Kitchen (Mis)Adventures

This is what my kitchen island looks like on a regular basis. This is my reality- a slightly controlled mess. Last Friday, I had decided to delight in the anniversary of my sorority's founding by baking a big batch of pink cupcakes; a tradition that I began long ago. Everything was in place, I had my eggs, my strawberry cake mix, freshly brewed coffee and a marathon of Chasing Life on Netflix. First, I made a batch of gluten free chocolate cupcakes, then I baked the strawberry cupcakes. Before I began adding water, eggs and oil to my mix, I double checked the "best by" date. The mix was "Best" by November 2015. Unsure of the safety of the mix, I did one inquiry after another, reading a ridiculous amount of literature on Google. After inspecting, sniffing and eye balling, I surmised that the mix was "safe" and I began the baking process. The sun was shining, the house was clean and it smelled amazing, it was a unicorn eating jellybeans kind of afternoon. That all changed after I frosted the cupcakes....

I don't know if it was the frosting (chocolate fudge from a can), the cupcake, or the combination of the two, but something was just off about the cupcakes. I ate one and it "seemed" okay, but something told me to try another. After smelling a cupcake, breaking it open and smelling more, something seemed sour. I just felt uneasy about these cupcakes, One part of me, the part that loves cupcakes, told myself not to worry, that the mix was properly stored and couldn't possibly be off. However, another part of me, the part that knows I'll wake up at 3 am in a panic, told me to toss the batch. I decided to feed the bin. I didn't like the idea of the kids getting sick off of cupcakes. The gluten free cupcakes were fine, Sadly, I had to go without my pink cupcakes on Founders' Day, this year. As Celine Dion says (err, sings) "my heart will go on......"

To make up for my kitchen mishap, I was determined to be a culinary crusader for the rest of the week. A few days ago, I baked a delicious batch of soft molasses cookies, using my very own recipe! They are a hit. Last night, I made Toll House Pie....swoon!

Monday, I needed fried food in a way that almost seemed obscene. I searched Pinterest for the perfect onion ring recipe. After pinning a few copycat recipes, I'd decided that those recipes were more complicated than they had any business being. Instead, I relied on my trusty Betty Crocker; she never fails me. Sure enough, I found a simple recipe that lent itself to be improved upon with the addition of spices and cornmeal.

The end result was nothing short of amazing. I enjoyed these with fried chicken nuggets. Again, it was that kind of day. Now, I have big plans to make some deep fried pickle chips, with onion rings. I know that it sounds terrible. However, this is something that I delight in once in a blue moon. Normally, I eat more healthy meals and I exercise, the key is moderation. When you use moderation, you can indulge in a few naughty meals.

So, that has been my week in the kitchen. We've been enjoying warmer weather, the days are getting longer and Maine Maple Sunday is just around the corner! Soon, we'll celebrate St. Patrick's Day, then Easter and then....Spring will be here! I am really..really looking forward to Spring. I'll keep you updated on any new kitchen adventures and any other adventures that come my way. Hopefully, no more pastries will be sacrificed. Until next time~ Tooddahloo!

Finally Feeling Better

The weather is back to clear, sunny skies. If you look out the window, you can actually convince yourself that it's Spring, already. Then, you step outdoors and you're welcomed with the harsh reality that winter is still, very much, in full swing. Last week, I really wanted to post, but it was one of those weeks. I was really looking forward to Thursday, because I had a girl day scheduled with my dear friend. We both look forward to those days and will often go for long stretches, in the school year, without one. When the day finally arrives it is long overdue, badly needed and at the end of the day we feel refreshed. So, Wednesday night there was a dark cloud, the car got a booboo. This was rather stressful, but the Mister hatched a plan; we found a temporary solution and got through it. However, when Thursday morning arrived, I'd barely slept a wink. I spent my girl day consuming more than my regular dose of coffee. All the while, worrying about the car, and the Mister, and the car. I had a fantastic day with my friend and she was even able to make me laugh and my mind was away from worries, if only temporarily.
When I got back home that afternoon, I prepared coffee, got supper started and resolved myself to not let it get me down. We borrowed my parents car so that we could go grocery shopping and then I was a bit less stressed. Sadly, when Friday morning came, I was exhausted. It isn't unusual for me to get tired after a girl day. I tend to push myself more than I should on those days, but I get so excited, I can't help myself. Having slept rather poorly Wednesday night, I was that much more exhausted.

