Two years.

A neighbor told me once "The days are long and the years are short". She was referencing what it was like to raise her sweet boy when she said it. But the same could be said for a marriage. Today is my 2nd wedding anniversary. And while it feels like that day was a lifetime ago, it also feels like it just happened last week. Happy Anniversary, Mr. W. I look forward to sharing many more years with you.

My...Meme?

My friend Heather tagged me for this chain-blog where I am supposed to blog about 6 random things about myself. So, here goes!

1) I have used a boat as a mode of transportation to go to school. When I was a kid, I lived in New Orleans, and the canals would flood every now and again. Well, school was on a higher elevation than our house. And on very rare occasion, we would take our boat and my dad would "drive" us to school. It's the Cajun's equivalent to the Yankee story about "walking uphill both ways in the snow to school"

2) Some describe me a dare-devil. I personally don't. I just have an interesting idea of what fun is. I went skydiving when I was 18, studied abroad in Cuba when I was 19, I've held alligators down in the Everglades, I ski with abandonment (point them and go!), my wake boarding skills are a force to be reckoned with, I practiced cliff-diving one drunken summer...and I did it again this past summer in Mexico, and lastly this past month, my husband and I took a flying trapeze class on the top of a pier overlooking the Hudson River. Oh..and I have eaten Waffle House sober. Now that makes me a dare-devil in itself.

3) While I love to cook and bake, I grew up on pretty much these three dinners; andouille sausage with Kraft Mac and Cheese, Kid Cuisine dinners, and pasta with butter and parmesan. As you can see, I developed my delicate palette early in life.

4) I have a bit of a phobia with being alone in two scenarios; shopping and getting my nails done. I don't know why and I am certainly not going to pay to sit on a couch to find out. But, I just don't enjoy shopping alone. The nail situation...well....I just don't like making smalltalk unless it's with a girlfriend ;)

5) I grew up in the theatre and I secretly miss it still. I often think about auditioning for local plays to release the creativity and have an outlet for it. But I was never fond of serious plays or straits. I much prefer to make people laugh!

6) I had the most perfect engagement I could have ever asked for. My husband bought 20 tickets to Whole World Theatre , had a friend act like she won them, and invited all of our closest friends. At the end of the night, they asked for two volunteers and my husband and I went onstage. He had set it up so that in the middle of the improv skit, he would break character and propose. It was everything I had ever wanted in a proposal; something that we could share with our friends (since they are our family) and recorded on video (I knew I would blackout and not remember anything--sure enough, I was right!)

Flying through the air with the greatest of ease

I have so much to blog about, I know. But for now, a tease of my next blog post. My day adventure in NYC with Mr. W!

Summer Re-cap

What a summer I have had! I have been cooking, baking, shopping, traveling, etc. And have pictures of everything, but no time to sit down and actually blog about each. So, here is a quick re-cap of what I have been up to!

Travel:
We have been fortunate enough to be able to travel to not 1, not 2, but 3 destination weddings this summer. We are so happy for all of our friends that have found a partner in life and had a wonderful time at each wedding. And rather than posting pictures from each wedding, I have a photo highlight from each trip.

--First stop: Mexico! We went to Mexico where I was in a friend's wedding. It was hot, hot hot but the drinks helped to keep cool :) We had a great time at the wedding and then spent a few days traveling around the Yucatan, checking out the Mayan Ruins and local arts. The highlight of the wedding (other than the ceremony of course) was definitely the donkey at the cocktail hour. He carried buckets of Corona and gave sweet hugs.


--Second Stop: Minneapolis! We went to Minneapolis for another friend's wedding in early August. Mr. W and I have never traveled for vacation to the Twin Cities, so we decided to make a weekend of it. We went to a Twins game in the Metrodome (very different, but cool to see a baseball game played in a dome), went shopping, and toured the sites. Of course, I had to take a picture with the famed Mary Tyler Moor statue.


Third stop: Los Angeles! Our friends got married over Labor Day weekend in Orange County. Again, Mr. W and I thought it would be a great excuse to make a trip out of it, so we went to the west coast for 6 days to shop, see an Angels game, and visit friends! And while shopping leisurely on a Saturday afternoon, I ran into none other than my friend Heidi Montag from The Hills! ;)
At Home:
Again, Mr. W and I have been incredibly busy this summer when we have been home. We hosted a couple's BBQ for our friends Sandy and Steve who have a baby due in October! Also, my manager moved to Australia with her husband to support our company there, so we had a farewell party in their honor. Other than that, it's been the occasional dinners and Rock Band parties :)

In between trips and parties, we carved out some time to finally purchase a new sofa! It will be here in about two weeks and we are anxiously counting down the days! It was a big departure from sofas we have been dissecting and analyzing over all summer, but it's huge and comfortable and I can't wait to curl up on it with a blanket. We also ordered a custom upholstered, tufted ottoman that will arrive with the sofa. My project now is looking for pillows and a rug for the living room. We are making good progress on the room though!

