Winter CHA in Anaheim

Finally home, back to work today and catching up again. Oh how I missed the comforts of home! So how did I get so lucky to snag entry to the show? A friend of mine, Nancy, and I went as buyers for two friends of ours, Susan and Suzanne, who own Flamingo Scraps.

These sweet ladies live in Florida and we were more than happy to take a break from our hectic lives to go enjoy the show for them. Boy am I glad we did!

We got to buy some fabulous flowers, papers, embellishments and goodies for them!! Check out our posts over here. You can see my pictures, read about our days at the show and see some fabulous new goodies coming out in the upcoming months!!

In addition, we had fun eating dinner at CPK, checking out Anaheim Garden Walk, drinking some tangeritas in the hotel restaurant, taking some classes and meeting new people along the way. I'm still worn out, but hoping that someday I can go back and do it all over again!! After spending the last few days surrounded by amazing art, artists and fabulous new products, I'm so inspired to spend some time in my craft room!

Recipe #11: Tomato Sauce with Onions and Butter

Wow. Who knew it could be so simple and so GOOD?! I have not tried it this way before but this is definitely going in the recipe box. Found the recipe on the smitten kitchen blog. Was not in the mood to cook tonight, but starving and lacking many choices... so it seemed like as good a time as any to try!



I used a can of diced, no salt tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, both organic of course! Diced the onions and left them in, though next time I will probably follow the recipe and just half the onion and pull it out. Served over some Barilla Piccolini Mini Penne pasta and topped with a little shredded parmesan. Give it a try... I think you'll like it! I know I did....

Recipe #10: Salmon with Hoisin Orange Sauce and Bok Choy

So we had this for dinner on Monday night. (Mine didn't look so pretty!!) :)

It was excellent!! I omitted the coriander (not a huge fan of that spice). Thought we had hoisin sauce, but we didn't. Thankfully google worked it's magic and you can substitute equal parts molasses and ketchup. Honey would probably work too if you don't have molasses. Brian wants his bok choy crunchy next time. I had no complaints with any of it. Would be a great sauce on chicken, steak or any other type of fish. You can find the recipe here.

Anyone have any good salmon recipes they would recommend? We have a bunch in the freezer and I'm on the hunt for tasty ways to prepare it!

Recipe #8: Blueberry Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

wrote and forgot to post! oops!!

mmmm.........

Modified from this cookbook.

Blueberry Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

1 1/3 cups bread flour
3/4 rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (I used a blend we have of canola, soy & olive oils)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup pecans

Line a muffin tin with muffin liners and heat the oven to 400. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, then add the milk and oil. Stir to combine, then mix with the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries and pecans. Stir until just combined. The batter will be really lumpy. Spoon into muffin pan, filling about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in muffin pan on wire rack at least 5 minutes before serving. Makes one dozen muffins.

30 by 30: January Progress Report

So with 49 days left until my birthday, here's the status so far:



Two finished, but 5 in progress. That sounds a little crazy, but trust me, it's totally typical for me! Guess I haven't left my college days of multi-task reading behind me. :) Here are the two books finished so far:



Something Borrowed. And of course I immediately had to read the follow-up! Something Blue (Thanks for letting me borrow them Nancy!)



Lots of progress made, here's the list so far...
Completed:
1. Bookmarks
2. Knit hat for Brian
3. Christmas Cards
4. Scarf for my sister's Christmas gift
5. Reorganize Master Closet
6. Reorganize Guest Bedroom closet (including reorganizing all wrapping paper + wrapping supplies)
7. Decorate (and undecorate) house for Christmas
In progress:
8. Christmas Elf Hat for my new 2nd cousin Gabriel
9. Mini recipe books for Christmas Cookie Exchange party
10. Reclaimed Window Mirror (joint project with Brian.... just need to get the mirror glass!)
11. Reclaimed Window Frame (joint project with Brian.... needs glass too, then it will be a frame for pictures)
12. Gift for Nancy (almost done!)
13. 365 project (take a picture every day of 2010, so far I got this going!)



7/30 watched. Now, if it weren't for the fact that we watched our normal Christmas movies, The Proposal for the second & third times and Maid of Honor & 50 First Dates again we probably would be further along here! Add that to Brian suddenly going back to work crazy hours and we have not had the time to watch them. Hoping to catch up next weekend... if Brian is home!



9/30 made. Again, the holidays kinda killed the chances on attaining more. But I can say I made 8 dozen gingerbread men, 3 batches of shortbread and 4 dozen chocolate cherry peanut blossom kiss cookies, so I feel like I spent a lot of time in the kitchen lately!



