Say What?? Homemade Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts...

This late night posting really has to stop...by the time I start writing, it is late and I am just not feelin' it, you know??

Anyway, I just found this amazing blog, Joy The Baker...seriously, I am loving it.  Joy Wilson is beautiful, witty and the girl can bake.  I think that I bookmarked about 18 recipes, but when I saw this one, I had to share the goodness:
  

{Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts with maple glaze}

The recipe is quite lengthy, you can find it in its entirety here.  I think that this time of year, anything pumpkin pretty much rocks my world...

 

I'm a winner

I won tickets to see a concert in Denver tonight from a local TV station...it was awesome!  I will post more tomorrow...

Snow!

Welcome back Winter!  Today it snowed...not even an inch, but enough to make me happy.  I love the snow, especially when I am at home and especially at this time of year.  It was hard to remember that it is November when it is almost 80 degrees out.

I am having one of those days weeks where I feel like I have so many things to figure out that even when I sit down to try and figure them out, I get distracted and end up doing something that needs to be done, but it isn't something that HAS to be done.  A trouble with prioritizing, that is for sure.  I think that it might be because I have our laptop on the coffee table, which is conveniently located in close proximity to the television.  I don't really watch it, I have it turned on for background noise, but I think that it is still distracting me....Jerseylicious reruns aren't helping either!

Which might explain why I am posting at 11:36pm and I still have lunches to make for tomorrow.  Sooooo, tomorrow is a new day and I am going to start it off right by going to bed (after I make pb&j with my homemade bread!) 

Here is a little snowman humor from Calvin and Hobbes:

 {image from here}

{here}

A Night Owl

 { Ben Adams- image is here}

I have always been a Night Owl...It really started at the end of high school and into college.  I majored in Interior Design {and partying! lol} and I had a ton of projects and nighttime seemed to be when I did my best work.  Looking back now, I think that the bad combination of Perfectionism and Procrastination was the major factor in my Night Owlism.  I also think that another major reason was that I seem to come alive around 10 pm and I love being awake and working on creative things, without the distractions of daytime life.  No phone calls or interruptions from other people, it was time for just me to work on things.

However, I have recently made it a point to get more than the 5 hours a night that I was averaging every night.  I could just tell that I wasn't letting my body get enough rest, so I decided to force myself to go to bed earlier every night...well at least Sunday - Thursday nights.  It was hard at first, but I soon realized that I was feeling so much better and not as crabby...what a shock!  I have been blogging after I put Reese to bed at night and tonight I am really dragging.  I couldn't fall asleep last night and I can totally tell that I need to get some sleep...

But don't worry...I will never go to bed at the same time as my kid...you can make the Night Owl go to bed earlier, but you can't make it an Early Bird!

Good Night!

29 ingredients? No, thank you!

In the spirit of saving some dough {pun intended}, I recently bought a bread machine off of craigslist for $25.  It was only used a couple of times and it included The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook  {side note: when I was emailing back and forth about where to meet, etc., I thought that I was conversing with a man named Jay...we met in front of a store and it turned out to be a woman named Jay...you never can tell can you?  Truth be told, I was relieved to be dealing with a woman & not some creeper...} 

I then bought some really good bread flour and a jumbo jar of bread machine yeast.  I highly recommend King Arthur Flours (I use their bread flour and whole wheat flour)

{This is not a quote from me, but it should be!}

I read the instruction manual, read through the book and got ready to bake my first loaf of bread machine bread.  I put water, olive oil, sugar, salt, bread flour and yeast into the bread pan, put the pan into the machine, shut the lid, set the settings to a basic, medium crust, 1 pound loaf (2 hrs, 50 min) and that was it.  I watched it knead and mix the dough through the little peep window and realized that I had made the right decision. An hour later, it was the heavenly aroma of fresh baked bread that totally sold me.  While it cooled,  I looked at the bag of store bought bread that  was already opened...it was a double-fiber conventional loaf of whole wheat bread that my husband had bought a couple of days earlier.  I read the ingredient list and couldn't believe what I was reading...29 ingredients & totally ridiculous.  I usually buy an organic loaf of bread, but at $4 a loaf and we go through 2 loaves a week, it is sometimes just was just better to buy whatever was healthy & on sale.  


