Turkey Day

Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving spent with family and friends! Have a great day!

Seasonal Flavors Fill the Air

Hi there!

First cocoa of the season--complete with puffy marshmallows

I don't know about you but I still get super excited for the holidays. As in, I listen to Christmas music in October and anxiously await Halloween since the next day holiday gear kicks in full-blast. That being said, be prepared for seasonal overload below!

Seasonal Flavors

Seasonal flavors such as pumpkin, gingerbread, and peppermint sneak their way into my daily eats. Lately, peppermint has come in the form of this new limited-edition flavored bar from Clif! Awhile back I saw on Twitter that Clif was sending out free samples of their new bar if you followed them. Being a loyal Clif fan, I jumped at the chance.

The bar actually came while we were on our honeymoon, but you'd better believe I was pretty excited to see it in my mailbox when we arrived home.

I taste-tested it this past weekend in between designing at Starbucks with Krystine and hitting up the gym for a sweaty elliptical ride while watching Wheel of Fortune (have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with that show? Andy and I may or may not watch it most evenings after work...)

At first I was surprised to see the bright red bits of peppermint flavor woven into the bar. I was not expecting this at all! These are definitely different than the Luna Chocolate Peppermint Stick bars that I love, but it was a good different! These bars seem to be more minty and more spot-on candy cane flavor. I love anything mint, so this was definitely right up my alley.

I was actually really impressed and would definitely purchase these to enjoy throughout the holiday season. Now if only I could find the pumpkin and gingerbread varieties of these bars! I'm itching to try them before they're all snatched up for the holidays.

Holiday Baking
On Sunday afternoon, I headed down to my mom's house for the day since my dad was out of town and we wanted to get some seasonal baking under our belts. On the agenda: our annual granola and pumpkin white chocolate chip muffins!

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My mom actually came across the recipe for pumpkin white chocolate chip muffins over on Pinterest! I was so impressed!

We immediately started making them after reading through the recipe--the batter smelled so good! Pumpkin and cinnamon filled the air! I wasn't sure if I would like the addition of the white chocolate chips since I'm not a huge white chocolate fan, but in the end it turned out to be a great flavor complement to the pumpkin.

After mixing all of the ingredients, off to the oven they went! About twenty minutes later, we had a dozen delicious muffins--and you'd better believe we sampled one right away! 

After having another one this morning for breakfast, I've come to the conclusion that I like them better when they aren't warm from the oven, but either way--they're so good! 

Next up on our baking agenda: homemade granola! My mom and I make this granola together every year as a tradition. We also make homemade Chex mix but we didn't get to that this weekend--we decided to save it for a day when Andrea could make it with us, since she enjoys it just as much! 

Each year we switch up the ingredients just a little bit, but overall, we stick to the same tried and true recipe. This year's new addition was a swirl of real maple syrup for some extra sweetness. Also into the mixing bowl went oats, honey, cinnamon, brown sugar, oil, coconut, and sliced almonds. 

We stirred it all up before pouring it onto a cookie sheet to bake in the oven--stirring at regular intervals until it was golden and crunchy! After it cools, we always add mini dark chocolate chips to finish it off! It's great in yogurt or eaten as cereal, but I prefer it plain as a snack--it's got the perfect amount of crunch, texture, and sweetness! 

I was also super excited when I found out that my mom had Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea in her cupboard! You know I stocked up upon leaving her house. For those that were asking about it, I usually get it at my local grocery store, but my mom said she found it at a Wal-Mart Superstore.

I'll have to find a box of my own sometime soon to add to my snack drawer in my desk at work. This drawer of snacks has saved my butt more than a few times when I've forgotten my lunch bag on my kitchen counter in the morning. 

I almost always have the following in my snack drawer:

• Candy
• Peanut Butter
• Granola (to add to my yogurt)
• Varieties of tea (our office is so cold all year round!)
• Clif-Z bars
• Luna bars
• Dry cereal
• Drink mixes (Pure by Crystal Light, etc.)
• Microwave popcorn
• Instant oatmeal
• Snack crackers like Kashi or Goldfish
• Can of soup

It's great for if I find myself needing something in the afternoon or if I'm in a pinch and don't bring a lunch for the day!

