tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60092344071035787752024-02-19T09:20:24.672-06:00 Ann with a planAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-62067032383261558072015-12-16T08:00:00.000-06:002015-12-22T11:36:21.577-06:00Snickerdoodles and the Great Cookie Swap
I absolutely loved participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. While this was the 5th annual cookie swap, it was my first year participating. I baked, packed, and sent off snickerdoodles to bloggers all over the country. The cookie swap was a fun opportunity to share cookies with (and better yet to receive cookies from) participants all over the country, while Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-49792294794195765152015-10-28T08:00:00.000-05:002015-10-28T08:00:02.418-05:00Banana Blueberry Oat Muffins
With it turning cool, I've been turning to oatmeal and other warm breakfasts. These Banana Blueberry Oat Muffins are easy to throw together. They're filling without being too sweet.
Banana Blueberry Oat Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (separated) unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup old fashion oats
¼ cup Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-13507765517144647612015-10-23T08:00:00.000-05:002015-10-23T08:00:02.477-05:00Peanut Butter Frosting
Not to brag, but I make a mean chocolate peanut butter cake. It's chocolate cake with a chocolate buttercream frosting and a fluffy peanut butter frosting in the middle. The peanut butter frosting is what makes the cake. It's light and fluffy but substantial enough to hold up the top layer of the cake.
I used this super quick frosting as a middle layer in my chocolate Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-39405668295985705802015-10-20T08:00:00.000-05:002015-10-25T21:56:52.564-05:00A Jewish Baker's Pastry Secrets
Recipes from a New York Baking Legend for Strudel, Stollen, Danishes, Puff Pastry, and More.
by George Greenstein
This
book made me feel like such a legit baker. Greenstein spends full chapters on streudel
and babka and provides a wonderful recipe for puff pastry. He discusses at length the importance of quality ingredients and shows his care for what he makes in his Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-31088524146706729152015-07-30T07:00:00.000-05:002015-10-25T21:57:05.430-05:00Everyday Detox by Megan Gilmore
It's hard to think of detoxes without thinking of days of juice cleanses and salads. Megan Gilmore's approach, in Everyday Detox is more of a lifestyle change. It's a long term approach to ridding your body of, as Megan calls the vague additives and chemical preservatives of processed foods. There are so many of testimonials to the effects of a whole food diet in general as well asAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-75706717307632788402015-07-27T07:00:00.000-05:002015-07-29T21:46:52.334-05:00Collaboreads: Eleanor & Park
I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to join in with Mr. Thomas and Me and Rachel A. Dawson for Collaboreads (you can learn more about Collaboreads here). The criteria for this month's book selection was "a book with someone's name in the title." I chose Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. This
book has been on my reading list for a while. I think I read a Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-68777262337998164522015-07-24T07:00:00.000-05:002015-10-25T21:57:53.613-05:00Icebox Coffee Toffee No Churn Ice Cream
I was pretty excited to hear that Birmingham based, Icebox Coffee and Birmingham Bloggers are holding a recipe
contest because 1. I love iced coffee and 2. I've been all about finding recipes to stay cool this summer. I've tried both flavors of Icebox coffee concentrate and love them both. This was really a great excuse to buy more iced coffee.&Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-42776682595018061542015-07-16T07:00:00.000-05:002015-07-16T07:00:05.994-05:00Have you seen?
Have you seen my post this week on Southern Exhilaration? Caitlin's blog is full of travel and all things southern, so I was super excited to share about one of
my favorite places in Montgomery:
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
and it's beautiful surroundings at the Blount Cultural Park.
Be sure to check it out!
Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-44056800963088174242015-06-29T21:06:00.002-05:002015-07-29T21:42:33.731-05:00Collaboreads: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Goldfinch
image
I'm so excited to be joining in on the first #Collaboreads link-up Created by Amber and Rachel as "the best and simplest book link-up in the land." It brings together reviews of so many different books by providing a broad guideline and allowing people to pick their own book. You can find more about Collaboreads here. This month's criteria was: Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-58019100634596869342015-06-25T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-29T21:42:57.536-05:00Balboa Park, San DiegoYou could probably spend a weeks exploring San Diego's Balboa Park and still not see everything. The park is home to many museums, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo. And it is absolutely gorgeous. We spent one afternoon walking around a few of the beautiful gardens, museums and theaters.
The Casa del Prado Theater is a historic reconstruction used by the San Diego JuniorAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-40482469167885389292015-05-22T09:00:00.000-05:002015-07-29T21:43:23.475-05:00Old Town San Diego, California
Old Town San Diego-the birthplace of California. Super accessible to
public transportation and filled with history and beautiful
architecture. I loved walking around the park and through a few of the museums as well as the shops on the surrounding streets.
