101 in 1001: #53 Make a cake from Scratch and display it on our Cake Stand.

When we were in Madeira, Nathan and my grandma talked about having chocolate cake almost every night. I don't know why chocolate cake was their fixation (Nathan prefers white cake with chocolate icing), but after we got back I decided to make him one. And what better time to bake a cake then Valentine's Day? OK, so I have a confession. This cake wasn't actually from scratch, but I'm counting my 101 in 1001 anyway. The cake was from a box but the icing was from scratch! And it was DELICIOUS. I might have eaten a few spoonfuls after I iced the cake. Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup butter or margarine 2/3 cup baking cocoa (I used Ghirardelli, which was probably why it was so chocolaty) 3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cup milk 2 tbsp brewed coffee (I left this out because I forgot to get it, but I bet coffee would have made the icing even richer!) 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract 1/2 tbsp almond extract (THE secret! Almond extract makes everything better)

After decorating this cake, I realized that I definitely do not have a career as a cake decorator in my future. I would lose on Food Network's Last Cake Standing. It kind of looks like the cake has a bowl cut from those strawberries. I'm pretty sure the judges wouldn't think that was cute. Plus, half of the strawberries fell off the top.

The good news? It still tasted delicious. :)

101 in 1001: Visit Barry in Madeira.

I remember my dad calling to tell me that Barry had signed a contract to play professional basketball in Europe. "He's going to Madeira Island," my dad said. "It's like Europe's Hawaii."

I hadn't ever heard of the Portuguese Island, but it sounded pretty amazing to me. Temperatures between 65 and 80 all year long? Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean? Quaint towns and rolling hills? Yep, that's paradise.

Now, having visited Madeira, I know why I had never heard of the island: It's not at all an American vacation hotspot. There were lots of British English-speaking tourists, but we didn't run into another American the whole time we were there (minus the couple Americans on Barry's basketball team). To me, there's something liberating about that. Knowing you're visiting an area where you're in the minority. Seeing a truly foreign place out of wide eyes. It does something for your soul and your mind...

Lots more pictures will hit the blog later this week and next, but for now I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of the island from our hotel in Funchal (Madeira's capital). This was right at sunset. Gorgeous.

101 in 1001: #6 Clean out my Inbox!

Friends, I am embarrassed to say that just a couple weeks ago I had more than 4,500 e-mails sitting in my Inbox. I know I'm all "I love being organized!" but my Inbox? It got the best of me. Here are just a couple of the things I found while DELETING old e-mails:

1. A Facebook notification from 2007 (2007!! That's back when Facebook e-mailed you about every little thing.)
2. A message from my previous, previous roommate (Hi Lauren!) about our utility costs for October 2007.
3. Lots of stuff about the 2008 presidential election.

... And you get the idea. I'm happy to say that I have a brand new organization system that I'm bound and determined to stick with! Yes, I have about 63 folders on the side of my gmail, but I'd rather that everything have a place ... and that does NOT include my Inbox. The goal is to keep no more than 20 messages there. At that point, I need to get to work responding/filing!

What are your e-mail organization best practices? Obviously, I could use some advice!

101 in 1001: #59 Visit Stan Hywet at Christmas.

As a kid, I was obsessed with Christmas! According to my grandma, I would "practice" getting up on Christmas morning weeks before the actual day took place. Like I said: obsessed. I vividly remember visiting Stan Hywet as a little girl and being swept up in the magic of the holiday. For those of you not familiar with this Akron mansion, it was built between 1912 and 1915 by F.A. Seiberling, the man who founded The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. This house is unbelievable—not a detail was forgotten—and it's especially unbelievable at Christmas. So many lights and trees and decorations.

Now that we're in Northeast Ohio, I've wanted to take Nathan to all these spots I remember from childhood, including Stan Hywet. Although I was NOT prepared for the crowds (it took us hours to get through 10ish rooms ... be warned if you decide to go next Christmas!), I did love reminiscing. And the magic of the holiday was still there between those walls.