And finally I got my food processor that I have been lusting over for months now! My birthday was last month and Mr. W surprised me by purchasing the food processor and also a knife skills class at the local Viking culinary school. Sadly, between the parties and travel, I haven't had time to use it. But that is about to change very soon!

Other than that, it's been your average summer :) We have had trips to the lake, Braves games, wonderful dinners with friends, and some great staycations with each other. When I first started this post, I was going to say "wow, where did the summer go?"...I guess I know where it went now!

Furniture Shopping = Unneccessary Stress

It's a sofa. At most 100 inches long and 41 inches deep. But why is it more complicated to shop for such a sofa than say... a house? Mr. W and I have decided it's time to have grown up furniture in our living room. While I am really happy about this decision, I know that this is a long road (one we are already 1/4 of the way down) ahead.

We went to look around a few Sundays ago. We visited four different furniture stores to brainstorm and see what Mr. W likes and dislikes. The verdict:
--It must have a "comfy" arm for him to rest his head
--The length of the couch is crucial for enjoying a movie together
--Even more important is the depth for the same reason
--It should be tailored, but not too stuffy looking
--No skirts. Whatsoever.

So, all in all, it was a productive day to learn what we both liked and where to go from there. But then the idea of price came out. Mr. W is convinced that all furniture is over-priced. I would totally agree with him, but I concede under the "if you can't beat them, join them" ideals. We did find one Club Sofa from Martha Stewart's Bernhardt line that we both liked. But then Mr. W challenged me to find it the same look for less money (honestly, it was very reasonably priced to begin with, but we'll let that be for now).

Well, a couple of weeks went by. We randomly stopped by an Ethan Allen store last Sunday and Mr. W was drawn to a sofa in the store. And it's gorgeous! And, much to my surprise, he wanted to go ahead and discuss sealing the deal on the awesome sofa ("But...honey...this one is twice as much as the other one...oh...nothing...just saying..never mind! We'll take it!")

So, there you have it. That is the 1/4 of the journey down this road we have taken. Mr. W is playing in Vegas this weekend, so hopefully I can get him into the EA store next week before he changes his mind and we can have a huge check off the list! After the sofa, it's all downhill, right? (Dear Blogging Lords, please don't let me regret typing that last part...)

My favorite salad

This summer I have been loving making my own salad dressing. I just started doing this, so my dressings have been pretty basic vinaigrette. One night though, everything came together perfectly and I created my new favorite salad.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

baby spinach

seedless cucumber

green pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

To prepare the chicken:

Brine the chicken for a few hours (you can prepare the brine bath before work and let it soak all day). Remove from the brine bath and grill (no need for seasoning). Once finished on the grill, let sit for 2-5 minutes to rest. Cut the chicken into strips.

To prepare the dressing:

When I started reading about vinaigrette, I read about how french chefs prepare the dressing in the base of the bowl first and then toss the salad in the dressing. It makes great sense because you can control the amount of salad dressing and it gives you a place to emulsify the dressing. So, start off by getting a large glass bowl. Pour one tbsp. of olive oil, 4 shakes of the balsamic vinegar bottle (this is very technical obviously), the juice of a lemon, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. I say to taste because really this is just what I like and I threw in my favorite ingredients. Whisk all the ingredients together and you'll notice it takes on an entirely different texture and look!

Once the dressing is prepared, cut up the cucumber, dice the green pepper and throw the spinach and veggies into the bowl with the chicken and toss to coat. Top it off with some Parmesan cheese. It's so simple to make!

Just have fun experimenting. That's what life is all about :)

2nd Best Investment for the Garage

A year ago we were busying buying new gadgets and gizmo's for the yard and house. And the garage was quickly becoming a death trap of random stuff all over the place. We knew we needed to get it into check and quickly. Enter the Rubbermaid Fast Track system. We found it at Home Depot and not only is it incredibly affordable compared to other options in the store, it is so versatile and easy to install! Mr. W installed 4 tracks and we had started to organize the garage within 3 hours. It's a year later and it's still awesome. We've added another Fast Track on the 3rd wall and more stuff is off the floor now. We still have more organizing to do with the garage, but this was most definitely a very large step in the (now clear to walk through) direction.

FYI--The total cost for everything you see here was roughly $400 including the red tool chest and 2 door cabinet for storing paint and supplies.

