Apple Picking

Yesterday a few girls from work and I went apple picking at Apple Country Orchards in Idalou. It was slightly less glamarous than I had hoped it would be. And most of the apples were like this:


on the ground. Which made me think "happy birthday to the GROUND" the whole time (that's a SNL reference just so ya know). After a bit of wandering around not knowing what we were doing we finally tried and apple from a tree, decided it was good and picked a bunch. I ended up with 7 lbs of apples, which means I'm going to be making apple crisp next week.


I also bought a gallon of apple cider that is in my freezer waiting for Christmastime!

Observation Tuesday: Volume 7

I decided Observation Tuesday this week would be Thankful Tuesday, so here are things I've observed that I'm thankful for today:

1. Love. That I can love my fiance, that he loves me, that I have a loving family, that I have friends that love me. That I have a God that always loves me too. Pretty cool.
2. Texting. I can connect with someone I love in just a few seconds. It's perfect for those little moments when something reminds you of someone and you just want to let them know.
3. Cost Plus World Market. It's my favorite store. And yesterday I got 15% off my next Southwest flight for shopping there. good deal.
4. Presents. A good friend of mine got me a shirt from a concert he had been too the other day of one of our mutual favorite bands. Totally made my day and makes me smile every time I see it in my closet.
5. Pictures in my house. Living alone is a lonely affair. But being surrounded my pictures of my parents from when they were 20, my adorable nephew and my roommates is the next best thing.

This is the picture I just framed and put up of my parents :)

Fall inspiration

Fall is upon us. Kind of. Here in Lubbock it's still a little too warm to bust out the jackets and scarfs, but Halloween is in a week, which means it's practically Thanksgiving. Therefore to help myself embrace fall I spent a little time searching for things that inspire me to be cozy and think of leaves changing color.

I have been knitting more - definitely a fall activity it feels since I'm using thick wool and such. I'm working on a couple projects to give as gifts so they can't be shared on the blog just yet. But I am excited. And as soon as I get better this coffee cup cozy is on my list of things to make!

I also made this pumpkin cake recipe this last week and brought it to work to share. Everyone loved it. I spent a bit of time on Food Gawker today and found these tasty bits of inspiration too.

Pumpkin Steel Cut Oatmeal
Old Fashioned Gingerbread
Pumpkin White Hot Chocolate

I have a a few baking projects lined up for this week as well! If it wasn't midnight I would start one now...

Finally, I am going apple picking this week! I'll try and remember to document the experience and share it with you.

Banana Cream...Pudding?

We all know not all baking and cooking endeavors will be successful. It still hurts a little when one isn't though...

I've been wanting to make Banana Cream Pie from Park Cafe in Glacier National Park ever since I had my first piece this summer. Before this, I had always been kind of against it only because I imagined it tasted like fake banana. Thankfully, I had my taste buds exposed to the glory that is this pie. My sister's sister-in-law found the recipe and was kind enough to pass it along so I could try it.

However, I realized that the recipe involves a custard. Lets just say custards are not my strong suit. The other time I tried to make one I curdled the mixture faster than you can imagine. I thought I'd try again being a little bit more cautious with the heat this time. I did okay until the end of the pie (i.e. after cooling it overnight) and I realized that I hadn't let it thicken enough. I ended up serving Nana and Granddaddy banana cream pudding...


At least it still tasted good...


The graham cracker crust was delish.

Challenge: Day 3

I've got pumpkin bars in the oven, a pumpkin spice candle burning and had to wear a sweater out of my house this morning. I'm feeling the love of fall. Now on to day 3.

Day 03 - Your views on drugs and alcohol

Well, as far as drugs are concerned in the medical sense I am a proponent of them. I give them to people every day at work, after all. However, I'm guessing this is not what the question is asking. In the recreational sense I am against them. Plain and simple I don't like the idea of a mind altering substance entering my body. On the other hand, I think drinking alcohol within moderation is perfectly okay as long as it's not something you take to an extreme or are tempted by. However, I think enjoying a beverage while out with friends on the weekend is totally okay.

Why my life is good.

Here are a few of the things I'm thankful for today:

• Thai for dinner with a new friend
• Nestle Caramel Hot Chocolate - it has officially brightened my winter
• New house decor (which will probably be blogged about later)
• Cool fall weather
  

• This cup that reminds me of living with my bffs in the TEAS.

