Inspiration.

Saturday night my mom and I went to this thing called KC Cakefest. There was a Groupon for it, so we were like, "What the heck... it might be interesting." To be honest, it ended up being kind of lame, so we just hung out for an hour or so, chalked it up to a good experience to people watch, then headed home. One thing I did enjoy in the evening was when this woman spoke named Leigh Grode; she's the co-owner of a famous bakery in Los Angeles called Cake Divas (and apparently she's on TV, too... although I've never seen her on anything...) She gave her two cents on a few things. Like that there is no shame in using cake mixes because all it is is pre-measured ingredients that you would use in a cake from scratch anyway. (So now I don't have to feel guilty when people ask what the secret is for my white cake and I respond, "Duncan Hines.")

Someone also asked her what was her favorite cake that she ever made. Her favorite was a birthday cake she made a boy from Russia that had recently been adopted by an American family. He was 10 years old or something, and it was his very first birthday cake. She talked about how excited he was, and the joy that it brought her to see that. She said that she loves baking because it is a way to celebrate life. I loved that! I already enjoy the art behind baking, and the yumminess behind baking, but I sometimes forget to put my finger on that fact that it's a way to celebrate! I love that, too...

(Seriously though... if you're a baker, buy this.)

I also got Joy the Baker's new cookbook in the mail this weekend. It's great. You should buy it. (Here, I'll give you the link right HERE to make it easy for you.) Tonight I made her Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Cranberry Orange Poppy Seed Cookies to take to work tomorrow. Despite the diet, I taste-tested both and they were pretty alright... Anyway, in the introduction to the cookbook, Joy said something that kind of goes back to what Leigh said. And I liked it a lot:

"I encourage you to use this book to celebrate life and love. They're both made better with sugar, butter, and cream. There's an undeniable connection between sweet treats and smiles; I hope this cookbook inspires both."

Alright, I'm stepping off of my baking soapbox now. I guess you could say it was just an inspiring weekend for me as far as baking goes...

(Depiction of happiness in the eyes of Abby Thomason.)

Butterscotch!

I needed to blog about something so that the first thing that people saw when visiting my blog wasn't the disgusting fat man below. Yes, I could just take the picture off of my post... But instead I thought I'd blog about something completely insignificant that's also completely wonderful: butterscotch.

Tonight has been a nice, relaxing Friday night at home (you know you're getting older when you look forward to a Friday night of nothing...) What do I do on a Friday night at home? Peruse Pinterest! I saw a dress, which took me to another site, which caused me to find a dress that was kind of goldeny/mustardy colored and guess what the color was called: butterscotch! And it reminded me of how much I love the stuff.

The dress that inspired it all. Feeling generous? You can buy it for me. It's only $65. No big deal. (I've never paid that much for a dress in my life... But you feel free to. Especially if it's for me, k?)

Butterscotch Shakes from Winstead's. I love these things. Knowing that I was going to get back on track with the diet this week, I treated myself to a butterscotch shake on Sunday night. A last supper of sorts...

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies. This recipe is one of my favorite cookie recipes. I can't think of one that I enjoy more, so it very possibly could be my favorite, but I'm hesitant to give anything the favorite title. That's a big commitment for a girl like me.

Butterscotch Schnapps. This and hot chocolate is one of my favorite drinks in the winter time.

Take a few butterscotch chips, a few chocolate chips, a tiny bit of peanut butter, and melt them together. Dip a banana in this mixture and it's amazing! And reasonably healthy if you don't use too much of the chips and pb. This concoction has been getting me through this week...

Happy low key Friday!

Accountability.

(Yep, this is what you get when you google "failed New Year's Resolutions"...)

Remember like 2 months ago when everyone was making lists of resolutions for the year? And remember that time that I made a list for myself? And remember that one time I slacked off instantly? But do you also remember that one time that I blogged about how I was a slacker and was going to try to get better? You don't remember that? Ok, that's because it's about to go down:

I'm a slacker. I made a list. And despite my good intentions, I've slacked. Hard core.

1. Lose 50 pounds. I lost a couple, and then I gained a couple back. Diets are hard. But a friendly reminder came my way the other day when my friend Valeria sent a picture of the bride's maid dress I'm going to need to look good in. Let's just say it's business time.

2. Learn how to play the guitar. I haven't touched the thing. I've thought about it though... Does that count?

3. Make a business plan for my bakery. Um... I've baked a lot. But no planning whatsoever has gone down. Slackety slack slack, I'm a slacker.

4. Be more adventurous. Hm... this is a little bit more subjective. I mean, I made thai turkey burgers the other day, I've been wearing stripes more instead of just solid colors, my toe nails are currently painted blue, I trimmed my own bangs tonight... Is that adventurous enough for you?

