Beers in the Bathtub

Jason got a Mr. Beer brewing kit from Richard for his 30th birthday so we have 12 giant plastic beers fermenting in our spare bathroom. Now all we need is some ice...

The dedicated scientist he is, Jason started a beer brewing log book to track his beer's progress. This batch (his first) should be ready for taste testing at Thanksgiving -- perfect timing!

Jason heads to Boston on Friday for a conference and (on an impulse) I've decided to join him! My friend Maria (also on an impulse) is joining me and we are going to the Clemson v. BC game on Saturday. Boston is my absolute favorite city in the world and I cannot wait for some lobster, lager, fall leaves and football! Jason stays until Wednesday, but I (unfortunately) will come home on Sunday. It is a short trip, but I plan on maximizing my 40 hours in the City on the Hill!

Have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween!
xoxo

Running Update

Took this picture on Saturday in Buffalo Park (hence the giant Buffalo). As mentioned earlier, Jason and I are training for a 5K December 12th in Phoenix. Minor case of shin-splints aside the training is moving along. I love running in Buffalo Park because it's a dirt trail instead of paved and you get great panoramic views of the San Francisco Peaks. We are up to alternating 8 minute jog with 5 minute walk, making progress every week.

The 5K we plan to participate in supports Toys for Tots and has a Christmas theme. Bearing in mind this is Phoenix in December (average temp. of 66 degrees), any suggestions for some Christmas themed running outfits?

Mini-Vaca

Last Friday - Tuesday we were in Fort Myers, Florida. Jason flew in from Spain and we met my parents and Richard. We saw Tim for a few moments after his two soccer games. I didn't get any pictures with the stud himself, but took this at Stetson University, outside of Orlando, Fl.



Other than leaving for soccer games we relaxed on the beautiful beach and walked for fresh seafood. The "town" area of Fort Myers Beach was horrible, but we were in a more isolated region of the beach that was clean, quiet and very relaxing.


We ate oysters, shrimp, squid, fish and just about any other seafood we could get our hands on. Outside the "Fish House" after lunch.


Ahhh...


Jason left on Monday morning for a few days in Canada and I came back to Arizona on Tuesday. He came home Thursday night and Maddie and I were SO glad to see him!

Enjoying a relaxing weekend around home-- xoxo

Food and Fall

Anyone who knows Jason and I knows we love food!! Homemade, restaurant, slow food, fast food, we love it all. On Friday we tried a new restaurant in Phoenix, The Cornish Pasty Company. A pasty is a savory pastry, traditionally filled with meat and potatoes and comes from Cornwell, England. I ate pasties on our trips to England growing up, so it was a great treat for me. I ordered a Cheese and Onion pasty (my favorite) -- here's a picture:


They also had "mushy peas" and oven fries -- yummmmm.


Jason left from Phoenix for Valencia, Spain on Saturday. He had a very long day of travel, but made it safely. He is there for a conference this week; I will see him Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. We are having a mini-Bailey / Hemmer beach vacation while Tim competes in a soccer tournament.

With Jason gone and the house to myself I tried some new recipes and put out my fall decorations. The house smells like spiced pumpkin candles, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and tomato basil soup.

Here are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. A healthier version of a traditional cookie with whole wheat flour, oats and natural peanut butter. The result was delicious, I totally recommend.


Maybe I'll put the recipe up on the blog sometime soon.

I also made Roasted Tomato Basil Bisque that I've wanted to try for ages. I LOVE grilled cheese and tomato soup, which I ate Sunday night:


Here's the soup simmering away...


It made enough for me to have 2 bowls and I froze enough for 4 more bowls. If you like soup definitely try this recipe!
3 lbs plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise
1 28oz. can of plum tomatoes, with juice
2 yellow onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 TB. olive oil
2 TB. butter
1 quart of vegetable stock
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 tsp. thyme

Put plum tomatoes on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil and some salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. When you have about 20 minutes left on this, prep and begin cooking other ingredients. In a large soup pot saute onions, garlic, butter, olive oil and red pepper flakes -- about 10 minutes. Add roasted tomatoes (with all their juice), can of tomatoes, stock, basil, thyme. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Take the pot off heat, hit it with the immersion blender until blended smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, Get one! Seriously it has made making soup so much easier. But, if that isn't an option you can (in batches) pour the mixture into a blender. Once blended, stir in about 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Put the lid on the soup pot and simmer on low until heated through.

Now for the "fall" part of the blog post. Here is my mantle:


And the kitchen table. I have TONS of pine cones and random candles, this my fall creation...


I LOVE fall - pumpkin spice, warm coffee, falling leaves on a chilly evening, football -- it has always been my favorite season.

I'm off to finally pack for Florida...I'll post pictures of the trip when I return.
xoxo

Updates

This photo is up because today during my lunch hour I noticed that the aspen trees are starting to change color. They are a beautiful mix of greens, oranges, and yellows; soon they will turn solid yellow and fall. It feels like it happened overnight because I do not remember noticing this change until today. It has been so unseasonably warm here that my mind is a little confused about what to expect. Although I welcome the warmth for as long as possible, I do love watching the Aspens change in Flagstaff throughout the Fall. We truly do live in a beautiful town. I will make a conscious effort to remind myself of this every time I feel so far away from civilization in our snowy mountain town!

