cake fix...or not

Yesterday started like any other. My amazing friend Liz was coming to visit, and I was anxious for the girl's day out to begin. My girl was right on time and we were off to cakeland!

We went to this cake store and had plenty of time to peruse and drool over their pre-made take-right-home-and-devour cakes. Aren't the adorable?! I know! We should have bought one then and there. We would come to regret our decision not to purchase a sweet cake from the sweet cake people.

The day included lots of treats, great conversation, laughs and all the other wonderful things that come with hanging out with a good friend on a Saturday. Antique stores and this breakfast were some of the highlights.

I love Patachou. I don't care if they are opening stores left and right in the area, I love them. Their cinnamon toast, their frenchy atmosphere, the local art that is always changing, always for sale, and always way out of my price range. And I mustn't forget the TinTin poster in the restroom of the gray road location.


This poster struck me the first time I laid eyes on it. Don't worry, it didn't hurt too bad. I remember seeing it and swooning. It will go in my nursery someday. I don't care if it's slightly dark and a little odd for a nursery. It has a white dog and a cool color palette. It's going and you can't stop me.

After a delish breakfast of the egg white omelet of the day (sun dried tomato pesto, ham and swiss) and the hippie w/a benz modification for Liz we were off. Shopping and eating were on the agenda. Check! Then, we were back thinking about those dang cakes. Liz was the instigator because she is sneaky like that. So convincing that girl is. Before I could catch myself I was on a role to find a worthy cake and/or cuppie as much as she was. Since above cake store was closed we had to call around, and drive around, to find an equal alternative. We ended up at a gas station.

That sold cupcakes.

And we gave it a shot.

Well, not this specific gas station. It sells shots of a different sort. This gas station was on the way to the grand canyon. The sign isn't a joke. I was scared of the guy in his camper behind the sign. Well, not really. But I could have been.

I am leaving out the photo of these GAS STATION CUPCAKES so as not to offend the poor souls that actually enjoy cupcakes from a store ATTACHED to a gas station. We should have known, but we were up for the adventure. If it is true that we learn from our mistakes...this was certainly a lesson learned. If you're looking for fantastic in the cupcake genre don't blow $5 (or $10) on cupcakes hooked to a crystal flash. Just don't.

We left in a sugary heap, composing ourselves enough to try two more cake-ish stores. By the end of this trek for the perfect cake/cuppie we were left with nothing sweet worth saving, but a small victory in the parallel parking department. Please, take a moment to sulk with us.

Thank you.

Hopefully, my dear friend found her cake fix on the way home as she was stopping at a well known bakery that assured her they had iced cakes and were still open. Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you like your T Bakery cake better than the pluots!


Liz probably thought she was the only one who wanted a cake of sweet proportions. However, after staring at this picture for 42 hours I am convinced that I need one, as well. It will balance out the south beach I am attempting beginning TOMORROW. yikes! I'll let you know how that goes.

If on the off chance it goes well I will be rewarding myself with a cake similar to the above in a couple weeks. That is when my sis, a cake lover from way back, will be in town. Perfect excuse...I mean reason, to buy a cake. I'm going to put "happy birthday" on it and see if she reads this blog and makes reference to it. She will probably just laugh and think I'm a dork. I'm okay with that, too.

Thank you Liz friend for a great day of fun! You are the best, even after 14 days in the car together! It only felt like 7 hours or so. I can't wait to go cake hunting with you again! xoxo

p.s I did not forget about the best treat of this day. It's coming...just you wait!

A post of choice.

To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.
- Kofi Annan

Life is a series of choices that determine the road you walk down. It is interesting to think that a choice is not a singular event but one that affects the next choice and ultimately your destiny. Some choices seem small – will I eat carrots or cake (or carrot cake)? Some are large – will I pray for my enemy or seek revenge? The interesting part is that they are all put together in a chain called life. Eating carrot cake will cause me to be tired, chubby and emotionally satisfied. Carrots will give me nutritional value, health and mental satisfaction. I’m not trying to imply that we should get so caught up in every decision that we forget to live and interact with the world. It’s just interesting to think about. It helps me to put things in order when I realize that it’s all a choice.

