A cross country move

At this point is it obvious that I made it from Iowa to Portland Oregon, with Winston, Nana, Papa and all of my things!

The trip was eventful and full of driving (obviously). 

I finished work around 11:00am on the 31st of May and off we went, driving through Iowa and about 300 miles through Nebraska.  On June 1st we headed out early in the morning and made it the rest of the way through Nebraska, almost all the way through Wyoming.  Then at mile post three I smelled smoke and saw a huge plume coming out the back end of my car, EEEK!  We stopped and took a look at things, luckily the car still drove - just no power steering.  As we got back on the highway Nana got out her GPS and we found that there was a Chevy dealership a mere two miles away!  God was smiling on us, we were very blessed to be so close to a place that could help us so much!

After stopping at the dealership and making an appointment for the morning (Papa made the appointment, as I was a sobbing mess "my car, my car...") we drove another 2 miles to a hotel. The next morning we got up early and waited at the door of the dealership to open, come to find out the power steering line had come loose and the engine burned a hole in the line causing the fluid to hit the exhaust pipe which the caused smoke.  It would be another day until we could get the line from Denver and repairs would cost $500, there  was also no guarantee that the pump would work after the line had been run dry.

We opted to pay the pretty penny for a U-Haul truck and trailer, throwing my things in the truck and pulling my car with the trailer.  We left Wyoming around 11:00am, drove through Utah, Idaho and Oregon, making it to Washington around 2:00AM.  Exhausted but happy we collapsed in to bed, WE WERE HOME!

Along the way we did see some sights, including this list of license plates:
Iowa
Texas
North Dakota
Kansas
Nebraska
Indiana
Oklahoma
Illonios
Missouri
Florida
Arizona
Pennsylvania
California
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Colorado
North Carolina
Georgia
Utah
Idaho
Michigan
Washington
Tennesse
Ohio
Maine
Oregon
Arkansas
Mississippi
New Jersey

Canadian Provinces:
British Columbia
Ontario
Manatoba

Special Vehicles: 
The OSCAR MAYER WIENER MOBILE!!!!!

That's thirty states, three provinces and ONE Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile, all in three days!

Here's what - five things I am loving

Starbucks Coconut Creme Frappuccino - a delicious, frosty, treat, perfect for cooling down in the heat of Summer (or Spring as it may be). Enjoy Starbucks Happy Hour until the 15th of May 3:00pm - 5:00pm!

It should come as no surprise that I love the color green!  I have really been enjoying the GREEN grass lately, walking in it, sitting in it and playing with Winston in the grass - all great fun! 

Philosophy, Peaches and Cream lotion and shampoo.  This is a very happy scent and not too sweet, I also have Apricots and Cream body spray which is pretty great!

The song "Rill Rill" by Sleigh Bells - I could listen to it on a loop for hours.  

Another frosty treat - Dairy Queen's Star Kiss, I prefer cherry but the stripes are good too.  I great way to cool down and it's less than 100 calories, sounds like a win to me!

A Classic Cupcake

This is always someone's favorite; Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting.  I originally found the recipe in a magazine and changed a couple of things that the recipe called for, hoping for a more signature way of baking.  This is a moist and very sweet cupcake that everyone has something nice to say about.

One of my favorites!  The cake of this cupcake is my traditional chocolate cake with  coconut milk instead of regular milk and coconut extract for a little extra added coconut-ness.  The frosting is Coconut Butter Cream with toasted coconut as a garnish. 

This was my first attempt with this recipe and I think it went well.  This is the very traditional yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  I, once again, found the recipe from a magazine and changed somethings about the ingredients in hopes to enhance the moisture of the cupcake.  I think that this recipe was successful, the top of the cake had a sort of candied quality which seemed to help preserve the moisture of the cake. 

Below is one of my favorite cupcake photos, I didn't take the photo and the hand isn't mine but the cupcake is my creation. 

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about my cupcakes, there are more to come! In the future I plan on sharing my Lemon Cupcakes and eventually Ginger Bread (we'll wait for Christmas).  I am also going to explore recipes for Cherry Chip, Stout, Merlot, Key Lime, Margarita, Strawberry Shortcake, Rum-Cake and many more so stay tuned for more cupcakes full of Whimsy and Merriment!

Fritta...

I made this!  Special thanks to my recipe book and a hunger for eggs!  Frittata with green peppers, green onions, bacon, salsa and cheese!  Yummers!

Cupcake Questions

A co-worker asked me about cupcakes and this is my answer (I like when people ask me for cupcake advice)!

Hi Sara,

Since you are the cupcake aficionado, I thought I would pick your brain for a minute. My son’s first birthday is coming up and I would like to send cupcakes to daycare with him. Most of the other kids are 2 and younger so I would like to find a recipe that won’t get the kids too hyped up on sugar- I don’t think the daycare provider would like me very much if I did that to her! Do you know of any good recipes that use applesauce or a sugar alternative? I’m not having much luck with online searches.

Thanks Darcie, 

HELLO!

Great question!  I’m not sure about the actual cake part, how you could make that lower sugar, I would need to try a few recipes before I suggested something.  I would think that the frosting might be a bigger problem than the cake as far as sugar goes.  I think that whip cream would be a good alternative to frosting, you could still add food coloring and pipe it on to the cupcakes; unless you are frosting the cupcakes right before you give them to the kids, I would say that Cool Whip would be your best bet (because it holds up better).  I have heard some things about sugar substitutes (splenda, agave nectar), some people say that the reaction is similar to sugar, some say that it is not.  Other alternatives could be carrot cake or angel food cake.  Something that I’ve always wanted to try is making cupcakes out of frozen yogurt, kind of like an ice cream cake but with frozen yogurt and in cupcake form. 

Hope that helps! Happy Birthday to your little guy!

So there it is!  My first piece of cupcake advice!

Sunday Dinner

Tasty dinner of: steamed broccoli, pesto tortellini, and blue cheese and green onion stuffed chicken.  It was a  great dinner, the chicken was baked with a whole wheat breading and the tortellini was Trader Joe's! 

Atlas or Choose Your Own Adventure?

Lately I have been asked "Where are you going? What are you doing?" relatively often.  Usually being asked these questions would cause me a great deal of anxiety because I am not the person who has their lives mapped out like an atlas.  I liken my life to a "choose your own adventure" book, you never know what's happening next you just turn a page and the fun begins! I know that there are a million different things that I can do, when should I do those things? When should I turn the page to the next adventure? (answer: right now)

But why do I dislike being asked about my future? I feel a little judged when I have no idea what my future is and everyone else has a plan, it's not that I mind not having a plan because obviously I would have a plan if I wanted a plan.  For the first time ever, I do not feel bad when I say that I don't necessarily know what my future holds, but I know it holds a great adventure.

Here is a list of things I can or would like to do (excluding my current profession) 
- a barista - i love coffee and I actually used to do this
- a receptionist or administrative assistant - I like organizing things and being nice
- a waitress - I enjoy giving people service with a smile
- personal organizer - I love organizing things
- a customer service representative - I am good with people and I like them
- a nanny - as much as I complain about children, I enjoy them
- event planner - i like events
- a crafter - making pretty things, what else is there?
- a baker - I might have to get up too early to be a baker
- a business owner - I really want to have my own shop of some sort

What it boils down to is that I don't know where I am going and I'm not sure where I'll end up but every chapter will be an adventure because every chapter has been an adventure.