• That I get to see my fiance in 2 day!
  

• Friends that will stay up late talking to my on skype :)

• My new coffee pot :)

• Grace, mercy, and a God who always loves me.
  

Challenge: Day 2

Where you'd like to be in ten years.

Alive.
32.
Married.
Given birth to 2 children.
Adopted 1 (or 2) children.
Have my masters.
Be working on my PhD.
In community.
Near family.
Happy.

Challenge: Day 1

Day 1: A picture of yourself and 5 interesting facts. I'm choosing to write facts about myself.


1. My dream job would be an organizer. A professional life organizer. That or a nurse who got to go around and just make people feel better by doing massages, yoga, aromatherapy or guided relaxation.

2. At some point in my life I want to work as a barista just so I can legitimately become a coffee snob.

3. A girl I babysat once told me my moles make me look like a pepperoni pizza.

4. I keep 3 calendars up to date all the time. one in my purse, one on my desk, and one in gmail. overkill? yes. do I care? no.

5. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot in my mouth and I also consistently win Starburst unwrapping competitions.

CHALLENGE

So I stole this idea from my friend. Its a 30 day blog challenge. Here are the topics.

Day 01 - A picture of you and 5 interesting facts.
Day 02 - Where you’d like to be in 10 years.
Day 03 - Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 04 - Your views on religion.
Day 05 - A time you thought about ending your own life.
Day 06 - Your personal style.
Day 07 - Your zodiac sign and if you think it fits your personality.
Day 08 - A moment you felt the most satisfied with your life.
Day 09 - How you hope your future will be like.
Day 10 - Discuss your first love and first kiss.
Day 11 - Put your ipod on shuffle and write 10 songs that pop up.
Day 12 - Bullet your whole day.
Day 13 - Somewhere you’d like to move or visit.
Day 14 - Your earliest memory.
Day 15 - Your favorite tumblrs.
Day 16 - Your views on mainstream music.
Day 17 - Your highs and lows of this past year.
Day 18 - Your beliefs.
Day 19 - Disrespecting your parents.
Day 20 - How important you think education is.
Day 21 - One of your favorite shows.
Day 22 - How have you changed in the past 2 years?
Day 23 - Give pictures of 5 girls who are famous who you find attractive.
Day 24 - Your favorite movie and what it’s about.
Day 25 - Someone who fascinates you and why.
Day 26 - What kind of person attracts you.
Day 27 - A problem that you have had.
Day 28 - Something that you miss.
Day 29 - Goals for the next 30 days.
Day 30 - Your highs and lows of this moment.

In all reality I will not do this in 30 days, but I will do my best to.

Observation Tuesday: Volume 6

1. I am in love with my new room. (see post below). the color is phenomenal. very cooling and lovely. Can't wait to decorate more. I've got big ideas.

2. I wish I could get a job being a professional life organizer. That's what I spent the last 2 days doing for myself and I feel so refreshed with an organized house, calendar, to-do lists, wishlists and plans. I love doing it and therefore wish I could get paid to do it for someone else.

3. Target is a dangerous place for my wallet. I went to get a birthday present for someone else and walked out with a bottle of wine, new shoes, and a lampshade....

4. I really wish I had a bigger habit of starting up conversations with random people. Other people are so interesting and have such great stories to share and I think it would be wonderful to glean that knowledge from them. Now I need to learn to hone that skill and make myself socially appropriate when doing so.

5. Observation Tuesday has turned into random facts about my life. Not sure if that's what it was meant for, but for this week I'm going with it.

6. I haven't taken pictures in awhile so I'm hoping to do that this weekend and maybe next week I'll have some stuff for you guys to actually look at because I really believe all posts are better with a pictures.

Grey vs. Gray

I think grey is the English spelling. And gray is well, the American, way.

But anyways. That's beside the point. Although I admit the title is misleading here because it would seem as though that is the whole point of the post. I lied. It's not.

This is the point:I painted my bedroom concrete gray. Thanks, Martha Stewart, for the color! I'm pretty spastic when it comes to deciding colors. I originally had bought samples and painted swatches of 2 different shades of gray. This morning I went to home depot and bought this sample. I went back 2 hours later and bough 2 gallons, taped off my room and went to town! 5 hours later this is what I got & I'm completely smitten. I'm going to end up decorating with whites, blacks and splashes of blues/greens. I'll keep you guys updated as that happens :)