I can choose to look on the bright side and be blessed or I can choose to wallow in the imperfections and be brought down to a worldly level. My job may be monotonous at times, but I work with kind people and I know this job is only for a period of time. I may not know for how long or what will come after, but I do know that God has a plan for me. Right now His plan is for me to be here in this office and to interact with these specific co-workers. Hopefully, I am bringing the joy and light of Christ to this office. Sadly, I don’t always make that choice. However, Jesus is working on my mind and heart in this matter. I feel blessed to have experienced a very bad job situation that has allowed me to be grateful for this quiet time of reflection in my current job. God is working on my heart. I can feel it in the choices I make. I hope He is doing the same for you. It’s refreshing to reflect on blessings – even when they are hidden in monotonous office tasks that seem silly at times. I must remember that God’s choices are perfect, well timed and the most important.

What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life.
- Leo Buscaglia

In my mind, I add onto this quote by saying that in choosing life I am choosing to follow the Holy Spirit's nudging and live a life aimed at being a joyful Christ-like girl.

Choices I am making today:

To gossip or to stay quiet.
To exercise or not.
To pray or to live blindly.
To think of others or to be selfish.
To eat snickers bars or veggies…or both.
To think positively about the upcoming job change or to worry and complain.
To be confident in God’s grace or to walk in fear.

Choices, choices, choices. What a gift to be able to choose!

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choice one makes…and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Chocolate Covered Strawberry (mallow pops)

Oh me oh my! The lovely Liz Russell made these beautiful and delicious chocolate covered strawberry mallow pops today. Although, by the time I post this it will have been a couple days ago. Yikes! We live too far away from each other for me to try hers so I had to make my own. Oh darn, make my own adorable mallow pops. Whatever will I do? (Praise the Lord for this fun activity then eat one of them...or eighteen. What? Strawberry marshmallows and baker's semi-sweet is a to die for combo. Liz is genius!) Lucky for US she was kind enough to share the recipe on her blog. Aren't they astinkindorable?!

Needless to say I was very excited to try my hand at these little gems. After mowing a sweet older ladies lawn (well, B mowed..I just trimmed and played with Bonnie), making and eating dinner and a nice walk around the neighborhood it was FINALLY time.

I will let you read the actual recipe on Liz's site. It's straight forward and super easy to follow.

The only things I would add are:

1. Don't heat the chocolate for too long or this will happen:

Ooops!

This is what you want. Drippy chocolate amazingness!

2. It helps to tap the edge of the choco covered mallow stick on the side of the bowl Bakerella style to avoid dripping.

3. Baker's semi-sweet chocolate is so yummy with the strawberry marshmallows! I almost used regular chocolate chips but "splurged" for the Baker's. Totally worth it! It makes them taste more rich and helps balance the super sweet mallow. Trust me. Trust Liz. Yum.

4. Make sure your white balance is set properly when using hubby's camera for pictures.

bad white balance

good white balance

Well, hello there mister blue top mallow pop. You are so cute!

(Note: I had no idea what the problem was or how to fix it but thanks to mr. schalk's tutorial and a long walk to clear my mind I was able to get better shots than the original icky ones. phew!)

Liz is such a dear soul. I love her creativity more 'n fresh oregano! These were so fun to make! Definitely able to be done after work without getting exhausted and overwhelmed. In fact, I could make these every night and be a happy camper. Albeit, a chubby happy camper, but happy nonetheless. Does anyone say "albeit" anymore? I love that word. It sounds like it should be a nerdy english boy's name. "Albeit, bring me your schoolwork, jolly oh!"


Pet pig wanted a piece of sweetness and grabbed this guy while my back was turned. Sneaky pig!

Happy mallow pop making!

Yeah, we're related.

What's in the sky? A bird...a plane...


...a little yellow ball!

My brother (in-law), Nathan, is one of the coolest guys you'll ever meet. Maybe I'm bias, but it's true. I don't think this guy has ever met a stranger or an enemy. Here he is keeping his eye on the ball, quite literally, in the Midwest Championship tennis match. This was a great match to watch. I don't always understand the point system..okay I rarely understand the point system, but I love to watch him crush that little yellow ball. Check this out...


