Skinnygirl Vegan Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze ↠ Recipe.

...AKA the best cake ever. I made this vegan chocolate cake with peanut butter glaze for our anniversary this year and it was so gooey and delicious, although I'm not sure how since it has no eggs or butter and only a tiny bit of oil.

I knew you all would be interested in the recipe, so here is my version...

Ingredients for chocolate cake >>
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Ingredients for peanut butter glaze >>
1/2 cup raw sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons almond milk
2 tablespoons creamy natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well until combined. Pour the batter into a greased pan. Bake about 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. When a fork inserted into the middle comes out clean, it’s done. (I took mine out when a bit still came off on the fork, that way it was extra gooey.) Let the cake cool completely before topping with the peanut butter glaze.

For the glaze, just combine all of the ingredients in a smaller bowl until the sugar is dissolved.

...and enjoy! And no need to tell your husband that it doesn't have all the "good" stuff in it, just let him think it's sinfully delicious...because it is.

Alaska Q&A:

Since I've gotten a lot of the same questions from friends, family, and on yesterday's post...I thought I'd do one big answer session. If you have a question that doesn't get answered, feel free to ask and I can answer it another time or in an email. :) And if you have no idea what this is all about, check out yesterday's post!

What town in Alaska are you moving to?

>>We'll be living near Anchorage, AK.

When are you moving?

>>We leave North Carolina later this week! We'll head to Kansas and Dave will fly out from there, I'll be meeting him in a month or two. So, if you're in Wichita (or nearby), make sure to email me if you're interested in a photo session!

What will Dave be doing?

>>He'll be a satellite technician in communications.

Are you driving there?

>>No! We'll be selling our car once we get to Kansas and finding a new (to us) car in Alaska. Our poor old car would probably never make it to Alaska and it will be cheaper to ship a few things to ourselves (and pack them in our suitcases) than to rent a Uhaul and make the truck up there.

What about the music?

>>Like I said in yesterday's post, Dave plans to record his next album while we're in Alaska and having the funds to put into the music will be HUGE. Believe it or not, Alaska is already one of the top places playing Dave's music! He plans to play shows when we get out there as well.

How long are you staying?

>>Of course we'll have to feel it out once we get there, but we plan to stay for a year or two and hopefully we can transfer somewhere closer to friends and family in the midwest.

picture via

Spilling the beans... our big news!

Ok friends, it's time to share the news that I had to make you wait to hear...

About two weeks ago, Dave got a call from an old Air Force buddy who gave him an out of the blue job offer. It's an amazing opportunity that we would be crazy to turn down! He was offered a position doing what he used to do in the Air Force (and loved) and I couldn't be happier for him. So, we're moving...again...

...to Alaska!!!

Now before you all ask, yes Dave is a musician, and will continue to play. Since he is a fully independent artist, we are the ones who fund every piece of the music. He was signed to two record labels before and was offered a few more opportunities to sign after South by Southwest in Austin last year, but it's just not how we want to proceed with his music. We love having the creative freedom and sole ownership of his songs. This will be great for the music as we'll finally have the funds to record album number two!

As for me, this will take a lot of financial pressure off of me and my photography business (although I have BIG plans for my little biz)! And just look at the gorgeous picture above, I can't wait to see what kind of pretty shots I can capture in Alaska! I'm so excited to finally be able to visit family and friends and just have a little bit more freedom than we ever have since we've been married.

That all said, YES, we are super nervous, very excited, and our minds are blown. We have moments where we think, what on earth have we gotten ourselves into? We're exhausted from the packing and unpacking dance we've been doing the past few months, but I've got my coffee and we're powering through. What keeps us going is knowing this will be a great adventure, and even more so, a wonderful opportunity for our little family and our future.

I'm so excited to have you all on this crazy journey with us and we hope you'll join us on this new adventure! If you don't already, I'd love to have you follow me on instagram...there will be lots of travel/road trip pictures coming up very soon. And since there are changes coming soon to google/blogger, make sure you have Home is with You on your Bloglovin' and/or Hellocotton feeds so you don't miss a post!

