Baldwin's with Jax!

Yesterday afternoon I picked up my man, Jackson, and off we went to Baldwin's Book Barn. He got to hang out with Steve Burns on the ride there - they totally bonded, by the way - he ate tons of Pez from his Star Wars Death Star Pez dispenser, plus honey crisp apples and yum yum cashews. Then we arrived and wandered around for a while, til it was time to "ske-daddle" as Jackson said. He picked up a book, a little yellow book, just his size and decided it was his favourite and he really, really wanted it. So I got it and we're gonna leave it in Roark so whenever Jackson goes for a ride with me he will have a book to read. See below for the title.

The highlight for me was when Jax got up from a rocking chair on the 4th floor and was slightly perplexed that it was still moving. I convinced him it was a ghost and when he discovered another rocker on another floor that did the same thing he said, "Aunt Lisa, it's totally haunted." Then he had me in stitches when he snuck slowly around a book case and whispered, "my precious" like he was Gollum. Oh my lord, it was so freakin' cute I couldn't help but bust out laughing. After Baldwin's we hit Panera for grub and chit chat and then sadly, I had to drop him off back home. I'm already checking my calendar to see when we can hang out again. He's so easy-breezy and fun to be with that it doesn't feel like a chore to take care of him for the day. It's like hanging out with a super dooper close pal.

A Ghastlie Obsession

I absolutely love Alexander Henry's fabric featuring The Ghastlies and eventually (when I get my shit together) I will be creating a super-spooky but totally fantastic quilt, with the help of Mama Rosie!

Wedding Day Belles

Yesterday evening Kayla and Jaeden's mom (my cousin Barbaraanne) married her long-time BF. I had no more days off from work and couldn't make it. Champ that she is, my girl Ash hooked me up with a slew of fab photos of all my beautiful nieces. I'm super bummed I couldn't make it, but look how incredible these ladies look:

Jackson the Jokester

Brian Stowell

This is the essence of rustic! Isn't it lovely in every conceivable way?

Crap. Damn it.

This veganism is for the GD birds...

Gumball Cuteness!

I saw this lil' sweetie online and oh my Lord Jesus, I nearly died. Cuteness overload to the Nth degree!!!!

(Look at that nose!!!! Those cheeks!!!)

Tea Time

I kinda went bananas on the Republic of Tea website and spent forty-five bucks...but whatevs. I deserve it. Early Christmas giftie to myself!

You are beautiful.

Saw this while in line at Vgë in August and ran back to my seat to grab my phone and snap a pic. It's so randomly placed but instantly made me happy.

Happy Halloween from Mamaleh!!

Halloween Cutie-pie

Marina sent me this lil' vid of our boy Mateo opening the Halloween card I sent him. This kid is out-of-this-world adorable.

Star's Fishs Eddy Collection!

Choc. Zuke Bread Redux

Mama Rose and I had much better luck on our third attempt at this recipe. We made some adjustments to the original recipe and it was the best yet. The key was doubling the ingredients and baking it in a brownie pan. Here's the end result followed by our retouching of the recipe in bold to make it our own.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups Teff Flour - we switched it to regular flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1½ tsp xantham gum
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1½ cups grated zucchini - pressed paper towel over to soak up some of the juice
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 Tbsp water)
• 1¼ cups chocolate coconut milk
• ¼ c cacao nibs (or vegan chocolate chips)
• ½ cup chopped walnuts on the top and 1 cup-ish mixed in
• added ½ cup-ish of sugar in the raw and sprinkled a ton on top

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. In large bowl, mix together flour, xantham gum, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Add grated zucchini, maple syrup, flax eggs and coconut milk. Stir until just mixed. Do not over stir.
4. Add in cacao nibs and stir to mix.
5. In a parchment lined bread pan, carefully pour the batter, ensuring that it is evenly distributed amongst the pan.
6. If adding walnuts, sprinkle over top of batter and gently press into the top of the batter so that they are about half way covered by the batter.
7. Bake for 55 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the loaf comes out clean.

Notes: Due to the moisture content of the zucchini, this bread should be enjoyed within 2-3 days and is best to be stored in the refrigerator. But you can totally slice it and toss it in the freezer. I think it's best after it's been in the freezer over night and then thawed and nuked in the microwave for half a minute.

Nutritional Information for original recipe, since I loaded it up with walnuts and sugar:

Serving size: 1 slice Calories: 166 Fat: 6g Saturated fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 28g Sugar: 9mg Sodium: 343mg Fiber: 5g Protein: 4g Cholesterol: 0mg

Created by Savanna - glutenfreeveganpantry

Pumpkin Patch Preciousness

Ugh, aren't you sick to death of seeing pictures of kids on this blog? Me neither!! Here's Miss Bailey down in Jville trying to soak up the season!

(all photos courtesy of Ms. Ashlee)

Proof

...that many, many men are indeed, truly wonderful:

Dinner in Westmont

Last night I met up for dinner with m'office gals, Melanie and Lauryn. Lauryn's bday was this past Sunday and we celebrated at a lil' Italian place not far from our respective homes. It was such a great time and a much needed opportunity to catch up on eachother's lives. After a delightful meal, which Melanie paid for (! - such a nice surprise), we headed to the ladies loo for an impromptu photo shoot. Here's the best pix of a fantastic evening.

Bespectacled Beauty

I love a lady in fab specks and only wish more gals would ditch their contacts and wear their glasses with pride!