Oh No You Didn't!

     Oh yes, I did! Do you see this copy of Midwest Living that came in the mail on Friday? I was thumbing through it Friday evening while my husband and son were gone picking up our grandsons for the weekend.

     I've been eating healthy foods for the past few weeks, but when I got to this page...I just had to stop and see where this place was located! It was meant to be. Incredibly Delicious is located in Springfield, IL and we already had a road trip planned to Springfield with the boys on Saturday! I knew that I was taking a healthy food break and it was worth every bite!

     See this? This is the most delicious Flourless Chocolate Cake that I have ever tasted. I tried many in my day, I've even made a few and never have I had one with this texture. So many times flourless chocolate cake has a very thick texture that almost gets stuck in your throat. This melted, made me purr with joy and I had no trouble eating every bite. It was chocolate perfection and believe me, after spending the entire day with my husband, my son and my two grandsons...I needed a chocolate fix.

     This piece of deliciousness was what my husband brought home with him. Loaded with apples, blueberries and we think cherries...he said it was the perfect mix of sweet, tart and crumbly.

     Of course we had to have a little snack while we were there. The guys all had cookies, but after reading the article...I had this glorious chocolate croissant. Oh yes...crispy with just the right amount of chocolate. Yummy!

     Incredibly Delicious is located on the main floor of an 1845 Italianate mansion in Springfield's Aristocracy Hill, near Abraham Lincoln's home and historic area. It is owned by Patrick Groth, who is also the chef. He and his family live above the bakery.  

     They also have a daily lunch menu, which on Saturday looked simply amazing. It just wasn't what two little guys 3 and 5 had in mind. I wanted everything on the menu!

     As you enter the building, you place your order for either lunch or pastries. You then take your lunch to one of the rooms in the house to eat. We just carried out our treats. There was a line, but it moved quickly and I would wait in a much longer line to be so rewarded.

     The real reason we went to Springfield was to take the boys to the Scheel's Sporting Goods store. It is really the largest store I've ever seen. My guys all are sports nuts (see why I was so excited about the bakery) and I'm not. I will say that even I was impressed with this store. When you walk in the door, you first notice the large ferris wheel.

You also can't miss the beautiful aquarium,

which is formed into an archway to walk under.

     The store has several Audio-Animatronic displays of presidents that speak, an airplane hanging from the ceiling, race cars you can drive, bowling, golf and every brand of clothing and shoe you could possible want.

They also have a restaurant, Starbucks,

homemade fudge, ice cream and gelato.

     Our youngest grandson and my son had a wonderful time on the ferris wheel, our older grandson is 5 and he was scared to death to even have his dad ride it. The guys all loved the store, I found a bench and dreamed of the flourless chocolate cake I would have when I got home!

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Wild Weather Weekend-Small Project

Don't let those sweet smiles fool you!

     It was a very strange weekend in my part of the world. In fact, I don't really remember ever having such strange weather. We had our grandsons here for the weekend. We were supposed to pick them up late Friday afternoon about 30 miles from here, but after watching the weather reports...we met their mother at noon, thank goodness.

     I actually took this picture Sunday morning, just a reminder of what happened here on Friday night. When my husband got home from work just before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, there was a slight mist in the air. When he stepped out on our deck about 15 minutes later to take one of the dogs out...he almost fell it was so slick. Within a matter of minutes, our area was a sheet of ice. They say that we had more than 100 accidents and because I live where 2 interstates meet, many of those accidents involved semi-trucks. We can actually see the interstate in the distance from our home and traffic was stopped completely for around 7 hours. It was one huge parking lot, can you imagine? I understand that the truckers were letting people into their trucks to stay warm. Every road in and out of our town was blocked by an accident. We only left the house to pick up my son, which we would never have done if his kids hadn't been here. It was a nightmare. Saturday was still very icy and yesterday...we woke to heavy fog and black ice. The roads were clear when we returned the boys, but the fog was thick. Last night, we warmed up to 52 degrees, the fog was horrible and huge thunderstorms passed through. What is up with this weather??

     I only worked on one tiny little project last week. For many years I have had a datebook calendar on my desk. I walk past the calendar shops in the mall and while I may drool over the lighthouses, beach photos and florals...a datebook has always been more practical for me. Until I became puppy obsessed this year...

     Who could pass this up? The pictures are so cute and with a new puppy in the house, well I gave in to temptation. Of course I didn't think about having no where to put it when I got it home. I can't keep a calendar this size on my desk and since putting the stainless appliances in the kitchen, I'm just not into putting things on the front of the frig anymore. I had a wall in the kitchen with nothing on it, but I couldn't imagine just putting a nail in the wall and hanging the calendar, so I tried to think of some way to hang it where it would still be easy to write on, yet not look terribly tacky!