On Saturday morning, as tired as I was, I decided to perk myself up with chocolate chip/ peanut butter pancakes. They were light, fluffy and very tasty- exactly what I needed. It seemed as though I'd never catch up on my sleep. Yesterday, I finally relaxed and after making certain that all my work was done, curled up for a nap. Today, I am back on track and I no longer feel like I'm dragging my heels. I am currently curled up on my love seat with one dog at my side, while another dog is dreaming away in the recliner, five feet away. I'm watching Agatha Christie on Hulu.com and I am fighting a nap. I shouldn't, but I want to get some writing done before I crash. I'm still recovering from last week, but I'm feeling tremendously better.

These little hiccups in life are hardly problems. Rather, they are mere inconveniences, but sometimes those inconveniences lead to other inconveniences and it develops into a very ugly snowball. Fortunately, we are surrounded by good friends and family -that makes all the difference.

One thing that I'm really looking forward to is my garden. I found that the Dollar Tree was selling seed packets 4/$1.00. I snagged several vegetable packets while they still had them, some things sell out quickly there. I think I'll get more at a later time, as long as they're available. Just having seeds is exciting enough for now, It won't be long before we're starting our seedlings! The month is nearly done and it seems like it went by quickly. One more week until March; I hope that Spring does come early, I can't wait for flowers! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Remembering To Rely On Trusted Cookbooks

I like to cook and I love to bake. Baking is where I find my happy, relaxing place in the kitchen. When I was a little girl, I learned to bake chocolate chip cookies, using my mother's Betty Crocker cookbook. When the internet became a cultural thing, I was in college; I remember my first online recipe came within a viral e-mail that one of my high school friends had sent. It was the notorious fake cookie recipe from a mall bakery. After that, I thought that it would be tremendously useful to find recipes on the internet. I've had good luck with recipes from brand sites, sites of famous cooks and allrecipes.com. What is great about allrecipes is that people with rate the recipe and write in the comments what worked and what didn't work in the recipe. Often, when people share how they improved upon the recipe, I'll use their addition(s) to make a better treat/meal. This method has never really failed me, as far as I can remember.
Then, there's Pinterest, my favorite site. However, it's also the worst site when it comes to recipes. There are so many recipes that look amazing and people claim them to be amazing, but it's such a guessing game. I've found some good recipes and some horrid recipes. Today, for instance, I was in the mood to make some cinnamon rolls, because it was rainy today. I thought that it would be great to warm up the kitchen and make the house smell like baked goods. I went to online and found what was supposed to be an amazing recipe. The recipe (initially) claimed to take 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to bake, with a total of 40 minutes. I thought that it would be wonderful to throw together some pastry just in time for the Mister to come home for his lunch break and enjoy some freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Once I got 3/4 of the way through the recipe, with dough half-way mixed, the directions said to let the dough rise for an HOUR! Then further down, the recipe requires the rolls to rise for an additional 30 minutes. It would have been great if this little note was included at the top of the page, where it claimed to be a 40 minute project. I was thoroughly annoyed, to say the least.
The rolls, two hours later, came out great and were very much appreciated when the gentleman came home for the day; it was a welcome treat after being out in the rain. However, the experience has left me a bit jaded.
 Lately, I've decided to stop the game and just rely on my cookbooks. I have a wonderful cookbook collection and those recipes have never failed me. I even have a spiral bound version of the same Betty Crocker cookbook like my Mum has. I rely on that book, still, to bake excellent treats. I've gotten into the habit of grabbing a small stack of books from my cookbook library and finding good recipes to meal plan for the week. The most surprising thing is, I'm now discovering recipes from cookbooks that I overlooked for years. One year, I received the "Desperate Housewives Cookbook" for Christmas. It was a gift, because I was so addicted to the show. I never took the book too seriously. After a recent meal planning session, I discovered that the cookbook is actually pretty great! It has a nice variety of recipes and they are all very easy to throw together. So, for now on, I'm going to take a more old fashioned approach to cooking and baking, and hopefully I'll have more success and less frustration.
Until next time~ Toodahloo!

A Snowy Week

This week has been filled with snow storms, and apparently there's more on the way! Last Thursday, I took a photo of the sun setting and you can see the yard had very little, to mostly no, snow cover.

