...and we shed what was left of our Summer skin.

This Summer was a life changing one. In 3 months I've learned so much about who I am and what I want in my life. I fell in love with my dream man and lost an important member of my family in one season. This time of year always reminds me of one of my favorite Death Cab for Cutie songs, Summer Skin. It's the perfect song to conclude the summer. Here are some of the main events that have happened in my life the last 3 months plus some sprinkled song lyrics here and there.

Squeaky swings and tall grass 
The longest shadows ever cast 
The water's warm and children swim 
And we frolicked about in our summer skin 

In June....

We celebrated Memorial day weekend in Palm springs at the Riviera Spa and Resort. This was also the weekend that the "L word" was used for the first time. :) Now it's a constant one in mine and Wes's vocabulary and I hope it stays that way!

In July....

We honored the 4th with a relaxing day and an unexpected romantic firework viewing. It was wonderful!

My Dad turned 49. He's quite the party animal!

Who enjoys a stiff drink every so often. Below is his version of a margarita. Ick.

 I quit my big girl job. THIS is why.

My Mama moved to Vegas and made a pit-stop in Orange County to visit little ol' me!

...And Wes took us to see Young the Giant. They were A-maze-ing live!

Our family suffered a painful loss when my grandfather passed away. Just days after his birthday... He had a good life and was loved by many. I know that even though he's not with us in person, he will always be with us in our hearts.

(my Grandpa, my Brother, Me, and my Grandma)

On the night you left I came over 

                                          And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders 

Our brand new coats so flushed and pink

And I knew your heart I couldn't win

Cause the seasons change was a conduit 

And we left our love in our summer skin

I went with Wes and a couple of our friends to see Tears for Fears and we shouted it out!

In August....

Wes's parents came all the way from Connecticut to visit us and California for the first time on their cross country RV trip!

Unfortunately, his parent's Shitzus freaked out  his cat, and Wes was attacked.

A 3 hour ER visit and 4 stitches later, he was good as new. The cat however, took a week to recover from the trauma and spent 2 weeks after the event, hiding in the closet.

We said farewell to this lovely couple as they left OC to get hitched and start a life together back in their home state of CT. The wedding is October 20th, which means that I'll be taking a little vacay soon! Woot, woot!

We went to LA's H20 Festival to see Wes's friend Nick perform with his band, Santa Mamba.

Where I also got to meet freaking Snoop Dogg/Lion! That shizzle was off the hookizzle. You can get the lowdizzle on that story over hizzle. I'm done with the Snopp talk. Sorry.

In September....

This sweet little muffin turned 4 years old. Or 28 in puppy years!

We had homemade pupcakes and hot dogs for dinner in her honor! Read all about her day and get the cupcake recipe here.

I don't recall a single care 
Just greenery and humid air 
Then Labor day came and went 
And we shed what was left of our summer skin 

I helped Jesus Jugs and her Ginger Hubs move in to their very own home! She has a cute and witty post on her blog explaining their 'Hunt to Homeownership in Numbers!' Check it out ya'll.  

The weekend after we had a much needed girls cowgirls night out at Incahoots in Fullerton.

I turned 27.

Wasn't I a cute little baby?

Wes turned 31 the same day so we took a mini trip to Catalina for the night. It was Beautiful! And super fun.

Just look at this place! Click here to see the whole trip in detail.

And for your musical enjoyment....

I hope everyone had a great Summer as well! I am so excited for what the rest of this year has in store. Peace out Summer! Finally.

Happy Birthday Month, to Everybody!

September is a big month for Birthdays in my family. My Mom turns 48 on the 25th. Wes turns 31 on the 16th, while I will only be turning 27! (yep, we have the same Birthdays!) And my sweet little puppy turned 4 yesterday! 

Because I didn't get labor day off we celebrated on Saturday instead. When I say celebrated I'm not kidding. Roxie had presents and we feasted on hot dogs and German beer in her honor. Rox even had a Happy Birthday Doggie Cupcake that I made at home! 

Before, I'd always gone to 3 Dog Bakery to get her little somethin' somethin's every year but this time I looked up recipes online and was surprised to see that they were not only easy but really inexpensive too! For those of you who think I'm crazy for making my dog cupcakes and having a party, I get it. But I'll take any excuse to bake and drink, and to me, turning four is a pretty big deal. 

For those of you who like to throw parties for your dogs birthday, I have a step by step recipe for yummy pup-cakes.

Here is what you need:

Cake:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil 

• 1 cup shredded carrots 

• 1 tsp vanilla 
1/3 cup honey 

• 1 egg
• 1 cup white or whole wheat flour 

• 1 tsp baking soda 

• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• Dog biscuits for decoration
• Optional: Banana, more peanut butter

Frosting:

• 18oz low fat cream cheese such as Philadelphia
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of honey
• Dog Biscuits for decoration

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)

Mix together flour and baking soda

add remaining ingredients 

and mix well. 

Place into muffin cups. Or if your dog is big, a small cake pan.

Bake 20 minutes if cupcakes and 40, if cake.

voila!

While cake is cooling, combine the cream cheese (at room temperature), honey and yogurt until smooth. I started in a regular bowl but decided it would be easier in my mixer. 

I also added a little bit of food coloring to my mix for fun.

I checked online to see if sprinkles were safe for dogs. They seemed to be, so I added those too.

You can't even tell those are't regular cupcakes! I tried a little bit here and there while making them, and while they weren't bad. They weren't real good either.

