Recent Baking Endeavors...The Calm Before the Storm.

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered my baking services for a couple of special occasions. I was getting together with some college friends one night, and the next night was a Tepe birthday celebration. There were a couple of recipes I had been wanting to try and these opportunities presented themselves. (Little did I know that this very weekend would be the calm before the storm.)

I receive weekly emails from Pillsbury which include everything from recipes to coupons. A recent email included the recipe for Grand's Little Pies. They looked simple enough so I decided to give them a try. (My friend Alecia referred to these as "Barbie Cups.") They are simply biscuit dough placed inside a muffin tin, filled with a fruit filling, and topped with a pecan crumble.  I chose to fill mine with an apple filling; they were a big hit with my college buddies.

These little pies were quick and simple, and very tasty too. Would be great with ice cream!

My second baking endeavor came after I found a recipe for homemade Funfetti cake. I follow a few baking blogs and Sprinkle Bakes is one of my favorites. She posted a recipe for the cake several weeks ago and I was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to give it a try. My father- and sister-in-law were both having October birthdays and the family was getting together to have a dual celebration. And after finding out that Jess had a personal love of Funfetti, I knew that this cake was destined for the occasion.

The recipe was a simple white cake with lots of colorful sprinkles added right to the batter! These sprinkles are made to add to ice cream and worked perfectly in the cake.

See all those wonderful sprinkles??!!

I made the mistake of skipping the step where I was supposed to line my baking pans with parchment paper. Did I learn my lesson? I think so.

I was left with one cake that was salvageable, and one pile of cake pieces. So instead of a beautiful two layer cake, I had to settle for one and hope it would be enough to feed everyone. But those scraps were happily eaten by Dan and I throughout the next several days.

The final product turned out well, complete with homemade buttercream frosting and more sprinkles on top. It was a perfect birthday cake.

The very day that I spent baking, having a relaxing time in the kitchen, was the day that I received the call from a principal offering me a job teaching 6th grade math! So I now refer to this weekend as the calm before the storm. It was my last weekend before starting a full-time teaching job, which I knew would change my life dramatically. I was terribly excited and nervous at the same time, but knew that I was up for the challenge!



Welcome Fall

This weekend Dan and I had nothing special on our calendar. And what a great feeling it was! Cooler weather had finally arrived and it brought along with it those wonderful feelings we hadn't felt in months: raised windows letting in the crisp, fall air; wrapping up in a blanket watching a movie; actually wanting to drink a warm cup of coffee in the morning; wearing warm socks; drafts in our apartment; and lots of cold-weather eats!

Saturday morning I celebrated the coming of fall with baking my first loaf of pumpkin bread! I saw the canned pumpkin at the grocery and couldn't resist! Last year I took a recipe for banana bread and altered it, substituting pumpkin for the banana. But this year I decided to use a recipe from Alton Brown, a Food Network chef and host of one of my favorite shows, Good Eats. And while his recipe was good, it fell just short of spectacular, so I took it upon myself to take it to the next level by adding mini chocolate chips. The end result was just perfect!

The combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, all spice, and chocolate chips create the perfect seasonal aroma and flavor!

Every year during the first weekend of October, Louisville hosts the annual St. James Art Festival. Fortunately for us, it happened in our neighborhood of Old Louisville. UNfortunately for us, it happened in our neighborhood of Old Louisville. We are lucky that the show that hosts hundreds of artists from all across the country happens literally in our backyard. We got to see so many great pieces of art! However, it did create a minor headache for us and our parking situation, since we rely on the street for both of our cars. So we decided to hibernate inside most of the weekend, securing our highly valuable parking spaces. We spent a couple of hours Sunday walking around the art show. It was a picturesque fall day spent walking around historic Old Louisville and enjoying the art pieces-everything from jewelry and pottery to clothing, paintings, woodworking, metal sculpting, and photography. Unfortunately we couldn't afford the $1800 painting I fell in love with, so we got the next best thing: fresh kettle corn!

There were people everywhere, walking from booth to booth or sitting at a picnic table enjoying one of the many food vendors. We even spotted Lucy's long-lost twin! The fountain (above) is in the middle of St. James Court. The road is lined with historic homes and is only about two blocks from where we live, so we walk in this neighborhood pretty often. There is also a park, Central Park, right across the street from St. James that we walk through often.

