In the midst of moving and packing and renovating while trying to keep life as close to normal a possible, I caved and tried out sheet-pan dinners. And I am IN LOVE! Read More
Home Sweet Home
I’ve been a little lacking in keeping up with this blog since we found out we were moving back home last year. It’s been a whirlwind—hubby’s new job offer came while we were in Disney last September, and three and a half weeks later we were packed and moved. Easy-peasy, right?
Signs of Spring
We are buried under a half-foot of snow in eastern Pennsylvania, but this week still showed some early signs of spring. Yes, I know that technically spring is still over a month away, but a girl can dream of warm, sunny days even in February, right? 😉
Wednesday was beautiful – 61℉ with mostly sunny skies. I went for what started as a short walk–and finally strolled back in the front door 6.4 miles later.
A beautiful day for a nice long walk.
Unfortunately, as soon as the sun went down, temperatures plummeted, and by midnight it was snowing. I really can’t complain–this is really the first storm of the year. Until now it has been a very mild winter (almost North Carolina like).
A snowy morning. At least Pup was happy–she loves the snow.
Of course, I expect snow this time of year–it is February in the Northeast. But, I also know that there is one other awesome sign of spring that happens this time every year. Truck Day!
If you aren’t a baseball fan, you may be looking at the screen like I am insane right now. Heck, you may be doing that anyway. 😉
Truck Day is the day the MLB teams pack up all the equipment for spring training and head south, in most cases to Florida or Arizona.
I woke up on Monday morning to this:
I am a Phillies fan, but Hubby is a Red Sox fan, so this just made my week! Wednesday, the Phillies truck followed behind.
I love that Phanatic!
Next stop, Spring Training! Pitchers and catchers report on Monday. <3
Are you on the lookout for signs of spring? What are some of your favorites?
Who Says You Can’t Go Home?
It’s been a while since I posted here and things have really changed in the last few months. Shortly after my last post, Hubby was offered a great new job–an opportunity that was just too good to pass up.
I love the fall colors–almost makes up for the cold that follows.
Of course, it did require us to relocate for the second time in three years. Read More
Raisin, Date, and Pecan Overnight Oats
As much as I love to cook, there is one meal hubby and I have never quite gotten the hang of–breakfast. For years, we skipped breakfast more often than we ate it, but in recent years we try hard to start our day with a decent breakfast.
Fall Apple Desserts
I am a magazine junkie–Southern Living, Cooking Light, Coastal Living, Food Network… You get the idea. In the last week or two, all the September magazines are rolling in, and I am drooling over a lot of the fall recipes–but none more than the desserts.
Apples and pumpkin galore! Yum!
I will never make it through them all, but I thought I would share a few of the most tempting apple deserts, in case anyone wants to give them a try.
Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake (From Southern Living)
Southern Living says: This delicious apple bundt cake features a sweet cream cheese filling and homemade praline frosting. Garnish the frosting with extra toasted pecans.
Seriously, doesn’t that look amazing? I actually liked that half of the cover better than the other side–and the other side was Brad Paisley!
Love this coffee cake! <3
One of my go-to apple deserts is this Apple Coffee Cake with Crumble Topping and Brown Sugar Glaze recipe from Food Network. It comes from Emeril Live!–goodness I miss that show! Hubby asks for this cake all year round!
(Just a note, I usually leave off the glaze–while it is good, I don’t think it is necessary.)
For something a little lighter, try out these Apple Nachos form Cooking Light:
Cooking Light says: Sweet, crunchy apples make for a delicious plate of party “nachos.” Just slice some apples, arrange on a plate, and get creative. While I chose to make a slightly sweet peanut butter glaze, you could easily drizzle with honey or melted chocolate, or sprinkle cinnamon, nuts of your choice, or anything—the options really are endless. Slice some apples and have fun!
Source: Forget Keeping the Doctor Away: Slice Up the Ultimate Apple Nachos
Need more? Country Living has 40 apple deserts in this article!
Lazy-day Caramel Apples
Or, you could go the easy route and try one of my favorites –a chopped apple, a drizzle of caramel sundae sauce, and maybe some chopped walnuts or pecans. Healthy and easy! 😉
Whatever your choice, enjoy! <3
What’s your favorite apple recipe? Favorite fall fruit? Anything I missed? Feel free to share! 🙂
A Quick Weekend Getaway
Sometimes, you just need to get away, even if it is January. Or, more likely, especially in January. 😉
Perfect day for a beach stroll.
It is no secret that I could spend all day, every day at the beach, so when Hubby suggested a January getaway to the beach, I jumped at it! After all, Carolina beaches in January aren’t too cold, right?
Well, kind of.
Surf competition in front of the hotel
On our 3-day trip, we had one day of mid-60s and sunny, one of 50 and rain. And one bright and sunny, with a high of 34. Brrr.
And every minute was worth it. We had an ocean-front room, so even in the cold, we could watch (and listen to) the waves crashing on the shore. We brought a whole stash of board games and a computer for Netflix. All in all it was a beautiful, relaxing weekend.
Perfect!
And the last day may have been cold, but the sunrise made it all worth it. <3
Have you ever take an off-season vacation? Where did you head? Did you find it to be as peaceful and relaxing as I did? Please share! <3
Princess Puppydog
Bored in the car.
Jon and I don’t have kids–we have a pup. We didn’t plan it that way, but we love our life and our baby, even if she is a five-year-old dog. 😉
We always planned to have one of us home with the kids once we had them. The opportunity for me to leave my job and stay home presented itself about six years ago, and we decided to give it a try before there were kids in the picture. At some point we realized kids likely weren’t in the cards, but we were already used to my being home, so we stuck with it. Which is how I became a childless housewife in 2014 (or, as my husband likes to call it, a stay-at-home puppy mommy).
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Social Networking Overload
This weekend, I found myself spending more time than usual chatting with friends on social networking sites. It wasn’t long before I once again found myself having conversations on multiple sites at the same time–in some cases with the same person.
I really didn’t think too much about it until I got a text asking why I hadn’t answered a question on FB Messenger, but was still on Twitter. Oops.To be honest, I just lost track of what was where, and I missed it. The fact that I was on my phone certainly didn’t help. Some days, it would just be nice if everything was all in one place. (I know, wishful thinking. 😉 )
What I’m Watching–Coffeehouse Edition
Happy Leap Day, everyone!!
I have been making a lot of changes to this site in the past few days, and I still have a few more on the way. I am just finishing Kristen Lamb’s blogging class, and I am having fun with implementing everything I have learned.
One of the things I have been throwing around for quite some time now (since even before the class) was theme days. I always struggle coming up with topics, so I thought having a theme to stick with would be helpful. Unfortunately, I could never come up with a topic that I could write about week in and week out. Read More