For dinner, we made hot dogs. I saw this cool tutorial on Pinterest for spiraling your hotdog and tried it. I like them way better spiral cooked than regular now! When you put condiments on them like ketchup and relish, they get in the spiral crevices creating extra yummy goodness. No more dog sliding out of the bun this way!

(Photo Cred: Wes.) He insisted he get credit for taking this picture. 

After dinner and presents, we got out the cake. We didn't sing 'Happy Birthday'- I'm not that big of  a freak, but I did light a candle for the camera.

As you can see. Roxie really enjoyed her birthday cake.

Once it got cooler outside, we went to the park to play some ball.

This pic is my favorite!

It was a good day. Hard to believe another birthday has come and gone! Hope everyone else had a great holiday weekend as well! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday- Monkey Bread!

Tonight, out of sheer boredom (Revenge was a repeat this week. So bummed!) I went to one of my favorite websites: StumbleUpon.

For those of you who have never heard of this amazing interweb wonderland let me just say, YOU ARE MISSING OUT. Like Pinterest, I could spend hours on this site. This particular time I decided to 'stumble upon' food themed pages and take a peek at what I found:

MmmmMmmm!

I might need to make me some of this ! What is it? It's Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread from The Sweets Life. Although I'm planning on making this for only moi, this would be great as an appetizer for a party or for Super Bowl or even something fun to do dinner! And the great thing is you could add other 'pizza topping' items if you wanted.

I'm basically going to copy and paste everything that Natalie wrote because I haven't made these yet and she clearly is a pro. When I do make it though, I'll be sure to take a couple of pictures and write a review. So here it is, pepperoni pizza monkey bread, by Natalie from 'The Sweets Life.'

This bread takes a little bit of time to prepare, but in about half an hour I had filled my bundt pan with little dough balls, each with a piece of pepperoni and cheese stuffed within it. I was a little disappointed when I finished because I felt like my bundt pan should've been fuller. It puffed right up in the oven, however, and I removed it from the oven when it was nicely browned on top. The monkey bread released from the pan easily and after snapping a few pictures, I immediately dug in. 

My new definition of bliss: warm dough with a cheesy center and a bite of pepperoni. The garlic butter that I'd brushed on each piece was noticeable, but not so much that you'll be suffering from garlic breath all day! I'm quite certain this will be my new go-to recipe for potlucks and football parties, especially since I still have pepperoni left over in the fridge! You can certainly make your own dough and marinara sauce, but this recipe is really easy if you pick up those ingredients (I used Trader Joe's dough and basil marinara for dipping.)

Ingredients:
-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
-4 tbsp butter
-2 lbs pizza dough (I used 2 balls of Trader Joe's fresh dough)
-6 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (about 48 pieces)
-pepperoni (about 48 slices)
-2-3 cups marinara sauce for serving

Directions:1. In a small saucepan, heat garlic and butter over medium heat until garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and allow to sit. Brush the inside of a bundt pan with the garlic butter.
2. Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten. Place a slice of pepperoni and a piece of cheese on each, folding the dough around the cheese and pepperoni and pinching well to seal.

3. Brush the pizza ball with the garlic butter and place in the prepared bundt pan. Continue until all dough has been used.

4. Cover and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400F and bake for 35 minutes, until top is browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.


That doesn't seem too hard does it girls? Happy Hump Day!

Good ol' Home Cookin'

Lately I have been in a baking mood. It could be the fact that I am on my period. TMI. sorry. Perhaps it's because I'm in the holiday spirit!... It has been cold and rainy here in Orange County, having comfort food around is, well,  comforting! Or maybe it's because I just really like cookin' and being in the kitchen!

Along with the peppermint bark, oatmeal raisin cookies, sugar cookies, gingerbread and Grandma's chocolate peanut butter bars I've also decided to make homemade turkey noodle soup.

After Thanksgiving I knew I wanted to make homemade turkey noodle soup, so I saved the little turkey body and some big hunks of meat and put them in the freezer to save until I had the time (and energy) to make my soup. Yesterday I decided was the day. AND it was Super easy!

See?

(Biscuits courtesy of Pillsbury in a can. Classy and delicious!)

Here is what you need:

Broth:

• 1 turkey carcass, all meat removed
• 9 cups water
• 1 onion, halved
• 8 baby carrots or 1 carrot cut in half
• 1 whole stalk celery
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp. of chicken or turkey "Better Than Bouillon" or 2 chicken bouillon cubes

For the soup:

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 carrots, peeled and minced or equal amount baby carrots
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 (16 oz) pkg, "Grandma’s Fresh Frozen Homemade Style wide egg noodles" or 8 oz. of uncooked pasta
• 2 cups shredded or cubed turkey
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh parsley, optional

1.  To make the  broth: Place all ingredients in a large stock pot except for bouillon.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove turkey carcass from pot and discard.  Strain both with a colander into another stock pot.  Discard remains in colander.  Mix in bouillon into broth until dissolved.

2.  Make the Soup: In stock pot the broth cooked in, melt butter.  Add minced onion, carrot, and celery.  Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent.

Add onion mixture to stock pot and bring to a boil.  Thaw noodles according to pkg directions.  Add pasta and boil for time required on package. Add turkey and simmer for a couple minutes just to warm turkey.  Ladle into bowls and top each serving with a little fresh parsley if desired.

Voila! Delicious homemade soup for