fall!

So in honor of the beginning of fall, I thought I would post some of my favorite things about the season. Woohoo! Bring on the cool weather! :)

college football

the pumpkin spice latte

the trees changing colors (wish the trees in TX looked like this...)

a good fall coat

summers end

I can't believe the summer is coming to an end but I am definitely ready for some cooler weather. The last few weeks in Houston remind me of why I long for a cooler climate with more mild summers and 4 actual seasons. Unlike my other fellow Texans, who always wish it would warm up when it's cold out, I love it and wish it would last longer. However, I do love my sundresses and flip-flops; probably one of my favorite outfit combos of all time. And I will get to flaunt my favorite sundresses while on my little vacation this week to Pensacola! I can't wait! I will be staying at a condo right on the beach and plan on doing nothing for about 4 days, woohoo! I am even going to get a massage tonight before I go. :) See you all when I return! Hope everyone has a great week!

love for the frap!

Happy Monday all! Today I am giving a shout out to my favorite Starbuck's drink today, the infamous Peppermint Java Chip Frappuccino! Made my Monday morning and guaranteed to make your day better. You should try it sometime. Make sure to add the peppermint, that is the key ingredient. Also no matter what anyone tries to tell you, do not forgo the whip and the chocolate syrup or go with the light version of the frap. Totally ruins the experience. Believe me you will not regret it and the calories are worth it! So yummy! :)

babies!

Tomorrow I am hosting a baby shower for one of my best friends from high school, Laura Seely Sapaugh. I haven't seen her since the beginning of the year as she lives in Fort Worth so I am excited to see her this weekend!! She is due in August so only a little bit longer! I thought this was an appropriate pic for today. Happy Friday! :)

a little cupcake love!

"Cupcakes make everything better"

ali's back!

Last night was the kick-off of a new season of my favorite reality TV series, The Bachelor/Bachelorette! Each season I get hooked watching what will inevitably be a train wreck but I just can't stop watching! I enjoy seeing how ridiculous the show is each season; the drama is unbelievable. It's my guilty pleasure. Plus I must admit, I read some amazing blogs that provide quite comically commentary; all the things I am thinking while watching the show. Check this one out!

Last night, after eating a delicious meal prepared by my best friend Kerry and her husband Chris, while waiting for the Bachelorette to come on, I made Texas Chocolate Sheetcake. I combined two different recipes; one from The Pioneer Woman and another from Homesick Texan. I did this as the second had cinnamon and I love cinnamon. My taste testers gave it the official approval as I caught them both going back for seconds. ;) Not sure if it was as good as my mom's but maybe a close second. Anyone notice how nothing you make will ever be quite as good as your mom's, why is that? I will test on a couple others tonight as I watch the American Idol finale. GO LEE!!!

And for good measure my simple joy for the day. Enjoy! :)

simple joys

So I know I am very overdue for a post. I promise a more detailed one is coming soon. Today I decided to change my blog address and name to simply joys. I loved the idea of it. So here is my simple joy for the day. Enjoy! :)

gameday!

AHHHHH, SIC'EM BEARS!!!! See you at the game! :)

sic'em

I have always been proud to be a Baylor Bear even when our sports teams were not doing well and everyone thought we were a joke. Because at the end of the day, being a proud Baylor Bear is not about winning in sports but life. I know that sounds slightly cheesy but the truth of the matter is Baylor University is a place I will always be proud to call my home. It's really not something you can explain to people who have not had the Baylor experience. All those who are apart of the Baylor family understand this affinity. The school, the people, the city; all shaped me into the person I am today and am proud to be. A school where professors are encouraged to pray with their students, know their students and it is a network that continues long after you have left the university. It was not just a place where I received a education but where I also grew spiritually and socially.

For those of you that haven't heard, the Baylor Bears Men's Basketball team is finally breaking through. They were predicted to finish #10 in the Big 12 Conference and are currently tied for #2. They have an actual chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament and be seeded at high as #3! And with a coach who openly talks about his faith in national interviews and says his goal is to prepare his players for life and hopefully heaven.

So today, I am a little bit prouder to be a Baylor Bear. But even if we don't win one game in the tournament, I will still be proud to be a Baylor Bear. SIC'EM! :)

cowtown

Last weekend I took a little trip to Fort Worth or otherwise known as "The Cowtown". My running buddy Taryn and I headed up on Friday after work to run The Cowtown half marathon. Taryn's husband Andy was nice enough to be our driver. Also on this trip I got to spend time with one of my best friends from high school, Laura Sapaugh and her husband Micah. Laura is 16 weeks pregnant so that made for an even more exciting visit!! :) Taryn and I finished the half marathon with a respectable time. It had been a long time since we had run an entire race together. It made me realize how much I missed running with that girl. We even got to meet up with some of my best friends from Dallas, Nathalie, Andrew and John Paul.

