A Hint of Grace

Grandma's Chocolate Cake

2012-01-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

This cake is THE BEST chocolate cake ever. For reals. I could really eat the whole cake- or pretty close. If you are looking for a chocolate fix, make this. You will not be disappointed!

Grandma's Chocolate Cake

2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 c. butter
1 c. water, boiled
1/2 c. baking cocoa
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk

Combine butter, boiled water, and baking cocoa in a small bowl and mix well. Combine dry ingredients in big bowl. Add cocoa mixture, eggs and buttermilk (I rarely have buttermilk on hand, so I use milk with a splash of vinegar to sour it). Beat well. Pour into 9x13" greased cake pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

After the cake comes out of the oven, sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts, chocolate chips and sprinkle with a little sugar and stick it back in the oven for a minute or two so the chocolate gets kind of melty. It's the BEST topping.

I personally don't sprinkle nuts the nuts on - not a huge fan - actually my hubby isn't so I leave 'em off. I don't like frosting, and this shortcut tastes SO good.

Happy New Year!

6 months old!

2011-10-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Lookie who's 6 months old! My little Betsy. She now has one bottom tooth up and another coming in. She weighs in at 16 lbs 7oz and is 26.75 inches long. She is quite the jabber box but still hasn't said Mama and Dada while really KNOWING what she's saying. She's pretty fun to have around and is quite the character!

What a little goof ball!

What's happening lately...

2011-10-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

It's fall! I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing, it smells good...my husband jokes with me and says we are smelling the decay of all the plants...but it's so nice! Cozy. It's actually been HOT here, but everything is beautiful with fall color. I got inspired by Susan Branch's blog to make a little leaf garland...I guess you can call it that?? Here's my kitchen window. Please ignore the dishes piled up in the drying rack...

I just strung up the leaves on some thread. So simple and so cute!

Now whenever I'm out on a walk I tend to walk down streets with pretty trees on them to find some leaves to hang up!

On Saturday my hubby had the day off so we went driving up Spearfish Canyon (part of the Black Hills national forest) to see the trees turning. It's quite the tourist attraction and we went very slow (20-30mph) up the stretch of road. It's so beautiful! Had to snap some photos to share.

Betsy is a bit over 5 months old now! She is a very active and very talkative, loud, baby. She almost always has a big grin for anyone who will give her attention. She is starting to sit up with a little help, and army crawls EVERYWHERE. I gave her her first rice cereal last night and she just loved it. I was surprised, really. It was fun to feed her and reflect on how big she's getting!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

Finally! With the help of my Mom, I have found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have tried five recipes I think, with no luck. I want a soft, chewy cookie...not cakey, not crispy. I think I've got it. Just had to share, in case you all wanted to try it out.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 c. plus 2 T. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
12 T. butter, melted and cooled a little
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325* F. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl- set aside. Combine butter and sugars. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Bake, reversing the position of cookie sheet halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and centers are soft, approx. 11-14 minutes. Do not over bake.

****I followed this recipe to the T. I don't usually do that. For instance, I never measure out chocolate chips. NEVER. I just put in what I think looks good- about half a bag. But I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out great! They do get a little crispy after they cool down, but the next day they are soft and chewy and oh so yummy.

4 months old!

2011-08-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

My darling little baby is now a 4 month old. She was with me out at Grammy and Papa's on the exact date (Aug. 23) and we just happened to take a snap shot or two! Just had to share....

She is kind of a ham..like her Daddy :)

Watching the trees blow in the wind

Have a wonderful weekend!

Plates on a wall?

2011-08-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have a bare wall in my kitchen. It's been bare since we bought our house last year. I just couldn't figure out what to put on it, and I didn't want to spend a fortune. I thought a big map would be cool, but they kinda get pricey and would need a frame or something too. Then one day I was watching a home decorating show where these bargain hunting ladies were challenged to create a beautiful room with hardly any money and going to thrift stores. One lady used pretty plates hung on the wall for an inexpensive way to fill up the empty space. I thought it was great! Then I googled some pictures of similar things and got inspired by these type of photos- and believe me there are a TON of these out there.

