My "Summer (actually did) list"

Back in April I made a "Summer (hope) to do list".  I got to say I am rather impressed with how many things I did cross off!

~belle isle

~chick-fil-a

I have no problem waiting in a long line for Chick-fil-a

~beach

Listened to this song while on my midnight 24th birthday trip to the beach with friends!

~figure out my clothing style

After 20 years I finally like skirts and dresses :)

~add some new pieces to the wardrobe

 this new skirt was made by me (and mom)

~thrift

~strawberry st. cafe

~finish the hunger games series

~maymont park

~make a new friend

Her name is Melissa (checkout her new blog!)

~carytown

Did a little job hunting over in carytown 

~try something I wouldn't normally like

Tried frog legs, they weren't too bad

~spend more time with the nephew

We like to make fishy faces :)

~spend less money (after updating my closet)
SOO close to hitting my goal amount in my account!

~like tea

finally retried tea after seeing this pin, and I love hot tea now!

~take more pictures
I think it's safe to say by this post I achieved this.
 

~keep blog updated
I feel confident that I did a pretty good job on posting!

~VMFA

So stoked to see more stained glass art

~spend more time outside

 I love when it rains at Hollywood Cemetery!

 Went to a place called Pony Pasture.

Went camping with some pretty cool youth.

read through The Gospels

~get back to making state pendants

Also made a few different states as well!

~catch up on sleep
 Well at least what I missed for the spring semester

~catch up with friends

Still recovering from the massive amount of Slurpee consumption

~eat some amazing pho

Who wants to join me for another bowl?!?

~get my hands on an RVA sticker

I don't even care that it's crooked

~try watermelon
still yucky
 

~add to my flamingo collection
got a cute little bookmark from a friend

~work on finding more things to do this summer

Got a new tat inspired by Matthew 7:7

Though there were a few things I did not get around to doing, I guess that just means I need to hurry and get started on my Fall hope to do list!

 

A Recipe to "Fall" For

Fall is here and I couldn’t be more ready! To celebrate this change in season I felt it would be best done by doing a little baking.  After some time on pinterest, I found this recipe for pumpkin spiced coffee cake I just had to try!

Screen shot from my ipod

That massive orange bag is baking soda...not sure why we have so much of it

Make sure you read the ingredients before purchasing a giant can of pumpkin pie mix. A) the recipe didn't call for pumpkin pie mix. B)The recipe only calls for 15oz not 30oz.

Always spray down your pans BEFORE you put your batter in, unless you enjoy dumping it right back into the bowl, washing, drying, greasing, and THEN putting the batter back in the pan. (yes that did happen to me)

Ooh pretty!

I was super surprised how easy it is to make a crumb topping!

That would be my oven set to the proper temp, and an unbaked coffee cake.

Now we're cooking!

Finished product! I added some whip cream for grins and giggles

 

 

Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe

 

Ingredients(Serves 18)

·         ⅓ cups Water

·         1 can Pumpkin Pie Mix(15 Oz)
            Pureed Pumpkin

·         2 whole Eggs

·         1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

·         2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice

·         1 box White Cake Mix(18 Ounce Box) 
            Yellow Cake Mix

·         1 teaspoon Baking Soda

·         1/2 cup Brown Sugar

·         ½ cups Flour

·         4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

·         ¼ cups Granulated Sugar

·         1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Preparation Instructions

1.) Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. In a large bowl mix together the water, pumpkin, eggs, 1 Tablespoon of vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix until just combined.

3.) Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and pour batter into pan.

4.) In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour and melted butter. Use your fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

It was actually pretty simple to make, and the outcome was great even with my change in ingredients!  I hope you all get a chance to try it out for yourselves; however, if you ask nicely, I might consider making some for you...

 

What are some of your favorite fall recipes?

 

 

 

A First Fridays Flashback

Finally after months of missing First Fridays, I had the chance to go to September's event with some friends yesterday. I will admit I am kind of bummed that I don't have as many pictures as I was hoping to share. I am still trying to learn how to use my new camera...and well we haven't yet touched based on taking night time shooting yet :/ That being said, I still want to share with you a little about my night, so some of the pictures are not great quality...but hey I'm just a beginner :)

 

 

I did feel a little reassured though when I saw a line of people at this cart...I mean people wouldn't eat something that is not good nor safe to eat right?? (I even question if what I could for myself is safe!)

