So I'm in Texas Now...

Crockpot Chicken Chili

2012-01-25T12:00:00.000-06:00

When winter finally rolls around to Texas, I start feeling like using my crockpot again. i dunno why I don't really consider this to be a summer appliance, but there you have it. I was also recently reminded by my friend Ryan that I even had a crockpot because he got one for Christmas. Things tend to become forgotten in my giant storage box of kitchen supplies. I found this great recipe for healthy chicken chili and I tried it right away. Gotta love dumping cans of yummies in the crockpot in the morning and coming home to a full blown meal!

I recently read on a blog that an easy way to shred chicken was to put it in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment for a few seconds. Worked like a charm! Goodbye fork shredding for hours!

Finished product!

Recipe:

Crockpot Chicken Chili (from Skinnytaste)

1 onion, chopped

1 16oz can black beans

1 16oz can kidney beans

1 16oz can tomato sauce

2 16oz cans corn

2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies

1 packet taco seasoning

1T cumin

1T chili powder

24oz chicken breast (I used 9 chicken tenderloins)

chili peppers, chopped

chopped fresh cilantro for topping

cheese for topping

*Be sure to drain and rinse the beans and corn. I also drained the diced tomatoes a bit to avoid a runny chili

Combine onion, beans, sauce, corn, tomatoes, taco seasoning, cumin, and chili powder in crockpot. Mix well. Lay the chicken on top. Cover and heat on low for 9.5 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Stir shredded chicken into the crockpot mixture. Heat on low for another 30min. Serve with cheese and cilantro or your choice of toppings.

Enjoy!

Soft Ginger Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

More cookies! Hope you're not tired of them yet, cause there are more where these came from! I really liked these cookies on the first couple of days but now all I can taste is molasses. I dunno if I'm just becoming overly sensitive to it or if it needs to be toned down. You be the judge.

Recipe:
Soft Ginger and White Chocolate Cookies (from Two Peas & Their Pod)

1c butter, softened
1c sugar
1/2c molasses (maybe less?)
2T oil
1t vanilla
2 1/4t baking soda
1t salt
1 1/4t cinnamon
1 1/4t ground cloves (I think this could also be toned down a bit)
1t ground ginger
2 eggs
3 1/2c flour
1 1/2c white chocolate chunks
1c sugar for rolling the dough balls (I forgot this step haha)

Preheat to 350F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in molasses, oil, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating in between additions. Slowly add in flour. Stir in white chocolate chips. Scoop dough balls and roll them in sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Enjoy!

Somethin Sweet

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

I can't remember if I updated you all on my favorite Houston area cupcakery, Somethin Sweet. They moved into their own place awhile back and it's a tiny bit hard to find since you wouldn't expect a cupcakery to be next door to an auto body shop. I stopped by there last weekend and picked up a quick pumpkin cupcake on my way to the recycling center:

Store facade

My cupcake to-go!

Yummy pumpkin cupcake

Give them a visit, you won't be disappointed!

4201 Center Street, Ste. A-1
Deer Park, TX 77536

281-476-4441

January Birchbox Breakdown

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

In addition to evaluating the Foodzie Box's value for this month I also decided to evaluate the value of my Birchbox.

All my goodies, theme was Clarity this month.

Stila Smudgestick Waterproof Eyeliner= $20

Looks like we already have over full value haha! And, yes I checked the size and they are both .01oz.

Origins Checks and Balances frothy face wash= $3.90

This is available in a 150mL size for $19.50. I like the minty scent and how refreshing this face wash is.

Archipelago Pomegrante Body Soap= $3.26

I don't really like bars of soap because they're so messy, but I've been keeping this one by my bathroom sink for quick hand washes, say for after petting Baloo for a bit. It does smell nice.

LARABAR= $0.61

These are sold in packages of 12, but you can get them at most food/ sport and health stores individually. I really didn't like this, I fed most of it to Baloo. But, to be fair I really hate coconut so this was a bust from the get-go, not really the bar's fault.

Juicy Couture fragrance= $6.86

I'm guesstimating the volume to be about 5mL (sorry I work in a lab and I roll SI units folks) so this price is really an estimate. I actually really liked this fragrance, but since I just bought one I might have to pass on this one.

Grand Total= $34.63

Wowza, I'd say I really got my money's worth this month considering the Birchbox is only $10! Even if I don't like an item or two, it's still a deal. I think I shall continue with this venture :)

January 2012 Foodzie Tasting Box

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000-06:00

It's my first month paying full price for the new, more expensive Foodzie Box and while I enjoy getting new things and flavors delivered to my door, I want to make sure it is worth the price hike. Here is my Jan 2012 box:

Loaded with lots of goodies to be sure. Here is the breakdown:

Pacific Sea Salt and Cinnamon Crunch biscuit by Somersaults

2oz= $1.89 (x2)= $3.78 + s&h($5.95)

These are also available at Whole Foods, closest of which is 45 min from my apt.

Vanilla Blueberry Energy Bar from Bearded Brothers

4pk=$12 so 1=$3 + s&h($4.95)

These are also available at Luke's Locker, also 45 min away.

*Sea Salt & Nibs Bar by Madecasse*

EASILY MY FAVORITE ITEM IN THE BOX

1= $5.99 + s&h($5.99) but there is a min $17/ order

Also available at Whole Foods

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil by Kelapo

8oz= $7.69 so 0.5oz= $0.47 +s&h(4.95)

Sun Ripened Pu'er Tea by Five Mountains

2oz= $19.95 + s&h($5.60)

I have no idea how much was in our box, the pkg is not labeled, I shall weigh it tonight and edit post tomorrow!

So I weighed it and there was only 1oz in the bag so this is actually 1oz= $9.98 + s&h($5.60)

Quite Cheesy Kale Krunch by Alive & Radiant

1= $5.99 (s&h tbd)

Roasted Almonds by Stackhouse Orchards

3lb= $25 so 4oz= $2.08 + s&h(free from Foodzie this month)

This brings my total box to a grand total of $31.29 before even calculating in separate shipping and handling costs. Since the current cost of a Foodzie box is $29.99, it seems this is an ok deal. And, as you can tell, there are a few items that cannot even be bought as a single. Now, the highest value item of this box was the tea. I have yet to try this tea, but I'm not a real big tea aficionado like my sister so that's not something I would have been interested in buying/ trying to begin with. I will continue with the Foodzie box for a month or two more and continue to assess the worthiness of it. Stay tuned for future boxes!

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Caramel and Sea Salt

2012-01-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

I used to have no interest in baking cookies. I didn't like having to always be hopping up and down to put sheet after sheet of cookies in the oven after mixing up the dough. Cupcakes seemed so much easier since, with a standard recipe, it's once in the oven and done. However, I have since taken to baking my cupcakes one tin at a time to thwart my crappy apartment oven's attempts to ruin my cupcakes by lack of circulation in the oven. I also started making my cookies really big so that there were fewer sheets of them to bake. I also realized that the frosting of the cupcakes requires a second go-around in the kitchen after everything is cool, whereas cookies are ready for the munching. Hence, I've been on a bit of a cookie kick. Here are the latest in this craze, my dark chocolate cookies with caramel bits and sea salt:

Sorry, no fancy pics, I made the and immediately took them to my friends' house to watch football. I have to say that they were really yummy, but the caramel bits were low quality and next time I will find some fancy caramel to use instead. Also, this recipe made very few cookies, double for any sort of larger gathering.

Recipe:
Dark Chocolate Cookies with Caramel Bits and Sea Salt (from Two Peas & Their Pod)

1 1/4c flour
1/4t baking soda
1/4t salt
5T butter
7T Hershey's Special Dark cocoa
2/3c sugar
1/3c brown sugar
1/3c yogurt (I used vanilla Greek yogurt because it's what I had)
1t vanilla
soft caramel, rolled into balls
sea salt

Preheat 350F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Add cocoa and sugars, mix well. Add yogurt and vanilla, stir until combined. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Wrap the chocolate dough balls around the caramel and place on baking sheet. Slightly flatten dough and sprinkle sea salt on top. Bake 7 minutes. cool completely.
Enjoy!

New Monthly Subscriptions

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000-06:00

So, after loving both my Foodzie and Birchbox experiences so much, I decided to see what else was out there by way of monthly box subscriptions. I came across many options depending on what you're looking to get:
Blissmobox- focuses on organic and eco-friendly goods ($22)
Also offer Blissmo Break Box- for a company snack room I guess, they ship every 2 weeks with tons of healthy snacks ($98)
Babbabox- kids' activity box ($29.99)
Eco Emi- extremely eco-friendly, organic, sometimes raw products ($15)
Citrus Lane- age specific products for kids ($25)
Makeup Monthly- full-sized make-up to try from well known brands, nail club ($20), cosmetic club ($30), beauty care club ($35)
Conscious Box- ethical, sustainable, environmentally conscious, 100% vegetarian products ($19)

Kiwi Crate- Kids projects for ages 3-6 ($19.95)

I decided to try the Blissmobox in December. It had some interesting products.

So far I've used the baking cups (they separated from the cupcakes after a day), the cinnamon (delicious, like all cinnamon), and the pecan butter (love nut butters, and this one had a great taste). I can't say that I was blown out of the water with this, but I may try one more to see how they do with a different theme (December was the kitchen box). Let me know if you try any of the other boxes!

Boxes Update

2012-01-19T11:11:00.000-06:00

I've been slacking on my Foodzie and Birchbox updates. Here are the ones I've received for the past few months:

November Foodzie box favorite: Vadeboncoeur nougat. The pistachios were yummy, but really messy and hard to open. Everything else was sort of a wash. I made the cornbread muffins, they were dry. And I've just been eating the cranberries, good but not exciting. And I didn't like the crostini and haven't figured out what to do with the pickled figs.

December Foodzie Box: so hard to choose a favorite, but it would have to be the Put Your Money On Honey caramels by Droga Confections. Oh my goodness, the perfect combination of dark chocolate and caramel topped with sea salt! I also loved the butterscotch, chocolate sun cups, blueberry acai gummies, and butter crunch. The florentines were ok and I didn't really like this flavor for the 479 popcorn.

December Birchbox favorite: Olìe Biologique Huile Moderne face and body oil. It has really helped keep my face from drying up and flaking out in the winter weather.

The price of the Foodzie tasting box has increased from $19.99 to $29.95 so I will be investigating if it is really worth continuing for the January box. Stay tuned!

Puffy Quilt for Krista and Brian's New Nugget

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

My good soccer and game night peeps, Krista and Brian just had a sweet baby boy and I had a puffy quilt waiting for them. Unfortunately, I got really sick right after he was born and I had to wait until after Christmas break to give them his puffy quilt. So, now that they have finally seen it I can reveal it here. It was another unisex attempt, but I think it turned out a bit boyish so I'm glad they had a boy! Here it is:

I always love a good animal themed blanket! I also made a pink and grey one for Miss Reagan, but I totally forgot to take pictures of it! Major fail! I'll have to ask Ali to snap a few shots of it for me I guess.

Enjoy!