Yeah, he's flying.



This is Nathan and Beau, his doubles partner. Together they comprise Team MegaTaylor. Don't let his stature fool you. He is a beast on the court. Beau got shirts made for TMT. Aren't they spiffy?


It was a great weekend. The tennis and company were tons of fun! I loved welcoming family & friends to our house. I was grateful for our little apartment and the roof over our head for those few years. However, it feels so good to invite people into a home and cook for them and provide a comfortable place for them to lay their heads.

Friday night was an Indians game with the Gadabouts and some crazy good Dippin' Dots. Saturday night Nathan, Theresa, Brandon and I went to my favorite restaurant, Jasmine. Then we went to see Inglourious Basterds at the Keystone Art Cinema. I enjoy Quentin Tarantino movies and this one was right up there. I forgot how much I enjoy watching movies.

What an enjoyable few days with our wonderful siblings. They are a HUGE blessing to B & me. We enjoyed lots of food, including homemade ice cream that they loved, and lots of fun tennis. Way to go team MegaTaylor! I'm sorry Bonnie tried to steal your ball.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

It's summer in Indiana, despite the crazy temperatures, and zucchini bread is a must. Well, to be truthful it was not at the top of my summer to do list. However, the tides changed when my Hoosier born sister sent me a recipe for blueberry zucchini bread.

She wowed all her co-workers in her swanky downtown Chicago office with this Indiana fave. Okay, I don't know if it's a swanky office, but I had to say that. I guess it might be swanky. Let's pretend it is. It's definitely in the Loop and that just sounds swanky. "My office is in the Loop." Oh la la...NO ONE makes zucchini bread in their office in the Loop...EXCEPT my sister. She is like that. She dressed up as Minnie Mouse in the middle of the school year. It was not Halloween. It was probably just a Tuesday. That is my sister. She is a professional business woman, but she is not afraid to be different. Different these days means making blueberry zucchini bread for her swanky office co-workers.

Geez Louise did I ever digress on that one.

So, I made the bread because she said it was good. And I had a ton of fresh blueberries. The ironic thing is I had to go buy zucchini at whole foods for the recipe. That is funny because Hoosiers make zuke bread because of the abundance of the green veggie in their gardens. Not me. Not yet. Maybe next summer.

Boy, was it good! B is not a big dessert eater, but he gobbled these up before they had time to realize they were out of the oven. I made little iddy biddy bread loaves in a muffin pan that has a loaf shape instead of a muffin shape. Know what I mean?

It's a bid deal if B thinks they're good. He thought they were so tasty he ate two in a row. That's impressive. After many kind words he said, "I don't mean to be offensive....but...these taste healthy."

That is actually a compliment. Trust me. They were tasty, sweet, fruity and lovely. However, the touch of zucchini added enough "healthy" taste to constitute eating another one. We won't tell him how much sugar is in there. I think he knows.

The recipe isn't mine or my sister's. It's at allrecipes. You should go check it out if you're looking for a good Indiana zucchini bread. Do other states make this treat? I hope so. I guess they do because the recipe creator is from Oregon. Way to go Oregon! I knew you had great blueberries, but never realized zukes were also in your neck of the woods. Go make the bread and stop indulging me in my rambling. You can thank me later. I'll be here.



Mmmmm.....thank you Sister! xoxo

sets of fun!

I haven't forgotten about my BEST ever fruit & veggie bread recipe. The pics are on B's camera so I have not uploaded them yet. He was using his camera to take shots of Team MegaTaylor at their tennis match today. He took professional sports action shots. I took these...


It was a very enjoyable afternoon watching the tennis matches downtown. Nathan & Beau played hard and well. I hope they come back next year and knock the competition's socks off! Haha, they would be running around the court in their socks. What a site! :)



I love my sis (in-law), Theresa! She is so sweet and fun to hang out with! Bonnie LOVE LOVE LOVES this girl! It's so cute! She follows her everywhere. They can't get enough of each other and I love that!