Speaking of work, it's time to head out for the day. I'm excited because I'm meeting up with Kaaren after work! We're headed to one of my favorite places--and no, it's not Starbucks this time! 

I promise honeymoon recaps will be coming soon...I'm still in the process of sorting through hundreds of images from that week.

Have you been able to find the seasonal flavors of Clif bars?

Do you like white chocolate?

What's in your snack drawer?

Back into my Illustration Groove

Good morning!

It's a short and tiny tree but it will do for our first married Christmas 

We most definitely put up our Christmas tree last night! We decided to just put the lights on it because we might be moving it to the top of our staircase since Andy has a tree that we still need to pick up from his parents house. Nevertheless, it was still super exciting to see the tree all lit up in our living room! I'll share another picture when we get the ornaments up!

The red cups are back!

Let's back up a little now. Yesterday afternoon was spent sipping coffee at Starbucks with Krystine while working on a project for work. We just learned earlier this week that we will be doing a collaboration design for our annual holiday gift for our clients. Each of the designers chose a month on Friday and then will design a calendar header for that particular month.

The end result will look something like this:

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She chose October, while I went with the month of September, since it's my favorite month of them all. After chatting away while designing from opposite ends of the table, I came up with this. I'm still working on refining my tree and will add more leaves and branches, but this is the just of it! 

The apples/leaves signify Fall, while the cut-out letters reference the whole "back to school" craze that ensues the month of September. Do you think the picnic table needs something on top of it? Krystine and I were stumped by this and couldn't come up with a logical object to place on top. It's too early for pumpkins, and if I put a picnic basket, then I would need to add people to the scene.

Thoughts/suggestions are welcome!

While we were plugging away on our MacBooks, I mentioned to Krystine that sometimes I forget that I really enjoy design. I sit at my computer 40 hours a week designing all sorts of things but it is easy to forget what made you love it in the first place. For me, illustration is what gets me excited, inspired, and motivated and getting back into the groove of it all was a great reminder of this!

Alright, I'm off to wrap up some loose ends before hopefully heading over to the gym before 10am! Here's to being productive!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Do you get excited for the red holiday cups at Starbucks? 
Is your Christmas tree usually real or artificial? 
Favorite holiday drink at Starbucks? I love the gingerbread one, only coming in second to the Pumpkin Spice latte!

First Day Festivities

Good morning!

Today I'm going to pick up where I left off with yesterday's post, starting with Saturday morning.

Saturday

I woke up well-rested at my parents house and bounced downstairs to grab some delicious hot coffee. I was ecstatic to find that my mom had set out my favorite coffee mug right in front of the coffee pot! 6am and the day was already off to a good start!

My mom and I enjoyed breakfast on the deck during the cool morning hours. We caught up on life and discussed our plans for the day. It was so wonderful to wake up to a relaxing morning as opposed to rushing out the door before 8am like most days.

One of my favorite things about my parent's house in their enormous garden that spans the majority of the backyard. Flowers and plants fill every inch possible and when the morning light hits it just right, it is gorgeous!

After my dad headed upstairs, I was excited to learn that my he had saved a few of my favorite candies for me! These blue tootsie rolls are vanilla flavored and are so good! They are often hard to find, so I always enjoy them on a rare basis!

After wrapping up our conversations, we headed inside to change before starting our day. We first ran a few errands as my mom needed some new shoes. She ended up finding an adorable pair right away! Afterwards, we headed to Target to pick up a few necessities when we bumped into my mom's friend, Shelly. (Hi Shelly!) It was so fun to see her! We chatted in an aisle for awhile before parting ways and heading out.

I picked up some of these while we were out and they were a hit! They taste just like bubble gum except that they are a mint! The flavor kind of reminds me of Orbit's BubbleMint gum. Mmm!

Before heading home, my mom treated me to a sub from Erbert's + Gerbert's for lunch and it was delicious! We ate our lunch on a polka-dot plate out on the deck while enjoying the sunshine and fresh fruit.

Yeah for no shower due to a trip to the pool later in the day!

Complete with all-natural fruit popsicles for dessert! 

Awhile later we headed back out to the deck for a snack and some magazine reading to relax before I headed over to my friend's house to hit up the pool. Upon spending many hours at the pool, my friend Kaaren and I headed back down to my parent's for dinner and wine!

