Kitchen Adventures; Halloween Sugar Cookies

I'm a little embarrassed to admit this.

Before Saturday, I had never made sugar cookies by myself.

We'd made them growing up, but it was always my mom or one of my aunts making them. I just showed up for the decorations.

I've been seeing adorable Halloween themed cookies all over the web lately, so I decided for Halloween weekend, cookies were in order.

I decided that Alton Brown's recipe was the best way to go. Oh, how right I was.

Buttons!

I've had a blog for a long time. Since they days of livejournal, I've been posting random whatsits on the interwebs, but I just recently started exploring the blogging community and making friends.

I'm pretty excited about that. I've gotten in contact with some truly amazing and inspiring bloggers. So, I've decided to start button swapping (for freeeeee).

Christie over at bedsidesign made me this lovely button to match my blog. She's super sweet and I'm so thankful that she offered to do this for me!

Hopefully soon I'll be able to add some more button options so, if you want to swap, you'll have your choice.

If you think you might be interested, email me at calyssajean (at) gmail (dot) com or leave me a comment!

In the meantime,  I'm just going to grab some buttons from blogs that have been inspiring me lately. Check them out. Seriously. They're pretty great.

Kitchen Adventures; Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi

I've been looking for an excuse to cook with pumpkin. Since Halloween is basically happening all around us (all grown up celebrations were this Saturday and all the kiddos will be out on Wednesday), I may or may not have been lazily scouring the net when I found a recipe for Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi.

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but I lost my keys. They're somewhere in the house, but I have no clue where. That means I've been using spares for over a week. It also means that I don't have a key to the office right now. So on Friday, when I got to work before everyone else and couldn't get in, I decided to make a quick run to the nearest grocery store for some not-so-essentials. I came back to work with half gallon of milk, 4 miniature pumpkins, 5 bananas, a pack of Starbucks Via that was 50% off, and a tub of ricotta. 

I totally bought the ricotta specifically so I could make this recipe. I never just buy ricotta to buy ricotta. I always have something in mind.

Oh, hey there, Saturday; #7

We have entered the modern age! We now have fast enough internet that both Tim and I can be on the internet at the same time and it doesn't impact our browsing speed! It felt like it took forever to set it up, but it's finally working. I have 6 tabs open, Tim's playing Modern Warfare and it's awesome.

It's Halloween weekend! We don't get any trick-or-treaters at our house (we're hidden in the back of a condo complex), but I like to get a little festive anyway. We just bought a few pumpkins - which I'm thinking about painting - and put them out on the patio. We also stocked up on fun-size candy, like these teeny tiny bags of teeny tiny gummi bears. You should have seen me at the store when we found them. I may have squealed.

Last night when I got home from work, I swept up the patio. The Santa Anas have been coming through town, so all the tree scraps from the entire neighborhood were on our patio. I should have taken a picture of the pile. It was too big for our giant broom. I heart having a nice clean patio. It's so much more relaxing.

Yesterday was also a big day for Alyssa's wardrobe. My pants from Old Navy came. They are too small :( So, I'm planning a trip out to exchange them today. I did buy myself two new shirts, which I later realized are very similar in color scheme. At least they're not black. Baby steps.

Today is a big cooking/baking day for me! I've got sour dough rising (when do I not?), all the ingredients for pumpkin gnocchi, and a recipe for sugar cookies. All I need are a couple Halloween cookie cutters and maybe some more parchment for pastry bags.

Happy Saturday, all!

Wake Up

On a typical morning, I let myself sleep as long as possible. To get to work at 9, I can get up as late as 8 with some fancy footwork and a little rushing around, and still make it. I grab some toast, pour some coffee in a travel mug, and take my breakfast on the road.

And that's fine. It works. 

But you know what's better? Getting up a half hour earlier. 

If I am out of bed around 7:30 instead, I can relax. The house is quiet (except for the dog, who cries by the door if she really has to go out). That extra half hour takes my mornings from rushed to down right leisurely.

You are thinking that is silly. I am dedicating an entire post to waking up a little earlier so I can have a leisurely morning.

Too bad for you if you think that.

The other morning I had a thought. I've thought it before, so I don't know if I can call it an epiphany. As I sat at the kitchen table with my coffee and toast (or eggs or pie or apple bread) - instead of in the car - I thought, "This is really nice. I should make this a thing."

And so I am.

I'm still not very far into The Happiness Project - page 25 now, I think - but she's just finished talking about energy, and how if you are feeling more energetic you are happier. I think those 5 to 10 minutes of peace at the kitchen table while I sip my coffee and talk to the pup help me greet the day with a more positive outlook. I'm more likely to pull over on my drive to work and take a minute to look at something beautiful.

I did that today. I stopped my car to get out and look at the ocean and the mountains.

There is so rarely a moment when my life is not buzzing -from the TV to the phone, air conditioning unit, clients, dogs, garbage trucks, whatever. None of those things are happening during those few minutes.

So, I finish my coffee and apple bread. The paper towel and travel mug do not end up in my car only to be removed at an undetermined time.

And I walk out the front door refreshed.