window shopping up selby

one of the great things about my current employment status are my days off. I work a few long days during the week, and get the other week days off. it works out great and allows me to get homework done, catch up with friends, and do wedding stuff. this week C. has the week off as he is in transitions of jobs so that meant we got to have a day-date! 

we headed over to Selby street in St. Paul- ate lunch at Cheeky Money (a great sandwich shop where I was able to get a carrot-cinnamon cupcake, yum yum) , walked around the city, and window shopped. it was quiet the lovely date. we ended the date with doing a little productivity at a coffee shop.  I had never ventured over to this part of St. Paul but there was so many fun restaurants, bakeries, a chocolate shop, and clothing boutiques that I am going to have to go back and try. 

hope everyone has a safe and fun halloween! 

{ sneak peak for tomorrow } anderson sister pumpkin fun day 

Ephesians 6:18" Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for believers everywhere" 

apple cider cookies

it's two of my favorite things: fall + cookies = apple cider cookies

these cookies have been all over pinterest so my sisters and I decided to give them a try. they are a really good, sweet cookie. a good dessert to bring to a fall party but you can't really have more then two because they are SO sweet. 

apple cider cookies

1 cup unsalted butter softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (7.4 oz) box alpine spiced apple cider instant drink mix 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1-14oz bag of chewy caramels

1. preheat oven to 350 and line cookie sheets with parchment paper (so caramel doesn't stick to bottom of the cookie sheet)
2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
3. cream butter, sugar, salt, and all 10 packages of apple cider drink mix.
4. beat in eggs one at a time
5. gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix until combine.
6. scoop cookie dough balls about the size of a walnut
7. fall ball dough slightly and press unwrapped caramel into the center of the dough, seal dough around the caramel and place onto baking sheet
8. bake for 11-14 minutes or until lightly browned. they may not look done but they are :)

source

Enjoy!

when it rains I bake

 lately Minnesota has had some gloomy days- which is okay with me. 

it means that it is socially acceptable to eat massive amounts of soup, coffee, and people don't look at me like I am crazy when I am wearing my hunter boots. :) 

I also love these days because I feel like I can be so productive- the outdoors isn't tempting me to go outside so I can seriously get stuff done (not saying I would like it to stay this way forever but... for a few days I'll take it) and I bake in the masses. This week alone I have made chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, pumpkin bread, cinnamon rolls and caramel apple cookies. not excessive at all ;)

there is something therapeutic when you bake. I just love it :) 

and so here is a little recipe for some banana bread I made the other day! 

PS Don't forget to enter in my giveaway- ends tomorrow

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

3 T Orange juice

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 large ripe bananas mashed

1/2 cup chocolate chips (godiva are the best!)

Cream sugar and butter. 

Add Eggs and juice, flour, soda, chocolate chips and bananas

Bake in two greased medium sized bread loaves at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes 

Enjoy!

Psalm 36: 5-9 "You unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All human it finds shelter in the shadows of your wings You feel them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."

questions for the bride to be

1. What thing does your fiance do that grosses you out the most?

hmm, nothing really grosses me out that I can think of- he is pretty clean and put together. However I bet if you asked him that it would be the opposite, I am a messy eater, I love to smack my gum (annoying I know...) but if I had to pick something it would be the cracking knuckle things he does with his wrist, yuck.

2. Who will do more chores around the house?

I am assuming me. We are both pretty clean people are tend to pick up after ourselves but I will probably be cleaning the bathrooms, however my rule is if I cook I don't do the dishes :)

3. if you could throw away something from his wardrobe what would it be?

now days nothing but the first few years I wanted to throw away all of his super hero t-shirts and this awful red hoodie. but he knows that I hate these items now :) and he no longer wears super hero t-shirts 

4. what is your pet name for your fiance?

not one for pet names aside from babe. sometimes chadly. maybe once we are married we will come up with some weird ones!

5. Who will steal more of the covers?

me. no doubt about it. :)

6. where was your first date?

we were juniors in high school when we had our first date. we decided to jump into leaf piles, go star gazing, and swing at a park. we had caramel apples to go with the occasion. it was so fun, I had no idea that he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend later that night.

7. who said "I love you" first?

chad. he said it the day after we had our first kiss- pretty cute. he was so bashful in the beginning stages of our relationship- boy have things changed! (all for the better). He also played all of the big cards first including discussions of our future. He told me that he wanted to marry me one day when we were on the plane home returning from a mission trip to Africa.

8. what disney film would you compare your wedding to?

beauty and the beast.  not the story but our venue reminds me a ton of the old house the beast lived in. cannot wait to experience it :)

9. what do you anticipate to be the best part of the wedding day?

I think the whole day is going to be great. I am excited for our first looks at one another and of course the celebration afterwards (and eating cake ;) )

10.  what are you looking forward to in marriage?

living together and trying to figure out this whole life thing. Chad and I have been together for 5 years and I am so excited for the next 5,10,25, & 50 years together. I am excited to laugh and cry together. The whole thing excites me. This is the part I am most excited about- just being married.

Genesis 2:24 "Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will cling to his wife; and they will become one flesh"

I take a walk

outfit: sunglasses: american eagle// scarf h &m // vest: gap // shirt: aerie // pants: lulu lemon // boots: hunter boots

sometime you just need to stop and look at the beauty that surrounds you.

take it all in. each season is so different but so beautiful.

it is hard to believe that fall is almost over here in Minnesota. with this some extra fall walks and pumpkin-ness will be going on down at my end.

happy tuesday!

