The Early Bird Blogs

I find that this happens to me quite often now.
I arrive early to things...
I have no reason to be late and I have no one holding my back, making me late.
I like it...I hated being late to events!
Tonight I sit waiting for my friends.
I just hang out and try not to listen in on other conversations, but I can't help myself.
I ease drop into their worlds.
It's reassuring to know that my life isn't that different from others.
I live life simply...with a little sparkle....
I mean...I live life with a bit of fabulousness.

Actually, I just love my life.
I do the things that I love.
I surround myself with people that encourage me and full me with joy.
When I am stressed, I refocus and find my sparkle.
See, it's fabulous!

So fabulous that I arrive early...

I am early to places so that I can rest well knowing that my life is full.
One of the main reasons that I'm early, is that I only plan one thing a day.
That's it. See previous post about this...
But I highly recommend this.
Especially to other people that thrive on being busy. Slow it down folks.
You might miss out on the little things that really make a life full.

Plus, it's the little things that actually make life special.

If I had been in a hurry,
I might haven't been able to stop and watch the pastry chefs make brittle through their window.

I might not have walked pass the little cafe, that I now must go to soon. 
I might have missed out on the two older men sitting at the bar, reminiscing about their childhood.

Oops!  I was ease dropping again.  Darn it! I just can't help it...people are so fascinating!

I like being the early bird. 
She is able to sitting quietly alone and soak in the world around her.
I like that I have time to do that now.
And spend time with people that make me sparkle. :0)

If you need a little dinner and dessert to make your sparkle really shine, try out two of my new favorites!

The Original Dinerant
300 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204
Phone: 503.546.2666







In my world, dessert is my favorite part of the meal, so it can't be forgotten.  Now, don't let the long lines keep you away!  They move things along pretty fast and the ice cream...well...it's well worth the wait. 
Salt and Straw

 

I left quite a few "used spoons" here because I had to try a few flavors before selecting my favorites.  Don't worry, they encourage trying as many as you want!  So go for it and enjoy.

I guess the early bird gets her sparkle, dinner, dessert, and a full heart.



Advice from my Grandma-Part 1

 

There are certain things that I learned over the years from my Grandma.

And as she is getting older now...yes...

just now older at 101 years old...

...we're allowed to say that she is old since she's well over a 100 years old.

I feel like I should share this advice with the rest of the world.

There are only things that a woman who has seen it all can tell you

and you'll actually take it to heart.

I find that I commonly will smile and nod when someone gives me advice.

Somehow, I feel that it will appease them in a small way

so that I can go about making my own decisions. 
Silly me...I should always listen and listen carefully. 
It's really the little things that makes the difference in the world.
At least, that is true for my grandma...

#1 Nugget of Grandma Advice
Given to me every time I see her...every...single...time...
"Oh honey, you should wear earrings."   

Or it sounds like this conversation that we had on Thanksgiving...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Those earrings are pretty.  You should wear them everyday," exclaimed my Grandma while driving to dinner.
"But, Grandma, I can't wear these earrings everyday!  They don't match everything!" I remind her.
"Well, you should really wear earrings everyday," she stated firmly.
"I do try to put them on...I just forget sometimes."
"Oh, well you shouldn't forget. You're too young to forget things!" she exclaimed.
"Ok, Grandma.  I'll try," I replied sighing.
"You should wear earrings all the time."
"I know Grandma, you remind me all the time," I responded, giggling. (giggle, giggle)
"(giggle, giggle) Oh, I do?  Well, you should."
"I know Grandma."
"You should always wear earrings, they brighten up your whole face!" she stated as fact winking in my direction.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They brighten up your whole face!" 
I don't even remember the first time that she told me that, but it feels like I've heard it my entire life.  And you know what really gets me? 
She's absolutely right!
Darn you Grandma! (I write this giggling and know that's it true.)
She's right...and you'll soon realize a few more things about how right she is.
Heck, after 101 years on this planet you tend to learn a few things.

To help me remember my earrings on a daily basis, I found this wire shelf at a garage sale...man, I love garage sales!  And it works perfectly to hold my dangly earrings, so that I can see them and remember to add them to my attire.