Home for the Holidays

2012-01-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

This year I had an amazing break at home with fam and friends. It was my longest vacation to date and I loved every minute of it! I spent a lot of time with the fam at the Blue Wind, easily their favorite restaurant/ wine bar in The County. You should definitely make it a part of your to-do list if you ever find yourself visiting St. Mary's County, MD. On one of our many visits we ran into the Devines (also frequent guests of the Blue Wind), including my friend, Kelli, from high school. She got married awhile back and I haven't seen her recently, but she's pregnant! So adorable!

I love being at my parents' house for Christmas because my Mom somewhat loses her mind decorating for this holiday. The house is primarily painted in red, green, and navy anyways so it really lends itself to Christmas decorating. Here are a few snapshots of the trees my Mom had scattered throughout the house:

Another welcome attraction at my parents' house is their dog, Gracie. She loves me. I may buy her affection with scraps and continuous petting, but whatever. This is her 'wtf woman, why aren't you petting me' face:

Gracie's Christmas present from Baloo and I:

It was a santa rope toy with squeakers, win:

This is her favorite sleeping/ being pet position:

Love her. And of course, I get to see alllll the fam. Here is a pic of me with the grandparents on Christmas Day:

As always we went on our yearly trip into DC to visit the museums with my Grandma. This year we went to the Freer Gallery and made a quick dash into the insanely packed Natural History Museum to see a new mummy exhibit. Here are my favorite pieces from the exhibits:

From the Freer Gallery, I found shrek! aka a Ritual Ewer from 1200-1100BEC China:

Fittings in the form of tigers, Shaanix province 900BCE:

From the Natural History Museum: A mummy of an Egyptian Divine Bull:

Inner coffin of Tentkhonsu:

My sister, Jesse, goes to trivia at a nearby bar on occasion with her friends and their parents. We had a kids vs parents duel and we may have lost, but it was tons of fun all the same. The parents got first place in the whole place (my Dad is a wealth of minute detailed information) and won $50!

And towards the end of my vacation I was able to visit my childhood friend, Alison, and her new baby, Reagan! A real cutie! So glad I could meet her.

I had the best time at home and I miss everyone already. Can't wait for my next trip back East!

Steph's Christmas Party

2012-01-16T10:39:00.002-06:00

Before the holidays rolled around, Steph had her Christmas party at her house. I particularly had a great time because it's one of the only times when most of my friends are in one place. They tend to resist the co-mingling until ample beverage consumption has occurred, but it's great fun all the same. Here are some shots from the evening:

Posing by one of many Christmas trees:

Steph and I with Ryan, all matching in green:

Cake vodka shots topped with alcoholic whipped cream, try it!:

Steph with er brother by another Christmas tree:

Me with the hostess:

Dave's sister visiting for the weekend:

Some of the ladies:

And some dudes:

Merry Christmas!

Pecan Pie-Stuffed Cookies

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

So these were pretty yummy. Everyone loved the pecan pie-stuffed cupcakes so much that I knew I had to try these. I can't say that they are better than the cupcakes but they're pretty tasty as far as cookies go. Just don't forget that the last batch is still in the oven and overcook the bu-jezus out of them.

Recipe:
Pecan Pie-Stuffed Cookies (from Bakers Royale)

Cookie
1 stick butter
1/2c brown sugar
1/2c powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2t vanilla
1t baking soda
1/4t salt
2c flour

Filling
1c pecans, toasted and chopped
4oz chocolate (65% cacao), melted
1T corn syrup
1/4c heavy cream
1/4t cinnamon

Preheat to 350F, line baking sheets with parchment. In a large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar together until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Add egg mixture to butter and mix to combine. Fold in flour. cover and chill dough for at least 45 minutes.

While dough is chilling, place pecans, melted chocolate, heavy cream, corn syrup, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to combine.

To assemble cookies, scoop dough into hand, flatten, and fill center with pecan mixture. I pinched the edges over the filling and rolled the dough semi-smooth again. Place on parchment, seam side down. Bake 10 minutes. remove and allow cookies to rest 5 min on sheet before removing to cool on rack.

Enjoy!

St. Arnold's Christmas Pub Crawl in Rice

2012-01-09T16:40:00.000-06:00

Phew, I've got quite the jam of posts here to get published. Last month I went on yet another awesome St. Arnold's pub crawl through Rice Village. It hit all the usual spots: BW3s (which I missed), Gingerman, Brian O'Neill's, and Baker St. Great times were had by all (even those drinking marshmallow vodka and not beer) and we capped the day with Lights in the Heights. Which, is basically when a street in the Heights decorates the crap outta their houses for the holidays and then a bunch of people walk the street and most likely drink their way through the Heights. Yum, spiked hot cocoa.

What's Up?!

2012-01-09T16:28:00.003-06:00

Baloo says "Hello!"

Gingerbread Cheesecake

2011-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Yum. I recently made the most amazing dessert. It was my first full cheesecake ever and it was delicious. Gingerbread cheesecake, my friends. Try it now. Here are some pictures to tempt you:

Oh, did I mention the gingersnap crust?!:

Recipe:

Gingerbread Cheesecake (from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice)

Crust:

2c finely ground ginger snap crumbs

4T butter, melted

1/4c sugar

Cheesecake:

4, 8oz pkgs cream cheese

1 1/2c sugar

1t vanilla

4 eggs, room temp

1/4c molasses

1/4t salt

1 1/2t ginger

1t cinnamon

1t freshly grated nutmeg

1/4t cloves

1/2t fresh lemon zest

Preheat to 350F. Wrap a 9" springform pan in 2 layers of aluminum foil. In a large bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes and cool completely.

Reduce to 325F. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 min. Beat in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing in between additions. Beat in molasses, salt, spices, and lemon zest. Pour over cooled crust. Place cheesecake in a large, shallow roasting pan. Transfer to oven and add enough water to the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until the cheesecake is set but still wobbly in the center. Cool for 30 minutes, then move pat to springform rack and cool completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, 8 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

New Goodies for My Room

2011-12-21T13:52:00.002-06:00

Awhile back I won a giveaway for a pillow cover from Urban Fringe Design. I was pretty excited because it meant one fewer pillow cover I had to make (I've currently made zero...), but I reallllllly like how this baby turned out! The orangey coral is the exact accent color I want for the room and the grey works perfectly with the grey wall. I think I'll be keeping it on the chair for now. We'll see how things look when (if) I get the bed pillow covers finished. Check it out:
Arrived in such pretty packaging:

The cover comes flat (pillow not included):

Here it is in full pillow form in its current resting place:

Up close of the very professionally done felt flower:

Thanks so much for the wonderful pillow, Kallie!

Apple Cider Cookies Stuffed with Caramel

2011-12-14T12:00:00.001-06:00

My coworkers were begging for a treat before Thanksgiving break so I decided to go with this festive recipe. The cookies taste like you are literally eating apple cider, then the caramel oozes out and you're in heaven! I will say that these are best straight from the oven or with a 10 sec shot from the microwave since the caramel tends to stiffen up after cooling. Check them out:

Recipe:
Apple Cider Cookies Stuffed with Caramel (from Gimme Some Oven)

3c flour
1t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1t cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened
1c sugar
1/2t salt
1 (7.4oz, 10pkgs) box Apple Cider Instant Drink Mix
2 eggs
1t vanilla
1 (14oz) bag Kraft caramels, unwrapped

Preheat to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well. gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

Make about 2T balls of dough and press a caramel into each one. Smoosh the dough around the caramel so that it is no longer showing. Place on cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on baking rack.

*I also think that the Kraft caramel bits would be good instead of a whole caramel. Just stir a bag of them in at the very end and scoop the dough directly onto the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Lemon Chicken

2011-12-13T16:42:00.000-06:00

Mmmmm a super easy beyond delicious recipe- that's what I have for you today! Nothing like meat and potatoes to warm you up for winter. I've made this recipe several times since I found it and not only is it amazing the day you make it, it continues to delight as leftovers (for days). It calls for chicken thighs, but you can try and be a little more healthy with breasts, but it won't be nearly as delicious. Check it out:

Recipe:

Rosemary Lemon Chicken (from Minimally Invasive)

1lb small potatoes, halved and microwaved to soften(I used a mixed reds bag)

Kosher salt

2 sprigs rosemary, plus 1 1/2 T leaves

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4t cayenne pepper

juice of 2 lemons (save the lemons)

2T extra virgin olive oil

4-6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

10oz mushrooms, halved (I used bella mushrooms)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Dice the rosemary leaves up so that their natural oils and scent are released. In a small bowl or cup, combine the rosemary leaves, garlic, 2t salt, and cayenne. Add the lemon juice and oil, stir to mix fully.

Put the chicken in a skillet and pour the rosemary mixture over the chicken, be sure to coat the chicken fully. Heat over medium-high heat until the skins brown. If you are using a cast-iron skillet, add the mushrooms, potatoes, lemon halves, and rosemary sprigs to the skillet and place in the oven. If you are not using a skillet that can go into the oven (like me), then you can transfer the chicken to a baking dish and add the remaining ingredients to the baking dish and place into the oven. Bake for 20-25 min or until chicken is cooked through.

I enjoyed this with some green beans as well as a salad (be sure to get your greens!)

Enjoy!

Feast With The Beasts

2011-12-05T15:24:00.001-06:00

My apologies, friends! I seem to have taken an entire month off form blogging. Time really does fly around the holidya season, I can't believe it's December! I have some extremely overdue posts for ya, starting with this one. Back in early November I received an exciting invite from my friend, Ali, to go to Feast with the Beasts at the Houston Zoo! It was doubly exciting because Ali sorta moved to Colorado last year and I don't get to see her that often. The premise of this event is to have lots of restaurants and vendors come and set up a booth inside the zoo. Each booth offers a taste of a signature dish from the vendor and you pretty much walk around and snack all night until you get full or the vendors run out of food. It acts as a fundraiser for the zoo and there is a concert at the end (B-52s this year). Seeing as how the Zoo is easily one of my favorite places to visit, and I love food and friends, this was a no-brainer from the get-go. Ali and I met up with a group of friends nad had an amazing time! I hope to go to this event in the future and you should too! Here are the few pics I took (it's hard to balance a camera, drink, and food):
Pan-seared tuna, one of my faves:

Cupcakes!

There were designated feeding times throughout the zoo so that you could see the animals in action. This is a male jaguar eating a goat:

Guarding his goat yumminess:

Ali and I at the end of the night!

I hope to attend this event in the future and so should you at a zoo in your area!

