My Wish List

Yes, I realize Christmas is just 4 days away and I already have my Christmas present (4 new tires for my car) which I desperately needed. It's still fun to put together a wish list of things I would ask for or start thinking about purchasing for myself.

1. Sugar lip tint. 2. An Everlasting Meal (a book I've been meaning to read) 3. Boyfriend Jeans from the Gap. 4. A monogrammed sweatshirt. 5. Moto boots, I just recently realized I have no black flat boots. 6. A pretty Kate Spade purse. 7. Pretty driving loafers in my new fave shade of blue also from the Gap. 8. Finally some pretty dainty jewelry like this scalloped bangle from Kate Spade. 

Now that I've shared my dream wish list this year, I want to know what is one item you really dream about getting for Christmas?

A personal plea

I think I am one of the few people that has not started listening to Christmas music, gotten my Christmas tree, or done anything to start decorating for Christmas. Truth is our Thanksgiving decorations are up and will be up for another week. I hate how there is a push to spend as little time as possible on Thanksgiving and rush into christmas themed activities. There is still a whole week left in November, lets continue to celebrate the current season before jumping into the next.

butternut squash before and after roasting 

One way we can do this is making these biscuits. I made them quite a few weeks ago, when we were experiencing Hurrican Sandy and there was nothing else I could do. They are unpretentious and still totally delicious. Hot out of the oven with a dab of butter, I ate a few too many this way before even letting my family know I had made them. When you go to the blog to check out the recipe, make sure to stick around a bit and look at the wonderfulness that is Food Loves Writing.  Reading Shanna's blog has made me want to try things I would never even consider eating ( I'm talking about this speedy chicken tikka masala)

cutting biscuits 

Maybe you will fall in love with Food Loves Writing as much as I have and check out her ebook. I bought it a few weekends ago and read it in one sitting, I just couldn't tear myself away. But most of all I hope you appreciate the end of the Fall season with these butternut squash biscuits. 

* I ended up using all purpose flour because it was all I had and they tasted just fine 

** you could also try using different squashes or different flours such as whole wheat.

bits and pieces

Here are some bits and pieces of my current life. Courtesy of instagram. I know I say it all the time but I'm really gonna try and blog more regularly. For now enjoy these lovely collages I've made of my favorite pictures currently from instagram.

 My new favorite sandwich , peaches put up and a peach and blackberry pie I made and then devoured.

 Current songs on repeat and  a favorite read

 The little boy I babysit reading in his corner, my cousins new puppy, and old photos instagrammed

 Shorts that finally fit again, a mess on my bed and my favorite shorts from the gap

This summer has totally gotten away from me. Hopefully I can make the best of the rest of it. I have a trip to visit my friend planned and the Jimmy Buffett concert before school starts. Before then lets hope I can squeeze in some fun crafts and baking projects. Hope all of you readers have been enjoying your summer!

The One Where I Discuss My Obsession Nora Ephron

I can remember the first time I saw You've Got Mail. I was probably in the 1st or 2nd grade and anytime I went over to my very best friend at the times house it would be a guarantee we would at some point between the Mary Kate and Ashley movie marathons take a break for some quality time with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. I was obsessed, the movie was perfect even in my 8 year old eyes. Years passed, I stopped being friends with that girl and I was gifted You've Got Mail for Christmas. Immediately I was once again entranced by those three words "You've Got Mail". Looking back, it's silly to think at such a young age I loved that movie, but I feel as if her movies are timeless. They could happen anytime and I wish sometimes they would happen to me. Eventually I went to college and one of the few things I gained from my freshmen roommate besides an addiction to anything Grey's Anatomy/Shonda Rhimes was an introduction to Ephron's other works, When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Yes yes I know it took me forever to branch out and incidentally I saw Julie&Julia that same year (fate maybe?? jk). But really I may have a record for the number of times I've seen You've Got Mail and frequently quote it as I watch. So I thought what better way to share my love for Nora Ephron and what turned into a love for Meg Ryan then sharing some of my favorite quotes from the movies. Enjoy!

Let's start with my favorite You've Got Mail quotes and work our way down.

