30 Day Challenge, Day 11

Where I live.....

I live in Central California, north of San Francisco. Some people call it Nor. Cal which is true if you're only cutting our state in half but given the size and the difference between the uppermost and southernmost points of our state I consider us to have 3 "zones." I grew up in Northern California where there is lots of mountains, snow, hot weather in the summer and a small population. Here in central CA the weather is much tamer, not too hot and not too cold. There's no snow but lots of rain. We have fog in the morning and at night almost year round.
We have beautiful hills and valleys here, and lots of vineyards. Thirty years ago there were more farms and orchards but with the wine business being so lucrative most of the farms have become vineyards. My favorite time of year here is fall, after the harvest when all the leaves are changing colors. It's quite beautiful.
Currently we live in a small-ish 2 bedroom rental with a big back yard. Unfortunately for us most of the back yard is wood chips though so we can't do much in it. We do have a great back patio though.

30 Day Challenge, Day 10

My Greatest Fears

Becoming a raging alcoholic and ruining my life or the life of my family.

Losing Mr. T; whether through death or divorce.

Doing anything that I will regret later.

The people I love not knowing how much I care about them.

Being violently attacked and not fighting back.

Making bad decisions.

30 Day Challenge, Day 9

What was my wedding like?

Cake topper

It was like a great party with most of the people I love and care about in the world there. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. It was a typical mosh of careful planning goes wrong, forgotten details getting solved at the last minute and all around comedy at some points.

 The sound system was MIA, Thank God for Land Rover! Haha

Oh, how are we going to get to the ceremony?

I was stressed for a lot of the day, didn't feel well and was an all around mess until the minute I saw Mr. T standing at the end of the aisle. If I ever questioned whether we were meant to be or not before that moment I had no doubt then. It had been my suspicion for a while by then, we had been dating for three years, that he was going to be the calm and I would be the storm in our relationship. I realized then how right that assumption had been.

My Handsome Groom

My older brother, S, walking Mom down the aisle and little brother, J, chatting it up with guests

I'm a very emotional person and I knew that I was going to cry like a baby on my wedding day. I did cry, but not when I expected to. My older brother C was halfway across the country for some work training and we knew it was going to be a close call for him to get to the wedding. That morning he called with the sad news that he had arrived in Los Angeles, CA but was going to have to drive up to our hometown. A minimum of 9 hour drive, it was 11 am and my wedding was at 5pm. I cried the really ugly, should-be-private, cry at that point in front of all of my bridesmaids, my sister-in-law, Mr. T's cousin who was doing our make-up and a few other random people I'm sure. It was horrible. By the time it was time to walk down the aisle there was not a tear to be had for me, though my Dad was unexpectedly pretty emotional. I made it through the entire ceremony and really only teared up at the speeches during the reception. I guess that's how it goes.

Where's my Dad's Boutineer?

My reception was a little crazy, Mr. T and I had opted for an iPod instead of paying a DJ to play all the wrong music. The iPod didn't sync properly the day of and we lost most of our playlists that I had been working on for months. The first song (other than our first dance) to play after dinner was Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again On My Own" not quite the wedding romance that I was trying to convey at that point of the night! My Woman of Honor (we preferred that to "maid") caught the bouquet and one of my old room mate's caught the garter, neither of them are married yet though. My younger brother J river danced for me and my brother C did end up getting there, at around 9 pm I believe. I could have cried at that point and I might have, but don't remember. We ended up dancing to Tupac's "California Love" again, not something I had planned on having play at my wedding. Thanks to Mr. T  having some music rather than none though! My two nephews burned up the dance floor with their crazy dance moves and everyone tells me they had a good time.

The future "So You Think You Can Dance" cast misbehaving mid-ceremony

It was a great day.

30 Day Challenge, Day 8

Romance!
What is my idea of romance?
I am a pretty traditional girl, give me a candle-lit home cooked meal and some music and that would be the epitome of romance for me. Some unexpected places I've found it with Mr. T have been laying in be cuddling discussing our days (not even a romantic topic!); in the snow, freezing and tired, after cross-country skiing for the first time in Switzerland; picking him up from the baggage claim every time he came home from college or a business trip; cooking together. I think it all depends on how you look at the situation. Mr. T and I have pretty limited amounts of time together these days so we really try to make our time together count.

