Hello 2015

2014 is gone and now 2015 is well underway.  I know I owe a few updates... I'm not sure I know where to begin.

I can not wait until Thomas and I buy a house.  I got some more fantastic kitchen stuff for Christmas, and I am so excited to have a kitchen to put all of it in soon!  We're finally getting the process started, but who knows how long it will end up taking.  I'm so excited though.  I can't wait to get to pick out my own paint colors and design the rooms.  Yay!  My biggest struggle is definitely my impatience.  I just need to keep myself in check and try to enjoy the process and not just the end goal.

Thomas also got me an amazing Christmas gift that speaks to my inner geek and book lover.  You see, in my perfect world, whatever house I had would have a "old world" style library (no matter the style of the house).  It would have books from floor to ceiling, so much so that you'd need one of those fabulous rolling ladders to reach the books on the higher shelves.  There would be a huge fireplace and old red leather high-backed chairs.  And one wall would be filled from floor to ceiling with antiqued maps.

So for Christmas, Thomas added to my collection with a beautiful map of Narnia.   It's a beautiful shadow-box, and the map has beautiful color and detail.  Here's the photo from Amazon.

Of course, I know that our house won't have a magically fantastic library in it, but I will have enough walls to hang my growing map collection!

So long for now!

Yep...Still Busy

So... I keep saying and thinking that I want to blog more again, and then it still falls between the cracks.  I guess you'll just have to bear with me or stop reading the blog.  Or maybe you'll find the proverbial door number three.

Anyway... I've got a new dessert recipe to post... Apple Cinnamon Squares... DELICIOUS!  I ate one about five minutes ago and could still go for another three... or four... or the rest of the pan. So, I will get that up later this week.

We haven't seen any new movies lately.  I know.  Shame.  We're working on it.

Here are some things I'm enjoying right now:

• The apple cinnamon squares.  Seriously.  They're awesome.
• Getting to wear my new boots (even if that means the weather is getting colder).
• Also, my new fake TOMS.  They're gray and white, and super cute and comfy... and they were only $12!  Woohoo!
• How great my past couple of runs have felt since the triathlon.  I've never realized how insanely good swimming is for you until now.
• Playing chess with Thomas.  We just randomly went to Oberweiss for some delicious ice cream on Sunday afternoon and decided to play chess while we ate.  So now we're playing chess together.  And I'm getting slaughtered. every. time.
• I'm also still super in love with my job!  It's pretty awesome.  And in case you were curious, here's an amazing video they did this weekend!  They actually have a package where they will film a wedding, edit it immediately, and then show a video at the reception!  Wow!  Talk about talent!  (And don't think I'm tooting my own horn here, I had absolutely nothing to do with the artistic beauty you see in the video!)

Wasn't that video awesome?!  I know, right!  And I get to work with these people!

Oh... also.  Stay tuned here and/or on Instagram tomorrow.  I may have some before and after photos coming up... And that's all the hint you're going to get!

Toodles!

Hello to Missouri

Well, I'm exhausted!  It has been a very tiring weekend.  Here's the snapshot:

Friday - Loaded everything we own into a UHaul in the morning, then drove 9.5 hours to Atlanta to stop for the night.
Saturday - Drove 12 hours from Atlanta to St. Louis, then cleaned out Thomas' parents' basement (where we're living for a few months) as much as we could so that we could move in the next morning.
Sunday - Unloaded everything we own into our new home, tried desperately to make everything "fit" into a much smaller space.

Ok, so now that I've written that up and read it, it doesn't really sound that bad.  But I am exhausted beyond all belief.  It doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping well for the past two weeks or so with so much on my mind.  Hopefully that will begin to remedy itself.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you would have seen the progress of our journey from Florida to Missouri.

Here are a few things I'm loving about being back in Missouri so far:

Imo's Pizza!  I have missed this delicious "square beyond compare".  This was our first Missouri meal.

Qdoba!  So, so, so much better than Chipotle or Moe's.  No comparison whatsoever!

QT!  Yes, it sounds silly to be excited about a gas station, but these are the most respectable, reliable gas stations ever.  Thank goodness we are done with Florida's unreliable gas stations.