 Nothing like fresh kettle corn!

Here are a few shots of our street and apartment, for those of you who haven't visited.

Our building on 2nd St. Our apartment is on the second floor.

To round off the fall-themed weekend just right, I decided to try a new dish for dinner: chicken pot pie. We thought it would really hit the spot on a cool evening. I used another Food Network chef recipe, one I found online by Emeril Lagasse. And despite the fact that it called for made-from-scratch pie crust for the top, I decided to be brave, face my fear of pastry dough, and give it a try. Dan and I were both pleased with the result. I'm also pleased that this meal will give us leftovers and keep me from having to cook one night this week. Ha ha!

I think I've earned my right to buy frozen pie crusts from now on. :-)

Another weekend in the record books! Welcome Fall!

Crafting Fix

If I don't get my hands dirty with crafting materials for a period of time, I go into withdrawal. Card making used to be my craft of choice; no store-bought cards for me. However since moving to Louisville, returning to school, and getting married, I've had less time (and resources) to keep up my hobby. But on occasion I get an urge to make a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and get my creative fix.  Here are my latest completions.

This is an 8x8 shadowbox with vinyl applied to the front; for Morg's 15th birthday.

For Micah; white 8x8 shadowbox with black vinyl and scrapbook paper.

This piece started as a plain piece of MDF. I painted it cream, applied the vinyl lettering, and distressed with brown.

Catch-Up

It's been a good while since my last post. And to be honest, I don't know where the time has gone or what we've been up to, but it feels like September has come and gone in an instant! But that is totally fine with me; I'm ready to welcome Fall with open arms! I know that in a few months Dan and I will be bundled up, trying to keep our drafty apartment warm, but for now I am really looking foward to cooler weather!

September has definitely given us things to keep us occupied. We've traveled, had out of town guests, been busy with working and school, and enjoyed the start of football season! The sisters and I went home for Labor Day weekend; it was fun as usual filled with nights on the patio, roasting Smores on the fire pit, pool time, Decor Direct, a family gathering at the Oliver's house, and a lot of good food! While I was away Dan had some friends in town and I think they had fun as well. The following weekend Dan spent yet another weekend traveling for work, this time to Chicago, and Micah came and visited from Lexington. Last weekend was somewhat normal for us. We actually went out to eat, just the two of us, on Friday night, and spent lots of time relaxing and watching football. This weekend has been eventful as well; I had class Saturday morning (yuck!), lunch with my d-group girls, and we spent the afternoon watching football with Micah. Unfortunately UK didn't do as well as we'd hoped, but our dinner at Five Guys and hour-long visit to Barnes & Noble kept our minds off of the game.

I love waking up on a cool morning, espcially after all of the hot ones we've been having! This morning I got to do just that and it's getting me in the mood for sweatshirt season and fall baking! I'm looking foward to my first pumpkin bread; maybe this year I'll get brave and use some fresh pumpkin. Sharon, do you have any of those growing in the garden? I also love fall because of all the beautiful changes happening outside. Our neighborhood is great for taking a walk on a fall day just to admire the changing leaves. It reminds me that even Creation has a way of praising it's Creator!

We are looking foward to October and the exciting things that will come with it. Hopefully between subbing, grad school, and everything else I will find time to be more regular with the blog..or maybe I should assign some posts to Dan....

Fair Filled Fun

Friday morning I woke up and said to myself, "We don't really have much going on this weekend." Little did I know how quickly that was about to change. We ended up having a busy weekend with many hours logged at the ole Kentucky State Fair. Dan had to help man the UL HealthCare Mammography Van at the fair, while I spent time indulging in fair food and carnival rides with my cousins, the Buckinghams. Sunday night we were given tickets to see Rascal Flatts in concert at the fairgrounds, courtesy of Dan's boss. It was a fun weekend which is better described in all the following pictures I took to document all the fun activities!

Isabella won 3rd place in the state 4-H Speech competition and was invited to perform her speech at the KSF. I went to watch her give her speech, which was all about chickens!

You can't visit the fair without having some good eats! Love me some funnel cake!

