Adventures in Cooking #4

Just in time for my "new recipe" goal for November.... whew! This 30 days of blogging has thrown me off my normal posting.

Okay how about a PIE???? I dont like pie- but I LOOOOVE this pie!

Katy and I made it from Sheri Misegades' (my MIL) recipe card and its called :

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIE

Are you excited? I am... I think I may have to make another one tonight b/c its sooo good and its all eaten from last weekend.

Ingredients:

1 stick Butter

1 Cup Sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup flour

1 cup pecans (or walnuts) - get the pre-chopped up kind

1 unbaked pie shell

Bluebell ice cream :)

Melt 1 stick of butter and let it cool. Mix in 1 cup of sugar.

Add the eggs, vanilla, chocolate chips, flour, and walnuts OR pecans and mix well altogether.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream.

Voila! Easy as... PIE !!! pun intended.

Day 27 - Pets

Hmmm I am not a fan of animals... really at all. I grew up with fish, hamsters, a guinea pig, a bird that scared the CRAP out of me, and 2 dogs. (We had a lot of pet funerals at our house)

The only one that is still around is our dog named Daisy who is cute, but I kind of think she smells all the time and don't really like to cuddle her. She LOVES Logan and does have a cute little personality. See her standing up there by her Christmas tree? After the groomer she always has cute pigtails and smells nice so thats when I like to hold her :)

I am going to have to get over it at some point b/c Logan really wants a dog someday, but for now, we are a happy family of 2 :)

Day 26- A Picture of Your Family

My family (not growing quite yet!) :)

My Moms Side- at the Duchman winery in Wimberley

My Dads Side...this is all the kids + Nick at their wedding

My In Laws... The only pic I have of ALL of us from all over the world, together!

*I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Once these 30 Days of Blogging posts stop... I will be sure to do an extensive post about our AMAZINGLY fun and refreshing Turkey Day in Wimberley- lots of new memories made :) I would highly recommend it!

*Before tomorrow EOD... I owe a "new recipe" post so I can complete my 4 goals before the end of the year.

*I have a special GUEST blogger coming up in the next few weeks who will teach you how to make a yummy holiday treat!

Day 25-Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs

Most people would spin this to make themselves look "cool" but I am going to literally put my iPod on shuffle...and although I do think I have good taste in music, I have had this iPod since college so no telling what will pop up! No judgement, okay? Lets go! kind of nervous... ha!

1. We're not Right- David Gray

2. Feel Fine- Augustana

3. In the Middle- Mat Kearney

4. Otherside- Red Hot Chili Peppers

5. All I Want for Christmas is You- Mariah Carey WOOHOO!!!! Love that this one made it :)

6. Flashing Lights- Kanye West

7. Lost - Coldplay

8. Senti Il Soffio Del Vent- Guido Monge (Awesome French music)

9. Clark Gable- Postal Service

10. Dr. Jones - Aqua (dang it, we got SO close to having a decent 10 haha!)

Day 24-Something You've Learned

1. You can't please everyone.

For so long I tried to be friends (BEST friends) with everyone and lets be real here- you can't be "Superfriend" to every friend without letting some people down- there is just not enough time in the day! Choose to spend quality time with those who enrich your life for the better & get rid of the "drainers."

2. It is okay to say NO.

I used to have a really hard time saying "No" to people in fear of missing out... BUT I have learned as I am getting older, that I cherish nights at home. I now re-energize by being alone instead of being around people. It is okay to say "No" and make "plans" to do nothing.

3. Make time for things you love.

I enjoy making "Abby" time to do things I love to do- such as this blog, cooking, and spending time with Logan. If we are too stressed out about tomorrow, how will we possibly enjoy today? Find some hobbies and learn something new!

Day 23 - Favorite Vacation

Lets take a field trip back to Christmas 2008. Paris is a place I had fantasized about since I was a little girl... a place of pure magic and romance... After falling completely head over heels for Logan, we planned a trip to FRANCE to see his family at Christmas- much to my delight! I had never even been to Europe, much less thought I would fly to the "Romance Capital" of the WORLD with the man of my dreams... so I was a bouncy, giddy, bubbly school girl for a solid 4 months... I was SO nervous to tell my family that I wasn't going to be home at Christmas and oh by the way I am going to a foreign country with a guy I JUST started dating... ha! My dad handled it pretty well with one condition.... That boy has NOT asked me permission for your hand in marriage so he better NOT propose! Logan DID sit me down before we left to tell me that in a perfect world he would have proposed in France that Christmas, but due to the lovely economy crash in 2008- he was having a really hard time finding work- therefore no approval from my parentals and subsequently no ring.

