sweet oranges

I just love this cookbook!!

My step-mom found it for me in an antique store many years ago.

It is missing a number of pages, and it has many duplicate pages.

But the recipes that are there....ROCK!

Earlier this week, I made Sweet Orange Coffee Cake.

I have been wanting to make this coffee cake for a long time.

The reason it took me so long is because it calls for 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese, and that is an ingredient I do not keep on hand.

I followed the recipe word for word, and the reviews were positive.

Since there is yeast in the recipe, the cake is more bread-like than cake-like, but it was still super delicious.

Here are some pre-icing and iced pics.

Let's not mention the smell.....sweet, sweet, orange-ness.

20+ months

Bauer and I were hanging out today.

The sun was shining through the windows.

It felt warm, even though it was ultra chilly outside.

Since the lil' man was wearing his cute Gap sweater (that we found at the thrift store for $2.00!), and lookin' so handsome.

I just had to bust out some cutest baby pics.

This is the sweet look.

Look at this happy boy. He was trying to reach for the camera to take over.

And this one is my favorite.

birthday request

A friend requested oatmeal chocolate chip with raisin cookies for a birthday gift.
I picked this recipe, minus the nuts.
Needless to say, this one is a keeper.
Made almost 4 dozen cookies.
I am not a huge fan of raisins in cookies, but this one is now a favorite in this house.

sucking me in

What have I been doing??
Typing names into the FB search to see who I can find.
Yeah, good use of my time.

I heart

Making chocolate brownies in the shape of hearts for Daria's class party.
The party is tomorrow.
Our anniversary is on Saturday.
Yes, on Valentine's Day.
Year #9.
Traditional gift is pottery and the modern gift is leather.
I think we are going to buy each other a new phone for the house and/or a new comforter for our bed.
I would like some pottery, but really that is not a practical gift right now.
Okay, plan to post pics of brownies tomorrow.

so much to do

My to-do list is growing, but my ambition to get things done is not.
I think I am in a winter slump, even though we have had a couple of lovely days.
The thing is when my lists get long I tend to do it all in one day, and it looks like tomorrow is going to be one of those days.
Hooray!!