This weekend, my mom came up for a visit!  The last time she was here, we put her to work with all kinds of cleaning and painting and new-house craziness, so it was great to have a FUN weekend where we could just enjoy ourselves and so some summery things. 
Mom came up Friday after work, bearing [...]

Last night was the Taste of the Independents. It’s an event that features cuisine from over 40 independently owned and operated restaurants in Columbus, and it benefits the non-profit that I work for, The Buckeye Ranch. It was the most delicious food that I’ve had in a long time (probably since last year’s event)! They [...]

Tommorow is St. Patrick’s Day, and I wanted to bake something for the occasion.  I almost went with shamrock-shaped sugar cookies, but I’ve been baking so many sweets lately (and just bought some Girl Scout cookies) so I decided I should make something more traditional:
Irish Soda Bread.

On Friday, I was at Panera and noticed theirs… they [...]

I’ve been baking some kind of cookie or dessert about once or twice a week now.  Not good for my hips, but it’s good for my heart. 
Cookies can be tricky.   Sometimes the bottoms burn and the tops are doughy, or they spread out too much, or are too “cakey”.  Having a sketchy apartment oven doesn’t [...]

Today is March 1st, meaning I will turn twenty-five in twenty-nine days.  My cousin Carmen told me on Wednesday that twenty-five was her favorite year.  I hope it is mine too.  But I am a little sad that it will mean that from then on, I will be closer to thirty than to twenty. 
Funnel is [...]

Today I made some a double batch of Martha’s Ideal Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing for Valentine’s Day.  My mom called me while I was making them, and she also was making Valentine’s Day cookies… with the very same recipe as me!

I think the decorating could have been a little better, but my equiptment consists [...]

Another snow day, another baking adventure. This morning, I had a hankerin’ for peanut butter cookies and I decided to make them into hearts in honor of Valentine’s Day.   

Here’s the original recipe, courtesy of my trusty Better Homes & Garden cookbook:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 [...]

As I was getting ready for work around 6:45 this morning, I got a call that I didn’t need to go in today, due to the winter storm we had last night.  I had really been needing a “mental health” day, so I was pretty excited. 
One of the things I decided to do this morning [...]

I’ve been drinking lots of tea in the morning and evenings, especially now that it is getting cold.  I start my day off at work with at least a couple cups of tea, and I think it helps me to relax and get focused.  I drink a wide variety of tea, but I am trying [...]

I’ve been really anxious/worried lately.  I totally get that worrying is an empty action that does nothing to actually solve any problems.  I guess I just suck at the “mind over matter” stuff.  I’ve been trying to do better in this area with a combination of prayer, moment-by-moment living, the “6 month rule”, and hot tea.  [...]