5. Take more people out to coffee. This has been happening more than it was, but I'd still like to get better. I actually went to coffee with a friend tonight. We talked about life. We played cards. We drank coffee. Life was good.

So, long story short, just thought I'd let you know I've been slacking. But that doesn't mean I've given up. And if you've got a list and have been slacking like me - don't give up! It's not too late! We can do this! Si se puede!

Try-Tuesday: Thai Turkey Burgers

Yes, I've been a slacker about blogging lately. No, I am not trying to be a food blogger, I just happen to blog about food a lot. Yes, I will try to get better about blogging about things that aren't edible. Moving on...

It's Try-It Tuesday, guys! Last night, I sat down with a pile of food magazines and my laptop with the chore (if you could call it a chore) to find a recipe that didn't include chicken. One of the first blogs I visited was Iowa Girl Eats, and she had just posted this recipe for Thai Turkey Burgers with Peanut Sauce, and I knew I'd found a winner! The recipe brought a few firsts for me though:

1. First time ever cooking with ground turkey (NOT chicken, although ground turkey is just about the closest thing you can get to it.)

2. First time ever cooking a burger. (We may or may not have had to nuke them for a few minutes because they weren't done, but whatev...)

3. First time ever purchasing/washing/cutting broccoli.

4. First time ever trying to use a peeler to shred a baby carrot (I needed shredded carrots and I couldn't figure out how to use the food processor... let's just it wasn't a very good idea.)

Despite all those firsts, the recipe was delicious! I'd totally recommend it. It was healthy. Flavor packed. Unique (a thai turkey burger, who does that?) It was just flat out good.

Try-It Tuesday: Corn and Cheese Chowder

I don't know if you know this about me, but I like soup. A lot. You may even use a more intense word than like. I'd say love could probably be used. Yeah, it's for sure love.

So I made soup this week! I'll admit it: I DVR the Pioneer Woman's cheesy show on the Food Network. And on it she recently made this recipe for Corn and Cheese Chowder. Butter? Onions? Bacon? Peppers? Corn? Chicken broth? Sign me up! And ya'll... it was good! Incredibly flavorful! My dad adds salt to everything... and he didn't add salt. (I may or may not have challenged him to not add salt, so he may or may not have been proving a point, but still...) It was delicious. Warm and filling, but not too heavy. Try it out. Seriously. It's soup. And it's delicious. You can't really go wrong.

I also tried a new cookie recipe for one of my co-workers birthdays today. Chocolate cookies with Rolos inside. They were so easy and so good. You should try these, too. Just make a night of it. Make Cheese and Corn Chowder for the main course. Make Rolo Chocolate Cookies for dessert. Your family will be happy. I guarantee it.

Another concert...

I saw my favorite band MuteMath perform last night. They were amazing. That's just all there is to it. I thought I'd share a few pictures from the evening... To say I went a little Instagram-crazy would be an understatement.

(Pizza 51 before the show.)

(One of my favorite guys: my brother Cory.)

(The opening band: Canon Blue.)

(Darren: such an amazing drummer.)

(The bassist, Roy: he needs a hair cut.)

(The new guitarist: Todd. I didn't adjust this picture at all, this is just how it turns out. If

MuteMath doesn't work out, he could easily join the Blue Man Group. Ok, bad joke... I know.)

(Such a great show...)

Great List.

Today at work I was talking to with a friend and I found myself complaining about silly little things. I try to catch myself when I get in the habit of doing that, but once something's been said, it's out there. You can't take it back. It's just lingering, uncessary negativity. Then we talked about how, for some reason, it's easier, and more socially acceptable to complain, than to talk about things that are great. It's easier to say, "So, this guy that sits next to me keeps smacking his food in my ears..." than "Hey, so, I think cupcakes are great!" Why do we do that? That's just sad. Really sad. So you know what? Here is a list of things that I think are great. Feel free to make a list of your own. Seriously, do it. Right now.


1. The four seasons. (The actual seasons, not the hotel.)
2. Vacations.
3. Babies - seems like a lot of people I love are going to be having them soon.
4. Employment.
5. Pinterest.
6. Downton Abbey.
7. The other side of the pillow. (Not my idea, but I like it, a lot.)
8. iPhones.
9. The color chartreuse. (Pictured on those crazy walls above.)
10. Gap.
11. My three brothers.
12. Fashion magazines.
13. Puppies.
14. Cupcakes.
15. The fact that you are taking the time to read this right now.
16. Baking blogs.
17. My parents and their marriage.
18. New friends.
19. My bed.
20. Netflix.


Ok, the list could go on forever... I'm just as guilty as the next for being a complainer. But seriously, let's talk about the good stuff more, ok? Ok!


Happy Wednesday!