I Just Blogged to Say I Love You (Vol. 3)

Here we are...November.  I hear there's some sort of election thing going down on Tuesday.

1. In keeping with election week, I'm about to go all political on you.  Ben Franklin.  I like him.  Judging from this, I'd say he'd have been one awesome blogger.

2. My friend Rebecca from Foodie with Family made a Chocolate Nutter Butter cake.  Tell me you won't be dreaming about that tonight.

3. Speaking of Rebecca, she also introduced me to a little website called SnorgTees.  I think we all need this shirt.  Pluto Forever!!!

4. Have you started your fall comfort baking, yet?  I think these Applesauce Bars from Kristan are the epitome of fall comfort food.  Plus...Carmel Cinnamon frosting!  Make them...feel free to ship them to me.

5. Pumpkin Gruyere Gougeres.  I have always, always wanted to make gougeres.  I'm not sure what the heck has been stopping me, but these beauties from Heidi have just pushed me over the edge from wanting to make them to GOING to make them!

6. YOU! That's right...I love you.  About two weeks ago, there was a little book signing in my town.  And people came!!!  Seriously!  And not just any people...the *nicest* people EVER...with the cutest and most polite kiddos EVER.  You guys made the day so incredibly fun...I can't even tell you how much I enjoyed meeting every.single.one of you.  My sweet sister who flew in for the day...my sweet friends who stopped by...I love you guys, too. Y'all ROCK!  Thank YOU!!!

{{PS...if you're one of the ones who stopped by after the book sold out, the next shipment should be to H&H soon!}}

Let's hear it.  What's on your "love list" with week?

I Just Blogged to Say I Love You (Vol. 2)

Hey guys!  Is it fall in your neck of the woods, yet?  It is still HOT here, so I'm *still* wearing my white jeans and sandals.  Totally allowed after Labor Day if it's 90 degrees, right? 

1. I love Halloween...and these spider peanut butter blossoms might be the cutest Halloween treats I've ever seen.

2.  Fried Okra Chunks!  CHUNKS!!!  I only want to eat things in chunks from now on.

3. On the importance of a print button.  (This is one of the funniest blog posts of all time.)

4. This dress.  In houndstooth...or dots...or purple, but I think it might be too short.  Do you hesitate to order clothes online like I do?  I'm a clothes-ordering-chicken.

5. I'm on an avocado kick these days.  As in EVERY day for lunch, I mash up an avocado with lemon juice, salt, and pepper and spread it on toasted sourdough.  How do YOU eat it?  I may need some variety.

6. Love this.  (Just want it to be 75% off.)

7. Bobbi Brown.  I'm usually a "drug store" makeup buyer.  Last spring, Mr. E gifted me a Nordstrom gift card, so I had my makeup done at Bobbi Brown.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I walked away with a gift card balance of $0...and very happy.  Six months later, my eyeshadows and eyeliner are still more than half full.  So, I went back.  This time for foundation, concealer, powder...and of course, lipstick.  Always lipstick.  I think the gel eyeliner is my favorite product, but I love it all.

What have you been loving lately?  Specifically, what makeup do you love?

I just blogged to say I love you (Vol. 1)

{We're (ok, I'm) trying a little something new around here...a round-up of good stuff from the internets and beyond.  I'll be posting round-ups every so often because once a week would require me to be organized.} ;)

1. You know when you see something wonderful and it makes you a little teary?  Check out this video of my friend Amy's daughter singing "Hit Me with your Best Shot." Hope and her guitar-playing friend have some major talent.  I'll be first in line for their CD.

2. I've been on an ice cream kick for the last couple of weeks, and seeing THIS ice cream from Jessica did not help.  I seriously MUST have this.

3. These shoes (in red)...can't stop thinking about them. 

4. So, high temperatures are still around 90 in these parts, but I AM ready for fall...and fall flavors.  I've been dreaming of this cake from Jenna.  I predict it will make an appearance in my kitchen next week.  (And then I will devour it...in 24 hours flat.)

