and so it begins

I'm getting closer to being excited for Christmas. I braved the mall today. I thought, oh it's Monday, it won't be that bad. Well it sounded like a good idea in my head. But guess who has ALL shopping done now (even for stocking stuffers) and I will be well dressed for all holiday events in the coming weeks. 

The stockings are hung by the...couch with care?

We had Christmas with my mom's side on Saturday. I made cupcakes with my sugar flower making skills, and we didn't forget the pups (they got homemade treats too)! 

We got some tasty treats of our own and a warm new blanket and socks. The little girls loved their aprons we got them. They looked so cute!

Shelby

Regan

a caturday short

I haven't posted a caturday in a while, and I thought it was about time. This one caught my eye because of the black kitty. Enjoy!
I'll be on tomorrow with updates from the weekend and new recipes.

recipes galore and holiday outings

Busy busy busy, but in a good way. I have been baking, icing and just cooking up a storm. I got half my holiday jar mixes ready and wrapped. Pictures and recipes will be coming after they are sent and gifts have been opened. Megan and I made a Mickey Mouse cake for her nephew's birthday. It turned out so so great. We might have discovered a little business here. I had some leftover black icing, so I made a fudge swirl cake and used my purple flowers from class. It looked funny but it was pretty. I made homemade vanilla pudding for the filling. I will never eat a pudding cup again...so good. I had my first recipe club meeting this week too.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say anything about it since it is a super secret society, but I'm just too excited! I made Pumpkin Cookies and Goat Cheese Bites. I got a bunch of new recipes I'm ready to try from these great girls including Spicy Pretzels courtesy of Emily Buckingham. Here's that one...


Spicy Pretzels Ingredients: 1 bag pretzels, 1/2 tspn cayenne pepper, 1/2 tspn lemon pepper, dash garlic salt, 1/3 ranch dressing packet, 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Directions: Whisk together all ingredients except pretzels in a small bowl. Put pretzels into a large plastic bag and drizzle mixture in. Seal bag and shake to coat pretzels. Enjoy!


I am so so excited about recipe club! I just love it!

Mickey Mouse cake by Megan and Sarah

It looks like it should
be at a funeral

mmm goat cheese!

Well this weekend was really awesome to say the least. I guess the worse the work week is, the better the weekend has to be. Really, I hate my job this time of year. I'm so lucky they let me have the schedule I want, or I think I would lose my mind. Friday night Kevin and I went to pick out our Christmas tree and then we cooked dinner together. Maple Glazed Salmon (oldie but a goodie) and Balsamic Green Beans (a new one, delicious!). Then we decorated the tree, lit the lights and watched holiday movies...a perfect night. Saturday we slept in and then made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Walnut Waffles (my own creation). 

the freshest salmon in Oklahoma AVALON 

  

the green bean master

pre trimming...
see any furry presents?

more presents and the star!

the blue lights are the best

Earlier this week I went with the little nieces to North Pole City to pick out an ornament each. They both ended up picking out nutcrackers. So go figure, today my mom took all the girls to The Nutcracker Ballet. It was fun, and the girls loved it. They both got sugar plum fairy wands and got to see Santa. It reminded me of going to the ballet when I was little. One year I was dancing around the living room on Christmas Eve being a sugar plum fairy, and I knocked the tree over. It was not funny at the time, but now we laugh about it. Well, I'm crossing my fingers that this positivity can last me into the week. I'll be back soon with more recipes. Have a good week all!

Regan and Shelby at the 
North Pole

little sugar plum fairies

wonderful weekend

It's Monday, and the best way to avoid a case of the Mondays is to blog about your great weekend, right? Well it was a delightful one packed with fun things. Friday Kevin got off work early, so we went to Big Truck Tacos and Cuppies and Joe. They are two of my favorite local restaurants in town. Kev got The Flaming Lips taco with beef tongue (it looked questionable, but he said it was good). I got the Okie Baha (tilapia). Then we sipped tea and hot chocolate and got some cuppies, then came home and watched Christmas movies. :)

Saturday I went antique-ing at my favorite place ever, RINK, with my momma. I got some great stuff including a new spice rack! I will take a picture when I get it set up, I'm so excited! Also found alotta nice antique jars to put Christmas presents in. I hope Megan doesn't see this before I give it to her, but this is a thank you present for her...Cranberry Orange Bread Mix. Oh ya, and we went to a new place (well new to me), Mockingbird Manor, and I won a door prize! I still haven't picked it up, so I don't know what it is yet.

