Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Toss in them pecans and cook 'em for 4-6 minutes, stirrin' frequently, till they're nice and toasty. Set 'em aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease and lightly flour two 8-inch round cake pans. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, bakin' powder, and salt. Set that aside for now.

In a large bowl, grab your stand or hand mixer and beat ⅔ cup of softened butter on medium-high for 'bout 30 seconds.

Lower the speed to medium, and slowly add the sugar. Keep mixin' till it's all combined. Scrape the bowl and give it another 2 minutes of mixin'.

Stir in the vanilla and one egg, beatin' till they're blended. Then, mix in the other egg.

Lower the speed once more, and alternately add the flour mixture and milk, beatin' just until it's all mixed in.

Gently fold in 1 cup of the toasted pecans. Divide the batter evenly into your prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the pans cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cake layers and cool 'em completely. Then, get ready to make that buttercream and start decoratin'.

In your mixer, beat the butter and vanilla on medium speed till they're light and fluffy. Turn the speed down low and slowly add in 2 cups of powdered sugar.

Mix in 3 tablespoons of milk, and then gradually beat in the rest of the powdered sugar and milk.

Spread a thin layer of buttercream on top of one cake layer.

Carefully place the second cake layer on top, and frost the sides and top with the remainin' buttercream till it's all covered.

Finish it off by sprinklin' the rest of them toasted butter pecans on top.