2012's Best Recipes

Oh the recipes.

Always the best part!

Here are a few of my favorite recipe posts

from this past year...

January's Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies

February's Semi-Homemade Doughnuts

March's Pork Lo Mein

April's Easter Smoked Lamb

May's Carne Asada

June's Rhubarb Berry Pie

July's Bavarian Raspberry Tart

August's Homemade Huckleberry Ice Cream

September's Peach Butter

October's Cinnamon-Sugar Biscotti

November's Maple Walnut Brown Sugar Cake

I'm so excited to see what my appetite will crave in 2013!

2012 Recap

2012 has been a big year.
Definitely full of its highs and lows...

but isn't every year like that?

Here is a little recap of a few of my favorite 2012 moments!

To kick the year off, I was able to meet up with two dear friends in Salt Lake City

for the 2012 Alt Summit Blogging Convention.

I will always remember that trip as one of the best experiences I have had.

Not only because I learned a ton about blogging,

but because I was able to spend an amazing 3 days with these ladies.

Wish we could all join up again for the 2013 Alt.

In February, I had a bunch of DIY's.

One of my favorites and most practical being this Vanilla Extract DIY!

March was a St. Patrick's Day celebration spent with Family.

And April was a quiet Easter at home.

In May, I was back to DIY-ing.

And these awesome Jute Bottles

are still being used in my house to this day!

I was honored to be able to throw my dear friend Ruthie a baby shower at the beginning of June.

And even thought it was suppose to be a summer backyard party, the weather had other plans.

No worries, we just moved everything inside at the very last minute and improvised!

Micah and I were also able to go to Nebraska to visit family for a week.

So much sun, BBQ-ing, and fun!

July always kicks off summer here in Montana
and my July was full of Summer gardening and BBQ's.

I was also able to make a quick trip to California to visit friends and family.
Woohoo for back to back vacations!

In August, Micah and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary!
So we decided to take a quick little mini-vaca up to Whitefish Mountain Resort.
(Oh, and Silas had a little boo-boo)

October was when things began to get really busy.
It was during this month that we began the IVF process and traveled to Seattle for two weeks.
But we did some fun things during our off-time (aka when we weren't in the doctors office).

In November I started a book club!
For the month of January we are reading "Between Shades of Grey"...
NOT to be mistook for the other "Shades of Grey" series.

And, of course, in December we made the best announcement ever!...

A Huge Announcement!

I'm pregnant!

God works in such mysterious ways sometimes.
Here's our story...

Micah and I have been married for 6 years now (wow! time flies by so quickly),
and of those 6 years we have been wanting to start a family for 5 of those years.
But after many MANY doctor appointments and a few invasive surgeries,
the only answer we kept hearing was, "It's never going to happen".
We were devastated, to say the least. So we decided to take a year off,
to re-group and re-focus on what we really wanted out of life.
No more doctor appointments, no more baby talk, nada... just rest.
Towards the end of that year we came to the realization that if we knew one thing about our life,
 it was that we wanted to be a family, we wanted children. So we began the road to adoption.
Year one of the adoption road was the paperwork, so much paperwork.
Year two of the adoption road was the waiting, the long hard waiting.
The seemingly never ending waiting. That's when the confusion set in.
Was this the road we were to take? Why has it not happened yet?
If God wanted us to adopt, surely he would have given us a baby by now, right?
I know many people who adopted so quickly, why was that not happening to us?
I began to pray, "God please let us know what to do!".
That's when one day, Micah says he thinks we should re-open the
"trying to get pregnant" door and see a new fertility doctor.
And to our amazement, utter amazement and God's gracious hand,
the only way I can explain it is that, EVERY DOOR OPENED FOR US.
The new doctor said, yes it was still a possibility. IVF was definitely a possibility.
So we started the process right away. I was not gonna waist anymore time.
I'm ummm... lets just say I'm getting up there in age, if this was going to happen,
it needed to happen now. And, like I said, every door opened.
Every testing result came back great. Every medicine reacted perfectly with my body.
And after a month and a half of all that and a two week trip to Seattle for the actual procedure,
we got the answer we had been waiting for. On November 1st we got the call that I was pregnant!
We were overjoyed and a little shocked. We thought this day would never come, yet here it was.
And sometime in the middle of July we will be adding to our family.

So my lack of blogging as of recently...
I fully blame it on the 1st trimester.
Oh that nasty 1st trimester. 
And my New Years Resolution is to start back up with blogging.

Happy New Years Eve!

JEWELIQ

And my jewelry obsession continues.

Have you heard of JEWELIQ?
It's another bargain online jewelry store
where you can purchase super trendy jewelry at seriously low prices...
I'm talking Forever21 prices!
Seriously, go check it out... and your welcome.

 

Color Palette - Turquoise

I have this beautiful turquoise bracelet that use to belong to my grandmother.

I remember being a little girl and marveling at all the

beautiful jewelry that filled her jewelry box.

Thinking to myself: "One day, I want a beautifully filled jewelry box".

Ah... A girl can dream right.

Dear Diary

Are you a good journal keeper?

I'm afraid to say that I am not. 

I wish I was, but every time I think to myself:

"I'm going to be diligent; I'm going to write down memories and feelings"...

about 5 days later, I have utterly failed.

That was until I received the Q & A a Day Journal for Christmas.

This journal has 1 question for each day of the year, for 5 years.

So all you have to do is answer the question of the day.

And you can be as in depth or as surface-y as your hearts desire.

Voila! That's it! Your then done with your daily recording.

Low maintenance journaling... now that's what I'm talking about.

I love this concept so much, that I'll probably keep it going

even after I've run out of room in the original book.

I'll just buy another beautiful journal, like the ones above,

and keep the question answering going!