     I saw some small bulletin boards from Ballard Designs, for around $70. Well, that wasn't in my budget. I had a small bulletin board in my closet, so I pulled it out, gave it a quick coat of paint and added a few felt circles to "dress it up" a little bit. I knew it wasn't really going to show once the calendar was hanging. It isn't ideal, but I do get to see my puppy pictures...the felt circles add a finished look that I wouldn't have if I just stuck the calendar on the wall and my refrigerator still has nothing on the front of it. Sometimes you just have to make it work! Money spent...$0.

I am joining Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

for Met Monday. Please visit our hostess!

Spring in the Heartland

     It isn't often that we find something that our little grands haven't already done. They live with the other grandparents and they keep them very busy with zoos, orchards, movies and events. When they were here recently, we took them strawberry picking. They were so excited and while we didn't stay very long, they said it was their favorite thing they did while they were here.

The lack of spring sunshine made the berries

very small and they were few and far between.

Great-grandpa had as much fun as the little guys.

     Yesterday, after a day of rain, I took a few pictures of my large tropical planter on the deck. Some of the plants were added this season, but the banana plant and the jasmine we planted in it last year. Imagine our surprise that they are so beautiful this year after spending an Illinois winter in the garage. We were amazed that they came back from the shock of the cold.

I am joining Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer

for Outdoor Wednesday.

Please take time to visit her today.

 

Sometimes, You Just "Go With the Flow"

     This was one of those weekends where we had every moment planned. We were picking up our grandsons on Saturday morning, they were spending the night and we would celebrate Christmas with them. Sunday, we planned to drive them a little over an hour away to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws before returning them to their mother. We also were meeting up with my sister to do some "gift dropping off" and we had tickets for the University of Illinois basketball game, they were a Christmas gift from my son to his dad. Well, nature stepped in.

     Illinois weather yesterday was some of the worst I can remember. The interstates were closed in various places, people were stranded for hours in dropping temperatures and they finally called the road crews in because it was too dangerous for them to be on the roads. The grandsons are still here, we have watched Mickey Mouse (the current fav) videos to the point of insanity, my son is staying here when he isn't working so he can spend time with his boys, the house is a total wreck and we have loved every minute! The plan is to take them home this afternoon, see the in-laws, meet with my sister and get back home before dark. Of course there will have to be a lot of road clearing before that is possible and our temperatures are below zero. Ugh.

     There is nothing quite like having a 2-year-old and an almost 4-year-old in the house to remind us of what Christmas is all about. Grandpa playing trains on the floor while Grandma is baking cookies, the excitement when they saw "their tree" with all of the Mickey Mouse wrapped gifts underneath it, the living room a mess of new toys and wrapping paper and sleepy little kisses goodnight. I do believe that the Blizzard of 2010 is one of the best gifts I could have had this Christmas!

I am joining Mary @ Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

How I'm Spending My Weekend...Be Back Monday!

Some Things Are Better Than Blogging!

It is very busy at our house this weekend.

I hope you are all having as much fun as we are!

Wearing Out Grandma and Grandpa

     When our little guys come for the weekend, we are always looking for ways to wear them out. At 3 1/2 and almost 2, they have so much more energy than Grandma and Grandpa do! After writing about Stephen Forbes State Park last week, I was reminded of the beach there and we decided that sunshine and water are a sure cure for getting a good night's sleep when children are young.

I grew up spending summers at a lake in Illinois.

I'd forgotten just how brown the sand is

and how murky the water can be.

I think I'm spoiled by the beaches where we go

in Florida and Michigan. White sand, clear

water...I like that so much better!

My little guys, they liked this beach just fine!

It was really fun to run and "plop" into the water.

I was so glad he didn't land on a rock!

After drying off and a stop at the playground, Grandma

and Grandpa were hungry. Catfish Curls were

on the menu at the marina restaurant.

We stopped at an area peach orchard. The

same family owns a winery, where the

nectarines were heavy on the trees.

Orchard View Winery is known for their wine made with Illinois

fruits. It is delicious wine. We let the boys enjoy the band

 that was playing, but no wine drinking for us this trip.

We had precious cargo to take care of.

After arriving safely at home, the boys took

a short drive up and down the driveway.

A good time was had by all. The boys left around noon on Sunday

and Grandma and Grandpa slept very well Sunday night.

I'm linking this to Outdoor Wednesday with our hostess

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer. Please take a moment

 to visit her and see all the other posts this week.