Aren't they neat?! Fun. Funky. Cheap.

Here's my wall- all these plates, save the one on the top right that I got from my Mom, were picked up at my local thrift store. I actually paid more for the plate hangers than I did for the plates.

This is just the beginning I think. I will add to it as I find more that I like.It needs more small plates I think. But I'm just glad I don't have to look at a bare wall anymore!

Happy Friday!

Gettin' crafty!

2011-08-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

So I'm really not a crafty person. Truly. Maybe I am becoming more crafty now that I am home, but usually it takes someone like my Mom, Gumbo Lily, to get me inspired. When we can do a project together it's much more fun. Plus she has a TON of supplies so I don't have to go out and buy random things to help me create something. For instance- to make this baby mobile (or chandelier) all it took was tissue paper, pipe cleaners, yarn, cardboard, and some strips of fabric to make it pretty.

Cool, eh?

Aren't these pom poms fun? Betsy just loves to look at it, especially when the fan blows softly on it.

The newest freezer paper stenciled onesies! They are so much fun. The ladybug and butterfly are gifts for a friend's twin baby girls. I also made another with sweet red cherries on it for yet another darling baby girl born this week! The bumble bee is Betsy's. :)

We had our first hail storm this year. It was wild because I never would've guessed we'd get hit by this stuff from the way the clouds looked on the radar. We were very lucky though because there was not a breath of wind with the hail. So we hardly have any damage. Praise the Lord!

Look at what's growing!

2011-08-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Betsy is growing right along :) She is about 3 1/2 months old now and busy as ever!

It's hard to get a good picture because she moves so much! She is just about ready to roll over.

Here's what's growing in my garden- cucumbers (they are much larger now)

Zucchini

Cherry tomatoes (the regular tomatoes don't have any fruit yet)

Sugar snap peas

My Romaine lettuce is amazing!

My whole little garden. It's plenty for this year!

More onesies

2011-06-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple long sleeved onsies I made for Betsy for this fall. The owl I traced from a stencil I found online, the pumpkin I drew.

Make your own onesies!

2011-06-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, my mom showed me this blog, I am Momma Hear Me Roar, where the lady is SO crafty and made her own stenciled onesies, or T shirts, or what have you. It was very cool. I just had to give it a try! Above is the cupcake I drew out, made a stencil, and painted.

The Finished product. Isn't it SO cute!? Here's the link to the tutorial...

ALSO- my baby officially turns 2 months old today! Picture time :)

She DOES have a big butt because she is in cloth diapers :-D

A bit of a smile. She is very good at that now...smiling and cooing and SLEEPING. It's great.

Singin' in the Rain

2011-06-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I just watched the movie Singin' in the Rain a couple nights ago. It was great! We love these old classic movies and it seems like every time we watch one we say to each other how we wish we could have lived back then. The singing and dancing never ceases to impress me in these old films and I just wish they made movies like this now-a-days. I feels like all the current dance movies are all nasty and crude! So now I've taken advantage of my Netfilx account to watch the old classics online since you cant even get them at the movie stores. At least now here in our cow town. Here's a clip for you to enjoy!

Cloth diapers

2011-06-07T14:07:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I am posting two days in a row! Amazing! I guess I gotta make up for those days that I missed last month,right? All I gotta say is don't get used to it. :)

Today I decided to try and put Betsy in her cloth diapers. We (I mean my Mom, Gumbo-Lily, and I) have done alot of research on different types of diapers to use. Which is most cost effective, which works the best, simplest to use, etc. So far I have a TON of your basic pre-fold diapers like I was raised in, thanks to my sis-in-law, and 60 new fangled pre-fold diapers that are made from flannel and contoured for the baby's shape, and also a bunch of fitted diapers that my Mom made me from a pattern (or two!) that she got and fabric I ordered online.