"My" new kitchen!  Ok, so it's not actually mine.  It's my mother-in-law's.  But I get to take over the cooking while we're living at their house for the next few months, and I'm really excited to get to use her brand new, top of the line kitchen!  (I'll take some pics sometime to show you!)

Those are just the few experiences we've had since being back.

Here are some things to look forward to on the blog as I get back into the swing of things now that the move is winding down:

A review of X-Men: Days of Future Past - Hint hint:  I LOVED it!
A new recipe - That's right!  There will be a new dessert recipe up later this week.
My June Julep box - It came in the mail today!
More Missouri Updates - I'm sure I'll have more to share in this department.

Braids {Little Lovelies}

As I mentioned in this post, I'm slightly addicted to braids right now; they're just so lovely.  I keep seeing them all over Pinterest, and they're absolutely adorable!  So, I've been working on my braiding skills (which are very, very limited) and trying out almost any style that's easy enough for my fingers to understand and replicate!  Here are some of the styles I've attempted.

**Please excuse the quality of the photos.  I am absolutely horrible at taking pictures of my hair with or without the use of a mirror.

This is a style I whipped up for the beach one day.  Yes, the phone/camera is conveniently placed to cover up my face as I was getting ready for the beach and had absolutely no makeup on.  I started out by parting my hair in a U shape and French braiding the U-shaped section all the way around my head and down to the end (I think it accidentally turned into a Dutch braid there for a bit).  Then I used the hair that wasn't French braided and divided it into two sections and did a traditional braid with the end of the French braided section as the third piece for the braid.  I liked the result for the beach because it made sure all of my little flyaways were pulled back.

This style was super simple.  I just parted my hair on the side (where I normally part it) and then took a small section out of the front-center of my head and braided it.  Then I pulled all of my hair into a messy bun.  That's it, but it was a cute way to spice up a traditional messy bun.

This here is my first attempt at a fishtail braid.  Who knew that a two-strand braid could be harder than a three-strand one?!  I need a lot more practice with this one.

This is a crown braid and messy bun combo.  I took the back-bottom of my hair and braided it into two ropes.  I pulled the rest of my hair back into a messy bun and then wrapped the braids up around my head into a crown.  The result was a kind of bohemian-messy-cute-fancy-updo.

And this is just a simple French braid on the side of my head.  Once again, I parted my hair on the side and started braiding on the side with more hair.  This is a cute style that I stole from a movie and it's actually a lot easier that braiding across the back of your head because your hands don't have to switch positions so many times.

And lastly, here is my first attempt at a Dutch braid.  Not bad, right?!  I was pretty happy with it since it's one I haven't really done before.

So there are some of the braided styles I've tried.  I've found most of my inspiration from Pinterest, so if you're interested in learning some new braiding styles, there are tons and tons of great tutorials on there!

Endorphins Make You Happy

Source: LookHuman.com

Though I wasn't wearing this shirt while working out today, I was definitely pretty high on those endorphins!  (You may recognize this quote from "Legally Blonde".)  Also, I wasn't before nor am I now in danger of shooting my husband (just thought I should clarify that).

Today I started week 4 of my 10 week training program, and I am in love!  Last week I felt pretty good about myself after the workouts.  For the most part I felt like I could keep going, but I want to stick to the schedule so that I don't over do it one day and have to put it on hold.  However, my Friday run (which actually happened on Saturday because my Friday was pretty busy) felt horrible.  And since my Friday runs are supposed to be the easiest, my body was obviously pretty tired from a hard week's workouts.  FYI: I run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with other workouts that I'm not quite ready to share about on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Rest days are Saturdays and Sundays.  So it's perfect that my "easy" runs are on Fridays since I don't think my body would be able to handle a hard run at the end of the week.

So, Saturday I was feeling pretty exhausted at the end of my run.  Like can't-run-another-step-without-tripping-and-falling-over exhausted.

But TODAY...

I felt amazing!  This morning was my first 3 mile run in this training program (and only the second in my life), and it felt so awesome that I was (and still am) just stunned.  I was pretty much full on sprinting at the end of it because I felt so great.  I could have kept running for hours (not really, but that's what it felt like when I was high on endorphins).  I'm still baffled that I did the 3 miles in 30:52 which averages out to just over 10 minutes per mile!

