for the lack of a better post

i was getting good there for awhile, posting often & what not but since then life has caught up with me & left my little ol' blog behind. but i have good reason to be gone! here are some snap shots of the past two weeks. (i love my camera phone, btw)

jen crane in town! it was so wonderful to see her & i hope she had just as much fun as i did!
whats a holiday without alittle baking from bekah, red, white, & blue pound cake with lemon glaze. (thank you for your help jen!)
after jen crane's departure :( along came bob & margaret! it was so much fun seeing my parents. can't wait to see them again in september!
a delayed 4th of july outting at my brother chris's house. my nephews, damien & keegan enjoying some sparkler time. i must say these kids could be the coolest that we've have met & hung out with to date.
i can't believe i did it, but i got bob & margaret to the city! we went to see the titanic exhibit in the city & even my dad wanted to go! i was shocked but so happy that they both decided to come. the exhibit was pretty amazing, alittle sad at times, but overall great.
lastly, update in the city with sean. on our lunch break we ran into the cupcake moblie! this is why i love new york. what a great idea! alittle pricey, but the fun of ordering cupcakes off a truck out ruled anything else.

so, not for nothing, good times have been had. 09' is proving to be a great summer!

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Now Playing: The Gossip - Heavy Cross

"it's not an option baybeh, i'm not letting go"

the other night i went out and purchased a bundt pan to make the monkey bread & tonight i think i found the best bundt pan recipe. with the combination for peanut butter & chocolate, how could you disagree?! the thought to cancel my gym membership crossed my mind because really?! i just gained 10 pounds looking at this delicious photo.

-- Peanut Butter Pound Cake w/Chocolate Glaze --

i don't know about you, but i'm always purchasing vanilla for all my baked goodies & good vanilla is expensive! but in just two months i'm gonna have my very own vanilla! this is a very simple recipe for homemade vanilla & i can't believe i didn't know about this sooner. this will be my project for sunday.

-- Homemade Vanilla Extract --

right before pete left for work i told him i found the perfect peanut butter & chocolate cake recipe for him, and he took a good look at the picture above & said,

Pete - "it looks amazing, can't wait to try it! but weren't you trying to make more healthy things?!"
Me - "it is healthy because i'll be making it!"
Pete - "AH! so being homemade makes it healthy, gotcha"

hahaha, i love how he plays into my craziness xoxo


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of course i couldn't end this blog without saying, R.I.P. Michael Jackson. i always felt he led such a sad & tragic life, much like elvis or marylin monroe. and i'll never forget watching thriller for the first time! no matter what your opinion is about him, you can't take away the simple fact that he was crazy talented & an icon for our time. so, R.I.P. Michael Jackson.

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Now Playing: This Providence - Squeaking Wheels & White Lights

"it was so easy & words so sweet"

today i had a meeting at butt thirty for work & it turned into a delightful, rain free day! the meeting was good & it was nice to see everyone after my vacation. (especially quesa b/c she was gone on vacation the week before & its been a whole 2 weeks since we've seen each other! we're ok now :) ) i baked some monkey bread for the meeting & sported my championship penguins shirt that i got in pittsburgh. the monkey bread was delicious, super easy to make, very virsitile and i can't wait till our nephew aidan gets older so i make this with him. (& of course with our own children, eventually)

-- Monkey Bread Recipe --

*the recipe says to bake it for 30-35 mins, i think 40-45 is better, at least for my oven

after the meeting a few of us hit up a great thrift store in paterson & i snagged some great frames for the picture wall my dad & i are going to start. i'm excited because i was alittle overwhelmed at the prices of frames but i got some wonderful frames to start with. now i just need to finish printing the photos i want to showcase. ( the to do list is never ending! )

all these great frames for less than $20 bucks! i can't wait to hit up some more shops & cover my wall.

even with this face, mari could be one of the most beautiful people i know, inside & out. i love how she just wants to have fun & enjoy the day!

best sunglasses ever!