So far today she has been in the thin new flannel pre-fold diaper, which worked just fine and I had her in a home-made fitted diaper and it also worked just great and fit my almost 11 1/2 lb. baby just fine. Both had to be folded down just a bit in the front to fit her better, but that was no biggie. Neither have been tested with Betsy going #2 yet tho. :-D We'll see how that goes later. I think I will still put her in a disposable at night because it's just easier, but I wanna try and save some $$ and diapers ain't cheap!

I've got a couple pics to share of Betsy in Grammy's fitted diapers

She wasn't too thrilled with me at the time, she was sick of trying on diapers and wanted to be done!

A snappie works great on these! MUCH easier than diaper pins

Busy busy busy!

2011-06-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time to blog lately as Betsy keeps me pretty busy. It IS getting better as she is getting older, either I have adjusted to having a baby in the house, or what I dunno, but life goes on! Betsy is now just over 6 weeks old and starting to smile at us and coo a little bit. It's so stinkin' cute! But just don't talk to me about the evenings/nights. Can you say fussy? But oh well, it's not going to last forever. At least I keep telling myself that.

Here's a few pictures of Betsy that we took recently......

chillin' in the backyard while daddy hauls dirt to the garden

too cool in Uncle Seth's shades :)

My real job...

2011-05-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Before Betsy came along I worked at a coffee shop. I loved it! I really did. It was a fun job, I got to chit chat with customers and I got to know alot of really great people. When I became pregnant I didn't readily volunteer my plans of being a stay-at-home mom to anyone - everybody usually has an opinion about that and usually love to share it if you know what I mean. So I kept it to myself unless asked. Actually most people said "good for you!" and I was pretty shocked to get that reaction. Some said "well you will just go stir crazy at home with a baby all day, you've GOT to at least work a couple days a week." The one reaction that fried me was "well that's nice that you are lucky enough to be able to stay home."

Ugh. Luck or being able to afford it is not why I am home with my baby. We are not rich. We are on a tight budget and we make it work. My husband and I knew that when we started having kids that I was going to stay home with them and we'd have to figure it out. We are making sacrifices so that I can stay home with Betsy because we think it's the best thing for her. Plus, I want to raise our daughter, not have someone at daycare raise her. Sure I could work, then we could have cable TV (we had to cut that out of our budget), we could eat out, we could drive nicer cars, have nicer clothes, you name it. But that is not what is important to us. It's all about priorities. It's been hard, but it's worth it. Honestly I haven't had TIME to miss work at all! These past few weeks have flown by and I am so thankful that I am at home with our baby...I kinda feel bad for my husband who goes to work and misses the little things that I see when I'm home all day with Betsy and then I cant imagine leaving her with someone else all day long and ME being at work. I'd miss so much.

I am at home because I am willing to make sacrifices, because I choose to be, and it's important to our family. Being a Mom IS a full time job.

I don't mean to rant, but this is just something that's been on my mind and I wanted to share. :)

Baby Besty

2011-05-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

This little girl has kept me super busy but here's a few photos to keep you updated!

Elizabeth Ann Moore

a.k.a Betsy

two weeks old

Me as a baby :)

mothers day!

New Kitchen

2011-04-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking and thinking about painting my kitchen. The color that it was when we bought the house was a neutral soft grey color. Not bad, just not really me. PLUS it was a flat paint which is AWFUL in a kitchen for clean up. I dunno what they were thinking...anyways.... I finally decided it was time to do it and got some help from my Mom and friend Jade. The color I thought I wanted was a soft green, and when I got the paint and tried some on the walls it was just horrible. ICK. So with the support of my friends I decided to go like 4 shades darker than what I originally picked. It was a bold choice, and kinda scary to do, but I did it, and I LOVE it! It's probably not for everyone, but it is just right for me! Check out the before and after photos.

AND AFTER...

Here's my lovely helpers :)

Whaddya think?

Snowy Saturday

2011-03-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Ok yes it's officially spring, on the calendar, but not necessarily in good ol' South Dakota. We woke up this morning to about 5-6 inches of fresh snow and wind. I guess it IS spring like though because we didn't have cold temps with it- I think it was around 30 degrees.

