S'more Cakes

 Aren't these great? At least I think they are. This was something I randomly created out of a desire for something sweet (after a killer Zumba session) and a lack of frosting ingredients. Afterword... I googled "campfire cupcakes" and it turns out there are multiple similar creations. Here's the skivvy on what these treats include & how to make them. 

S'more Cakes

• 1 box brownie mix (place in cupcake holders). Bake like normal brownies.
• Place marshmallow on top and bake for 3-4 more minutes
• Use spoon to flatten marshmallows (see below photo)
• Broil for 1 more minute or until lightly browned
• Place graham crackers on top
• Enjoy and eat S'more!

How amazing are these scallop shell hor'dourve plates?

They're my new favorite and I use them for everything. I even try to make them work for dinner portions sometimes. I just use a few at a time. That's how much I love them...  Check out more here.

This is another one of Beyond Jordan Studio's creations (except I got the last of this color- but there are more options).

Feel free to become a follower of Beyond Jordan's facebook page for updates!

Delicious, quick, & adorable! 

And now we have far too many cupcakes to figure out how to disperse...

Awkwards & Awesomes

 

This photo has nothing to do with this post, but how adorable is this house!?! Reminds me of the show Full House. I'd like to move in right now (house in NW Portland near 23rd st).

Awkward/ "Bummer Dude"

• Finding out that the Hubs and I can't take our summer dream vacation (Alaskan Cruise)... It's a long story. But, we're now hunting for inexpensive vaca options anywhere in the US. Any favorite spots? 
• Being sick this week. Ick. 
• Finding an overdue electricity bill in a random shelf in our apartment... oops! 
•  Realizing that I haven't crafted in nearly 2 weeks! What!?? Ok, I chose doing house work instead. Probably a good choice.
• Having no motivation to cook fancy meals besides the usual mexican food (my friends know... mexi food seriously makes up 70% of my food intake).  Problem? Eh...
• Working in a different role at my job for the first time in ~7wks... Whew! It's nice to be working with whole families again (mom's & their babies & Dad's, etc...). Just took me a while to get back in the swing of things. {I've been in our expanded care nursery with the sick babies every shift for a long time! I love it there, but it's nice to keep up on my adult skills too.}

I think this is awesome.... you may think it's awkward

• Successfully inserting a catheter!!! You have no idea how excited I was.... As was my patient. Ok, I admit, I'm AWFUL with inserting catheters. I just have not been successful at them. Maybe it's because I'm dealing with women who have just given birth (Sorry Dad & those who can't handle medical stuff. Stop reading this point here). Things are a little bit different down in that direction while & after being pregnant. The target is very difficult to see. Sometimes worse is elderly GYN patients... Anatomy changes... Ok, enough, you get the picture. After inserting successfully on the 1st attempt, my patient said, "Whew, I didn't think you were going to get it! I'm so relieved!" I told her that I was equally relieved.... didn't think I would either. Honesty is the best policy- after performing the procedure that is!

Awesome/ Exciting

• Getting my vacation request granted. Now we just need to chose somewhere to vacation!
• Andrew surprising me with tickets to Wicked in March. Can't wait!
• A clean house... mmmmh love it. 
• Finding a quilting shop that has lessons. I'm thinking about taking a class. 
• Getting my nails done with Shellac. Once gone Shellac, there's no going back!
• Miscellaneous friend dates (Renee, Alex, Katie, Kaitlyn.... LOVED seeing you guys).
• Keeping up with my goal of not buying clothes for 3 months. 1 month down and no cravings!
• Flirting with my hubs. I hope when we're 50 we can still flirt with each other here and there... He sure makes me smile. 
• Watching Andrew play soccer with his med school indoor soccer team. It is especially enjoyable when he plays keeper and dances to the music. That's my man!

 

Happy Thursday & thanks for stopping by!

Have I Ever Mentioned...