5. Man-pleaser Salad...it's a woman-pleaser, too...I think you'll want to try it.  And if you can get your hands on some Rogue Creamery blue cheese, all the better.

6. THESE COOKIES ARE AMAZING!!! (Yada-yada)

7. I dare you to read this post from Robyn and not cry.

8. Finally, I tested a swipe of dark grey polish on my nail at Target last week (yes, I'm that person), and when we got home, I couldn't not stop staring at it.  I told Mr. E, "I feel so goth with this polish."  He immediately replied, "YOU could never be goth."  Sounds kinda like a challenge to me. ;)

What have you been loving this week?

Where the Magic Happens

Sometimes you're lucky enough to be where the magic happens.

Last weekend, I was here...

Have a guess?

 

How about now?

Now?

Now?!?

So, a few of us were were at THE ranch for a cheese (bread & red pepper jam) class taught by the beautiful Rebecca of Foodie with Family.
{recipe and instructions are over at PW's}

We laughed, we cried, we squealed, we sang songs from Grease.  We wondered what our parents were thinking when they let us WATCH Grease.  We made "cheesy" puns that were "whey" bad.  Get it?

I really, really, really want you to know these girls if you don't already.

 

{Rebecca, me, Robyn, Amy, Wendy, Sandy, photo credit: Sandy}

Sandy decided this looks like a promo shot of a new TV series, "Pioneer Wives."

or maybe, Real Housewives of the Ranch. 

This is Ree.  Hostess with the mostess.  If you don't know Ree, please come out from under your rock now.  If you are not living under a rock, I hope you get a chance to meet Ree someday.  What you love about The Pioneer Woman blog, books, TV show, etc., you'll find tenfold in Ree herself.  Genuine, generous, FUNNY, and can rock a pair of skinny jeans.
{I'm not jealous about that last bit or anything.}

Sandy.  Sandy is a-DOR-able and was my roomie for the weekend and I've decided that she needs to move her whole family to Texas from Oregon and be my next-door neighbor.  (Too much to ask?) Sandy publishes the blog Reluctant Entertainer and has a book of the same name.  Her book really spoke to me...I AM a reluctant entertainer (entertaining means I have to mop the kitchen)...and made me look at entertaining differently.

Georgia.  Miss Georgia.  You've met Georgia and her book Girl Hunter here before.  What can I say?  Georgia kinda does it all.  She's drop-dead gorgeous, hunts her own food, and is an exquisite cook.  She also elevates the plaid shirt to high fashion. 
{photo credit for this and horse pic up top: Wendy}

Wendy.  Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.  Wendy's blog, Wenderly, feels like home.  Food, entertaining, decorating, finding joy in the everyday....that's Wendy.  Wendy also designs cards, like AMAZING cards.  Here, look at these.  Mr. E thinks she looks like a young, Body-Heat-era Kathleen Turner.  I think he's right.

Robyn.  Robyn is a beautiful, southern lady.  I've wanted to meet her for so long now...and really felt like I already had just through reading her posts.  Robyn's blog, Add a Pinch, is full of easy, southern recipes that you'll want to add to your grocery list right now.  I think I've pinned everything on her blog.  Have I mentioned that all of these ladies are stunning? Truly....look at those eyes. {photo from Ree}

Amy.  I've had the pleasure of hanging out with Amy on two different occasions.  I remember before I met her the first time, I was so NERVOUS to meet the creator of She Wears Many Hats.  I mean, this girl takes killer photos, makes killer recipes, all while maintaining killer hair and a gorgeous smile. Somehow I managed to come home with only this picture of Amy....we were the gingham twins for horse riding.  Real cowboys wear gingham, right?

And now to Rebecca, our class leader.  Rebecca homeschools 5 boys, bakes bread every day, makes her own cheese, and raises chickens.  I think she even manages to slip in sleep every now and then. Seriously, I'm not sure how she does all that while managing to look elegant and maintaining the perfect side-swept bangs. I was so, so impressed with not only her cooking, but the way she is raising her boys.  Her blog, Foodie with Family is a treasure.  I love the way she writes! 