30 Day Challenge, Day 7

The senses! I can't tell you what my senses were actually doing on day 7 but I'll give you what they're doing now (on Saturday, the 31st):

Taste: I just finished eating leftovers of Pioneer Woman's Bowtie Lasagna it was quite delicious.

Feel: My body is sorta tired from my quick 30 minutes at the gym earlier and there is a nice breeze blowing through the house thanks to my multiple fans.

See: The sun is hitting the back yard perfectly. Very inviting.

Hear: I'm listening to Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams album and Bretta's snoring. There's an occasional whir of a fan in there too.

Smell: Nothing, it's allergy season in the wine country and I spend most of my days blissfully smell-less. Normally I have the nose of a hound and it's not always very fun.

30 Day Challenge, Day 6

I think I'm better at this weekly blogging thing. I currently have 6 cupcakes to blog about. Yikes.

So on to day 6.
Favorite Foods and Go To Recipe

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, or know me personally, you should know that I am not the most decisive person in the world. I don't do well with multiple options, I need it narrowed down to tow or three before I can take my pick. Something about growing up in a large family and living in a small town. We don't do well with options. 

So, off the top of my head some of my fav's are burritos from the place across the street; chicken tacos from Frida's in Napa, CA; Cajun pasta from Johnny Garlic's in Santa Rosa, CA; Thai Curries, I have yet to have a bad one; Cake, moist and well iced; Lindt chocolate; my Mom's Stew, Navy Beans, Meatloaf, and her enchiladas; my Dad's nachos. So I guess if we went with that my favorite type of food is Mexican. Mmmmm Mexican...

As far as go to recipes go, I only have a few. Mr. T does most of the cooking around our house but every once in a while I will sneak in. For a simple dessert I love the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens (the red plaid cookbook) sans nuts; I can actually make my meatloaf taste like my Mom's so that's a safe one if you know that your guests will like it. And obviously, there's always cupcakes :)

Now I'm hungry....

30 Day Challenge, Day 5

My Favorite Holiday/Vacation.

If you know me then you will know that I've never been on a vacation that I didn't enjoy. I love going anywhere. If you've ever had a dog that goes straight to the door as soon as they hear the car keys, that would be a close description of me. I think it comes from growing up in a small town, you get excited about going anywhere! Including Spokane, WA.

Tejakula, Bali

I've traveled a good amount for someone my age, with my husband and with my family, so it makes it difficult to choose one since they can be so different.

Marine Corps Memorial with my family, Washington DC

Our trip to Switzerland this year was absolutely amazing. I loved being able to try out my French, and meeting Mr. T's family. After hearing about CH for the last 5 years I was pretty anxious to get there. No matter what they had told me, I could have never expected what I did. I'm a pretty critical person so I'm easily disappointed. I don't know how anyone could be disappointed with Switzerland. I loved every part of our trip, literally. Our flights to and from weren't bad, the train travel was simple, Mr. T's family was more than welcoming and made me feel totally comfortable. I got to see my husband in another of his "elements" and got to witness the way that his grandparents looked at him. The way they smiled at him was worth the trip alone. If I could pick up my entire family and move them to Switzerland I would be there in a hot second. (As would Mr. T I'm sure!) It's definitely one of those countries where you feel like they're doing everything "right." I can't wait to go back.

 Lucerne, Switzerland

Bern, Switzerland

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

We celebrated the homecoming of Mr. T's BFF by making him come to a barbeque and stuffing him with Chocolate Cupcakes. It's a good thing he has the metabolism of a bird.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Found in The Cupcake Deck
These are your basic Chocolate cupcake, and basic chocolate buttercream. A chocolate lover's staple.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Buttercream (and a corner of mimosa cupcakes)

The good news is that the mimosa cupcakes look kind of pretty next to my sloppy chocolate frosting!

Apparently it's more fun to lick the frosting off than to eat it together with the cake part.

To each their own I guess.

Bretta is just happy to have someone new to play with, even if he does keep her up late.

