Adopted

Cheyenne has been adopted…..of course who could

resist that sweet face?!

Check out my side bar for other dogs looking for

forever homes.

Opening day!

This morning I got up and jogged 3 miles so I could indulge on

opening day at Caspers!

They give you so  much chili that it spills over the top of the bowl….

soooooo worth it!

So cute!

I’ve been meaning to share this rug with you.

This is an M. Shaw pattern that my hooking buddy, Kelly,
hooked up. Love all the cute colors and the 3-D flowers with the
button centers!
You can click on the picture to see a larger version.
You can visit Margaret Shaw’s website to see more of her
patterns HERE.
See, I can still make a blog post and have it not be about food!

Food obsessed

Have I become food obsessed or what?!

I feel like that is all I ever blog about lately…..

oh well…..

Yesterday, the hubs and I went to Branson to do a little shopping and

of course….

eating…..

We had heard wonderful reviews about Cantina Laredo on “The Landing”,

so we decided to give it a whirl.

My aunt, Joan, raves about their guacamole, so we decided to give it a try….

Yum!!! Their salsa was also really good!

Margaritas and mojitos got us started in the right

direction to Funville.

I mean, how can you not have fun when you are sitting outside,

overlooking the lake, watching fountains and fire and rainbows…

Such a beautiful day and we finally got a break for the 100 degree heat!

I think it was only in the upper 70’s or low 80’s yesterday…..

like I said….beautiful!

As you can see below….we did a good job on the guacamole

Kenny had the Camaron Poblano Asada -

Grilled steak around poblano pepper with shrimp, mushrooms,

and monterey jack cheese on chimichurri sauce.

 

I had the Enchiladas De Camarones -

Shrimp, monterey jack cheese and roasted peppers

in enchiladas on vegetables topped with sour cream poblano

sauce.

Yes, I ate the WHOLE THING!!!!! It was sooooo good!

…and good to get away for a bit!

Not quite there YET!

Funny, I’ve had lots of comments on the yoga pose……

Just to clarify…..I can’t get my head down to my knee…..yet

I’m more at this point…..

I’ll try to have Kenny take a pic of me at some point to

show you where I’m at.

Stretching yourself

Last night we stepped out and went downtown for First Friday Art Walk.  One exhibit had all kinds of animals made from braided fabric…..camels, rabbits, birds, skunks, elephants….you name it!

As we made our way around the galleries I was surprised to see a picture

of my cousin, Kayla, at Transformations Gallery and Tattoo.

Interesting concept, an art gallery and tattoo gallery combined…..

 

We also stopped by Good Girl Art…..

found a really cool sea shell table…..Kenny is thinking

about going back this weekend to see if it’s still available.

Hawthorn Gallery had some really beautiful pieces by artist Dale Auguston

By this time, we were starting to work up our appetite,

so we stopped in at Fedora Social House to use our coupon we bought

on Living Social.

We had all kinds of fondue….

Fedora Cheesesteak fondue as an appetizer,

Teriyaki Fusion as our main course…..this is where the stretching occurred…..

we had never been here before and were a little freaked out when they

brought out a plate of raw steak……WHAT?!

They told us that we put it on the skewers and then cook it in the broth

in the fondue pot…..ended up, it was pretty good…just not a concept

that we were familiar with.  We had this with lobster mac and cheese and bacon peppadews.

Okay, by this point I’m totally stuffed, but our special “Fon Duo” also included dessert…..

White Chocolate Chambord fondue….and to dip into it….marshmallows, graham crackers and pretzels…..oh my….SO STUFFED!!!

So this morning I got up and headed off to yoga class. 

This is a new pose I learned this week….marichyasana

Stretch yourself…..go new places, do new things!

Don't Miss the Truman Lake Rug Show and Hook-In September 10, 2011

Truman Lake Rug Show and Hook-In
1st annual Rug Show and Hook In!!!
They are bringing in some "big time" vendors for their first annual show including,
Maggie Bonanomi


Wendy Miller



Anita White


Renee Nanneman



Melissa Towne

and Sheri DeMate




Registration is $15.00 and may be paid at the door. Refreshments will be provided and lunch will be available on site.
A rug show will be available to the public but separated from the Hook In.
Time: September 10, 2011 from 9am to 3pm
Location: Warsaw Community building
Street: You can call Patty for directions!
City/Town: Warsaw, MO.
Website or Map: http://www.saltboxprimitivewoolens.com
phone: 660-438-6002
They are hoping for a lot of rugs to be entered in the show. Everyone will
vote for their favorite rug and the first three will receive prizes.
Gift certificates at Saltbox Primitive Woolens
1st $75.00
2nd $50.00
3rd $25.00

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

So here lately I’ve become a little obsessed about trying new recipes and trying to make them healthier without sacrificing taste…..this is the latest experiment.  I found a recipe that was pretty darn healthy, but I wanted to get rid of the sugar and replace it with honey…..I did….and
it turned out pretty darn fabulous!  This is making me a little braver to try more modifications in
other recipes.

….and yes, the picture of the bread is taken on a Christmas platter…..that’s what I had around
at the time.
Double Chocolate (Whole-Wheat) Banana Bread
 (adapted from this recipe at A Full Measure of Happiness)

• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/3 C canola oil
• 1/2 C skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste….found it at TJ Maxx)
• 1 1/2 C whole-wheat flour
• 1/3 C honey
• 1/8 t salt
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• heaping 1/2 C bittersweet chocolate chips/morsels

Oops…just realized I don’t have the eggs in the picture of the ingredients!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Combine the wet ingredients in your mixer bowl and mix on medium until bananas are mashed.


Add the dry ingredients (salt, baking powder, sugar, flour, cocoa powder, mocha powder, chocolate chips)

and combine until just mixed. Don’t be nervous….this is not a thick batter….kind of thin actually.

Pour the batter into your sprayed/greased bread pan.
 
Now the best part……lick the bowl….do the raw eggs bother you?  Yeah, me neither….I like living dangerously!


Now, put your bread in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Once it’s done, let it cool for a bit and then run a knife around the edge and flip it out onto a platter……

Reviews from Kenny and myself…….

• moist
• fudgy
• good texture
• flavorful
• best when warm
• banana-y tasting
• super best when warmed up and served with a scoop of ice cream on top!

Things I learned along the way…..

• when converting a baking recipe that uses sugar and you decide to use honey instead….
• 1 cup sugar = 3/4 cup honey, also decrease another liquid by about 1/4 cup
• lower your baking temperature 25 degrees

Learning as I go and sharing it with you.
Don’t be a baby bird and just eat anything that people push at you….

Home

Yay! Josie has found a home!  This makes me happy…..

I check on the pages of the dogs I feature on my

blog just about every day and it always makes me

smile when one of them has found a home.

What’s Hookin’?!

Summer is coming to an end…..so enjoy those last moments of

slipping into your flip-flops and digging your toes into

the sand.

Get ready for pumpkins and crows……

…..Ghosts and gouls…..

Remember to make time to play in your wool!

(all pictures from my hooking group last night)