 However, the next day, the snow began early in the morning. By noon time the roads were terrible and the kids were released early from school. The snowfall was great and the snow fluffy. It didn't take long for the yard to look like a winter wonderland. As soon as the snow came, it began to melt away again. Just when I was seeing more of the ground exposed, it snowed...again!

This isn't at all unusual for February. Ever since high school I can remember that the week before my birthday, it gets very warm and then, right before or even on my birthday, we get hit with a snowstorm.

It's very pretty, but it's also a mess. We were quite lucky with the snow and the cold this winter, as compared to last winter, which was horrid. I am not complaining too much; especially when Spring is a month away. We had it pretty good this year. We rarely dipped below freezing (this morning it was -6) and we didn't have too much snow to cause trouble. I really am looking forward to Spring, though. It will be fun to be outside, in the garden again.

Today, I am relaxing with the pooches and making chocolate truffles for a Valentine's treat. It might be terribly cold outside, but at least the sun is shining and I'm warm and snug inside. I know that another storm is coming next week, but that is just part of winter in New England. I will find a way to make it fun. I'll keep you posted...Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Getting My Baking Mojo Back

Fresh baked blueberry muffins, right out of the oven!

You might have noticed over the previous months a lack in baking posts. There is a very logical, if not sad, and slightly funny story behind the reason why. At least, in the end, there's a happy ending. Back in November, I was looking forward to the holiday season. I couldn't wait to bake Thanksgiving pies and I was anticipating all of the festive treats that I could bake in December. Thanksgiving arrived and I found myself baking pies the night before, then getting up early on Thanksgiving morning to bake homemade cinnamon rolls. It was all very delicious and I felt like I was finally making my kitchen my own. Then, the Friday after Thanksgiving, in the wee hours of the morning, something very strange happened. Around 1 o'clock in the morning, I woke to hear a faint beeping sound coming from downstairs. This is odd, because I am hearing impaired, however I can still hear high pitched sounds very clearly. I woke the Mister and asked him if he could hear it too. He got out of bed, went downstairs and discovered that the noise was coming from the oven.
I quickly shot downstairs to investigate. The oven display was showing an error code and the oven was very hot. (No, the oven had not been left on earlier in the evening.) The Mister tried to hit cancel, but the oven would not shut off. Strangely this very thing happened to my parents the year before. A few days after Thanksgiving, while my Mum was roasting a turkey, the oven shot up to 500 degrees F. The only solution that my Dad could find was to unplug the oven. I decided that we needed to immediately unplug the oven in order to prevent any sort of major problem. So, the oven was unplugged and it began to cool down. After the Mister returned to bed, I couldn't rest until I researched online any possible cause and/or solution to our problem.  I narrowed it down to either a problem with the temperature sensor or the control panel. Once I saw that there was at least a solution, I was able to go back to bed and get some rest.
The next morning, we plugged the oven back in, hoping that the problem went away, but the problem was still there. So, the Mister discovered that it was most likely (hopefully) a problem with the temperature sensor. So, he was able to make it so that the oven was no longer in use, but the stove could still function.
Christmas came and went, and we were able to improvise and had a lovely holiday meal with the family. However, January arrived and that month is full of birthdays, not to mention that February has my birthday and Valentine's Day. I really, really wanted my oven back. I went online and did some research, I found the type of sensor that I needed for my oven and ordered a replacement on ebay. When the Mister replaced the old with the new and oven was working again. I was beyond happy. Since then, I've been baking up a storm. I made homemade bread, cookies, birthday cakes, and the other day, I made blueberry muffins. Not to mention, that I can cook more versatile meals for supper again. Life is back to normal. I know that it seems like such a small thing, and compared to other much bigger problems out there, this is rather silly. I never saw this situation as a problem, I understood that it was nothing more than an inconvenience; nevertheless, I am very grateful to have my oven back. Now, You'll find more baking stories coming your way! Until then~ Toodahloo!

How I Made My Own Weeping Angel Tree Topper

It's taken me a while to finally sit down and write a new post. I knew what I wanted to write about, but it seemed like such a daunting task. I'm not certain why, perhaps it was the thought of uploading photos that has turned me off from this, but I decided that enough was enough and it was time to post again. So, I'm at my desk, the window above is displaying a grey morning, snow is lurking high above; a Spotify playlist is echoing throughout the room. I'm contemplating on making a latte, but I know that is just a ploy to distract myself from completing my writing. I refuse to be distracted. My reward for finishing this is cuddle time with the dogs, whilst watching the latest episode of "Younger." I know that I have a busy weekend ahead of me and I need to get a lot of things done before the weekend begins.
I DIGRESS!

