Strawberry Bars Anyone?

Calling all lovers of Strawberries!! Calling all lovers of low fat healthy desserts!!!

I decided to bake another recipe by the ever fabulous SkinnyTaste blog!

I am a huge lover of dessert bars and this one seemed easy, well easy as long as I could hunt down the Strawberry Pie filling. I never knew it'd be so hard to fine, but finally I did so one Sunday I got in the baking mood (remember the Low Fat Brownie Bites?)

Gather up your ingredients: Baking spray, eggs, flour, butter, sugar, vanilla, confectioners sugar, and of course Strawberry Filling!

Mix your sugar and butter together. Then gradually add in your eggs and vanilla.

Then add in your flour. Mix it up well.

Pour the batter into your 13 x 9 pan that you have sprayed with baking spray! Then you will want to divide your dough into 24 bars.

Take a dollop of this yummy goodness....

And plop into the center of each bar. I chose to do two squares with an actual strawberry and the rest just the filling part. (FYI - The filling part is way better than having a strawberry in there)

Bake for the allotted time (you can get the recipe here.) Then make sure to let them cool!

Cut them into your 24 bars, sprinkle with confectioners sugar, and be prepared to ENJOY!

These were DELISH!! They were light. They were fluffy, They were sssssooooooo YUMMY!! They were even a hit at work! I didn't get to take a single one home! I highly recommend these and I know I will be bringing these to any BBQs we attend next year!

Our Amazing Book Club - Year 1

I knew that when my Sister first started our book club back in 2010 that I knew I wanted to scrapbook it! Now how might one scrapbook a book club?

Simple, one our 1 year anniversary I made sure to get a group photo, kept the list of our books for our 2010-2011 year, and kept a magazine advertisement for one (of the many) books we read that were turned into movies!

Then I got to scrappin'

I was so happy to have a picture of our group, since one of our members decided to drop out this year. But we forever have her in our first year of book club! Since I didn't have enough room to post our entire schedule I simply folded it up, created a pocket and voila!

The Help was one of my favorite books from this year, too hard to pick just one, and since 3 of us went to see it in theaters I thought it was only fitting to include the movie advertisement!

I am in love with how this page turned out and I am so excited to have captured our first year (of many years I hope) of Book Club!

Summer Time Blues!

The other night I had one of my best friends come over to hang out and what did we do you might ask??

We scrapbooked!!! Of course we also went shopping before dinner, then ate yummy tacos, and rushed upstairs to get our Scrap On!!

I was able to get two layouts done! Well technically I "finished" this layout and then did a second one!

But for now here's my layout for the local fair we have around here where my Paps and I both entered some photos into the Photography Contests!

So proud of my Paps who earned a first place ribbon!!

And of course we had to include the Funnel Cakes and then Hog Races!

It was so much fun to spend a "date night" with Mom and Paps! And it was so cool to see the ribbons we earned from our photos!

Fabulous Fall is in the Air.....and Our Home!

Well folks the Halloween decorations are down and Fabulous Fall has arrived!!

Yesterday morning, due to the time change, I ended up getting out of bed at 6:30, so what better to do then start packing up Halloween decorations! Then my wonderful honey got out my Fall tub of decorations and you know I got my decorating on!

A few pictures to share!

Our guest bathroom downstairs!

Mr and Mrs Scarecrow! 

Our entryway table! I absolutely love my little leaf bowl that I got at Pier 1 last year! I think I may need to go back this year and see if I can get a few more in a different colors! (Excuse the can of soda, we use it to scare the dogs so they allow people to enter the house before they jump all over them)

Our bookcase! Hopefully the leaves will still be there every night when we get home but we have mischievous kitties and dogs who eat anything on the floor! HAHA! Oh and those pretty flowers are straight from San Francisco! I swear the flowers smell stronger than any we can buy here in town!

And my favorite piece to decorate is ALWAYS our mantel! I cannot even tell you how long I wanted a mantel and still to this day I am so excited to decorate it! It's perfect for garland!

And last but not least our entertainment stand! I went hog crazy with the fall garland this year but it's just so damn pretty :) And our colors for the living room go perfect with fall decorations!