I sliced up the bread for dinner {good timing on my part because the very next day I was starting a new eating plan, which includes no bread} and the 2 bread lovers in the house were in heaven.  I think that my husband understood why I bought the machine and that it really would be a good way to save money after he tasted the deliciousness of the bread.

If you are thinking about getting a bread machine and especially if you have kids or go through more than 1 loaf of bread a week, you should just do it.  Peruse craigslist or amazon for a good one, mine is a Welbilt and there are several reputable brands.  You will be amazed at how easy it is to use and really, there is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread!

It's Movie Night...

Tonight my love and I are going to watch one of the movies that I checked out from the library...I was going to blog while we watched, but you know what?  I am actually going to watch the movie and not work on any projects...

We are going to watch this movie:

and eat popcorn.  He made it this time, because I always burn it.

Girls Night, a Fort-Building necessity & a Moscow Mule

It was Girls Night in our house tonight.  Reese and I went to a new library near our house.  The library is part of The Streets at SouthGlenn, a new shopping area that once was a small mall.  It is now a beautiful outdoor shopping and dining district.  We were there in the late afternoon and there were tons of people sitting outside, eating and drinking, walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather here in Colorado.  It is supposed be 78 degrees tomorrow and Sunday we could break a record...I love it, but I am ready for a cold & snowy day!

We checked out some movies and some books from the library, enjoyed some frozen yogurt (pumpkin spice for me & chocolate for Miss Reese) and walked down to Whole Foods to buy some popcorn, macaroni & cheese (Reese) and Reed's Ginger Beer & some limes for me.  I wanted to try Oprah's favorite drink, a Moscow Mule. She made them on a recent show and I thought that they sounded delicious.

After dinner, Reese and I built a fort in her room and if I must say, it was the best one yet.  Why?  We used a bunch of these:

{an old-school wonder}

Why I haven't thought about using them before is a good question. They really are a fort-building necessity!  Fort-building with kids is something that you should do & often. (My friend Maria & her husband are Pro Fort Builders & build them frequently). We put our portable DVD player in the fort and watched The Black Cauldron while we ate Newman's Own popcorn and I enjoyed a Moscow Mule...we had a great time & it was fun to spend some special time with just me & my little girl.

As if I needed another reason to totally love Oprah, she now has me digging a new drink.  I recommend pouring it all over ice, adding the ginger beer last.  Also, I didn't have any simple syrup, so I didn't use any. Here is the recipe:

Moscow Mule Recipe

Servings: Serves 1

1 ounce vodka

1 tsp. sugar syrup
Fresh lime juice
1/2 cup ginger beer
1 sprig fresh mint
1 slice of lime


Directions:

In a copper mug, pour vodka over ice. Add sugar syrup and lime juice. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with mint sprig and lime slice.

{image from here}



A little inspiration

I have quite a few blogs that I follow that I have found via other blogs that I follow and one of them is fabulous k.  She is a graphic designer and I love her style.  I read an interview with her on another blog (although it escapes me at the moment) a few months ago and I started reading her blog.  She had this on her blog recently and I couldn't help but to put it on mine, too.  It was just the right thing to start this post...

I wrote this post, {Waking Up and Being Grateful} back in March.  I think that I had reached a point where my life was literally telling me in so many different ways that I needed to make some changes.  I was miserable at my job, but I loved the people that I worked with which made it hard to leave.  The entire process of looking for a new job was so daunting and overwhelming that I continued to plug away at a job that made me sad.  I have to say that my job, the place that I worked and the people that I worked with did not make me sad (for the most part), it was the fact that I wasn't doing anything that gave me any joy at all.  I was on the computer all day, (which is how I found blogs in the first place) and that was what made me first realize that there was a place for me and somewhere & someday, there would be a job for me, too.