Current Crush - Oxblood

The color... not actually oxblood. That would be gross.

But don't you agree?!? This color is so amazing for this season.

Last time I was at Sephora I tried on some Oxblood lipstick

and it was so dark, so red, and so fabulous...

I am kicking myself in the butt for not buying it.

But I do have that nail polish,

so at least I have one item in my possession that is this color.

Next item to purchase, those pants!

What has been your current crush lately?

Maple Walnut Brown Sugar Cake

Can I just say that this cake is amazing!

At first I was skeptical...

Will it really taste as Maple-y as I want it too?

Will the brown sugar make a huge difference?

Well, let me just tell you... YES!

This cake was everything that I was hoping for. 

And it is so perfect for Fall. 

Maple Walnut Brown Sugar Cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart

For the Cake
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup chopped walnut halves, toasted 

For the Frosting
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans (2 inches deep) with cooking spray; set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. 

3.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy. 

4.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. 

5.  With mixer on medium-high, add maple syrup in a slow, steady stream. 

6.  Add flour mixture in two additions, alternating with milk, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl as needed. 

7.  Fold in walnuts.

8.  Divide batter between pans; firmly tap pans on a flat surface several times to remove air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans on wire racks, 15 minutes, then invert onto racks. With a serrated knife, trim domed top from each cake to make a flat surface.

9.  Make frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

10.  Assemble cake: Place one layer, top side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread top evenly with 2 cups frosting. Top with second layer, top side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and around sides of cake.

My TWO Weeks in Instagrams

I just love Instagram.

I was never a very good "twitter-er".

I tried, believe me I tried.

But when it came to being spontaneously cleaver

when documenting my daily activities... epic fail.

 So when Instagram first came out...

documenting your life via pictures...

I knew I would fall in love. 

I hope you enjoy my weekly Instagram postings.

Coming to Life - Persuasion

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

 

Tonight I am hosting our final book club meeting on the book Persuasion.

It had been over 10 years since I had read a Jane Austen book,

and let me tell you, it took me reading almost half the book

to finally get into a grove when reading Jane's writing style.
But I fully enjoyed this small book.

I totally recommend it to you all.

There are so many great characters in the story that make you either

 chuckle in laughter or want to throw the book across the room in frustration.

And the main heroine, Anne, in my opinion,

is one of the most relatable characters in any Jane Austen book. 

And of course you can't not love this famous quote by Capt. Wentworth:

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope."

Our next book in the book club...

Wuthering Heights!  

Happy Halloween

People always ask me why I love Halloween so much.
I don't dress up, I don't throw a party...
I am an avid Halloween celebrator because in my opinion,
Halloween is the kick-off for the Holiday Season.

Plus, to be able to hand out candy to cute kids,
sit on my sofa and watch Hocus Pocus
(yearly tradition for as many years as I can remember),
and eat the candy that was bought for the trick-or-treaters
(eat way to much of it)...

What could be better?

So enjoy this last wonderful day of October and...

Happy Halloween!

via: Alexandra Grablewski

Alexandra Grablewski

I just love when I discover new artists.
Especially when they are as talented at Alexandra Grablewski.
To be able to capture such beauty in a still life photo amazes me.

Color Palette - Flannel Colors

I'm back!

Thanks for sticking with me during my unexpected two week blog break.

Micah and I took some much needed vacation time to rest up after a busy summer,

and I expected to continue to blog during that time. 

But the moment I arrived at our destination, which was Seattle,

getting on my computer was the last thing on my mind.

I literally used my computer twice in two weeks.

It was a nice break.

But now that I am back, I am excited to start sharing with you

all the lovely things I find while browsing the web,

yummy recipes that I try,

and just little snippets of my life.

Something that I have been loving recently is Flannel.

I love how, in a flannel shirt, you can weave together colors,
that normally would not go together,

and it turns out so perfectly matched and stylish.

Time to start sporting my flannels!!

image via: piccsy

My TWO Weeks in Instagram

Almost two weeks have gone by since I last blogged. Wow, how time flies!

Especially at this time of year when there is so many fun things to do.

So, what did I do within those two weeks?

1. Hosted a Harvest Party, which turned out to be a great success!

Complete with a Popcorn Bar, Chili Cook-Off, Bobbing for Apples, and Square Dancing.

2. I hosted the first book club meeting for the book Persuasion.

And I even made Homemade Pumpkin Pie and Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

I will be sharing that latte recipe soon... it was amazing!

3. I took Silas on a few of the last Fall walks of the season to enjoy all the bright colors...

before the snow hits and our Fall walks turn in to Winter Wonderland walks. 

 

4. And finally, Micah and I traveled to Seattle last Sunday

for a two week rest/vacation/dr.appointments trip.

And believe me, we are finally realizing how much we needed this rest. 

Current Crush - Ballet Flats

1, 2, 3, 4, 5


It's that time of year again.
Too cold for sandals and flip flops, too warm for snow boots.
So what are my go-to shoes for the season... ballet flats.
The perfect shoe in my opinion, for the Fall season.
  

May Books

It's that time of year again.

The time where I start to overlap my schedule

with things I need to do this year, and things that are scheduled for next year.

So I am on the hunt for a good daily planner.

I just heard about May Books and I am seriously thinking of purchasing one.

You can customize the cover and content to exactly the way you want it!

And for me, along with the daily planner, I would want a meal planner.

When it comes to cooking, I need a plan.

Color Palette - Pumpkin & Blue

Happy Monday!

Another crisp and colorful Fall week is beginning.

I am just in love with this table-scape and color palette.

Maybe this will be my inspiration for the next event/party on my schedule.

Which reminds me ... I need to start brainstorming about the Ladies Soup Swap! 

via: SNAP