We enjoyed fresh, summer salads while taking in the beautiful summer evening. My parents broke out a fruity, Italian wine that was absolutely delicious! I'm not usually one for alcohol, since I prefer to drink my weight in lemonade, but this stuff was good! It was a perfect end to the day.

Are you a wine drinker? If so, red or white?
Favorite sub shop? 
All-time favorite candy?

Back in Town

Hello all!

I returned home late on Monday night and scrambled around doing laundry and packing a lunch before heading to bed to start the work week. I love having that extra day off during holiday weekends--and as an added bonus, it is a 4 day week. Score!

I had a wonderful time this weekend celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends! It is rare that I get to see so many familiar faces in one weekend. It was so great to spend time with my sister and brother-in-law, my parents, my friend Kaaren, and Andy! I've got a crazy sunburn all over my body due to lots of pool and water park time, but it was totally worth it!

Over the weekend, I took a ton of photos, so you'll be seeing those pop up on the blog throughout the next few days.

Holiday Weekend
Let's recap a bit, shall we?

First of all, on Friday morning, I was packing up to head out of town and ended up running a bit late heading out the door. In the rush, I realized as soon as I pulled into the office that I forgot half of my lunch at home in the fridge. All I had for the day was a dry salad (the dressing and extra veggies were tucked into my lunch box) and a container of berries to last me 8 hours. Yikes!

Luckily the owner of the company that I work for came to the rescue with an office pizza party which allowed me to snag some extra salad toppings and a coworker let me use some of her salad dressing that she keeps in the office fridge. Mid-afternoon, I started to get kind of hungry and luckily had some clif bars and fruit snacks stashed away in my snack drawer of my desk!

After work, I headed down to my sister and brother-in-law's place for the evening. We randomly hit up Sam's Club for some food and then ventured in the storm back to their place for dinner, a movie, and a huge bowl of ice cream to top off the evening.

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We ended up renting Beastly and yikes, the acting was horrible! It started out really slow and only got a little better as it went on. We were able to laugh about it  and we all agreed that it wasn't that great. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

After spending the evening with them, I headed to my parent's house where I would spend the night. I went to bed in my childhood bedroom excited to wake up to hot coffee and time with my mom. I'll recap that tomorrow...

How was your 4th of July? 
Favorite red white and blue concoction? I love strawberries and blueberries topped with whipped cream!
Worst movie you've seen lately?

Off Holiday

Hello!

Just popping in to let you know that regular scheduled blogging will resume tomorrow morning!

Catch you when the sun rises!

Weekending

Good morning!

Just popping in before I head off to the office and then out of town for the weekend. I'm excited to spend the holiday weekend hanging out with Andy, friends, and my family.

The blog won't be updated daily per usual, but I promise a full recap soon!

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Downpour

Good morning!

Saturday

Yesterday Andy and I spent the day together enjoying the nice weather before it started storming in the evening. He picked me up and we grabbed some lunch before heading to the lake to walk around and take some photos. 

We were fully enjoying our walk together--admiring all of the multi-million dollar homes that lined the lake when all of the sudden we felt raindrops on our faces.

Soon enough, those drops started coming down harder and faster--in which we picked up the pace and started running in the pouring rain towards our car. This proved to be a difficult task while carrying a heavy camera but we finally made it and ended up getting soaked in the process:

Since it was raining, we decided to grab groceries and head back to my place for a night of homemade sub sandwiches and a mini 24 marathon. It was great to just kick back and relax the rest of the evening--after all, that's what weekends are for, right?

Sunday
On the agenda for today:

1. Clean like crazy
2. Clean off camera memory card
3. Gym time
4. Return library books + fill up gas tank for the week
5. Head over to Andy's to work on our wedding website while catching up on church sermons online
6. Hang out with my friend Kaaren at her new casa

I'll be back either tonight or tomorrow morning with a recap!

What's on your agenda for the day? 
Do you like taking pictures outside?
What did you have for breakfast?

8 Hours Until a Long Weekend

Off to a busy day of work before the holiday weekend. Have a great day!

What are your Memorial Day plans?
What is your favorite "summer" food?

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom!