A little bit about me...

....through Polaroids.

I loved my wedding dress...

These were my favorite flowers to play with
as a little girl...

I love to visit Oregon...

I love Gothic architecture...

I have worked (manual labor) on a ship...

I love England...

I love the times when I can relax...

I don't eat fish
(so I make others eat it for me)...

I don't like to wear pants in +100 degrees
(but sometimes I have to)...


I swim in the ocean fully clothed...

I love things that remind me of a movie
(this reminds me of "The King and I")...

I always find Starbucks
(no matter what country I am in)...

I take boat rides...

I volunteer in Orphanages...

I hike in the Himalayas...

I think this is sad...

I think this is scary...

I find that Nepali women are the most beautiful...

I love sushi...

I have been this close to a Buffalo...

I have served in a non-profit kitchen...

I love Archaeology...

Disneyland is my favorite place on earth...

Friday's List

Here is a small list of lovely things that I found this week...

Classic Vintage Umbrellas

Handmade Paper Dolls by Inside A Black Apple

This rug by Angela Adams

These beautiful Poppys
via Design*Sponge

The Classics

Lately I have been watching a lot of classic movies.

You can ask Micah.

It seems like each night before I go to bed,
I have at least 30 minutes of "Jennifer-time"
in which I turn on an old movie to watch.

The other night it was this....

I realized that I had never seen it.
So naturally I "watched-it-now" on Netflix.

I loved everything about it.
The singing...
the dancing..
the music by Gershwin.

You can listen to one of my favorite Gershwin songs,
Rhapsody in Blue.

Cassandra Rhodin

Swedish Fashion Illustrator,
Cassandra Rhodin.

You can see much more of her work here.

Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

I made this desert for a girls-night
that I hosted on Friday.

The richness of the chocolate
paired with the spicy pumpkin
was delicious.

And its a great alternative to your
traditional Pumpkin Pie.

Chocolate Pumpkin Tart

• 20 chocolate wafer cookies
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
• 1 1/2 cups canned pure pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cookies and sugar until finely ground. Add butter; pulse until crumbs are moistened. Using the bottom of a dry measuring cup, press crumbs into bottom (but not sides) of a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until set, about 12 minutes.
2. Pour chocolate onto warm crust; spread with a spatula. Freeze until chocolate is firm, about 5 minutes. Brush sides of tart pan with butter; set aside.
3. In a bowl, whisk together pumpkin, egg, cream, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin-pie spice, and salt. Pour filling into prepared crust; bake on a rimmed baking sheet until set, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool 1 hour at room temperature; refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 1 day).
4. Unmold tart (if sides stick, gently loosen with a knife). With two thin metal spatulas, transfer to a platter.

*Make sure to cool it for at least 1 hour, it is so much better chilled!!
**Thank you Marlene for the Tart pans. They turned out to be a wonderful Christmas gift!

New found blog.

I must share with you this new blog
that I stumbled upon.

Her name is Garance Dore
and her blog is a wonderful mix
between these sketches and fashion photos.

And we all know my love for art and fashion.

To my shock and horror.....

American Girl has discontinued
the Samantha Doll.

I know this might sound quite childish.
Why should I care since I am quickly approaching 30
and have not played with dolls since I was 9.
But the nostalgic side of me is devastated.

If you spent the majority of your childhood
bonding with this toy,
then you will know my pain.

I am one of those people...

...who saw this movie twice.

Yep, I broke down and finally
went to the theater again to see it.
And I have to say,
it is even better the second time around.

Time to recoup

Today was the first day back to work
after the 2 week holiday.

It was a long day.

To relax, I sat down with my computer
and spent some much needed time
browsing around.

Today I found that....



you can buy Anthropologie...
on Ebay...
(OMG!)....

I need to figure out how I can mimic this outfit...
without it costing a thousand dollars....
(photo by The Satorialist)

these wonderful prints
by Ian Smitt
are so fun....

I wish that I had a
backyard (courtyard)
like this.

The Artistic Side

Yesterday some friends and I decided
to tap into our artistic side
by going to a pottery store and paint.

It was the kind of place where
you pick a piece of pottery, paint it,
then they fire it and you pick it up a week later.

I painted a few sushi plates.
It was something that I never thought
I would like to do,
but surprisingly I loved it.

My List

I love the New Years.
But I have never been much into making
New Years Resolutions.

The other day I stumbled upon this little questionnaire
while browsing other blogs.


As I filled it out I thought:
"This so much better (for me) than making a list of Resolutions"

It made me look back at my life and be encouraged
by the things I have been able to do so far.

And at the same time it challenged me
to try and complete one other item on the list
(something I want to try, obviously not the bad stuff) .
All the while remembering that I am still very young,
I have time to do much more in my life.

Questionnaire:

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (I'm not musically talented)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (my favorite place on earth)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis (I would most likely accidentally kill it)
10. Sang a solo (no, I can't sing....and yes, it was terrible...and it was not my idea)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Asia
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (can you say Giardia...thank you Nepal)
17. Walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (Switzerland to France)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (almost all of High School was a fake sick day)
24. Built a snow fort (does a Snowman count?)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon ( I would like to, but that does not mean I will be able to)
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice (next on my places to visit list)
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run ( I was the one who got in trouble for making flower necklaces in gym instead of correctly playing the outfielder in baseball)
32. Been on a cruise (or as I like to call them...heaven on a boat)
33. Seen Niagara falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (does seeing the community in Costco count?)
36. Taught yourself a new language (due to my job I have to learn some words depending on where I go…but I have never learned the language fully)
37. Eaten a foreign delicacy
38. Seen the Egyptian Pyramids in person (I refuse to die unless I see these)
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's “David” in person
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (I have always wanted to get a caricature)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Visited Bangkok
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (I think anyone would want to do this)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (no, but I maintained one once)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies (I helped a friend sell them once)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
65. Gone sky diving (I don't willingly jump out of planes)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration camp
67. Bounced a check (ugh)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (many childhood toys)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (no…but I have quit many of them)
76. Seen the changing of the guard in London
77. Broken a bone (my finger…playing basketball)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (my name was in the paper once)
85. Read the entire bible (5 times in 9 months…and basically wrote a commentary on it all)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake (but I have flew over it many times)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Celebrating the New Year

We had a New Years Eve Party...

with a lot of friends...

a lot of food...



and a lot of games.



(and of course the Wii)



I have to keep up with the New Years Eve tradition.

Pearls and Chocolate

I wore another Christmas gift today.
Micah gave me this pearl bracelet....
and I absolutely love it.


I was also given some Godiva Chocolates,
which happen to be my all-time favorite chocolates.

But here is the trick about Godiva Chocolates,
you must buy them from either the Godiva Boutiques
or directly from the company.

If you buy them at a local department store they are not good at all.

So now whenever I come across a Godiva Boutique
I have to buy at least two new flavors to try.

Last September I bought their Maple-Nut Truffle.
I almost fainted on the spot, it was so good.

Icicles and a Present

Today I noticed the massive icicles
that were growing from our home.
I thought I would take a picture
before they had to be removed.

These were a gift from Micah.
I love them and I am wearing them today.

More Candy.

I thought of my mom the whole time I made this candy. I always remember it being her favorite while I was growing up, and now it is one of my favorites as well.
I wish she were here to help me make a batch.

Honeycomb

1 c white sugar
4 T white corn syrup
2 t baking soda slightly dissolved into 1-2 teaspoons of water

1 c dark chocolate, chopped into small bits

1. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and lightly oil the waxed paper.

2. In a large pot, combine sugar and syrup over medium heat. As the sugar dissolves, turn down heat yet make sure that the mixture keeps to a steady, simmering boil. DO NOT MIX.

3. As soon as the mixture turns a light yellow*, sprinkle in the baking soda mixture. Again, DO NOT MIX! You want to keep the bubbles so the candy remains light and airy. The mixture will bubble up and increase 4 times in volume. Remove from heat and quickly pour mixture onto prepared cookie sheet. It hardens quickly.

4. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler. When melted, spread over sponge toffee and cool until set. Break sponge into pieces and store well in a tightly-lidded container.

* Do not wait for the mixture to take on a golden hue....or it will be too late. Light yellow is what you're looking for.

Firsts

Yesterday was a first for me....
my first attempt to make candy.

I made homemade chocolate dipped marshmallows.

I was a bit nervous at first,
but decided to try it anyways.

So after letting them sit overnight
I finally tried one....

and it was wonderful!

They go perfect with a Peppermint Hot Chocolate.

Homemade Marshmallows

3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed.

Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture.

Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.

Let mixture sit overnight. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12-20 equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef's knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar.

I think I need another.

I bought this book to read over my vacation....
and I already finished it.
I guess that means it was good.

So, I am off to the bookstore for another.