Oh, and why is this the 2nd best investment and not the first? Stay Tuned...

Something is holding me back

Please let me preface this post by saying I am fully aware that I am spoiled when it comes to my kitchen tools. When my husband and I were dating, he purchased the sacred KitchenAid mixer as a Christmas gift to me. Most women would be turned off and think it was a sign that he expected me to be a '50's housewife one day. I however knew it was true love and that he really knew what I enjoyed doing.

When it came time for us to select items for our wedding registry, I knew I wanted a food processor. But I came to find that I was incredibly picky about which one I wanted. Granted, all I really need it to do is to make crusts, breadcrumbs, etc faster than I could with my hands and small tools. Still, I found it harder than anticipated to find the right one for me.

Now we have been married almost two years and our house is still missing a food processor. And there have been so many recipes that I look at and say, "wow that is what I am going to make" only to find that I "need" a processor to accomplish the task. So, for now, I will continue to library each recipe I wish to make until the day a food processor comes home to me. At least I finally found the perfect food processor after a lot of searching. The KitchenAid 12-cup features a 12-cup food bowl, 10-cup chef's bowl, and 4-cup mini bowl. Definitely worth the extra money to get the versatility in one product.

Making a list, no need to check twice

I was born to be a list-maker. I always have at least 4 lists going on at one time. A list at work on my computer. A handwritten list next to my computer. A list at home of groceries to buy. A list of home-oriented "to-do's" in the kitchen drawer. Lists. Lists. Lists. There is something actually gratifying about checking off the to-do list. A sense of accomplishment. A satisfaction knowing that you did something productive that day.

However lately, my struggle to maintain multiple, organized lists has been quite the daunting task. Specifically, I needed a way to constantly be in touch with all of my lists at once. And I also needed a way to share tasks with my husband when they apply to both of us. We have tried a series of different ways to make it work. And I finally think we have stumbled on the answer. http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

RTM (Remember the Milk) is a way to do all of the above things I have mentioned already doing and wanting to do. Except it's even better than I could have imagined. It syncs with my Blackberry Curve. It works offline. You can prioritize tasks, assign due dates for tasks, postpone tasks (God forbid) if you don't complete it by the designated time, etc.

I have a good feeling I have found the solution to all my needs wrapped up into one beautiful website. I can now breathe a large sigh of relief knowing all of my lists will always be at my fingertips waiting for each task to be diligently handled.

A little fun in the yard

We have suffered a loss in the W household. Are we grieving? That would be a NO! HA! We "lost" two trees in our front yard and couldn't be happier about it.

Here is the before picture:



I think it's safe to say the right tree is dead. Considering this picture was taken in April and it has looked like that since last June. But, in the spirit of trying to re-do the front yard landscape, we might as well rip out the tree on the left as well, right? It is pretty boring, the leaves are so heavy that they shade the whole front yard and we can't grow any grass.

We were going to call a company to come out and take care of business. But that's not fun and it would probably cost a lot more to hire out for such a simple job. One of our neighbors mentioned that Home Depot rented stump grinders. Perfect! We planned on taking a day to put the trees out of their misery.

So, with newly purchased chainsaw in hand, we got to work. The dead tree was incredibly light and easy to remove and break down. Once we were left with the stump, it was time to grind it down under the soil.

Mr. W hard at work

Once the stump was into the ground deep enough, we put down some dirt and filled the hole. We'll deal with the shrubs and lack of grass eventually. We had another tree to work on!

Next we got to work on the "live" tree. Mr. W wanted to make sure it was under city permits before cutting it down, so we worked on pruning it for this day. We bought this little nifty tool at Home Depot and tried to take out some of the weight in the tree for now.

Not too shabby for an afternoon's worth of work

The next day Mr. W came home and announced the tree was under city limits and could be uprooted! So, the following Friday we spent about an hour removing the tree. Of course it was much heavier and required a lot more work.

That Friday was a big day for the W's. We painted the dining room and removed the tree.

Dining Room primed and taped Friday morning:

While we waited for the primer to dry, we went outside and took care of the tree. After it was said and done, it was back inside and painting the dining room! Busy bumble bees!

The only time Auburn/Clemson/UF colors will ever be in our house

And here are the After pictures!

Mr. W still hard at work digging up the roots of the tree.

The dining room with our new chandelier and paint!

And here is Polo enjoying some time on the front porch while we work in the yard! Next we will figure out what to do with the shrubs and overall front yard. Definitely some color (other than green!)

I'm going to do it.

