My new Obsession

Hello again!  I'm back.  I needed some time with family and everything is good.  While I was away I started a new obsession and it's couponing.  Damn you Extreme Couponing!  :)  I have not gotten crazy like the ones on that show and we will not start hoarding.  I am just clipping coupons for things we use.  I could never be extreme because it takes a lot of time and we eat somewhat healthy.  I usually buy our meat, fruit, and vegetables at Whole Foods and if I do buy them at Publix it is usually organic.  So we don't eat frozen meals, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, and food out of most boxes.   But we do eat cereal and Addison eats a lot of cereal and we use a lot of toiletries.   I have started clipping coupons on laundry detergent, dish soap, hand soap, body wash , toothpaste, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and cereal.  I got a great deal at Staples because they had a $3 off coupon and their Bounty paper towels were on sale for $4.99.  That's $1.99 for paper towels!

I will try to let you know what I have saved in the days ahead.  Like I said I wont be able to be so extreme like getting stuff for free but saving  $3 to $5 here and there is great for us.  A little adds up to a lot and I can use that extra money on card making supplies.  :)

Speaking of card making I will be finishing my Father's Day cards.  I wanted to make them last week but too much happened.

Today, we had a great day of cooking and baking.  Haven spent the whole day with Addison and I and we baked Powder Puffs.   It's nice to have a girl in the house.

 For dinner I made Crostini with Mozzarella and Tomatoes and then Pepperoni Pizza.

It was an Italian night.  Wait the Powder Puffs were a French recipe.  Oh as you noticed I have tabs on top that go to extra pages.  I thought this would be a nice way to organize all my stuff.   I will be posting on the recipes page recipes I have tried and loved.

Well see you later.

Memorial Weekend is gone back to reality

How was your Memorial Day weekend?  We had an incredible one.  We decided to drive to Asheville, NC to visit our cousins (Nate and Rachael).  They live on the most beautiful land.  Their backyard looks like it should be in a romantic movie or a book.    Here's some pictures of part of their back yard which is the playground.  Incredible, I love how the trees just surround it.

It was so wonderful to just relax, hang out with the family, and enjoy nature.  We even got to take the dogs, so the whole Cochran family (including Kevin, he's a honorary Cochran)  got to play. The boys had blast running around playing of the rope swing, making a fire.  We got there Saturday evening and they had friends over for pizza and drinks.  Everyone got to make homemade pizzas and then they were baked in the green egg on a pizza stone.  They were all very yummy and the company was awesome.  Sunday. we had waffles, bacon, and grits for breakfast.  This is a big deal since Rachael is a vegetarian.  She's such a sweet hostess to feed us meat.  :)  After breakfast, Nate took all of us on a 2 hour hike around the mountains and river.  It was beautiful.  The kids and the men swam in the river, but it was just way to cold for me.  I put my feet in but that was enough since I'm allergic to the cold.  Here's some pictures of them playing in the river:

To see more picture of our Asheville adventure check them out here.  

We left Sunday night since their kids had school the next day and we had baseball tickest for Monday.  Monday, we went to the Braves game and it was hot!  We had seats practically on the the field but it was in the outfield in the hot scorching sun.  It was 95 degrees and it's not even officially summer yet.  Vieng and I had to take breaks from the sun and hangout in the shade.  We enjoyed walking around the stadium and people watching.  Addison and JT stayed in their seats for the whole game.  I couldn't believe they could stay in the sun that long.   The Braves ended up losing, which was sad because the game was tied in the 9th inning.  After the game, we went to Six Feet Under for dinner.  We haven't been there for a year and I forgot how much I loved it.  After dinner, we went home to rest and I still feel like I need to rest and it's Wednesday.  

Here's some action pictures of the game:

So after a wonderful 3 day weekend it's back to reality, Addison's 9:00 AM diving practices have begun and then 10:30 AM swimming practice.  Tuesday was crazy because he also has normal diving lessons and Taekwondo at night.  I don't know how he does it.  4 activities in one day, he's one fit kid (or just plain crazy).  Tonight, Addison has his written exam and then his fitness test for his Black Belt.  Only 2 more weeks and Addison will be a Black Belt in Taekwondo!!!  I can't believe it.  

So because of last weekend and us trying to get use to the new schedule, I have hardly cooked and have even thought about baking.  I know so sad.  Hopefully, I will be back in the swing of things soon.  I'm thinking off starting back by making Dulce de Leche (milk candy).  I have been wanting to make it for a while.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Since it takes forever to make I think I'm just going to make the condensed milk version, which still takes about 4 hours.  I know once it's made Addison will want to dip strawberries and bananas in it so I need to make enough to bake with too.  My Sugarbaby cookbook has a Dulce de Leche cupcake recipe that I think would be good to try.  