Back in December, I was in full on festive mode. I spent a great deal of time decorating the house and making tree ornaments. The Mister and I decided early on that this year's Christmas tree was going to have a "Doctor Who" theme. We already had white lights, so we bought blue lights, blue and silver balls, blue ribbon, silver garland,etc. I also made Dalek inspired balls, as well as Cybermen balls. What really pulled it all together was the Weeping Angel Christmas tree topper that I made. Here is how I did this....

I started with a Barbie that I acquired at the local thrift store. I braided her hair and fashioned the tail end of the braid into a bun. I fastened it together with clear tape at the bottom and tucked it under. Then, I removed her legs (sorry, but it was for a worthy cause.)

Next, I took a large plastic drinking cup that I found in the clearance section at Wal*Mart and I cut an "X" into the bottom of the cup. I used a marker to mark the X for carving. I VERY, VERY carefully used and x-acto knife to accomplish this part. After the X was in place, I squeezed the bottom of the doll into the X. Using and X, instead of making a hole helps to keep the doll firmly in place. This was to create a skirt and to have an opening to use to place her on top of the tree. I positioned her at the point of her waist and then I hot glued her in place, for extra security. 

Once the doll was in place, and still had my hot glue gun plugged in, I glued her arm over her eyes, so that she appeared to be shielding her eyes. Then, I took scrap fabric from a previous project and glued it on to look like a loose dress.

I made angel wings by cutting out the shape from a plastic gallon milk jug. Then, I layered "feathers" cut from a paper grocery bag and glued them onto the plastic wings. I made certain to include tabs so that I had a way to glue the wings onto the back of the doll.

 Once the wings were glued in place, I began the painting process. I wanted the angel to look as though she were made of stone and had been exposed to the elements for years. I used acrylic craft paint to accomplish this. I layered grey that I made with black and white paint. I also added a little bit of mossy green paint. I covered the hair with the paint, as well as the wings and the dress. I applied many layers to get the right look. I also took the white paint, and watered it down and then dripped it over the doll to make her look very weathered. Once the paint dried, the dress was nice a stiff. It held the shape, perfectly.

Once she was placed on top of the tree, she really looked spectacular! Considering it only cost less than $2.00 to make and most of the materials used, I already had on hand. The tree was really pretty and a whole lot of nerdy! That is the beauty of being an adult and having the ability to declare that you will have a Doctor Who Christmas tree. Now, she is safely packed away in her own box, until next year.

There you have it, my post about my nerdy Christmas tree. I don't know why I was so worried about writing this. Yes, it is a month overdue; but at least it will be available for any Whovian who wants some insight on the subject for next year. Now that this is finally out of my system, maybe I'll feel a little less skiddish about my posts and things can get back to "normal."
I hope you enjoyed my nerdiness! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

Getting Back To Posting After Break

Winter is finally here and so is a new year!  During December of 2014, I posted every day leading up to Christmas. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. I really enjoyed the project, but then Christmas arrived, and it was the worst Christmas I'd ever had in my life. This sometimes happens, things don't always work out as planned. I had worked hard to make things cheerful and festive and was working really hard to enjoy myself. It wasn't like an I didn't get all the gifts on my list kind of let down, rather, I had a loss in the family on Christmas morning.
When it came to deciding how I wanted to approach the month of December on the blog for 2015, I decided to take things easy. I did a few craft projects and documented them, but I didn't go nuts this year. Instead, I just wanted to live in the moment and enjoy myself. I didn't want to have to photograph every moment, as if staged, and then sit down to write about it. I only wanted to enjoy the moments as they happened and not appreciate them through my camera screen. Have you ever gone to a concert and watched as a sea of audience members are watching the performance on their camera screen, because they're spending the majority of the concert filming with their phone? They're distracted and missing out on the show. I didn't want to experience December that way, So, I took a blogging break.