Psalm 34:10 "Even the strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing"

quick little weekend update

1//  pumpkin cupcake from c 2// c trying on jacket 3// me with new hat 4// salad 5// outfit of the day 6// looking for suits for c.

my real quick little weekend update:

1// went to the mall three times this weekend. yes-friday,saturday, sunday.

 friday was girls night with katie and rosie. rosie and I were asked to babysit hang out with grandma so we thought we would go to the mall.

 saturday was shopping day/ day date with c. 

sunday went looking for wedding things. 

don't worry though I only spent a total of $8 the whole weekend. :)

2//  had a night at home w/ rosie where we painted our nails, drank chai, and watched breakfast at tiffany's. so relaxing

3// baked zebra chocolate chip cookies.

4// ate a lot of salad, yum :)

to say the least this weekend was relaxing. didn't do anything crazy fun- but it was niiiceee.

linking up with the girls and the weekend update!

Pumpkin pickin

my wonderful sister and I decided to pick up some pumpkins last weekend. I had rolled out of bed to go car shopping before (and got a new car-yay!) and then rushed over to the event (note why I look frumpy and have no makeup on). Anyway- Our city has an annual event where you are able to go and get them for free... so my family always makes sure to go! Now we just gotta wait a couple weeks to start carving them. I have some creative ideas of what I am going to do (coming from a not so creative person). 

and to keep comin' with the pumpkin-ness/fallness on my blog I thought I would inform everyone that I am going to be making my favorite PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE this weekend and maybe throw some pumpkin cookies or scones into the mix. It is only the season once :) 

why hello pumpkin bread

well.. what is better then pumpkin bread? not too much so if you are looking for a good recipe, I got one for you!

 delicious crafted pumpkin bread 

3 cups flour

1 tsp. ground gloves

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3 cups sugar

1 cup butter (basically melted)

3 eggs

1- 16 oz canned pumpkin

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease two medium loaf pans.
2. In medium bowl mix flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. set aside.
3. In one large bowl add sugar and half melted butter. Add eggs. Cream together on medium speed for 2 minutes or until fluffy. Add pumpkin.
4. Add dry ingredients (recommend doing it in three pieces). Mix gently until each batch is incorporated. 
5. Pour batter into greased loaf pans.
6. Bake for 1 hour 

 tasted great. Now onto the next pumpkin thing to make... maybe some soup? 

Invites are coming...

1// screen printing supply store 2// chad at store 3// him & her 4// top of invite 5// back of invite 6// printing of back of invite 7// process of printing

if you remember from our save the dates, Chad manually screen prints every last invitation. Couple of reasons for this. The first being- he is a designer and uses screen printing as a method for some of his work. The second is we wanted DIFFERENT invites, not just the same old same old. Meaning we had to get creative. I did love the save the dates but I have to say our invites look soooo much nicer :) 

With the manual printing, the invitation process takes a very long time. We are doing three layers (or three different colors), so for 200 invites it takes about two and a half hours per layer. Hard work pays off and I am getting so excited about these- But we will have to wait to share those once they officially go out. 

Matthew 25:29 "To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away"

Fall to-do

Being my organized self, I can't let fall slip by with out creating (and completing) a fall to do list. And  Fall has been SO perfect this year. I know I have done the last 5 blog post about fall but in Minnesota, fall never lasts long- meaning embracing every last bit is a must! 

fall musts:

make apple crisp

jump into crispy leaves

drink apple cider

go pumpkin picking

carve pumpkins

make pumpkin bread

go on long walks

rake leaves

get a new scarf 

wear lots of maroon and mustard

drink extra espresso

go on a hay ride

burn fall smelling candles

drink chai- pumpkin chair (yes they have this at trader joe's along with pumpkin greek yogurt!)

so far here I have made apple crisp, drank espresso, and worn lots of maroon and mustard. 

 Be expecting the best pumpkin bread recipe in a few days :)

What are your fall to-dos?

Psalm 28: 7-8" The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The LORD gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king"

3 fold weekend

3 things from this weekend.

1// women's conference 

My church, River Valley, hosted their annual women's conference called SPARKLE.  To put it simply, it was incredible. They brought in CHARL

who spoke very inspiring words encouraging us to be bold, strong women of God and to really take authority in our lives. We often forget that we OWN our faith, and for our faith to move mountains we have to take control and influence our zone (those who surround us). On top of the awesome message Charolette had for us, theme of the conference was the 1950's so the church was filled with beautiful, fun, girly decor. 

2// sister's homecoming

It was my sister Rosie's homecoming for her high school. She looked beautiful :)

3// quality time w/ college roommates

My old college roommates, Katie and Wendy, were in town so we got to spend some quality time with one another. It blows my mind that it was only a short year ago that we all lived together. We did several of our favorite things to do in the Twin Cities, including coffee, chocolate, and a little shopping. What more does a girl need ;)

Now for the crazy week, that is going to be filled with lots of wedding planning. C & I are hoping to finish up our wedding invites and get them mailed within the next couple weeks- look for a preview soon!

Day in Stillwater

last weekend after my half marathon, Chad and I spent the day exploring the cute city of Stillwater. Stillwater is known for being a cute small town filled with antiques. We love antiquing so we spent several hours looking through shops, finding some cool things. My favorite part was the lovely bakery (of course, what else would you expect) but for some odd reason I wasn't hungry so I didn't even purchase a cupcake. This is slightly unheard of for me, I turned down some sweets?! Yep. 

Because of the half marathon I was so tired. There were points that I felt like I could fall asleep standing up. Though I may feel like I didn't quiet the the whole experience I hope I can make a trip back there soon.

Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation- so why should I be afraid? The LORD is my fortress protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?