So I'm pretty sure I have a missing box floating around somewhere but it was too cold to be out in the garage digging around! Besides we are almost out of places to decorate in the downstairs so any decorations I come across will get hauled to work!

Anyone else decorate for fall yet??

Did You Get Your Invite?

I just finished up a great summer read! Problem is it's November!! I definitely should have read this book over the summer but regardless I just finished "By Invitation Only" by Jodi Della Femina!

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This book is exactly what you would expect. A fun, light and easy chick lit story.

The story focuses around Toni and her best friend Layla! Toni had my heart just for the sole reason that she's a chef/baker and she loves it! Layla was your typically beautiful best friend but the girl has a real heart and she doesn't have any bitchy moments. I loved them both! Enter in men, of course, Chris who tries to win Toni's heart and Layla's fiancee Hudson! Oh yes it's got the wedding tie in with the soon to be snooty, holier than though Mother in Law!

Overall I give this book a B. I wasn't super sucked in but had I been propped up in a beach chair, waves rolling in, sun shining bright I am sure I would not have been able to put it down!

Going Fishing

This month for our book club we read a cute story written by Vern Hobbs called Flying Fish!

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Even though I've lacked motivation and have read only 2 books this month (Oh no, there goes my 2011 reading goal) I am happy to report that this book was much more enjoyable than the last one!

The story revolves around a man named Smiley (you can't go wrong with a name like that) who lives in a tiny Florida coast town called Juniper Key. When the lively hood of the fishing town is put in jeapordy by greedy jerks who want to build a Casino on a Sacred Indian Burial Ground Smiley and the other townspeople feel helpless. It's a very charming story and while I enjoyed the book I think I would absolutely die if they turned this into a Hallmark or Lifetime Channel movie!

Overall Grade = B+. It took me awhile to get into it but once I did I was a happy reader. However it's a very light read and it doesn't really make you think, just a fun little read about an adorable town!!

Happy Halloween!!

With Halloween right around the corner we knew we had to get our cards out soon! After spending a few hours crafting up some home made cards I am sad to say that half received home made and half recieved store bought! Granted last year all that I sent were bought so definitely a step up from last year! Who knows maybe in 2012 I can hand make ALL the cards!

For now I want to leave you with the cards I crafted up this year! Hopefully everyone has now recieved their cards!!

So Spook-Tacular!

I couldn't resist, both Frankie and Jack look like they just saw a ghost :)

One of my faves because of all the glittery goodness!

Hope your Halloween is very Bewitching!

This is the very first card I made! I love it!

Casper even made an appearance!

I hope everyone has a very very Happy and Safe Halloween!!

Scrumptious Brownie Bites

Who's ready for some brownie bites??? We were this past Sunday so I whipped some up! And not just any regular brownie bites but Low Fat, Weight Watcher Approved Brownie Bites!

Have I ever told you about Gina's Skinny Recipes, (A.K.A Skinnytaste) the amazing blog filled with delish pictures of amazingly good and WW Approved recipes? I am sure I have since she's awesome!

This recipe for these delish Low Fat Brownie Bites is definitely a winner!!

And so simple to make, you just need: Baking Spray, Flour, Powdered Sugar, Sugar, Butter, Unsweetened Baking Cocoa, Vanilla, and Baking Powder.

First things first I measured out all my ingredients because it just makes life easier!

Then you melt your butter on the stove top.

Remove from heat and add in your sugar and vanilla. Stir well.

Add in your flour, baking powder, and cocoa.

Again stir well enough that your batter looks like this! Don't you just want to dip a spoon in there and dig in? Well I did! It looked so creamy!

Pour into a loaf pan that was sprayed with your baking spray!

Pop in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and then let cool completely!

Then slice up into 8 bars! And I have to point out that those are pretty decent size bars, especially for being a weight watchers dessert.

Lightly dust with powdered sugar!

Plate it, or use a napkin, and enjoy!

These little brownie bites were delish! Have I said that enough yet?

Even Chuckles really enjoyed them, in fact he even had some for breakfast! If you haven't already then race over to Skinnytaste and get this recipe! It's so easy and each bar only 3 points! 3 POINTS!! That's it!