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms. "

Joe Fox: You know, sometimes I wonder...
Kathleen Kelly: What?
Joe Fox: Well... if I hadn't been Fox Books and you hadn't been The Shop Around the Corner, and you and I had just, well... met...
Kathleen Kelly: I know.
Joe Fox: Yeah. I would have asked for your number, and I wouldn't have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling you and saying, "Hey, how about... oh, how about some coffee or, you know, drinks or dinner or a movie... for as long as we both shall live?"
Kathleen Kelly: Joe...
Joe Fox: And you and I would have never been at war. And the only thing we'd fight about would be which video to rent on a Saturday night.
Kathleen Kelly: Well, who fights about that?
Joe Fox: Well, some people. Not us.
Kathleen Kelly: We would never.
Joe Fox: If only.

 "What will NY152 say today, I wonder. I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You've got mail. I hear nothing. Not even a sound on the streets of New York, just the beating of my own heart. I have mail. From you."

Now a few from When Harry Met Sally

"I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

 Sally Albright: Well, if you must know, it was because he was very jealous, and I had these days of the week underpants.

Harry Burns: Ehhhh. I'm sorry. I need the judges ruling on this. "Days of the weeks underpants"?
Sally Albright: Yes. They had the days of the week on them, and I thought they were sort of funny. And then one day Sheldon says to me, "You never wear Sunday." It was all suspicious. Where was Sunday? Where had I left Sunday? And I told him, and he didn't believe me.
Harry Burns: What?

Sally Albright: They don't make Sunday.
Harry Burns: Why not?
Sally Albright: Because of God.

"I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

and the quote that inspired the name of my blog and probably my love for daisies

"Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower"

I don't know about all of you but my plans for the weekend include cuddling up in a blanket watching these two great movies. 

instagram update

Just a few pictures from my instagram. Lately I've been babysitting, potty training, shopping even though I told myself I was on a shopping hiatus and attempting to organize/clean the mess I call my room. Somehow my normal neat and OCD tendencies stop right before I enter my room, so if anyone has any ideas to help that would be great.

 new favorite essie color; cascade cool and my obsession with old navy continues

 the world's prettiest package from Ashley. She is awesome and you need to check her blog out ASAP

 The most creative ice cream flavors ever in this book, I have about half flagged to try.

 Zucchini pancakes, we have zucchini growing like crazy in our garden

 Meatless monday, cucumber tomato salad and sauteed corn 

Tomorrow I'm taking the kiddos to visit our friends that live near LBI and then Thursday I'm going with my mom and grandmom on her casino trip to Atlantic City. It should be a pretty interesting week.

Dinner, A Love Story

Last week, I went to the library on a whim and struck gold. I had seen a few people talk about this book and instantly knew I had to pick it up and I was so so glad I did. While the other books where kinda underwhelming this one stood out in my mind. I can not wait to buy it and have it as my own. All of you should go out and get Dinner: A Love Story. 

 The author used to work for Real Simple, which is part of the reason why I love her so much. The book is organized, has great information, tips and advice on how to get dinner on the table every night. What I think my favorite part is, is the stories that go along with each of the sections. It starts out with meals Jenny and her husband cooked together when it was just the two of them and it continues with meals they cooked as their family grew. It's a food memoir and cookbook all in one which I absolutely love.

The recipe that hooked me immediately was her lazy bolognese sauce.So simple and fast to throw together, not to complicated and clear directions any one could follow. After reading the recipe I knew it was one I had to try right away.

 Lazy Bolognese from Dinner: A Love Story

A few glugs of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound ground turkey or beef (we used beef)
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp fennel seeds (we didn't have any so I skipped this)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup dry wine
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in their juices
dried oregano
1 pound short tubular pasta (ziti, rigatoni, penne)

Add oil to medium saucepan on medium-low heat and add onion, garlic, pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Cook until onion has wilted (about 2 minutes).

Push onion mixture to side and turn up heat slightly. Add ground meat and break up with fork as it cooks. Once most of pink is gone stir in onion mixture. (make sure to strain out the grease if using beef)

Add tomato paste, fennel seeds, sugar and wine, stir everything together. Raise heat to medium-high and cook until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir in tomatoes and oregano. Bring sauce to a boil and then turn to low heat and simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, start water for pasta. Toss sauce with pasta and serve.

