Welcome, week. Here we go again. Time to make the bed.
All weeks begin here. Coffee time + a nice, solid to do list.
The best Mondays start with some good old-fashioned scrubbing. Gets the blood flowing, and makes everything else on the to do list seem easier. Plus housework is supposed to keep you honest,* right?
Yours truly,*
Filed under House & Home.
I’m not sure if it was all that birthday pie, but my sweet tooth is acting up lately. I am trying to get motivated to go to the grocery store today, and I think the lure of some baking supplies might just get me there.
This is my favorite cookbook of all time. Technically, it’s my mom’s. She got it when I was probably 10 or 11, and I would spend hours pouring over the recipes, begging her to let us make things like “Choco-Orange Fluff” and “Fruit-Filled Chocolate Dreams.” I can really only vouch for the recipes that sounded funny and appealing to me when I was 11. That’s why I am an expert at making “Chippy Chewy Bars” (see below). When I moved out, my mom let me take the cookbook with me. Ok, to tell you the truth, I’m not even sure I asked. Mom, I really needed it. I’m sorry.
Ok, here’s the recipe for Chippy Chewy Bars. This is one of those recipes that is simple and gooey and completely unpretentious. You make the whole thing in about 20 minutes just dumping ingredients into the pan.
Chippy Chewy Bars
The Hershey’s site has the list of ingredients right here.
My notes on the instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. Place butter in 13 x 9 pan and set in oven until melted. Remove pan from oven; sprinkle crumbs evenly over butter and press down with fork. Layer 1 cup peanut butter chips, coconut, and then remaining 2/3 cup peanut butter chips over crust. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the top. Bake 20 minutes or until coconut is lightly browned. Remove from oven. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chip and shortening in the microwave at High for approximately 1 1/2 minutes (or until chips are melted when stirred). You could easily substitute other melted chocolate if you don’t want to use the shortening/chocolate chips. Cool completely and cut into bars. Enjoy!
Filed under In the Kitchen.
Around this time of year, I always start thinking about grassy meadows, naps under trees, and picnic baskets. We saw this Coke commercial last night on TV and I almost choked up a little bit; my longing to be on a picnic was so intense.
(Some of you will point out that I live in L.A., so I could go sit outside on a blanket right now. However, even here, it’s not quite the same until the sun is really warm and you’re wearing something sleeveless.)
Anyway, I thought it would be a good time to start my spring sewing wish list. I have visions of picnic blankets, summer dresses, and fresh table linens. I love warm weather sewing, because I can really experiment with patterns and colors and worry less about what my husband will say. I can just tell him “this is for outside, not the bed,” and he’ll be fine.
My wish list so far:
Anyone else with picnics on the brain? I might have forgotten some important accessories. I am torn between wanting spring to arrive and thinking I might need another few months to get my sewing list in order first. ;-)
Filed under Fabric & Sewing.
Today is my birthday. This year, instead of a cake, I have a yummy Kahlua cream cheese pie. I would take a picture for you, but I’ve already eaten half of it. How about some pictures of cute animals eating cake instead (from my birthday card)?
Birthdays are funny to me. Some years they are great. Some years it’s like they didn’t even happen. I have a good feeling about this one.
Filed under Holidays.
My parents are getting ready to head out on a well-deserved cruise to Hawaii. (Yay!) I am so happy for them. I get my obsessive planning tendencies from my parents, so it has been funny listening to all of their preparations for the trip. One concern that I have though is that almost all of their activities revolve around snorkeling.
Snorkeling and I do not mix. Not even a little bit. Like many children of my time, I grew up watching Jaws. In retrospect, I think I saw that movie just as often as My Little Pony. I consider it a small victory that I am no longer afraid of sharks getting into the swimming pool. I am not willing to test this theory in the open ocean even in those safe, “protected coves”. I’ve seen that show River Monsters. I know where sharks can go.
Ok, back to the snorkeling part. I am going to share a picture of me snorkeling. Now, one of the benefits of having a blog (or facebook page or whatever) is that you get to pick what picture of yourself you’re going to use. I could pretend that all pictures of me are awesome. That is a lie, as you are about to see. See Exhibit A:
See? There, I told you.
It’s all supposed to be worth it, right? You’re going to see some amazing fish and coral. Sure, let’s check out Exhibit B: a picture I took of the “amazing fish and coral.”
All 36 of the photos I took that day look exactly like this (except that sometimes the 5 fish change position). Now my family assures me that there were so many incredible fish (blah blah blah) and somehow I just missed them. They also tell me that snorkeling in some other places is so much better and more beautiful (blah blah blah) than this spot in Mexico. Ok, fine. I believe you. I am willing to bet that the entire ocean looks like a scene from Finding Nemo with the exception of this one place. But next time? Just send me a picture. It will be just like I’m there (minus embarrassing photo, Exhibit A.)
The upside of all this? There is one family portrait from that trip that I truly love. This is our whole family right before we got back to safety (I mean, the boat). I think our family looks sort of cute here, all lined up with our snorkel masks.
When we got back from this vacation, our whole lives changed – in some ways for the better, in some ways – not. My sister met her future husband on the cruise ship. My mom, now a survivor, was diagnosed with cancer just a few months after this photo was taken. However, through it all, our family has stuck together — treading water, keeping each other afloat. Seeing this picture reminds me to never take an experience for granted, not even snorkeling.
Mom and Dad, I hope you have a wonderful trip. May you see all the fish I would miss. I hope they flock to you like a thousand happy, new memories — enough to hold onto until the next time. Maybe you can send me a picture.
Lots of love,
Filed under Friends & Family, Travels Near & Far.