So in case you like to run or are thinking about trying it out, here are some specific things I'm loving:

• Proper workout clothes.  I have a few workout shirts (the wicking kind) that I love to wear when I'm working out, but until today I had just been wearing 100% cotton Soffe shorts.  That's all I had so obviously that was my only choice.  But last night, my AMAZING hubby took me on a mini shopping spree, and I got some actual workout shorts.  They're pretty much biking shorts but there's no padding on the butt.  And they made a huge difference today on my run.  You really don't know how much cotton is killing you until you try something better.  But your workout clothes don't have to be expensive.  Stores like Kohl's and Target have no-name-brand pieces for pretty cheap.
• Changing up speeds while running.  I've started doing intervals in my running, meaning that I'll run slow for about 2 minutes and then pick up the pace a bit for about 30 seconds, then just repeat continuously.  This is the basis for a lot of running programs, especially programs like couch to 5k.  I'm not timing myself on my intervals, I just continuously set goals for myself while running, for example: when I get to that tree, I'm going to run faster until I hit that darker spot in the pavement; or I'm going to pick up the pace for the whole chorus of this song; things like that.  And it has made a world of difference in my breathing during a run.  By running a bit faster at times, the slower paces feel like relaxation.  I've also read that this type of system burns more calories and fat.  I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it's worth a try!
• Cross training.  I'm not doing a special program or any crazy new-age exercises, but the more I work out my body in ways other than running, the more my running flourishes.  Like I said earlier, I'm not quite ready to share the specifics of my non-running days yet, but I just have to tell you: do some other things too.  Lift weights, go swimming, do yoga, STRETCH, anything will help!
• The RunKeeper App.  This is the app I use to log my workouts.  The GPS maps my runs if I'm running outside (which is almost always) but also allows you to log your runs manually if you run in the gym.  It gives you approximate calories burned, keeps track of your time and distance records and even has legitimate training programs you can use if you need a little help getting started.  I love that I can just set the app and start my run, and it gives my audio updates on my progress every 5 minutes so I know how long I've been running, how far, and my average pace.  And it doesn't just log runs; there are a whole slew of activities to choose from that you can log: walking, hiking, biking, swimming, and plenty others.  The best part: it's free!  And there are versions for both iPhone and Android.
• Taking my headphones out during my cool down walk.  I've started to do this so that I have a little time to think and pray in the peace and quiet, and I really love it.  I'm usually feeling pretty good after my run, and it's a great time to talk to God about anything that's going on.  My prayers are usually punctuated with a lot of "Oh thank you for that breeze!  It feels amazing!" right in the middle of a sentence, but it's still some great quality time with God out in nature.

 So my Monday is so very lovely so far!  I hope yours is too!

Recipes to Come and Randoms

The past week has not been a normal one for me.  But, of course, in every week, I try to find some little lovelies that make me smile.  So here they are.

First of all, I successfully completed week one of my running program.  (Woohoo!)  I'm not really worried about being able to keep up with it until it comes to week four or so.  Once the distances move into ones I've never run before I don't know if I'll be able to progress that quickly, but we'll see.  The program is pretty basic; I'm running three times a week with some other various exercises on the off days.  So last week I ran 5.3 miles over three sessions.  This week, it will be more.  Yikes!

I tried out a few new dessert/snack recipes last week/weekend, so I'll be sharing those over the course of this week.  Watch out for the soft pretzels.  They were amazing!!!  The single serve brownie was delicious too!

I also made this Hot Fudge Pie for dessert at a friend's house on Friday.  It was pretty delicious and went perfectly with some ice cream and chocolate sauce.  Yum!

My latest scarf is off the loom, but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet.  I'm still waffling between making it an infinity scarf or a regular one so that's holding me up.  This week I am determined to make up my mind and finish it!

One last one, but possibly the biggest:  I really love the Bible study I'm doing right now.  God is speaking to me so intimately through it, and I find myself growing each day.  I absolutely love it when God allows your Bible study to speak very specifically on something you're going through in that moment.  That happened to me this week when I was really struggling with faith and with believing God, and BAM!  That's exactly what my Bible study was about that day.

God is so perfect, and things like that continually show me that believing Him is so very worth it.  It's harder to put into practice than it is to say in words, but each day, I am working to live my faith in Him.  He is mighty!

