Back in the Day Bakery and my own yummy cookies

Last month my husband and I were fortunate enough to get away after the triplets went back to college.  Of course we went to Myrtle Beach but we also took a side trip to Savannah, GA, a city I have long wanted to see.  It is charming and beautiful.  While I was there I had to visit a bakery I have read about on various blogs.  So, on the way back to MB the hubby and I stopped in for a visit (and some treats too).

It is so very quaint and decorated in wonderful, drool-worthy vintage decor!

Bad picture but I was trying to show you the beautiful chandelier!



Of course we had to sample the goodies...

We ended up with some yummy cupcakes - "old-fashioned" pictured here and a very yummy chocolate!  I meant to take a picture of the ones in the box but well I ate them before I remembered!  We also sampled their banana pudding which was amazing!  I am certainly glad we stopped by, it was worth it.

Now, for my own recently crafted cookies.  The original recipe is found at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen and is one of my favorite blogs!  These are called Triple Peanut butter Cookies and I followed the recipe exactly except....



I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the peanut butter M & M's.  Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of triple peanut butter but there's just something so alluring about peanut butter and chocolate.  And, I still put in the peanut butter cups!

Just look at these babies!  They are amazing!  Thick, rich, gooey, peanut buttery, chocolately, - what's not to love!  So grab the recipe and get baking!  Oh, and you will need an icey cold glass of milk!

Happy Monday!

Jacalyn

My Shabby Lane Shops Retreat

As many of you know, I attended the Shabby Lane Shops Retreat in the Smoky Mountains, TN last month. I wanted to share the journey with you.

I drove down with my daughter Megan! She was a lot of fun on the trip and surely makes me laugh a lot! It was a long drive, about 11 hours and she was a good companion! We did stop in Ohio, at a mall we like, for some shopping on the way down, he, he!

Don't tell her I posted this pic! I don't think she'll be too happy but she is just so darn cute!

After getting lost in the beautiful Mountains in the dark (a little scary I might add) we arrived Thursday evening with a little navigation help from Miss Catherine, our fabulous leader of Shabby Lane Shops! Catherine had attached a beautiful Shabby Lane Shops sign welcoming us but of course I forgot to take a picture!

Miss Catherine and her adorable son, Cameron!

Upon our arrival we received the most wonderful goodie bag filled with some fabulous items. Thanks to Annie for the beautiful hand-crafted fabric business card holder; Karen of Avon for the lotions; Barb for the teas, Lynn for the yummy nest, and Catherine for the beautiful tote, note cards, pens and so much more ( I apologize in advance if I forgot anyone!). Of course I had to send everyone a bar of soap. I also sent some liquid soap for all of the ladies to enjoy during our stay!

Our first day there was spent learning and sharing with some very talented women!

The lovely Barb, of SBS Teas who gave us all a wonderful goody bag filled with teas and so much more, gave us a wonderful talk all about teas! She also made a wonderful meal for us too!

Miss Carla of Blue Heron taught us how to make beautiful paper shoes! I must admit that I missed some of that because I was, well, okay I'll admit it ~ Napping!!!!! No that's not Carla's beautiful paper shoes, but of course I just didn't take enough pictures! Ha!


The lovely Miss Claudia of Antica's Treasures taught us how to make beautiful "friendship bracelets." Yea, she had to fix mine when I was done! Thanks Claudia!


And Bunny of B. Catherine Designs taught us how to iron-on transfers to totes. We each took one home and made some to donate to Enchanted Makeovers.

By the way, Bunny (on the right) is a fabulous cook too! Thanks for the great meal Bunny! I missed Rita's cooking because we had to leave a day early, darn it!

Debbi of MarionBerry Cottage showed us how she prints images on fabric. You must visit her shop to see the beautiful things she creates!

On Saturday we had some fun shopping and had lunch at a great restaurant, the Old Mill!

Here's part of the gang while we wait for lunch from Left to right: me, Lynn of the Vintage Nest, Carla of Blue Heron Studios, Debbi of Marionberry Cottage, Rita of Tesora Fino, Claudia of Antica Treasures , and Bunny of B. Catherine Designs!

After lunch we visited a wonderful boutique That's So Shabby in Sevierville, Tn ~ owned by Jen, our friend Annie's (Annieg aprons and bags) daughter who was not able to attend *sigh* We missed you Annie but loved Jen's shop!

After our visit to Jen's Shop we split up and did different things. Meg and I decided that we wanted to get a better look at the mountains!

As you can tell, they were absolutely stunning though the pictures just can't capture the true beauty! This was my first trip to Tennessee and I was just captivated by the beauty of the area!

Oh and I can't forget to mention our nightly visitor! I owe this HUGE bear a big thank you for not eating me when I went to my car at night!

Sadly, we had to leave a day early because Meg had to get back to college as her Spring Break was over. But we truly enjoyed our time with these wonderful women from SLS and truly can't wait until the next retreat. I think our relationships are so much more meaningful now that we got to meet in person.

I owe Lynn of the Vintage Nest a big note of thanks and a huge hug for allowing me to "borrow" some of the pictures she took at the retreat! Thanks for being such a sweetheart Lynn!

Bunny & Lynn (and my Starbucks ice coffee, ha!)

Can't forget to post a picture of Miss Karen of Avon who worked so hard studying for school and helping Catherine with her sons!

Here's the the whole gang one more time in our beautiful cabin! I think Lillian from Shabby Denim Rose is missing though!

I would also like to thank each and every woman for opening their hearts and sharing their talents! And of course a HUGE thank you to Catherine for organizing and hosting this wonderful event!

Warmest wishes,

Jacalyn