But this bummer weather did give me a chance to do some things indoors- got my Saturday chores done and got a nice hot meal on the table for when my hubby came home from work. I have been wanting to make a fruit pizza too, so I decided to do that this afternoon. It really is so easy, and SO GOOD. Pretty too!

This sure made me much happier today! So bright and cheerie! And so easy-- here's how...

FRUIT PIZZA

Crust:

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg

Mix together and Add:

1 1/3 c. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar

Dough will be very soft. Press into a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-15 mins til golden. Cool.

Middle layer: whip and spread on cooled crust: 8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. sugar

2 T. pineapple juice

Top layer:

Arrange fruit pieces in a pretty design (or at random) on the cheese layer: Kiwi, mandarin oranges, 1/2 grapes, fresh strawberries, blueberries, pineapple...whatever wont turn brown, or whatever you like!

Glaze: 3/4 c. pineapple juice

1 T. cornstarch

Cook til it just boils and turns clear. Cool and drizzle over fruit. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Another shortcut you could do for the crust is just use refrigerated sugar cookie dough...works well too!

I thought you all would enjoy a few pictures of my nursery. It's pretty much done- just a couple more pictures I'm needing to put up above the dresser. Only a few more weeks to go....woo hoo!

the blanket Mom made- with a sheep skin under it...so soft!

The Girl in the Blue Arm chair by Mary Cassatt- a picture I had in my room as a girl

The cute stuffed bear and penguin are my husbands toys from when he was little!

Happy Saturday!

Baby on the brain!

2011-02-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

As time keeps flying by it seems all I can think about is baby stuff! We got our crib last week so our nursery is starting to look like a nursery. I've got a rug down on the floor now (since we have hardwood through out the main level), curtains done, shelf hung, dresser in place and the car seat/stroller stuck in the corner. I still want to get some Beatrix Potter prints I found online and frame those to decorate the bare walls. I think that will help alot to get rid of the cold-ness of the room. I think I'll get it all finished...eventually.

Here's our crib

I had a battle with my old sewing machine today so that I could work on a baby blanket. After I had a needle break and re-threaded my machine SEVERAL times- played around with the tension of the thread and pretty much anything else you can think of- I got it to work! AND finished the blanket! It was super simple, and yet difficult. All it is is a piece of minky soft fabric, just ONE piece. No front or back to pin together because it is reversible and soft on both sides. Then I just had some satin binding to sew around the edges. That's all. How hard could it be? Well, the minky is sooo soft and slippery it is hard to work with, especially using SATIN binding. Needless to say is is not a perfect blanket. But it is SO soft and I just love the fabric. I guess it's not too bad for my first time trying anything like this.

Isn't it cute fabric? It's all browns, pinks, blues, yellows and greens. At least I accomplished making this blanket, finally! Now I've gotta go accomplish making supper...

My New Toy

2011-02-05T16:28:00.000-08:00

I was in good ol' Wally World the other day, strolling through the cleaning aisle, when I spotted something I just had to try out. It's called the Libman Freedom Mop. It looks alot like a Swiffer but it's more practical. We just started using a Swiffer Wet Jet mop at the coffee shop where I work to quickly clean up the floors (my boss took pity on me since I am pregnant) and it works pretty well, except I can see it could be kinda wasteful what with the disposable cleaning pads, batteries to make the spray shoot out, and having to use their special cleaning solutions. Now, the Libman Freedom Mop is the same kind of style as the Swiffer, BUT it has a washable microfiber cleaning pad, a wide mouth bottle for the cleaning solution of your choice, and no batteries. I have a smaller kitchen, and then hardwood floors throughout the main floor of my house so having something for quick clean ups sounded great to me! Honestly, our floors really do not get that dirty with just my hubby and I to clean up after, though they can get dusty and just need freshened up once in a while, ya know? So anyways, I gave this mop a try.

