Summer Hydrangeas and Vegan Cupcakes

We fell asleep with the shade up last night, with the warm glow of the country sky shining into the bedroom. I had grand intentions of sleeping in late this morning. My eyes popped open at 5:30 am and I could not go back to sleep. I laid in bed for a little while, feeling blessed to be next to a man that always makes sure I know just how much he loves me. Just thinking of him makes me smile. We were driving to the grocery store last night, and as he does he'll gently reach for my hand to hold it in the most tender way, then he said in all seriousness "oh, I had something I've been meaning to tell you" and then he paused, and I thought we were about to have a serious conversation, then I could see the corners of his lips go up and his beautiful smile, and he simply said "I love you!" Little twenty second moments like that, are the ones I hope will stay in my heart forever.

The start to this Saturday morning was making a pot full of strong coffee, something my Ry is growing to appreciate. Then I pulled out all the ingredients for the most delicious vegan cupcakes, recipe below. As the frosting was melting and the cupcakes were baking I ran outside barefoot across the wet grass to pick some hydrangeas to fill our home and some extras to gift. The sweet sound of Madeleine Peyroux fills our home and the windows are cracked just enough to let in the fresh morning air.

This afternoon we are going to visit Ry's baby niece for her first birthday. Later on we will be on the boat, Ry will fish and I will read. Our evening plans are to bake a homemade pizza that we'll eat on the back porch with candles burning, music in the air, and a glass of wine in hand.

This is our life, and I often catch myself saying a little prayer of gratitude.

The hydrangea's remind me of my grandma, and the warm memories of my childhood summer's at her house get to fill our home now.

I hope you'll try these vegan cupcakes because they are simple and delightful.

Cupcakes:

One cup flour

Two teaspoons baking powder

dash of salt (I used pink Himalayan)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup nondairy milk (I used vanilla almond milk)

One teaspoon vanilla (I always use extra)

One tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Frosting:

Two cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup melted butter (cooled)

Two teaspoons vanilla

Zest of half a lemon

Juice from half a lemon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 365. Line or oil a cupcake pan. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar until well combined. Add the oil, milk, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix on medium speed and then on high for a few seconds to make sure the batter is smooth.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Set aside and let cool.

For the frosting, whisk together all ingredients on low until well combined, then to medium-high until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Enjoy with your loves xo

Wendy Correen Smith

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Sunday Thoughts and Vaca Photos

Posted by Wendy Correen Smith

Good Sunday morning to you! Today Ryan and I are moving my little brother out of my parent's house into his first apartment. He's the baby boy of the family, and this is kind of a big deal for my mom, I'm sure. She'll finally be an "empty nester" which will be a first for her since 1981 when I was born. This is a start of a new season of life for my brother and my mom and I pray that they are both able to cherish and appreciate the feelings and changes that will come along with it.

This morning I wanted to share a few more photos from our vacation to Charleston + Clearwater. I loved every single part of our trip, and it'd be hard to pick one favorite thing about it. I will say that our time spent on the beach, under the cabana, listening to the waves crash on the beach while we sipped cocktails and read books, was probably the most rejuvenating. One day we decided to make no plans for the entire day, other than to go to our cabana and go with the flow. That day was probably the most "vaca" like. We took naps on the beach and ate nachos with pina coladas at the beach bar. We walked hand in hand and dipped our feet in the water as we took in the heavenly sites. We jumped the waves like little kids, only to go back and dry off in the sun, just to do it all again.

One of the books I was reading was by Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace. I was lead to his books when I read some of his work, like:

Listen to your life.

See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.

In the boredom and pain of it no less than

in the excitement and gladness:

touch, taste, smell your way

to the holy and hidden heart of it

because in the last analysis all moments

are key moments,

and life itself is grace.

xo Wen

Wendy Correen Smith

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I'm back.

Posted by Wendy Correen Smith

Ryan and I just got home from a sweet vacation several weeks ago. My iphone is full of the memories that I'll cherish forever and I just saved all the photos from my nice camera onto the computer this morning. There has been a part of me yearning to write and share pieces of my life on the blog again. My hold-up has been the uncertainty of where to start. I feel like I can jump in and start over leaving out the last few years of my life, or I can share a small portion of the gap.

My old blog was mainly business based, but I found great pleasure in sharing tidbits of my personal life, although I felt a certain constraint on what I could share. Now that I have a personal blog I feel a freedom to write about whatever my heart desires. And that feeling of freedom is amazing! I look forward to sharing and reflecting again, and hopefully inspiring my readers.

I have hundreds of photos from our trip to Charleston and Clearwater. I thought I'd share them all at once, as an Instagram review, but as I debated about where to begin, I've decided I'll share one or a few photos at a time, and then write about whatever comes to mind.

This Instagram photo showing storm clouds over the gulf is only appropriate for my first photo as I get back into blogging again. A storm in my life has changed everything. My entire life was turned upside down and I had to ride the storm out until my rainbow appeared. I was tested and tried, for months I cried day and night, and I was on my knees praying daily.

My storm was at it's worst when the realization that my world as I knew it was over. I'm not ready to share the details of what brought me to the divorce, only that I stayed in a painful marriage for many years, only for it to finally be ruined by betrayal. I had mastered the art of only sharing my happy moments with the world, all the while I was suffering in what I knew could not last. I hung on as long as I could. The thought of leaving and the idea of divorce was equivalent to failure in my mind, and failure was something I did not know how to handle. I shared a company with my ex-husband, and when the marriage ended, so did my work. After working for many years on our home, I knew I had to move. Within a month, I had to let go of my husband, my work, and my home. I could have stayed in the marriage to save my work and my home, but that option would have been re-signing up for years of pain and heartache. Although the company was built on pure passion and it brought me much happiness, it could have never made up for the empty and painful marriage.

Sharing this part of my life is difficult, and I'm struggling with even writing about it. The biggest lesson for me is that life is full of happiness and sadness. It is true that going through the darkest of times and the brightest of times can bring us closer to God. With the dark times we are given the opportunity to strengthen our faith and during times of beauty and miracles we can rejoice with gratitude. Life is a balancing act of both and with much reflection I have learned how to trust in God again, during all times. There was a time period when I allowed my relationship with God to fade and I tried my hardest to plan and control my life. It wasn't until I was at the darkest point in my life, down on my knees, that my life turned in a way I could have never expected.

I look forward to sharing parts of my new life again, and I plan to be real here. Life isn't perfect, and we all have our beautiful times and our hard times.

xo Wen

Wendy Correen Smith