This and that.

I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged. Where does time go? I was dreaming about fall and now fall is in full swing. I don't have a whole lot to say... But I thought I'd give another quick update.

 (Apparently this is Denver. I googled it.)

1. My company is sending me to Denver to work for 4 weeks. This girl's growing up! I've never been on a "business trip" before - guess they aren't really easing me into it with 4 weeks of travel. Thankfully they have agreed to bring me home on the weekends - yes, that's a lot of flying - but I think it'll be worth it. I leave next Monday.

(Skinnier Abby? Or just bigger hair...? That is the question.)

2. Still going strong on the whole weight loss/work out thing (Praise Jesus - literally.) The only people who read this blog are people who love me and are ok celebrating with me so I feel ok telling you that I've lost 40 pounds so far! I've got about 40 more to go, so I am clearly still a work in progress, but I'm encouraged and I feel healthier than I have in about 10 years.

(My guess is he's a jerk, but Hosmer ain't bad to look at.)

3. My beloved Kansas City Royals are in the ALCS (American League Championship Series... I had to be told what it was too, don't worry.) We are up 2-0 against the Orioles and had our first home game rained out tonight. It was rescheduled for tomorrow though so I'm pretty stoked. Go Royals!

(The food table.)

4. I threw a baby shower with a couple of friends for our good from April on Saturday. I had a great time planning it and throwing it. And we are all pretty stinking excited for this baby...

(Good thing he's so cute, or we wouldn't keep loving him...)

5. My roommate's dog Dietrich keeps running away. Probably 2 or 3 times a week. When is he (the dog)/she (my roommate) going to learn...

(So great, right?)

6. I have started planning for my church's event called Affordable Christmas. It's a store where we sell legit gifts for 1/10th the normal price for families who can't really afford Christmas - it's a way to serve them so they can serve their family within their means and with dignity. It's a really cool thing... And I'm in charge of decorating the space... Check out this idea I saw for a Santa Clause picture backdrop. I might just do it! If you're in the Kansas City area and have any old Christmas decorations that you'd like to donate - holla at me. (Yep, I said holla.)

(Bad picture, but you get the idea...)

7. I haven't baked with pumpkin as much as I would have liked. I baked some cookies that actually turned out pretty well. Every time I go on Pinterest and see all the pumpkin recipes my stomach aches out of yearning to bake and eat them. I know if I do I wouldn't be able to resist though, so I have held off. I did see this recipe for a Skinny Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino that I want to try though.

(The trees on campus at work.)

8. It's been raining a lot. I'm pretty much over it and have been since the minute it started (have I mentioned I'm not a fan) but I'm trying to look on the bright side and the trees look extra pretty in comparison...

That's about it for now. My guess is the amount of blogging will increase drastically over the next few weeks as I will be sitting in my hotel room in Denver with nothing better to do. ;) Talk to you soon...

Fall bug.

Every year September 1st hits and my heart and soul wants fall to be here... now. I blog about everything I love about fall and how I wish it was fall and how I want to bake with pumpkin 24/7 and how fall is beautiful and how everyone should love fall... And I'm going to be honest... This is a post just like all the others. Because I want to talk, again, about how excited I am for all things fall. These are the things I'm looking forward to:

This BBQ Chicken Chili

This Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Skillet Brownie

These Cinnamon Spice Bars

These Pumpkin Muffins with Maple Glaze

Days/weather like this (which was today... and it was glorious!)

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies (these have the potential to not be the too moist/spongy/sticky texture that most pumpkin cookies are - which excites me)

These Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Rolls

This Crock Pot Pumpkin Spiced Latte

Outfits like this

That's probably enough pumpkin for one day... Happy soon to be fall!

This and That.

My family has a blog. I don't post on it much (or ever...) because I have a blog here, but I love reading it and keeping up on the happenings of the family, especially those who live out of town. The other day my cousin Dana wrote a post called "This and That" that inspired me. So I thought I'd write my own "This and That" post. Thanks for letting me be a copycat, Dane!

1. I made salted caramel chocolate chip cookies bars for a lunch that I had with my aunts, mom, and cousins yesterday. This recipe never ceases to fail me when I can't decide what to bring. (The picture above is of the flower arrangements my aunts Mary and Janet put on the table - they are quite the hostesses.)

2. I joined 24 Hour Fitness a couple of weeks ago. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would join a gym. But a friend of mine who I walk with belongs there and said that she really enjoys their classes. So far I've taken Body Pump (weight lifting) and spinning. I've actually really enjoyed it and it's been great to have a friend to do it with. I'm pretty excited about this new phase of healthiness in my life.

3. I turned 27 a few weeks ago. 27. I'm officially in my late 20s. I know that's not old... but it feels like it a tiny bit.