I LOVE IT! I had all my floors cleaned in like 10 minutes flat. It worked great! Doesn't feel cheap or like it's gonna break, and the microfiber pad picked up quite a bit of dirt. I did sweep before mopping, but still. Plus, this mop didn't cost a fortune. I think it was in the neighborhood of $20. If you dread mopping like I do then you should really give this baby a try.

Happy Cleaning!

Valentine's Day

2011-01-30T18:14:00.000-08:00

February is almost here! I can't believe January is gone already- not that I'm complaining. I need to start decorating my house, even just a little, with some fun Valentine's Day things. It just makes a bare house more cheerful if you've got cute bright red hearts here or there. This is actually one holiday I don't have alot of decorations for. BUT I've got a chalkboard paint pantry door that needed an update....here's my contribution to Valentine's so far.

Random Projects

2011-01-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Since it's been so cold here lately it has been the perfect time to work on indoor projects. I don't have much in the Baby's room, so I thought I'd try and make a couple curtains, valance style. The fabric was free- from a friend- and it's got cute Beatrix Potter characters on it, which I LOVE and am planning to decorate in this style. Here's a couple close ups of the fabric

The finished product!

The other project I tried my hand at was making french bread. It took a couple trys at the dough (I think my yeast wasn't working too well) but in the end it did turn out yummy! I think the trick for getting the thick crunchy crust is that you put a baking dish of hot water in the oven with the bread while it bakes. Then the recipe said to brush it with an egg white wash right before it's done. Sooo good! Time consuming, but good.

I did end up kneading it by hand a little at the end, even though I have a dough hook on my Kitchen Aid

I think I goofed up and should've scored the dough right here...oh well...

The end!

January Already?

2011-01-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I've been on here. Time really flies! Now we are expecting our first baby in April so I'm sure time will fly even faster (except maybe for the last month or so of my pregnancy).

My latest project is making a couple curtians for our front and back doors. They are just plain steel doors with a block of windows on top. I enjoy all the light that comes in, but I thought we needed a bit more privacy and the curtains would also help in the summer time when the sun just blazes in. I found some really cute fabric a few days ago, and now that it's been so cold and snowy this weekend it was a good time to sew. Isn't this fabric cute?

I got one curtain done yesterday. It took me about an hour and a half. BUT I tried really hard to get the hems down perfectly, pressed, and as straight as possible. I've done a valance before, and it turned out cute, but it was far from perfect. Well this first curtain is done ok, but certainly not perfect! Guess I 've just gotta keep at it and one of these days I'll get it right. Here's the finished product.

I love how the light still comes shining through but everyone cant see in. Happy Sunday everyone!

Storm Clouds

2010-08-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

We have had alot of action this year with our strong storms. I was super excited this year to actually see one group of famous storm chasers (from the Discovery Channel) and their armored vehicles roll through town with their camera crew in town. Well, I was thrilled to seem them, but it was mixed feelings too because you know they're only around when nasty weather is headed for us. They drove through my small town in South Dakota twice (that I know of) this summer. We did get some bad weather around us, but thus far it hasn't hit our town. Praise the Lord. I have family in more central SD where they had record breaking hail this year, the size of footballs! It set the record for the biggest hail in North America. Just crazy! We just had the 70th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally last week and usually if we can make it through that without some kind of massive storm then we are clear for the rest of the year. We had one big storm on Thursday night with golfball sized hail and 70mph wind gusts, but it went north of us just a few miles, luckily. Here's a pic if it rolling in...

We just ended up getting some wind and rain since it was north of us and we just cought the edge of it.

Here's what's left when it passes thru- the beautiful sunset along with the Mammatus cloud.

Summer time

2010-06-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Ever since we've moved into our home I've wanted a flag. I don't know what it is about flags hanging off houses but I love them! My Mom always flew one on our porch, even when no one but our family could see it. I finally found one and got it put up a few days ago. You've just GOT to have your flag flying for Independence Day! So now that that's up, and I got some chain to hang my pots of flowers, I feel like I'm ready for summer. You know it summer when you can hear the rodeo announcer from your front porch. :) We have the South Dakota High School Rodeo finals here all this weekend, then the big Black Hills Roundup over the 4th! We got tickets to the ranch rodeo this year from my husband's work...should be a fun time!

