Self Portrait Challenge - { with someone 3 }

When Skye came to us, she was confused and lonely and reserved.
Sadly, she seemed used to not getting much love.

After a little over a year now, her heart has opened up.
She loves being loved, and she loves back.





If you ever want to consider getting a pet, please consider adopting from a shelter or a rescue group. Just because they aren't puppies anymore doesn't mean they don't need you.

Use the picture link of Skye in my sidebar to find dogs by breed that are needing homes in your area (cats, too!)

Self Portrait Challenge - { with someone }

I was 15 when we met...

married 15 years in a few weeks...

more things have changed than the things that are still the same...

but one thing is more the same today than ever -





I'd rather be with you.



The Self Portrait Challenge theme this month is With Someone - come check it out!

the art of camoflage

If I could add sound here,

I would insert the well-known theme from Jaws...



bah-DUM

bah-DUM

bah-DUM bah-DUM BAH-DUM!



Just be careful what you leave laying around, as it may be used to sneak up on you...


and if the aforementioned sneak-er keeps their eyes closed, you might not even notice them...

mmmmm... coffee and chocolate!

This brownie-like cookie recipe came from King Arthur Flour - their site has soooo many great recipes (including some gluten-free!), tools, and ingredients, you might just find yourself salivating while browsing!






Double-Shot Mocha Chunks

1 stick butter (1/2 c.)
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. espresso powder (I subbed 1 Tbsp. instant coffee granules and the coffee flavor is perfect!)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 c. cocoa powder
1 3/4 c. flour (King Arthur has White Whole Wheat flour!)
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 c. white chocolate chips, or you could sub chocolate chunks, or even just another cup of semisweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, sugar, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. Stir in cocoa powder, then flour - dough will be stiff. Mix in the chocolate chips and chunks.

Drop cookies by tablespoonfuls (about 1.5" balls) onto lightly greased cookies sheets, leaving about 1.5" between them. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool on the pan before removing them.

Next time, I may make a double batch - I made them small and only got about 3 dozen. So for larger cookies, I'd need more dough to get enough cookies for the 4 of us!

San Antonio

We did quite a bit while in San Antonio last week, but most of my photos to share are from along the Riverwalk. I'd only ever been when it's oppressively hot in the summer, but it's so beautiful this time of year!






under a Riverwalk foot bridge...




I just loved this door, it belonged to a restaurant along the Riverwalk... the building design and architecture have such beautiful lines and detail, I could have spent all day photographing it all.





Here I am with my girls... this was taken at a little Tex-Mex restaurant, where you eat outside looking at the river.





Here's Chad & the girls in front an amazing mosaic
that includes the Alamo and other historic buildings from the city...





Hemisfair Park, the site of the 1968 World's Fair... this is the second tallest needle in the US, after the one in Seattle... we ate dinner in the restaurant up at the top - pricey but such a great view!





We also spent a day at Natural Bridge Caverns just outside San Antonio... truly amazing!
I'd never been to a cavern tour before, and I was in constant awe the whole time.

:: rainy day shopping ::

We are in San Antonio for our family vacation, and I'll have pictures & stories to share when we get home! However, today it rained. Bleck. And what is there to do when it rains on vacation? Go shopping!

This may surprise some of you, but I really don't go shopping much. I guess it's partly due to being pretty busy, and partly because it keeps me from spending a lot of money! Therefore, I am rarely ever at a mall, much less a department store. So today, I enjoyed some time wandering around Macy's with Nicole.

Aren't these fun and colorful mixing bowls?




They're from the Martha Stewart Collection, and the price is very reasonable, plus, in the brick & mortar stores, we found you can buy individual bowls. The best part? They're melamine! No more worrying about a broken bowl when you cook with your kiddos, or when teaching them to clean up the mess after the fun.


Here's what I bought today:



I'm really excited to get it home and try it out with some fresh fruit or cooked pasta!