Well, I hope everyone is doing well.  As you have noticed I am still loving my camera.  Bye for now.  

Busy week

Sorry for not posting but this week has been so busy.  Monday, Jt had a soccer game.  Tuesday, Addison had his last day of school party (so had to make 30 cupcakes Monday at 1 AM) and that night was  Addison's 5th grade graduation (which he received 3 award, including the Presidential Award).  Wednesday, Addison had his first dive meet (which he placed 2nd).  Thursday, Addison still had 3 activities (swimming, diving, and Taekwondo starting at 10:30 AM) but we still had time to clean and cook dinner (I made spaghetti).  So,  I am really going to enjoy this 3 day weekend.  Addison doesn't have any activities and JT doesn't have to work until Tuesday.  It will be a relaxing 3 days.  Maybe I will have time to finally bake that cherry pie I have been talking about.  Yes, I still cherries that everyone is gradually eating so before they go bad I need to make a pie.  I also have about 10 lemons.  How long do lemons last?  I'm more worried about the cherries than the lemons.

What happen to my summer full of baking?  Addison is going to have to start learning how to drive or start riding his bike everywhere.  :)  Next week, day lessons for swimming and diving start at 9:30 AM.  So we have to be up and ready everyday at 9 AM.  The good thing is it gets me going but no sleeping in for us this June.  Oh July I can't wait to sleep in.

But don't get me wrong, I love taking Addison to all his activities.  He really enjoys them and loves being active.  I also love the summer leagues, the kids really enjoy hanging out and competing.  It is also so relax compared to other competitions.  I really don't mind doing it for a month.   I just mind it at 9 AM when I couldn't fall asleep the night before.  :)  But, it does give me time to read my books while I'm waiting for 3 hours a day.  Oh and it hasn't gotten too hot yet.  Check with me in 2 weeks.  I will probably be complaining by then.

I mentioned I made Addison's class cupcakes, they were Campfire Delight Cupcakes.   Addison asked me to do chocolate cupcakes for his class and I didn't want to do any old chocolate cupcakes.  These are a rich chocolate cupcakes with a toasted marshmallow filling topped with malt chocolate icing.  I got the recipe from Sweetapolita (of course). Remember when I made the Campfire Delight Cake from her blog? It's a 6-Layer Rich Chocolate Malted & Toasted-Marshmallow Cake.  You can find her entry here.  It was delicious!!  Well, Sweetapolita made a cupcake version and they turned out amazing.   You can find her cupcake version here.   I love doing cupcakes more than cakes.  You don't have to worry about layers and icing the whole cake,  piping on icing is so easy.   These cupcakes might be my favorite so far.

Well, talk to you later.  I need to get to bed so I won't be a grumpy taxi driver tomorrow.  :)

So I'll leave you with proud momma pictures.  I love my little prince.

5th grade Graduation

Favorite Picture!!  Daddy and Son.

So proud of my boys!!!

He's going to be something BIG one day!!

And diving

So handsome!!

The Simple Life

I hope everyone had a great weekend. We had a great one and I did get some baking done. I made Lemon Madelines, Orange Madelines, and Maple Pecan Squares. These were one of the first recipes in the Williiams-sonoma Baking cookbook. The recipe was actually for Orange Madelines but I decided to make the second batch Lemon to see how they would taste. Addison liked the orange the best, I liked the lemon better. I did make a mistake with the orange one's. I was being lazy and used baking spray. I know not to use it and I don't know why we buy it. It always makes everything taste different and crispy. But I was lazy for the first batch and used it, the Madelines were crispy and didn't really puff up. The Lemon batch I used butter and flour and they turned out nice and puffy. I need to keep reminding myself not use the baking spray, butter and flour is so much better.

The Maple Pecan Squares were easy to make and they turned out tasting like mini-pecan pies. The crust turned out really good and it only took about 5 minutes to make. JT even mentioned how great my crust is tasting.  I also found the Maple Pecan Square recipe on the Willams-Sonoma website here. So I thought I would share it with you guys.

Maple Pecan Squares

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter,
cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

For the filling:
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2/3 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Carefully line a 9-inch square baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, letting the foil extend up the sides and over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil liner.

To make the crust by hand, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and salt until blended. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas form.

To make the crust with a food processor, in the bowl of the processor, combine the flour, brown sugar and salt and pulse 2 or 3 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times until large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas form.

Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust until the edges are lightly browned and the top feels firm when lightly touched, 12 to 17 minutes. Set aside.

