Weekend Update

I had a whirlwind weekend in Florence. I had a late start leaving Nashville and didn't get home until 9 o'clock. I spent a little time with Mother and Daddy before bed, but the week caught up with me and I crashed by eleven. 

Saturday, I was up early. I wanted to spend some time with Daddy before he went out of town for the weekend. I was sad to not spend Father's Day with him, but I'm so glad we got to spend a little time together Saturday morning. 

After I said goodbye to Daddy, I rushed to get to my hair appointment on time.  It makes me feel so good to have my hair done!

The majority of the remainder of the day was spent with Grandaddy. It was important to spend as much time as possible with him since Sunday was Father's Day and Monday is his 94th birthday. He doesn't talk much anymore, but we still hold hands as we always have. We made an unexpected trip to the ER Saturday night, but it was a good excuse to hold his hand for most of our time we had to wait. Any chance to hold his hand is one to jump upon. 

Church on Sunday was absolutely wonderful. We were welcoming our new minister today as well as reuniting with friends that have been away for a while. There were lots of hugs and smiles going around!  I almost cried as we practiced the anthem and smiled like an idiot as we sang in the sanctuary.  I couldn't have been any happier to sing with such dear friends. 

Now, I'm back in Nashville only 48 hours after I left. I love any chance I get to go home to see friends and family. All in all, this was a great weekend with the people that I love. 

Where did the weekend go?

This weekend was my first two day weekend in awhile. I haven't worked a five day week since two weeks before Memorial Day week. Geez...that makes me sound quite spoiled, doesn't it?  I think I'm just making up for three and a half months without a day off! :)

This weekend was pretty uneventful. To quote a friend, I was "laid up sorry" for most of the weekend!  I did attempt to dig up the roots of half of an overgrown shrub by my front walk. I wasn't very successful.  I organized part of my garage, but stopped when the boxes were too heavy to life overhead. I did scrub my awful porcelain since that I hope to replace VERY soon. That has to count for something, right?

I wrote earlier about all the fun I had playing hooky from work on Monday. Well, work made me pay for enjoying a Monday entirely too much. I had to work for several hours today to get a few things done and try to get ahead on next week. I'm attending the memorial service for a coworker's husband that was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday and will be out a good part of the day, so I need to get ahead wherever possible.

Staying focused during the work day is my goal for the week. It's far too easy to get distracted chatting about weekends and office gossip or letting other people's actions frustrate me. This week, I'm going to buckle down, put in my headphones and stay in my little "corner by the elevator". You'd think being by the elevator would be a bad thing, but strangely enough, the door doesn't open on my side. 

My half of a Melatonin is kicking in and it's about to storm. It's definitely time to sleep before Emma wakes up terrified by thunder.  Until next time...

Food Find: Alexia Artisan French Rolls

I recently discovered these French bread rolls and I LOVE them.  I love French bread, but I can never eat an entire loaf before it goes bad.  Well, I take that back...I shouldn't eat an entire loaf by myself before it goes bad!

 

I have been know to say I would choose good bread if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my days...

 

Anyway, I heated up one of these little rolls to go along with my Ricatoni's-esque cheese ravioli.  The outside was perfectly crispy while the inside was still soft after only 12 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

 

I think these rolls will make it into my fridge again!

Happy Birthday, Emma!

My tiny little pound and a half puppy turns five years old today!  I can't believe it!  She's still tiny, but is now up to about three and a half pounds of fluff. 

 

 I've had lots of adventures in the last five years...finishing undergrad, Graduate school, moving to Nashville, buying a house and Emma has been there for all of it.  Life would not be the same without my little sidekick. 

 

She's had me hook, line and sinker since she ran straight to me and licked me on the nose!

 

 

 

This was Emma's first photoshoot by her Uncle Mark.

It was just a few weeks after I got her when I came to Birmingham to interview for an internship.

She was between three and four months old.

 

 

 

Emma was about two in this picture.

It's my favorite picture I have ever taken of her.

About two seconds later, she decided she couldn't resist the bird she was stalking.

 

 

Sweet baby likes to think she's brave, but prefers being brave inside.

She hides behind me when the little boy next door wants to play with her.

She doesn't like playing rough.



 



She's notoriously difficult to photograph.

Uncle Mark gets suckered into taking pictures of her everytime we see him.

 

 

 



 

She keeps me company and makes me laugh when I'd rather cry.

She hates my iPad and anything else that takes attention away from her.

 

 

She's the perfect fit for our family.

She's definitely in charge.

She even has Daddy wrapped around her little paw.

AND, thanks to her Mimi, we all know she prefers her ice cream from Chick-fil-A!



 

Monday, Monday

Today was the best Monday in quite some time! I'm definitely getting used to four day work weeks now that this is my third short work week in three weeks!! 

I went to Florence this weekend and it was so nice to have a relaxed weekend and to not have to rush back to Brentwood after church and visiting Grandaddy on Sunday. We had a nice family meal Saturday evening and I certainly enjoyed my Sunday nap. 

Today, I was up early (Emma woke up before dawn), but I didn't really mind since I had plans to shop at one of my favorite stores. My friend, Becky, and I drove to Memphis to shop at the Williams-Sonoma Outlet. I love Williams-Sonoma and I love outlet prices!  We looked around ooh-ing and ahh-ing at everything in sight for over two hours before selecting our purchases.  I bought several things, but I'm most excited about my new piece of Le Creuset. I've been eying this piece for a while and even convinced Becky that she would regret not buying one as well!  I guess I'm a bad influence!! :)

After laughing over our shopping cart full of purchases that we barely got off the sidewalk (Why there was no ramp I'll never know), we went next door to Pottery Barn. There were many pretty things, but nothing that I had to bring home. I didn't find a bargain rug for my dining room, so I may just have to pay the Pottery Barn delivery fee!

