Happiness Post:: Post 10

Martha Stewart's Applesauce Spice Cupcakes with brown sugar cream cheese frosting, filled with Ina Garten's Roasted Pear and Apple Sauce. My life is complete.



I love Fall...and Christmas...and apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and all manner of pears just ooze festive for me. So, I love making the applesauce spice cupcakes, LOVE them. They are so moist and melt in my mouth with the frosting. The spices in the cupcake throw a little rave on my tongue. BUT, I love cupcakes with filling in them. I don't know why. I suppose I like knowing there's a special center waiting for me to meet it. Or maybe it keeps my taste buds from becoming bored. My tongue has ADD.

I'd been thinking about this filling idea for a while. What should I fill these cupcakes with? And I had tried (not very hard). I experimented with a canned applesauce and sweetened condensed milk concoction... it was, meh... and then I made Ina's Roasted Pear and Applesauce for my family one night and the light bulbs in my head all went off at the same time.

Oooohhhhhhh. It makes me so happy to bite into one of these cupcakes.

Wanna know the best part?

I have one sitting in my fridge waiting for me. *shiver*

Get in my Belly!

That title was a request for the food Ina Garten makes...not Ina herself... although I'd love to hang out with her. It's a dream, wish, fantasy of mine. She's one of my favorite celebrities.

I have nearly all her cookbooks. I have Back to Basics, Parties, Family Style, and At Home. Now I get to explore her newest How Easy is That? I love these cookbooks for a variety of reasons; pictures, beautiful pictures of what your meal should look like. I love the commentary of how to share food better. I love that every recipe makes me seem like a fabulous cook. I love how the love, devotion she has to her husband, Jeffrey comes through in every page.


The first recipe I tried out was the Weeknight Bolognese.


It was hearty and perfect for a chilly night in the Fall. It was so simple, satisfying and savory. This is one dish we'll be adding in more often to our dinners. My hubby, my girls... we gobbled it up. Next day leftovers gave us something delicious to anticipate.

The second recipe I tried was Tuna and Hummus Sandwiches.

I've always loved hummus, but for some reason never thought to make it myself. Garten includes the Hummus recipe ... this was delicious. I love that with every recipe from Garten, my entire family sits down, and enjoys the food. So tasty.

The third recipe I made was Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs.
I forgot to take pictures, so I'll have to make them again, just to take a pictures... oh darn. I love deviled eggs...and smoked salmon, and ... yeah... I ate more eggs than I probably should've in one sitting.

I hear a lot of people say they don't know how to cook.

I don't believe it.

I didn't really start going crazy with food until maybe four years ago.

My philosophy about cooking/baking is simple. If you can read, follow directions... you can cook. Anyone can - you just have to want to. That's true about most things in life. You have to want it.

For me, cooking and baking is like yoga. In yoga everything melts away as I focus on my breathing. My mind is able to clear out all the worries, the stress, the non-essentials. With cooking and baking, there is order. There's such peace in measuring, mixing, completing... it centers me and makes me happy.

Of course... the journey of creating a meal to share is fulfilling... but the icing on top is sharing it with people you love, and seeing them enjoy your creation.

I'm not being paid to endorse Ina Garten... I endorse her because I have been cooking out of her books for years now...and I think I always will.

Bon Appetit!

Winning Streak

If most things come in threes... then I am proclaiming my three wins a winning streak. A hat trick... I do pay attention sometimes to my hubby when he's left me for hockey, football or right now... GIANTS baseball... maybe my winning streak will rub-off on them for the final match-up thing... where they get the big giant disco ball, or something.

I know you're actually more interested in hearing about what I've won...

1. Darlybird



I totally won one of the gift certificates for Darlybird's 4th Anniversary. I am saving this for Christmas and am not sure how I will decide what to get as there are just so many, many pretty things. Rachel, the creative genius behind Darlybird, and I met through our mutual friend Bek. Rachel also makes the most tasty cupcakes. If you're looking for unique, pretty gifts, Darlybird is where it's at.