Also, if any of you live(d) in Alaska, have visited, or just happen to know more about Alaska other than the fact that it's cold- I'd love to hear your suggestions/tips!

pictures 1 // 2

A few thoughts for Friday...

>> I'll be spilling the beans on what in the world I'm talking about in this post on Monday! Stay tuned...also, thanks for all the wonderful comments on that post, you all are THE best!

>> Dave has an online show this Sunday at 7pm Central time! There will be candles, chats, and an awesome concert straight to your living room...don't miss it. Grab a ticket here.

>> Thank you all for the lovely Anniversary tweets, texts, comments, etc yesterday...we are so thankful for you all.

>> I'm too excited about the KANSAS game tonight, I can't concentrate...rock chalk baby! Any fellow Jayhawks out there?

>> I love this adorable vintage winter hat, and since winter has decided to come back and play I think we all need one.

>> It's Friiiiiday! Can I get a heck yes?! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend...

Wife fail...and a happy 4 years to us!

This morning (since it's our anniversary), I planned on waking up early and surprising Dave with whole wheat pancakes. I also decided I'd get fancy and throw in a few blueberry's, why not. I had made this recipe before (you know, the one time I made pancakes) and they turned out great...

...today, not so much. I gave Dave his pancakes first as I took a few pictures and he was really quiet, which should have been my first clue because if he was thoroughly enjoying them he would have made a fuss over them. I asked if they were good and he says, "Yeahhhhh, pretty good." So I had to ask, "Pretty good as in great, or pretty good as in blah?" "Uhhhh, pretty good..." Hehe, sweet husband was trying to be nice.

Then I sat down to join him and took a bite and wanted to be sick. It was mushy (maybe because of the blueberry's?) and disgusting. I started cracking up because I knew he was just saying that to not hurt my feelings, these weren't pretty good...these were terrible.

So, I tossed them in the trash and made us peanut butter toast. Fancy, I know. 4 years of marriage later and I still can't even make us pancakes. Better luck next year! But hey, in marriage you have to learn to be flexible and roll with the punches, and laugh when life gives you lemons...or in our case mushy pancakes.

On that note, any one have a whole wheat pancakes recipe for dummies? Send it my way please! I feel like I need to redeem myself after this one.

And since it's our anniversary...

 Engagement // Pre-Ceremony // Ceremony // Reception  // 3 Years

Grilled Salmon on our DIY recycled grill.

This weekend Dave found an old grill top out in the woods near our house, and after some major scrubbing we decided to put it to good use. He took a bunch of bricks that were stacked up behind the house and built a homemade/recycled grill. Last night he grilled our salmon out there and it was by far the best salmon he's made yet...

Even if you don't happen to have an old grill top this could be an easy/cheap project to make your grill look a lot nicer in your backyard. Just grab one of those little $20 grills (Walmart even has a $10 grill), build up your bricks however you want, and set the grill on top/inside.

It looks great in the backyard! I'll post a better pic on instagram today that will show it from the side so you can see how tall it is.

Let it be...

This weekend Dave and I had something completely unexpected thrown our way. Good, but unexpected, and quite a lot to take in. I can't tell you what it is yet (I know, that makes me one of those people)...but I can tell you it's crazy/exciting/scary/exhausting and leaves us feeling hopeful.

We are all over the place with our emotions right now (oh wait, I think that's just me), but it's been a wild ride since the moment we got to North Carolina and it doesn't look like things are slowing down any time soon. But that's ok, it's an adventure and I know someday we are going to love telling all of our stories and we will laugh at every little bit of it. Worrying just adds unnecessary stress. It's best to let it go, let God, and let it be...

*Disclaimer: no, I'm NOT pregnant, I just had to throw that out there because I know someone would have asked!

Five things to be happy about this Friday...