Things I Have to tell myself I can't afford on a regular basis

2011-12-05T14:33:00.001-06:00

My first Polyvore Board! Figured I'd start with the big stuff :)

Things I Have to tell myself I can't afford on a regular basis by jaclyn43552 featuring a long wool skirt

J Crew tee shirt dress
$228 - jcrew.com

Kate Spade high collar coat
$695 - katespade.com

J Crew long skirt
$118 - jcrew.com

J Crew long wool skirt
$120 - jcrew.com

J Crew tweed skirt
$158 - jcrew.com

J Crew long wool skirt
$120 - jcrew.com

J.Crew glitter shoes
$238 - jcrew.com

J.Crew j crew shoes
$215 - jcrew.com

Frye knee high leather boots
$348 - piperlime.gap.com

Tory Burch flat heel knee high boots
$495 - toryburch.com

Longchamp leather shoulder handbag
$485 - bloomingdales.com

J Crew pave jewelry
$118 - jcrew.com

Martina calf hair wedges
$358 - jcrew.com

For Your Creepy Crawly Enjoyment- Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T10:39:00.000-05:00

Saw this guy on my coworker's car:

Found this fella on my porch:

And this mama was in the change room at my work, I now check my shoes before sliding them on:

Happy Halloween!!!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

2011-10-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

More pumpkin! So far, these may be my fave pumpkin creation this year. I first tried the recipe as-is on Annie's Eats but I just redid them on Monday and I think they've really hit their stride now! You must try these this season, they're not your average doodle!

Recipe
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (adapted from Annie's Eats)

3 3/4c flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/2t salt
1/2t cinnamon
1/4t nutmeg
1t pumpkin pie spice
2 sticks butter, softened
1c sugar
1/2c dark brown sugar
3/4c pumpkin puree
1 egg
2t vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Coating:
1/2c sugar
1t cinnamon
1/2t ginger
dash of allspice
1t pumpkin pie spice

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin puree. Beat in egg and vanilla bean paste until combined. Beat in dry ingredients on low until just combined.

Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Preheat to 350F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine sugar and spices in a wide, shallow bowl. Scoop Balls of dough, roll them in your hands until smooth, and then roll them in the coating. Place the balls evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Once the sheet is full, take a glass and wet the bottom. Dip the bottom in the coating and then smoosh the dough balls until ~1cm thick. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Enjoy!

Chipotle (flavored) Burritos

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

Since I eat lunch at home everyday I'm always looking for delicious meals that are easy to fix. Usually I have steamed veggies and an open-faced tuna sandwich. Sometimes I mix it up and have chicken salad/ grilled cheese/ open-faced tomato but I recently stumbled upon an idea that's so easy I'm embarrassed to have not done it myself. Burritos! They're easy to assemble in mass quantity and real easy to reheat. Since it's a lunch meal I only took one hurried picture while eating, but believe me they're worth a try!

Recipe

Chipotle Burritos (adapted from A Bitchin' Kitchen):

2T oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2t chili powder

2 peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo

2T sauce from the can of chipotles in adobo

2t cumin

dash of cayenne pepper

2/3c water

1 lb chicken tenderloins

1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, chopped

1/4c fresh pico de gayo

6 tortillas

4oz grated monterey jack cheese

baby spinach leaves

Greek yogurt, plain

I cooked the chicken separate from the beans and onion, but you can always cook the chicken all the way through and add the beans and onion after. I was worried about over cooking the chicken and split up the two. To do this you need to split the first 8 ingredients into two (i.e. 1T oil, 2 cloves garlic, etc) skillets. Mix the ingredients thoroughly and add the chicken to one pan and the beans and onion to the other. Cook the chicken until cooked through. Bring the beans to a simmer and then lower heat to med-low, cover, and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Divide the ingredients between the tortillas and wrap all but one in foil and store in your refrigerator until lunch! This was a really great way to mix up my usual lunch, I hope you give it a try. Enjoy!

Design*Sponge at Home giveaway from Drygoods Design

2011-10-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

I was soooooooo excited this month to find out I had won a giveaway from Drygoods Design Online for the Design*Sponge at Home Book by Grace Bonney. Mainly because it came with 2 yards of the fabric of my choice from one of my new favorite online fabric stores, Drygoods Design. I forget where I first heard of them, maybe True Up, but I was hooked at first sight of their grey and yellow collection of fabrics on their homepage! I chose to have some of the Zig Zag Ash and White fabric by Premier Prints so I can make Baloo a stylin dog bed. This is yet to happen due to the many other things in my sewing queue, but stay tuned. Anyway, I just wanted to give Keli from DGDO a big thank you because not only did I win the book and the fabric, but she even went to a book signing and got it signed by the author for me, can you say awesome?! I've ordered a bit of fabric from this store before that I'm stocking up for pillows in my bedroom and living room (they're also in the sewing queue) and I love them. Check it out and if you want to see more of the book I've listed some links to book reviews and previews.

Design*Sponge Preview 1

Design*Sponge Preview 2

Design*Sponge Preview 3

Poppytalk Review

Desire to Inspire Review

4 Men 1 Lady Review

MyDeco Review

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Espresso Cupcakes

2011-10-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Once the pumpkin kick starts, there's no stoppin it! I'm in full-blown pumpkin mode and I'm pretty pumped about it. I made some really delicious cupcakes last night that were a really big hit at the office yesterday. If you like pumpkin spice lattes (who doesn't?!) then you will like these cupcakes. I changed up the topping from the orginal recipe and I think it was for the better!

Recipe
Pumpkin Espresso Cupcakes (original from Annie's Eats)

Cupcakes:
1 1/3c flour
1 1/2T espresso powder
1t baking soda
1t baking powder
1/2t cinnamon
1/16t nutmeg
1/16t cloves
1/2t salt
1c pumpkin puree
1/2c sugar
1/2c dark brown sugar
1/2c oil
2 eggs

Frosting:
1 stick butter, softened
1t pumpkin pie spice
2T caramel
powdered sugar

Cupcakes:
Preheat to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a large bowl, beat together pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the flour to the large bowl in 2 additions. Mix until just incorporated. Fill liners 2/3 full and bak ~14 minutes. Cool on rack completely.

Frosting:
Beat butter, spice, and caramel until smooth. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Frost cooled cupcakes.

Enjoy!

October Boxes

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

I just got my October Foodzie Tasting Box and Birchbox in the mail, yay! I was very excited for all the pumpkin/Fall themed goodies in my Foodzie box. I've been munching on pumpkin seeds constantly!

The caramels are really delicious too. I'm thinking I'll try the fancy apple juice tonight and I'm on the lookout for a recipe for the maple syrup. The fruit leather was super tangy and I had to rotate bites of it with candy corn to balance out the taste. The energy bar was ok but too much going on for me I guess.

The Birchbox was another so-so one in my opinion.

There was one product that I had been wanting to try- the Laura Geller Spackle Tinted Under Makeup Primer in Bronze and the rest are just ok. I loved tow of the Befine products I've received so far-I even bought the full size version of them, but the lip balm isn't for me. I don't really like slimy lip gloss and that's what it is. Also in my box this month were The Laundress Delicate Wash, AHAVA Rich Cleansing Cream, and Orofluido Elixir. Let me know if you've tried any of these boxes or know of any different ones I can try!

Random Goings-Ons

2011-10-13T14:53:00.003-05:00

Not a whole lot going on around here lately, but here are a few of the things I've been up to:

Kristine in town for work (first visit since she moved to DC)

Christi's going away party at Sam's Boat (she's leaving us for an extended stay in Denver):

Krista's baby shower! She's getting close to game time!

Hope you're having a spectacular start to Fall!

Pumpkin and Brown Butter Blondies with White Chocolate Chips

2011-10-10T14:36:00.003-05:00

Christine asked me the other day if I had any new pumpkin recipes and I realized (gasp!) that I hadn't made any pumpkin goodies yet this year! That couldn't stand so when I came across this recipe for pumpkin and brown butter blondies with white chocolate chips I jumped on the chance to make them. Even if you simply want a freshly scented house, you have to make these. They smell crazy good while baking and taste the same. Although I must say I think all the flavors are better tasted when the blondies are completely cooled as opposed to hot from the oven.

Recipe

Pumpkin and Brown Butter Blondies with White Chocolate Chips (by Raspberri Cupcakes)

1 stick butter

1/2c light brown sugar

1/3c sugar

1 egg

1t vanilla

1/2c pumpkin puree

1c flour

1t salt

3/4t cinnamon

1/8t allspice

1/8t ground nutmeg

1.5c white chocolate chips

Preheat to 350F. Cut butter into 1T cubes and place in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat until the butter melts. Continue to heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the butter bubbles. continue stirring until the butter turns a light brown color and smells nutty. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN. You must watch the butter very carefully and stir constantly to avoid burning the butter as it goes from brown to black very quickly. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars until smooth. Add browned butter and whisk until smooth. Whisk in egg, vanilla, and pumpkin puree. Add flour, salt, and spices. Stir until just mixed, do not over beat. Fold in white chocolate chips. Pour batter into a parchment paper-lined 8"x8" pan. Bake ~30 minutes or until set. Remove blondies from pan via the parchment paper and cool completely on rack.

Hope this get you in the Fall spirit! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Stuffed with Peanut Butter

2011-09-23T13:57:00.001-05:00

These cookies are outta control. I made a batch without the peanut butter and they were crazy good too. Try this recipe today! For those of you who had mothers that were in charge of high school SGAs and baked Otis Spunkmeyer cookies as a fundraiser and you therefore ate cookies all the time in your childhood will find these cookies akin to the double chocolate chip cookies from Otis. Yum! Check em out:

Recipe
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Stuffed with Peanut Butter (original from Lovin in the Oven)

Stuffing:
1c creamy peanut butter
1/2c sugar
1 egg

Cookies:
2 sticks butter, room temp
1c sugar
3/4c brown sugar
2 eggs
1T vanilla
1 3/4c flour
1t baking soda
1/2t salt
2c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1c cocoa (Hershey's special dark)

Stuffing:
Beat together all ingredients until smooth

Cookies:
Preheat to 350F. Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat until smooth. Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder intil just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Assembly:
I flattened a tablespoon of cookie dough on a baking sheet. Then placed a rounded tablespoon of the peanut butter mixture on top. Finally, placed a large cookie scoop of dough on top and pressed the seam so no peanut butter was showing.

Bake ~15 minutes. If you are not adding the peanut butter stuffing then bake ~10 minutes. Cool completely.

Note* you can always swap out some of the semi-sweet chocolate chips with other chips or nuts/ dried fruit for a different taste!

Enjoy!

White Pizza

2011-09-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

I dunno about you but white pizza is way high up on my favorite pizza list. I have no idea where my favorite white pizza is from, but I think I'd like to try creating it at home since it was probably somewhere on the East Coast and that's not exactly an easy drive nowadays. I found this recipe from the Sugar Plum Blog and I figured it was a good jumping point. It definitely made a delicious pizza, but I'm not sure that I've achieved perfection yet. Luckily this was only my first try and this is a great recipe from which to build. Check it out:

Recipe White Pizza (original from Sugar Plum)

Crust

3/4c warm water

2t active dry yeast

2t honey

3/4t salt

2T butter, melted

1 1/4c bread flour

1/3c flour

1/4c cornmeal

Toppings

2T butter, melted

1/4t garlic powder

2/3c ricotta cheese

6oz fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

1/4t sea salt

1/8t freshly ground pepper

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together water, yeast, and honey. Rest for 5 min. Mix in salt, melted butter, bread flour, and flour until well combined. Mix in cornmeal and knead dough with a dough hook for about 5 minutes. Lightly cover bowl and allow to rise in a warm area for 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat to 450F. Place dough on a pizza stone and spread into a circle of about 1/4" thickness. In a small bowl, stir together butter and garlic powder until combined. Brush over dough. Spread ricotta over dough. Evenly top with mozzarella. Sprinkle sea salt and pepper on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Here are my suggestions/ plans for next time: instead of garlic powder use minced garlic, be sure that the ricotta cheese is room temp if not warm so that it is easily spreadable, more mozzarella, use Woody's Gourmet Black Truffle and Thyme Sea Salt and tri-color pepper, add oregano. Enjoy!

