Friday, November 13, 2009

words to live by

This is something I'm not great at [I'm so not a "morning person"] but am trying to working on. Too many blessings and things to be grateful for to be grumpy to start off the day. I wonder if happy mornings make for happy days. I'm willing to bet there's something to be said for it.

:: print can be found here

Thursday, November 12, 2009

yes, please

I love this shirt. I can already see it as my go-to outfit during the holidays. I'd feel so Mrs. Clause-esque while running Christmas errands, baking cookies, delivering treats, and wrapping gifts. It's so fun + festive in an "I'm not trying to be festive" sort of way. Love it!! Why, yes, I do believe this needs to make its way into my closet. And the sooner the better so I can greet the holiday season appropriately attired come December 1. Good thing we'll be near an Anthropologie before too long. Maybe I can convince my Santa that his "Mrs" deserves an early holiday treat. Fingers crossed...

Sunday, November 8, 2009

dangerously delicious

You all know I love to bake and I've been incredibly inspired this fall to try some new recipes. Just in the past several weeks I've whipped up these yummy treats:

Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Chip Cookies [using bread flour]
Spiced Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

They were all great! [In case you're curious, my favorite of the bunch was the Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet and Lee's were the Pumpkin Cupcakes.]

Yesterday afternoon I was struck with a hankering to bake but didn't have a recipe in mind. I was stuck with creating something with ingredients I already had on hand and wanted to find a recipe where I didn't have to wait for the butter & eggs to come to room temperature. I scoured my favorite baking blogs, websites, and cookbooks and came up empty handed. I was about to give up when I decided to go through a stack of recipes I printed off but have yet to try. Towards the bottom of the stack I came across a recipe for Tahiti Blondies that I found here quite awhile ago. Lo and behold it called for melted butter and I had everything but the white chocolate chips on hand. I decided to substitute additional semi-sweet chocolate for the white chocolate and got to baking. I was a little nervous given I've never baked anything from the blog where I found it but by the time I put it in the oven I was fairly confident it would come out, at the very least, ok.

Ok is a serious understatment!! This is one of the most dangerously delicious treats I've made in quite some time and it was so EASY! I love that it doesn't require room temperature butter & eggs because that means that as long as I have the ingredients on hand, this treat is never more than an hour or so from our bellies! See what I mean about it being dangerous?

Here is the recipe as I made it:

Tahiti Blondies
adapted from this recipe

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
4 tsp vanilla [I used Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla]
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 1/2 cup shredded coconut [I used sweetened]
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips [I used Jacques Torres chocolate discs, chopped]

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper

2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl stir together brown sugar and melted butter until combined. Add eggs and vanilla to the mixture and mix well. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.

4. Fold in pecans, cocount, and chocolate. Mix until well combined but try not to over mix. Pour batter into prepared baking pan and smooth out with spatula.

5. Bake for about 25-28 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Cool to room temperature before cutting. [We dug in before it was completely cool and while it wasn't easy to cut, it tasted amazing because it was all gooey.]

Saturday, November 7, 2009

what happened to thanksgiving?

We had the opportunity to attend the Louisiana Tech/Boise State game last night so yesterday I ran to Academy to pick up some appropriate apparel [go Bulldogs!] Imagine my surprise when I walked in and was met with Christmas music. Yep, you read that right...Christmas music! Now don't get me wrong, I'm already in serious Christmas planning mode - our photo cards have been ordered, I'm on the hunt for the perfect wrapping paper, and sites are being bookmarked as gift ideas for family + friends.

Although I'm getting excited about Christmas I'm in no way ready to hear Christmas music. I don't know why but it doesn't feel right to pop in my favorite Christmas cds until at least the day after Thanksgiving. Call me crazy but it seems that even though we're all prepping for the onslaught of Christmas cheer we shouldn't overlook Thanksgiving.

Needless to say I was quite smitten with these adorable Thanksgiving cards I ran across on Etsy tonight. What a great way to brighten someone's day! Even if you're among the majority that don't send out cards for Thanksgiving that doesn't mean you shouldn't let those that matter to you the most know. Since I don't know everyone who reads this little blog and, therefore, can't send out how I feel I'll let you in on a secret...

I really am. You faithfully read my random thoughts, indulge me by looking at my pictures, don't judge when I post about calendar after calendar, and some of you even leave sweet comments. Thank you all for making me a small part of your day and I hope I can, at least sometimes, bring a little smile to your face because knowing you're out there brings one to mine!

Ok, back to the topic at hand...is Christmas music ok before Thanksgiving or should it be reserved for after we've all stuffed ourselves full of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie?

[I do need to note that although I wasn't prepared to hear it so soon (and in a store full of sports equipment & hunting gear no less) I did find myself humming along and even walked out with a Christmas present. Their marketing strategy clearly worked!]

Friday, November 6, 2009

words to live by

How so very true.

::found here [originally from here]

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

for my calendar wall

You all know of my love for a fun calendar and how I'm using Tracie's calendar wall as inspiration for 2010, right? Well I need a few more to make it truly special. The ones I have so far can be found here, here, and here. I'm not sure how many I want but I definitely don't want to go overboard. That could be really hard, though, since all of these beauties are calling my name. [Family members: if you're looking for a fun Christmas or birthday idea for me, look no further!]

Saddle Stitch Studio {$24}
The image on July had me from hello. Seriously, could it be any
more fun + festive? I don't think so!


Paper Source {$18.50}
The imagery on this calendar make me happy + calm all at the same time.