Cute, huh?
Now I just need to add to my dangly earring collection...
The best places to pick up inexpensive earrings are Forever 21, Old Navy, Target, and Tilly's.  The first three places you probably know about, but the last one...well, it might be new to you...Tilly's.  You should check it out.  And they often have a "Buy one, get one free" promotion!  Be warned though...if you are over 30...like me, you should probably take a teenager with you so you don't feel so strange walking into a "Surf and Skate Clothing Store."  Somehow, I don't fit their demographic...but I really like their cheep-o earrings!

Oh course...always remember to put on your earrings...
cheap-o ones are expensive ones...
If a 101 year old woman can remember her jewerly EVERY day, so can you. 
And most importantly...
"They brighten up your whole face!"
Cheers to you Grandma!

Pie Solves All

No, really...it does! 

How can any problem be big when you have a slice of
homemade pie sitting in front of you?!
Especially if the pie is chocolate!
I generally believe that all problems can be solved with tasty treats.
And, yes...I feed my feelings.
I know that goes against everything that health experts say.
"Don't reward yourself with food."
"Food is fuel."
"Eat before you go to the store."
Blah...blah...blah...
Yeah, I could repeat a whole bunch of them, but I love treats!
Even better, I love to make treats!
Actually, when I'm baking treats, I don't want to eat treats. 
Weird, right?! 
So if I just make treats all of the time, then I won't eat them!
WooHoo!
Sounds good to me!
Hmmm...Somehow I feel that this idea will backfire on me.
Possibly in a big way...but with the holidays here and in full swing, I might as well embrace that idea and bake.  And that is exactly what I plan to do!

This week I continued my bake sale by making pie and cookie orders. 
Of course, I enlisted the person who taught me everything that I know about baking pies and cookies...my mom.  She's the queen of baking.
She was in charge of Pumpkin Pie...

...Beautifully done Momma!

Me, well I was in charge of making the family Apple Pies...a classic is our world.

Plus, I needed to make cookies and pie cupcakes...yikes!  I love to make my plate full.

Don't worry, I made 12 of them, but forgot to take a picture at the end. :0) Too busy, I guess.

But, I also needed to make a few Chocolate Cream Pies...
...the challenge was that I had never made a Chocolate Cream Pie!
Good thing that I have a slew of cookbooks to help me along the way.

When in a jam, I look to the classic books...they have never steered me wrong.  I mean they're a classic for a very good reason.





Velvety Chocolate Cream Pie
Graham Cracker Crust Recipe from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook~ 2012
Cream Pie Recipe from Hershey's Chocolate and Cocoa Cookbook~ circa 1970's?

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 packed light brown sugar
1 stick butter- melted

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

1. Mash the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar together with a fork in a medium sized bowl.  Add the melted butter to the mixture and mix together until all of the crumbs are coated in buttery goodness.
2. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes. (Though in my oven, 6 minutes was plenty of time.)  Let it cool completely before filling with chocolate cream.

Velvety Chocolate Cream Pie
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Whipped cream for a topping.

Directions:

1. Combine cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt into a medium saucepan. Add milk into the mixture and whisk until smooth.
2. Over medium heat, cook and whisk until it comes to a boil.  Once the mixture begins to boil, it will begin to be thick at this point, continue to boil and whisk for 3 more minutes.
3. Remove the chocolate mixture, whisk in butter and vanilla, continuing to whisk until all of the butter is melted.
4. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust.  Let it rest for about 15 minutes, then carefully press plastic wrap directly onto the pie filling.
5. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours.  Serve with freshly whipped cream and enjoy!

Now seriously...how can you have a problem with this pie in front of you?! And if a problem arises, heck have another piece of pie! Problem solved. :0)

Happy Problem-Free Thanksgiving!

Love Bucket Overflows

Some ideas start small. Teeny-tiny even.
Sometimes, ideas can just start sitting around with awesome people...
Fortunately, I work with awesome people and they have great ideas!

I love to bake. Most of you know that.
I love dogs.  Yeah...you all know that one!
Mash those together for a great cause,
Fences for Fido
and...BOOM!
Love Bucket Overflows!