I've got a few potted vegatables growing too, thanks to my wonderful Mom who had some tomato plants for me, along with some onion bulbs and lettuce seeds!

Grape tomato plant, with onions planted around it

It wont be too long!

Tomato and jalapeno pepper plants

Lettuce starting to pop up after only a week!

I just had to show you my pretty pink wave petunias! They are going like mad!

Now I better get my windows closed up before it gets too hot...no A/C in this house...thank goodness for the cool basement!

We've Moved!

2010-06-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Take a look at our new home! Just moved in last week.

Spring is around the corner

2010-03-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

I was shopping today when I saw these tulips and just couldn't resist getting them. I know the calander says spring, but up north it's really still a couple months away. But I rarely ever pick up flowers and I thought it's would be a nice spring-y change and well worth it. They really brightened up my table, and I can't wait for them to open fully. Gorgeous!

About a month ago I also planted some pots for herbs that I use frequently at my house. I have south facing windows and thought, why not? They're sprouting up quite nicely. These are Basil and Parsley.

I couldn't resist

2010-03-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

I know I just posted, BUT....I made my first curtain. It's FAR from perfect but it's cute! I love the farbric- I covered some dining chair cushins in it. The blues in it match my retro blue kitchen!

it even matches a blue plate my mom made for me

I think the retro style is coming back...my kitchen will be sooo cool then :) Just you wait and see... Now I've GOT to get something other than blogging done...like laundry.

A sewing machine...really?

2010-03-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl - ok maybe 15-16 years old - I said I'd never want a sewing machine. I didn't like sewing, didn't see what the purpose was, etc. NOW, as a grown woman of 23, I have come to realize the convenience a sewing machine could offer. Such as hemming a curtain, mending clothing, etc. I finally broke down and bought one yesterday. I called my Mom early that morning and asked if she would like to help me hunt for a sewing machine at the local thrift stores. Of course she was happy to! We stopped at a few different places and finally found two (old models of course) that looked pretty good and had all the necessary components, like power cords. :) Then for the last stop before we made our decision we stopped at the local sewing center to see what they could offer. Well, the guy was a total ~~ass~~ jerk. The machines were nice and decently priced, but he was closing in 5 minutes. So we decided I didn't HAVE to buy one that day, I just wanted to see what was out there. We ended up having lunch and talking about what to do. We decided to buy the old machine from the thrift store lady that was going for $50 including a table/desk thing to sew on. If it didn't work, oh well, we'll take it back and buy one from the sewing center guy with that $50 dollars. But there was really nothing to lose!

Long story short, we brought the machine and table home, set it up, went through threading and re-threading the machine, messed around with the bobbins, and miracle of miracles, it WORKED! It actually purred like a kitten. I was so thrilled! The table/desk thing that came with actually turned our really nice - we almost threw it in the dumpster before bringing it in the house- good thing we didn't. Now I'm super excited to see if the machine continues to work, and to see if I can actually sew something on it! I have some fabric I want to sew into curtains so we'll see how that goes. Who knew I'd end up owning a sewing machine someday, and actually be excited about it! Crazy how things turn out....

Here's some pics so you can see what I've got!

it's a Kenmore 8, as you can see...

Here it is on the table it came with, all opened up

Taa Daa! All hidden away. I think I might paint this white and re-do the hardware too. We'll see...

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2010-03-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

I have just recently discovered this recipe online at allrecipes.com and it is SO good! I love chocolate chip cookies, but I like a bit more chewy-ness to my cookies. These are nice and soft. I usually don't eat the cookies I bake (unless fresh and warm outta the oven) but these are different! You'll have to try them out for yourself.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

1 3/4 c. flour

1/2 T. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

3 c. oats

1 c. chopped almonds or walnuts

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325* F. Cream butter and sugars. Then add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla, and then flour. Carefully mix in lastly oats, nuts and chocolate. Bake for about 12 minutes, until just golden brown, and allow to cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.