To make the filling, in a saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, maple syrup and brown sugar and stir together until the butter melts and the brown sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the cream. Then stir in the pecans. Pour the hot filling over the partially baked crust, spreading it evenly to the edges with an icing spatula.

Bake until the filling is set when you give the pan a gentle shake, 22 to 25 minutes. During baking, the filling will bubble vigorously, then the bubbles will subside and become smaller toward the end of baking. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool until the filling is firm, about 1 1/2 hours.

Using the ends of the foil liner, carefully lift the maple-pecan square in its liner from the baking pan. Run a small knife around the edges of the square to loosen it from the foil. Using a large, sharp knife, cut into 25 small squares. The squares will slide easily off the foil. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 25 squares.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Baking, by Cathy Burgett, Elinor Klivans & Lou Seibert Pappas (Oxmoor House, 2003).

Sunday we went to the country.  JT's dad has 50 acres in the country and we love going on the weekends.  It's nice just to be outside and run around.  Addison and the dogs are so happy when we go to the farm.  JT and Addison did a little work on the driveway and the dogs just played.  I got to take some great pictures of everyone and everything.

You can check out more pictures here.

Isn't it beautiful?  Sometimes we just want to build a house out there and be peaceful.  But then we realize I have to go to school, JT has to work, and how would Addison get to his activities.  We are planning to put some Buffalo on the land so they land will pay for itself.  I would also love to start growing some vegetables out there.  JT just needs to take some time off to clear some stuff away.  The problem is JT never gets time off.   Well, we pray the next 2 years will be wonderful and we will have time to get some stuff done.  

Well, tonight or tomorrow I have to bake something with cherries.  I guess a cherry pie.  I got a bunch of cherries at the grocery store and Addison is eating them but I don't think fast enough.  I hate when fruit goes to waste.  I also have a bunch of lemons so I guess lemon bars again.   This time I will try to Williams-Sonoma Lemon Bar recipe in my cookbook.  I wonder if it has a Cherry Pie recipe too?  I wil have to check.  

Bye for now.  

Food Photography

Sorry for not posting last night but Blogger was down for maintenance.

I am excited about something this weekend. I found the website Creative Live from the Pioneer Woman's blog. It's a live classroom with a photographer explaining and teaching certain parts of photography. This weekend is Food Photography with Penny De Los Santos, who is the food photographer for Saveur Magazine.   It is free to watch it live and $99 to download. It starts today. I am actually watching it right now. I have a very busy weekend but I will be logging in when I have time to watch her. If you would like to watch you can find it here. Today there will be an interview with the Editor in Chief of Saveur Magazine and a Image critique with Director of Photography for Saveur. Saturday and Sunday are shoots. I hope I have time Saturday or Sunday to watch a couple of these.

Speaking of food Photography I just ordered this book, Plate to Pixel.  I'm very excited for this to arrive.  I read the reviews and everyone is saying the pictures are incredible.  I ordered this book because I noticed the food pictures on some people's blogs, they make every look beautiful and delicious.  I think reading this book will take my food photography up a notch, oh and the online classroom this weekend will help as well. 

     

I will let you know how the book is, it will arrive Tuesday and I will probably be reading it all day.  I hope you all will notice a difference in my food photography skills.  :)  

Peonies FOUND!!!

So I just went to Whole Foods and guess what?  They had buckets full of peonies.  They had so many I should have brought my camera to take pictures of their florist section.  It was peonies heaven!!!  I'm so happy and they were not expensive.  The were $11.99 each.   I hope they have them all summer.  Here are some pictures of the peonies I bought:

I hope I can have peonies on my table every day this summer.  I'm thinking next time mix hydrangeas with the peonies.  That would be a beautiful arrangement.  I'll try it next week.  

Oh before I go Grandma has called me to ask if we can be on the hunt for the best tea sandwiches.  So this summer we will be trying recipes to find the best tea sandwich recipe.  Addison has been elected as taste tester and it think his taste palette is pretty good to be a judge. :)  So if you have any tea sandwiches recipes send them to me please.  And of course I will let you know which recipe wins.  

Bye!

Tomatoes and Lemons

Today was a productive day.  I pick up Addison from school and we went grocery shopping.  I love going grocery shopping with him because he's a great helper.  I hate pushing the cart especially when I have a list. Addison doesn't mind pushing and doesn't run over too many people in the process.  I also got my Mother's Day cards mailed out.  People will only get them 4-8 days late this time.  I'm getting better.  Here are the cards I made.  If you are getting one don't look. :)

I love the way they turned out.  And don't worry if you are not a mom, they would still make a great Birthday card.  :)

After the Post Office, we went to Diving and Taekwondo.  JT was able to pick Addison up from Taekwondo so I could start cooking.   I  made Sun-Dried Tomato and Red Pepper Pasta.  You can find the recipe here.   I don't have a smoke gun so it's not smokey but it turned out wonderful and it was pretty easy.  