For all my WW peeps out there you know that's a great deal on points for a dessert! You could even add a dollop of fat free whipped topping!

Be prepared to enjoy!

Falling Leaves - Crafty Time

I was so excited to sit down in my Scrapbook Room awhile ago to work on Crafts that I completely forgot to post this lovely work of art!

I found the idea from this very cool blog - Happy Clippings!

I just had to make a quick stop at Michael's for the felt leaves, then JoAnn's for the buttons (which I fell in love with).

I got home and laid out my supplies and got to work!

First I cut out the tree using my Cricut and the My World Cricut Cartridge.

Then I cut out little squares (I think I made them 1 x 1) for the letters. Now the original crafter used Scrabble tiles but I couldn't even imagine "stealing" tiles from our game so I just made a little change!

I actually just used from plain black Alphabet stickers for the letters!

Than I laid it all out, made sure everything lined up right and then began gluing everything into place!

I was so happy with how this turned out and I honestly cannot remember what got me to the blogger who first created this but I am ecstatic I did!!

After much consideration on where to place this we decided the front door would be ideal! Added in a few Halloween touches and voila - entryway table decorated!

Unfortunately this post has a sad ending...One morning Chuck walked past the table and must have knocked it just right because the frame came crashing down and knocked off the little ghost in the middle and the Jack o Lantern to the left. Smashing the Jack O Latern and Ghost to pieces but the frame stayed in tack....for now...

About two days later I closed our door and it was enough to knock the frame down another time :-( Luckly just the frame shattered and not my other pumpkin but now I'm on the hunt for a heavy frame which I'm going to get before November 1st so that this little baby can be put up for our Autumn/Fall Decorations!

Anyone else been crafting any Holiday crafts?

Stealing!

So I am 100% stealing this fun post from my Mom's blog! She filled it out and it looked like fun! Plus it reminded me of back in the day when it was SUPER COOL to fill out random surveys about yourself on Myspace. Yes MYSPACE!

So here goes - some ABC's all about ME!

A. Age: 25

B. Bed size: CA King (and will never go smaller)

C. Chore that you hate: That's a tie between cleaning the litter box and cleaning the toilet! YUCK!

D. Dogs: Buster-Roo and Foxy Roxy!

E. Essential start to your day: COFFEE!! And of course a kiss from my Honey!!

F. Favorite color: Green! (and Yellow)

G. Gold or Silver: I used to be strictly gold but now I like them both!

H. Height: 5'9''

I. Instruments you play: This should say playED! I used to play clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, and flute! I do
miss those days!

J. Job title: Product Lead (should be Product Manager)

K. Kids: 4 furbabies, no human kids yet!

L. Live: Cali Baby!

M. Mother’s name: oh you mean my #1 Beezy - Christy - or if you can say it in the most obnoxious way possible she will respond to MOM, but you must say it at the top of your lungs and be super annoying....right Mom?

N. Nicknames: Poochie, Minigangster, Bella, Babycakes

O. Overnight hospital stays: Just when I was born
P. Pet peeves: BAD DRIVERS!! If you can't drive the speed limit take a bus or a taxi but get the hell off the road. And if you can't park it then don't own it!

Q. Quote from a movie: "I'm a Peacock Captain You Gotta Let Me Fly" - well that's the most current one I've been quoting!

R. Right or left handed: Righty

S.Siblings: my Mandy Jo - best sister ever!

T. Time you wake up: I normally try and get up at 5:40 but I'll be honest lately its been snuggle time with the dogs until 6:30...

U. Underwear: that's slightly personal isn't it??? :-)

V. Vegetable you hate: CORN!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate it with a passion!

W. What makes you run late: hmmm I'm hardly ever late! But if I am it's usually cause of dumb asses on the road who can't drive - see pet peeve above!

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, wrist, and I'm sure something else but can't remember.

Y. Yummy food that you make: Are you kidding? all my food is yummy!! But I've been told my Caramel Swirl Cream Puffs are the BOMB! And my Chocolate Chip Muffins!

Z. Zoo animal: oh wow that's a toughie cause I love almost ALL animals!! Well if you change the question to which Zoo animal would you want to cuddle - that'd a be a lion cub hands down! They are so stinkin cute!