Whether or not you buy into ghost stories, the Whaley House Tour is really interesting.&Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-1290928770647686872015-05-16T08:00:00.000-05:002015-07-29T21:43:51.313-05:00Southern Makers, Montgomery, Alabama
One thing Alabama is not short on, is creative souls. Southern Makers was the first weekend of May and brought in a slew of chefs, artists, brewers, musicians and designers from across the southeast, majority being from Alabama. Proceeds from the event went to E.A.T. South, a really cool local charity which uses urban farms to promote principles of food justice through educationAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com1Montgomery, AL, USA32.3668052 -86.2999689000000132.152163200000004 -86.6226924 32.5814472 -85.977245400000015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-19003247101570620992015-05-10T10:00:00.000-05:002015-10-25T22:01:14.910-05:00Weekend Reading
Last weekend, the Southern Makers event was held in the Union Station Train Shed in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The event was full of southern artists, musicians, chefs and brewers, majority being from Alabama. I absolutely loved it! This was the third year for the event, but my first time attending. It was great to see such a large turn out for this creative event.Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-22527576064278333642015-05-08T10:00:00.000-05:002015-05-08T23:31:04.295-05:00San Diego BeachesOn a recent trip to San Diego, California, I took the opportunity to explore a few of the local beaches. Pacific Beach had a great boardwalk filled with shops, bars, restaurants and bike rentals. There were so many people forming a quite diverse crowd. We walked south down the beach from there and it seemed to get more family friendly as we got closer to Mission Beach. Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-13613538998628814362015-04-19T09:00:00.000-05:002015-10-25T22:01:01.696-05:00Weekend Reading
I spent the last week in San Diego for a conference. The week was full of good food and beautiful sites on top of the emerging work in emissions inventories. I loved exploring the city and seeing the beaches. The seals above were lounging on a beach in La Jolla and they were awesome. I'm pretty sure seals are the grumpy old men of the animal kingdom.
It was not only aAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-74973067685420399012015-04-04T18:29:00.000-05:002015-07-21T22:16:53.504-05:00Easy Easter Cake DecoratingWhat dessert screams Easter more than a carrot cake. I can't think of any, but my love of this cake could make me a little biased. This year mom asked me to bring one to Easter Sunday lunch, and I got a little excited. I decided to make a few cupcakes as well for the kids. I followed the carrot cake recipe from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, one of my favorite cookbooks, Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-56042211229734852662015-03-29T22:19:00.002-05:002015-10-25T22:01:50.896-05:00Weekend Reading
This weekend was a relaxing end to a lovely week. I spent time with friends and family, cooked great food, thanks to Blue Apron, and took an online calligraphy class with Scarlet & Gold.
This week, I tried to simplify my to-do list by prioritizing tasks and making a top three list every morning. A couple days in, I started making separate top three lists for work and personal Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-82801818389110546802015-03-22T10:00:00.000-05:002015-03-22T10:00:00.962-05:00Weekend Reading
I've always thought it was crazy how some people could spend the entire work week waiting on the weekend. I used to think this was due to a distaste for one's job (which it very well may be for some), but now I wonder if it isn't really due to exhaustion. I don't even have kids and there are times when I feel like I'm constantly running around from the time I get home to the time I getAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-45737416216497518472015-03-08T22:00:00.000-05:002015-07-21T22:16:53.497-05:00Mashed Root Vegetables
A little over a year ago, Seth and I ate at a little restaurant in Tallahassee that a coworker of his recommended. It was called Mikosukee Root Cellar and I had the meatloaf with mashed root vegetables. It was hands down the best meatloaf I think I have ever had and the mashed "root vegetables," were so stinking good. I'm not particularly sure what root vegetables were used Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-38482138674995978632015-03-05T19:38:00.002-06:002015-07-21T22:16:53.481-05:00Vegetable Pot Pie for 2
Temperatures outside have gone from the upper 60's to the mid 30's in
the past 12 hours. Yesterday I was out running in shorts and a tank and
today, I'm cuddled up with a blanket. The weather has been crazy to
say the least. While I generally love winter and enjoy the cooler
weather, I'm over it, as is, I believe, the rest of the country.
However, as I have no Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-51905033348698913572015-02-27T22:01:00.000-06:002015-02-27T22:01:19.305-06:00High Five for Friday
I love Erika's goal of making mornings magnificent this year.
I've definitely been working towards becoming a morning person
(especially since figuring out a few months ago that I had become
neither a morning nor a night person). I've been working on moving my
phone further away, waking up to NPR (which is one of my favorite things) getting out of bed before hitting snooze, and
enjoying Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-84457455776190015442015-02-09T21:13:00.001-06:002015-02-09T21:13:10.113-06:00French Women Don't Get Fat
I started to purchase How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are a couple of weeks ago, but felt too guilty to add another book to my collection of books I'm totally going to get around to reading. I started reading French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano, over a year ago - right around the time I started my job and realized working full time is exhausting compared to the part time retailAnnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-77077268308089931332015-01-20T22:20:00.000-06:002015-07-21T22:16:53.507-05:00Roasted Winter Vegetables
....And one more time. I haven't had the best luck on the
computer front lately. Between my computer's meltdown with the
installation of Lightroom, and Blogger deleting multiple posts, I was
pretty much ready to throw this thing out. I think my computer may have
just needed a break - don't we all from time to time. Now on to more
important things, like Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-9458640640889475532014-12-30T22:22:00.001-06:002014-12-30T22:24:33.353-06:00Goals for the New Year
I am a work in progress in many regards. I will work towards
several goals in the coming year, but I don't so much feel as if I'm
making New Years Resolutions as I am striving to do better in general. I aim to eat less refined sugar, move towards a more organic and
vegetable based diet, and find more ways to embrace the little bits of
goodness all around me in the coming year. The Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009234407103578775.post-59062969302894370142014-12-29T21:50:00.000-06:002014-12-29T21:50:11.602-06:00Blue Apron
I have found a favorite new way to cook. Blue Apron is a subscription service which you can opt in an out of and personalize to your dietary preferences. I initially loved the idea of using fresh and
seasonal produce and learning new recipes but wasn’t sure about the
value. Having someone plan, purchase, and lay everything out for you
sounded like a great time saver, Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416805515663190788noreply@blogger.com2