Headboard Update

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've officially liquid-stitched the white piping to the inner outlined seam of the headboard. I'm currently trying to decide if the headboard needs another piping outline on the edge of the headboard and I once again want some feedback please! And Linds, here is a visual so you and everyone else can help me decide if the outer edging is necessary/ awesome:

As you can see I decided to try out the headboard in my bedroom up against the gray wall to help visualize. I'm aware that the navy headboard with navy duvet is a bit much. The last pic is the new duvet lying in wait for it's debut moment when I have all the bedding ready to go :) Let me know: second layer or no?

Foodzie Tasting Box and Birch Box Reviews

2011-09-20T16:11:00.002-05:00

So I'm pretty sure I've neglected to tell you all about my two favorite subscriptions. If you're thinking magazines, I promise I wouldn't bore you with my love of Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living ;) I'm talking about my Foodzie Tasting Box and my Birch Box! The Foodzie tasting box an aggregate of samples from the Foodzie online store, usually following a theme. Foodzie is a company that likes to focus on foods and beverages made by small food companies in the USA (yay local!). Many of the foods and beverages they stock can't be found anywhere else and they often fit into a special category such as: handmade, following old family recipes, incorporating unique ingredients, etc. You can also find a lot of organic, locally sourced, or Fair Trade items. I've received three of these tasting boxes so far and I'm loving them! Here are the last two I've gotten: August was a nostalgic/ comfort food theme:

September was a 'Tea Time Out':

Some of my favorite items from the Foodzie Tasting Boxes have been: Black Truffle & Fresh Thyme Herb Sea Salt (which I used in this recipe), 479 White Cheddar Black Truffle Popcorn, Oren's Kitchen Coconut Chili Macademias, and Sir Kensington's Gourmet Scooping Ketchup. The tasting box is $19.99 per month and it's totally worth it! You can cancel at any time so no worries about getting sucked into one of those club schemes (and while it sounds like it due to my excellent advertising skills I am not getting anything for their review, just wanted to give my homies a heads up!). Check out some of the products from this month's box in-depth on their blog or just dive right in and sign up for next month's box!

The other subscription box I'm currently loving is the Birch Box. The peeps at Birch Box hook you up with 4-5 samples of items from their site- be it hair products, cosmetics, skincare, nail polish etc. Being pretty make-up stupid I find this to be a great way to try things without forking over $50 for a face cream, especially since I have no idea what I'm doing in cosmetic world. Luckily for me, Birch Box also has a blog with tutorials, videos, and suggestions for how to use their product and each product page details what a particular item is supposed to do for you. As for what kind of products they work with, this is what Birch Box has to say: "We’ve shamelessly cherry-picked every category to bring you companies that pour time, research, and love into their products. You'll find both clinical skincare lines and makeup artist-approved color collections, up-and-coming niche brands and longtime favorites. In our beauty drawer, diversity rules". I've definitely gotten some products that didn't make sense for me and some crazy awesome things that I was willing to splurge on the full size item. The following are some of my faves I've received: Number 4 Lumiere d'hiver Reconstructing Hair Masque, Befine Night Cream, and Befine Exfoliating Cleanser. Here are pics of my first and second boxes (August and July, I forgot to take a pic of September):

Sign yourself up for a recurring monthly subscription for only $10 (once again you can cancel at anytime so no getting trapped) or even sign up for a whole year! This time I get 50 points (100 points= $10 off a full sized product purchase) if you use my link to sign up, but I haven't received any freebies to write my review, I just really like my Birch Box! Let me know if you end up trying them!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2011-09-20T14:42:00.005-05:00

So, a week ago we had a freak cool temp week here in Houston. By cool temps I mean 85 during the day and as low as 68 at night!!! This was an amazing respite from our record-breaking who-knows-how-many 100+F days in a row. I was so chilly I even indulged in a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks (eeeeee!!!!). I know the rest of the world loves their 'Indian Summers' but in H-town there's nothing better than a faux Fall (besides perhaps a real Fall) and I rolled with the Fall spirit by making some pumpkin cinnamon rolls with some caramel sauce, yum! Take a looksie:

Now my rolls were no longer hot by the time I got around to putting the glaze on, so be sure to check out the irresistible-ness of the ones over at The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Recipe
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Carmel Glaze (from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

Rolls
1/3c milk
2T butter
1/2c pumpkin puree
2T sugar
1/4t nutmeg
1T pumpkin pie spice
1/2t salt
1 egg, beaten
1 pkg dry yeast
2c bread flour
1/2c brown sugar
2t ground cinnamon
2T melted butter

Glaze
1/4c butter
1/2c brown sugar
2T milk
1/4t vanilla
1/4t pumpkin pie spice
1 dash salt
3/4c sifted powdered sugar

In a small saucepan, heat milk and 2T butter until butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. In a large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Add milk mixture to large bowl and beat until well mixed. Beat in egg and yeast. Add half of the flour to the bowl. Beat on low speed for 5 min, scraping the sides frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly. Turn dough into lightly greased bowl, then grease the surface lightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (~1 hour). Punch dough down. Spray a surface with cooking spray and knead dough a few turns to make a smooth dough. Roll dough into a 12"x10" rectangle. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush surface of dough with melted butter, then sprinkle surface with brown sugar mixture. At the long side of the rectangle, roll the dough up into a jellyroll. With a sharp knife, cut roll into 1 inch slices (or 12 pieces). Place rolls in a greased pan and cover. Let rise until nearly doubled, 30-45 minutes. Bake rolls at 350F for 15 minutes.

Glaze:
In a saucepan, heat butter until melted, add brown sugar and milk. Cook over med/low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to mixer bowl and add remaining ingredients. Beat until well blended. Drizzle over cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!

Headboard Update: Near Completion!

2011-09-14T16:35:00.006-05:00

Who's excited?! This kid! I've got my headboard almost complete. I cut the foam and the crevice for the inner line:

I added batting to the center of the headboard to give it a bit more of a puffy look:

I cut and sewed the navy velvet upholstery fabric:

I fitted the fabric to the board and used a pneumatic staple gun to affix the fabric to the board:

So I've done everything in my original plan but it just didn't turn out as magnificent as I had hoped. I think it's because A)I'm not a professional upholsterer person (duh) B)I made the outline too far in compared to the inspiration piece and C)Picked a fabric color that was too dark to see the details of the center puffiness etc. Never fear! I have a plan to make it magnificent but different; I want to put white cording in the inner seam. Here is the idea pinned onto half the board:

Please let me know what you think and if I should also maybe add some to the edge as well. I'm heading to Joann's this weekend to get some more piping so I can try that look out as well. Can't wait for your feedback!

Headboard Project Update

2011-09-01T16:06:00.001-05:00

I FINALLY have all the goodies I need to start working on this headboard project! Hopefully with the long weekend coming up I can make some serious progress on this baby! Stay tuned!

Creamsicle Cookies

2011-08-30T11:47:00.004-05:00

I've been on a bit of a cookie kick I suppose. I made oreo chunk chocolate chip cookies, butterfinger chunk chocolate chip cookies, cream cheese filled snickerdoodles, and now creamsicle cookies! Can you say cookie monster?! These were super amazing and are one of my favorite flavor combos- no going wrong with orange and vanilla. I had many a bowl of orange sherbert/ vanilla swirl ice cream at Grandma and Grandpa's house growing up and more recently many an adult beverage with orange soda and vanilla vodka (try it- it'll change your life!). Plus it's a great, refreshing flavor for this killer hot summer we're having here in Houston. 109F? Seriously?! Her are the goodies:

Recipe
Creamsicle Cookies (from A Bitchin Kitchen)

2 1/2c flour
3/4t baking soda
1/2t salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2c sugar
1/2c light brown sugar
1 egg
1t vanilla
1t vanilla bean paste
Zest of 2 oranges
1T juice from 1 orange
2 c white chocolate chips

Preheat to 375F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanillas until thoroughly incorporated. Gradually beat in flour mixture until just incorporated. Mix in orange zest, juice and white chocolate chips. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop tablespoon-sized scoops of dough onto the lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely.

Enjoy!

Bye Bye Shuttle!

2011-08-30T11:26:00.002-05:00

This weekend I went all NASA nerd and attended the party on-site to celebrate the Shuttle. In case you aren't aware, the current administration decided to cut funding to the shuttle program and the last shuttle returned to Earth on July 21, 2011. Anywho, in celebration of all that the USA accomplished with the shuttle, NASA had a huge party/ ceremony/ concert this past weekend. There was tons of yummy food and bouncy castles for the kiddos. They were also running tours of building 9 (where all the mock-ups are housed), which was amazing because building 9 is air conditioned and Saturday was the hottest day of the summer thus far (record-matching 109F). After the sun went down, there were lots of fancy-pants NASA speeches from astronauts and other important peeps. They followed up the whole shindig with a concert by the lead singer of Five for Fighting, very cool!

Thanks NASA!

Snickerdoodles Stuffed with Cream Cheese

2011-08-22T11:13:00.004-05:00

I recently came across an easy recipe that required no out of the ordinary ingredients and decided to give it a try that day. Oh my goodness are these cream cheese stuffed snickerdoodles ah-mazing! Super easy and a great twist on a classic. I made mine ginormous so that they pretty much fell apart when I picked them up, but you can always opt for more reasonably sized cookies. Here are some pics:

Recipe
Cream Cheese Stuffed Snickerdoodles (from Cookies and Cups)

Filling
1 (8oz)pkg cream cheese
1/4c sugar
2t vanilla

Cookie
1 1/2c sugar
1c butter, softened
2 eggs
1t vanilla
2 3/4c flour
2t cream of tartar
1t baking soda
1/2t salt
1/4c sugar
2t cinnamon

Make filling by creaming together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat to 400F. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/2c sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until combined. Mix in the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl, mix together the 1/4c sugar and cinnamon, set aside. To make the filled cookies, I made a large ball of dough and made a crater with my thumb. I added a smaller ball of the cream cheese mixture to the crater and then smoothed the cookie dough over the cream cheese until there was no longer any cream cheese showing. Then roll the ball of dough in the sugar and cinnamon mixture until completely coated. Place the dough balls on a cookie sheet with plenty of room between each one (lots of spreading in the oven) and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely on rack.

The original recipe has a different method for assembling the cookies, but my dough was way too sticky for their method. Check out the link at the top of the ingredient list if you want to try their way. Enjoy!

