Happy weekend! What are you up to this weekend?! If the weather holds out, James and I are hoping to take Ethan to one of the California Missions so Ethan can start working on his 4th grade California Mission project. I love history, so I am ALL about this project! Oh– so I was going to try and get my Boston travel post done by today, but that just didn’t happen….I am shooting for next week, so make sure you sign up for my free emails so you don’t miss out! I wasn’t going to do this Random Ramblings post today either, but then I realized I had so much to talk to y’all about, so here we are!
BOSTON was amazing! If you follow me on Instagram then you got a sneak peek at some pictures from my trip. I plan on breaking the blog posts up in two parts. Part one: what to see and where to stay and Part 2: all about the food!! Stay tuned for next week! I shamelessly made random people take pictures of me while I was out exploring hahahaha 😉
Here’s me at the Cheer’s gift shop. You know Cheer’s….where everyone knows your name! Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, K-E-L-L-Y….If you have watched Cheer’s before, then you know where that’s from!!! Or click HERE.
After getting home from Boston, it was cupcakes and a million chores, laundry and errands before going back to work. On Saturday, Wendy and I took the girls to go see Peppa the Pig Live! at the Gallo Center here in Modesto. It was super cute!!
The girls had a blast! And both girls kept sticking their tongues out at Wendy and I while we were trying to take their picture….so this picture is as good as it gets 😉
Sunday was a day to kind of be lazy, catch up on blogging stuff…until some major CRAZY shit went down…but it’s nothing I can really talk about in detail on here. Just crazy, crazy, crazy. I am still shaking my head in disbelief at how some people can act, and the horrible things that can come out of their mouths. Like I am totally used to that kind of stuff at work, but when it’s directed at me on a personal level (and completely unwarranted), then it causes me pause. Hopefully the crazy will go away without the need of a restraining order…
Did you guys see my Friday Frenzy Link Party post yesterday?? I am the newest hostess for the link party, which I will publish on the blog every Thursday evening! Link parties are a way for bloggers to link up their recipes and get them out there in the blogosphere for maximum exposure. We all love getting the extra traffic to our sites and of course more subscribers!! If you are a blogger reading this, please link your posts up!! I will post the party on Thursday evenings, to give you time to link up before my email subscription goes out on Friday!!
FEELING: Excited! I signed up to attend the International Food Blogger Conference in Sacramento on 09/29/17-10/01/17. This will be my first blogger conference…hopefully I can learn some good stuff that I can bring back to share with you guys! Because I’m sure I’m doing it all wrong hahaha. Click HERE to check it out (and sign up if you are a blogger!). Thanks Laura, for recommending I go!
WANTING: More hours in the day…..anyone else with me on that?! I don’t seem to sit down to eat dinner until close to 8:00 at night! Ahhhh!! And then I wake up at 5:22 AM every morning. So random. My alarm is set to go off at 5:30 AM for work, so I just end up getting up.
WATCHING: Ummmm…Hallmark Channel has a new movie every Saturday night in April. Sappy, romantic movies….my guilty pleasure 🙂
CRAVING: Marshmallow cereal treats…(????) Not sure why. Cookies are usually my thing. I think I just have marshmallow treat recipes on the brain hehehe. Probably because I am going to be doing a cooking demonstration next month for the wives of some of the police officers I work with, and I have been brainstorming recipes to make…which have included maybe making a Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treat and a version of my killer brownies. Kinda nervous about doing a cooking demo…I am just a home baker!!!
BAKING: My friend Doug just got assigned to the Investigations Unit at MPD, working Robbery/Homicide, so he asked if I would make him some pastries to bring in for his first morning briefing! I made my Peanut Butter Scones, Apple Cinnamon Fritter Loaf Cake and Cinnamon Sugar Blondie Bars. And because I have a weird sense of humor, the blondies got decorated like this:
Everyone over in the Investigations Unit loved the goodies!! Mmmmmm…also I am working on a bunch of recipes for #RecipeMakeover too. This coming week I plan on sharing a couple of round-up posts with Easter brunch recipes and Easter dessert recipes for you too, since Easter is quickly approaching (April 16th)!!