And last but not least, Sunday my mom and pop came over for lunch. We made Minestrone, Beer Bread (it was a box mix), Pumpkin Cookies and warm Apple Cider. So that means check the recipes page people...and have a good week!

  

December already?!

I can't believe 2011 is almost here! It seems like this year has just flown by. I am trying my best to get excited about the holidays. It's not that I don't like this time of year, I just much prefer the warmer months. The holidays also seem to be such a source of stress for most people in our society today. Working in retail and food service will make anyone a scrooge. 


One thing that I do love about this time of year is the baking. Baking is my favorite type of cooking. Mainly because the end result is something sweet, and sweet things always put smiles on faces. But also because when you have to put something in the oven and wait it just seems more special and homemade. When all the stresses are over and family sits down together to eat, I remember that I like this time of year after all. 


This year I am making and baking gifts. So get ready friends and family. If you're on a diet, well...sorry. Kevin and I have already made a delicious hot chocolate mix, some oatmeal cookies, and a turkey soup mix. I like mixes because they are super easy and fun to make with someone else. If you want to see how they are made you can look on my recipes page. But don't bother making them now, because you already know you will probably be getting a jar of some delicious mix for Christmas. 

Giving Thanks

Geez, it's been a long time since I've had a chance to post anything. I've had a busy last couple of weeks with work, my cake class, printing, family in town and Thanksgiving. I had to work Thanksgiving morning, but I went over to Kev's mom's when I got off. The night before I made mashed potatoes and chocolate pecan pie (which I posted the recipe for along with a bunch of others). Kevin made sweet potato casserole too. It was a good time, and it was great to see family. 

Emma Kate and Georgia Bleu are growing up so fast! We took them to the park on Friday and Kevin and Dave helped put up Christmas decorations. We put ours up too, but we still have a few more things to get (like the tree). So I'll put up pics later. The weekend before last we had an early Thanksgiving with Kerri and George here. It was good to see them too. We also went to see the new Harry Potter! They stuck to the book pretty well. I want to see it again. We got in late and got really bad seats. I can't wait for the last one that comes out this summer!

I also finished a print that I've been working on for my niece Meghan. I'm pretty pleased with it (kinda wish I would have made more). I love the simplicity of it.

And last but not least. We got surprise Thunder tickets last week! Coach Maurice Cheeks is a regular at my work. He sometimes gives tickets to my friend, and she called me and said that he had four. So we went to the Dallas game! It was fun even though we lost. I hope we can do it again soon. 

an unexpected day off

I randomly had the day off today, so I decided to take full advantage of it. I've been working on a new print for my niece. It still needs all the detail work, but I think it's looking pretty good. Read more about it in doodles. 

That's pretty much all I've been doing today. It feels so good to start printing again. I have so many great ideas I want to get started on after this. I also found out today that I'm having a little party/reception thing at the salon where my art is displayed. I have yet to sell anything there, so I hope this event  changes that. The next big show I'm looking forward to is Momentum OKC. It is in March, so I've got a while, but I'm already thinking of things to submit. 

Anyway, I finally went to the grocery store yesterday when I got off work. Now I can cook again! I made a yummy Winter Root Vegetable Soup with roasted sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots and other delicious veggies. Tonight I'm making a big batch of granola that will hopefully last for a while. I'm liking this routine of working the weekdays, printing and cooking at night, and having the weekend to spend with the hubby. BUT having a day off in the middle of the week sure is nice.  

it's been too long

So it's been hectic and busy around here lately. I'm working on a couple of prints and have run into some road blocks along the way. So I haven't had much time to update. I also haven't been cooking very much lately. I hate to say it, but we have been eating sandwiches and soups and other take out food. I just haven't felt like cooking when I get off work or when I'm done printing for the evening. I worked last weekend too and had a meeting last night. I really need a new job, for real.

I should get a print done in the next couple of days (my goal is Wednesday). So I'll put some pics up when I get a chance. I am actually off on Wednesday. It is a small miracle. So I plan on printing ALL day! I have so many new ideas, so hopefully I can get started on some more new things too. 

Megan and I had our last cake class on Thursday. Here are our final cakes. We decided to take the next four week class, flowers and cake design. We are using fondant and gum paste...should be interesting.

remembering liz

Seven years ago today I lost my best friend Liz. I was seventeen. Her death taught me so much about life, love, and really everything. I can't even imagine where I would be today if it wasn't for this tragedy. When I think about it that way, it really makes me understand that everything happens for a reason. This little girl healed hearts while her own needed repair. Sometimes I wonder what she would be like today if she were still here. I miss her. 