About a month after I wrote that post, I went to visit my sister, Stephanie, who was graduating from the University of Michigan.  She was receiving her PhD & the commencement speaker was President Obama...you know I couldn't miss that!  My flight was that night and the day that I left was one of the worst days I have ever had at work.  So bad that I called my husband, sobbing and slobbering and asked him if he would be mad if I just left and never came back.  Basically, it was 3 1/2 years of trying to be good at something that was not me and I just couldn't take it anymore.  I didn't end up walking out.  I went back to my office, took my lunch break and bought a new sweater from Urban Outfitters for my trip...Sometimes retail therapy really does help.  Spending the next few days in a different place, spending time with my sister and having a little time away really cleared my head and my heart.  It was the first time that I had traveled without my daughter or husband...it was weird, but good.  The night flight sans interruptions and a new copy of Vanity Fair helped :)

I re-read Waking Up and Being Grateful last night and I think now that it was a sign of what was to come...after I returned from that trip, I started to change my focus.  I took it off of my job and started to focus on the people and the things that brought me joy.  It wasn't that I didn't care anymore, but it was that I didn't care anymore, you know?

I will continue this one tomorrow, Lovelies...I am off to bed.....

Easy & Delicious

My dear friend Andrea told me that I should put some recipes up on my blog.  Like a good girl who always does what she is told, that is what I decided to do today. I love to cook and bake and I have a passion for natural and organic foods, {but I rarely do as I'm told}...

This recipe was featured on a morning news show in Denver, Daybreak on The Deuce.  Danette Randal, also known as The Dessert Diva, is on the show weekly and her recipes are easy and made with real ingredients...but they are not complicated to make.  I made this last week when my grandparents were in town on their way to spend the winter in the warm Arizona sun and out of cold Wisconsin.  My Grandfather, known as Poppy, will be turning 88 on November 17th.  He is not a dessert guy, but he loved this one.  He actually said "whoever made this knew what they were doing!"  Totally made my day.

I changed a few things from the original.  I added pears in addition to the apples and switched the all-purpose flour out for whole wheat pastry flour to make it a bit better for you.  You can find the original recipe here.  The cinnamon glaze is what really makes it. If you don't like things really sweet, cut the glaze recipe in half.  This cake is really good the next day!

APPLE-PEAR CINNAMON CAKE with CINNAMON GLAZE

2 medium sized apples (organic Gala or Granny Smith), cored & chopped- they don't have to be perfect!
2 medium semi-ripe organic pears, cored & chopped
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts- toss them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.  Stir frequently. You'll be able to smell them when they are about ready.

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry flour*
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
6 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
 
*whole wheat pastry flour is soft and bakes like all-purpose flour, but is much more nutritious.  I use it in everything: pancakes, quick breads, cookies, etc.  They turn out a bit darker in color, but not enough to make a difference.  My husband hasn't noticed!

preheat oven to 350
8x8 square baking pan
lightly grease or use parchment paper on bottom (this makes it much easier to lift out)

chop walnuts and toast for 5-7 minutes, take out and set aside
Core and roughly chop the apples. Toss with lemon juice and set aside

In large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter, eggs and vanilla (batter will appear a little thick) until well combined.

Fold in apples until covered with batter, Stir in toasted walnuts. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool. Prepare glaze. Take cake out of pan if desired and place on serving platter. Drizzle with cinnamon glaze and let set. Cut and serve. ENJOY!

CINNAMON GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons milk
combine and whisk until smooth. It will start out a bit lumpy, but keep whisking it.  This is a good project for kids 6 and up;) Pour milk in slowly.  You can add more if you prefer a thin glaze, less if you want a thick one.

Enjoy!

I have a picture of it on my blackberry...now, if I could just figure out how to upload a picture from it onto my blog...

Eye Candy Tuesday

Eye Candy Tuesday

 {Orange}

image from here

 {Fuchsia}

image from here

 {Kelly Green}

image from here

{Peacock Blue} 

image from here

{Charcoal Grey}

image from here

Okay.... I just got done with bath, book, bed and realized that I was still in need of a post for today... I'm a little rusty! So I thought that I would find some images of colors that I dig right now and it took me as long it would have for me to write an actual post.  But I had fun perusing the millions of images (and on a side note, has anyone else noticed that peruse seems to be a popular word now? maybe it's just me). My favorite is the orange cruiser.  I love that bike!