At lunch one day, I said that I wanted to hold a bake sale and was curious what people thought of the idea.  If they weren't excited or interested, than my idea would stop right there. But, I was happy to hear that people liked the idea and had plenty of good suggestions to make it even more successful.  Sitting there at lunch, I thought that it could make a few bucks to donate...I had no idea how my work family would embrace the idea and support it!  Of course, I should have known...they're just fabulous people and fabulous people help fabulous causes! 

Over the course of the day, I saw the cookies, bars, cupcakes, and jam jars quickly drift away. 
With each hour, I became more and more excited.  I had no idea how much to make of anything or what to bring of my jams, but apparently it wasn't enough!  How great is that?!  I was worried that I would have too much to take home and am very thankful that wasn't the case.  Of course, I was happy to have a couple cupcakes to take home...I enjoyed a little cupcake love and an overflowing love bucket from the donations.  It was the perfect way to end the day! 

Every time I have an idea to help an organization that I love, (Yeah, Fences for Fido!)people come in and help me make it successful.  I am blessed...so very blessed. 

Thank you for your kind, encouraging words, willing hearts, and hungry bellies! 
You're the best!

Cookie-Brownie Bars

Getting ready for a Bake Sale is tough work.
Okay...yes, there is the difficult work of making everything...
but the real work was trying to figure out what to make! 
Some things were easy to decide on, but then I got stuck. 
I wanted to make cookies, because...well...
if the world was coming to an end then I would want cookies. 
A lot of cookies...Heck, the world is ending people!  Who cares how many cookies I eat?!?


But, not everyone loves cookies to the great extent that I do, so I needed something else too.
Fact...people love chocolate and brownies have a lot of chocolate.
So what is a girl to do?!  I know! 
Just mash the two things together and...boom! 
Chocolate Chip Cookie- Brownie Bar!

Cookie-Brownie Bars
Recipe Adapted from
Mandy's Recipe Box- Double Cookies and Cream Bars

Ingredients: 2 sticks of butter, softened 1 c. sugar 1 c. packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 tsp. vanilla extract 3 c. flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 brownie mix (Yes, it feels like cheating to me...but I'm tired.) - 3 eggs - vegetable oil - water   Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Line a 9x13 baking dish with tin foil or just spray with cooking spray. Use the tin foil...it will save you time! 3. Place butter and sugars into a large bowl, stir to combine. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of prepared baking pan.   4. Prepare the Brownie Mix according to the package.  Man, this really feels like cheating... 5. Pour Brownie Mix over the top of the cookie layer. 6. Drop chunks of cookie dough into the Brownie Layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes, cut into squares and serve. If using tin foil in the pan, let the bars cool, then lift the whole thing out and cut into squares.  Wrap them up and get them ready to sell.  But don't worry that you shouldn't eat a whole bar. There will be little pieces of cookie-brownie to nibble on. :0)

Bake Sale Time!

I'm really excited about this!

This week I'm hosting a bake sale to benefit Smokey's Fund at Fences for Fidos.

Actually...it's tomorrow! Yikes! Who wouldn't want to take an item home for Thanksgiving? It is one less thing to make for the big day...Plus, it's for a fantastic cause and all goods are made with tons of love from ME! Every cent that is spent on a dessert will be given to Smokey's Fund, which is dedicated to caring for elderly dogs found chained. Please see my other post for detailed information about Smokey's Fund or just donate money. I'm sure that you could use another tax donation here as the end of the year is ending quickly!

So, what will be at the bake sale?

Apple Betty Bar                 $1.00

Molasses-Ginger Cookie   $1.00

Berry Bar                         $2.00

Brownie-Cookie Bar           $2.00

Cookie Bag                      $2.00 

Cupcake                         $2.00

Jar of Jam                      $4.00 

Apple Pie Filling               $6.00 

 Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

 Apple Betty Bars

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake,

Banana Cupcake with spiced Cream Cheese Frosting,

and Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Other things that I will have for people to order are the following:

Classic Pumpkin Pie                        

 

Classic Apple Pie                              

Chocolate Cream Pie                     

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Pie                           

Surprise Pie (My Mom’s Fav.)   