Beautiful Red Peppers

Yummy Sun Dried Tomatoes

Dinner time!!

I also made Lemon Bars for desert.  I promised a classmate I would make him Lemon Bars so I needed to find a good recipe and try it before I made some for him.  

Fresh lemons

Lemon bar

I think they turned out good but I might try one more recipe before I decide.  I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen (my new favorite cooking blog)  and you can find it here.  

Well off to bed.  I have to think about what to make for dinner tomorrow.  I'm thinking pork.  

Happy Mother's Week

So I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday, JT made me breakfast (his famous waffles and volcano eggs), Addison and I played video games for 3 hours (Killzone 3), and then we went to go see Thor in 3D.  It was a perfect relaxing geeky Mother's Day.  Addison also surprised me with the cutest heart necklace and JT cooked breakfast on my new skillets I got for Mother's Day.  Yes, on top of my wonderful Anthropologie measuring cups JT bought me 2 new All-Clad skillets.  I actually had to pick them up at Williams-Sonoma because JT had to work all day and night Friday and Saturday but they are from him.   I am in love with my new skillets.  They are so pretty, I don't want to cook on them.  :)

Pretty, Shiny

Oh I also forgot to mention the Rainbow cake I baked for Kevin's birthday.  It turned out so cute and the boys loved it.  This cake was a lot of work though!  I usually love baking because it doesn't take long.  You just have to whip up the batter, bake it and then make the icing.  But with this cake you have to weigh the batter split the batter in 1/8 and then dye the batter 8 different colors.  Oh and I only have 4 cake pans.  It was a lot of work and that just the cake part.  The icing is the swiss meringue icing, it's delicious but takes a lot to make.  It 's only egg whites, so you have the split the eggs and then make the meringue and this recipe calls for 14 egg whites.  To make meringue, you have to put sugar and egg whites in a saucepan and heat until the sugar has melted, then put in a mixer on high speed.  But that's just the meringue then you need to add the butter to make it buttercream.  This frosting takes about 30 mins sometimes more.  It's one of my favorite icings but on top of making the rainbow cake it was a chore and a lot of egg whites (19 egg whites in total the cake uses 5).  You can find the recipe here.

Oh and before I go I leave you with Luna in Addison's old Underroos, they are Star Wars C3P0.

Coffee and Silhouettes

I'm still sick but feeling better.  I just wish I could breathe out of my nose.  JT and Addison have been more than helpful.  And since this is the last week of school I have nothing due so that's a relief.

So while I surfed the web today in my sickly bed I found the funniest link from Pioneer Woman.  Best Week Ever did a post of 50 Photos of Basset Hounds and it's hilarious!  I needed this laugh.  I was laughing so hard I was snorting and crying  (because of my stuffed up nose).    You can check it out here.  Trust me you are going to want to send this link to everyone.  I posted it on my Facebook because I had to share it with everyone.

Here are some other things great things I have found on the web today.

I found these coffee mugs on Photojojo.com.

They are coffee mugs that look like a camera lens.  And the Nikon one even zoooms!!!



You can find The Camera Lens Mug at the Photojojo Store!


This is interesting, Silhouette rings.

You can send them a picture of your or anyones silhouette and they create a ring for you.  They also make bangles.  What a neat idea?  You can buy them here.

I love asubtlerevelry.com.  It's one of my new favorite DIY blogs and now they have started an online magazine.  So my favorite online magazine is Styled Mag.  It shows great ideas that anyone can create and how to throw a fabulous party.  You can find it here.


I am still trying to mess around with Photoshop.  It's been difficult since I have been sick.  My laptop doesn't have enough power to run Photoshop well, it makes it very slow.  So I use Addison's iMac in his room and I'm trying really hard not to get him sick.  Here's a new picture I worked on.  I just cropped it, lightened up, and tweaked a couple of things.  I'm really enjoying Photoshop so far.

BEFORE

AFTER

And another one of Dolce.  I took about 100 pictures of her Easter Sunday.  She loves taking pictures and I was so happy since Addison hates taking pictures.   She looks like Betty Bop to me sometimes so I wanted her to have I kind of Pop Art old look.  I love it that her eyes and hair are so dark.  She could be a Movie Star. 

BEFORE

AFTER

As you can tell the Adcock family has some beautiful girls.  Well, time to take some medicine and get some rest.  Oh look what Grandma gave Addison today so he wouldn't get sick.  

So not funny!!!