So I went into the trip w/o that nervous anxiety of wondering if THE MOMENT could happen at ANY MOMENT...and instead I just got to fully enjoy this magical place. It was the most wonderful trip- I got to spend 2 days in Paris and experience the "City side" of France and then we headed down 5 hours south to his parent's Bed & Breakfast where I got to know some of his family and explore the "County side" of France- exploring Medieval Towns with Castles, and the local restaurants and culture. I have such vivid memories of that 2 weeks and I will cherish it forever... that trip really secured the reality that THIS Guy was the man I would spend the rest of my days with. LUCKY for me, I didn't have to be sad when the trip came to an end b/c I knew we would get to return to this place throughout our lifetime together and someday our kiddos would get the pleasure of experiencing 2 very diverse cultures early on in their little lives.

Here are a FEW of the pictures I took on that trip.... (I took 667... so lucky for you I narrowed it down)


Can I go back now?


My painting I purchased across from the Lourve in hand and Notre Dame in my rearview!


Sacre Couer


Will you marry me? Wait... not yet! :)
_______________________________________

Lets go COUNTRYSIDE....


Beynac Medieval Castle


White Christmas at the Bed & Breakfast


Another Local Castle


A local town full of waterfalls and magical views


Breathtaking. Probably one of the pics I am most proud of.


Castle ruins in Egletons.

Day 22 - Favorite City

San Fransisco... hands down. If my job permitted, we would pack up and start the trek TODAY! I hope we get the opportunity to live over there at some point. I have my best friend ALEXIS to thank for introducing me to such a fantastic place b/c she lived there for 4 years!

I love the weather, the outdoor activities, the coast, the restaurants, the culture, the shopping, the sight seeing, UM did I mention NAPA is less than 1 hour away?, the cute homes, the fact that people use public transportation/ walk everywhere, the romance, I could go on and on and on...

My Dearest California,

I know you are full of liberals and overpriced everything...and my dad would never approve of me moving there... but to me, you are perfect.

Your not-so-secret Admirer,

Abby in Texas

Thankful

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thanksgiving celebration by Norman Rockwell

Hope everyone is having a fun holiday & cherishing all the blessings we have been given this year!

Here are some things I am thankful for:

• My second half...that I love to pieces
• My family and extended family is HEALTHY, Praise God!
• Both of my parents are HAPPY and in a great place in their new lives.
• My wonderful seester who is a BLAST!
• My new job... honestly such a good (at times scary) move for me.
• Our great home in Lakewood that I never want to give up!
• A WONDERFUL church and church family.
• Arriving at a good place in my life where I am fully content with where I am and who I am.
• My friends... geez where would I be without them?
• The lovely FEAST we are going to have today in our cabin in Wimberly :)
  

What are you thankful for this year?

Day 21 - A Picture of Yourself

I feel like at this point yall have seen a LOT of pics of me... haha so you know what I look like, right? I figured I would post a pic w/ a story.

As you can see... my parents had to stick bows on my head and dress me in pink b/c I did not grow hair until like... 1st grade? Maybe 2nd... I had a mullet that would NEVER cooperate no matter what we did to it...too bad we didn't have the CHI back then!



What makes it funnier/ more ironic is that during my mom's sonogram (you know in 1984 it was fairly new technology), the umbilical cord got in the way, so my parents "found out" I was a BOY!!!! Reid Evans... I got a ton of cute boy clothes, all my baby shower cards are addressed to Reid (Abigail) Evans and I had a navy baby room painted w/ farm animals, then POOF! I popped out as Abigail and my parents had to use syrup to stick bows to my head and monogram all my boy clothes with the name ABBY so people wouldnt get confused haha! My hair arrived just in time for boys to lose their "cooties" and JTT (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) to fall madly in love with me :)

Day 20 - Nicknames

Abs (b/c Abby is too long to say)

Abitha (this was a random one I acquired in High School)

Abby-dabby-doo (from my Indian Princess days in elementary school)

Bee/ "Maya" in French (The Frenchies call me Maya- "Bee" in French- maybe b/c of Ab-BEE?)

Steel (Abs of Steel... ha, I wish I still had my 6 pack)

Ev-I (Evans was my maiden name... I guess Ev-I is like plural Evans? Hippopatumi? Evi?)

