Career... what's next?

Now that Little B has hit the 2 month mark, it is time for me to dust off my "corporate marketing brain" and think about what I want my next steps to be on the career front.  While the break from corporate America has actually been nice, my brain is itching for a new subject to tackle.  Kind of like the feeling you get the first day of school, that feeling of excitement about jumping into a new project is definitely brewing.

What to do next?  I don't think I want to return to agency life.  Been there, done that.  Corporate work could be fun depending on the company.  But ideally, I want to work for myself.  I am an entrepreneur at heart.  I am happiest when I am in a jack-of-all-trades type of role.  I am tenacious.  And I love the idea of working with smaller companies that may not be able to afford a big agency to help them to solve their marketing problems.  As a marketing strategist, I can focus on the problem-solving, idea-brainstorming, and implementation aspects of projects and leave the everyday maintenance for those that know it best.

So if this is what I want, now I just have to do it. I have the industry knowledge, industry contacts and experience. Now I just need to land the next client.  Time to pound the pavement!

Thankful for...

This has been a hard year for many of us.  But I think in tough times, people tend to get back to the basics and return to a more simple life full of simple pleasures.  So on this Thanksgiving, what simple pleasures are you thankful for?

Here is what I am thankful for this year:

• All the pie that I am going to eat today.
  
• That the drought in Texas has ended - because this past summer was a doozy.
• Nutella - enough said.
  
• Netflix - because I never would have made it through my pregnancy without some distraction.
• The library - because I can read all the books I want for free and the people are so nice every time I go.
• My friends Pansy, Allison, and Leah who understand the meaning of the "guacamole" code-word and showed me that motherhood can be "cool".
• All my other friends who always make sure that I know I am loved.
  
• My family - for their delicious food, listening to my rants, and making me laugh even when I am about to cry.
• My husband - for putting up with my crazy ways, believing in me even when I don't, and thinking I am beautiful even when I am covered in blood, sweat, poop, spit-up, and who knows what else.  He is the best partner-in-crime that any girl could ask for.
• And of course, my Little B.  She was the bright, shiny light in this crazy year.  She has made it all worth while.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Last veggies from the garden

Thanksgiving pants

Thanksgiving is tomorrow!  Does everyone have their stretchy Thanksgiving pants picked out?  For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about, consider this.  As you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, would you rather be uncomfortable in fashionable pants that do not have any give in them OR would you rather wear pants that allow for that extra helping of pie that you know you want?

As for me, I have found my new Thanksgiving pants... maternity jeans!  They already have the stretchy panel built in.  Who knew that I could be this excited to wear my maternity clothes again?

Long walks

This is how we spent our day.

Little B is 2 months today!

Little B has made it through her 2nd month of life.  And she now has quite the personality to prove it!

 

Little B smiles, talks, and laughs quite a bit.  She likes to "hold court" in the morning on her changing pad where she tells David and I what the day's plans will be.  A word to the wise... not a good idea to interrupt her.  She does not like that at all.  And when she thinks that you are not listening to her as well as you should be, she talks louder.  I wonder what parent she got that from.

Banana bread

Growing up I thought that everyone's mothers made homemade banana bread all the time.  Isn't that what everyone does with brown bananas?  I think it was actually one of the first recipes that I ever learned to make.  It was in our house so frequently that I actually became sick of it and groaned when my mother gave it to us to eat.  Why couldn't we eat normal food like cereal!  Not until one of my friends came over and during her stay ate an entire loaf of banana bread, proclaiming it to be the best "heal a broken heart food" ever, that I realized that banana bread was not an everyday item to all.

Now a days, I still make banana bread on a regular basis.  I can not bear the thought of throwing out brown bananas.  My husband loves it and it will probably be one of the first recipes that I teach Little B to make.  Banana bread is breakfast, snack, and dessert in this house.  So on that note, may everyone have a bit of banana bread in their homes this fall season.

Banana Bread

1/3 c butter

2/3 c sugar

1 egg

1-3/4 c flour

1tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp baking powder

2-3 brown bananas

Blend the butter and sugar til creamy.  Then beat in 1 egg.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Slowly mix the dry mixture in with the butter/sugar combination.  Mash up the brown bananas and add to the mix.  Place in greased bread pan and bake at 350 for about an hour.

Lazy weekend

What are everyone's plans for the weekend?

This will be a lazy weekend for us and I could not be more excited.  The weather will be rainy, perfect for catching up on some good reads, making cookies, and snuggling up on the couch with my two favorite people.

Travelogue: San Diego (2001)

The bug has hit me again.  I am getting that little itch to go exploring, to fall upon another adventure, and to check out somewhere that I have never been before.  I get the travel bug every year or so and I have it bad this year.  Since the chance of travel is not likely to be in my near future, I thought that instead I would take a trip down memory lane of my past adventures.  Hopefully, that will calm the travel bug for a little bit.

So to kick off the list of past adventures... San Diego!

This trip was soooo long ago.  2001, I think. David and I had not even been dating a year.  It was actually a company trip, but we took advantage of the opportunity and made a weekend out of it.  Our friends Nadia and Jon came with us. We had a blast!

 

 

We even went sailing one day to try to catch a glimpse of some whales.  While we only saw one whale from a distance, we had an amazing time.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting San Diego.