And finally, the 5k. Going to run one with Andrea in February. Got back into exercising post-holidays and starting the serious running regiment this week... have about 9 minutes to drop from my time. yikes!

Recipe #9: Leftover Chicken & Rice Casserole

Brian suggested using up leftover rice by adding some cream of mushroom soup, some chicken, some cheese, some tortillas... so here's what I ended up with. Sorry no pic.... late dinner led to inhaling the food before I even thought of my camera!

A+B's Leftover Chicken & Rice Casserole

Leftover rice, about 2-3 cups
Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 can of water (use the empty soup can)
Mix in a 8 or 9-quart casserole dish
Add 2 cooked chicken breasts (we use boneless, skinless), cut or shredded into small pieces
Stir to mix.
Add a handful of shredded mozzerella cheese, 2 teaspoons paprika and 1 teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir again.
Top with two tortillas that have been cut into 1/2" squares, then sprinkle another handful or two of mozzerella.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

YUM. Great way to use up leftover rice, tortillas and chicken! Would be excellent with some veggies added (mushrooms, squash).

My Last Decade... by the Numbers

I saw this somewhere... can't find it now, so I’m sorry to whomever I’m borrowing this idea from without giving credit! It reminds me of the Wisconsin vacation summary I e-mailed to everyone and have since lost. So if you never delete your e-mails and have it still somewhere…. Please forward it to me! :)

So without further adieu… I give you the last decade of my life:


24 Trips/vacations and of those…
17 were with Brian :)
32 Plane flights (this is counting takeoff/landings! And I am not a fan of flying, so this makes me happy!)
18 States visited (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Georgia, Florida, Colorado and Hawaii)
50+ races watched
5,000+ pictures taken
Hundreds of Mochas
3 Moves
2 Apartments (both in Davis, California)
1 Home (the current one!)
10 Dogs to love (between us + my family – Scarlet, Gracie, Ziggy, Sarge, Yoda, Daisy, Oskar, Belle, Otis & Pepper)
6 Cats to love (between us + my family – Nala, Darby, Simon, Bunnie, Cuddles and Goldie)
17 Classes taken at UCD (not including the 16 or so that came before those)
250+ books read (rough estimate)
1 Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations
6 jobs
3 cars
300,000+ miles driven
124,000+ of those miles in my current car
2 car accidents
1 set of crutches
1 walking boot
1 3-day, 60-mile Breast Cancer Walk completed
$2,250 raised for Breast Cancer Research
16 weddings
7 of those weddings were my cousins
2 of those weddings were my siblings
18 babies born (rough estimate, off the top of my head!)
7 of those are related to us somehow
1 of those is my adorable nephew
1 First Kiss… that led to
1 Whirlwind romance… that led to
1 Perfect wedding… that has resulted in
Being married to my best friend.

Best. Decade. EVER. :)
This next decade has a lot to live up to!

How about you? What did the last decade add up to for you?

2010: All about the love!

Supplies used: (Re)Collection Kit from Songbird Avenue, 1942 Report font

My one word I want to live by the year is simple. Love. Love my family, my friends, myself, our home, our pets. Love life in general. What goals have I penciled in that fall within that list of loving my family, friends, self, home and pets?

1. Spend more time with family, friends and the furballs in our house.
2. Nuture our relationship, hopefully by continuing to spend quality time together.
3. Workout 3-4 days per week.
4. Continue eating healthy.
5. Finish all the projects on that long list of mine.

So far, this year is all about those things.
January - a trip to LA with Nancy.
February - a 5k with Andrea, a visit from my brother, which will include a trip to Disneyland with the family for my 30th birthday.
March - a month to focus on the house and time with Brian.
April - a trip to Florida with the girls.
May - the nephew's 2nd birthday and a trip to Pennsylvania to visit my brother.
June - still in Pennsylvania in the beginning....
the rest of the year is up for grabs still! Well, except for the first weekend of October, where we will be celebrating our 5th anniversary. How time flies!

So what are you resolving to do this year?

Recipe #7: Vanilla Spice Oatmeal

YUM. Give this recipe a try! I made this in less than five minutes by taking a scoop of oatmeal, adding some water and microwaving for three minutes in a bowl. I then sprinkled with cinnamon, nutmeg, a splash of vanilla extract, a spoonful of brown sugar, a little milk and a handful of raw pecans. Stir and eat. So tasty!

I skipped posting recipe #6 for biscuits. Had not made this recipe before, but they turned out great! Used butter and instead of Gold Medal Flour, used White Whole Wheat by King Arthur Flour. They went great with our homemade "KFC" dinner of pan fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed broccoli!

Off to take down the Christmas decor and finish cleaning out + reorganizing two of four closets in the house!