We walked around and saw lots of animals! Uncle Barry got a kick out of the baby chicks, while I was amused by the mini horse (any Rob & Big fans out there?).

Can't go to the fair without riding a ferris wheel!

Isabella and I rode the ferris wheel and had a great view from the top. We also rode a much much faster ride, which you can ask about next time you see me. (Let's just say I almost got off half-way through, but she convinced me otherwise.) Just like any state fair, there are vendors everywhere! As much as I wanted to try a deep-fried oreo or twinkie, I resisted.

I think Isabella and Gabriella had lots of fun exploring all the fair had to offer. Unfortunately none of us explored the famous Donut Burger. This is a hamburger placed between two Krispy Kreme donuts instead of buns. Yum!

Sunday night we were on our way to see Rascal Flatts. We parked and rode the shuttle (aka a tractor pulling a trailor) around to the front entrance.

We walked around for a bit before the concert. Here is a picture of some of the entries in the baked goods category. Maybe next year one of my breads can make a KSF appearance! I was amazed at all of the entry categories: baked goods, antiques, textiles, floral arrangements, art and photography, woodworking, and even homemade brew! There is also an area where different counties in KY are represented. Unfortunately, Fulton Co was not represented. Cash clan, maybe we should work on that! Grant Co, however, was!

I had seen Rascal Flatts in concert before; they were great then and were great now too!

Lately

Just sitting and thinking about how I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks and thought this would be the perfect time. I'm sitting at home with my computer in my lap which can only mean one thing: I'm looking for sub jobs. Now that schools are back in session, I am back to spending hours on the online substitute management system searching for jobs, for this is the only way to secure a job subbing in Louisville. Dan will quickly say that if I'm at home, my browser is open to this website.

Most of you know that I have spent the past few semesters working towards acceptance to UofL's MAT (Masters of Arts in Teaching) program. I was officially accepted and finished my first two graduate classes this summer. I have also spent the summer searching for full-time teaching jobs and going to interviews. It has been a very stressful process, to say the least. And here it is almost September and I'm still jobless. I've gotten good feedback from my interviews and my professors, but haven't landed the job yet. So now my plan is to continue looking for a job until the end of this year, sub as much as I can, and take one class, math methods. If January comes and I still don't have a full-time teaching job, I will then attend grad school full-time and complete the MAT program as quickly as possible.

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat normal for us. Dan has been traveling a lot lately, either for work or visiting friends and family. I have been doing anything I can to keep myself busy, especially on the hot days we've been having. Some family birthdays are coming up so I decided to fill my time with some craft projects to give as gifts, pics to come later.

Micah is now officially back in Lexington, so we look foward to seeing her more often, like meeting in Shelbyville for dinner at Cracker Barrel. Mom, Milton, and Morgan visited and stayed a night in Louisville when moving Micah back to Lex. The highlight of their visit was definitely driving to Graeter's in the Celica; I still can't believe we all fit in there. Unfortunately I didn't document the event with any pictures.

To end the post, I am including a picture of Dan and his dad from Dan's visit home last Sunday. He went to visit after hearing that their family's dog, Lucy, had to be put to sleep. :-( They had Lucy for 11 years and she was a special member of their family. One of the first emails Dan ever sent to me before we started dating included a picture of Lucy.

Dan and his dad, Marc. Dan likes the country life.

Dan's family's dog, Lucy. She'll be missed!

Fun-filled Weekend

Well it's been yet another fun-filled, exciting weekend in the Tepe household. We had another wedding to attend and Mal came to visit from Lex. Oh, and did I mention we had to take our car to the shop yet again?

Friday morning we took the Mazda to a repair shop to get checked out. Dan hit a large bump in the road on Thursday and it began making a terrible noise. We think it was a problem that was initially caused when the car was hit back in January during a snowy period. Turns out we need rear brakes replaced and a new exhaust = $$$. But thank goodness we had the trusty Celica, and Mal, to get us around in the meantime.

So I dropped Dan off at work and began preparing for our special guest. I picked up the apartment and made some cookies. Have you ever tried crinkle cookies? They ended up tasting really good but they are a PAIN to make! Hands down the messiest baking endeavor I've attempted.