Skyler and Corey Beth's Wedding

2011-08-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was the Galveston wedding of my soccer homie, Skyler, and his now wife, Corey Beth. They managed to put together a fun wedding in about 2 months, craziness! All the usual Club Haven etc crowd was there and it was a really fun, albeit hotttttt, time. Here is a pictorial recap of the reception:
Club Haven guys:

Stephanie, Me, and Randi pre-sweat-a-thon:

Me, Anders, and Amy (that night Anders was in the habit of jumping in pics saying "these are my ladies")

Getting the dance floor started:

Cheers to the groom:

Me and Steph on the dance floor (note super high pony due to overheating):

This is a really bad pic but I wanted to document the back of CB's dress, which I love:

Saying goodnight to Krista and her new baby bump!:

Newly married couple headed out for the night:

Thanks for including me on your special day, best wishes Skyler and Corey Beth!

Swatches are in!

2011-08-11T16:40:00.003-05:00

I've finally received all the swatches I requested for the fabric for my headboard project! You can see all my options here and how well (or not well) they match the new chair:

I'm going with the bottom-most swatch which is awesome because it A) matches really well B) is super soft and C) was practically the cheapest of all the fabric I swatched! It is a velvet upholstery fabric from DIY Upholstery Supply in case you're interested. I'll be ordering 2 yards of it, which should be more than enough to cover the whole headboard and make welting. Now I'm on to pricing upholstery foam. This is going to be the most expensive part of the project so I want to make sure I really do my research on this one. Can't wait to give more updates!

Dynamo Game

2011-08-09T09:14:00.004-05:00

A couple of weekends ago I went to a Dynamo game with some of my soccer ladies. While I like to make it out to at least one game a season, I've really got to get better at the whole going to the games before the dead of summer- it was hotttt. We had a good time despite the heat because we started the night off in the Budweiser tailgate! Yum. Dynamen came through with a win and I even got to see some UMD alum action when Jason Garey played for the last ~10 minutes, yay!
Please disregard my signature giraffe neck while self-photographing look:

Trying to capture all the confetti after a Dynamo goal:

Spoiled Much?

2011-08-03T15:51:00.001-05:00

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert Terrine

2011-08-02T11:31:00.004-05:00

Today is my 4 year TX-iversary. I feel like it can't be 4 years since my Dad and I packed up the ol Focus and drove half-way across the country to a city (and state) I'd never been to before. Time sure does slip on by, craziness! Well since it's just as hot here now as it was 4 years ago, I recently decided to make a dessert that required zero oven time and very little stove top time, a peanut butter chocolate dessert terrine. It sounds fancy, but it's really just easy-peasy deliciousness.

Recipe
Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert Terrine (original from Sprinkle Bakes)

12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1c creamy peanut butter
2 1/2c heavy cream (I ended up using only 2 cups because that's how cream is sold-pint)
1t vanilla bean paste
1/4c powdered sugar
1 1/4c roasted, salted peanuts
Wax/parchment paper
baking spray

Coat a 9"x5" loaf pan with baking spray. Line the pan with the wax/parchment paper (use one giant piece and let there be excess hanging over the edge for removing the loaf later). In a saucepan, melt chocolate chips on low-be careful to avoid burning the chocolate. Stir peanut butter into the melted chocolate until completely incorporated. Allow mixture to cool. In a large bowl, whip 1 1/4c of heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold together the chocolate mixture and whipped cream (I also whipped the mixture to regain fluffy consistency). Pour into prepared pan. Whip remaining heavy cream (for me this was 3/4c because I wanted more chocolate than vanilla-you can divide yours however you like), gradually adding the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread vanilla whipped cream over the chocolate layer. Cover with peanuts. Press the peanuts into the whipped cream slightly with your hands. Pick up the pan and drop it once onto the counter to settle the layers. Freeze for 3 hours. To remove loaf from pan, simply lift the paper out of the pan. I removed my paper and wrapped the loaf in plastic for storage in freezer.

This dessert is delicious and wonderfully refreshing in the ridiculous Texas summer!
Enjoy!

2011-07-29T14:01:00.004-05:00

Pretty much everyone who's anyone is on this site now, but if your not- get with the program! I know you've been searching for the newest time suck ad here it is! I love it because I no longer have to print out all my home decorating or to-do craft inspirations (eco-friendly!) and it's all in one place easily reviewable from any internet source. Check out my boards and make some of your own (be sure to frined me)!Some of my bedroom inspiration pins:
Love the orange wall and starburst mirror:

Chevron!

And of course the headboard inspiration:

Bottom right ottoman would be fun for my chair:

Cozy slipper chair inspiration:

Need a crazy fun rug in my colors (orangey coral, grey, and navy):

Enjoy pinning!

Mini Me

2011-07-29T13:57:00.002-05:00

For those of you who know me, I'd just like to share a little treat from when I was little. My Mom recently found this somewhere in their house and thought it was so great she had to share. It's pretty self explanatory, and let's just say I've always been this OCD and ornery :)

Finally Received My Chair!

2011-07-22T16:47:00.003-05:00

So that chair I've been waiting on for my bedroom? It's finally here! I received it yesterday and immediately set it up in my room. It is super comfortable and I managed most of a 3 hour phone conversation in it last night, love! I bought it from The Foundary and you should totally get on this site if you have any interest in decorating your house, it's amazing. Here are some pics (don't mind my little photo bomber):

Now I just have to wait for the loads of swatches I ordered to come in the mail so I can start on the headboard construction! Yay!

Homemade Headboard Part 1

2011-07-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

This year I decided I needed to update my apartment from my hand-me-down/ Target/ nomad decorating style. I renewed my lease (for the first time ever mind you) and figured that since I was staying there for a little while I might as well decorate. I decided to start on my bedroom first. My plan is to add a bed frame with an upholstered headboard, new bedding, some wall decorations, and a chair for reading. So far I've bought some wall decorations and a chair (that has yet to arrive). My friend Todd graciously agreed to cut me a headboard that I can (hopefully) upholster myself. This will be the first furniture project I've ever done so I decided to post the play-by-play here. So far I have received the amazing cut piece from Todd:

I'm waiting for the chair to come in because I want to match the upholstery color to it. Until then, feel free to share any advice for how I can make that board look like this:

*Picture credit: House Beautiful Magazine

Extra special thanks to Todd for cutting that crazy design for me exactly how I wanted it!

Smiles

2011-07-21T11:23:00.001-05:00

This lil nugget made me smile yesterday:

So happy for rain and new baby froggies!

Eclair Whoopie Pies

2011-07-20T09:43:00.004-05:00

I made these awhile ago and just recently remembered to post the delicious recipe, sorry! I love pretty much everything about eclairs, except that they are generally fried like donuts and make my tummy hate me. So, when I came across this recipe for whoopie pies in the same flavor combo as eclairs I had to try them. They consist of vanilla cake cookies, custard filling, and ganache topping. They were delicious! I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator, but letting them come to room temperature before eating.

Recipe
Eclair Whoopie Pies (from Baking Bites)

Vanilla Whoopie Pies
2 1/4c flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/4t salt
1/3c butter
1c sugar
1T vegetable oil
2 eggs
2/3c buttermilk
1 1/2t vanilla

Custard Filling
1 1/4c milk
2t vanilla bean paste
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3c sugar
2 1/2T cornstarch

Ganache Topping
1c chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1/4c heavy cream
2t corn syrup

Whoopie Pies
Preheat to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vegetable oil. add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in half the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk and vanilla, and finally the second half of the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Drop batter in about 2T sized rounds onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool completely.

Custard Filling
In a medium saucepan, combine milk and vanilla bean paste. Bring milk to a simmer. In a large bowl, combine egg, egg yolk, and sugar. Beat until smooth. Add cornstarch and beat until smooth again. Pour a few tablespoons of the milk into the mixture and whisk. While continuously whisking add a few more tablespoons of the milk ad few more times until all the milk has been added. Return whole mixture to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens- about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover the surface of the custard completely and store int he fridge until ready to use. Stir before using.

Ganache Topping
Heat cream until just starting to boil. Add chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth. add corn syrup and stir until smooth again.

Assemble:
Spread about 1 tablespoon of custard onto a whoopie pie cake. Top with another whoopie pie cake of relative equal size. Cover top of whoopie pie cookie with ganache.

Give em a try!

Visit Home Over the 4th

2011-07-19T05:00:00.000-05:00

I decided to take a long weekend over the 4th to visit the family in Maryland. It was awesome and I got to see most all of the family between Sam's graduation party (congrats lady!) and hanging at the house. I was also able to see a couple of friends but majorly failed at picture taking. It was an excellent trip home, I forgot how much I love MD and DC in the summer (last summer we went to AZ for the summer family rendezvous). Here are the few pictures I managed to take:
Grandpa, Mom and I about to dig into some MD blue crabs!

All finished, feeling unsettlingly full but happy!

Picture with both the grandparents before I leave :)

Gracie doing her best sad face on the landing:

Gracie and I snuggling on the couch:

Mom and I before the airport:

Dad and I before the airport:

Next trip I promise to be better with the camera! Miss everyone so much!

Cupcakery Review: Crumbs Bakery in Washington D.C.

2011-07-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you how excited I am to be writing Crumbs Bakeshop!!! I've almost payed to have them shipped to me a billion times, luckily I stopped myself before forking over $71.26 for a 6-pack!!!!! total insanity. If you are so lucky to be within sane driving distance of a Crumbs, you should definitely give them a try. They get mad props for quantity of flavors available. Although I must say that they really wuss out on some of the flavors by simply flavoring the icing instead of the whole cupcake (cookie dough, Oreo). I ordered a dozen to share with the fam over the 4th of July holiday. The cupcakes themselves are really big (which is good since they run $3.75 a pop), so we ended up cutting them in 4s so we could all taste the flavors. My favorites were the apple cobbler- so many apple bits yum, the squiggle- basically a way better hostess cake, and the creamsicle-very strong orange and vanilla going on. Overall rating: A, need to really commit to some of the half-hearted flavors. Here are a few pics:
Red Velvet:

A dozen had to go in 2 containers!

Cosmo:

East End Storefront on 11th ST NW:

Lemon meringue:

Cookies and Cream:

Note: this company recently went public so there should be a bakeshop popping up near you sometime in the future. Also, sounds like some yummy stocks to have in your portfolio!

Cupcakery Review: Curbside Cupcakes- Food truck in D.C.

2011-07-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

During my recent trip home, my Mom, sister, and I took a trip inside DC and ended up eating lunch from a food truck on Farragut Square. Incidentally there was also a Cupcake food truck that I couldn't pass up. I only tried one cupcake, but my mom agreed that her cupcake was delish. I had the dulce de leche cupcake and it was amazing! I wish I could get their vanilla cupcake recipe because it was nice and moist! If you're in DC and jonesing for a treat, try and find Curbside Cupcakes (I recommend twitter for current location).