6 Pie cupcakes  

Are you hungry yet? :0) 

Creating all of these beautiful treats has filled my sparkle jar very full.  Hopefully, with a successful bake sale day tomorrow, it will be overflowing with sparkle thinking about all of the happy puppy faces that we can help.

Remembering Quincy by Helping Smokey's Fund

Quincy...my furry best friend for 16 years on Earth.  A furry best friend for eternity in heaven.

My dad found him living in a concrete machine shop, locked in over the weekends.  Though he had food and water, he wasn't let out for sometimes 3 days at a time.  Living in the dark, made him shy, but his love of people never wavered.  :0) When I went to look at him after school one day, I knew that I couldn't leave him there.  He had to come home with me.  Lucky for me, my parents let me bring him home....not many parents of a senior in high school, who was going away to college the next year, would let her do that.  But my parents, well, they knew that a dog was as necessary to me as breathing. 

For the next 16 years, Quincy and I were inseparable....well, except for the months at college...but he was always in my heart or by my side.  He still is. 

I can't think of a better way to remember Quincy than helping other aging dogs live out their elderly years in comfort.  Good thing that I'm not the only one who thinks this...Thank you Fences for Fidos for doing the difficult work, that I am not strong enough emotionally to handle.

What is Smokey’s Fund?

Information from http://www.fencesforfido.org/smokeysfund

Hope for dogs suffering from long term chaining

Chained dogs suffer mental and emotional abuse, but their physical suffering and the chronic and degenerative illnesses that result from living most of their lives chained, is unbelievably cruel and unjust.

Thanks to the family of an amazing dog named Smokey, Fences For Fido now has a special memorial fund committed to freeing, and providing much needed veterinary care for dogs who have been chained and neglected for many, many years.

Smokey's Fund is dedicated to the big spirit and enduring love of a dog who was chained for more than 9 years, before he was rescued by a dedicated animal advocate and adopted by this loving family. Smokey was left with physical disabilities, chronic pain, and a multitude of other conditions requiring costly medications and veterinary care. In honor of this brave dog, who lived a horrific life for many years on a chain and yet was able to accept and give love, Smokey's Fund will focus on freeing these older dogs and providing the funds to alleviate their suffering.

Smokey's Fund

• Builds fences & provides houses for dogs who have lived for more than 5 years chained.
• Provides comprehensive veterinary care and medications for these physically suffering dogs.
• Helps facilitate the rescue & adoption of these dogs by a loving family.
• Supports educational efforts about the physical suffering and illnesses that result from dogs being chained.

Smokey's Story When Smokey was found chained, he had mats the size of softballs hanging from his long fur. Poor nutrition, constant exposure to the elements, no exercise, untreated infections and lack of veterinary care, had left him deaf, with a paralyzed larynx, and severe arthritis and degenerative joint disease. Once rescued, Smokey received much needed veterinary care and constant love and attention – but he suffered for the rest of his life from being chained and neglected all those years. His hips, spine, legs, ears, and larynx had all deteriorated. He couldn't walk up or down stairs, run, and he had trouble lying down and getting up. His condition worsened over the three years with his new family, and required increasing therapy and pain medications. His paralyzed larynx caused him to pant even in mild temperatures, during short, slow walks. For this reason he needed to have his coat clipped frequently and grooming was painful because of the arthritis in his legs and hips and spine. One eardrum disintegrated from infection, and he couldn't hear well at all. To communicate with Smokey, one needed to touch gently his back or bend and motion in front of him. His mistreatment also affected his mind, and behavior. He often would walk up to a door or wall and stand staring at it for minutes. He paced back and forth for no apparent reason, and was unusually anxious to receive each of his meals. Smokey needed someone with him throughout the day, to help him; he could not be left unaccompanied by a person for longer than a few hours, despite the ever-present companionship and aid of his "big sister," Skippy, a black Labrador retriever mix. But Smokey's personality survived his long ordeal. He taught his rescuers about perseverance and patience. He taught them how to accept what is, no matter how awful, and to look forward to what may bring us comfort and joy. Smokey's story is about HOPE. This is how a dog's life should ALWAYS be.  Will you help me?! Please donate...your gratitude is unmeasurable!

I will be hosting a silent auction of Thanksgiving Desserts for this cause

at my school for staff members on Wednesday, November 14th. :0)