 Have I ever mentioned that I unicycle? Yes... you heard me. Unicycle.  In my time off, I'm a part of a circus that travels around the North West... Ok, not entirely true. BUT, I do unicycle!  You know when you're at a new gathering and you have to introduce yourself and say one unique thing about yourself? This is my go-to answer. Thanks to my friend Tyson (pictured above), I learned how to perform this circus trick my junior year of college. When bored from studying or needing a little kick of adrenaline... or when needing a few moments to laugh historically at myself, we (my roomie, Mary, and I) unicycled! Good times!

My university, PLU, even has a unicycle club. I know.... You're thinking, 'Awesome! I want to be in that club!' Trust me, you do! I only wish that I didn't have such long hours for my nursing degree or else I'd have been there every week! 

My favorite times & funniest times took place when we unicycled to church. Sometimes there were 4 of us all in a line! Ah... so much fun. We'd get the strangest looks! A great conversation starter for sure! AND, let me tell you... it's such a great work out! Whew! 

Once I reached sophomore year of high school, I thought that I'd never learn a new "trick." Being a gymnast for much of my young life meant focusing and training on mastering that next new trick. Learning to unicycle gave me hope, rejuvenated me, and inspired me to learn new things! It also taught me to laugh at myself again. 

I haven't been on the cycle in quite a few months, but I'm hoping to hop back in the saddle shortly!

 {Here is a video of me unicycling with friends in a pinwheel}

Portland Auto Show

Last weekend we scored tickets to the Portland Auto Show (thanks Hannah!). This is not my normal activity, but we sure enjoyed our time! The boys probably sat in a a bazillion cars and gave legit critiques. I, on the other hand, mostly took photos & wandered around enjoying the new car smells and trying to find cars with the most mileage/gallon. I've been experimenting with my camera settings and found the car show to be the perfect setting to practice!

 

On another note, it's amazing what a little NyQuil will do! I have a little cold or sinus something and had to miss some work, but I'm hoping that when I wake up again for tonight's shift I feel 100% better.  I've sure slept a TON.

Reeses + Banana + Bread = YUM

I'm a sucker for Banana Bread...

 What better combination than Reeses, bananas, & bread! Delicious! I used the below recipe and substituted the chocolate chips for left over Christmas Reeses. I also only had one egg in the fridge, but it turned out just fine!

The whole loaf was gone in less than 24 hrs. I didn't eat it all... I shared!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 ounces butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Use Reeses instead)

 + Add chopped walnuts on top & bake! 

Preparation:

Cream sugar and butter; beat in the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the first mixture just until moistened Fold in chocolate chips until well incorporated. Pour batter into greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Cover loosely with a tent of aluminum foil. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 30 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted tests done. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and cool banana bread completely before slicing.


From <http://southernfood.about.com/od/bananabread/r/bl30322m.htm>

RN

This is my "I've been at my job for 6 months" face!

I've learned a lot... A LOT.

I'm thankful for my job.

I'm enjoying my job more and more each day.

I have made mistakes. I've learned from them. 

I'm feeling much better on my days off & am getting more accustomed to working nights. 

 I still have a lot to learn... & have a lot of growing ahead of me! 

I hold a ton of responsibility & sometimes that scares me to death. 

Props to my fellow RN friends- So much hard work for so many years.  The work we do is tough- but the rewards are so worth it.

“Our job as nurses is to cushion the sorrow and celebrate the joy, everyday, while we are ‘just doing our jobs.’”  - Christine Belle