"penguins over dinner" -mari

so with my vacation almost at an end, i'm sad to report that i didn't get done nearly the amount of things i wanted to but "tomorrow is another day" (thanks mxpx). though i would not say this vacation was unsuccessful, because i did do ...

1. road trip to pittsburgh! yay pens!
2. played bingo with grandma b
3. went strawberry picking (blog coming soon, with recipes!)
4. made dinner & dessert almost every night
5. spent some time in the sun at the jersey shore with good company (it's not an east coast thing, its just what they call it, haha)
6. did the makeup for my friend's daughter's wedding (fun times!)
7. watched angels & demons
8. took several walks with my wonderful hubby
9. spent some quality time with the in-laws & aidan!
10. went to the city to see h2O with the jeff turner network
11. cleaned out the bedroom closet, one down, two to go! ( i now sleep better at night)
12. cleaned out the cars
13. donated bag of stuff to the goodwill
14. fell in love with the new regina specktor album

so with that little list i think its safe to say i had a very nice, produtive vacation & i can't complain. next up, a few days off while the folks are in town! can.not.wait.!

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Now Playing: Regina Specktor - Eet

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

today we are gonna hangout with the fam, have some burgers (rain or shine!) & enjoy baby aidan for a while. tonight pete & i are going to the city to see H2O with a few friends. it may or may not be at the new knitting factory but none the less it will be a good time. hardxcore show with turner, never a bad time!

i've made a promise to myself that i will take TONS of pictures while my folks are in town. i can not wait to see them and spend some quality time with them! but for now older picture will have to do.

i can't tell you how much my dad means to me. (i'm getting teary eye-ed jus thinking about it) he is always been there for me & always loves & supports me in whatever i may do. he is smart, gracious, funny, thoughtful, and always keeps me thinking! i love being around him & just enjoying his company. (even if he hogs the remote!) he never lets me drag on about the silly things in life (b/c i tend draaaagggg on) & he always has a listening ear with some helpful advice to follow. (sometimes unsolicited but its always what i need to hear) my folks are driving up in july for a week and i'm so excited i could burst! but i will hold back for now & share some pictures,

the pops & i

grandpa bob @ his best!

we rarely kiss on the cheek, but always head bunt

happy bob
my brother kelly with our beautiful niece, mary margaret. he is a wonderful daddy & she is a very lucky little girl.

pete's brother, dietz & our cutie pie nephew aidan. dietz is such an amazing dad & aidan is lucky to have him as a daddy as well!

happy father's day to all the great dads out there (& all the dad's to be!)
EDIT! i didn't mean to leave out pete & his pops, i just didn't have a picture of the two of them together, strangely. but i made good work on father's day and snapped one of them together.

like father like son, these two could be the chillest people i know. i sure did luck out with a great father in-law, and he isn't to shabby as a pops too!

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Now Playing: Regina Specktor - Samson

Let's Go Pens!

hockey was never a sport i knew much about, because lets face it i'm from texas & even though we have the dallas stars, it was never a sport that was watched or talked about while growing up. but soon after pete & i started dating that changed completely. he is a HUGE hockey buff. can name pretty much any player and pronounce the crazy russian names as if it was his second language. he loves the sport and i can't help but be drawn into the excitement he has for it and cheer on his favorite team & players. so you can imagine how crazy our little apartment was when the pittsburgh penguins ( pete's favorite time & of course now mine) won the stanley cup! i think i might have been even more excited then he was, because i was jumping around & screaming like the crazy woman that i am! on sunday, us & a few friends drove out to pittsburgh for the parade on monday, probably one of the best days/trip to date!
some pictures from our adventure -- go here if you want to see them all

the massive crowd! grandma b later told me that there were 375,000 ppl there

pete, the hardXcore penguin fan!

marc-andre fluery & sidney crosby with the stanley cup!
the whole crew from jersey!

it was such a good trip & i'm so glad that we decided to go. i couldn't have asked for a better time with better people!