30 Day Challenge, Day 4

10 Songs that I think everyone should hear.
I can only pick 10? Are you serious?

The following are in no particular order. And would probably be different if I were to write the same list tomorrow. I'm sure I've left out some of my favorites....

10. Me & Mrs. Jones by Billy Paul
9. Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn
8. Highway Man by Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, etc...
7. One by U2 and Mary J. Blige
6. The Heart of the Matter by India.Arie
5. Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley
4. When The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash
3. I'll Take You There by the Staple Singers
2. Let's Stay Together by Al Green (Mr. T and I's song and we've been lucky enough to hear him sing it live!)
1. Imagine by John Lennon

30 Day Challenge, Day 3

What I'm most proud of:
I'm pretty happy in general with where I'm at in life. I think that I have been pretty lucky and also worked to keep things nice in my life. Something that I have done that I'm proud of is getting my securities licenses. When I started in my business I never thought I would be able to say that. I knew absolutely nothing about what I was getting into. I definitely have a job where I can learn something new every day (sometimes whether I want to or not!) and it keeps me on my toes. I never thought I would be here but am happy that I'm able to at least hold my own. My life could have gone many different ways but I'm glad I'm where I'm at now, thought I can't take all the credit for that.

30 Day Challenge, Day 2

A day in the life:
5:00- Bretta wakes up and tries to get Mr. T and I to give her breakfast 30 minutes early. Mr. T tells her to go back to bed.
5:30- Alarm goes off. I take my temp, Mr. T gets up with B and feeds her. I pull myself out of bed reluctantly
6:00- I am finally concious enough to start putting make-up on, doing my hair etc.
6:30-6:45- I leave the house
6:45-7:30 (and sometimes until 8am)- I drive through traffic to work.
7:30-4/4:30- at work
4-5:30- in traffic on the way home
5:30- Get home
6:00- Depending on the day I go to the gym, catch up on-line or play with Bretta
7:00- Dinner
8:00- Clean up after Dinner, Mr. T and I take Bretta for a walk
9:00- Get ready for bed/ get into bed
10:00- Sleepy time!

30 Day Challenge! Day 1

I've been keeping up with my friend Mrs. A's 30 day challenge and now another friend is doing one over on Butterball Happenings is also doing one so I'm jumping in. Today will be the first post of my 30 day challenge!

About Mrs. T:

I grew up in a super small town with 6 brothers and 1 sister. My parents are separated but still live in a close vicinity of each other which is convenient for us! I really loved growing up with a large family and extended family. I truly believe that it takes a village to raise a child because I was raised by one!
I moved out of my Mom's house when I was 17 to go to school in "the big city" which was pretty thrilling for me. I absolutely loved college but found it really difficult to juggle full time classes, life and full time work. Eventually work won out and I have been lucky enough to work for 3 great companies since I stopped going to school. I've also been really fortunate in finding some great mentors that have really taken care of me in my career, including my current boss.

I met Mr. T through my roommates (and his best friends) in 2004 for a brief second and then sort of "re-met" him the following year at my BFF N's birthday party. N was trying to fix up Mr. T and another mutual friend. Luckily for me that plan didn't work and Mr. T and I started dating in the Spring of 2005. Unluckily for me Mr. T and I started dating two weeks after he was accepted at an out of state university. So began our two year long distance relationship after only four months of dating. The only thing I can say for long distance dating is that your communication skills will be EXCELLENT afterwards and its a great test of trust. I couldn't have done it if I didn't have complete faith in Mr. T. Mr. T graduated in May of 2007 and moved home. He proposed in December of 2007 in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland (one of the pictures is in my header). We were married and moved in together in May of 2008.

Bretta, our bull dog, was born October 1 of 2008 and we adopted her December 13 of 2008.

 10 weeks old

So far marriage has been very similar and very different than I thought it would be. Two years later I can say that I am very happily married to a wonderful man and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

As far as interests go I'm pretty eclectic. I love baking (obviously) and crafts. Next month I will be learning to sew and quilt on a machine and I am really looking forward to that. I love babies and kids in general, I can't wait until Mr. T and I can start adding to our family with human kids. I love weddings and everything that goes into them, I used to want to own my own bridal shop. We'll see if that wish ever comes true. I love music and dancing, my taste is pretty eclectic from Country to Rap, R & B, Classical, Alternative, 80's hair bands and even some Disco.

