I am very excited to present the first video Anthony & I edited. This was shot with my iPhone 4 camera while we were on vacation a few weekends ago.
Video crew: myself, Anthony, and Donna (mother-in-law)
Rafters: Scott (father-in-law), Brianna (sister-in-law), Nissa (cousin), Dallas (cousin), and a few anonymous rafters
Last Friday, I informed a friend that I would no longer be in the business of baking cookies. They don’t ever turn out perfectly; they’re either too crunchy, flat, or mushy, I told her. Maybe I should start baking cookie bars instead? As I love reading blogs, I soon went on my Google Reader and saw a post from Two Peas and Their Pod for Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. I texted my husband and told him I had discovered a recipe for cookie bars and I was thinking about making them that night. Seeing as how he loves chocolate chip cookies, he was happy!
Since it would only be the two of us eating the cookies, I chose to cut the recipe in half. I used white whole wheat flour as a substitute for the all-purpose flour and extra virgin coconut oil instead of the butter (except for about 1 tablespoon). Coconut oil has recently been getting a lot of press as it is better for you than using regular oil. Katie who blogs at Kitchen Stewardship has a really informative post on coconut oil’s health benefits.
They turned out to be delicious! The cookies were the perfect texture: soft, yet a little crunchy, with gooey chocolate chips. I would definately recommend trying this method of cookie baking. It saves time and cleanup.
Have you ever tried baking cookie bars?
This is my second edition of Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Amanda who blogs at Oh Amanda.
Please note: this list is not in preferential order.
- The Man from Snowy River - I love all of the scenery in this movie, the music, and the suspense. I like this movie so much my sister, Heidi, played Jessica’s Theme on the piano during our wedding ceremony! I also found out today that my Mom went into labor with me while she was watching this film. Maybe that’s a reason I love it so much!
- The Toy Story Trilogy - my favorite of the three movies is the original Toy Story and Sheriff Woody is my favorite toy. “You are a child’s play thing!”
- Little Women (the 1994 version with Winona Ryder & Kirsten Dunst) - “[Amy speaking of Jo’s hair cut] Oh Jo, your one true beauty”.
- Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea (with Megan Follows as Anne) - Gilbert Blythe must live!
- My Fair Lady - I love all of Eliza’s beautiful dresses and hats. The scene at the horse racetrack is quite memorable!
- White Christmas, 1954 in Technicolor - “[In the traincar] Snow, snow, snow, snow! It won’t be long until we’ll all be there with snow…”
- Cast Away - Tom Hanks is so compelling in this film. Favorite quote, “So that’s what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail…”
- Cinderella, the 1950’s version - “[Cinderella singing] A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep…”
- The Emperor’s New Groove - so many funny (albeit cheesy) one liners. “Llama face!” “No, touchy” “Welcome to Kuzcotopia, my ultimate summer getaway, complete with water slide. It’s my birthday present to me. I’m so happy!”
- The Fiddler on the Roof - seriously, the songs are awesome! Personal favorite, because Tevye reminds me of my Dad (he used to walk around the house and sing this song), “If I were a rich man…”
There you have it! What are your favorite movies?
I am joining Jeanett at Life Rearranged for another edition of Insta-Friday, posting all of the pictures I’ve taken during this week.
We were invited to Disneyland with my in-laws and had a wonderful time. We were there Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19th. So a few of my Instagram photos are from that!
Here is my best friend at our hotel, waiting for breakfast, before we went to the Magic Kingdom!
One of the reasons, we love Disneyland is because of the amount of detail they put into everything. This picture was taken primarily for my father-in-law as he owns a janitorial company. Here is a restroom in Critter Country under Hungry Bear Restaurant. So awesome!
We got to celebrate Brianna’s 20th birthday at Disneyland and she was wished a happy birthday so many times, it made me want to go there for my birthday!
Donna, my mother-in-law and I went to one of the California Adventure cast members to ask about fast passes for Toy Story Mania or Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. They informed us that neither ride had fast passes, and then asked how many people are in your party? I said seven. The Cast Member said, let me make a little magic for you. He grabbed a pad of these tickets and said, this pass is good for any ride you want to go on. It will permit your entire party access to the front of the line! I walked around with this GOLDEN ticket in my pocket trying to figure out which ride I wanted to use it on. Finally, after going on Toy Story Mania and waiting for about 40 minutes the first time, I decided we should use it on Toy Story again! We got to walk right up the exit and handed this ticket to the Cast Member and they let us right on the ride. YIPPEE!
This is my new lunch bag. The best thing about this is that it is made of neoprene and I can wash it in the washing machine!!! I really am a germ-a-phobe, so this is great news for me.
This afternoon, about 50 NASCAR big rig haulers drove by my work (near the downtown Capitol). They were honking their horns and drumming up support for the Sprint Cup Series and their race next week at Infineon Raceway (yes, I’ve been there thanks to my Dad bringing me!). This is #14-Tony Stewart’s hauler and I thought this was pretty cool. The Sacramento Bee has an article about this event.
I made spring rolls last night as it was 100 degrees outside!