Everyone in my family loved this sauce and I can't wait to make it again. Hope you enjoy!

Summer Bucket List

• Visit the Farmer's Market and my favorite farm stand multiple times 
• Make popsicles, ice cream, sorbet and whatever else my new ice cream maker can do
• Finish Season 2 of Downton Abbey and Sherlock
• Bake pies, cookies and lots of bread 
• Read lots and lots of books, any suggestions of must reads?
• Go to the beach 
• Can something 
• Visit our favorite u-pick farm 
• Cook my way through some new cookbooks and my favorite pins 
• Make lots of fun stuff with my herbs; pesto, tea, mojitos 

What are some must do things for you this summer?

scenes from my weekend/life from the last 2 months

So I have officially won the award for worst blogger ever. Every time I would tell myself I was going to blog I would get distracted by a new recipe, something shiny, a sale at my favorite store. You name it I have every excuse in the book. However I plan to pay you all back for sticking around with a massive post of pictures from instagram (follow me if you have it! mkdub91) and just my life since I've stopped blogging and cheated on blogspot for tumblr. So be prepared for an overload. There's been babysitting, weddings, baking and lots of other fun stuff

the yummiest lemon blueberry scone

veggies galore from the grill

prep for my cousins wedding

books

herbs from my garden

new wine glass

I've always wanted to make one of these flag cakes

the majority of my mom's family at my cousin's wedding

poppyseed chicken aka my latest addiction

babysitting cuties 

I hope you all stick around and bear with me as I get back into the habit of blogging!

quote of the week

via

“Food, a French man told me once, is the first wealth. Grow it right, and you feel insanely rich, no matter what you own.” -Kristin Kimball

life, lately

via 

  It seems spring has finally arrived here and I could not be happier. There have been lots of walks, playing catch in the yard with the kids I babysit, plans for the garden and plants being bought for the garden. I think as much as I love the beginning of all the seasons, Spring is my absolute favorite of all. Along with the beginning of spring, comes lots and lots of school work and group projects that take over my life.However I'm trying to not let it totally consume every minute of everyday.

The past week, I have visited Bethesda, Alexandria and Mount Vernon. I've decided Virginia has some of the prettiest cities and I must move to Alexandria as soon as possible.

 I've made lists and lists of things to cook and bake. Some of my favorites have been these cookies which did not last very long in the house, along with a raspberry macaroon bar in class that will make it to the blog sometime next week. I've personally ate at least half the recipe on my own.

 I've become rather obsessed with my treats board on pinterest to an almost unhealthy extent. Over 1000 pins of just food?!?!?!

 Recently I created a wishlist on Amazon and I feel sorry for my soon to be empty bank account as I buy book after book from my wishlist, especially this pretty book that I could look at for days. I'm reading this book and wondering why it took me so long to get around to reading it.

Shopping in wegmans has been leaving me broke and giddy all at the same time. I want to try and buy everything in that store!

 Finally I've been registering for classes and come up with a decision I can't make on my own. I have to take either a language or history class for one of my requirements. I can not decide if I want to take french or take the easy way out and take a history class. What would you do?

resurfacing

I can not believe it has been over a month since I last blogged. I did not intentionally take a hiatus, however I enjoyed every second of it. I feel like sometimes people get so caught up in social media and blogging. You know those people, that are all "wait freeze, I need to take fifteen pictures of this moment so in an hour I can blog about it". I try and stop what I'm doing and capture a moment I think all of you would enjoy and in the end I miss out on that moment. So I've been fulfilling one of my resolutions with out even realizing it, I've been living intently, not just doing something, saying something or taking a picture of something so I have something to blog about. While I was on my unplanned hiatus I cut my hair, turned 21, my sister celebrated her birthday, there were spontaneous dog walks, trips to the park, and lots of time just enjoying whatever was going on at home.

walking the little doggie

signs of spring in the yard

a new cookbook I can not stop looking at

a new haircut and a birthday dress that never got worn

For those of you that hung around and waited for me to return, thank you! I promise to be back more frequently with updates and recipes and just the random posts as usual. Also check out the new banner I created all by myself, it's not the best but I'm proud to see I did it all on my own.

quote of the week

my process

I work a few ways when I find a new recipe to try.

