Trying to stay up

I got put on call at work. Which means you have to stay up until 1 a.m. in case they call you in. It's 12:05 now. Normally at work I don't usually get tired until 3 or 4, when I load up on a cup of coffee and am fine until I come home and crash at around 8. For some reason being home, within walking distance of my bed, in a pair of sweats makes me that much more tired.

To keep myself awake I have watched The Office, Community, Glee and an episode of America's Next Top Model. Don't judge me. My Netflix is currently non-functioning or I'm sure I'd be watching that too. I also currently have this going with some Christmas music. And yes, I know, it's not Thanksgiving, but sometimes Christmas just calls. Maybe Veteran's Day will be my new cut off :) (that link also pertains to the picture - you'll have to do it to find out how great it is)

I wish I could update you on my latest knitting projects but they're all Christmas gifts, so they'll have to wait for another month and a half. And finally in this random assortment of information I'll tell you I made my first batch of my Grandma's Homemade Buns all by myself. This is a big deal. I got so wrapped up in the process I forgot to take pictures. Next time.

P.S. I'm moving again. Yes, I know I just moved into my apartment, but living alone is...lonely. So I decided to move to Tahoka (30 min south of Lubbock) and live with my fiance's grandparents. They are so generous to offer and I could not be more excited about having someone to live with again. Now I get to re-pack everything I own and move out there in a week or so! Get ready for more exciting updates about my life in the country.

Home

"There's nothing half as so pleasant as coming home again."
~Margaret Elizaeth Sangster

After this past weekend I couldn't agree more.

For my sister

I made scones. Bowman's mom made scones and then requested I make some and tell her how they were, so I did. As you can see, I had an abundance of apples from the apple picking adventure so I went with these Oatmeal Apple Scones from Mr. Breakfast.com.

First I mixed all these:

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned)
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Then I cut in:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter -

until the mixture looked like wet sand, or just kind of chunky. Then I whisked together:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

And added it to the sand-like mixture. Then I added the

• 3/4 cup diced apple

and BAM! The dough:


The hard part was that you had to just plop it down on a greased pan and cut it into wedges. It was very inexact.


And voila! Scones! This sounds weird but they were a little too moist for my liking. Usually when I eat scones I like it to be a little dry so I'm not sure how I would tweak the recipe, but maybe next time I'll try a different one.

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.