Anyway, back to my updates. We started Early Enrollment Advising for Spring 2011 this week so I've been pretty beat at the end of each day (hence my neglected blog posts)! It takes a few weeks to get my "advising stamina" back up.

Two weekends ago Jason came down with a little something so I went without him to a "sushi party" our friends Ryan and Katie Wessel threw. It was my first time making sushi; it was surprisingly easy! I put shrimp, cream cheese, cucumber and avocado in my roll. Here is our finished product:


Last week Jason was in New Hampshire from Wednesday - Friday. He spent the weekend with his parents, brother Erik, sister-in-law Cindy, and our two nieces Emelie and Juliette. Here is a great picture of Uncle Jason with his newest niece:


Pushing Emelie on the swing...


Apparently they also played a lot of tee-ball, football and hide-and-go-seek. I think Emelie is quite the athlete!

I worked Saturday at Discover NAU, a program for prospective students and their parents, and Sunday night I went to see Tosh.0 on NAU's campus. His set and two opening acts did not disappoint. A great way to end the weekend, doubled over with laughter.



I am still on campus Monday evening as I write. Jason is landing in Flagstaff soon and I'm giving a resume workshop tonight to a student organization. Looking forward to seeing my hubbie!

Car Show, Football, and a Little More...

It was a beautiful fall weekend in Flagstaff! We met some friends downtown on Saturday afternoon to watch football and take a walk around the vintage car show. As we speak we are watching the Patriots destroy the Bengals -- Cincinnati has plenty of reality t.v. stars but no one to make a play!

Not much activity to catch you up on so I thought I'd talk about some things Jason and I like right now. Do you ever find that you go through phases with certain music, food or interests? I know we do. Here is some stuff we're loving right now...

1. This song. Scala choir covers Radiohead's "Creep". Scala is an all girls choir from Belgium -- they are pretty amazing.

2. Cherub Tomatoes. Always delicious, good for snacks and salads.


3. Scarfs -- my favorite fall accessory...not so much Jason's;) I found World Market, H&M, and Marshall's never disappoint.

4. Jogging. That sounds simple, but for anyone who has ever heard my rant on running you know I am not a fan, nor is Jason. We did decide to give it a real try and are training for a 5K in Phoenix in December. Our training starts small...very small...Week 1 we went out 3 times and ran for 60 seconds, walked for 90 seconds, ran for 60 seconds, walked for 90 seconds... It was enough to start to find our stride, but short enough that I still feel confident going into next week. I think I had a bit of an epiphany that I used to run everyday before I went to college; I was on our soccer team, track team, and even ran cross country (believe it or not!). I think I need to prove to myself that I can still do it, and thankfully Jason is willing to come along for the ride.

5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Enough Said.

From Fall 2010 2

Here's the recipe:
* 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar (I use Splenda)
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1/4 cup No Sugar Added Apple Sauce, or Canola Oil
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup chocolate chip (I use Ghiradhelli 60% cocoa chips)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Whisk flour with baking soda, spices & salt. In another bowl whisk together sugar, pumpkin, milk, apple sauce and egg.
Stir in dry ingredients to wet ingredients until completely incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into 12 lined muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

6. Kindle 3, Jason's 30th birthday present and newest toy.


7. I am still kickin' it old school with paper books. Currently reading (and highly recommend)...


8. T.V. When do we not love this? Our favorites right now?


I hate to admit this one, but we are addicted to the train wreck that is...


Speaking of T.V... I'm off to get something done so we can watch True Blood season finale tonight. Have a great week! XOXO

The Big 3-0.

As a new month began so did a new decade for Jason; September 1st was his 30th Birthday. On his actual Birthday Jason was at a conference in Sedona. I drove down after work to take him out to dinner at Fork in the Road. It was yummy! Unfortunately I forgot my phone in the hotel room so I don't have a picture. Friday night the celebration continued; I cooked Jason a steak dinner and he enjoyed a birthday brownie (see picture above).

On Saturday, after watching Clemson beat N. Texas, we went to a wedding ceremony for my friend and co-worker, Melanie. She and her (now) husband had a beautiful ceremony in Hart's Prairie, a gorgeous field with views of the San Francisco Peaks. This was the best picture I could get, but the light wasn't working with me...


We got a little family photo -- I love this picture! I think it's one of the best we've taken in awhile...and it feels very "Flagstaff" to me...haha...my Flagstaff readers will know what I mean.


The celebration continued at their ceremony at Zane Grey's, a bar in the historic Weatherford Hotel downtown. Me and the beautiful bride:


We are enjoying our Labor Day off of work. After 12 days of straight work I was certainly ready for this long weekend and some serious relaxation. Happy Labor Day!