Gabrielle Kai {$12}
I've drooled over her photos for quite some time now.


Page by Paige {$10}
I love bright colors so this one quickly grabbed my attention. Every month is great but September is my favorite. I think. Hmm. Hard to say because I really like January & May too. And February and April are pretty darn cute as well...


Amy Marcella {$25}
This one looks really special and the images are just gorgeous
[you can see more of the images on her blog]


I loved their version last year too but didn't end up getting it
and, I gotta say, pretty much regret it.


This one is such a departure from my normal style but
I'm incredibly intrigued by it and drawn to it.


So, are you as calendar crazy as I am or do you all think I'm nuts? I realize this is becoming a slight addiction but I just can't get enough. Just out of curiosity, which of the above is your favorite? If you're an addict like me, do you have a favorite that I didn't mention? I clearly don't need any more choices but I'd love to check them out!

tag - i'm it!


Thanks to One Preppy Day for tagging me!

The Rules:
1. Answer with 5 answers
2. Tag 5 favorite bloggers

1. WHAT WERE YOU DOING 10 YEARS AGO?
~ In November 1999 I was...
- working as a VIP Services Supervisor at Harrahs Lake Tahoe
- nursing a severely broken heart
- living in a spot that gave me the most amazing views of Lake Tahoe
- spending Thanksgiving with friends from work and even though we weren't with our families, it was one of my most memorable Thanksgivings to date
- trying to figure out who I wanted to be when I "grew up"

2. WHAT ARE 5 THINGS ON YOUR TO DO LIST TODAY?
- gym
- lunch with hubby
- laundry
- post office
- pay bills

3. SNACKS YOU ENJOY?
- cranberry & pomegranate trail mix bar
- apples
- leftover Halloween candy
- pretty much any sort of baked good
- luna bar sunrise - strawberry crumble

4. WHERE ARE 5 PLACES YOU'VE LIVED?
- Vacaville, CA
- Chico, CA
- Lake Tahoe
- Sylva, NC
- Shreveport, LA

5. WHAT ARE 5 THINGS YOU'D DO IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE?
- pay off all of our debt and our families debt
- buy a beach house and/or lake house
- support my favorite charities
- set up a fully funded college & wedding fund for my step-daughters & nephew
- book a trip to Italy & Greece

I'M TAGGING:
- anyone and everyone who wants to play along!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

trick AND treat

Halloween is, admittedly, not my favorite holiday. Although I've gotten more into it the past two years due to my volunteering with the Halloween parade at the hospital, I still don't look forward to it. I'm know, I'm such a party pooper.

Today started out with Lee & I running in a 5K. I'm not sure what possessed me to sign up but with a name like "The Great Pumpkin Run," I just couldn't resist. My training didn't go according to plan - I'd hoped to be ready & able to run the full 3.1 miles but that didn't happen. As a matter of fact, at my most recent trip to the gym I was only able to puff out a mere 0.6 mile. Pretty disappointing given a month ago I ran 2.5 miles! Anyway, this morning found Lee & I running and although I didn't feel like being there, I really wanted to push myself to do the best I could. Things started off wonky when in the bunched up start a little boy stopped suddenly in front of Lee and Lee tumbled to the ground. He quickly popped up and kept running but it definitely threw me for a loop. I pushed myself to run the first 2 miles and then walked a little on three different occasions for the next mile. It was pretty chilly out so it felt good to run and as I rounded the corner to the finish line I felt such an incredible burst of energy that I sprinted to the finish. The clock said 32:30 but Lee let me know we'd started a full 40 seconds after the leaders so my adjusted time was 31:50. Yay for me! Not only was it my best time but I didn't have the overwhelming desire to vomit once I stopped running. Quite honestly, that, for me, was the best part. Lee also had his best time yet so we were truly enjoying the beautiful morning together. {TREAT}

That came to a quick halt when Lee was informed of possible flooding issues where he works and had to hightail it there ASAP. So much for our tradition of having a celebratory high caloric breakfast. One of the benefits I thought of him going in to work early would be that he'd be home in plenty of time to help me hand out candy. That thought quickly faded when I learned they'd have to shut down and evacuate all employees [except the "core" team] due to a potential levee breach. Given he's a part of the "core team" he's there for the duration. Luckily he was able to come home to get a change of clothes but before I knew it, he was gone again. At this point we don't know much but if the levee does breach the area surrounding the building could get anywhere from 3-5 feet of water. They don't expect it to get into the building but he'll be stranded there until it recedes and they're able to reopen. At this point they don't know when that will be. What's so crazy is the weather here is beautiful right now. I guess that doesn't matter when you've had HUGE amounts of rainfall and the lakes, rivers, and bayous continue to rise. That area of the city is in for a rough ride and there are already subdivisions that are flooding. So very sad. {TRICK}

After all the Halloween candy was handed out I decided to do a little online perusing to kill time. I'm in search of a few calendars so I can create a fun calendar wall [thanks again to Tracie for giving me the idea] and in my search I came across a few things I decided needed to be my "Halloween treats." At the top of the post you'll see my latest addition to said wall [the others can be found here and here]. I came across more than a few great calendars [all of which I bookmarked for later] but couldn't resist the way this one made me feel. In spite of the worry for my hubby, I found myself smiling and figured it needed to grace our wall.



I also came across these bright + cheery labels that I'll use to make our Christmas packages even more festive. {TREAT}

Regardless of how you feel about Halloween, I hope you all had a good day and were able to enjoy a few treats of your own [and stay away from any tricks!]