Short post today as we are about to go out to my favorite restaurant, Jasmine and YogoKiss then onto a movie. Inglourious Basterds at the Keystone Arts Cinema. Oh, Quentin Tarantino. You are so gory and odd and fascinating and addicting all rolled up into one unique mind. Should be a great night!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Take care and take heart! God has mighty things in store for you, my friends!


This was Bonnie's view of the match. She loved watching Uncle play! She loved it so much she tried to sneak onto the court without getting caught. Wish I had a picture of that!

sweet reminders

Yesterday I came home from a very long day at work to find these lovelies waiting for me as I walked in the door.




Aren’t they GORGEOUS? Could you get any more cottage garden perfect than these? Don’t even respond…the answer is no. These are the prettiest roses in the sweetest cottage ball jar I’ve ever seen! I’m in love with them and even more with the man who got them for me.




What a thoughtful surprise! To top it off they were just to make me feel better. It’s been a rough couple of weeks - full of blessings and sadness. Sometimes, I don’t know why God blesses me so much. Don’t get me wrong, I am forever grateful. I just don’t understand why good things happen to me when I see people around me hurting. I am constantly reminded of Jesus’ words in Luke 12:48:

When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.

I hear Jesus reminding me of these words when I am blessed abundantly with love, family, a job, health, a home, an abundance of food, a positive outlook, the amazing outpouring of love and ultimate sacrifice from my Savior. What beautiful gifts! How am I ever to live a life worthy of such blessings? Then Jesus tells me it is by being His light, letting the sweet Spirit work through me. I have the gift of Jesus’ grace that He gave to me (and you) in His death and even more in His rising back to life.



Lately, my prayers have centered around asking for God to use me as his vessel. I don’t know why, but that has been the specific prayer on my heart as far as personal requests. My mom mentioned this past weekend that she liked something I emailed her a while back about living a life worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice. I went to find out what she was talking about and this is what I found:

July 24, 2009 – “If I am doing that [what makes my heart (and God) happy] then I will naturally be a vessel for God who gave me my gifts. Then I will be able to talk about Jesus to other people through my art and living a life worthy of Jesus' sacrifice.”

It’s hard to describe, but this hit my like a ton of bricks. It is fascinating that God brings words and thoughts to my heart and mind over and over again until I am on the road to understanding. The point is that I am trying. I’m trying to be a joyful, happy light for Jesus and think about others more than myself. I’m trying to thank Him for these amazing blessings by living a life completely, unashamedly for Him. For my Creator. My heart is the Lord’s forever and it feels so sweet to sit beneath his wing and love others freely because I am freely loved.

These roses were thoughtful, surprising and loving. And they were so much more. I adore my husband more than words can describe. He is worthy of my respect and admiration. Both of those, along with my heart, he has completely.

Thank you Jesus.

Chicago Revisited

This weekend was my mom's birthday celebration in Chicago. A blow out girls weekend with a little bro-in-law thrown in. It's hard to keep family away from good food. :) We began the celebration with a trip to Evanston to buy some fabric. There is a humongo fabric store there. I don't remember what it's called, but it's where my mama bought the fabric to MAKE my dress. Yeah, my mama made my wedding dress. Pretty impressive, don't you think? I adore her.

After some one-on-one girly time we picked up my seester and headed over to RL. Shmancy with a little bellini and triple cream cheese something or other. Think brie so good you would sell your white puppy...almost.

Next up Julia & Julie. So cute, but the books were better, especially My Life In France...it was one of my favorite two years ago and still touches my heart...please read it...if you like Julia, food and true love.

The rest of the weekend consisted of a LOT of food...homemade strawberry ice cream, vanilla black tea, Cafe Ba Ba Reeba's (oh my, how I love this tapas restaurant...the atmosphere, the sangria, the itty biddy little tapas), and Bongo Room Sunday morning. I was absolutely stuffed when I went to bed on Saturday. I was determined to get coffee and a piece of wheat toast. Then I woke up and was compelled to get this...