I love where we live but I do miss my family a lot. I would love to live closer to home so that I could see my siblings, their kids, and my parents more often. Two of my best friends (N and my HLM Maddy) also still live in our home town so that makes it hard to be so far away!

I think that just about covers it. Let me know if I missed anything ;)

Couldn't resist one more picture of Baby Bretta. 

Mimosa Cupcakes

I found these delicious cupcakes one day while browsing the nest for decorating ideas.
These are my favorite cupcakes I have made this year, and if you're counting I've made 17 other cupcakes up until now.
I LOVE Mimosas. Our love story began when I was living with my HLM, Maddy, and watching Desperate Housewives every Sunday before our school and work weeks began. We decided that we needed to up our classy factor since most of the time we were sitting on a twin bed that we turned into a couch and wearing our pajamas that looked nothing like the scimpy lingerie that Gabby was wearing every Sunday. Mimosas became our Sunday evening tradition.
I was pretty skeptical of this recipe but was more than willing to try it. First of all, how could a cupcake ever be as good as a cupcake? Second of all, it was found on a random newly-wed website, who knows where they get these from?! I am happy to say that all of my doubts were never confirmed. This cupcake was a moist citrusy-champagne taste of Heaven. As a point of reference, Mr. T's co-workers would now like me to bake both these and the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes that started my cupcake insanity so that they can do a side by side comparison.

You'll want to start with a sweet champagne, it can be an inexpensive bottle.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form

The Batter

This recipe yields around 20, I got 22.

I figured that it would only be appropriate to drink a mimosa while baking mimosa cupcakes...

I would recommend making this recipe in the winter when it's easier to find ripe oranges, like in your backyard if you're me.

Brush the still-warm cupcakes with champagne for an extra kick of flavor.

Making the orange curd

Champagne Buttercream Frosting, aka the Mother of all Buttercreams

I refridgerated the orange-curd for a little extra to make it stand up a bit better.

Don't mind the dab of chocolate cupcake batter that got onto one of them.... Ooops

It was a pretty hot day, the buttercream doesn't like the heat.

Pretty pink sparkles to distract the eye from the melting frosting and orange curd.

I love people that let me put pictures of them eating on this blog :) Thanks Holly

You'd look like this if you got ignored every Saturday night and didn't even get to try a cupcake for your suffering.

Mini Cheesecake Cupcakes and the Proposal

I've been looking forward to trying these ever since I laid my eyes on the recipe last December. The only reason I hadn't made these earlier is due to my cupboard's lack of extra large cupcake tin. Finally I was able to remember it on a shopping trip and picked one up at Target. The only problem? They don't sell liners for their extra-large cupcake tin, and neither does anyone else! So I had to improvise. You can use parchment paper, cut into large squares, your cupcakes will just look a little funny. And we all know that I'm not opposed to funny looking cupcakes.

I made these cupcakes while visiting my brother J and his (at the time) girlfriend A with my Mom, youngest brother K and his girlfriend, also K.

It was a very important weekend. The mimosas were flowing.

That's a glass of the finest champagne we could find right there. I believe it had "duck" in the title.

Vanilla Cheesecake Crunch-Top Cupcakes 
found in The (now famous) Cupcake Deck

Egg, Egg Yolk and Sugar. I don't know why I wasn't using an electric mixer like the recipe calls for...

Sifted dry ingredients

I don't know how I got sideways, but this is the filling. Cream Cheese, Sugar and egg.

Fresh out of the oven. Notice the improvised parchment paper liners.

Delicious!

In honor of my making cupcakes my brother J thought it would be a good time to propose.

Oh, you think he had planned it before I mentioned cheesecake?

Okay, maybe you're right. It probably took him a little time to find that beautiful ring...

Even the dogs were excited.

Well, all the dogs except Bretta. She had to stay home that weekend.

Congratulations you two. Love you both. 

Mostly because you let me take pictures of you in sage brush.