Homemade granola

About a year ago, I began my quest for the perfect homemade granola.  It all started because it seems that anything that you buy from the store says "may contain traces of peanuts."  While I appreciate the heads up, it is frustrating when you realize how many food items that statement is on... oreos, ice cream, cereal, granola bars, etc.   Which brings me back to my point of experimenting with some granola recipes. I think I have found a winner.

3/4 c hazelnuts

3/4 c pecans

3/4 c almonds

1/3 c cranberry juice

1/3 c maple syrup

zest of orange

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c brown sugar

4-1/4 c oats

1-1/2 c dried fruit

First, I toast the nuts at 325 degrees for about 8 minutes.  While those are toasting, I combine all the remaining ingredients except for the dried fruit.  Once the nuts have cooled, I stir them to the mixture.  Then I pour the mixture on to a rimmed baking sheet and put it into the oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.  Once the mixture has become toasted goodness, I take it out of the oven and mix in the dried fruit. 

I use this granola on everything... as cereal with milk, on greek yogurt with fresh berries mixed in, or just a handful on the go.  It is delicious.

The Bed Head Chronicles

Little B has the best bed head.  We need to get this girl some hair product!

Wink wink

Villa Antonia

This past weekend we went to the most amazing wedding of our friends, Claudia and Matt.  The reception was held at Villa Antonia, a gorgeous place in the hills just outside of Austin.  The views and the bride were breathtaking.

Positive Quote #1

"You will do many things foolishly, but do them with enthusiasm!"

Colette, in New York World-Telegram and Sun, 1961 French novelist (1873 - 1954)

Super Fists!

Sometimes Little B likes to show off her guns.  Quite a flex for such a little girl.

I think this is an ode to her Uncle Oscar who, as a child, ran around pretending to be a super hero named "Super Fists".

Travelogue: Siena (2009)

This time a year ago, David and I were on our Italian honeymoon.  It was so fantastic.  We spent 10 glorious days exploring Rome, Florence, Venice, and Siena.  While all of the cities were amazing, we fell in love with Siena.  David and I often daydream that someday we will head back there and rent a house on some beautiful Tuscan hillside that overlooks acres and acres of vineyards.

At a Tuscan winery

At an amazing restaurant where during the renovation of the wine cellar, it was discovered to be an old church from the early years of Christ.  Before becoming a wine cellar, it was a parking garage!

Amazing views everywhere!

The view from our hotel

Chocolate chip cookies cure any ailment

Unfortunately my future sister-in-law was in a bad car accident last night and is pretty banged up.  In order to help the recovery process, I think some homemade chocolate chip cookies are definitely in order and I have the best recipe for them.  Before this recipe, I was so horrible at making chocolate chip cookies that it was kind of joke to all that knew me.  My husband would not even eat my cookies and that is saying a lot considering his sweet tooth.  But I have redeemed myself with this recipe.  So I share it with you in hopes that it cures any ailment that you ever run into.

From Cook's Illustrated

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.

Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes.  Cool cookies on cookie sheets.

Crib wars

A few weeks ago, Little B had her first play date with her friend, Little M.  I think the moms got more out of it than the babies, but that is my theory on what play dates are all about anyways.

This picture cracks me up.  Note that Little B has a mighty firm grip on Little M's sleeve like she is saying, "Lady, what are you doing in my crib?!"

Thanksgiving: the food holiday

We are spending this Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  I am very excited about this as I know the food will be excellent, football will be on the TV, and the conversations will be lively.  This year I have been asked to bring the mashed potatoes and dinner rolls.

At our Thanksgiving table, mashed potatoes are a mandatory food as are the homemade pies and turkey.  But at other Thanksgiving tables, green bean casserole or sweet potato fluff can not be missed.  So it has me thinking... what are everyone else's mandatory Thanksgiving dishes?

Little B: 6 weeks

I feel like Little B has grown overnight.  She is definitely in the midst of her 6 week growth spurt and is feeding all the time.  In fact, she is feeding so much, I have been wondering why I even bother to put a shirt on in the morning. 

With this growth spurt, she is finally starting to fit into her cute clothes that so many of our friends and family have given us.

Like this sleeper.  Our friends, The Squires, gave us this sleeper embroidered with Little B's initials.  I love it! Apparently Little B likes it too... check out that smile.

Homemade vanilla extract

I am attempting to get a head start on Christmas presents.  The theme this year is Homemade Christmas.  It seems fitting in this economy to simply everything, including Christmas.  So on that note, I am starting the first of my homemade projects.

About a week ago, I ordered a pound of Tahitian vanilla beans with lots of ideas on how to use them.  One of my ideas was to make homemade vanilla extract.  The process seems ridiculously simple. So let's keep our fingers crossed that I don't find a way to screw it up.

Here is what I am using:

• 8 oz. Mason jars
• Tahitian vanilla beans that I ordered off eBay - 3 beans per jar
  
• Rum (though many people use vodka instead) - 1 cup per jar
  
• Dark, cool spot to store the jars for at least 1 month

Using a sharp knife, I cut each vanilla bean in half and then split down the center.  I put 3 total vanilla beans into 1 of the mason jars.  Then I fill it up with rum so that the vanilla beans are completely covered.  Then I screw on the tops, give them a good shaking, and put the jar in a cool, dark place and wait.  I am then supposed to shake the jar each week.  The whole process is supposed to take about a month and then we should have some delicious vanilla extract better than any store-bought version.

Who wouldn't love to get one of these jars as a present!  I will give an update in a month or so and let you know how it all turned out.