The long way: First I stare at pictures of it over and over again until I convince myself it's really something I want to make and something I can actually make. I basically look at my treats board on Pintrest for way way too long. Then I graduate to looking and reading the recipe on whatever recipe or magazine it comes from. Once I've decided I definitely want to make it, I buy whatever ingredients I don't have and then they sit in my pantry until I finally work up the nerve to make it. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for, but sometimes you just need the perfect timing.

The short way: I see a recent post from my favorite food bloggers and go straight to the store, buy everything I need, go home and make it. I don't think about when I'm going to eat it, who I'm going to share it with or anything else. I just make it. These granola bars was one of these recipes. I just stopped everything, bought what I needed and made them and was so glad I did because they are worth it.

Usually the second method I have works out better. Whatever I make in the spur of the moment tastes way better. And sometimes, I've have the ingredients in my kitchen for so long and they're about to go bad so I make what ever it is. Who knows why I wait forever to make it but I just do.

So if you've made it this fair along and have read about all of my neurotic ways, I applaud you. And to thank you for taking the time to read about my type A tendencies, I share the best granola bar recipe ever. These are not your typical chewy bar granola bars. They are so so so much better! They are moist, full of flavor and good for you. Late at night when I get the desire to eat a second dinner or leftovers from a late lunch out, I eat these instead. They are the perfect combination of sweet and salty and a good balance. Head over to Farmhouse to check out the recipe, Laken has some pretty great recipes on her blog and you should check those out as well.

Most importantly make these granola bars and hide them so no one else can eat them.

** the flaxseed in this recipe should be kept in the refridgerator
** if possible buy ground flaxseed, because otherwise you have to use a coffee or spice grinder. We can't digest the nutrients from whole flaxseed, so it has to be ground, but don't skip them just because of it, its worth it to include!

quote of the week

wise words from a wise lady, could not be more fitting for how I am feeling lately.

an update on school

I feel like I havent posted a real post in a long time and I am so sorry for that. So much has been going on and school has taken over my life. There is so much I want to share with all of you I just cant find the words or time to express everything thats happening.



My patisserie class is quickly becoming my favorite thing ever. Chef Rita is such a great instructor and one of those people you could spend forever talking to and trying to absorb all the knowledge she has in the pastry field. Every week I look forward to that class, I wish we met more than once a week I enjoy it so much! If I was uncertain about what I was doing in school, she has cleared that up for me. We make such great recipes every week, she shares her personal experiences which makes the class even more interesting. I feel so lucky to have her as an instructor. Honestly I was uncertain if I'd like the sugar work we did in class Monday, but after doing it and making our own pieces out of the sugar it is an interest of mine.




I will definitely be sharing more recipes from her in the future. For right now I'll leave you with some pictures of things we've made in class.

quote of the week

quote of the week

top 5 tuesday, january favorites

Once again I'm linking up with Rachel from Just Peachy for Top 5 Tuesdays. Hopefully later I'll remember to post about school so far, I have a lot to share today so be ready! For now, my January favorites.

1. Coffee

My daily coffee intake has almost tripled this month. Monday's alone I drink 3-4 16 oz cups. It's something I look forward to in the morning and late in the afternoon. Now on monday's I have a huge break between classes but don't have time to drive home between, so I sit in the local coffee shop and drink they're fabulous coffee. It's my new favorite thing.

2. Reading

While I haven't been able to read a whole lot, the few books that I have been reading/currently reading are so good! You should definitely check out Those Who Save Us and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close if you get the chance!

3. School

Although it just started last week, my Patisserie class has quickly become my favorite thing. I'll talk more about it later, but the energy and enthusiasm my chef has is contagious and I have never been more intrigued.

4. My job

Seriously this kid gets cuter and cuter everyday! We now play temple run and he calls it the monkey game. His sister and him are adorable and I love getting to spend so much time with him.

5. The Avett Brothers

Lately I can't get enough of their music and with the help of spotify I have found many new favorite songs.


What are some of your favorite things from January?