November 29, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Keepin’ It Real: November 2013

Unflattering pics
Recipe mishaps and slips
It’s just me, Jenni

November, where did you go? Please come back. I am not ready for December. No. No. No. I need more time to plan. To prepare. To enjoy. These holidays are going by too quickly.

Things I learned this month: I love all of my blog friends. You guys just give me warm fuzzies inside. You seriously make my life bigger. Thank you!

My favorite moment of the month was definitely Batkid. It had me sobbing and cheering at the same time. So neat that the city did such an amazing thing through Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I had such a nice Thanksgiving. I will admit to a few tears, but for the most part, it was a peaceful sweet holiday. I got to hold my cousin’s baby girl. My stepmom made a great turkey that rivaled my dad’s smoked one. And my dad was so tickled when some cousins stopped by to visit. It was so nice to see him so happy. I loved seeing my aunts and uncle. And my mom! My daughter was so sweet when she said she was thankful for all I do for her. And my nephew cracked me up for being grateful for dinosaurs. I hope you had smiles and laughter yesterday, too.

Afghanistan food! I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Oh! The flavors! My favorite is Sambosa. A fried pastry stuffed with ground meat and potatoes. And cilantro sauce. So good!

It was the fifteen year anniversary of my husband and my first date this month. It is one of the two dates we usually celebrate. We got engaged two weeks later, and married in March. We move fast. Well, I forgot it. And when I reminded my husband the next day, he said, “Oh, yeah.” Then he high-fived me. That is how romantic we are fifteen years later. I get a high-five. I am still deciding how I feel about this.

Some lovely pictures for you.

I tried to make that chicken dish again. Nope. Still not the one. This dish is going to be the one that haunts me. I must puzzle it out.

I spied this coat?/sweater?/wrap? in a woman’s stroller at Disneyland. She said she got it at Anthropologie two years ago. I slyly took a picture of it. It appeared to have wooden toggle buttons. The fabric is gorgeous. ~~Any ideas about what this was or was called?~~

Update: Thank you Deboo for identifying the sweater as the Echoing Argyles Cardigan! I will keep my eyes peeled! : )

Today is “Black Friday.” I used to love this day, but I hate how early the stores open now. It makes me sad that consumerism has cut into a holiday centered around family. I feel sorry for the workers and for the customers who had to cut their Thanksgiving short. And honestly, nothing really stood out to me this year (except for that Nikon deal at Target. Wow!). I am bummed to miss it, but, oh, sleeping in never felt so good!

How was your day yesterday? I hope everyone had wonderful holidays that they celebrated. Are you shopping today, sleeping in or working? Did November pass by way too quickly for you, too?

November 28, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey and stuffing
Giving thanks over gravy
Why won’t my jeans close?

In lieu of my usual “It’s The Little Things” today, I will be updating sporadically throughout today with things I am grateful for. I want to keep things in perspective.

My grandmother (who was the heart and soul of the family) passed away in January and today is going to be especially hard for my family. I will first travel two hours to my dad’s house, where my kids have spent the last two nights. We will prep food there (with my sister and her family) and then make our way about 1/2 a mile up the road to where my grandmother’s house is. My mom and her family will be gathered there. My heart is heavy. We will stay an hour and then go back to my dad’s house to eat.

Busy day! What are your plans? Because I feel my day will be filled with a lot of sadness, I am going to focus on the positives.

First up, coffee. Cuban coffee to be exact. Lovely goodness! I could not and did not get out of bed without it.

I made chocolate pie last night. I also made my husband some cranberry sauce. I believe he is the only one who likes it. Today, I will make green bean casserole.

I was also in charge of bringing the rolls and other pies. I ordered a pecan, pumpkin, and coconut creme from Marie Calendar’s. The yummy rolls were baked fresh at Great Harvest yesterday. I am grateful to be able to pick up yummy food and not mess up my kitchen making all of those things. I also am bringing wine. ‘Cause. Big grateful there. I did not even remove it from the trunk last night. I was scared I would forget it. Shudder.

This is what I am wearing for the drive and prep work. I am grateful to have scored these Mother’s Brand Jeans on clearance. If you have not tried Mother Jeans, you are missing out. Imagine my jeans were pulled down right.

Your bum will be grateful.

I am playing around with photo apps! Bear with me!

And we’re off! I hope your day is going great! What are your plans?

