Moving

No, not the blog. Just me. I've been trying really hard to keep it together and make everyone happy at the same time. You probably assumed right...I've been failing miserably and loosing my mind in the process. Hence the lull in posts. I am exited to share some amazing photos I took while I was visiting my family in Oregon. I had such a fantastic time watching some serious cooking masters in their prime element.

I hope you all had a lovely time with your family and aren't popped from all the yummy food. My favorite was the completely made from scratch pumpkin pie! Wow was it good. I leave you with my 3 month food baby. She's due next fall....

Hawt!

Just Call Me Dr. Giggles

I'm pretty sure I'm recycling this pic from another post...

I am discovering something about myself. I kind of knew this was something that made me feel good when I was younger. I LOVE making people laugh. We talk about talents and things of that nature a lot in church and I think its a talent of mine. Really, I'm not trying to toot my own horn. Its been a long journey of ups and downs to truly realize and admit to you all here that its something I think I'm good at.

When I was younger I just assumed people weren't getting what I was saying. Or, the obvious assumption, that people were laughing at me! Oh heavens, I'm sure that was the case several times. Looking back on it though I could care less if they were laughing at me or with me. It just makes me feel great to hear someone laugh. Lets face it. You don't laugh if your unhappy or sad, right?!

On two occasions this month friends have thanked me for making them laugh and smile and that they were feeling down or didn't want to even go to school previous to that. HOLY COW! It made me feel fantastic. I don't do anything special to make people laugh. Half the time I am not trying to cheer anyone up at all. As I am writing this I realize even more its when I am simply myself that I seem to make the biggest effect on others.

This isn't a kick off to my stand up career. I doubt I could get in front of a crowd of people and hack it. I'll stick to where it matters most. To those people who need it the most and whom I care for and love so much.

Do you guys feel you have any special talents or traits? Ever have a time someone accidentally cheered you up with a little laughter? I'd love to hear from you!

I'm Alive....Barely

I made it through Midterms. I think that was midterms? Tonight is the first night I've spent not writing a paper in two weeks. I know I will look back on my measly two weeks someday and  sass about writing for two months or something.

I refuse to let this put a damper on my blogging upswing! Stay tuned.

Russian Apple Cake

Look at me blogging! I love it! Breaking news California! Its officially fall here. Why? Because Caitlin started baking from scratch again thats why! I made two separate treats that I must share with you all.

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip cookies (of course found via Pinterest Via Taste of Home):

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

• In a bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture alternately with pumpkin. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 4 dozen.

These cookies were a BIG hit at church this Sunday. I was shocked because I felt they were a little too cakey and may make a better bread. Which is the same recipe just stick the batter in a loaf pan and boom! 

Then I baked this amazing Russian Apple cake. I LOVED it!! So fluffy and moist. I didn't use granny smith apples I used some I already had on hand. I also opted out on the walnuts and only cooked for about 30 mins. All ovens are not made alike though. Recipe found at Kitchen Grrrls:

Loved the polka dots!

Russian Apple Pie

For 8 inch round baking pan, you will need:
1 cup of sugar,
1 cup of all purpose flour,
3 large eggs,
1 teaspoon of baking powder,
1 tablespoon of vanilla,
3 large granny smith apples,
1 cup of walnut pieces (I did not include)

Put in a big bowl eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix with hand mixer until the mixture becomes foamy and pale yellow. Sugar should be almost dissolved.

Add the flour and baking powder. Mix it again until the batter is smooth.

Wash the apples, cut them into big chunks removing apple hearts. I cut the apple into teeny pieces, just because I prefer smaller bits of apple throughout.Place the apple chunks in the batter, add walnuts pieces (optional), and mix the mixture with spoon or silicon spatula until all apples are covered with the batter.

Grease baking pan and sprinkle with flour. Bake it in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.

Way to go Pinterest on not failing my fall cravings. I hope you have a good time baking and eating these delicious treats as much as I did!

Mee Time

Last weekend my mom and I were supposed to go to Apple Hill together. Unfortunately I came down with the plague and our trip was postponed.  I woke up Saturday morning and was excited to go and finally collect on some apple goodies. My mom however was not as excited as I. So my trip turned into some me time. I even love the drive up there! Here are some Apple Hill tips I thought of as I explored around.

Last year with Stevie

1. Don't go to High Hill Ranch. Its one of the bigger and more popular orchards. It has a fish filled pond, apples (of course), and apple baked goods. There is nothing there you can't get at a smaller LESS PACKED vender. My tip? Go to Ables Acres. They have the best apple butter, bomb fudge, carmel covered apples, and you can get the famous apple cider doughnuts there while you have your picture taken with the fuzzy bears out front.

2. If you have kids there are a few seemingly fun places to check out. Like Kids INC. Sorry, I don't have kids so I haven't put too much foot work into this tip.

I love the apple on top of Denver Dan's

Apple dumpling and hot apple cider. Yum!

3. I love Denver Dan's. There is a guy that uses this apple peeler/corer/cutter thing. When he is done he plops the apple on your thumb for you to eat. This guy has been around a long time too. They have fantastic frozen pies (my favorite is the sour cream apple pie) and yummy apple dumplings. Don't forget the giant pickles (I did today. I was rushing).

Then I took a drive in search for a special place. I think I drove for over an hour in and around windy mountain roads. Sadly, or not, due to snow and ice I was unable to get to my spot. So I will continue dreaming about sitting on a ski lift swinging munching on apple cider doughnuts, drinking hot apple and admiring the snow capped mountains. "Mee" time is really important. I've gotten away from doing things on my own away from everyone. The drive up there listening to music, singing, and thinking was the most calm I have felt in a really long time. I highly recommend it!

Give your Heart a Break

Its so hard to think of what to blog about concerning break ups. Most the blogs I follow and see around the Internet are ladies who are married and usually have children. I actually couldn't tell you a single blogger (except for my home girl Kristen) off the top of my head. So when thinking of how to approach this topic, something I'm going through, I get stumped.

This blog is a personal lifestyle blog if I had to fit her into a box. Therefore this blog is going to have content personal to me. I'm ok with sharing most of it. There are a few things that are pretty personal though. Some topics that kind of scare me to blog about because I don't know what other people are going to think of me. Whatever you blog about effects people and the reaction from that is completely on the blogger if you ask me. Don't get me wrong. I want to blog about EVERYTHING! I like being real. So alright, here goes.

Via

Break ups are embarrassing. Especially for me. When I commit to a boyfriend I am typically going to put all my effort into that relationship. Its really how I do things in general. So when they fail I am typically devastated and blame myself a lot. Lately, what prompted this post, and as time draws farther from incident it starts to weigh heavy and I remember all the things that were perfect. That made me feel like I had finally made it home safe and sound. I start thinking of all the things I would have done differently. Answer with a soft voice. Be more forgiving.

Break ups are so good for me in a way because they help me to know what I should be working on. I just wish there was a better way to figure that out.

Facelift: In Progress

I gave my blog a face lift. I needed a change. Lace and Pearls was sorta me but I missed my old blog title which is much more me. I'm in the process of making it even more spiffy. Hence the "in progress" bit. I hope you all enjoy the change as much as I do. I've been feeling really inspired to blog more so I figured I'd invest more time on my little corner of the interwebz.

Its not officially Halloween anymore but happy Halloween none the less! I've enjoyed seeing all the awesome costumes on my Instagram.


Happy Halloween!