party but I do have one of the snack I made for the adults....sausage bites. Oh my, are they good!

April 12 ~

It was finally warm enough to wear sandals! I had to polish up the toenails....first of the year!

April 13 ~

My friend Susan is a picker too and found these great items for me. That gorgeous blue pitcher is a Hall Cadet Blue Royal Rose Ball Pitcher, there is a moustache cup and a set of linen napkins. They are all listed in my shop.

April 14 ~

Elijah and Michael

These guys grew up together going to each others' birthday parties year after year. Just reunited after many years to hang out for some Nerf gun fighting and pizza.

Jason and Frank

These guys, the fathers, haven't grown up yet.

April 15 ~

Oh my goodness, these are the BEST jellybeans I have ever had! I haven't been able to find them until this year, there they were at Walmart! I bought two bags, spice and fruit flavor. I am the only one in the house that eats them so they are all mine!

April 16 ~

Yup, it snowed again! Just a dusting, but still! It looked like a blizzard while it was coming down!

April 17 ~

Spring break from school this week. One of the things Michael and I do to fill our days is have Sequence tournaments. He beat me pretty much this time around.

April 18 ~

It was warm enough again to put us in the mood for some soft serve ice cream at the local Chill and Grill. This place is crazy with their portion sizes. The one on the left is a kiddie and the one on the right is a medium.

April 19 ~

Chloe spent the night last night for the first time since being an infant. It was a little rough but she woke up to her favorite pancakes for breakfast!

April 20 ~

I make Easter baskets up every year for my granddaughters Chloe and Cassidy and fill the baskets that their Mom's used when they were little. This pose on the floor in front of the couch is significant as I have a similar picture of my daughters, around the same ages, in front of the couch in my farmhouse with the same baskets in front of them. I couldn't get it to download so you will have to use your imagination!

April 21 ~ 

I had to use those three very ripe bananas up soon so I whipped up a batch of my Banana Chocolate Chip bread.....the only one I will make, it is so good!

April 22 ~

My daughter Candice just cut mine and Bonnie's hair in my "salon in the kitchen"! Then we all ate turkey sandwiches, chips and brownies.

April 23 ~

I gave in. I finally went for an update on my Tracphone flip phone. My daughter set me up with a Motorola Droid X. No clue how to use it. It's for business related reasons ;-) 

April 24 ~

The forsythia is blooming! My husband and I chopped off about 6 feet of depth from this bush last Fall and I really wasn't sure what we were going to see this Spring!

April 25 ~

This barn sale was pretty far but I went for it and it was well worth the trip. I found so many unique items that I don't already have and a few that I do (the picnic baskets) in my shop. I am currently working on getting them all listed!

April 26 ~

Our friend Karl hung out with the guys today while I was off doing my own thing. We were all going to meet his wife in a few hours for dinner to celebrate his birthday. Yeah, he's eating two totally loaded hot dogs in our kitchen. Not my fault he couldn't finish his dinner!

April 27 ~

This weekend was just non-stop eating out, first at a wedding, then a birthday celebration,  so what better way to end it than to have a clambake at home? We made my famous garbage can chicken, salt potatoes, grilled corn, steamed clams and cornbread. Monday morning came and the scale was not my friend.

April 28 ~

Too full from our pizza and wings lunch (more eating!) with our dear friends Rosie and Floyd to eat it again for dinner, our son Michael benefited from the leftovers......NY style sausage and cheese pizza and garlic parmesan charbroiled wings.....from our favorite place for wings, Ciccino's in Geneva, NY. Don't you love seeing food from a restaurant in another part of the country that you may never get to try? :)

April 29 ~

I have been invited to a last minute surprise birthday party this Saturday and I needed a gift idea fast! A little birdie told me that the birthday girl likes colorful owls. I had all the parts for the idea I came up with except the owls. No worry! Walmart came through and I was able to put this frame together in an hour. I have no idea of her decorating colors but it has colorful owls on it!!

April 30 ~

 April started cold and snowy and ended damp and rainy. It was the perfect night for Sweet Potato Hash. Picture perfect and tastes as good as it looks!