I don't want to forget the local girls who came in for the day.  Julie from Another Chance Ranch and Stephanie.  I had the pleasure to meet both of these ladies at the cookie decorating class and LOVED seeing them again.  They tolerate me even though I'm a Sooner. 

Shari from Really Most Sincerely and her aunt came in for the day.  Loved their aunt/niece story.  Also, Shari was wearing Burt's Bees Raisin lip balm which looked so beautiful on her, I ran out about bought it the next day.  She wears it better.

And then, there's Meseidy from The Noshery.  The girl can COOK, y'all.  She's also funny as heck.  You need to know her.

I brought cookies. And was so nervous about being there, I forgot to pass them out.  Instead I opened the box and set them on a table.  The heart is supposed to be over Pawhuska, but Pawhuska isn't *quite* that big. MM assured me I had covered Osage County. ;)

 {photo credit: Sandy}

So, that about wraps it up.  I'm still not quite sure I was really there.  But, I'm in some pictures....I guess that's proof.

Next time, I'm taking you all with me.

Whole-Wheat, Whole-Grain Morning Monster Cookies and an Invitation!

 

Last year if you would have told me that I'd write two blog posts on running, I would have laughed (and laughed, and laughed some more).

What I always said when people talked about running was that "running hurts me."  It was the truth, and also, remedied with a more substantial sports bra. *ahem*

You might have seen a post back in the spring about my first 5K.  Since then, I've kept up with the running...albeit a slight foot injury had me on the sidelines for a few weeks and this Houston humidity is surely trying to kill me.

What has kept me going is a group of girls called the Red Faced Runners.  Yep.  Here we are in our Wonder Woman socks...

{That's me, top left...can't you tell?}

LISTEN UP....we want you to run WITH US!!!  
{More in a minute...}

We're all at different levels of running, but the common denominator, besides our red faces, is that we cheer each other on.  These girls are my heart when I feel like I don't want to get out there, or I want to quit and walk home. 

We also have a fearless leader, Cindy of Once Upon a Loaf.  Cindy is a real-live RUNNING COACH...and she's over at Dara's blog, giving some invaluable advice for starting a running program and training for a 5K.

First though, Cindy was nice enough to share a few quick points here:

1. Believe in the run.

2. Believe in the rest.

3. Respect must rule all.

4. Your body is your temple.

5. Your kitchen is your place of worship.

6. Equip yourself.

7. You run.  You don't jog.

8. Get after it.

9. Spread the love.

10. Have the time of your life!

We're inviting you, challenging you (would love for you) to run WITH us the weekend of September 8th.


Pick a race in your area and let's run together!!!  (Click here to search a list of races.)
Plus....you can eat all of the cookies you want after the race.  (I'm not sure that's in Cindy's training plan, but it's part of mine.)

---

OK...let me share with you part of my running routine.  I like to run early.  Why?

A. It's cooler outside.
B. It takes me approximately 4.5 hours to dry my hair, so early gets me out of the house by noon.

Before heading out, I like to grab a quick breakfast.  I don't want to cook anything, so most mornings, I grab a Kind Bar (thank you, Teresa), but having a breakfast cookie like this already made and ready to go is even better.

I call these "Morning" Monster Cookies because they're chock-full of oats, whole-wheat flour (KA White Whole Wheat), peanut butter, and dried cherries replace the typical M&Ms.  OK...there are chocolate and butterscotch chips, too.  Sugar = energy, right?  Right.

Morning Monster Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
3 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 & 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup white whole wheat flour, King Arthur brand (all-purpose is fine)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup dried cherries

Melt the butter over low heat and set aside.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda and salt.  Whisk in the melted butter.

 

Add the peanut butter, oats, and flour; stir until combined.  Stir in the chips and cherries until evenly distributed.  (This will give your arm a workout.)

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Drop the dough by 1/4-cupfuls onto the parchment-lined sheets.  Flatten slightly with your fingers.  Bake for 12 minutes.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then cool completely on a cooling rack.