After running in some of the most beautiful running weather in a long time, we spent time playing outside with the dogs, maternity shopping and of course doing lots of eating!! We ate at Montgomery Cafe, Joe T Garcia's, The Purple Cow and Cafe Brazil. So good!! Overall it was a wonderful weekend with fabulous friends! Can't wait to visit again and to meet baby Sapaugh!! :)




And of course you can't go on a road trip without baking a snack for the road. I tried out these amazing Peanut Butter and Double Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies from Picky Palate and they did not disappoint. I changed up the recipe a bit and used Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa. Also I would recommend doubling the peanut butter dough as I had twice as much dark chocolate chip dough. Happy baking! :)

lent devotional

This was part of my daily Lent devotional yesterday and I loved it so I thought I would share.It really spoke to my heart.

Let us try to see the pain of our human and spiritual journey "from above." The great art is to gradually trust that life's interruptions are the places where God is molding you into the person you are called to be. Interruptions are not disruptions of your way to holiness, but rather are places where you are being formed into the unique person God calls you to be. You know you are living a grateful life when whatever happens is received as an invitation to deepen your heart, to strengthen your love and to broaden your hope. You are living a grateful life when something is taken away from you that you thought was so important and you find yourself willing to say, " Maybe I'm being invited to a deeper way of living."

Have a great weekend! :)

dream BIG

A little inspiration for the day. Never stop dreaming and Dream BIG!

the beauty of snow

With all the amazing late February snow in Texas today, unfortunately none here yet, I thought this picture was appropriate. Love it! Enjoy the snow!

twenty ten

I am not a resolution type person but if you know me at all, you know my affinity for "to-do" lists; can't get enough of them! So I guess you could call this my "to-do" list for twenty ten. I'm about a month behind but no time like the present to start! I am sure I will add to the list as the year progresses.

* Try one new recipe each week.

* Learn to sew. This is a lost art. My mom can sew anything, I can barely sew on a button.

* Write a letter or card to someone each week. With email these days, hand-written notes are rare but everyone loves getting mail that isn't a bill. :)

* Spend more time outside.

* Call my grandparents at least twice a month.

* Keep in better touch with my family and friends.

* Find more time for quiet and prayer, even if I have to schedule it.

* Think of something to be thankful for each day.

* Start playing piano again.

* Craft more. It's amazing the things you can make yourself!

I also loved this email I received so I added it as well. I think it's a great reminder of what's important in life...

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present

moment.

13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come...
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Happy twenty ten!

thought for the day

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Cor. 1:3-7

the weekend is never long enough...

Happy President's Day! Unfortunately like about half the country, I am working today. Oh well, at least it was a good weekend. Saturday I had my last cheerleading game and Sunday the Awards Ceremony for both the cheerleaders and basketball teams and families. For those of you who don't know, I signed up to be an assistant UPWARD cheerleading coach back in November. Little did I know, a girl with absolutely no cheerleading experience, would be teaching 12 kindergarten girls cheers, haha! Nevertheless, it was such a fun season and I think I actually taught them something along the way. I loved the time I spent getting to know the girls and their families. Such a great experience!

Saturday night I went to my friend Jen's birthday celebration at this new upscale bowling alley in downtown Houston, Lucky Strike. It was so fun and definitely beat those smoky, old bowling alleys. Thanks to my mad bowling skills, I even won a game, haha!

Sunday I went to dinner and I movie with some friends. We ate at El Tiempo, my favorite Mexican restaurant ever! Then we went to see Valentine's Day. I personally loved it! It reminded me of Love Actually as there are several different plot lines and they all connect.

And of course this weekend I cooked and baked! One challenge I have decided to tackle in 2010 is trying a new recipe each week whether it's a dinner, dessert, appetizer, etc. I would love to try a new dinner and dessert each week but I thought that might be a bit of an ambitious goal.

So this weekend I tried my first new recipe, Penne a la Betsy, thanks to Pioneer Woman. I must say it was pretty good, but not my favorite. The sauce was surprisingly lighter than I expected, but in a good way. I used the white wine in the recipe as it instructed but think I will try the chicken broth version next time.

Also in honor of Valentine's Day I made the infamous Red Velvet Cake Balls!! This of course is not a new recipe but one of my favorites! They are time consuming and quite a bit of work but so worth it! I always forget how good they are until I take the first bite of a fresh batch and then it all comes back, AMAZING! The recipe I use is below. Mine never turn out as pretty as this picture but they are still so good! Happy baking! :)

Red Velvet Cake Balls
1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

**I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It's easier to work with when it's hot.

Blogging world here I come!

So I was definitely one of "those people" who said I will never have a blog, what will I write about? Who will read it? But after some convincing from my friends and reading lots of cooking blogs as of late, I decided why not give it a try. New year, why not blog? Honestly I still am not sure what I will write about (probably mostly recipes that I bake/cook, let's be real here) or where this will lead, so I apologize to everyone ahead of time.

I made these cookie bars last week and they were amazing! I am thinking about trying them with peanut butter chips on top as well as chocolate chips next time. Tasty Kitchen is one of my favorite new cooking blogs I recently discovered. Check it out!