My friends at Vain Extracts sent me a couple new bottles of vanilla extract to try…. AND Irish Vanilla Coffee Drops. I am seriously flipping out over the coffee drops!!! You guys! I am a dark roast, black coffee kind of girl…but just one drop of Vain Irish Vanilla Coffee Drops in my morning cup of coffee, is a game changer. And no calories.
Some girls like perfume, I like vanilla extract….I can’t.stop.smelling.the.extracts! But how sweet is it the Vain not only sent me some extracts, but also included recipe cards on how to use their products and a handwritten note from the owner! That’s not just special for me…one of my readers bought some extracts and got a personal letter written to them and recipe cards too. You can’t get that kind of specialness from the grocery store. Just saying.
Only a few days left to get 10% off AND free shipping on your purchase made at vainfoods.com. Enter promo code SWEET at checkout (good until 04/10/17). I love supporting such a wonderful, family owned business, that produce such a unique, quality product. Okay…. I am done talking about my love affair with Vain…just go buy some already so you know what all the fuss is about 😉
WORK UPDATE!!!! Work is going well. I am just about done with my rough draft of all the corrections for the FTP book I am re-vamping. Next, I make my final corrections to the draft on the computer, and then get it ready to go to the printer. I had a doctors appointment with Dr. Knight this week, which wasn’t good or bad. I lost a little bit of weight (she never tells me how much….it’s all blind weigh-ins) and my blood pressure was really low again. So my work status remains the same, much to my disappointment, which has put me in a funk. But I’ll pull out of my funk and keep on, keeping on!
Also, I was thinking about doing a post about “A Day in the Life at Eating Recovery Center” and a post about “A Day in the Life of Ongoing Eating Disorder Recovery.” A lot of people have asked me what I did when I was in Denver and what’s up with me now. I think most people don’t understand eating disorders, which affect quite a few more people than anyone may realize. It’s a secret no one seems to want to talk about…until you get big mouth me over here with a blog! I am doing this with positivity towards recovery though. My goal is to help others that may be struggling like I was (uhhh….still am). Thoughts?? It’s a very personal thing for me to write about, so let me know if it’s something worth writing. Otherwise I’ll just go make you brownies instead.
Last, but certainly not least! A HUGE birthday wish to this little guy!!! Hitting double digits today with the big 1-0!! I love my little guy Jack Jack (his name came from The Incredibles). He has been my faithful, furry buddy for the past 10 years, and has seen me through some major ups and downs in life. I love this dog more than you can ever imagine. This dog just gets me….he understands me…he knows me and my routines. I love you Jack Jack and hope you have a happy, happy birthday!!
Okay leave me a comment below….I love hearing from y’all! Anyone baking this weekend?? What are your thoughts about my upcoming posts?? Should I just stick to recipes and STFU? Lemme know! Hahaha 😉
XOXO,
Kelly
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13 Comments
Lindsay | With Salt and Pepper
April 8, 2017 at 7:40 AMHi! I am SO with you on needing more hours in the day. That is the story of my life these days. Loving the decoration on the blondies for Doug…awesome. Loving your candidness about ED struggles…it’s a tricky thing to expose yourself about, I know. And right there with you on guilty pleasure television…my sister got me hooked on Lifetime’s Devious Maids. It’s literally soup opera ridiculousness, but late night. I’m addicted. Though I watch it early am on the treadmill, but still. Also…check your email 🙂 XO
Kelly
April 8, 2017 at 8:10 AMThanks Lindsay! I was just reading your Favorite Things post…so I know you can totally relate on not having enough hours in the day!! I haven’t watched Devious Maids, but maybe I need to find it On Demand or Netflix hehehe. Thanks for reading and thanks for the email!! I emailed ya back 😉 XOXOXOXOXOOX
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
April 8, 2017 at 9:49 AMHappy birthday to Jack Jack! He’s such a cutie! I love a good Hallmark movie too :). That necklace is SO CUTE! And jeez, I’m really hoping you don’t need a restraining order. Have a great weekend Kelly!
Kelly
April 8, 2017 at 12:16 PMHi Kelsie!! I will tell Jackers you said Happy Birthday!! I am glad I am not the only one who loves those Hallmark movies hehehehe….sometimes I just like a cute, happy movie to watch! Have a great weekend too!