{Based on a recipe for classic Monster Cookies from The King Arthur Cookie Companion.}

---

Click on over to Cookin' Canuck for more detailed tips from Cindy.  Be sure to visit the rest of the Red Faced Runners, too!

Cindy, Once Upon a Loaf 

Amy, She Wears Many Hats

Kristen, Dine & Dish 

Lori, Recipe Girl

Katrina, In Katrina's Kitchen

Robyn, Add a Pinch

Carolyn, All Day I Dream About Food

Krista, Budget Gourmet Mom 

Shawn, I Wash...You Dry

Dara, Cookin' Canuck 

So, will you join us?  
{psst...join the fun on twitter using the #RFR5k hashtag.}

Savory Sweet Life...simply delicious

 

{Blackberry & Peach Crisp ala Savory Sweet Life}

You may already know Alica Currah of the blog, Savory Sweet Life.  Alice is one of those bloggers with whom you instantly feel a connection.  I'm not sure if it's her recipes, or her pictures, or her writing, or just her down-to-earthy-ness (it's a word, look it up).

Anyway....Alice has cookbook which was recently released (I'm guessing the first of many), and I think you'll love it as much as I do.  See that crisp up there?  That's from the book.  You need it.

Alice's book is called Savory Sweet Life: 100 Simply Delicious Recipes for Every Family Occasion.  And well, the title sums up the book pretty completely.  Divided into sections, the book is filled with recipe inspiration for everything from Christmas Morning to a Tween Birthday Bash.

Kiddo already has his eye on this...

And, sigh....this is calling my name...

You KNOW this is on the "must make" list...

It IS called SAVORY Sweet Life; you know desserts are always first in my mind.  Once the weather cools, though, I am *so* making this...

Isn't the photography beautiful?  Alice took the pictures, too.  That cover photo immediately drew me in.

I made the Alice's Blackberry Crisp (adding peaches as she suggests for a variation) for Father's Day, and oh baby, is it amazing! 

Savory Sweet Life...in bookstores now! :)

This post isn't really a post...

This post is to tell you that, well, I have nothing to post.

You see, I made this beautiful popcorn...Perfecto Popcorn, to be exact...and blogged about how to make fool-proof stovetop popcorn over on Bake at 350 Goes Savory.

Then, I used popcorn in two different dessert recipes.  Both of which were "meh"...neither of which were blog-worthy.  {Blog-worthy: it's totally a word.}

So until next time, my friends...I leave you with plain popcorn.  And ya know, I think that's how I like it best anyway.

Did you bake anything over the weekend? 

ZipList & Printable Recipes...Works for Me Wednesday

You might have noticed something new on the blog lately. 
Have you noticed the cute little buttons on posts with the recipes that look like this:

Let me tell you about them:

1. Clicking "Save This Recipe" will take you to ZipList where you can save recipes & create grocery lists, not just from this blog, but from tons of other blogs and websites like, oh, Martha Stewart, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen, Cookies and Cups, Recipe Girl, TidyMom, Skinny Taste, A Southern Fairytale, Our Best Bites, and Challenge Dairy...just to name a few.  They even have an app!
2. Clicking "Print This Recipe" will let you, well, print the recipe.  Right now this is through Google Docs.  Someday, maybe blogger will come up with a cute recipe card option.  Until then, print away.  I'm including a small picture with every recipe...I don't know about you, but I like to see pictures...I'll keep them small, though, so you don't waste precious printer ink.

 

What do you think?  Do you like the new options?  Do you already use ZipList?

This will be a regular feature on new recipes and I'll try to go back to add them to old ones as I get a chance...and as I remember. ;)  Are there any requests?

ZipList & Printable Recipes...works for me! :)

Why I love blogging, TERESA, Doggie silhouette cookies, and Seattle, Seattle, Seattle!!!

{Be warned...a very wordy post, with lots of personal pictures. But, there ARE cookies, too!}

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  My very favorite thing about blogging is not anything I ever expected or anticipated.