2. Book Shop Talk


My friend and fabulous author JESSICA DAY GEORGE (I don't know why, when I think of her I always think of her in ALL CAPS) and Amy Finnegan (who I like to think is automatically my friend through association) run this fabulous book review site, where we only review books WE LOVE! I've been doing it, you should too. Also... they interview authors. I love authors. And then they giveaway books. HELLO... I would roll around naked in a pile of books, but that might hurt with the sharp corners, and then it might unsanitary to touch the books if I wanted to read them too... but the point is... it's an AWESOME SITE! (quite deserving of ALL CAPS)

Whoops...I got distracted... I won the book Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr


3. Formerly Phread


JUST TODAY... I learned I won a giveaway on my friend ~j's site... I also call her phread...and we've known each other since... '04-'05 I can't even remember anymore. She was one of my first blogging friends...and am grateful for her joy in mothering and wit and sheer brilliance. You should read her... she will amaze you. Also, it's the bom-diggity that I won.

Right... I won Bubbletalk by Pressman toys



ps... I don't know if I need a disclaimer thing...but no one here asked me/paid me to write this post. This is my little online thank you note for the WINS! Plus, they're my friends. It's what amigos do.

so you dare tell me who to be...

Yesterday I was driving with my windows down and tunes a popping...and I heard this song, King of Anything by Sara Bareilles

I like these lyrics:


I hate to break it to you babe
But I'm not drowning
There's no one here to save

Who cares if you disagree? You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be
Who died and made you king of anything?

You sound so innocent
All full of good intent
Swear you know best

But you expect me to
Jump up outboard with you
Ride off into your delusional sunset


Also...I love playing the piano with silverware. I've always liked her music videos.

Just the Way You Are

For those of us that grew up with cassette tapes...and remember the pain of winding the tape when it came out... this video shows you all the fun you can have with it.

Also... I adore this song. Totally relate to this... as my hubby is this way...and I...am often a disbeliever...but he does think this of me. I love him.

Happiness Project:: Post 3

I love bright colors...

and I am crushing on greens...and 4YO hands

More Happiness Posts:
Post 2
Post 1

Hope

I'm attending Time Out for Women Infinite Hope tour.


I love these Friday and Saturday spiritual cram highs. This is my third year attending... and I love it. It rejuvenates me. It beckons me to change and do better.

Friday night - phenomenal. We were moved by the magical hands of Jenny Oaks Baker as she expertly manipulated the violin. I was inspired and touched by the joy and sincerity of Ardeth Kapp. We laughed and committed to change with John Bytheway.

I love good people. Good people inspire me. Good people seek change, hope and continue to look up.

There's so much I have learned and am learning. I'm busily tweeting it all and writing down notes, scripture references, and quotes I will need to look up.

I'm most grateful to my husband. He made my home shine, so that when I walked through the door this evening, I felt like I was walking into a sparkling palace. He is also the kind of man who encourages me and let's me fly. I am so lucky to have a hero like him. Some women are attracted to power, authority, position. I'm turned on by a man who cleans, a man who is tender with his daughters, a man who loves me just the way I am. Dang... my man is whoo-whee! HOT!

ps.

At the very start of the conference last night they asked us to write down a list of what we hoped for. My list is growing...

What do you hope for? Go write it down... because hope is priceless.

Curls, Cake Pops and More Bento

Happy Friday!!!
Here are things that are making me smile...

Curls brought to you by those old-school sponge curlers.


AGG has less thick hair ...that's a bit less thick than mine. My hair holds curl like Medusa. So AGG is lucky in that respect. Her curls will last a couple days.



DD has fine hair. Not quite as fine and thin as her father's, but much more fine than AGG. So her hair... usually as soon as I use a curling iron the curls fall right out. Luckily the sponge curlers help them last a couple hours.

~~~~~~~

So I happened to have to volunteer at AGG's school for their art program, and needed a kind, and trusted friend to watch DD. I figured, I was already making one bento-styled lunch, I would make another one for DD to share with my friend's daughter.


This lunch included a pumpkin and moon raspberry sandwiches, hot dogs, apples, cheese, blackberries, blueberries, grapes and a plum. I also included a few crackers from Trader Joe's.


I bought these Ziploc boxes in a bulk pack with other sizes of plastic ware from Costco. Cool. (ps. I HEART COSTCO)


This bento-styled lunch I was so excited about... it has a hand and foot cut out sandwich. The sandwiches were strawberry cream cheese with sliced strawberries, four slices of turkey and blueberries and grapes. When AGG returned home, she had one bite out of a sandwich, and eaten only the turkey. I think she's getting bored.