Death Cab For Cutie "Plans" Found this CD in my car today, and listened to it on the way to and from work. I love it as usual. It totally fit today too.

halloween weekend

So when I said that Halloween was my favorite holiday ever, I was not kidding around. We decided to be Dr. zombies. We looked pretty good and scary if you ask me. We went trick-or-treating at the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne's house and saw a giant brain, saw a great DJ set at The Blue Note, and we went to Big Truck Tacos for the first time (which was super good by the way). 

Mr Wayne Coyne was pretty excited about our costumes

There were some interesting treats on the menu too. I'll post some recipes later this week. The brain was my personal favorite.

a gooey brain, eyeballs and ghosts!

AND we carved a total of 7 pumpkins this month!!! 

and Kev's cheshire cat

Jack Skellington pumpkin

the last 2 mini jack-o-lanterns

We love Halloween!

and Pep loved his wizard costume

Last but not least...

PUNKIN SEEDS! Ingredients: Pumpkin seeds, butter, Lawreys season salt. Directions: Scoop seeds out of pumpkin and separate from stringy goopy stuff. Rinse seeds in a colander and pat dry. Preheat oven to 325. Saute seeds in butter (I do about 2 Tbspns per pumpkin) on medium/high heat for about 5 min. Pour out onto foil lined cookie sheet. Roast in oven for 10 min. Stir around and sprinkle with Lawreys salt. Roast 10-15 min more until crunchy and slightly brown. Let cool 5-10 min. These are my favorite! It's actually my favorite part about carving punkins.

icing flowers!

Cupcakes from my cake class last night. We learned how to make different kinds of mums. Not my fav. I like Megan's orange one in the back, it looks like a rose. We are learning roses and some other kinds of flowers next week. I decided to take the flowers and fondant class next month too! I love it!

so it's been a while

It has been over a week since my last post. I've had some trouble with my right hand and wrist lately. I think it's carpal tunnel, so I've really been trying hard to stay off the computer, and I haven't been able work on any art. This really is a bummer. I depend on my hands to do what I love. I've been doing some stretches and they seem to be helping, but I'm still scared. 

Anyway, the past week has been super busy. Last Wednesday I had a family girls night which was very fun except for the country music I had to endure. My mom surprised us with a limo and bought us dinner too. 

mom, me, laura, cheryll, jessica and meghan

Kevin's cousin Sean got here on Friday, and my mother in law and niece came over for dinner that night. It was a lot of fun. Emma Kate is getting so big! 

mimi and emma kate

Saturday was the Flaming Lips March of 1000 Flaming Skeletons. It was fun, but Kevin and I agreed that it was way better last year (maybe that's because it was our first time last year). We made some pretty scary skeletons if you ask me. 

kevin and sean

the scariest skeletons in town

I added a few new recipes including Potato Soup, Roasted Beets, and two yummy sweets to the recipe page. Also update on recently listened to tunes: One of my favorite bands ever...Radiohead made an appearance on yet another drive to Tulsa today. Thom Yorke's solo album "The Eraser" was lovely in my ears when it was my turn to drive (and pick music). Tonight I have my cake decorating class, and we're learning how to make flowers. I can't wait. I'll put the pics up tomorrow. So long for now. 

updates all around

Thanks to high amounts of caffeine and working in a coffee shop there are new recipes include Almond Crusted Tilapia and Pumpkin Pancakes. I've been rereading Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, so there are some thoughts related to that as well a nice sketch in doodles. 


Since all of our herbs have now been harvested there isn't much on our porch or in the garden besides some green vines. So we decided to plant some pansies this year. Last year we planted mums and they croaked in the weird Oklahoma weather. These are holding up better, and I think they look prettier too.

Found this weird metallic bug hangin
out and sucking on some fly guts...ew

It's almost Halloween...my favorite holiday! This coming weekend we are marching in the annual Ghouls Gone Wild OKC Halloween Parade as Flaming Skeletons. Our cousin Sean will be going with us this year. Here are some pics from last year. That's Kevin and I with Wayne Coyne! I'll post the new ones soon. :)
   


tunes: The Album Leaf "Into the Blue Again." This used to be my morning yoga music. I haven't listened to it in a while. Kevin was just home on his lunch break and put it on for me before he left. It's so soothing and great on this dreary drizzly day.

Oh and Pepper says hello