My very favorite thing about blogging is that it has brought some really amazing and true friendships into my life. ♥

For Mother's Day two years ago, Mr. E surprised me with a trip to visit my very first blogging friend, Cheryl from TidyMom. It was so much fun that I decided then and there that visiting bloggy friends in real life must be continued.

When we were thinking about a spring break trip, we decided on Seattle. Yes, warm, sunny Seattle.  Neither one of us had really seen the city, and kiddo had never been to that part of the country.  And guess who just happens to live there?!?

TERESA from Blooming on Bainbridge!!!

Now, Teresa and I had gotten to the point of texting each other, oh, about 247,000 times a day.  It was high time we met...and we DID!!!

We had a wonderful dinner together in Seattle and had a groan-worthy, unbutton-the-top-button-of-your-pants dinner at Teresa's home on Bainbridge Island.  (I waited until we were on the ferry back to Seattle to do the unbuttoning...you don't want to be TOO weird when meeting a blog friend.) We were so busy gabbing that we didn't take many pictures.

You know how Teresa is the sunniest, funniest, happiest girl on her blog?  Well, she's that x 1,000 in person.   And her house?  Oh, it's only the cutest place ever.

{Psst...See that handsome man with the cool glasses in the picture with kiddo and & Mr. E?  That's Teresa's husband.  I swear, bloggers have the best husbands.  I just love him.}

Oh, and y'all...Seattle is a foodie town.  Great food is everyWHERE!  Take a look at this salted caramel cupcake from The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. 

But, the BEST food we ate all week was at Teresa's house on Bainbridge.  Chicken Pot Pie, Mashed Potatoes, all kinds of appetizers, Ina's Chocolate Pudding.  Mr. E is so spoiled now.
And I'm chubby.

Let's talk about Seattle...or, our home away from home, the Pan Pacific Hotel.
This was our view:

{No, I'm not kidding.  That's the Space Needle.  How cool is that?!?}

I'm pretty much in love with this hotel.  From the location (in a hip little neighborhood where Amazon is making it's new home), to the service (impeccable), to the WHOLE FOODS MARKET downstairs!

Foodies...if you are planning a trip to BlogHer Food in June, you might want to consider the Pan Pacific! {Y'all...they have free wifi.  They know better than to separate a blogger from her wifi.}

{A few more pictures...we didn't stay in the suite pictured up top, but I thought you might want to see it.  I'm going to dream about it. The lobby is also very chic and modern...wonderful seafood restaurant and a Starbucks attached (this is Seattle after all!).  ALL of the rooms come with BIG soaking tubs and sliding doors that open up to the room.  After a long day of walking around Seattle, relax in the tub with a glass of wine, and enjoy your view of the Space Needle.  Of course, I did not do this since kiddo was with us, but I imagined it. ;)}

As far as what to see....I could go back and spend a month or so in Seattle just exploring.  Well, exploring and EATING.  Space Needle, monorail, Pike Place Market, the ferries...there is SO, so much to do!!!

Now to the cookies...

If you know Teresa, and you should, you'll know her ADORABLE Wheaten Terrier doggie, Doogan.

So, I stole a picture of Doogan from Teresa's blog ;), and printed it out.

Then, the day before I made the cookies, I placed the printout on an upside-down cookie sheet and covered it with waxed paper.  I outlined and filled the picture, just like I would on a cookie.

For the cookies, I used Callye's method of turning a scalloped circle cookie into a scalloped oval.  (I love this!)  The cookies were outlined and filled with light turquoise icing.

After the cookies had been drying for about an hour, I peeled the Doogan silhouettes off of the waxed paper and gently placed them on the cookies.  (The cookies are still wet enough to hold the silhouette without disturbing the icing.) Then, the cookies dried uncovered overnight.

Since I was visiting Teresa (the queen of pink and gingham), I had to tie her cookies up in some big pink gingham ribbon. ♥

Seattle Spring Break...I recommend it.

{...especially with your sweethearts.}

I'll leave you with one more (can you stand it?) picture. It's blurry, but I think it's my favorite.