There is a woman who is featured from time to time on Martha Stewart's show. She has been baking her way through MS' Baking Handbook. When she comes on I always think, "Man, what an awesome idea. You just bake from one page to the next." And it really is a great idea. No discrimination of recipes, no worry about what type of dessert to make, just open and go. So, when Martha Stewart announced the above book would be published, I knew I had a challenge waiting in the wings. I have always had a special love for cookie baking. I love how the dough can be surprising in texture. I enjoy learning the ingredients of cookies and how they incorporate together to make a delicious memory.

I picked up the book this past weekend and will be blogging every recipe, page by page as I tackle them. In a way, I am nervous and scared because there are some things I keep failing or am too scared to try (Madeleines, anyone?) But in another way, I am so excited for the challenge of trying new recipes and discovering new ways to bake.

Happy Cinco de Mayo: let's eat sushi!

Mr. W and I usually eat mexican every Sunday night so of course we embibed in our own tradition last night. I hosted a party on Saturday evening and was supposed to go out for sushi, but we never made it out of the house, ha. So of course I have been craving it all day at work. And I didn't have a chance to meal plan for the week, so all the more reason to enjoy sushi and some egg drop soup on this fine fiesta holiday :)

Let there be light

Since we have moved into our home (almost a year!) I have been wanting to change the light fixtures in the home. Don't get me wrong; the light fixtures are fine. They aren't hideously dated or anything. But they are a matted silver color, and not really our style. I have been looking for a chandelier that was reasonably priced. And lighting is surprisingly expensive!

I stumbled upon this fixture on jcpenney.com (of all places!) and it was such a great deal, I couldn't pass it by. I ordered it today and had a free shipping code. So with 6 linen shades and the fixture the grand total was $112! I cannot wait to see it installed in our newly painted dining room.

Sneak peek: we've been busy!

I wanted to quickly post two sneak peeks at what we've been up to the past two weeks. It's been quite the adventure in Pleasantville!


These two crazy kids have been busy!

Follow-up: Cake Flour

Earlier this year, I attempted to bake a cake from scratch (see post here). As you may remember, Mr. W and I encountered quite the conundrum. There was no cake flour to be found at Publix. We ended up substituting AP flour for the cake flour and the cake came out fine. But we still search every grocery store we walk into for the mysterious Cake Flour.

Well, after months of grocery store trips and shelf audits in the baking and flour aisle, we finally came across Cake Flour! Who would have thought that this would be such a hard item to come by? And of course since it was there, I had to pick up a box to keep in the pantry for the next time I get the urge to bake a cake.

Mr. W's birthday cupcake

My husband has a love for peanut butter and chocolate. While ordinarily, he is not a "sweet tooth" person, he does find enjoyment in certain desserts and treats. For his birthday, I decided to make a peanut butter cupcake.

Ingredients
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen

FOR THE CUPCAKES
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

FOR THE FROSTING
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for decorating
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

Directions
--Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 3 standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

--Make the cupcakes: Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed
to low. Mix in peanut butter. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Add flour
mixture; mix until combined. Mix in sour cream.

--Spoon scant 3 tablespoons batter into each muffin cup. Bake until pale golden and a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 13 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool completely.

--Make the frosting: Put cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and butter into the clean bowl of a mixer fitted with the clean paddle attachment; mix on medium- high speed until pale and fluffy. Stir in peanut butter with a rubber spatula.

--Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons frosting onto each cupcake. Refrigerate until frosting is firm, about 10 minutes. Using tines of a fork dipped in confectioners' sugar, score each top in a crosshatch pattern. Cupcakes can be refrigerated in single layers in airtight containers up to 2 days.

I made the cupcakes accordingly and left out the frosting. Mr. W and I are not huge fans of frosting so if I generally will leave the cupcake naked when baking for us. The cupcakes were dense and moist and yummy! The natural peanut butter is very important and the taste comes through in the cupcake. Without the frosting, the cupcakes will last up to a week stored in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter cupcakes fresh out of the oven

Turkey Meatloaf with a side of fun

Meatloaf is an American staple. The Ws like turkey meatloaf and it often makes the meal planning calendar. However, in an effort to try a new twist, I found this recipe from Martha Stewart Kids. I thought it would be 1) a really fun way to try the same old staple and 2) an easier way to store leftovers. Here is the recipe:

Serves 6

3/4 cup ketchup
2 pounds ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium onion)
2 slices sandwich bread, torn into small pieces
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 chopped dill pickle, (1 medium pickle)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves , minced
2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup ketchup with the remaining ingredients until well combined. Divide mixture among 6 cups of a 12-cup (4 ounce) muffin tin, spacing them evenly and gently compressing and mounding the tops. Brush tops with remaining 1/4 cup ketchup.