Anne
April 8, 2017 at 11:18 AMIt’s wonderful that you are opening about your ED (and it’s definitely worthwhile to write about that). I have suffered off-and-on my entire life with anorexia (I’m in a good place for now but I still haven’t figured out sometimes what sets me off and sends me down that spiral of losing a lot of weight). I do a lot of baking, which has definitely helped me in my recovery (I can’t explain why but it has!). EDs are a life-long battle; you have to fight every day. Thank you for your inspiration and all of your wonderful recipes!:)
Kelly
April 8, 2017 at 12:17 PMHi Anne! I am so sorry you have dealt with anorexia too. You’re right…ED’s are a life long thing, that can come back and sneak up on you. I am glad you are all for my posts about recovery, so I will get writing! XOXO 🙂
Amanda
April 9, 2017 at 8:04 PMThank you, Anne, for sharing. It is nice to see a “healthy” community developing here (thanks to Kelly) for those of us suffering with EDs. Best to you and keep fighting–everyday. Trust me, I know the feeling for well over half my life.
Amanda
April 9, 2017 at 8:02 PMHi, Kelly! I am so thrilled for you! You have come sooooo far in your life. I loved the Friday Frenzy Link Party. It is always great to see what other people are doing. And those little cinnamon blondie bars with the knife in them?! Where on earth did you find something so cute (if that is the right word?) The guys must have LOVED them. Now you are all ready for Halloween too!
Love the website, love all of the pictures, and love that you are healthy and whole again. It shows in everything that you do.
Kelly
April 10, 2017 at 1:36 PMAwww thanks Amanda!! You are so sweet 🙂 Glad you like the new Friday Frenzy Link Party! I love getting involved with other bloggers! And my hairdresser actually bought those little knives for me awhile back hehehehe. XOXO 🙂
Blair
April 10, 2017 at 10:02 AMLove your Animal Cracker necklace! It was the first thing I noticed when I opened your blog post! 🙂 I also love how you decorated the blondies for work! So cute. You are seriously talented!
And Jack Jack is the cutest. I’m in the market for a Yorkie soon…I just have to get my husband on board. We’ve had Boston Terriers for years, but our last one passed away last fall and we’ve been dog-less ever since. I’m ready for something a little bit smaller and I have my eyes on a Yorkie. Unfortunately, they’re not the most manly pet (and I live in a house with 4 boys)!
Have a great week!
Kelly
April 10, 2017 at 1:52 PMThank you Blair!! You are the sweetest 🙂 Ok so you will totally laugh….but I was the one who didn’t want the Yorkie. I was always a big dog person (I have a Great Dane too). But my ex-husband (we are talking ex-military, police officer, sniper, SWAT team member) was the one that insisted on getting a Yorkie. And then I fell in love with Jack Jack. My parents would dog watch him for me when I was out of town, and my dad fell in love with Jack. And my dad is about the manliest man there is…he is a big ol’ gruff guy with a full beard. So my parents got a Yorkie because they loved Jack so much (and I refused to let them have him lol) and it is HILARIOUS watching my big ol’ dad with this cute little dog. Hahahaha. But they are seriously the best dogs. And they don’t shed!!! I think the boys would love one…and even though Jack is 10, you would never guess it. He runs and plays more than my Great Dane, who is only a couple years old!!! XOXO 🙂
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
April 10, 2017 at 10:20 AMahh, the infamous mission project! i think i did mine on mission santa barbara, and i remember being bored out of my mind when we visited (though my parents made it a roadtrip and vacation too, so that was pretty cool). and can’t wait to see your boston eats post! boston has been on my list for a while, but it will probably wait since it’s so much easier/faster to do things on the west coast. and i love how you decorated those blondies! great way to start a morning while eating a sugary knife (;
Kelly
April 11, 2017 at 6:13 AMThanks Heather!! Yeah we tried to make our little trip to the mission as fun as possible too 😉 Boston was so much fun! I am excited to share that post this week! And we have so much cool stuff on the west coast….so that’s probably why it has taken me 35 years to get to the east coast hehehe. And thanks for your comment about the blondies! I thought the knife was a nice touch 😉 XOXO Thanks for reading!!!