4. My area of JPMorgan, Retirement Plan Services (aka the 401(k) people) was bought out by another company. So as of Tuesday, I will be working for Great West Financial.

5. I saw the movie Begin Again yesterday and think I'm going to add it to my list of favorite movies. Warning: it's rated R because they use a lot of that gosh darn f-word. But if you can get past that, it's a really good movie.

6. Tomorrow is September. Can you believe that? I'm so ready for fall.

7. It's been over a month now, but I got a second roommate named Becky. She is a friend of mine from church. I like her a lot and think she's a great addition to our home.

8. I really like the new Taylor Swift song. Like way more than I should...

I've started talking about Taylor Swift. I think that means that that's enough for now...

Summer Bucket List Update #2.

It's August 17th. Even though there is still a month of summer left, it feels like summer is winding down because school has started. My summer bucket list is getting closer and closer to being complete... So I thought I'd give you another update.

1. Ride bikes.
2. Play sand volleyball. 

3. Make homemade ice cream at least once. My good friend Mary was in town and she was a good sport and went along with my crazy summer bucket list ideas. We made homemade ice cream! Reese's peanut butter... mmm...
4. Perfect pies. Still a work in progress...  
5. Go cliff jumping.
6. Play capture the flag.

7. Go to the lake. I haven't made it to the Lake of the Ozarks, which is actually what I was thinking of when I wrote this list originally. BUT, I did make it to Blue Springs Lake one afternoon and I was actually pleasantly surprised with how great this little lake was. 
8. Have a party on my deck.

9. Go mini golfing. I have actually mini-golfed a couple of times this summer. Here I am with my parents... This was a really fun night.

10. Fly a kite. Along with making homemade ice cream, Mary and I flew a kite. No lie - this is one of the best times I've ever had. If you haven't flown a kite in a while, I'd recommend that you do. They are $8 at Target - it'll be the best $8 you spend in a long time. I promise. 
11. Stargaze.
12. Learn to play at least one song on the guitar.
13. Read a book… entirely in my hammock. Still a work in progress...
14. Babysit for my friends.
15. Jump off a diving board. I don't have a picture of this (thank goodness...), but we had a ladies retreat with my church a few weeks ago at a retreat center... that had a pool... that had a diving board... and I jumped off it quite a few times. Pretty great. 
16. Go on lots and lots of walks.
17. Sleep a night in my hammock. 

18. Go somewhere pretty at dusk and take cool pictures. So I didn't intentionally go somewhere to take this picture, but it's at dusk, and I think it looks cool. So I say we can cross it off the list.
19. Go visit Valeria and Jonathan at their new house.
20. Go check out this pretty bridge in Independence.

There are still quite a few things I need to cross off this list. The items that are top priority over the next month are:
-Play capture the flag.
-Have a party on my deck. (The planning for this is in the works, thanks to my new roommate Becky)
-Stargaze.
-Go visit Valeria and Jonathan at their new house.

One month left. Let's do this!

Tried-It A Few Weeks Ago: Chicken Teriyaki Bowls.

I'm super behind on posting. There have been all sorts of things I've wanted to share with you but am just now getting around to it. Here's one I started a few weeks ago and am just now finishing...

I really like the sushi restaurant Ra. One time I wasn't in the mood for sushi so I got their chicken teriyaki bowl and haven't order sushi from there since because I like this bowl so much. So when I came across a recipe for a chicken teriyaki bowl on... you guessed it, Pinterest, I knew I had to try it.

I know that I get kind of excited about recipes sometimes. And hopefully if any of you have actually tried them you haven't been disappointed. But I loved this recipe. It came together quickly and had pretty common ingredients. I cheated and bought some frozen vegetables rather than chopping up and steaming my own - but once they were mixed in with everything else, you couldn't really tell. I'm a fan. And you will be too, when you try this recipe.

Chicken Teriyaki Bowl

So. good.

A much needed retreat...

Work has been stressful lately. So stressful, in fact, that I came down with hives the other day. There have only been a few times in my life that I've gotten hives from stress... And this week was one of them. BUT, the good news is that Wednesday night I got to leave it all behind... hop in a car with some of my favorite people, and start the trek to Colorado for vacation.

It's been just what I needed. Cool weather. Quality time with my family. Beautiful sights. (No mention of 401(k)s...) And I still have three days left! What a blessing this time has been...

Before you...

Hey friends! Remember me? I know... it's been a while. I'll try to get better at being more on top of this. I have some good recipes that I've tried out lately that I want to share. And I still need to show you the finished product of my deck project! Among other things...

But tonight I want to show you this. I just saw it on Pinterest and it was a super good reminder to me to think before I broadcast things. In our world filled with social media I just thought this was a really good reminder. So I thought I'd share it with you as well.