My April was pretty routine. Just filled with everyday things to do with my family and close friends. I realized by doing this blog that there really is something to be thankful for everyday, even in the little things.

AnnMarie xoxo

I am also linking up with these other great blog parties:

Adorned from Above

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Sincerely Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

Feathered Nest Friday

Share Your Cup Thursday and 100th Party Giveaway!  Link up here for a chance at some great stuff!

Showcase Your Talent Thursday

Thrifty Things Friday

Be Inspired

Anything Blue Friday

Freedom Fridays with all My Bloggy Friends

Pink Saturday

Amaze Me Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Treasure Box Tuesday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

It's Pickin' Season!

Finally! Warmer weather and my first garage sale find. Once you find that first thing, there's no stopping the pickin! Of course I am not talking about strawberry or vegetable pickin'. I'm talking about pickin' for rusty, dusty, beautiful vintage stuff!

This is a lime green vinyl sewing box from the 1950's. It is in great condition.

From the garage sale I went to a church rummage sale. They are usually great for vintage items. The older congregations donate some of the best treasures. Not so much on this day. The reasoning is that the still cold weather is not putting people into the spring cleaning mode. I did find this French style wine basket though....

The next day I went thrifting with my Mom Jane to another church rummage sale and it was the same story. This church is known for their great sale twice a year. What is usually a fabulous pickin' time was not so much. Not many donations this time around. I did pick up some vintage wood hangers.....couldn't leave empty handed!

Our next stop was the Salvation Army, a flea market and a new vintage store, Rustique, located all in a row on a side street in the next town over from me. I am thrilled to find new places to pick so close to home. I survived my need to pick all winter by going to local VOA's, Goodwills and Saver's. I can still visit them all summer when it's raining!

I found this great turquoise watering can. It has such a unique handle and it is all scraped up and rusty. So perfect!

I also found this pretty wood carved vanity mirror. I have my grandmother's mirror on my dresser surrounded by her antique vanity items. I couldn't help dressing this one up with some of the things I inherited from her. I wore that necklace and matching earrings on my wedding day.

This pretty Victorian vanity box was such a great find at the Salvation Army Thrift store. It has an Edwardian style picture of what looks like a garden party.

It opens up to a mirror and places to put trinkets and jewelry.

So many great things so far but the best is yet to come!

My decorator, thrifty, garage saler friend Susan goes to way more sales than I ever could manage. She has one of those fancy phones with a Yard Sale app on it, something I need to look into for my summer pickin'.

She offered to pick some things up for me if she saw something I might like. I gave her my "rules", like she needs to let me pay her for what she finds, and a run down of what I want for my shop. Wow, did she see stuff! Great stuff!

She found this Hall's Royal Rose cadet blue ball pitcher. It is such a pretty blue and in pristine condition.

Gorgeous white handle with pink roses.

She also found this great moustache cup. I recently read a blog about how moustache cups are not for shaving! It was invented by a British potter for men with waxed, groomed moustaches so that they could drink their tea or coffee without wetting or staining their 'stache.

I guess the hot tea would melt the wax which would then go into their tea. Yuck! They drank out of the side with the holes to avoid this. The lip held the moustache out of the liquid and they could still get some hot coffee or tea through the holes!

It was all the rage for men to have a fabulous looking moustache in the Victorian era. 

This guy has been growing his since the Victorian era!

And finally, Susan found these like new Damask linen napkins in blue and white with a leaf design. I love these! But I'm the type that could never use them and dirty them so they would have to be for display only!

Those are my latest and greatest finds.....until next weekend! I am working on listing them in my Etsy shop. Stop by to see them there where I have a special going on till April 21st. Save $5 on any purchase of $20 or more using the coupon code SPRINGCLEANING at checkout. You can click on my Etsy shop in my sidebar.

Have you hit any garage sales yet?

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these fun parties this week:

Etsy Cottage Style Vintage Party
Amaze Me Monday
Make It Pretty Monday
Treasure Box Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday
What's It Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop
Showcase Your Talent Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday
Thrifty Life Thursday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Feathered Nest Friday
Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Anything Blue Friday
Be Inspired