Here's to another week where only God knows what is to come!

Last Week in Photos {Lundi Little Lovelies}

I know I was a little absent from the blog at the end of last week.  Though, if you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen a few updates.  So here is quite a bit of last week in photos.

Thursday, I made my first ever batch of croutons.  I know, right?!  I'm such a foodie, so it's crazy that I've never made them before.  Honestly, I'd just never really thought about it.  I didn't really use a recipe.  I just cut up some bread I'd made earlier in the week, added some butter, olive oil, and seasonings, and stuck them in the oven.  And they turned out pretty awesome!

Also on Thursday, I made a half batch of my yummy and healthy Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Muffins.  I had the egg white to use up from the Single Serving Peanut Butter Cookies I made eariler in the week, so these muffins were the perfect thing!  I left out the raisins this time but added some crushed almonds.  Woowee!  The little bit of crunch from the almonds was delish!  I had the last one this morning with some peanut butter slathered on top.  (I may have forgotten to mention that I am absolutely obsessed with Jif Natural Peanut Butter right now.  I swear.  I'm eating it on EVERYTHING!  I truly think the natural tastes like nine million times better than the regular kind.  Maybe I'm crazy though.)

And another thing from Thursday (apparently I was pretty productive that day): I started on a new scarf!  Here is the progression it went through on Thursday and Friday.

I started out knowing I wanted to use the variegated "film reel" yarn in the left-middle, but I had no idea what I wanted to use with it.

Here are the final five.  I used these to warp the loom randomly as shown below.

Here's the warp getting ready to be wound on the loom.

And here we have my two options for the weft.  (I did have a third, the hot pink-ish color, but I already ruled that one out.)  After a few days of letting it sit and walking past it a hundred times looking at it, Thomas and I are both leaning towards the top, darker silver.  I like the funkiness of the bottom black/silver, but the top yarn is a little calmer and much, much softer.  So, I will probably get those samples un-woven today and start weaving for real!

Friday, I got a haircut.  It's not a huge difference, just cutting the split ends off and putting some layers back into it, but I like it.

Saturday, I made this baby for our Easter get together at some friends'.  Boston Cream Poke Cake.  Oh yum!  This is one of my favorite cakes, and it's so incredibly easy to make!  Just bake a yellow cake, poke a ton of holes into it, pour on vanilla pudding and then cover with chocolate ganache!  So, so, so good!  Except for the fact that we brought way too much back home with us!  Now I'm going to have to get fat or find someone to help us eat it!

And lastly, I did some idle shopping on Saturday afternoon and came up with a great project to add some more coral to the bedroom!  The best part: for this project, I spent a total of $6!!!  Sunday, I put it all together, and voila cute bedroom wall art!

It all started as I was strolling through Michael's with no intention whatsoever except to take up some time.  I happened upon the scrapbook papers and found some adorable sheets that matched my coral pillow exactly!  (And how did I know they matched exactly?  I now carry a swatch of that fabric in my wallet so that I can pull it out anywhere, anytime if I find something coral.)  The 12x12 sheets were only $.59 a piece!  So, I continued strolling through the store while I let the ideas formulate in my head.  I ended up with two corals and two grays.  Then I headed across to the dollar store to grab some $1 8x10 frames.  Print and cut out some letters, put it all together, and here's what I got!

I just L-O-V-E it!  Haha!  And I loved the $6 price tag even more!

Well, that about brings you up to speed on my life!  I did start a new running program today, but I'm not quite ready to share it with anybody because I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail miserably at it.  (It looks really hard.)  But, I will maybe share it in a few weeks if it hasn't killed me by then!

I hope you find a few little lovelies in your own life to get you through Monday!

Buttercream... Buttercream...

(I almost can't say this word without thinking about that scene from Rush Hour 2 "... buttercream, buttercream, croc skin, buttercream...")

This is a lovely little recipe for a killer butter cream frosting!  My mom makes a fabulous cake icing that is so rich you need a glass of milk with it.  And it has been my go-to icing recipe for a long time.  But, for piping cupcakes, it's a little too rich and heavy.

So, I hopped on Pinterest the other night when I needed a fluffier recipe, and I had some very strict criteria.  Turns out I only had one stick of butter and half a bag of powdered sugar, and my cupcakes needed iced immediately, so no last minute store runs.