Cupcakery Review: SWEET in City Centre, Houston

2011-07-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Recently I was able to convince my good friend, Ryan, to come to City Centre with me to check out the scene. I'd hear lots of good things about the area, but contrary to it's name City Centre is not anywhere near the center of the city. It is, in fact, a good 10 min NW of Houston on I-10, which means far from me here on the SE side of Houston. So, I finally trekked out there for a Sunday brunch with Ryan and his really awesome friend from grad school and her husband. After brunch we went to SWEET bakery for a little dessert. Everyone got a cupcake and I also ordered an assortment of macarons! Yessss macarons in Houston!Very exciting stuff. Here is our loot:

I kept the macarons for later (they were delicious), but we tasted our cupcakes then and there. I believe the cupcakes (from L to R) are peanut butter, vanilla, and 2 nutellas. I had the peanut butter and a bite of the nutella. Both cupcakes were very delicious and I was very impressed with the intensity and moistness of the peanut butter. The nutella was a filled cupcakes so it was extra decadent too. I can't say that I'll be road-tripping out there just for the cupcakes, but I would recommend that you swing by if you're in the area. Rating: A (need more variety).

Vaughn's 1st Birthday

2011-07-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

Love me some kiddie birthdays! Lots of fat cheeks to squeeze and then I get to go home to my quiet, diaper-free apartment. Perfect scenario. Mr. Vaughn turned 1 in June and I was lucky enough to get the invite to celebrate with the Hardy's. It was tons of fun and I got to see a lot of my adult friends that I hadn't seen in awhile and/or I wish I could see more often. And while I didn't make the birthday boy's cake, it must have been good because this is the aftermath:

Note: He's angry-looking because in his excitement he accidentally grabbed the flame on his candle, he is not afraid of me ;)
Happy Birthday, Vaughn!

Smores Cookie Bars

2011-07-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Summertime used to mean bonfires with smores and turkey dogs, but here in this Texas heat you couldn't pay me to get near a fire in the summer, not even at night. So, I have to get my smores fix in more ingenious ways. The quick and easy option is to throw half a graham with a marshmallow in the toaster oven until browned, smoosh with another half a graham and Hershey bar pieces. The more laborious way is to bake something with the components magically melded together. In come smores cookie bars! I liked these a lot although maybe not better than the original...

Recipe
Smores Cookie Bars (recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything)

1-2 sleeves graham crackers
2 1/2c flour
1t baking soda
1/2t sea salt (I used kosher)
1t cinnamon (I recommend omitting for a more classic smores taste)
11T butter (1 stick + 3T), softened
1c brown sugar
1/2c sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla
1/2c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I added more- and i recommend milk chocolate for a more classic smores taste)
1c mini marshmallows (I added more)
3 regular sized Hershey's bars, broken into pieces

Preheat to 375F. Line 11x17 baking pan with parchment paper. Lay out the graham cracker squares in the pan as close as possible. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows. Chill dough in refrigerator for an hour or overnight. Place scoops of the dough (more for thicker, less for thinner)on the graham cracker squares. Press down slightly with fingers. Bake for 5 minutes and then remove to place Hershey's bar pieces on the top. Bake for an additional 5-7 minutes. Cool completely.

Butterbeer Cupcakes

2011-07-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

In honor of the final Harry Potter movie premiere, I made some butterbeer cupcakes! Nothing like slipping into the Leaky Cauldron for some delicious butterbeer, am I right?! Well, being a muggle I really wouldn't know, but this is my best attempt at replicating the bev in cupcake form:

Recipe
Butterbeer Cupcakes (recipe from Cook Like A Champion)

Cupcakes
2c flour
1 1/2t baking powder
1/2t baking soda
1/4t salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2c sugar
1/2c dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1T butterscotch schnapps (I didn't add this)
1/2c buttermilk
1/2c cream soda

Filling
1c butterscotch chips
1/2c heavy cream

Frosting
1 stick butter, softened
1/3c filling
1T butterscotch schnapps (I didn't add this)
1/8t salt
1/4c cream soda
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter smooth. Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk and cream soda. Beat until just combined. Fill liner 3/4 full and bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To make filling, bring cream to just a boil, watch closely to avoid burning the cream. Add butterscotch chips and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir until chips are completely incorporated. Allow to cool. Inject the filling into the cupcakes until the tops are puffing up.

For frosting, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add the butterscotch filling, salt, and cream soda. Beat until well combined. Add in powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached. Frost cooled, filled cupcakes. If there is any filling left, drizzle on top of frosting.

Happy Harry Potter weekend! It's the end of an era...

What I've been drinking...

2011-07-15T11:22:00.005-05:00

I've decided to post about some of the wines I sample, mostly for my mother's wino information, but also for those of you who love (red) wine! Here's one I had during my birthday week:

Here's what the winery has to say about this wine: "Our Cupcake Central Coast Pinot Noir has the aroma of cherries that carries through the palate with a touch of red currants and a hint of spices... "
It was pretty good after I let it breathe for about an hour. I also tried their Cabernet Sauvignon (thanks James!) which was way better straight out of the bottle.

Continued Puffiness

2011-07-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

And here is the second puffy quilt I made for Juliet, I know you were waiting with bated breath...

Make your own with HoneyBear Lane's tutorial!

Puffiness for your Thursday

2011-07-14T16:41:00.004-05:00

First, sorry for the long pause there on the blogging. I was temporarily without photo editing software and now have a huge backlog of posts ready to go out, so stay tuned! Recently I made a few baby shower gifts for my friend Juliet. She's headed to AZ with 2 puffy blankets and a fun tutu skirt in tow. Here is the first blanket, designed for a 'sorta hippie' mommy with a new baby girl!

As always, you can buy a tutorial to make your own puffy quilt from the Puffy Quilt inventor, HoneyBear Lane, here: TUTORIAL.

Cookie Monster and Elmo Treats for Evan

2011-06-17T16:42:00.005-05:00

It was Mr. Evan Crisp's 2nd birthday last week and I was lucky enough to be in charge of his cakes for this birthday party last weekend. His mamma, my friend Amy, requested cake pops and cupcakes that looked like Elmo and Cookie Monster. I had never tried to make cake pops before so I had to do a few trial runs before I was comfortable committing. I can't say that I'm the next Bakerella (who inspired these cake pops) but they were recognizable to a 2 year old so I call that a win! Here are the goodies:

Cake Pop Supplies:
I used mercken candy melts and wilton candy dye (to make cookie bluer) for the coating. The face on cookie was a dark chocolate candy melt cut in slightly more than half, Nabisco Gripz cookies, and candy eyes. The face on elmo was a dark chocolate candy melt cut in half, tear drop candies for the nose, and candy eyes.

Cupcake supplies:
I used cream cheese icing with red gel food coloring pushed through a grass tip (#233). The face on elmo was a cut in half oreo cookie (only one side, no icing), grocery store jelly bean, and icing eyes with a mini chocolate chip iris. The icing on cookie was vanilla with blue gel food coloring pushed through a grass tip. The face on cookie was a cut in half chips ahoy cookie, and candy eyes.

Thanks to Amy and Evan for including me on this fun day!

Seattle/ Whidbey Island, WA

2011-06-16T11:57:00.018-05:00

Nearly 3 weeks ago I made my first (of many) visit to Seattle and Whidbey Island, Washington to visit Christine, Ben, and Bernoulli. It was an ahhhhh-mazing trip, amazing scenery, perfect company, and lots to see, do, and eat! Warning: this is a mega post so I hope you have some time on your hands.

Our first post-plane stop was at Pike's Market in Seattle. According to Wikipedia, "Pike Place Market is a public market overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront in Seattle, Washington, United States. The Market opened August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continually operated public farmers' markets in the United States." According to me it is a fun, albeit fishy, fresh market with too many food choices. If you are in need of fresh veggies/ fruit/ flowers/ seafood/ pasta/ etc- this is the place to head. This is also the location of the first Starbucks and the Piroshky store I told you about in a previous post.

Gum wall leaving the market:

We then picked up our cupcakes from The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company, saw the Space Needle (from afar) and headed towards Whidbey Island via the Mukilteo Ferry. There are ferries to get everywhere in Seattle!
Space Needle:

View from the ferry:

Us on the ferry:

I was happy to see all was well in the life of the Noodle when we arrived in Oak Harbor:

The next day we visited some Whidbey Island sights like Deception Pass Bridge. It kinda just appears out of nowhere and gives you some magnificent views. We stopped and hiked around for a bit with Bernoulli.
So many giant trees!

Man down:

Jumping onto the 'beach'

Hiking

Succulents I found on the mini hike:

Bridge:

That's water under the bridge

Noodle and I on the bridge:

Kroll Family:

That evening Ben's parents arrived and we went to China City for happy hour. Basically we had tons of delicious apps (lettuce wraps were my fave!) and bevs on the cheap and reminisced about the Kroll wedding.

On Saturday we went on a whale watching adventure! We booked tickets with Mystic Sea Charters and headed out of Anacortes around 11am in search of whales! We were enjoying the views on the exceptionally clear day and settling into a series of games of Pitch when the boat captain announced that they were going to be polling the passengers to see if we wanted to go the safe route and see some minke whales nearby or go in search of a transient pod of orca whales that they had heard about up near Canada. We (and apparently the majority of the passengers) said why not take the chance, eh? And off we headed for Canadian waters. We were abundantly awarded for our gamble when we came across a pod of about 5 orca whales taking down 2 sea lions. Very cool to see. Lots of jumps and tail smacks etc. If you're in the pacific NW and have the time, you should definitely go whale watching!

After that amazing experience we decided to see some of the sites around Anacortes since we were already there.
Overlooking Anacortes:

The whole group:

The island in a lake on in island in a lake, got it?:

Teeners and I:

For dinner we headed to Toby's in Coupeville for some mussels and Toby's Red. The mussels were delish and since it was sooooo cold I had some soup which was also yummy, especially when eaten with garlic bread instead of a spoon. Coupeville had both a whale museum at the end of a pier and an awesome odds and ends store that were both closed that I must see on a return visit.

After dinner we raced to see the sunset and caught a glimpse of some pretty mountains:

Sunday brought a Yankees game (YAY) and goodbye to the Noodle (SAD). We had decided to stay in the city that night after the game so we could see some more of Seattle and to cut down on driving since my flight was Monday anyways. I miss Bernoulli already!:

And off to Seattle we go! Pyramid Alehouse was on the agenda for some pre-game nibbles and well, pre-gaming.

Time for the Yankees @Mariners game! Once inside, Papa Kroll insisted that everyone have these 'Rally Fries' which were basically fries doused in minced garlic, like seriously more garlic than you're even imagining. I had about 10 before they became unsettling- I prefer Old Bay any day! Christine and Ben both finished their little boats and paid for it all night. Apparently garlic isn't meant to be consumed in such a high volume, who knew?

After a quick nap and some more Pitch, we headed to El Gaucho on the recommendation of a friend of Ben's Dad. It was an exceptional steakhouse with a great ambiance. I had the best table-prepared ceasar salad, Alaskan Halibut, and malbec ever! The couples both opted for the chateaubriand to share. I think everyone was overly happy with their meals and we even got to see a mini celebrity- the closer/relief pitcher for the Mariners, Brandon League! Fun!

After dinner we were struggling (from garlic poisoning and overeating), but we still managed to make it out to a few bars, Bathtub Gin and Rob Roy to meet up with some of Ben's squadron guys. I had some really interestingly-flavored drinks at Rob Roy and would love to go back when I wasn't so full. The next morning we hit up Piroshkys again and headed for the airport. I want to say many many thanks to Christine and Ben for juggling so many visitors over Memorial Day and for showing us all an amazing time! Can't wait to go back!!!!