This Christmas was a very green Christmas. When I looked outside, the yard looked more like it did in late October than in December. It was very warm for that time of year, too. Not that I was complaining. The winter before had been very harsh, with multiple blizzards. A few days after Christmas, it snowed quite a bit. Then, last Sunday it was warm again and we got two inches of rain. All of the snow was washed away. I could see grass again and all the ice on the driveway was gone. As quickly as it went, the snow came back when we had another snow storm Tuesday. This weather is wacky, but it has me dreaming of gardening in the Spring. I am already thinking of what flowers I want to plant and was vegetables I want to grow. It won't belong before we will be starting our seedlings.
In my next post, I"ll share some of the Christmas crafts that I made during my blogging break. Then, we will resume a new year of fun. Until next time~ Toodahloo!

The Decorations Are Up

This week has been one of those weeks where the weather was a bit off. The past couple of days have been quite damp. When damp mixes with cold, it makes it the perfect weather for staying inside and getting the crafts started, Earlier in the week, I decorated the front porch and took advantage of the warmer, rain free day while I still had it. The rest of the week was better suited for indoor work. I decorated the hall, the living room and the dining room. I even made a wreath today.
Next weekend (not this coming weekend) we'll be getting the Christmas tree. We decided that we wanted to have a Doctor Who inspired tree. So, next week, I will be focusing on making tree decorations, including a Weeping Angel Christmas tree topper. I will share my efforts as I work along; it should be quite fun!

Today was a very productive day. Since I knew that I was going to be busy with tasks, I planned ahead and let the Crock Pot cook for me and I let the bread machine do my baking. "I" made mozzarella stuffed meatballs in marinara sauce and "I" baked homemade garlic bread. I also took the time to make some Rice Krispy Treats. Right now, the house smells amazing! With the smell of food, paired with a Gingerbread Cookie Yankee Candle and soon, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, this house is very snug, indeed.

I have two pooches hanging out with me in the kitchen as I write, and they're patiently waiting for the arrival of the rest of the household. They look like they could use a bit of a cuddle too. At that note, I will sign off for now, I will check back in on Monday. Until Next Time~ Toodahloo!

It's December Already!

 I took last week off in an effort to restore what was left of the week. The week began with one clumsy event, followed by another clumsy event and a lot of sleep deprivation was involved. After all of the craziness, all I wanted to do was relax and enjoy my four day weekend with family.

 I mentioned on Facebook that it snowed earlier in the week. The snowfall didn't accumulate to much and it didn't take long for it to melt away. Last year, we endured a massive snow storm the night before Thanksgiving, which made for crummy travel weather. This year, I stayed home. I didn't drive myself crazy with baking. Instead, I baked my caramel apple pie the night before Thanksgiving, the next morning, I baked homemade cinnamon rolls to eat while we watched the parade, something I haven't been able to do for years. Then, I made one more pie, a lemon pie. That was it. I took it easy on the holiday and it was a nice break.

Now, I am continuing to work on preparing the home for winter. Today, I began the holiday decorating process. I think that I will do a little at a time. Tomorrow, I might decorate the front porch; it will be could an nasty outside, However, I'll bundle up and then when I come in, I'll be able to cuddle with the pooches and binge on Youtube vlogs. I have a few crafting projects in mind for the holiday season, which I hope to share with you all. I will also be baking, once the oven is fixed (all part of the clumsy events of last week). I will be digging into the files of my Pinterest boards for inspiration. So, hopefully, this month will prove to be a busy one on the blog. My fingers are crossed.
 Until Next time~ Toodahloo!

Spicy Comfort Food

As promised in my previous, I shall share with you a tasty dinner recipe. This is one of those dishes that can be easily thrown together, at last minute, and it's quite adjustable. I did not come up with this idea. I came upon this dish one evening when I was out with my family. We all were in great need for comfort food as we'd spent the entire day at a wake and were taking a break for sustenance before enduring the evening visiting hours. My solution was a "make your own" burger, which I loaded with tomatoes, avocado, pickles and jalapenos, partnered with a pile of fries. My sister selected Buffalo Chicken pasta bake. At the time, her selection didn't seem very appealing to me. However, the more I thought about it, weeks later, the more brilliant it became. So, a month ago, I searched for viable recipes on Pinterest and I stumbled upon one that I really like. So, here is my version of the recipe.

Ingredients:
1-2 cooked chicken breasts (shredded) or 1 can of chunked chicken breast meat
1 pound pasta
1 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (plus extra for sprinkling on top, optional)
1/8 c. - 1/4 c. Tabasco
1/2 c.- 3/4 c. Ranch Dressing ( You could also use Blue Cheese dressing, too.)

