October Photo Hunt

During the month of October I was working on shooting 20 photos for a photo scavenger hunt. Checking the list on my phone to remind myself of the items on the list, I was on a 30-day hunt. Fun and challenging!!

1. In Disguise

2. Crisp

3. Fall Colors

4. Jack O'Lantern

5. A Shot from the Ground

6. A Landscape

7. A Fall Tradition

8. Books

9. Dining

10. Child/Children

11. Faces formed in Nature

12. Tilt-Shift Photography

13. Black & White with Selective Coloring

14. Bokeh

15. Best Photo Taken October 23rd

16. Something from the Kitchen

17. Something Vintage

18. Something Creepy

19. Something Golden

20. Self-Portrait

To see other participants' entries, click here.

Up to two archive photos can be used, the books and the landscape were not taken in October.

Halloween Flashback

When I was growing up my mom always made our costumes. We decided what we wanted to be, then we would make a trip to the fabric store to search through the patterns and pick out fabrics. I always felt so lucky that she did this, I always had great costumes and got to dress up exactly the way I wanted!!

{Angel: age 1, minus the wings and halo because I kept ripping them off}

{Bumblebee: age 2}

{Clown: age 3}

{Princess: age 6. I was shown on the news with my first grade class. We all dressed up in our costumes and visited the local retirement home and made crafts with the residents}

{Pillsbury Dough Boy: age 11, I had a pillow in the apron for a belly and had a Pillsbury logo on the hat, but for some reason everyone thought I was a dead chef}

{Juliet: age 12, just months before I was diagnosed}

A few others I don't have photos of:

• Pippi Longstockings, complete with red yarn wig that had wire in the braids to make them stick straight out, freckles, a dress sewn with patches all over, tights, and my moms gigantic boots.
• A queen at age 4, and Nick was a king.
• An elf. I had little elf-like shoes my mom sewed out of felt, and attached little bells on the ends. I had elf ears, a hat, and a little jumpsuit.

Five Birthdays

{5 years old}

{22 years old...last year}

It's Friday!! AND it's my birthday!! 23. I like it...for some reason I like the sound of odd-numbered birthdays better than even, I have no idea why! Sooo for this week's Friday Five I thought it appropriate to choose 5 favorite birthday celebrations. When Nick and I were kids, my parents set up a rule where we could only have a party every other year and a family-only celebration on the others. I hated it as a kid, but looking back I definitely appreciate it.

5th - Although I don't remember most of it, I do remember playing hide and seek with my costume-clad guests. I was a bumblebee, but I had taken off my costume in the above photo. This was my only Halloween-themed party and I love this photo. So serious!

7th - The years I did have a party with friends, I loved themed parties. I had a camping-themed party, a clown-themed party, and the aforementioned costume party. This year a had a California miner theme...everyone was to dress up as a miner, we panned for fools gold, and enjoyed a miner-decorated cake.

13th - I was still going through my treatment at this point. I was very swollen and puffy from all the steroids, had very short curly hair, and still very sick. My mom put together a wonderful sushi party for me, she made california rolls from scratch and decorated her condo with fresh daisies and daisy party decorations. I didn't feel great, but I loved my party.

17th - I didn't do anything special for my 16th, and my mom and stepdad wanted me to have a fun 17th. They rented a limousine and drove me and some friends down to the gaslamp district of San Diego for dinner at Dick's Last Resort. I felt like a celebrity cruising the town in the huge Excursion limo, and had a blast at the restaurant.

21st - This year was filled with all sorts of celebrations. The night of my birthday a big group of my family and friends had a wonderful dinner at Sarducci's, a restaurant next to the train depot in San Juan Capistrano. We had a private room, and I was in heaven with lemon drops and their food. A few days later I celebrated with mom and stepdad and Andrea down in San Diego's gaslamp district, with Brent as a surprise guest. AND went wine tasting a few weeks later in San Luis Obispo with my brother and close friends. Beautiful roses from Brent, daisies from Andrea, tickets to the Ellen show from Aunt Lori and many other goodies rounded out the birthday.

Thanks to everyone who has made my birthdays so special over the years!!

♥

Pumpkin Streusel Snack Cake

Makes: 24 servings

Prep: 12 minutes

Bake: at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes

Streusel:

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 cup pecan halves, chopped

1/2 cup biscuit baking mix

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

3 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 large eggs

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan** with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Prepare streusel: In medium size bowl, combine coconut, pecans, baking mix and light brown sugar. With a fork, stir in melted butter until mixture is evenly moistened; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, prepare cake: In large bowl, combine baking mix, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, eggs, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. With mixer on low speed, beat 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl, until blended. Beat on medium speed 3 minutes.