We are at my dad’s house. We are about to go outside and play a ball toss game. Here are some pictures I took on the drive to my dad’s house. Isn’t it beautiful? Look at the snow!

Played a game with my daughter. Had fun! The kids helped made these balls by drilling holes in them with my dad.

Then sat outside by the fire with my dad and talked for an hour with a glass of wine. So relaxing and nice. Grateful for this time.

Making green bean casserole on the grill outside. An adventure! We should eat by 5:00!

Turned out great! Of course, I do not eat this. Nor will I try it, but it looks yummy!

We finished the night with pie. We will be back on the road in ten minutes. It was a very nice day spent with family. I am incredibly thankful for the one I have. I hope everyone’s day was great!

November 27, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Cookie Butter Oatmeal Cookies

A tasty friendship
Cookie butter and oatmeal
Together at last

So, cookie butter in cookies? Oh, yes. Honestly, this cookie dough could be eaten by itself without the addition of chocolate. But if I am going to indulge, I want it to mean something. Let’s take this relationship to the next level, cookie butter. Let’s make some babies. I mean, um, cookies. Let’s make some cookies. No need to rush things. Now, just take off that lid…

This recipe makes approximately 40 cookies.

1/3 cup cookie butter
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) softened salted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
90 pieces of Clasen sea salt caramel melting chocolate (about 2/3 pound)*
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar packed
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups oats

Preheat your oven to 360 degrees or 335 degrees convect bake.

In a mixer or with a handheld mixer in a bowl, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar. Add vanilla. Mix. Add cookie butter mix.

Add eggs one at a time into the batter and beat approximately thirty seconds each.

At this point I change attachments from the wire whisk to the paddle. If you are using a hand mixer, mix the following in by hand. Mix in salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.

Mix in flour.

Mix in oats.

With a small cookie dispenser, dispense cookies onto a cookie sheet. Press a melting chocolate into the center of the dollop to flatten cookie. Shape cookie back into a circle around chocolate. Bake 10-11 minutes until lightly brown.

Remove from oven. With a spatula, transfer cookies to a cooling rack. Repeat process until dough is used up.

Melt 50 melting chocolates in a small bowl in the microwave for thirty second intervals. Stir after every thirty seconds until completely melted. Place paper towel under cooling rack. Drizzle melted chocolate over cookies.

Let cookies cool and cover them. If you do not cover, cookies will harden over night. You can reverse the hardened process by placing a slice of fresh bread into the cookie container all day. Or reheat your cookies in the microwave for twenty seconds. But I would just cover them and save yourself a few steps.

And enjoy! Cookie butter you are so good to me. Hmmm, what would our babies ~~taste~~ look like?

* You could use Hershey’s Kisses for a chocolatey version, if you do not have access to Clasen Brand melting chocolates. You could also just mix in some chocolate chips or raisins and call it a day.

November 26, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

It’s A Jungle Out There

I cannot resist
Critters on my shirts and skirts
My shoes are jealous*

I did not even realize that most of my outfits lately have revolved around critters. Or creatures. Or things with faces on them, until I went to pull some photos for recent outfits. Wow! Lots of animals! Okay, two out of the three are owls. So, it is a small selection in the animal kingdom. Here are some I have worn lately:

I waited patiently for this owl pullover (the Wisened Pullover from Anthropologie) to make it to sale. And it did! And I wisely grabbed it. I paired it with my JBrand Moto Skinny Jeans I bought for $20 a few weeks ago (regularly $240!). The earrings are Lucky Brand found on clearance at Macy’s.

I bought this owl skirt on a great sale from Anthhropologie last year. I paired it with my striped shirt from H & M. I bought my Lucky Brand Boots during an amazing sale a few weeks ago at Piperlime. They have incredible padding. I wore them all day at ____________ (fill in the blank from the Haiku at the bottom) and felt like I was wearing tennis shoes!

I love my hedgehog Creature Feature Top from Anthropologie. I wear it all of the time. This time I wore it with my brown corduroy cropped pants I purchased about six years ago from Anthropologie on sale.

Do you love animals on your clothes? What is your favorite piece?

* The haiku in the beginning is part of the weekly writing challenge. I started today and will do five Haikus by Friday. Here is one from yesterday (can you guess where we were?):

Crammed onto a bus
Screaming children all around
Just to see a mouse

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

haiku

Keepin’ It Real: November 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s A Jungle Out There