After a little searching, I came across this recipe several times from different people, and the photos made it look like the type of icing I was looking for.  And mainly, it met my butter and sugar limitations.  But it turned out to be a really great icing recipe!

This icing was thick and creamy.  It piped on and held its shape really well.  And most importantly, it tasted great but wasn't so powerful that you completely lost the flavor and goodness of the cake underneath of it.

If you're looking for an easy and delicious buttercream recipe, this is it!

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
Will ice 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. Let the butter come completely to room temperature before starting.  No microwaving it to speed up the process.  You want it softened, not partially melted.
2. Using an electric mixer, whip the butter for about one minute.
3. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.  Begin by mixing on a slow speed (just so you don't zing powdered sugar all over your kitchen), then increase the speed.
4. Continue mixing until all ingredients are completely incorporated and the icing is smooth and evenly textured.
5. Pipe or frost as desired!
6. If you know what's good in life, you'll also add sprinkles!  :) 

Biting into one of these cupcakes was definitely a little slice of contentment!

Florida is the Best

It's true.  My little lovely today centers on the fact that living in Florida rocks!  I love it.

Yesterday, our life group spent the evening together on an island in the Indian River.  We hung out, explored the island, played games, built a campfire, MADE S'MORES!  It was a blast to hang out with the group in such a unique setting.  And the weather could not have been more perfect.  It wasn't too hot, wasn't too cold, and we got to see a beautiful sunset while we were there.  A really great day!

Here are some photo highlights!

Happy Monday!

A Lovely Weekend {Lundi Little Lovelies}

Well, frankly, I don't have much good to say about today.  So it's a good thing that I already had some collected little lovelies from my weekend!

I picked up this adorable notebook set at Target on Friday, and I just love them.  Aren't they so cute!  (FYI, I'm basically a notebook collector; when I see a cute notebook, I just can't resist it!)

Lolo with the photobomb!

I am making progress on the scarf.  It will definitely be finished this week!  Which is saying quite a lot considering that I completely un-wove everything I had already done (even the progress I'd made last week), and started over with a different weft color.  And that was about as tedious as ripping stitches out of an almost finished garment.  But, I'm so much happier with it now.  I just hate making a project when I know I'm not going to like the finished project.  At least now that's not going to happen!

I went on a run on Saturday morning on the beach.  It was glorious!  Seriously.  I've never run on the beach before, and now I'm wondering why!  I had my swimsuit on so I could get a little tan at the same time, barefoot, no headphones, just running right at the edge of the water listening to the waves.  It was amazing!  And it turns out that I ran three miles (with a little water break at the halfway point).  And I wasn't even feeling it.  I felt like I could have kept running forever.  I loved it!  I can't wait to go again tomorrow!

I made some streusel bars for Bible study yesterday, and since I had a little extra, I made a little personal dessert just for me.  I had it today: warm blackberry streusel with a scoop of melting vanilla ice cream on top.  Oh yum!  I will definitely post the recipe soon, so watch out for that!

Lastly, I mentioned that last week we had an impromptu no evening snack week.  And I am proud to say that I made it a whole seven days without having dessert after dinner.  Haha!  So I can do it, I just don't like to.  I really don't think the benefits outweighed the annoyance.  So, that probably won't be happening again.  Lol.

I've got some great recipes to share for several upcoming posts!  Stay tuned for deliciousness!

Nail Polish Reviews

So, since I didn't post the Lundi Little Lovelies post yesterday, I'm just going to pretend that today is still Monday and post it anyway.

My most exciting news is that my mom and one of her sisters is coming to visit very soon!  I can't wait!  I haven't seen my parents since June (if you don't count the facetime conversation on Christmas).  That's why I've started working on my tan.  Of course, they're going to want to go to the beach as much as we can handle, so I want to make sure I've got a base tan to prevent me from getting super crispy.  The last time my mom was here was two years ago, so I'm excited to take her out to all of the favorite places we've developed and everything.  She's my best girlfriend, so I can't wait to spend every moment I can with her!