Bagel (Abigail is my name... A-Bagel... Bagel )

*I do not like missing goals... So I am going to try and work ahead and get my posts scheduled for over Thanksgiving! We are giong to WIMBERLY (in the Hill Country) and renting out a cute cabin- a weekend full of cooking, eating, reading, wineries, shopping antiques, and movies! I cannot WAIT :) It is always fun to try something new and different.

Day 19- Something You Miss

Do not judge me or put me in a stereotypes bucket based on this confession...but I honestly really miss cheerleading!!! I hate working out (you know, at the gym or running... I am not a Katy Trail type gal)...but cheerleading kept us all so in shape and it was FUN, it did not even feel like we were working out and we did it 12+ hours per week!

I started cheering in 8th grade and continued to cheer all the way through my senior year at Lake Highlands. Once I quit club gymnastics in 10th grade, I ALSO joined a club cheerleading squad called Cheer Basics. It really was so much fun! Great memories :) Here I am through the years of my cheer career.

8th grade cheerleader at Forest Meadow

9th grade cheerleader at Lake Highlands Freshman Center.

Senior Year- LHHS Varsity Cheer Captain

Senior Year- Cheer Basics

Senior Year- LHHS Homecoming Court

Day 18 - Something You Regret

2 Things:

1. Not doing an internship in NYC when I was young, ambitious, and single!

2. Not studying abroad in college... I joke w/ my parents that I had to marry a FRENCHMAN to get my hiney overseas :) My sis studied abroad in Spain and I drooled over all her pics and adventures... like the ones below. Experience of a lifetime!

*Disclaimer: I fully realize that all things happen for a reason and HAD I pursued either of those dreams... I may not be where I am today, married to the man I got to marry, and working for Neiman Marcus... So in that regard, I wouldn't change a thing. BUT STILL... wish I would have done it ;)

Day 17 - Something You Are Looking Forward To...

Being a MOM! Someday :) I want both girls AND boys... if I had my choice.

Annie had me take her "pregnant belly" update pic while we were in Arkansas, so I put a pillow up my dress and had her take one of myself! (She/He has a conehead!) haha NO there is no bun in the oven ... hold your horses!

Day 16 - Dream House

This was the post I was most looking forward to but SO MUCH goes into it... I was going crazy looking at all these adorable interior design blogs and it was so much pressure to design my dream home in 1 DAY!!!

Therefore I am going to stick to certain elements I want in my house and some cute exteriors of homes in my neighborhood in Lakewood/the M Streets. Look how adorable these are! I love it when homes mix bricks, have tudor elements, and look unique from concrete subdivisions in the suburbs :) (no offense if you live in one, just my preference) I also love the cottage look- there are so many of these in Lakewood - wood homes with huge front porches with swings, maybe even painted a fun random color! Logan and I don't want to live in a BIG home, we would rather have it be small, quaint, and cozy.

We LOVE our place right now... in fact, I thought about posting pics of our place for elements of our Dream Home but I will list them instead. We love the wood floors, old vintage bath tile, curved doorways, cute old crystal door knobs, the color of all the walls b/c it adds such a warm vibe to our place, our breakfast nook, our stained glass bar area, and even our front porch! We are going to be so sad to move out and if we DO ever get to build a dream home... we want to make it look OLD and incorporate some of the charming elements from our Goliad home.

This is not our bathroom- but you get the idea of the vintage tile...

And maybe throw in a clawfoot bathtub too :)

Some improvements we would make: BIGGER CLOSETS... geez, people really didn't have many clothes back then! Stainless steel appliances... I love the Restoration Hardware look kitchens that have the light woodgrain mixed w/ black and stainless steel. We would want a back patio with maybe even a fire pit to make smores ... or perhaps, a table and chairs to host a dinner party- with lanterns of course :) b/c my backyard will look like a Pottery Barn catalog someday right? haha We ARE dreaming here... I love exposed brick walls and wood beam accents on the celings. I also will have a canopy bed and incoporate some barn doors somehow?

My Dream Patio Setting (my view would be a vineyard though in a perfect world)

Love both of these kitchens!

Can this be my bedroom please? Love the brick and canopy bed- 2 birds w/ 1 stone!

Really want to incorporate Barn Doors somehow!

Again... I swoon over exposed brick walls

And wood beam ceilings!

If I had to describe my taste... I guess it is Canton, Anthropologie, Vintage, Classic, Lofty, Colorful, and CLEARLY Eclectic? I don't want to put parameters on my taste AND I don't care if every room has a different vibe... I just buy stuff I like :)

Oh ...and I WILL have one of these someday in my dining room :)

Whew. I think I could have spent ALL 30 DAYS preparing for this post... may have to add some more to it later :)