~~~~~~~

I am currently on a Scarlett's Sweets - cake pop spree. I am in love with them. They are going to be my signature gift for the rest of this year. I'm doing them for gatherings, birthdays, parties, and Christmas. For those that live near me... you are warned... the cake pop storm is gathering. Below is my second batch, which turned out a lot better than my first. My first batch was WAY too sweet.




I've been following the fabulous blog Bakerella for a few years now, and she's coming out with her first book! I have been meaning to try cake pops, but just had been totally obsessed with cupcakes for the last year or so... now I'm totally on board.


They take time, but are simple and so much fun to make.



ps. AND tonight... tonight I get to go to TOFW and my lovely friend the Greek Goddess flew up from LA and is going to hang with me this whole weekend! YAHOOOOO!!!!

Dude. I'm a Mormon.

My girls recently were photographed for a photography homework assignment by a young woman. I snapped a few just to document it.

So The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has this fantastic, spiffed up site where all of us ordinary members can upload our pictures and our testimonies to Mormon.org. Of course there are members of the Church that have extraordinary lives, and they're fun to read about from the homepage.

I had started my profile weeks ago, but then was distracted by my girls, and promptly forgot about it, until this past week when my friend Jenny posted hers on her blog. Thanks for the reminder Phread.

So here is mine. If you are a Mormon too, I suggest you go add yours too.

I've been browsing other Mormons too ... and I have to say... dude, check us out!

Happy Sabbath ya'll!

Cheers!

ps. Under the section "How I live my Faith" on my page, I had the spaces between paragraphs when I was typing it all out, and it checks out when I go back and edit...but on the actual page it's just one big blob of text - so sorry about the reading headaches... I need my white space!

We're nesting...

For the last few weeks my hubby and I have slept with the windows open. I especially love it in the mornings as the birds always seem extremely vocal as I wake up. I enjoy it, until my hubby slams the windows shut so he can get a few more minutes of snoozing.


About a week ago I looked out our family room to find a nest...

...but WAIT!!!! There's more...

a bird and...

we also discovered...
(this is where you press play)

We're having BABIES! THREE OF THEM!!!!
...well, via a surrogate...and other species.

Sometimes I catch the Momma bird on our backyard fence...and then nest completely un-sat on...and I worry. But my hubby tells me that the birds know what they're doing. Sometimes I also worry a wild cat that likes to flit around our backyards and in the open space behind us will figure out how to mount the patio cover... so I am waiting for the safe hatching of the momma bird's eggs with anxious and excited nerves. Not my babies and I'm totally caught up in the natural drama of it all!

One day I saw ...who I'm assuming was the father of the eggs, feed a worm to the momma while she was sitting on the eggs. I was so excited and mesmerized I forgot to call my girls over to see. It was a wriggling worm...and it was awesome.

I can't wait to see what hatches out of those gorgeous bright, blue eggs.

I am highly tempted to go get some bird food and bird houses to hang out there to entice my birds to stay.

*ahhhh... summer* We love our little house guests.

Side note: If you know me, you know I am not a country, camping, red-neck, truck-driving...girl. I'm more of a beach, room-service girl... but one that appreciates nature...

ps. I also recently caught a spider for a pet...aren't you proud of me?!

YW Manual 2 Lessons 2 and 4 combined

I love making lesson handouts. I love making sure that the girls have something that they can look at and remember.
Let's face it...whatever I say in a lesson will be forgotten, but hopefully the feelings, the testimony, the visual reminders will stay with them.

I know my Laurel leader, Valerie Hauber, made a huge difference in my life as a young woman. In fact, how I teach is very much how she taught me. I am a fan of following good examples, when they do something I admire.
I wish I could find Sister Hauber and tell her how grateful I am.

Cotton Candy

It's been one of those weeks.

One I'd rather just have Topher put me in the chair and erase. But that would make me a doll and that would be worse.

Sunday I spent all day enjoying a pressure filled migraine. I did notice though, that as I taught my little lesson during Young Women - I didn't feel the pain. I've always noticed that when the Lord needs me to serve, He finds a way to help me do it.