Now won't you pretty please with a cherry on top copy this and fill it out for you? I'd love to read the ABC's of you!

Oh Henry!

Finally another post. I promise to get back in the swing of things but to be perfectly honest (since I consider all my readers and fellow bloggers to be friends) I have been in the weirdest funk for the past few weeks.

I've neglected my blog, I've neglected my reading (according to Good Reads I am 7 books behind schedule YIKES), and I have even been neglecting my new recipes to try! I have not been neglecting my scrapbooking room but I cannot post my latest crafts until people get them in the mail!

So I've been stuck in a funk and I am determined to take this week to get myself out of it.

First on the agenda - FINISH A BOOK!

I finally finished reading the second book written about Henry Hill's life (Goodfellas).

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What can I say about this book?

Of course I never really liked Henry Hill as a person but I never really felt a dislike for him until I read this book. I mean sure he's a loser (sorry dude but you are), but I really never truly felt those feelings of dislike until this book.

This book picks up from about the time the first one ended, and it goes into Henry's life after Witness Protection. Essentially the guy is an extreme addict, more than I had thought from the previous book and movie, and a cheating jerk! I would use different profanity but this is a blog.

He is such a sleaze bag and I kind of wish I had just left it at the last one. Don't get me wrong I'm still intrigued by all the workings of the crimes he was "involved" in and the way Witness Protection works was absolutely AMAZING to read. On the other hand I sometimes wonder the truth of his "Stories". I mean seriously when you are all drugged up how the hell can you remember what your time was like in Protection.

It just seems more unbelievable to me when someone who pretty used drugs and drank the entire time in Protection would have an accurate memory of what happened.

Overall wish I had stopped at the first book, I give this a D. I just can't figure out what I believe in this book and what I don't. It was slightly slow and I seriously hated the man by the end of the book, not for his gangster days, but for the way he treated his wife, children, and multiple woman, as well as his good friends, or so he claims are good friends.

I guess when someone bails you out and gives you money you'd start considering them a good friend, but I ask what on Earth did you ever do for them? Oh that's right - you made them a crap load of money. Guess that's what friends are made of in the life of Henry Hill.

Lack of Motivation?

Hello Readers and Fellow Bloggers - I have been kindly reminded by my Mom to update my blog  :-) Thanks Mom!

Truth is we've been so damn busy that we finally had some slow down time and I didn't feel like doin ANYTHING! So yep the blog got neglected.

But I logged in today, cleaned away the spiderwebs that were growing and dusted off my dashboard! So we are back and in working order after a much needed to break!

So what will I share with you today? Well a recipe of course! I can't leave you for a whole week with a damn book review and not come back with something delish to share!

For this recipe - a Raspberry Breakfast Bar - you only need: Lemon Juice, Egg, Butter, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Vanilla, and Raspberry Jam (I use seedless).

Combine your two sugars and butter together.

Toss in your vanilla and egg.

Meanwhile combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Then gradually add into your sugar/butter mixture to make the crust.

Get to mixin' and mix it well my friends!

After you've got your flour/sugar/most of the ingredients mixed together go ahead and set it aside. Or you can do this step while it's mixing.

Combine your raspberry jelly and lemon juice in a small bowl.

Get out your 13 x 9 pan, spray with baking spray, then take half your crust mixture and spread it evenly throughout the pan.

Top with your jelly/lemon juice mixture.

Then drop the second half of your crust dough in little balls throughout the entire pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes in a 325 degree oven! Then get ready for a big ol' whiff of sweetness when you open your oven door! This really does smell so delish from the get go!

So technically you are supposed to make a glaze with this but I chose not to! I didn't need the extra fat and calories and really it's not needed at all!

This was so good and bonus - it came from Taste of Home's Guilt Free Cookbook so I could enjoy a slice (or two) and not completely screw my weight watchers points SCORE! And the following Sunday I got the newspaper, make myself a Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte, and enjoyed two slices of this heavenly breakfast dish!

I highly recommend for breakfast lovers who are trying to keep it on the light side and who love their pastries! I was stoked! Now to just cut this recipe in half cause goodness it makes A LOT of bars!

For those wanting the recipe here you go: Enjoy!