I read about Bongo Room's pancakes and could only hope it was half as good as the internet world told me it was. I wasn't sure whether to play it safe (french toast...eggs....booooring) or live a little. I found what little room I had left in my stomach and went for the gusto. Banana Nestle Crunch pancakes with caramel sauce. This is a HALF order! It was devoured to the best of my ability and thought about for days after. You would think it would be beyond rich, but it was perfectly balanced. I'm not kidding...you should run, not walk, or better yet drive to Wicker Park in Chicago as soon as possible. The weird thing is I've been here before. A few years ago. I had no idea what to order, I guess, because I don't remember the food. Guess I should read foodie reviews more often because this is MEMORABLE. And so is this...


Sister opted for one pancake with ricotta, honey and granola and one slice of french toast with strawberry creme fraise. I'm still drooling.

The weekend was great, and so much fun to catch up with my mama girl-to-girl. Long overdue! I was so full Sunday night that I thought I would bust. Or crawl in a cave and sleep for 20 years.

Tomorrow....the BEST fruit & veggie bread EVER and a sweet surprise from my honey.

Sweet pancake dreams!

prayer time

Let me not forget that God is near...God created my neighbor...He calls me to love...always. Even when it's hard. Even when the world gets in the way. May Jesus always win first place in my mind and my heart. Amen.

Is it because I'm awkward?

Remember that time I got an ice cream maker for my birthday? Oh, you don't? Well, let me tell you.

For my birthday this year everyone (aka my parents and sister/bro-in-law) pitched in for the ice cream attachment for my stand mixer. Liz had asked if I wanted it last year, but I was stuffed to the gills with kitchen goodies in that little apartment. Let me tell you an 800 square foot apartment does not hold much. I see some amazing things done with places smaller than that, but they weren't from me. However, we did realize that by some stroke of magic we were able to fit a TON of stuff in that little kitchen. That's probably why there was no room for an ice cream bowl and attachements.

Jump to this year. Much more space in our house that thinks it's a cottage (shhh, don't tell...it doesn't need to know it's not really a cottage home...it is in my...I mean its heart). So, the perfect gift for this summer birthday girl was the ice cream attachment. Yay!

Last night, on the heels of my return from the big city I was ready. It was ice cream time! The supplies had been purchased and I was feelin' good. Everything was going as planned. I tweaked the recipe a bit...less egg yolk here...some vanilla bean (well, the seeds) there. Life was grand and ice cream was on its way.

And then this happened...



Do you see it? The goo all over the counter may look like it's trying to blend in but don't be fooled. It's not supposed to be there. It's ice cream trying to make a run for it.

It was so sad, that I had to yell for Brandon to take a picture...or twelve. The bowl slipped out of my hands. It was slippery! What else can I say? I was frustrated yet amused. Which accounts for this expression.




See the mess? It's laughing at me. Harumph...

In the end it all worked out. The sheer joy of knowing homemade ice cream was on its way surpassed any frustration of the mess that was in front of me. And here it is...20 minutes to bliss!





Hello little friend. You would be quite delicious with my new frozen treat.


The funny thing is that I don't have picture of my lovely cold concoction. It's in the freezer doing its little ice cream thing. I'll let you know how it turns out. The fourteen spoonfulls I had before going into the freezer were amazing. Smooth, creamy, heavenly. Heavy cream has that effect. You don't even want to know the caloric content to this dream boat of a dessert. It's worth it. Trust me. Come over, have a bowl, laugh at my crazy dog and go on your merry way. You'll be happy you stopped by.

did someone say birfday party?

I will post more in the next couple days, but this weekend was a real treat. It included brainstorming for a revamped kitchen a la mama, food, laughter with the trio of Rhine girls, more food, random iphone photos, more food, a birfday celebration, the windy city, and even more food, and then some dessert.





Needless to say, this was necessary this morning. This lovely cup of coffee from the Bongo Room. Oh, BR....your pancakes are lovely....and so is the nice waitress who didn't make fun when I pulled the mug away too soon and coffee was poured all over our table. Did you know I am awkward? Really awkward. It happens.

Happy Sunday evening to you!