Monday morning brought my poor AGG down with a horrible cold. She was constantly having problems breathing due to a stuffy nose. She was melodramatically annoyed. My husband would say she gets that from me. Unfortunately, I can't find anyone to blame for this personality flaw.

Monday also brought a package from my sister. God bless my sister. She gave the girls their own laundry hampers. And you thought they were just for clothes. They were cocoons, potato sacks for racing and jumping, back packs, cages, houses...I love imaginative kids.


Tuesday my little DD came down with a cold and a fever. Her little body always seems to spike up into a a fever anytime she catches a cold. When a fever strikes... forget sleep. She also tends to milk it for all it's worth. Which is both adorable, intelligent, and unproductive. I get absolutely nothing done when she's sick. But she's so darn cuddly.

Meanwhile... I also have a migraine...and did I forget to mention, Sunday brought evil Aunt Flow. (blah, blah tmi... deal with it)

And... the weather... have I mentioned we've had more than 2 weeks of gloomy, foggy... gloom, doom, GLOOM? There's also been rain, and clouds...and in a rare moment today the sun broke through for a mere moment. It was a moment I tried to grasp and cling to. I miss my sun. I need warmth. This boring grey is driving me crazy!

So I am Grumpy Dwarf... the gift that keeps giving - my poor, poor husband. Men really put up with so much... in my case, he has to put up with me. (queue Godzilla) I am a total grumpasaurous when I am not feeling well, the weather is awful, etc, etc...

Last, but not least... I was supposed to teach my daughter's kindergarten class about Chagall today - we were also going to create these fun, fantasy pictures with pastels. I made cupcakes last night... to go with the lesson. I ended up postponing due to my 3-year-old, portable furnace. So what to do with the double batch of cupcakes? Since cupcakes stay fresh for only three-days - I figured I'd better get them out of my house before I consumed them all. These fluffy, moist applesauce spice cupcakes (minus frosting) are so easy to consume. So the kids all got a treat today.

With sick kids, a miserable excuse for a Mommy, and getting ready for school - I still had my cupcakes to decorate... This morning I didn't have the time, nor the energy to make my cream cheese frosting from scratch. It physically hurt as I spread the pre-packaged cream cheese frosting on the homemade applesauce spice cupcakes... it hurt... but sleep-deprived, migraine, flow woman had already thrown up the white flag in desperation.

I was so glad adding the cotton candy was easy. I loved how whimsical they made the cupcakes. (side note, the cotton candy dissolves quickly...so add them right as you're going to serve, or add a giant glob...because there will be shrinkage - heh) Chagall was imaginative, used bright, bold, fun colors... so I thought little clouds of happy fluff would work well - and today, when I needed it most, they made me happy.

ps. My little DD is currently sitting on my lap as I post this, playing on the iPhone because the motrin kicked in and she is feeling happy herself.

It's beginning to LOOK a lot like...

SNOW!!!


No joke... in Nor. Calif.
I love living here because usually the snow doesn't come to me... I get the choice of going to the snow. This morning... the snow decided to make itself at home.

And...my girls are thrilled it did.

AGG quotes this morning: "It's a special day!!!" "It looks like sugar! Is sugar cold? Look! It looks like there's sugar on my house."

"Do you make snow out of coconut?" She's quoting a tv show.

When DD woke up she looked out the front windows all excited and said, "That's not a lot of snow!" So we took her to the back windows and she said "wow, that's a lot of snow! Is Santa coming?"

After we'd finished our snow activities outside she asked, "Can I go out and taste the snow now, please?"

...secretly... I had a blast too.




The girls are pretending the snowman is their brother.



Then it was time to go in and watch Elf, have hot cocoa with fresh whipping cream, cinnamon pancakes, and bacon... mmm.








This is what has been keeping us in the Christmas spirit pre-snow.

Pink Sugar Cookies

Advent calendar village

One-of-a-kind Calendars

Words of the season

Centerpieces

Tiny nativities
(ps. DD already broke Joseph's head...it has been glue-gunned on - Joseph...first casualty of Christmas)

Olive wood, 9-year-old Nativity from Jerusalem

Enacting the nativity