Forty Six is a big number… When it comes to desserts

I promised y’all all the dessert details so… Here ya go:

My mom set up 6 tables for her desserts. She started making all of these delicious delicacies at the beginning of October and covered them in quite a lot of foil and placed them in the freezer. I don’t know how the woman does it but she makes sure to have the old favorites ( party cheesecakes, pecan pie, pistachio cake, and chocolate casserole) and some newbies (malted milk ball cake, butterfinger pie, and gosh knows I’m forgetting some). I love how she makes labels for all these desserts out of name tags and Popsicle sticks. Unfortunately I was not there to help her come up with creative names for the desserts this year. (next year… I will be there to fix this) At the end of the post you can see the pictures. If you count in the pictures you will get 44 desserts. I realized after I did this that one of the trays has 3 desserts on it so that makes it 46.

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Mom, I love you but am begging you… Next year I think the dessert theme should be like the top 10 desserts.

What do y’all think?

What would be on your top ten dessert list?

Truly the best

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As I sit above the clouds on a flight back to Minne all I can think about is how much fun we had this Thanksgiving! My parents did an incredible job and not only was the food yummy but the centerpieces were gorgeous too. Before we got to the airport this morning I asked my mom what she was going to do today and she told me absolutely nothing. After y’all see these pictures I think you’ll agree with me that she has earned a day to simply relax.

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How was your Thanksgiving?

PS- tomorrow I will post the dessert spread :)

Beginning of a Bracelet Love Affair

Obsessed doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about 3 bracelets I came back with after Thanksgiving Break. One of my moms good friends, Louise Abroms is a jewelry designer and has been designing gorgeous pieces for the last ten years. Her jewelry truly unique and adds the right pop of color to any outfit. Her newest line Keozo Stones does not disappoint. She has 12 different semi precious stones that she uses to create bracelets that look great stacked up or simply worn alone. I have the peridot, pyrite, and crystal quartz. I would like all of them but I don’t think that would make Justin too happy. Check out her website: http://www.keozostones.com/ 

It all started with a pair of Red Uggs…

 

 

  

Let me ramble for a bit and then I promise to reward you with a new recipe. I know that I sometimes write about my family on the blog/ correction I write about my family A LOT on the blog. I love them/ they are amazing/ and they keep me sane so… here we go:

You can imagine the surprise in my voice last week when I spoke to my mom and she told me that she set her alarm to wake her up at 1:45 A.M. on a weekday morning to order the iphone 4 through Verizon. My mother, who poked fun at me from the beginning when I got an iphone, is now picking her iphone up right now as you read this. (I LOVE IT!)

I am, some would say, a prodigy of my mother. We look pretty similar and we act quite similar too! I have always confided in her and have always respected, most of her opinions. I have though not completely followed some of her fashion / technology advice. For some reason she was against the idea of me buying Uggs in college.  Then after a trip to Chicago  I sent a picture of my feet adorned in red,fuzzy,warm, sensible Uggs ( for the Indiana Winters of course) and her response was to poke fun at my new shoes. I tell you this story because now 4 years later she owns  a pair of uggs and she loves them! This long ramble  I will now wrap up by saying that my mother will now own two things that she was totally against in the beginning. (Maybe I have taught her a thing or two now about technology/ fashion)  But I love her and was happy to help send her advice on what iphone case to purchase when I spoke to her yesterday.

Here are the two that I suggested:

 

 This is the current case that I have on my iphone. I love that it is a hard case and that it can withstand my occasional clumsiness. http://store.apple.com/us/product/H2841ZM/An=iphone4&fnode=MTY1NDA0NA&mco=MjA0MjE5MzI 

I had this case before my polka dotted one. It is also a hard case and was also able to withstand occasional drops. (oops)

http://www.speckproducts.com/iphone-case/iphone-4-case/candyshell-iphone-4-cover-brown-pink.html

Now a new recipe: some call it Mandel Bread and some call it Kamish Bread but who cares: I simply call it DELISH!

 

Ingredients

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix in the order listed and form 2-3 loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes. Then slice it with either a pastry slice or a knife (just be careful not to use a really sharp knife on your cookie sheet because then you will have marks all over it). Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on one side and then bake for 3-4 minutes. Then take it out of the oven and sprinkle the other side with cinnamon sugar and bake again for 3-4 minutes. Pull out of the oven and place on a trivet and let cool. I ended up storing mine in a glass container on the counter. Personally, I think it tastes even better the day after. Enjoy!

Side note: Thanks to my mom who got this recipe from her friend. I will definitely be making this again. :)

 One more thing: Do you have a friend/family member who resisted a form of technology but now loves it?

Do you have a great recipe for mandel bread/ kamish bread?

I’d love to hear from you. :)

Superwoman

I have always thought of my mom as a modern day superwoman.