Transfer tin to oven; bake until inside temperature registers 170 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 45 minutes.

Remove from oven; let rest 5 minutes before removing from tin. Serve hot.

I ended up using extra ketchup because I really like to coat the top of the meatloaf. The meatloaf was awesome though! And one meatloaf cupcake was plenty. We served it with some mashed potatoes and it was heavenly.

Here are the cupcakes about to go into the oven

Served with a side of steaming hot mashed potatoes

Tis the Season for Spring Cleaning

While I try to keep clutter and chaos to a minimum in the house, I do still look forward to Spring Cleaning. I love swapping out my boots for my sandals and putting away sweaters to make room for flowy skirts and tank tops. I also use this opportunity to take an inventory of what needs to be replenished, thrown away, donated, etc.

I came across this list in Blueprint magazine on 100 Reasons to get rid of something. Some of the my favorite reasons are:

• People burn 55 minutes a day looking for things.
• 80 percent of what we own we never use.
• Donate Cell phones: Care.org Send a phone to the field staff of a poverty-fighting mission.
• dressforsuccess.org Give interview and work clothing to disadvantaged women.
• Booksforafrica.org Give everything from storybooks to encyclopedias.
• Nikereuseashoe.com Recycled footwear materials become sports and playground surfaces.
• Around 23 percent of people pay late fees on bills they cannot find.
• Trade in an old iPod and receive a 10 percent discount on a new one.
• Search for phone numbers online instead of storing bulky Yellow and White Pages volumes.

I hope this list inspires you to do a little spring cleaning and hopefully you can take some weight off your daily to-do or even your home.

Cake: Round Two

So after baking a cake from scratch, I started to wonder. Is homemade cake better than store bought cake? It took me about 4-5 hours to bake a cake and make the frosting, then assemble and frost the cake. If I purchased a box cake and ready-made frosting, it would probably take 1-2 hours at the very most. But does saving time come at the cost of taste? In terms of frosting, I think there is no comparison. Homemade frosting cannot be beat. And this is the opinion from a woman who loves the cake more than the frosting.

So, I had an idea. Bake a store bought cake, but put the emphasis and time on the frosting. I purchased a box of Duncan Hines cake that was yellow cake, with chocolate swirled in (basically a marble loaf cake).

Cake pans buttered, floured and then mix is ready to bake

While the cakes cooled, I made the dark chocolate frosting that I posted earlier. I modified the recipe slightly. Rather than 1 pound of semi-sweet chocolate, I mixed 1/2 pound of semi-sweet with 1/2 pound of milk chocolate. And this time, I let it cool completely before incorporating into the mixer.

Bottom layer has been leveled and is ready to frost (note the parchment paper around the cake for easy clean-up after frosting)

The dark chocolate frosting version 2.0 (looks much thicker, right?)

The two layers together on the cake stand with the middle frosting layer applied

The finished cake!

The cake was very moist and light. The frosting was spot on the 2nd time. I preferred the taste of semi-sweet and milk chocolate blended together. It made the frosting a little lighter in color and richer in taste. The verdict is: you can pull off store bought cake mix as your own as long as you top it with a special homemade frosting :)

Icing on the cake

I posted about the cake I made, but never posted about the chocolate frosting that accompanied the cake. I was in a little bit of a rush to make the frosting, so it did not come out well. It tasted great and eventually thickened. But, I rushed the chocolate process and did not allow the melted chocolate to completely cool. Fatal mistake that will never be made again!

Dark Chocolate Frosting (from Martha Stewart Baking Handbook)

--1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

--6 tbsp. dutch process cocoa powder

--6 tbsp. boiling water

--3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

--1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

--pinch of salt

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Melt chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted completely. Set bowl on countertop and let chocolate cool to room temperature, about 25 - 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine cocoa powder and boiling water, stirring until cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes). Add melted chocolate, beating on low speed until combined. Beat in cocoa mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Dark Chocolate Frosting ready to frost the cake

To frost a cake, I used Martha's "Good Thing" to assist. Take 4 pieces of parchment paper and make a "square" around the cake on the cake stand. When frosting the cake, any residual frosting will come off on the parchment paper. After you are finished frosting the cake, you pull away the parchment paper and your cake stand is clean and your left with a perfectly frosted cake.

The first layer of the cake waiting for the middle frosting layer

After the cake was finished, I took a picture of the two-layered cake. It's not my best work. But, for the first time baking a cake, I think I did pretty well. It still tasted very good. But as you can tell in the picture, the frosting is a bit more liquid than intended. The cooling of the chocolate is vital for this recipe. Lesson learned!