Now I discovered pretty much anything is good in these cookies, so put in what you like! I added some butterscotch chips and milk chocolate chips and it was so yummy! My hubby requested I ALWAYS add the butterscotch chips from now on. I also did not put as many almonds as was called for (just because I didn't have enough) and it was just fine.

Enjoy!

Valentine's weekend in the real world

2010-02-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago it was Valentine's Day. My hubby and I had big plans, we were going to our church's fundraiser Valentine's Dinner together, then for the actual Valentine's day we were going to stay home and make a delicious meal together and cuddle on the couch and watch a movie. Just a nice quiet weekend together at home. Well, friday (a couple days before Valentine's day) rolls around and my husband has a really bad pain in his side. He had it the day before, but it had been getting a little worse, and his boss sent him home from work to get it figured out. We got an appointment at the local clinic and to him checked out. That was around 10am...by 2pm he had his appendix out!! It was quite the day. He saw two doctors, and both thought he needed his appendix out before it burst, and so he went in for surgery. Well as it turns out he didn't actually need his appendix out, it was some fatty tissue that was dying and inflamed, right over his appendix, that was causing him the pain. So, since they were in there they took his appendix anyways- might as well since they were already in there. Luckily it was a simple surgery and we came home that night but it kinda put a damper on our romantic weekend. That's life for ya! It will be the Valentine's weekend to remember for sure.

Needless to say we put off Valentine's day and had a nice dinner out last weekend together. My honey also bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers (which is a rare thing since we've been married).

He tried to get the flowers I love most- Gerbera Daisies, matsumoto flowers (kinda daisy-like) and green Kermits. The bouquet also has alstroemeria (which is kinda like a small lily) and a snap dragon. I learned all these flowers' names from my flower shop days last year. It's kinda handy knowing exactly what ya like!

Here's the Gerb...she only had a white one...

A Matsumoto...they come in all different colors

The Alstroemeria, it also comes in all different colors and is super tough and long lasting! Though it doesn't look it

The cute fun green Kermits! I think they are a type of daisy.

That's the latest from my household, hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

My morning java

2010-02-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

Anybody who knows me knows that I love love love coffee! Probably almost as much as my Mom, Gumbo Lily. This morning I was excited to try out my new French Press. I got two for Christmas this past December, one from my husband and one from my Mom & Dad. I still hadn't tried it out so I decided this morning it was time. It's really a very simple way to make coffee and it's so delicious and bold without being overly strong. Here's what I did....

Here's my french press, what I first did was boil the water I needed in my tea pot.

I got my amazing coffee, from Sturgis Coffee Company (the coffee shop I work at only uses this brand for their house brew and espresso). They roast it locally just 30 minutes away from us and it's so fresh and good! One of my favorite brews is Bliss, just kind of a mild breakfast type blend. Check 'em out at www.sturgiscoffeecompany.com

I measure however many tablespoons I need for how many cups I will be brewing. I put in eight tablespoons for this one.

Then once the water has boiled (and I let it sit a few seconds so the temp of the water comes down a bit) I pour it into the french press, put the lid on, and set my timer for 4 minutes for it to brew. After those 4 minutes go by I then carefully, slowly plunge the screen down to seperate the coffee grounds from the water (so we don't have to chew the coffee).

Then after that I just pour myself a steaming cup and enjoy! It's really the best way to make a cup o' joe. You should try it sometime!

Remember me?

2010-02-08T19:42:00.000-08:00

I used to be Simply Grace. But since I haven't logged in and actually POSTED anything for over eight months I had a little problem when I wanted to start posting again... I forgot my password! I tried and tried, but couldn't get it. Therefore, A Hint of Grace was born. I will try and post more regularly now that I have my own computer up and running again. We shall see if that actually will happen, but I'm going to try. Stay tuned in!