So, from looking at my list of ingredients it's clear that this can be made according to personal taste. I happen to really like hot sauce, but not everyone in the household is used to that. This could also be the case if you have children in the home who can't handle the heat. I recommend supplying a bottle of hot sauce at the dinner table for those who wish to have more of a kick to their meal. With this recipe, you can adjust the hot sauce to ranch dressing ratio. When I first tasted this, before placing it in the oven, I found that it was too spicy, so I added more cheese and dressing to cool down the Tabasco. Also, I used canned chicken, because that is what I had on hand, but if you have left over cooked chicken breast, that would also work.

First, I put the pasta on to boil and while I had that going I mixed the Tabasco with dressing in a small bowl. I set that aside.

Once, my pasta was cooked and drained, I placed the pasta, cheese and chicken in a large bowl, along with the sauce and mixed it all together.

Next, I place the pasta in a greased casserole dish, topped the pasta with extra cheese and baked in a preheated oven, set at 350 deg. F. and baked for 17 minutes.

You can see where I added the extra ranch dressing at the last minute. This tasted great and was super easy to throw together and it was very filling. If you're looking for a comforting dish that has a bit of a kick and is something apart from your normal comfort food, give this a try.

Next time, I'll tell you all about trying to get my office together and the harsh less I learned from procrastinating- it's a doosie! Until next time~ Toodahloo!

A Moment of Bliss

The view outside of my kitchen window. I love this view!

So, yes, it's been a while. I wanted to post yesterday, but I ran out of time. I do that a lot. However, I did sit down with my idea notebook the other day, and I did some brainstorming. Sometimes, I  find myself relying on the old tricks to writing that were taught to me by my English teacher back in the seventh grade. At the time, it was tedious and vexing. Now, I find that not only is it tremendously helpful, but that those lessons deeply embedded themselves in the parts of my brain that I take for granted.
Lately, I have been spending a good deal of my time preparing for the winter. As you might remember from my posts last year, the storm season started early and lasted a long time. The first huge snow storm happened the night before Thanksgiving and the final storm happened in the Spring. In between those months, we endured a few blizzards. So, it should be no surprise that I am in preparation mode.
I spent the first part of the afternoon preparing the meal for tonight- General Tso's Chicken in the Crockpot. There is something deeply comforting about a Crockpot. When I use one, I know that dinner will be ready on time and it will be good. Yes, I still have to make a dessert, that will happen after I take my time to post. Right now, I am enjoying the mellow quiet of the house before everyone comes home in the evening. I should say that I am not required to make a dessert, but I really, really need something chocolatey. Therefore, I shall make a chocolate pudding cake. It's easy to throw together and is insanely tasty. I was going to write a post about the lovely and easy dinner that I made last night. Instead, I find myself enjoying the moment of writing again. I will share that recipe on my next post.
It is gloomy and grey outside, but in here it is cheerful. There's the smell of a pumpkin spice candle and a Crockpot meal cooking on the counter. I'm listening to Gilmore Girls in the background. I've been watching a marathon, via Netflix, all day. there is something about the show that just relaxes me. Even though I've seen these episodes countless times, I still fall back on them for entertainment. The bliss that I am experiencing comes from the fact that tonight's meal is finally going, it will be ready when everyone is ready to settle down to eat and I won't find myself rushing to get it all together at the last minute. I have to make rice and broccoli. but that is easy to accomplish. I am also finding delight in finally admitting to myself that it is okay to not be Martha Stewart, or even Betty Crocker. I am only one person. A person who does not have a team of interns racing around to make my life function seamlessly. All the pretty pictures on Pinterest and the perfection displayed in magazines were mostly accomplished after many, many failed attempts, perfect lighting and Photoshop. Sometimes, the soup might need more salt, or the burritos might need a little less hot sauce. Everyone's taste is different, We do our best, and that is all you can do. That is all people desire, not perfection. Life doesn't need to look like it does in those carefully crafted magazine photos. Your friends and family are just happy that you care so much to try to make things nice for them.
Through this recent discovery, I actually enjoy myself in the kitchen far more. Now that I no longer pressure myself to make everything pretty, and just make things nice, life is so much simpler. That affirmation has brought forth total bliss.
Next time, I'll share the tasty recipe for the meal that I threw together last night. It was super easy to make and very tasty! Until next time~ Toodahloo!