Chicken and Fingerling Potatoes with Black Truffle Salt

2011-06-16T08:00:00.003-05:00

I've been intrigued by truffles for awhile now. A delicious fungus that grows beneath the earth commonly sniffed out by pigs, what's not to love? These delicacies are most often grown in Europe and have not really made the jump to the US yet. There are, however, some people working on cultivating truffles in the Pacific Northwest, specifically Oregon. I've yet to get my hands on one of these lil nuggets, but imagine my excitement when I receive a sampler of Woody's Gourmet Black Truffle and Fresh Thyme Herb Sea Salt in my May Foodzie Tasting Box!!! My first instict was to hoard this amazing treat until the perfect recipe came along. I did this for about 3 weeks before I couldn't wait any longer. I referred to the included chicken and potatoes recipe and made some modifications to make it easier for me. I chocse chicken tenderloins instead of a roasting chicken and fingerling potatoes instead of 'German butterball potatoes'. I first cleaned and then microwaved the potatoes to decrease the cookign time in the oven (it's hot here in TX!). Then I rubbed the potatoes with the other sampler, Woody's Fresh Rosemary and Sage Herb Sea Salt. I spread the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet nad placed them in a 350F oven. I rubbed oil on the chicken and then the Woody's Black Truffle and Fresh Thyme Herb Sea Salt and some pepper. I cooked the chicken in a skillet with about a Tablespoon of fresh marjoram until it was opaque on the outside. I then transferred the chicken to the baking sheet with the potatoes and covered the sheet with aluminum foil. I continuted baking for about 10 minutes (until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender). I served them with some green beans and had the most amazing meal. I then promptly purchased a full size of both sea salts and am anxiously awaiting their arrival.

I highly advise making an investment in any truffle (particularly black truffle) related yummies you cna get your hands on, inclugind this salt. Enjoy!

Piroshky Piroshky in Seattle

2011-06-15T16:43:00.006-05:00

One more food post before the actual Seattle trip post! After leaving the airport, our first stop was to Pike's Market in Seattle. Ben had requested a beef and cheddar piroshky from Piroshky Piroshky. Now, you all know that I don't eat red meat and beef+cheddar wrapped in dough sounds like an insta-heart attack but I was promised dessert-y options so I was completely down. According to their website a piroshky is: "A hand held meal in the form of a stuffed pie with a variety of fillings". Since we arrived late in the day, our options were limited but I still saw something delicious in the window and opted for an apple cinnamon roll. It ended up being very delicious (and messy for that matter). This place definitely warranted a return visit (preferably in the morning when they are being made fresh by the minute). We headed there again at the very end of my trip for breakfast before the airport. This time I got a fresh rhubard piroshky and went back for a cinnamon cardamom braid. Both were delicious, hot, and fresh. I can see why the Krolls love this place! Check out my selections:
Under construction:

Apple Cinnamon Roll:

Cinnamon Cardamom Twist:

Be sure to make a stop in to Piroshky Piroshky's when in Seattle! Ben recommends the beef and cheddar but I like the sweets! Enjoy!

Cupcakery Review: The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company in Seattle

2011-06-15T09:46:00.004-05:00

I recently took a trip to Seattle to see Christine :) It was an amazing trip (more to come in a later post) and one of the first things on the list was find a cupcakery! We were already at Pike's Market so I just google mapped 'cupcake' and I found The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company. Turns out it was one of the places on my list, perfect! We arrived a little after 5 and all the cupcakes were 40% off during their last hour 'Happy Hour'- awesome! We opted for a dozen since we would be sharing with 3 others and they were on sale! We were even able to chat with one of the owners about their shop. Almost all the cupcakes are topped with Italian buttercream (believe me it's yummy and a bit of a pain to make so kudos to them), and they are working towards being able to ship their goodies so stay tuned! Since there was so many exciting flavors (hello pancakes and bacon, Washington lavender!) I didn't get my fave red velvet and the owner, Mike, ended up offering to let me try it for free! It was delicious, even for an end of the day cupcake. Definite buttercream tang, not a whole lot of cocoa but I'll let it slide. Here are some pics:

Be sure to add this cupcakery to your Seattle to-do list, I give it an A (lavender was kinda potpourri-ish but maybe that's a personal preference).

Enjoy!

Ryan's Birthday

2011-06-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Earlier in May one of my favorite people, Ryan, had a birthday bbq at Club Haven. This was a big deal because since I've known Ryan he tends to go MIA from Clear Lake on his birthday. Maybe because he keeps getting older and older than me ;) Just a couple of pics from the event, but I wanted to say one last (and super late) happy birthday to Ryan!

P.S. I made Pecan Pie Cupcakes for the event!

Chocolate Bar in Rice Village

2011-06-02T16:20:00.005-05:00

I recently had a SoccerTots meeting to go to at Memorial Hermann Park, as well as a Groupon to The Chocolate Bar in Rice Village. Obviously I was to be rewarded for driving all the way downtown for a hot 2 hour meeting that involved standing the entire time. I arrived at the Chocolate Bar ready to get my sugar high on. There were so many different things to choose from, not to mention flavors, that it took me awhile to zero in on the perfect goodies. I finally decided that since it was so hot out I needed ice cream, and me being not one to pass up on cake I also got me a giant slice as well. Birthday party anyone? I chose root beer float ice cream, which ended up being super refreshing and just what I needed after my second sweat-fest of the day. My cake slice was the Night and Day cake, a giant 4 layer chocolate cake with chocolate chips encased in white icing topped off with chocolate ganche. This cake was fierce, yet a bit dry. Don't worry I didn't kill it in one sitting, but I did rock that cake in 2 hehe. If you are looking for a taste of something I also picked up a dark chocolate toffee bar that was amazing (sorry no pics, but you can imagine). If you need something sweet and are in Rice Village (they're open late!), I recommend swinging by the Chocolate Bar!

Let me know if you get something different and love it!

Another Puffy Quilt

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Completed another puffy quilt, this time for Christine. I just can't get enough of these babies! I did a pink and light green to match the baby's room. the room also had some polka dot and butterfly decorations so I thought these fabrics worked really well. check it out:

As always, thanks to Christine for the request and giving me something to do while watching all the season finales of my fave shows! And mad props to the creator of the puffy quilt, HoneyBear Lane!

Treats for Baloo and Bernoulli

2011-06-01T13:57:00.004-05:00

I've been baking for my human friends for quite some time now, but what about Baloo and Bernoulli?! Don't they deserve some yummy treats for their unconditional loving? I say yes. Since I was headed to Seattle this past weekend I figured that would be the perfect time to make some treats so that both Baloo and Bernoulli could enjoy them. Plus, Christine had sent Baloo some tasty bites for his birthday and I thought I'd return the favor.

Recipe:
Yogurt-Dipped Molasses Treats (based on recipe from Three Dog Bakery)
3C flour
1t baking powder
1/2t cinnamon
1/2c nonfat yogurt
1/2c molasses
2 lg egg whites
1 1/2t vanilla
1/2 lb yogurt chips, melted

Preheat to 350F. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, molasses, egg whites, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Make tablespoon rounds and place on a baking sheet, about an inch apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool completely. Dip in melted yogurt chips and allow to cool and harden on parchment paper. Sit, shake, serve!

Shrimp and Scallop Scampi

2011-06-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

This is a delicious recipe form the kitchen of my Mom. Always a seafood fan, this has been a longtime favorite of mine. For some reason I have never attempted it on my own, assuming that since it was so yummy it had to be tricky to accomplish. False! This is a really easy and amazingly delicious recipe. I'm brainstorming on how to make it more colorful, maybe some red peppers? I'll let you know what I come up with.

Recipe:
Shrimp and Scallop Scampi
1 lb peeled deveined shrimp
1 lb bay scallops
1/4c diced shallots
4 cloves garlic, diced
2T butter melted
1/4c white wine
2T lemon juice
3/4t salt
1/4t freshly ground pepper
brown rice, cooked

Saute shallots and garlic in butter until tender. Reduce heat to low and add shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently until shrimp are mostly cooked. Add scallops, white wine, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cook until both shrimp and scallops are thoroughly cooked, about 2 minutes. Pour over brown rice.

I like to make the goodies and then simply heat up a single serving of Minute brown rice for some single servings. Enjoy!

Vanilla Vanilly

2011-05-31T17:06:00.006-05:00

I have been on a lifelong (ok maybe just since college) search for the perfect vanilla cupcake. One that tastes perfect and doesn't dry out seconds after escaping the oven. This one is pretty close, my friends. It is a vanilla bean recipe from Evil Shenanigans that I only slightly tweaked. Try it out for yourself, unless you were one of the lucky space shuttle mission workers that already had a taste complements of JP.

Recipe
Vanilla Vanilly Cupcakes
1 1/4c flour
1t baking powder
1/4t baking soda
1/4t salt
3/4c sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
4T butter, melted and cooled
1/3c buttermilk
1T vanilla bean paste
1t vanilla extract

Frosting:
1 stick butter, softened
1T vanilla bean paste
1t vanilla extract
1/4c milk
powdered sugar

Cupcakes:
Preheat to 325F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and lighter in color. Add the eggs and whisk until completely incorporated. Whisk in buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients slowly, until just combined. Scoop batter into cupcake liners using a large cookie scoop (about 2/3 full). Bake for about 14 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting:
Beat butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and milk until well combined. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved.

I also made a orange frosting and mocha chocolate frosting for those that don't like their cupcakes plain Jane. The orange ones just subbed in orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice for the vanilla bean paste. The chocolate added cocoa and espresso powder. Enjoy!

Puffy Quilt Tutorial

2011-05-18T08:48:00.003-05:00

If you like the puffy quilts that I make and want to learn to make them yourself, check out today's GroopDeal: It's half off HoneyBear Lane's tutorial!
Enjoy!

SCFA Regular Season Champs!

2011-05-16T16:21:00.002-05:00

This post is over a month late, but my Friday night soccer team won the league for the regular season! We've started a summer season with a few more teams, so hopefully we'll keep the winning going :) Here's a post-game sweaty pic for your enjoyment:

Go Comrades!

On a walk...

2011-05-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

Lookey what Baloo found on our morning walk today:

I think it's a common snapping turtle, but I'm no herpetologist :)
Have a great day!

Baloo and Bernoulli Update

2011-05-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Just a few pics of my hansome boys, can't wait to visit the Noodle this month!

*Bernoulli pictures complements of Christine
Enjoy!