Awkward & Exciting

Awkward

• Showing up to my first class (at the gym I joined) & being the youngest by about 50 years. No joke. Turns out it was a cardiac rehab class. Thankfully, my friend Catherine was with me. We were the talk of the group! Now I have learned how to properly read the class schedule & I probably lost all class-choosing trust from Catherine : /
• Getting called off (low census) of my second night of working out of three (the middle night, the oreo cream night). This should have meant that I stayed up all night to stay on "schedule" for working the next night. Nope... I slept for just about 20 hours out of 24! And... then had to go back to sleep before work again.... so, make that 28 out of 36 hours. I felt like a bum. Who am I kidding, this should actually be an "Exciting." It was great!
• The 2 lunch Tupperwares that have been sitting in a corner of our kitchen counter for 2 weeks... ok close to 3. I know... disgusting... beyond disgusting! I haven't yet worked up the courage to empty them (mold and all). More than any other thing (blood, guts, vomit, you name it), mold gets me the worst. I seriously can't handle it. I gag, gag, gag, gag, barf, cry... icky ick. Are you gagging yet? Andrew sometimes will handle the mold, but not this time. "I need to learn my lesson." He's right... So, now, I am diligent to clean out my Tupperware after eating while still at work. Whew! It's crunch time though, we have someone staying with us tonight... Today is the day! Wish me luck.
• Receiving a phone call from Tell-a-Lutes this week (students from PLU calling alumni & their families for scholarship money). Super awkward conversations! I know the script & all of the questions; I know where they are leading... just ask for money already. I'm sure we'll give more later... but come on, it's only been 8 months since we graduated! Did I mention they called me 2 months after graduation! Too soon! They do a great job and I'm grateful for their work & people's donations, I'm just a "get to the point" kind of gal. By the way, I never know if they are calling for me or to talk to Andrew because he gave them all of my contact info for him-- knowing how much I hate talking to them. Good trick Andrew. 
• Almost passing out from jumping in the hot tub right away after an embarrassingly short swim workout. I should know better.  

Exciting

• Getting lots of sleep this week & getting bonus Andrew time (no exam this week= extra Andrew time).
• 1.5 hr long phone convo with Sam... catch up much neeed!
• Finding a large jug of Diet Snapple Peach Tea at the store. The perfect drink to start my work night with!  Better for me than Coffee!
• Dinner date with 2 of our guy friends. They chose where to eat... Good Ol' Hometown Buffet. Bleh. Ok, their Icees are good.
• Using our gift movie tickets to see a movie together last weekend. Watched Red Tails. Not the best acting, but touching film about the Tuskagee Airmen.
• Spontaneous catch up time with my college friend, Hannah. We were extra classy & got McDonald's Flurries. . . Seriously made my week though! 
• French Press date with Mom... we sat there and talked for 2 hours. Love it! 
• Playing the iPhone Family Feud Ap game with Andrew at the dinner table all week. We're getting pretty good!
• Feeling sore from working out... the good kind of sore though!

Whew, that's plenty! Hope you all have had a great week so far! Any awkward stories to share? 

Six Months

 Well, we officially made it to 6 months of marriage last week & you know what that means....

We got to open our 6 month anniversary card that our wedding guests wrote us as a table activity! Here's the post originally explaining this assortment of cards we get to open over the next 50 years! It's crazy to think about 50 years together. WOW!

I was going to put a list up of all the things we've learned about each other over the past 6 months.... but after I asked Andrew... I decided I better leave this list off the blog! His answers were hilarious, but not entirely fit to share. We both got a good laugh after this conversation.... However, we decided that our favorite time of the day is:  Pillow Talk Time. It may only happen once a week, but, talking before going to sleep about our days, dreams, wishes, or what we would do if we were the Bachelor or Bachelorette is priceless (This Bachelor/Bachelorette convo was lengthy-- He swears that he'd still end up picking me in the end). Yeah, he knows the right answers already!

Overall, it's been the most fabulous, wonderful, fantastic, exciting, loving, & blessed 6 months of my life.
...
If you're needing a wedding table activity, I recommend this one! Our cards thus far have been all of sweet, kind, thoughtful, hilarious, unreadable (handwriting difficult to read, but we made good guesses), & one even included a poem that was composed of each person writing a random line (it made little sense, but gave us a good laugh). We look forward to reading more over the years. Now, we just have to be sure to remember where they are placed & remember to open them!

I think I'll go to Boston... City Living Challenges

 {Photography of Boston by Jordan}  ((from her apartment window!!!))

 {Photos of Jordan & her hubby, Richard, by me}

 Drum Roll Please...... Below is a guest post by my dear sister, Jordan. She lives an exciting life as an attorney in Boston & her hubby is working on his PhD from MIT. I asked her to discuss some of the challenges to city living, specifically regarding the seemingly simple task of grocery shopping. I have a love/hate relationship with grocery shopping. After reading her post, I am humbled... Thanks sis! 