 

That being said, my stomach over ruled any doubts that lingered and I stepped up to the cart and was greeted by this guy (who in person is not this blurry) named Ed. I saw a $2 fish taco and had every intention of trying it, but he suggested the potato taco (which was also $2) if I was really hungry. Those exist? Heck yeah they do, and oh my gosh, it was FABULOUS! The potatoes were seasoned and cooked really well, and my friends were happy I stopped complaining about being hungry :]

After being greatly satisfied, my friends and I set off on to explore what this first Friday had to offer. This is what I saw...

 

If you look at the ground there are white spots...

Those white spots are cement tiles on the ground there are lights in them!

Oh Hey there Callie! (ran in to her while there)

One of many galleries filled with spectators.

This bird looks sweet!

This was my favorite piece of the evening

Up close of photo above

sneaking a pic of myself in this pretty yellow mirror

aw a little terrarium! ( I wish I had a green thumb)

Stopped at this thrift store

I wasn't really in a thrifting mood that night, but when I am I ALWAYS find something at that thrift store.

decapitated Lady Liberty???

One of the streets had this performance troupe who did crazy things with fire!

Ending the night with a stop at Galaxy diner!

 

I so cannot wait to see what October's First Friday will have to offer...not to mention more focused pictures of it :P

 

 

Thanks for a great time ladies, I loved spending with you all!

(from far left to right: Leney, Jules, Hannah, Julie)

Oven-Fried Fun!

As much as I enjoy finding interesting places to eat, I also love cooking as well!  So I decided to give my wallet a break and make dinner on my own of oven-fried chicken, and baked macaroni and cheese!

Setting up for chaos

Getting ingredients together

My chicken is already for winter, look at their nice "coats"! :P can you call that a joke??

Milk, butter, and a whole mess of cheese!

...And some more cheese

So much goodness in one oven!

It look even MORE awesome in person!

Baked Mac&Cheese is far greater than regular mac&cheese.

I added peas to seem some what healthy :P

This was such a great dinner!  Curious about how I made the fried chicken??? Ok Ok I'll share...By the way, this does have a tiny bit of a kick..but still on the tame and mild side.

Oven-Fried Drumsticks

(I used thigh meat, breast meat also works)

Ingredients

serves 4-5

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2cup all-purpose baking mix

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon Itailian seasoning

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

10 drumstricks

1)Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahreneit. Pour the vegetable oil evenly over bottom of 15x10-x1 inch baking pan.

If you do not want to make that much, keep the coating mix the same, and just use 1/8 cup of vegetable oil in a smaller baking pan. Be sure the pan does have a 1in. height though.

2) Combine the baking mix paprika, Creole seasoning, seasoned salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and black pepper in a large bowl.  Mix well. Pour into a paper bag.

You can totally use a zip-lock bag instead...I think its easier

3) Add the chicken drumsticks, a few at a time, to the bag and shake the coat.  Arrange on the prepared baking pan.

When they mean "a few at a time", they mean it! Once I tried to coat my chicken all at once...it was not a pretty site, nor did it taste that good...learned my lesson

4) Bake chicken, turning once, untill juices run clear when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 30 minutes.  Transfer to a serving dish.  Serve Immediately,

I set the timer for 15 mins. and as soon as it went of I flipped the chicken over and set it for another 15mins. as soon as the timer went off the chicken was done. Also, if the chicken reaches a temperture of at least 165 degrees fahrenheit...that way you don't have to dig at it and questioning if it is safe to eat.

But what if I don't have creole seasoning???

The reciepe card also explained what was in it, and here it is!

"Creole seasoning contains: black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and sometimes thyme and paprika"

As far as making it for yourself, I put 1 teaspoon of each in the same bag and mixed it together. Not sure if that is exactly right, but it tasted good so I'm going to assume it is.

If you are curious about how I made the macaroni and cheese...well maybe I will keep that one to my self... :P

Just kidding, I don't have a receipe for that, I just boiled some noodles, drained them, melted velveeta, butter, shredder cheddar, and milk on top of them. Mixed that together, poured it in a baking pan, put more cheese on top, and baked it for 15mins. 

Hope you all have a lovely week!

P.S always try to go through your junk mail because you never know what treasure you may find in it! 

This receipe came from a "Great American Home Baking" receipe.