The weather in New England the past couple of weeks has made me want to escape to somewhere tropical!  #SoMuchRain  And while I would love to hop on a plane to Miami today, work and life just aren't allowing for that currently so I decided to bake something that makes me at least feel like I am somewhere warm and sunny.

My mom makes this AMAZING golden rum cake quite often and it is such a family favorite that I wanted to share it with you all.  All you need are a few simple ingredients, Bacardi rum (I used traditional white rum, but you could spice it up with coconut rum as well), a Bundt pan and bam! you're on your way to the tropics.


Golden Rum Cake
{Yield: 12 servings}

Cake:
1 cup slivered almonds
1 package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) package vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white or dark rum (I used white rum)

Butter Rum Glaze:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup white or dark rum (again, I used white rum)

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees, then grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.  Sprinkle the slivered almond slices evenly over the bottom of the pan and set aside.

In a stand-up mixer, combine the cake mix and pudding mix.  Then add in the eggs, water, oil, and rum and blend well for about two minutes.  Pour the cake batter over the slivered almonds in the Bundt pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack.

While the cake is cooling in the pan, make the rum butter glaze by combining the butter, water, and granulated sugar in a medium saucepan.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn.  Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup of rum.  Use caution when adding the rum as it may cause the glaze to steam up when combined.

Pour half of the hot butter rum glaze into the bottom of the Bundt pan, reinsert the cake and then pour the remaining glaze over the bottom of the cake.  Allow it to absorb well, about 15 to 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving platter to cool completely before serving.

The cake will stay fresh if covered in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, but let's be real...it won't be around that long!

Enjoy!

Chocolate chip cookies are just a staple recipe that everyone should have in their repertoire, but sometimes you may be looking for a jazzier version that offers something a little different and today's recipe is just that!



These peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and gooey...everything I'm looking for in a perfect homemade cookie.

Salted Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
{Yield: 24 cookies}

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Course sea salt (Kosher or Maldon)

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Using a standup mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add the peanut butter and sugars and mix for about a minute.  Add the egg and vanilla bean paste and beat until combined.

Turn the mixer to a low speed and add the flour and baking soda and mix until just combined, being careful to not over mix!  Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough onto the parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet and sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sea salt.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned, but still soft in the center.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool, then enjoy!


Recipe adapted from Elisabeth & Butter.

Target is my kryptonite.  Anyone else with me on that???  I think if I was forced to shop only at one store for the rest of my life, it would have to be Target.  They just always have such great items at great prices and always have something new and exciting that catches my eye when I shop there.

I tell myself to stick to my list when I go shopping, but without fail a couple of "want" items always seem to end up in my cart.  #oops! :)  I thought it would be fun to share some of my recent finds from Target with you all and see if you have picked up any of these items as well.

I instantly fell in love with these yellow high-rise seersucker tie chino shorts when I was paroozing the women's clothing section last weekend.  The yellow pattern just makes me so excited for warmer temps and the bow tie around the waist is just too cute and makes my preppy heart so happy.  And you can't beat the price of $22.99!


I love fun earrings, especially for spring and summer and found these adorable SUGARFIX by BaubleBar whimsical resin hoop earrings last weekend and cannot wait to wear them.  They are super lightweight and I thought the white was a nice neutral that would go with a lot of different items in my closet.  I did see online that they also come in a pretty tortoise shell so those might have to be added to my collection as well!


A lot of bloggers that I follow have started their own book clubs recently or are posting about their favorite books and it has really inspired me to get going on one of my goals for 2019 which is to read more.  One of my best friends Colleen who runs the blog This Modern Broad has great taste in books and does a book club about once a month.  Its super fun to see what she is reading and I have a lot of books on my to read list from her!

I really enjoy reading and it was one of my favorite things to do growing up.  I would always read before bed and it helped relax my mind and ease me into sleep.  But I think during college I got away from reading books for pleasure because there was so much required reading that had to be done for my classes.

So to get going on my goal, I picked up this fun rom-com read at Target (I am a sucker for cute covers) and am really enjoying it so far and am falling in love with reading again!  If you are looking for a fun pool/beach read for this summer, look no further.  Also, it was on Reese Witherspoon's Book Club list so I knew it had to be a winner.

What are some of your recent Target finds that you are loving right now?  Let me know in the comments!