Merry Christmas

Weekend Guests.

Or should I say Week-Guests? Yep, our furry family member number has doubled for the week. My Dad, step-mom, and sister went to Martha's Vineyard and we are the dog-sitters. It's sort of a circus around here, but we have a pretty good system down to make it work. They're all good dogs, so aside from some big bursts of energy, it's pretty cool to have all of these love bugs together!

{From left to right: Tuck, Tilly (both ours), Chessie (Tuck & River's Mom), and River}

I love a rainy night.

It has been one gloomy day up here in the mitten. Rainy all day with no end in sight. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a rainy day. In fact, I like getting nice and cozy inside on rainy days. So today, when I got home from my interview after work, I put on yoga pants, my Black Dog Martha's Vineyard t-shirt (my fave lounge shirt), and have been snuggling on the couch since.

Tilly & Tuck are the best rainy day snugglers so they're content on this rainy day too. I'd say this is the face of someone who never lets a little rain get him down...

Hope you are all enjoying this Monday evening, rain or shine, wherever you are!

"The Help" Caramel Cake

I came across this recipe last night and it looked too fun and delicious not to try! I thought you all might feel the same so I decided to share it. It seems like the perfect recipe to try this Fall :)

"The Help" Caramel Cake

(found on modernmom.com)

Ingredients:

4 egg whites, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk, divided (1/4 cup and 3/4 cup)

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (cut into small pieces), at room temperature

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour three eight-inch cake pans (or use nonstick spray) and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together the egg whites, ¼ cup milk, and the vanilla extract and set aside.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and combine on low speed. Scatter the butter pieces on top of the flour mixture and add the remaining milk. Blend on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Add the egg white mixture a little at a time and beat on medium speed until just combined. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The cakes will appear slightly golden on top, not browned. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool completely. While the cake is cooling, make your icing.

Caramel Icing:

3 cups granulated sugar, divided (2 1/2 cups + 1/2 cup)

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 1/2 cups sugar, corn syrup, and milk. Stir continuously until the sugar dissolves and no longer has a granular feeling. Keep warm over low heat.

In a separate deep, heavy saucepan, add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and spread evenly over the bottom. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the sugar dissolves and begins to turn an amber color. You may “swirl” your pan if necessary to re-distribute sugar while cooking.

As soon as the sugar turns colors, carefully add the warm milk mixture into the heavy saucepan. It will bubble up vigorously and sizzle and the caramel on the bottom will harden.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the caramel dissolves and the liquid turns caramel color. Then cook without stirring until the mixture reaches soft-ball stage (235°F) on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and salt.

Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Mix until the icing is thick and the consistency appropriate to spread, about 15 minutes. A hand held electric mixer on medium speed works well for this purpose.

Cake Assembly:

Place one cooled cake layer upside down on a serving platter and pour about one-quarter of the icing over the top, spreading evenly with a knife or angled spatula. Place the middle layer upside down on top of the bottom layer and spread another one-quarter of the icing over it. Place the third cake layer right side up on top of the second layer and complete the icing of the top and sides. Set aside for two hours to allow the icing to set.

ENJOY!

21 Day Challenge!

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I thrive on organization. However, this does not mean that I am Mrs. Organized. I can be far from it. But I recognize that when I am organized, I am at my best.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared our home organization binder on my blog. It has been such a wonderful help in organizing our life and home! I use it every day and have plans to add more to it in the coming weeks.

Today, I came across a blog post that was called the 21 Day Challenge. It is all about organizing some of those things that may not get a lot of attention all the time in the organizing department. It's basically a list of things to organize in your home, and it breaks it down to one item to tackle per day, which makes it a lot less overwhelming. If you're anything like me, feeling overwhelmed with too many "to-do's" is a death wish for getting anything done.

So, I'm joining the 21 day challenge fun and starting today! I hope you'll join too!

21 DAY ORGANIZING CHALLENGE

• Join the Challenge (at any time)
• Day 1 - Junk Drawer
• Day 2 - Computer Desk
• Day 3 - Tupperware Cabinet
• Day 4 - Linen Closet
• Day 5 - Under kitchen sink
• Day 6 - Dresser Drawers
• Day 7 - The Pantry
• Day 8 - Coat Closet
• Day 9 - Toy organization (I don't have kids so I'm changing this to books!)
  
• Day 10 - Laundry Room
• Day 11 - The Freezer
• Day 12 - Spice Cabinet
• Day 13 - Medicine Cabinet
• Day 14 - Under bathroom sink
• Day 15 - Medicine/Vitamin Storage
• Day 16 - The Fridge
• Day 17 - The Mail
• Day 18 - Keepsakes
• Day 19 - Master Closet
• Day 20 - Photos
• Day 21 - You Pick!
  

Healthy Wife, Healthy Life returns!

I'll be honest, I'm mad at myself.

For the year leading up to our wedding and the year following, I had a membership at a kickboxing gym. I went 2 or 3 times per week and it was the best workout routine of my life. I felt so in shape, strong, energized, and everything I wore fit great.

Well, I'm sure you can tell where this is going... I stopped going. Why? I can blame it on a busy schedule. I can blame it on being too tired. Neither excuse is a good one though. And now, I'm so mad at myself for stopping. That fit and trim body definitely doesn't just stick around. After a year of not really focusing on fitness much at all, I'm paying for it.

So, I'm taking steps to getting myself back into that shape! I've known that in addition to jogging and eating better, I need to have that type of exercise back. Even though the class was awesome, I didn't want to buy the membership again (thanks Dave Ramsey:) ). The next best thing happened though, because on Sunday we bought one of these:

My new kickboxing training bag! I'm so excited. I know this is going to take dedication and follow through on my part, but I'm ready! I even have a couple of girlfriends who want to come over and have our own "kickboxing class" where we can push and motivate each other.

As soon as Lance put it together on Sunday evening, I tried it out. It felt great to put my wraps and gloves on again. But, yesterday morning was the first real workout. My friend came over and we kicked our own behinds! It was tough but felt so good afterward. And thinking about getting back in shape made it feel even better :) I'm so glad we bought it.

I'm going to dedicate myself to doing the bag workout every other day. There, I said it.

I have to make this change. I'm going to! I don't want to be mad at myself anymore!

What is your best workout routine?