She is putting her cape back on for a third year and raising money for Ovarian Cancer Research. She is riding on a stationary bike for 6 hours straight to raise awareness for Ovarian Cancer research. I rode with her the first year and found the whole experience to be incredible. I wish I could be there to support her because I know she will do great. She will just have to settle for a couple phone calls during the ride.
(do you see the girl in hot pink in the middle on the front row, in the picture below? that’s me!)


My mom has to raise $400 to participate. Please consider making a donation to such a great cause. Any amount is appreciated (5,10,15 whatever you can give) http://www.ovariancycle.org/get_involved/donate/my_home_page.aspx?id=48

I thought I would also share another one of my favorite desserts my mom makes: Chocolate Pie!

This recipe has a small ingredient list and is super easy to whip up.

2 frozen pie crusts
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in microwave. Mix sugar, cocoa powder, and flour. Then stir in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and finally pour equal amounts into each pie crust. Bake for 35 minutes.

Hope I have encouraged you to stay with connected with Ovarian Cancer Research and that I have tempted your taste buds with this pie!


:)
Surviving in a giant snow globe

Erica

She’s famous… I’m the photographer

 

 

The Giving City

My mom and I are changing roles just for about 10 minutes… or however long it takes me to type this post. I love doing shout outs on the blog! I am incredibly proud of my family and friends. They are some of the most caring and kind individuals!

My mother ALWAYS seems to get embarrassed whenever I talk about her on the blog (for some reason she thinks that I talk about her way too much… well, too bad… your my mother and a lot of stuff I know is because of you).  :)

Now I must let you all know this post is dedicated to her and how proud I am of her. A month ago my mom let me in on a little secret (which I love/ hate because keeping secrets is really hard for me and this one was SUPER hard) She was going to be featured in Birmingham Magazine… (here is where our roles change… I can’t even begin to explain how proud of her I was) My mother was going to be in print and not just a blurb but a whole article… I could not stop smiling.

She asked me to do her one favor… Could I take a picture of her with Sassy and Selly that would be featured in the article?  I agreed even though I knew this would not be easy because getting my mom, Sassy, and Selly to be smiling at the camera is never an easy task. We took the picture outside the house on the steps (after about 20 takes… I think we were able to pick out one that worked)

The magazine hit news stands  yesterday and I just had to blog about it. My mom did not let me know that it was out instead I found out from her friend, Tiffany. (oh mom, you can be so shy at times)

Anyways here is a link to the article that you MUST  read because it’s fantastic and I’m so proud of her. (By the way… I’m a smidge famous too because that picture was taken by me)

http://bhammag.com/bhammag/jan_11_my_bham.aspx

Just Dance

 
I don’t usually give “shout outs” to video games but if you have a Wii this game is worth going out to get. It’s called Just Dance and you will be dancing once you start looking  at the song list:
1. Avril Lavigne – “Girlfriend”
 

 

2. Bangles – “Walk Like An Egyptian”

3. Beastie Boys – “Body Movin’ (Fatboy Slim Remix)”

4. Benny Benassi presents “The Biz” – “Satisfaction”

5. Blondie – “Call Me”

6. Bollywood – “Katti Kalandal”

7. Boney M. – “Rasputin”  ( I hadn’t ever heard this song)

8. Charleston – “Mugsy Baloney” ( I didn’t kow this song either)

9. Cher – “The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)”

10. Digitalism – “Idealistic”

11. Donna Summer– “Hot Stuff”

12. Elvis Presley – “Viva Las Vegas”

13. Fatboy Slim – “Rockafeller Skank”

14. Franz Ferdinand – “Take Me Out”

15. Harry Belafonte – “Jump In The Line”

16. Ike & Tina Turner – “Proud Mary”

17. James Brown– “I Got You (I Feel Good)”

18. Jamiroquai – “Cosmic Girl”

19. Junior Senior – “Move Your Feet”

20. Justice – “D.A.N.C.E.”

21. Ke$ha – “TiKToK”

22. Mardi Gras – “Iko Iko”

23. Marine Band – “Sway (Quien Sera)”

24. MIKA – “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)”

25. Outkast – “Hey Ya!”

26. Quincy Jones & His Orchestra – “Soul Bossa Nova”

27. Reggaeton – “Baby Girl”

28. Rihanna – “S.O.S.”

29. Snap! – “The Power”

30. Sorcerer – “Dagomba”

31. Studio Allstars – “Jump”

32. Studio Musicians – “Crazy In Love” I got my Aunt to do this one which she did not know. I had to fill her in on Beyonce

33. Studio Musicians – “Jungle Boogie”

34. Supergrass – “Alright”

35. The Frighteners – “Monster Mash”

36. The Hit Crew – “Holiday”

37. The Hit Crew – “Toxic”

38. The Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back”

39. The Pussycat Dolls – “When I Grow Up”

40. The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil (Fatboy Slim Remix)”

41. The Ting Tings – “That’s Not My Name”

42. The Weather Girls – “It’s Raining Men”(My mom LOVES this one)

43. Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”  

44. Wham! – “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”

My parents have a wii at the house so when I was home for Thanksgiving we played this with all the family. I never knew my mom, aunt, and cousin had such good rhythm. Justin and I got a Wii for our 2nd Anniversary from my parents and I think that we might have to get this game. I haven’t tried Just Dance 1 but the people at Best Buy told my mom that the 2nd version had better music.

