Goodbye Cheatherwichita

I started a new blog today and I have decided to retire this one (not that it was much of a blog to begin with, I know). Charles never actually contributed anything and we're no longer in Wichita, so it seemed like a good time for a change. I hope that you enjoy my new blog - http://daisiesanddamask.wordpress.com.

Christmas baking!

Here's an update with all of my Christmas treats for this year - peanut butter fudge, white chocolate covered pretzels, red velvet cheesecake cookies and toffee cookies. I have to say, all the recipes were new (other than the pretzels, of course) and they all turned out really well. The red velvet cookies were especially popular, so they may have to become a Christmas tradition.

I'm trying a few new recipes this Christmas and I made these Red Velvet Cheesecake cookies today. And, I have to say that I'm a big fan. They look good and taste even better. The cheesecake center gives the cake-like cookies the perfect touch of gooey-ness. I found them on Pinterest and here is the direct link to the recipe - http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/red-velvet-cheesecake-cookies/. I made medium-sized cookies and the recipe made about 20 cookies.

I heart iPhoto and decorating for Christmas!

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas decorations. It is definitely a challenge to go from a house back to an apartment, but we made it work. The pictures looked a little bland, so I played with iPhoto editing to make them a little more interesting. :)

This yarn wreath was my first attempt at a project discovered on Pinterest... now I just need to do one in Christmas colors!

Peanut Butter Pie Recipe

By request, here is my no-bake peanut butter pie recipe. It's really simple, but always turns out delicious. I've also made it with a chocolate cookie or chocolate graham cracker crust, but I prefer the regular graham cracker crust. Enjoy!

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
⅓ cup sugar
6 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

1 tsp cinnamon

6-8 Peanut butter cups, chopped

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and cinnamon; press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. While crust is cooling, add a thin layer of chopped peanut butter cups on top of the crust.

Filling:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups Cool Whip
Peanut butter cups, if desired

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth. Fold Cool Whip into peanut butter mixture. Spoon filling into cooled crust. Garnish pie with peanut butter cups, if desired. Refrigerate.

Happy Halloween!

No, I'm not suddenly a huge UT fan, but Charles liked this costume and I think she does look pretty cute as a cheerleader! :)

Some of the Halloween decorations that have been up in the apartment this month...

...And, for today only, my over-the-top Halloween centerpiece.

Autumn in Dallas

Although I won't be taking Halloween treats to work this year, I decided to go ahead and try something new. These are Orange Spice cupcakes... they didn't turn out looking exactly like I hoped, but at least they taste good.

I received a complaint the other day about my lack of blog entries, but let's face it - I'm just not a blogger. However, I will go ahead and share a few things. As anyone reading this knows, Charles and I moved to Dallas. Charles is working at a new law firm and I haven't found a job yet, so I have a bit of free time right now. Since moving to Dallas in the beginning of September, I have been to a Rangers game, a Cowboys game, a Taylor Swift concert, the Fort Worth Zoo, theTexas State Fair, a production of West Side Story and a Sleeperstar concert (a Dallas band that just signed a record deal, so you may actually hear about them one of these days).

Here is a couple pics of the Taylor Swift concert... but, I really didn't get any decent pictures, so you're just seeing a picture of the screen.

Stay tuned for pictures of Sophie in her 2011 Halloween costume! :) In the meantime, here's a recent picture of Sophie.

Brandon's Graduation

Brandon's graduation on May 21st...

Since Brandon got a new (to him) Mustang for graduation, I made Mustang cookies for his Open House.

Earth Day & Sophie's birthday

Easter day was also Sophie's birthday. It's hard to believe that she's already 3!

I made a display about earth-friendly cleaning products that our "green" team set up at the office during the week of Earth Day.

I made cookies for Earth Day that were supposed to look earth-ish, but they didn't really turn out... oh well.

More Halloween

Sophie was a bat for Halloween this year... I really didn't get any good pictures because Sophie really hated the bat ears and was not cooperating.

Sophie got her hair cut this week, so I made her wear her costume again so I could get a few better pictures...

These are the treats I made for trick-or-treating at work. As usual, it seemed like a good idea until I had to make 45 of them.

Haunted Mansion

We are decorating our hall in a haunted mansion theme this year... it looks much spookier in person.

Inside the mansion w/o the flash... it's very dark.

Inside the mansion w/ the flash...

Seattle Part 4 - Friday Harbor

Beautiful Friday Harbor, San Juan Islands.

Whale watching boat.

What we were supposed to see on our whale watching trip...

What we actually saw during our whale watching trip... this is a picture of an approx. 2,400 lb Steller sea lion (and there's a harbor seal in the background if you look really closely). We also saw 2 Minke whales (small baleen whales), but they were way too fast to capture one in a picture. But, we did not see any orcas, which was a big disappointment.

Seattle Part 3

Snoqualmie Falls.

Pike Place Market and the first Starbucks across the street.

Views of the city from Gas Works Park...

Seattle Part 2 - Forks, La Push and Port Angeles!

Hehe.

We ate lunch at The Lodge.

First Beach at La Push.

The drive between Port Angeles and Forks was gorgeous! I was very excited because the weather was overcast and foggy... perfect "Twilight" weather! :)

The restaurant in Port Angeles where Edward and Bella had their first date!

The movie theatre in Port Angeles.

View of Seattle from the ferry.