Cinco De Mayo Soccer Tournament in San Antonio

2011-05-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! This past weekend was the Cinco de Mayo Soccer Tournament put on by SASA. I played with my Friday night coed team (the Comrades) and it was lots of fun! We went to Chuy's on Friday night as a bit of a team dinner once everyone had made it into town. Then Saturday was bracket play starting with our first game against a fellow Houston team. We ended up winning 1 game and getting 2 ties on Saturday to advance to the playoffs on Sunday. Unfortunately, due to a combo of very few subs, a redic first day schedule, and probably a bit of out of shape-ness we ended up losing our Sunday game and getting 3rd in the tournament. All in all it was a great time, good to see some different teams for once and get some really great competition. Here are some pictures from the weekend compliments of Gina (I was far too tired, sweaty, and preoccupied to properly operate a camera):

The serious level pain I experienced on Monday tells me I am no longer in excellent tournament shape, but I did survive the weekend so it's a win in my book :)

A Sweet Intent Confectionary

2011-05-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago I went to the Kemah Crawfish Festival with some peeps. There were lots of vendors and, of course, a ton of crawfish. Let me just tell you that the crawfish was terrible and not worth the money I paid to park, enter, and buy the crawfish. The mud bugs tasted literally like mud and had zero seasoning. I highly recommend staying away from this event in the future. However, I did run across a cupcake vendor at the event that wasn't bad. A Sweet Intent Confectionery was selling their wares at the festival and I decided to try a creamsicle cake pop. The cake pop was orange creamsicle coating with chocolate cake. I wasn't really expecting the chocolate cake since creamsicle means vanilla to me, but it wasn't bad. I know a lot of people like that chocolate and orange flavor combo, so it probably is a good seller. This place is only special order for now, but you can check them out at their Facebook page and maybe catch them at their next event!

Enjoy!

Sea Life Puffy Quilt

2011-05-04T14:22:00.003-05:00

Phew I am behind on my blogging! I finished this quilt a few weeks ago and am finally telling you all about it, for shame! I absolutely love how this one turned out! I love navy and the other colors look so good with it in the finished product. This is a quilt for a new boy nugget who's daddy is a fisherman, hence the fishes in the main print. Check out the last picture for a larger piece of the main print I used, it's super fun and cute for a little one without being barf cute (you know what I mean):

Thanks to Corina for requesting the quilt and to HoneyBear Lane for her awesome tutorial. You can get your own tutorial to make a similar quilt from HoneyBear Lane here: QUILT
Enjoy!

Alisha's 25th Birthday Celebration in Kemah

2011-04-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend a bunch of us gathered in Kemah to celebrate Alisha's quarter century birthday. We started the evening at Red for sushi and hibachi! We were quite the crowd, everyone took up an entire hibachi table (two hibachi grills)! After several hours of fun there, we all headed over to Palapa's for some dancing and fun. Some of you may know that I took a few pole dancing exercise classes with some friends about a year ago. It was surprisingly difficult and a great workout. The instructor from those classes, Kara, was at Palapa's (apparently they have a pole on the dance floor) and doing some demonstrations, which was tons of entertainment. We even got the birthday girl to give us a spin or two! Super fun times:
Our hibachi chef:

Fire!:

Blowing our candles:

Some of us ladies at dinner:

craig giving the pole a try:

Steph and I at Palapa's:

Happy birthday, Alisha!

Cupcakery Review: Miss Ginny's Bake Shoppe

2011-04-06T14:39:00.003-05:00

At the behest of my friend Kristine, I headed over to Space Center and Pineloch to check out Miss Ginny's Bake Shoppe last week. It's pretty hidden in the strip mall on the corner there so just pull into the parking lot and drive around until you see the 'BAKERY' sign. I tested out her lemon, vanilla, chocolate cream, and snickerdoodle cupcakes. Definitely one of the best vanillas I've tasted in awhile! I also thought that the chocolate ganache on the chocolate cream was very good and the perfect consistency. The snickerdoodle, while maybe intended to be only a muffin (it didn't have any icing), was probably my favorite. She didn't have very exciting flavors, but what she did have was quite yummy, huge portions, and well priced (only $2.50- $2.75!). Here are some pics of my tastes:
Lemon:

Snickerdoodle:

Chocolate Cream:

I ate the vanilla before I had my camera, whoopsies. Head over to Miss Ginny's in Clear Lake to taste for yourself (I hear the red velvet is amazing but it wasn't in stock while I was there). Enjoy!

Baloo and Bernoulli are 3!

2011-04-04T11:38:00.007-05:00

Well, technically their birthday was last Monday, March 28th, but I wanted to take some fresh pics of Baloo before making this post. We didn't get them until May, so our anniversary with the pups won't be until them, but I still can't believe that they are already 3! I can hardly image a time that we didn't have pups but it also seems like just yesterday that we picked them up from a slightly creepy, dog food-lined trailer in Dayton, TX! Here are some pics to take you (and me) down puppy memory lane:

At the 'shelter' where we adopted the pups:

Baloo at 3 mo:

Noodle helping with the dishes:

Pups snuggling in their (now Noodle's) chair:

Reenacting our first pic at 6 months, such big boys!:

Getting ready to see Santa!:

Noodle hiding under Christine's bed (probably being naughty):

Pups playing in the water in Seabrook:

Noodle caught tunneling in my bed:

Muddy Baloo at doggie socialization:

Last Picture together in TX:

Always hungry! Noodle in his food bag in WA (sent from Christine):

Baloo's newest quirk: laying in the bathtub while I'm home and ignoring him:

He really won't come out:

My boy, the avid squirrel hunter:

Baloo on his 3rd Birthday:

Happy birthday boy:

Happy birthday, boys!

Shrimp and Cashew Nuts

2011-03-31T12:00:00.001-05:00

Another Lenten meal for ya! If you remember back a few weeks to my "Chicken and Cashew Nuts" post, this recipe will look mighty familiar. I just swapped out the chicken with shrimp and succeeded in creating a way healthier version of my favorite (American) Chinese food dish. Here it is:

Recipe
Shrimp and Cashew Nuts (adapted from Cook Like a Champion):

1 1/2T cornstarch
6T water
2T hoisin sauce
1T soy sauce
1T white vinegar
1T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2c roasted, unsalted cashews
1lb peeled deveined shrimp
s&p
green bell pepper, chopped
cayenne pepper to taste
Brown rice for serving

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water, whisk until smooth. Stir in hoisin, soy sauce vinegar, set aside. Add oil to large skillet and set over med-low heat. Add garlic and cashews and stir until garlic is golden and fragrant, be careful not to let it burn. Season shrimp with S&P and add to skillet. Cook until opaque, then add green pepper, cayenne, and cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened a little. Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

Chocomize

2011-03-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

I recently received an amazing Chocomize chocolate bar from my sister to cheer me up about my car dying/ celebrate buying a new car. I LOVE this company and have been sending peeps their bars since I discovered them about a year ago. The bar Jesse made me had dried raspberries, pistachios, coffee, and rice crispies- and was extremely delicious! You have to check them out if you want to send a little hello to someone. The idea is that you pick a chocolate flavor (dark, milk, or white) and then add whatever flavors, nuts, candies, spices you want until your perfect chocolate confection is born. They often have edible messages around holidays like Valentine's day and Mother's Day. So, if you don't feel like counting on the Easter bunny this year, order yourself a Chocomize bar and get exactly what you want!

P.S. Sign up for their newsletter because they send out coupon codes for 10% off. I believe the last one was "springfever" but I'm not sure how long that will be working.

Starbucks Cake Pops

2011-03-30T14:56:00.005-05:00

Awhile back Starbucks premiered some new treats they call Starbucks Petites. They include mini cupcakes, whoopie pies, and other mini treats as well as cake pops! Bakerella really changed the bakery world with these babies, I tell ya! I recently stopped into a Starbucks and tried out a rocky road cake pop just to see how a commercialized company would do with a pretty labor intensive treat. I gotta say, it was really good! The marshmallows weren't the freshest but then I got my pop at 3pm, so I can't really expect perfection there. Here's a peek at my treat:

They also have birthday cake and tiramisu cake pops. Check em out!

Evan's Puffy Quilt

2011-03-30T14:32:00.005-05:00

Awhile back (like summer or fall 2010) I bought some crazy fun fabric from the Monaluna Circa 50 line that had rockets and moons on it. I figured it would be perfect for someone eventually (hello NASA), but after seeing how much Evan liked his sister's puffy quilt I knew I had to make him one too. The Monaluna fabric had teal and orange in it which I decided would be so much fun for a little boy and thus Evan's puffy quilt was born! Here are some pictures of the finished product:

When I dropped the quilt off on Monday, I was treated to delicious dinner involving some seriously yummy grilled asparagus as well as some good conversation with Evan. I may have only understood about 25% but he sure does have a lot to say nowadays, so cute! Thanks for having me over, Crisps!

Remember, if you want to make your own puffy quilt, you can buy the tutorial from HoneyBear Lane here: PUFFY. Enjoy!

So I'm in Texas Now...

Crockpot Chicken Chili

Soft Ginger Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

Somethin Sweet

January Birchbox Breakdown

January 2012 Foodzie Tasting Box

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Caramel and Sea Salt

New Monthly Subscriptions

Boxes Update

Puffy Quilt for Krista and Brian's New Nugget

Home for the Holidays

Steph's Christmas Party

Pecan Pie-Stuffed Cookies

St. Arnold's Christmas Pub Crawl in Rice

What's Up?!

Gingerbread Cheesecake

New Goodies for My Room

Apple Cider Cookies Stuffed with Caramel

Rosemary Lemon Chicken

Feast With The Beasts

Things I Have to tell myself I can't afford on a regular basis

For Your Creepy Crawly Enjoyment- Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Chipotle (flavored) Burritos

Design*Sponge at Home giveaway from Drygoods Design

Pumpkin Espresso Cupcakes

October Boxes

Random Goings-Ons

Pumpkin and Brown Butter Blondies with White Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Stuffed with Peanut Butter

White Pizza

Headboard Update

Foodzie Tasting Box and Birch Box Reviews

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Headboard Update: Near Completion!

Headboard Project Update

Creamsicle Cookies

Bye Bye Shuttle!

Snickerdoodles Stuffed with Cream Cheese

Skyler and Corey Beth's Wedding

Swatches are in!

Dynamo Game

Spoiled Much?

Frozen Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert Terrine

Pinterest

Mini Me

Finally Received My Chair!

Homemade Headboard Part 1

Smiles

Eclair Whoopie Pies

Visit Home Over the 4th

Cupcakery Review: Crumbs Bakery in Washington D.C.

Cupcakery Review: Curbside Cupcakes- Food truck in D.C.

Cupcakery Review: SWEET in City Centre, Houston

Vaughn's 1st Birthday

Smores Cookie Bars

Butterbeer Cupcakes

What I've been drinking...

Continued Puffiness

Puffiness for your Thursday

Cookie Monster and Elmo Treats for Evan

Seattle/ Whidbey Island, WA

Chicken and Fingerling Potatoes with Black Truffle Salt

Piroshky Piroshky in Seattle

Cupcakery Review: The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company in Seattle

Ryan's Birthday

Chocolate Bar in Rice Village

Another Puffy Quilt

Treats for Baloo and Bernoulli

Shrimp and Scallop Scampi

Vanilla Vanilly

Puffy Quilt Tutorial

SCFA Regular Season Champs!

On a walk...

Baloo and Bernoulli Update

Cinco De Mayo Soccer Tournament in San Antonio

A Sweet Intent Confectionary

Sea Life Puffy Quilt

Alisha's 25th Birthday Celebration in Kemah

Cupcakery Review: Miss Ginny's Bake Shoppe