I'm still full,
moose

mr. ed

"That's Mr. Ed to you." If I've heard that once I have heard it 8 kajillion times. This is my tree huggin' daddy. Isn't he a goof? I love him more than the stars in the skies and the butterfly wings to get there. One time we watched a meteor shower together. We got up early and went and laid down in the middle of the gravel lane that led back to our house. We watched it at the same place that I used to pull the "trigger" for the clay pigeon shooter. Mr. Ed loves his plants, his daughters and his woman...aka my mama. He also loves Jesus, which makes my heart sing. He is the one who instilled an importance in attending church every week. He is a very good man who always makes me laugh.

We are different. Very different. And yet...similar. Off the bat you may say that I'm more like my mama. However, the following similarities with this tree huggin' father of mine will show otherwise:

1. We both love our snacks...salty and of course sweet!

2. We adore animals...especially farm animals....cows, pet pigs, goats...we both want to own some to the chagrin of our other loved ones. Too bad he has a farm and I don't. I think I could talk B into a few pygmy goats if we had a farm.

3. He's goofy. I'm next in line. No one else in the immediate family seems to be as willing to be goofy in such a vulnerable way. I don't know if that's good or bad. I'm trying not to think too hard about that.

4. We both enjoy mornings and find God in nature.

There is more, but that will be for another time. The point is, I love my tree planting, snack loving, goof ball of a dad. Mr. Ed is just great in my book!

Fuzzy Mornings

This sooc (straight out of camera) shot is how I'm feeling this morning. I'm not sure that I can put it into words as their are many emotions swirling in my head. Most of all I feel peace in the midst of chaos.

Thanks Bonnie for depicting how I feel in your cute widdle fuzzy face. Dark and lacking in contrast as it may be. Thank you Jesus for being my peace. Thank you for your Word to direct and light my path. I am truly blessed in abundance.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

- Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

AuSable Dreams

We went canoeing down the AuSable this past week. It is a beautiful river in northern Michigan. This is where Brandon learned to fly fish last summer. That is our next goal...a joint fly fishing venture. After going down this beauty I can see why fly fishing has such an appeal. The peace and tranquility of this river is perfect for the quiet fly of this sport. It's a quiet sport from what I can gather. You walk down rivers casting a long line back and forth. Talk about recreating scenes from A River Runs Through It.


This guy did most of the work down the river. Okay, maybe 94.5% of the rowing. I just rowed to look cool or help in tight spots. I wanted to go back down the river as soon as we were done. Only on a Tuesday morning. Friday mid-morning/afternoons were too crowded. We met some nice people and rowed past some others who had different takes on life. Did I mention how peaceful this river is? Despite all the people there was a true sense of God's quiet hand at work here.



Beautiful!



This girl went, too! We weren't exactly sure what she would make of 2 hours in a canoe, but she loved it. She spent half the time with her paws up looking out of the canoe's side and the other half curled at our feet relaxing. She is a true adventure pup!

Next time, the longer run and snacks! Seriously, what am I thinking going ANYWHERE without snacks?

I want to go back to the AuSable...right now...there is something about this river that speaks to me. Must have to do with my Wildcat roots. Ha!

sweet sweet

I love birds. They are so sweet and interesting. Their colors, their flight patterns, the way they feed their babies. Lovely!

bye bye basil #2

Aww, poor basil. Amidst everything that is green and flourishing, including your basil brother, you did not thrive. Your pot was full of water and your leaves were gone. I'm so sorry you had to suffer the scorching midwest sun while your roots drowned away in their sorrows.

A little dramatic?

It's true. My poor basil did not make it while I was gone gallivanting on vacation. I planted two basil plants a few days before we left to go up north. B bought one and I bought the other a few days earlier. I'm not exactly sure which was which, but I believe B's has lived to see another day. Mine however...

..yikes! Don't be fooled by the pretty pink impatiens in the background. This did not look good for basil #2. I felt bad for the little guy. So, in order to pick myself up again I looked around at all the pretty herbs that were still flourishing and...




...ate a cupcake! Because that's what all good moose do when a tragedy of {minor} proportions occurs.

I feel much better.