PS- I do want to visit you in Boston sometime soon! 

____________________________________________________________

The Grocery Saga

{Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese via Two Peas & their Pod}

Who else is in a comfort food mood these days!  I'm thinking cheese mac 'n cheese, hearty soups, and  saucy, delicious, bbq pulled pork.  Snow still eludes us here in Boston, but the cold is making up for it. Today was definitely not the day to wear a skirt.  Missed that memo...  

{Tortellini Soup with Beans & Chard via Annie's Eats}

I didin't gear up enough courage to make it to the grocery store today, but I'm hoping to go tomorrow.  This may be a surprise to you 'burb dwellers, but getting groceries in the city is not an easy thing.  It takes thought and time and lots of bicep strength (none of which I have).  There's no "Whoops, forgot the milk, guess I'll run back by the store in the morning."  There are no second chances.  You get the milk now or you forever hold your peace (until next week, at least).  You know when your great-grandpa used to say that he had to walk 8 miles in the snow just to get to kindergarten.  Well, that's what it's like.  Except it's not 8 miles.  It's barely even 1 mile.  But it sure feels like 8 when I'm lugging 50 pounds of groceries down the sidewalk, spilling cans of pasta sauce as I go, and watching helplessly as passers-by simply pass by.  I exaggerate, but not by much.  

All that to say, I wouldn't change city living at this stage in my life for the world.  I love how I can find any ingredient under the sun within just a couple of miles.  There's a Chinese market, a Korean market, a Japanese market, a fish market, a cheese market, and even a cheap market called Haymarket!  (The  Haymarket produce will rot in a day or two, but that's part of it's charm.)  I love having relatively few fixed expenses.  I love the museums, the theaters, and the history.  I love the diversity of people and opportunities and ideas.  My weekly grocery store saga is simply an inconvenience of city living, and a minor one at that.  Tomorrow I will brave the cold and the wind and be comforted by one of these meals as my reward.  Now, I suppose the real question is which one to make first?

{Slow Cooker BBQ Pork via Southern Living, but I'm really going to be using this All Recipes BBQ Pulled Pork recipe.  Shhh, don't tell Southern Living...}

Love-Fest Ladies Night

 

 I had the pleasure of joining my Mom's church small group of young married women last week. They meet outside of church monthly for dinner, prayer, and sometimes a fun activity. This month, I joined this lovely group of women & organized a little craft activity (Love cards for our husbands). We decided to have a Love/Valentines theme for our little gathering. It was uplifting to be surrounded by other young married women who love God & I enjoyed meeting each of them.  Here are some photos from our night! 

Desserts pictured include Strawberry mini cupcakes & Red Velvet choc chip Cake Cookies (made by Mom). We had Tacos for dinner- the best big group meal! Each person can bring a topping. Easy for all!

 All set up before the women arrived. Here's an example card & tag I made.

 Crafting away!

A few of the finished products. Yes, most turned out a bit more feminine than our hubbies would probably want, but I'm sure they'll appreciate the effort & creativity.

 Pink lemonade with frozen blueberries for beverages. In Mason jars with name tags! I think my Mom & I make a good party planning team! I just tell her my ideas & what to do (& supply some of the supplies), and she works her magic! She's the best!

 The verse for the night:  

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalm 16:11

We focused on ways that we can pray for our husbands more. Not just that they would have a good day... But specifically pray for aspects of their life. For their minds, their thoughts, their insecurities, their co-workers, their health, attitude, & ultimately, we pray that they would be striving to be more like Christ. This is something I've really been focusing on and have found such a shift in my attitude & my ability to love my husband with my whole heart. 

I often use this little book as guidance to help pray scripture over my husband. If I know Andrew is struggling with energy & having a positive attitude, I can go to the "attitude" section & find specific prayers with scriptures to guide my own prayers for him that day. I received this book as a wedding gift from our pastor's wife & am so thankful for her thoughtfulness. Check it out! 

 {Can buy it here on Amazon}