We all know that I am not a great dancer but in the privacy of my home this game will make you want to dance and it is actually a pretty good workout.

What is your favorite wii game?



 

Kim and Paige playing Just Dance!

 

Made it through Atlanta Airport

It’s Sunday afternoon at 1:30 and I’m hanging out at my gate to board my flight back to Minneapolis. The Atlanta Airport has not always been my friend but i accepted the fact before going to security that it was not going to be easy peezy lemon squeezy (that’s what the kids say at school) I was x-rayed and I did not enjoy standing in the tight space with my hands over my head. ( the last time i put my hands up was at wedding when doing SHOUT, honestly i’m not a dancer)

I’m sure all of you are doing much more exciting things today. Marcy was so nice to drive me to Birmingham and back to Atlanta to the airport. We were both saying in the car today that our Thanksgiving break went by way to quick. We drove home last Saturday and I can’t believe I am sitting in the airport already again going back to Minneapolis. Thanksgiving with the fam was so much fun this year and I know I say this every year (but, it’s really true) my mom and dad topped last year. All desserts homemade and recycled bags for party favors (way to go going green Mom!)… I mean I gotta give at least 5 gold stars.

Enjoy the photos and just curious is anyone excited for CYBER MONDAY? It sounds like they are projecting it to be a bigger success than BLACK FRIDAY. I have promised Justin that I will not be buying anything but if I was I would snap up a long black cardigan from jcrew and a couple other tops I saw in the store and maybe some flats but ya know that’s just staples to add to the wardrobe!

How are you spending your Sunday?

Thankful for…

Alabama Crimson chargers with striped plates. My mom goes all out when entertaining!

Thanksgiving may have been yesterday but we don't repeat meals. You have to have Fried Chicken, biscuits, broccoli slaw, corn casserole and red hot spiced apples when you watch a game.

It’s 6:15 on Friday and the Alabama/ Auburn game is over and unfortunately I will not be driving to the fan store to pick up my Iron Bowl shirt this year. Alabama lost by 1 point which is too bad. But I wanted to inspire all of my readers and encourage you all to look back at this past year and reflect on what you are thankful for. I don’t usually do it in a list but I’m going to try something new.


1. my family- The “fam” as I like to call them are always in reach by phone  and email. Some of them I might even call closet blog readers because they don’t comment but I have learned that they are some of my avid readers. (Shout out to y’all… lots of love) Some crazy stuff has happened this year but my mom is determined to tell anyone that 2011 is going to be a great year.

I found this on my moms dresser. (not sure what year it was but know its Halloween)

 

2. my friends (in Minneapolis/ outside of ) Some of you I  affectionately  call my family  because you have been there for me this year for some great/ not so great times. I love that I can persuade you to lie on the couch with me and watch some tv or encourage you to be a baking buddy   for a new recipe that I must try.Thanks to my out of town buddies for realizing that I am terrible at calling people back and sending me emails and gchats.

3. Leo- now I know you are all laughing but Leo  ( my cocker spaniel) is not only quite entertaining but a great pup and I had to include him in the list. He keeps us entertained all year long.

4. Justin (my husband)- He always says yes to any crazy thought I may have. He will run out to the grocery in terrible weather when I forget an ingredient for a recipe and he will happily take Leo out when tons of snow is falling down. He makes great pancakes and kugel and will happily wash dishes without being asked.

5. Tom Tom- (my gps) Pretty funny I know but I could not have navigated as well as I did (haha… I’m still learning my way around) without you. You have been there for me in snow, harsh winds, multiple times I have gotten lost, and for various lengthy excursions) Thank you for being a small, palm sized electronic that I literally would be lost without.

Dad, Mom, me, and Justin (not pictures are my brother, Josh and the pups Sassy and Selly)

 

What are you thankful for?

What makes your life easier?

Roll Tide Roll

Thanksgiving is over and most people are winding down and either shopping the Black Friday sales or going to a movie.. If you live in Alabama though you are gearing up for the Iron Bowl today at 1:30. Children born in Alabama know who they will cheer for right away. I am sure my mom can find our red and white pom poms. I am an Alabama fan. My mom went to the University of Alabama and so did my Aunt Bobbye and my Uncle Michael. Last year after the game we drove to the Alabama fan store and bought Iron Bowl shirts. I can’t decide if I want to wear the shirt I bought last year or an old favorite. I thought I’d share my excitement with you through pictures.