My friend, Kim gave me the rice paper, vermicelli noodles, and a tutorial on how to make the rolls.
My cousin, Beth was my cooking show audience.
For these rolls I used:
Butter leaf lettuce
Chicken Tenders (marinated in Soy sauce & EVOO)
Persian cucumbers
Shredded carrots
Cilantro
Green onions, sliced
Vermicelli noodles
Assembly process:
Wet the rice paper with warm water, shake off, and place on a flat surface. The rice paper will soften and become moldable. Arrange all ingredients in the order listed above. Gently fold paper over the food and fold in the sides like you would for a burrito. Chill until ready to serve.
Slice diagonally. I used Trader Joe’s Satay Peanut Sauce and a sprinkling of peanuts as garnish.
Here is the beautiful and delicious finished product!
This is my second installment of What I Wore Wednesday with The Pleated Poppy. Here is what I wore this week:
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Turquoise Shirt- Kohl’s
Plaid Pants- Thrift store!
Buckle Shoes- DSW
Standard Jewelry- Wedding ring, watch, diamond necklace, (All gifts from Anthony) and silver hoop earrings
Friday, June 17, 2011
Full length…can you guess where we were?
Yellow-striped T-shirt- Aeropostale
Jeans- Thrift store
North Face Jacket- My parents as a Christmas gift
Standard Jewelry- (see above)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Green T-shirt- Aeropostale
Black Tank- Kohl’s
True Religion Jeans- store in Tahoe
Standard Jewelry
Toy Story’s Woody- made entirely of Lego’s!
Looking at all the coins in the water at the Wharf bridge in California Adventure
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Black Shirt- Gap
Plaid Skirt- Thrift Store
Earrings- Forever XXI (gift from my cousins and Aunt!)
Standard Jewelry- Necklace & Watch
Buckle Wedge Shoes- DSW
Head shot
Shoes closeup and yes, I have a star tattoo.
That’s what I wore this week!
I’m linked to:
This is a new post I am trying out from one of my newest blogging finds, The Pleated Poppy. Here is what I wore this week:
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Close up of the elephant necklace
Purple tunic- Kohl’s
Black Leggings- Target
Gold Earrings & Necklace- Forever XXI
Bracelet- Lia Sophia Jewelry Party
Saturday, June 11, 2011
On Saturday, we went to San Francisco (see this post for all the details). This picture was taken in the Rickshaw Bags Storefront.
Black shirt- Gap
Jeans- Crossroads Trading, Co.
Scarf- handmade by Me!
Necklace & Sunglasses- gifts from Anthony
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Close up of my jewelry
Green Shirt- Kohl’s
Striped Pants- Gap
Gold Necklace- Forever XXI
Gold Earrings- Lia Sophia Jewelry Party
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Another close-up!
Black Shirt- given to me by my sister, Heidi
Jeans- Nordstrom Rack
Necklace & Earring Set- Target for only $4!
So, that’s what I wore this week for my first edition of What I Wore Wednesdays. I hope you enjoyed!
Linked to:
This is my new sewing machine and a $35 awesome desk I bought off Craigslist. I think people sometimes name these types of items, but I’ve never done that with inanimate objects. It’s a Singer Featherlite II. My mom and dad gave it to me for my birthday/Master’s degree celebration.
My husband and I went to San Francisco this weekend and whenever we drive somewhere longer than 30 minutes we listen to audiobooks or The Dave Ramsey Show podcasts. This weekend we listened to a few chapters of Jon Acuff’s new book “Quitter”. Acuff encourages his readers (or listeners) to keep their day jobs and pursue their passions at other times throughout the day.
He continues on to say that the thing that you would do if you had time, or money, or whatever, is probably a starting point to what you enjoy doing. Another point he makes is that if time stops when you do this activity, it’s an indicator of what you love. And if you would do it for free.
I have always loved crafts. Both of my Grandmas taught me their craft of choice. My Grandma Coryell taught me how to knit and my Grandma Roome taught me how to cross-stitch. My parents also paid for my sisters and me to take sewing lessons. So I learned how to sew and made my own quilt from my Mom.
This is part of my history…and future.
One of my friends is celebrating her 30th birthday tomorrow night and asked me to bring a pie to her party. It is a common cooking/baking practice of mine to double whatever I make so I can freeze or give away the other item. Knowing that my husband loves apple pie, I told my friend I would bake one (and make an extra one).
A goal of mine is to make food healthier whenever I can, so I looked for a Dutch apple pie recipe. These pies have a crumble topping and a single crust instead of double. I found this recipe. I doubled the recipe and of course made a few modifications! I used white whole wheat flour from Trader Joe’s instead of regular white flour. I used two pre-made crusts from Trader Joe’s for all 3 pies. For both the filling and the topping. Also for the topping I used 1/2 cup of butter instead of 2/3 cup and used a mixture of flour and instant oats instead of only flour. The result: delicious smelling kitchen and a very happy husband and friend!
Here are the finished pies:
The pies are in the shape of a famous character. Do you know who it is?
One of my grandma’s bought me this cute apron for my birthday. Considering what I made, I had to take a picture in it. Thank you, Mom-Mom!
