Giveaways, Weekend Recap, & Muffins

First things first....why does the weekend have to go by so fast?!  Ugh.  Another weekend come and gone, but this one was exceptionally great.  Not because we did anything spectacular or different, but we did spend time as a fam the whole weekend just playing, and that is my favorite type of weekend.  Might I mention that the weather had a big part in our happy demeanor.  It was an 80 degree, full sunshine with a bit of breeze type of weekend...bliss. Our allergies are killing us, but being outside 80% of the weekend was well worth it (plus I got a tan line, bam). I hope you all had a great weekend!

Paparazzi

Daddy love

Cruising...

and cruising more.

little feet

messy face

Peace & Jamba

His "treasure" map

he wanted to order and pay himself

his new favorite thing...

love that my boys have a love for art

 pulling the babes

Ok, now on to my FIRST Giveaway!  Boo-ya!  I mentioned here that my giveaway would be one of the prints I featured.  Well, it is your lucky day, because one of you readers will get your own 8X10 "You are My Sunshine" print from Fern Tree Studio.  You will get to choose the color (added bonus).  This print is by far one of my favs in my home and it will be yours too.

**To ENTER** simply push the "follow me" button to follow my blog, or you can follow my blog via "bloglovin" and then leave a comment on this post letting me know that you follow me.  If you are already a follower (thank you), just simply leave a comment on this post letting me know.  That is it...simple!  A winner will be chosen at random and the giveaway will be closed to entries on Friday (you have a whole week).  YAY!!

Ok, now on to the next thing, Muffins.  What post is complete with out muffins?  Why am I so in love with muffins? Am I becoming the Muffin Man?  Why so many questions?  Haha.  Ok, I am rambling {again}...You know I am a lover of Muffins, so of course I made some over the weekend (my 4th batch of muffins this week).  On Sunday I made "Mimi's Spice Muffins" for breakfast and they were a fabulous accompaniment with eggs.  Here is the recipe from Mimi's Cafe and adapted by me where indicated **.  I hope you all have a fabulous Monday!

MiMi's Buttermilk Spice Muffins
Ingredients 
Muffin Batter:
1 cup Sugar
½ cup Butter or margarine
3 Eggs
2-½ cups Flour **(I used 1 cup flour and 1 1/2 cup wheat flour)
2 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Nutmeg
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¾ cup + 1 tbsp. Buttermilk
Nut Topping:
½ cup Sugar
1 cup Walnuts (finely chopped) **(I did not add the walnuts, but I am sure they are delicious)
½ tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Nutmeg
** I also added 3 Tbl Ground Flax Seed (for added Fiber and Omega-3)
Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute.

Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon.

Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.

Make the nut topping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin.

Bake at 375° for 20-25** (I only baked them for about 19) minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly.

Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or six Mimi's-size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.
Via