What I'm Watching - TV Shows

Most shows are on their winter break, so I will probably be finding new TV shows to watch during the lull... Or maybe I will just watch more Christmas movies. ;-)

JP and I watch a couple of shows together:
- Walking Dead

- We just started watching Person of Interest

- We just finished watching the mini series North and South. All 3 books. I remember watching them when they came on TV when I was little. We both really liked book 1 and 2 but book 3 really didn't win us over that much. It almost seemed like they were rushed to just wrap it up in some form. We both LOVE history and we are looking for a new mini series to watch either on Netflix instant or to get from them on DVD.

"My" Shows:
- Reign

- Gossip Girl. I had never watched it while it was airing but I am now on the 6th(and final season). I seriously think my favorite thing is their wardrobes.

- Hart of Dixie. Though it isn't filmed in Alabama, it is based outside of Mobile. And as a previous resident of Mobile, I like catching a lot of the references. :-)

- Nashville. I love the music on here. To me, the 2 leads who are supposed to be major country music stars are not the strongest talents. I love the Stella sisters. Their harmonies are too die for. Clare Bowen's voice is also wonderful.

- Revenge

What are your favorite TV shows? Do you prefer to find something that is currently airing and wait to watch it every week or do you like to watch completed series and knock it out?

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My Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe and Tips

During my time as a baker, I feel like I perfected a method for making chocolate chip cookies. Or any cookie for that matter. The ingredients are fairly typical but the way they are "assembled" and baked makes the WORLD of difference.

TIPS:
- This makes a LOT of cookies. I scoop all of the dough onto lined cookie sheets and freeze it, then place the balls of dough into zip lock bags. Makes it SO easy to pop as many cookies as we need into the oven and they turn out just as well as if they had been mixed minutes before.
- Melt your butter. Completely. Seriously.
- Add one ingredient at a time and make sure it is completely folded/mixed in before adding another one.

When I worked at the bakery, I got seriously spoiled by a mixer just like this. Yes, the bowl itself is almost 2 feet tall. I may have told JP I want one for our house one day. HA. My mother in law asked me today why I was only using one blade on the mixer. I only use one blade and run a spatula along the sides to fold the ingredients in, because that was the best way to make sure everything was completely creamed and mixed in the big mixer. To me, that is still the best way to do it. You can take the girl out of the bakery, but you can't take the baker out of the girl. ;-)

 "True sign of good things to come. #loadsofbutter #Christmasbaking#myfamouschocolatechipcookies #hubbysfavorite" 

"Mmmmmm"

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

2 cups butter, MELTED(this is key)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

3 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

3 1/2 - 4 cups Nestle Tollhouse Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

Place melted butter into a LARGE mixing bowl. Add each of the following ingredients one at a time; sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, eggs. Make sure each ingredient is completely folded in. Add the dry flour mixture in slowly, making sure it is completely mixed/folded in. Add the chocolate chips.

Space your cookies apart depending on how big of a scoop you use. I use a small OXO style cookie scoop. This makes cookies spread to up to a 2" diameter.

Bake on a mid to high rack. Bake for 10 - 14 minutes. I always pull my cookies out when the bottom is golden brown and the top is cooked but still gooey in the center. By making sure they are still gooey in the center, your cookies will stay soft like a fresh baked cookie. Yum!

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Blessed

Finding reasons to feel blessed are content can sometimes be harder around the holidays rather than easier. It's easy to be thankful when everything is "perfect", when you have everything checked off of your Christmas gift list AND still have money in the bank account. 

Since I am still unemployed and JP just started his new job, we decided that rather than spending what bit of money for our presents to each other on gifts, we are putting it into our little house to make it move in ready sooner rather than later. Here are a few of the little things that make me feel very blessed right now. :)

- We are both healthy.

- We have a roof over our head and though it won't be a plentiful Christmas by most people's standards, I am excited that we are investing in something bigger than what can fit under a tree.

- I am thankful that we have Christmas decorations. I think a lot of people take that for granted.

- I have the most considerate mother in the world. When we were at my parent's house for Thanksgiving we left our toothbrushes and my AWESOME doTERRA On Guard toothpaste Mom got me(another post on that). She sent me a happy box yesterday which also included several oils that I needed, my candy cane gum that I left at her house and these 2 surprises. 

 My mom and sister are making these precious nativity figures. D'Lynn, my 16 year old sister, is selling them for $10 for Christmas money. I still choke when I say she is 16. ;-)

Mom also sent me this oil blend. It is my absolute favorite. Everytime I am home, we would just open up her dram and sniff it, but we never actually diffused it. I thought mom had made a dram for me but she actually sent me her dram. It seriously almost made me cry. It was SO very thoughtful!

- I am so incredible blessed by my husband and his heart. His job is my no means easy and honestly, he comes home exhausted and soaking wet from working inside of freezers and coolers all day. Tonight he came home early because some of their lines broke down and he asked if he could cook us dinner. He cooked an awesome dinner of baked fish, rice and mixed veggies, cleaning the kitchen as he went. Now as I right this, at 7:19pm, he is already asleep next to me. He actually fell asleep almost an hour ago. 

- I am blessed to get to spend my days with my mother-in-love. She's an absolute treasure. We laugh together, a lot. :-)

- I really like living in Gadsden. I had to take JP some dry clothes on his first break this morning and as I was driving home and coming back down the mountain I was absolutely amazed at the beauty of the foggy mountains. God creates some of the most beautiful pictures and I do not ever want to take that for granted.

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Magical Mondays - Disney 2013 Day 4

Our 4th day in Orlando started when I got to marry my best friend!! Right after we left the wedding we went to Chick-fil-a for breakfast. Yes, I went in to eat in full wedding garb. Yes, people stared and asked questions. Ha! We ran back to the hotel to change and then went straight to Epcot for some rides and walking around the world during the Food and Wine Festival.

 In line for The Sea with Nemo and Friends. The picture is blurry but I still really like it for some reason.

 Dara and Viadly

 So basically... This picture and the next one describe our relationship to a T. 

 They honestly made me laugh out loud when we looked back through the photos. 

 My handsome husband!

Boat riding across the World to get to our lunch destination in Japan.

 I just absolutely love this girl!

 Dara and V!

 Love, Love, Love this man!

 We had dinner at Teppan Edo. 

 HAPPILY EVER AFTER BUTTONS for the literal newlyweds! :)

 ANNIVERSARY pins to celebrate their 5 years of friendship. 

Thanks to our pins, we got sprinkled with some pixie dust in the form of free desserts.

 Our chef was earning her ears(in training). She was absolutely hilarious!

 We shared our table with a sweet family of 4. 

 My love!

 Sweet friends!

 Hanging out in the Mexico Pavilion. 

I honestly think I could spend days wandering through the different store around the world in Epcot. I always see and experience something new when I am there. 

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Magical Mondays - Disney 2013 Day 3

We started our second day around lunchtime. The sweet Dara was able finally join us. She is honestly one of the dearest friends I ever could have asked for. We talk almost every day and she is my #1 go to accountability partner. 

 We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe outside of Animal Kingdom. I love the atmosphere here. 

 This picture.... HA

 Seriously, the biggest nachos ever.

These two!! (Dara and Viadly)

 Safari time!

 They had a baby giraffe, ya'll!

 So adorable!

 I want this tree. The end.

By the time we rode the rides we wanted to do at Animal Kingdom and going on the Safari, it was almost closing time at DAK. We went over to Hollywood Studios for a quick service dinner and to watch Fantasmic. 

It was a short park day and, looking back, I wish we had taken more pictures and done more of the photopass opportunities. Next time! ;-)

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