I don't think it's a secret that this week hasn't been my favorite, I even missed posting a few days this week. Blogger fail. But, today is Friday, and that sorta seems like a fresh start to enjoy this weekend. Here are a few things I have to be happy about this Friday...

>> I get to have a blogger date with this girl today!

>> Dave is officially on Spring Break...thank goodness.

>> The sun is out, and it's supposed to get be in the 70's tomorrow. Bring it on!

>> I'm almost done with my photography blog and back dating all of the posts. (Website to come!) I could add another thing to be happy about this Friday if you all spread the word about my little business. ;)

>> It's almost time for March Madness! ROCK CHALK!!! (that's who we're all rooting for, right?)

I want to hear from you! 

What are five things you have to be happy about this Friday?

Spring is coming!

Although we're still having our fair share of gloomy winter days and mornings where it seems too cold to get out of bed, spring has started to pop up in a few places. This year it is even more exciting because the owner of this house said that when they lived here his wife planted a bunch of pretty flowers and they have some fruit trees in our yard. We can't wait to see what kind of pretty (and yummy) surprises are going to pop up!

We're starting to see a few here and there...

...has Spring started to show any signs that it's on it's way where you live?

The weekend in photographs...

While I, along with the rest of you, try to get back on track after Daylight Savings Time kicked all of our butts...I thought I'd give you a peek into our weekend. It was a gorgeous weekend and we took advantage by working on the yard buying lots of plants/succulents for the new house...

...that cute little bundle of succulents on my desk was bought to try and replace this guy. I tried my darndest to keep him alive throughout the two months of traveling/moving, but it was just too much on him. Poor little dude.

 What did your weekend look like?

Currently...

Listening to >>
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers...

 

 

Craving >>
Baked goods and coffee.

Learning >>
Allll about Lightroom 4. So far I still like Photoshop the best, but if you have a good tutorial, send it my way!

Wearing >>
This hat...on the daily...because it makes me happy.

Needing >>

Blinds for my office. Every day from about 3:30-6:30pm you can find me looking like this...

Making >>
New pretties for the shop.

 Loving >>
All the sunshine we've had lately. And the fact that it's supposed to get into the 60's this weekend. Yes please!

Wanting >>
Date night with my man.

...what about you?

Happy Birthday Chelsea!!!

Happy Happy Birthday to Chelsea at Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles!!! A few of us wanted to make it extra special so the amazing Alyson put this together with all of our Birthday wishes...

...comments are off on this post so you all can go wish Chelsea a very Happy Birthday!She also has an awesome giveaway going on that you won't want to miss...I'm headed there right now to enter!

Melissa and James // Wichita, KS Couples Photography

This photo session is very special to me, since it's my step-sis and brother-in-law, I was so excited I got the chance to take some pictures of these two during my most recent trip back to Wichita. We braved the frigid Kansas winds and I'm happy we did because these two didn't have a bad picture in the bunch. These two are seriously photogenic, and I'm not just saying that because their family, see for yourself...

...am I right, or am I right? Also, if you haven't liked the Dreaming Willow Photography Facebook page, won't you pretty please join me over there? I post some pictures that you won't see unless you like the page and I would love to have you! Plus, I'll be traveling and that way you can keep up with how to get a session when I'm in your city.

Annnnnd, for those of you in North Carolina, if you're interested in a session now is the time to email me! I only have a few spots left for the special introductory rates I'm offering since I'm new in town, so don't put it off- you can email me at dreamingwillowphotography (at) gmail. Hope to hear from you soon!

Linking up with Because Shanna Said So, The Paper Mama, Project Alicia, Live and Love Outloud, and Naptimemomtog...

Playing dress up...

Sometimes, when the light is just perfect, and you have new pretties to wear...you just have to play a little dress up...

Headbands: Home is with You Shop // Hat: American Eagle // Dress: c/o Simply Sophisticated // Necklace: c/o Allena Mistral // Pictures: c/o my sweet husband

...and sometimes you have to get a little goofy with it.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.