Just into the oven.

I used the recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, except substituted cocoa powder for the melted bar chocolate. Turned out very well.

Again, very tasty cookies but very messy process. Do you have any tips to make it better?

Since Mal wasn't coming until Saturday afternoon, Friday night Dan and I just took it easy. Saturday morning I got up for a qick run, or what I thought would be a quick run. Unbeknownst to me, the first Saturday in August in Old Louisville (our neighborhood) is neighborhood yard sale day. I felt like every 5 seconds I was stopping to check out a piece of furniture or antique set of dishes. And it was such a pleasant morning for walking the sidewalks, so needless to say, I didn't do much running.

Just a few hours later, and after a major cleaning spree, Mal arrived and she and I headed out to get lunch. We ended up going to Whole Foods, which is really a grocery store but you can get prepared food there as well. We perused the aisles for a little bit, just admiring the fresh food items and experiencing the "organic-ness" of it all. We finally settled on our lunch selections: sushi for Mal, salad for me, and fruit to share. We also both got organic teas; I think we agreed that while it was much healthier, it was not near as tasty as Karen's.

After lunch we made quick mall run, then headed back to the apt so Dan and I could get ready for the wedding. One of the girls in my discipleship group through UofL was getting married! This was my 6th wedding this summer, and one that I was "dragging" Dan to also.

Yes, that is Dan wearing a pink tie!

Myself, Abbi, Alisha, Angela, and Tiffany. All of these girls are in my d-group. Don't you love the teal necklaces and pink chucks?

Dan and I left the wedding early (sort of...Dan would disagree) because we left Mal at the apt to just hang out while we were gone. Soon after we returned we got busy on a new adventure: dyeing Mal's hair. Now I am no expert in this area because I've never had color of any kind put into my hair. I guess this is why Micah had her doubts of my abilities to do a sufficient job. However, I was confident. I had colored my cousin Lauren's hair once and my mom's too (wait...I mean...um....not my mom's...). So Mal mixed the color and we got to work.

Right before this I said, "Dan, can you come take a picture of us?" Mal added, "For the blog!" We had to capture this moment of course! And by the way, Mal is sitting on the green milk can that sat in Grandma Cash's house by the phone.

Unfortunately we didn't take an "after" picture, but her hair did turn out well if I do say so myself. We spent the rest of the evening just watching TV and of course Mal and I both ended up falling asleep on the couch.

This morning Mal and I went to eat breakfast at Toast on Market downtown. It's a quaint little restaurant with really good food, especially breakfast food. This must be true; why else would we wait over an hour for a table? The hour went by quickly with coffee and conversation. I had raspberry lemonade, bacon, and a lemon souffle pancake (sooo good). Mal had fruit, a scrambled egg, and a blueberry-pecan pancake.

After breakfast (or was it lunch? We left at 1:00.) we shopped for a little bit at a few of our favorite spots: Marshall's, Dick's Sporting Goods, and TJ Maxx. And no afternoon of shopping and driving around town would be complete without a snack, a snack of the frozen kind. Graeter's never disappoints.

Mal went back to Lex later this afternoon, and Dan and I are presently enjoying a very delicious and healthy dinner of pepperoni pizza. It was a really fun weekend and now we get to enjoy a quiet night at home. Although this is no ordinary Sunday night. Why do you ask? Two words: WHO DEY. The Bengals are on TV and Dan is very excited about watching them. I am excited as well; football season is my favorite and knowing that it starts soon is making me very happy. But one of my faves comes on tonight too, HGTV Design Star.

Having two TVs is nice sometimes. :-)

Ribs, Banana Pudding, and White T's

Here are some random pics from the last few days. Unfortunately I have none to add from Dan's trip to Cali.

Ribs that Milton cooked up in Flip last weekend. Oh so good!

Micah and I putting finishing touches on our homemade banana pudding. This was also when Micah stole Morgan's cell phone, which he has by his side at all times.

The finished product!

I usually designate every other Monday as "laundry day." But on occasion the duty calls on other days of the week. This morning I washed a couple of loads, including all of Dan's white t-shirts. Today was a record-breaking day: 23 white T's! Folding all of the laundry goes by a lot faster with The Food Network!