i haven't forgotten my promise to make one new recipe a week. last week i posted about the black bottom cupcakes, and boy were they yummy! mmmmmm! i could have made these all day every day. i think this could be my favorite chocolate cake batter, it was so light, fluffy, & delicious. ( i consumed a mad amount of raw egg when i made these )
they were a big hit at work, and the aroma was just amazing. this week i'll be making more things because i am on vacation. i'm looking forward to making some of these recipes i have on file. this morning i made a quick yogurt parfait. i am the queen of asking pete to go pick us up a bagel or something, but this morning i was good and made good work of my strawberries, and left over yogurt.
it was just as tasty as it looks, just less blurry :)

well our trip to pittsburgh was a great start to my va-cay, and here is to getting some good cooking done as well! (maybe even clean out our closets *crosses fingers*) oh! & strawberry picking, june isn't over yet!

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Now Playing: The Get Up Kids - Campfire Kansas

your love has come to late

sometimes, i just feel really pathetic. sigh.

moving on to awesomeness ...
well this isn't so awesome, but i finally made the "amazing black bean brownies", but unfortunately they we not so "amazing". i can't help but feel that maybe i messed something up & i really don't want to admit to that. the recipe calls for coffee grounds and surprisingly that is all i can taste, and it doesn't taste good. i may have to give it another go, but pete begged me to just make regular brownies from a box! haha at least he is honest. luckily, i will surely redeem myself with these tasty cupcakes,

- Black Bottom Cupcakes w/Goat Cheese -

i'll be making them for my managers birthday, but i'm gonna go for cream cheese instead of the goat cheese, for alittle more cheesecake likeness. yum!

i always struggle with my "to do's" ( for the most part, i think we all do) & i came across these lovely chalkboards,

- MaryKateMcDevitt Etsy Shop -

i've debated on purchasing this but i might just have to steal the idea and make my own. sometimes i under estimate my crafting ability (laziness is such a curse!) & i think this will be a fun project to work on.

next week i have vacation & i'm looking forward to getting some necessary & fun things done. but at the top of the list is going strawberry picking and then making some great things from pickings.

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this pretty much sums me up at the moment.
( found here )

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Now Playing: Patrick Wolf - Bluebells

live to eat or eat to live

i know that i keep saying i am blog obsessed but its true! (just ask pete, he'd tell ya) but the more i keep reading the more and more i find all these other amazing blogs. i've never utilized my bookmarks so much in my life until now. i blame hampton, she introduced me to DesignCrush, and it all went down hill from there.

the thing i take away from these jewels on the internet is the inspiration to make my "real" life more thoughtful and fun! after getting married and starting our home, i have taken to my kitchen like a fish to water. i never minded cooking but now that i have my own kitchen, something just clicked and i love it! (aside from doing dishes) unfortunately, i don't cook/bake as much as i would like and i really think that stems from a lack of inspiration. now, through my obsessive blog hunting i have found some amazing recipes that i want to try out. my goal is to try one new recipe a week. no matter what it is i want to try something new. i feel this goal is do-able and a great way to be productive & creative. (maybe even alittle more healthier)

i found this printable calendar for the month of june & i'm going to mark all the recipes that i want to try each week, just to keep track! (download & print it for free here)

here are some of the recipes that i added to my list ...

Egg Salad Sandwich + Coconut Macaroon Pancakes


Amazing Black Bean Brownies + Baked Doughnuts


Baby Bran Muffins + Five Minute Tomato Sauce

of course i'm more drawn to the sweets/baking recipes but i have a few savory ones i'm excited to try. all these recipes were found at 101 Cookbooks. she has an abundance of recipes & i love how she writes so clever.

i think the first one i'm going to try is the black bean brownies, they look so moist & fudgy! i also can't wait to try them out on my co-workers! my brother in law will probably love them as well, he has a thing for black beans. i'll let you know how it all turns out!