In other news, yesterday I started working on a weaving project I've been ignoring for a while.  I'd like to finish it so I can move on to a new project.  That's my only problem with weaving.  When I start a project and decide I'm not in love with it, I have trouble finding the will to finish it.  So, I've started working on it again, and I'd like to have it finished this week or next week.

A while back, I mentioned here that I bought a sample pack of OPI's clear polishes.  Since then, I've used each of these a few times, and I thought I'd go ahead and review them for anyone who's interested!  Just click on the name of each polish for a link to check out more details and purchase them on Ulta.com.

From Left to Right:

1. Original Nail Envy - This is a nail strengthener, and the one I have is the original formula.  My nails have been pretty weak and brittle lately, so I've tried this out both as a base coat before a colored polish and as a stand alone clear polish.  I like it best as just a clear polish for when I don't feel like putting a color on my nails.  I'm not sure how well it works because I haven't seen a ton of improvement in my nails, but I also haven't been wearing this polish non-stop.
2. Chip Skip - I really, really like this as a base coat for my color polishes.  It basically gets any gunk off of your nails to make sure that the polish sticks to them.  I've used this several times as a base coat and I've found that it really prolongs the life of my nail polish.  My nail color seems a lot less likely to chip, and the polish lasts several days longer than normal.
3. OPI Top Coat - This, as far as I can tell, is OPI's standard top coat.  There's nothing incredibly special about it, but I do like it.  It goes on smooth and clear.  It's shiny, and I like the way it finishes off a color polish.
4. RapiDry Top Coat - This is the only one of the four polishes that I don't like.  It did not smooth out on my nails at all, so they looked really streak-y.  It does dry really quickly, but I would much rather have a polish that takes a little longer to dry and actually looks good.  I disliked the way my finished nails looked so much that I almost took everything off and started from scratch.  

So there you have it.  I really liked three of these four polishes, so this little sample pack was definitely a great purchase!  Now I know what full-size purchases I would make in the future!  I would definitely call that a little lovely!

Vanilla Cake Donuts - Baked!

Well, I will tell you what... the best Little Lovely of the day today is that I spent my afternoon at the beach!  First official beach day of the year!  Woohoo!  And I have a bit of a tan to prove it.  It was the most perfect day for it.  I posted a pic via Instagram, so feel free to follow me in order to see more photos of my life.  There's a handy blue button to do that right over there. ------>

But another little lovely of any day of my life is a wonderful breakfast food.  Every morning I face a serious dilemma because I have to choose what to eat for breakfast.  If it were up to me, I would never have to choose.  It's so difficult because breakfast foods are my favorite.  (Right up there with ice cream)

So I usually eat a wide variety of breakfast foods.  Hence the large number of breakfast recipes I post.  Because really, there's no time of day when it's not appropriate to eat breakfast.  Ya know?!  There are a lot of dinner foods that I would never eat for breakfast but basically no breakfast foods that I wouldn't eat for dinner.  I hope you're with me on this, because if not, I'm pretty sure we can't be friends.  Just kidding.  ... But seriously...

So, since I got a donut pan for Christmas, I have tried out a few recipes with it, and I really liked this one.  I made these donuts with a special Valentine's Day twist (hence the pink and sprinkles) for our breakfast on Valentine's Day.  'Cause who wants to eat cereal when you could have pink sprinkled donuts?!  (Though I do love me some cereal too.)
 

So, these donuts are just a simple vanilla cake donut.  They are classic and delicious.  And of course, a simple icing, in chocolate or vanilla, tops them off perfectly.  *For the pink icing, I wanted a hint of strawberry flavor and the pink color of course, so I just subbed some Hershey's Strawberry Syrup for some of the liquid in a simple glaze recipe.

Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts
Adapted from: Mom Advice
Makes: 6 donuts

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons milk
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a donut pan with cooking spray,
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.  Mix until well combined.
4. Divide the batter equally between the donut depressions.  **I use a plastic baggie with a large corner cut off as an easy batter dispenser.
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes until donuts are fluffed up and just start to brown.
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing them to a wire rack to glaze.
7. Top with your favorite icing (I would really like to try chocolate) and of course some sprinkles, and enjoy!  *Note: Try making a thin icing so that the best way to top these donuts is by dipping them into it.  It's a lot easier than trying to pour it on.

These donuts are perfect for any morning, not just special occasions, so whip some up today!