My friend, Molly, lives in Memphis and recommended several nearby restaurants. We decided on Swanky's Taco Shop which happened to be super close and super good. I'd definitely go there again. I'm so used to eating quickly and making it back to work in under an hour, so it was refreshing to have time to enjoy our food and talk. Not like we hadn't been doing that nonstop since we left Tuscumbia!!

We made one more quick stop to check out the sale items at Soma. We both love their pajamas and the 50% off sale made our purchases that much sweeter!

Before I knew it, it was time to head back to Alabama. Thankfully, we just hopped on Highway 72 and chatted the miles away. I really should have a sore throat from all the talking!!

It's so much fun to spend time with someone you share so many interests with and makes for such a fun day! Now, I can't wait to cook with my fun new finds!

New Recipe: Boston Cream Cupcakes

My friend, Melissa, celebrated her birthday this week.  We work together and I like to take something for my good friends' birthdays to share with our coworkers.  I asked Melissa what she wanted and her response was "cupcakes".  To be honest, this stressed me out a little since I can make tasty cupcakes, but, as my piping skills leave much to be desired, my cupcakes are never pretty.  I did some Pinterest searching and came up with these yummy cupcakes. (You may have to create a free account to view the recipe online.)

 

 

I think I've only had Boston Cream Pie once in my life--when my family went to Boston right before Christmas during my Senior year of High School.  However, I felt this was pretty safe since what's there not to like about cake, pastry cream and chocolate glaze?

 

This recipe is a little time consuming.  I made the pastry cream the night before.  My big problem was that I only had one muffin tin available.  Apparently my regular-sized muffin tins have grown legs and walked away.  I had to make one batch at a time and since I doubled the recipe, this took quite some time.

 

I hope you'll try these cupcakes.  They were a big hit in my office and I will definitely make them again.  When I have at least two muffin tins of the same size.

 

 

Makes 12 cupcakes

It’s important to bake these cupcakes in a greased and floured muffin tin rather than paper cupcake liners, so the chocolate glaze can run down the sides of the cupcakes.

PASTRY CREAM
1⅓ cups heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces) sugar
Pinch salt
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

CUPCAKES
1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces and softened
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

GLAZE
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
⅔ cup heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. FOR THE PASTRY CREAM: Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl, then whisk in the cornstarch until pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.

2. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg mixture to temper, then return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 1½ minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, press plastic wrap directly on the surface, and refrigerate until chilled and set, about 2 hours.

3. FOR THE CUPCAKES: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin.

4. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat the butter into the flour mixture, one piece at a time, about 30 seconds. Continue to beat the mixture until it resembles moist crumbs, 1 to 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the milk and vanilla, then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter until smooth, light, and fluffy, 1 to 3 minutes.

5. Using a greased ⅓-cup measure, portion the batter into each muffin cup (about three-quarters full; do not overfill). Bake the cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through baking. Let the cupcakes cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. FOR THE GLAZE: Microwave all of the ingredients together, whisking often, until melted and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Let the glaze cool, uncovered, until it is thickened but pourable, about 20 minutes.

7. Cut around the inside edge of the top of each cupcake, removing a cone-shaped piece from each cupcake, and fill with 2 tablespoons of pastry cream. Trim and replace the cupcake top and set each cupcake on a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup). Pour the glaze over the cupcakes, letting it run down the sides. Refrigerate the cupcakes until the glaze has set, about 10 minutes, before serving.

Wants Versus Needs

After living in my house for almost two years, I'm finally starting to make a few cosmetic changes. I added additional insulation to my attic shortly after moving in, but I haven't really done anything cosmetic until now.

I had storm doors installed on my front and back doors this week. I've wanted them since the beginning for added security and insulation, but also to allow additional light into the house. I have two huge Bradford pear trees in my backyard that block a good bit of the afternoon light, so I'll take any extra light that I can get. I also think that Emma, my little diva, is going to enjoy looking out the doors at the world going by.

My problem now is that there are more things to do and to buy than are practical at the moment. I thing marking one project off the list has created a monster. Now, for the short list of house projects I'd like to complete:

1. Replace my garbage disposal (This is going to happen. I can't the barely-functioning one I have for much longer.)

2. Replace my kitchen sink. I hate white porcelain. Period.

3. Replace my kitchen faucet. A white faucet will not work with #2 above.

4. Buy a rug for my dining room. I'm hoping to check this off the list at the Pottery Barn outlet in a few weeks.

5. Buy a freezer for the garage. I like to make things in bulk. Stocks, sauces, etc. I simply do not have enough room right now.

6. Hang artwork in my bedroom. Phase 1 will be completed this weekend. Phase 2 requires Mom's help and Dad's engineering skills to properly hang the heirloom hand-painted china.

7. Buy wicker baskets with lids for under the console table in my bedroom. Something else to look out for at the Pottery Barn outlet.

8. Select and install hardware on my kitchen cabinets. I don't understand why the drawers and cabinets do not have hardware in the first place. Will someone please pick out something for me? I must be the most indecisive person when it comes to cabinet hardware. Knobs or pulls? Pulls or knobs? I just can't decide!!

I have more things on the list in my head, but many are just not going to happen. It's making me a little stressed just thinking about it, to tell the truth.

Right now, I'm going to enjoy my doors and save my pennies for more fun projects and purchases!