4. Evenly spread cake batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle streusel evenly over cake.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick insterted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

6. Cut into twenty-four 2 1/2-inch squares; dust top with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

**NOTE: I do not own a jelly-roll pan, so I use a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. This makes the cake thicker, and needs to be baked for approximately 45 minutes. If baking it this way, just check on it with toothpick.

This snack cake is simple to make, and good as dessert, or in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee. Enjoy!!

Coffee Date-An Autumn kind of weekend

Hey it's Tuesday! Time for our weekly coffee date. The last Tuesday of October, that's weird. If we were meeting for coffee this morning, I would make myself a really strong latte because last night was a bad night. Then I would offer you some of the pumpkin snack cake I made. Yum!

At our coffee date I would tell you about my weekend, my fabulous weekend. Saturday night we attended the 27th Annual "Bid for the Kids" put on by PCRF-Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Brent's best friend Jordan is very involved in the organization and his dad is this year's president. A fancy evening with a live auction, silent auction, magic show, live band, dancing, etc. etc. They raised a huge amount of money and it was very special to be a part of!

Sunday we invited Jordan and his girlfriend Kaitlin over for an evening of pumpkin carving and related festivities. It was perfect Autumn weather, crisp and cool. The house was filled with smells of cinnamon and pumpkin cake in the oven.

Wine, pizza, pumpkin carving, music, laughter, story telling and candy-eating. What could be better!

Pumpkins carved by: Jordan, Kaitlin, Brent, Me. Photos taken using the polaroid app on my iphone...thought I would try it out!

If we were meeting for coffee I would ask about your weekend. Is it raining were you are? I am still enjoying the sporadic rain, the overcast sky, and cool temps. What are your plans for Halloween? Are you eating lots of pumpkin baked goodies and candy? This will be a big weekend coming up...my birthday, the USC homecoming game and Halloween! Stay tuned and I will post the recipe for the delicious pumpkin streusel snack cake...it tastes a lot like coffee cake and is amazing in the morning with coffee, or for dessert!

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.

-Mary Anne Radmacher

For today's Friday Five, I wanted to post 5 photos from other photographers that inspired me, made me smile, and made me think of appreciating the little things in life.

1. You're making me blush., 2. treasured, 3. Has anyone seen that cat?, 4. Sugar, 5. :)

Coffee Date

If we had plans to meet for coffee this morning I would have to call and cancel...or keep it over the computer or the phone. Because I am sick. Yuck. Since saturday I have had some kind of stomach flu, and haven't really been able to get out of bed. I am snuggled up in my bed with the computer on my lap and a cup of mint tea next to me. This is going to be a short one...

Last night I woke up at 3 AM to crazy loud thunder and lightening that filled my room with light. I just laid there listening to the loud rain. It was really cool because we rarely get storms like that.

I would tell you how much I wish I was in a living situation that would allow me to get a cat of my own. I feel so comforted and loved when I snuggle with Jazz, and every time I walk past Tubby sunning herself on the stairs, I just want to steal her!

We watched MacGruber over the weekend, I found it pretty disappointing. Some funny moments but overall not my type of humor and just dumb. But we watched Dexter, still this season seems slightly weak compared to past seasons, but we are only 3 episodes in. I have faith. We also watched the movie "The Book of Kels" which we enjoyed, the art was very beautiful and the story was different. We also started Pushing Daisies which we are liking a lot, and the Big C. Have you seen any good movies or tv lately?

One last thing....my mom started an Etsy shop, selling homemade star tree toppers. They are very pretty, and all made out of repurposed materials. Check it out HERE. We just don't have a banner done yet. She is in the process of making some different ones and if there is something specific you want they are customizable!

Anyway I hope you have a great Tuesday, and PLEASE do not get sick! Sorry this was such a lame coffee date with not much to say and not many cool photos...next week.

Rainy Weekend

I love rain, and always have. Yesterday was drizzly all day, we got bagels and coffee, then caught up on movies and our TV shows. Some photos taken on a damp walk through Brent's complex...

Picture Fall

I probably sound like a broken record, but I LOVE FALL.

As a way to document the season, I am participating in an online photo class called "Picture Fall." A daily photo prompt is accompanied with inspirational words of how to celebrate not only the season but ourselves as well. I feel I am appreciating and observing the subtle changes brought by fall in such a different way than any other year. I am picking up on the little details and seeing how they relate back to me. For today's Friday Five I wanted to include FIVE of my favorite photos taken so far for the project.

"Some seasons come on fast and furious while others take their own sweet time. Where Mother Nature is concerned, there's really no telling. Sometimes things just refused to be rushed.The same goes for our own hearts and minds. There's no way of knowing when we're ready to make changes, shed some skin, grow our wings or when we just need a little more time to hold on to what has been before. There's nothing wrong with that." -Tracey Clark, teacher of Picture Fall