From Hot to “Hotter”

Yesterday morning I left toasty Boston for the even toastier Fort Lauderdale.

Unfortunately, I’ll be in a classroom from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm for the next 3 days. Yep – Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.

Our hotel is actually right on the beach but our room faces the intercoastal waterway so that’s what you’re seeing here.

I’m already missing this crazy face.

And I can’t wait to tell you about these.

But for now I have to go and be a student. Happy Weekend!!!

It’s Good to Go Home

Friday after work, Griffy and I hit the road for a weekend of visiting in Maine.

{the co-pilot}

{the caffeine.}

  {sunday naps.}

{sunday scones.}

{lemon-cranberry scones, that is.}

{recipe here.}

Way too soon we will be packing up and hitting the road back to Boston. You better believe I’ll be bringing a scone [or three].

It’s good to go home.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones

Today the rain came. I had intended on having a productive day but my sleeplessness last night changed that. I woke up late, had a busy morning and afternoon at work and forgot my gym clothes under my desk. On the way home I got stuck in traffic, “lost” in Target (not a bad thing) and couldn’t find the motivation to start my intended tasks.

Of course, though, I had the motivation for a walk in the fresh air with puppy.

“I’m ready!”

Too entranced by the scattering leaves to look at me for a picture…

When we got home, puppy was wet and I was hungry. We played in the kitchen for a bit before I cooked up some homemade gnocchi I had in the freezer.

I enjoyed a Magic Hat Hex with a side of Jeopardy. It’s their autumn brew.

After dinner, I was inspired by Tina’s recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones from carrotsncake

Makes 8 scones

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used 1/4 cup granulated Splenda)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice)*
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt  (I used Greek because it’s what I had)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon*, and salt.
• Add in pumpkin, yogurt, butter & chocolate chips, mixing as you go.
• Form dough into a ball, place on a greased baking sheet and pat down into a circle about 1/2 to 1/4 inches thick.
• Cut into 8 segments.
• Bake at 425*F for about 20 minutes or until edges are slightly crisp and the top is lightly browned.

These are so very delicious! And EASY! I won’t even get started on how great my kitchen smelled while they were baking. Of course we had to try them right out of the oven, nom nom nom.

Now I suppose I should tackle one of the many things on my To-do list… sorting through the stack of reading material that has piled up on the side of my bed. I’m debating between school reading and pleasure reading… which do you think will win?

Happy Friday

As I write this, I am sipping on Pumpkin Spice coffee. Why, that’s a fall flavor and it’s still August, you say. I know. But it’s all I had ground and I was too lazy busy to grind any beans this morning. I hit my snooze button twice, one more time than I usually do. I was tired and my bed was extra comfy. But why were you so tired this morning Shannon, you ask? My enthusiastic reply: “Because I went to see Rodrigo y Gabriela last night!”

If you don’t know who they are, shame on you. Just kidding. Go look them up on youtube right now. They are amazing. For serious. They are a Mexican musical duo who specialize in playing fast, rhythmic acoustic guitars. This was my first time seeing them live and they were incredible. The show was at the Opera House and it was the perfect venue. Best part? The tickets were a surprise! I thought it was sushi and movie night and low and behold, I was whisked away to a great concert!

Puppy is here at work with me today and now that he’s made his rounds and visited everyone, he is taking his first power-nap of the day. Happy Friday!

For the love of “oil” that’s good

Yesterday had it’s ups and downs. I scrambled around to finish up the last bit of work I had left in my summer classes. For once, it wasn’t that I procrastinated, but rather that I just wanted to get it all done so I could have August free of deadlines. Griffy definitely sensed that my focus was NOT on him and therefore gave me a run for my money.

He and I had a very off day. He jumped on the coffee table and grabbed tissues out of the box and tore them to shreds faster than I could react. He pushed his plastic Mickey Mouse hand under the couch and cried non-stop until I retrieved it for him. Repeat. He begged for food. I gave him a pretzel and he spit it out on the floor. We tried the laser pointer game. He was just too unfocused. Sigh. There were plenty more mishaps, but you get the idea.

My eating was weird yesterday too. I started with a bowl of cereal and coffee. Then had 4 chocolate covered gummy bears and one non-peril.  A salad of mixed greens, tomato and feta followed for lunch. A handful of sea salt and vinegar chips. I had no desire to make dinner. Here comes the point where my day turns around…

The roommate graciously offered to make burritos for dinner. YES! The most fabulous part? My only task was to EAT the fruits of her labor. I opened up a bottle of wine, poured glasses for all, and sat myself down on the couch. She made an appetizer of fabulous cheese dip that I ate with tortilla chips while reading a magazine and sipping wine. WIN. Then, the announcement that the burritos were ready was made. The star of the show, lime infused rice. She cooked the rice with Persian lime infused olive oil purchased here. Everything was SO delicious and much appreciated after the day I was having, thanks roommie!

Burgers and Puppy gushing

     I picked up some basil and feta this weekend at the market and began the week with turkey, basil and feta burgers. I found an onion in the fridge and decided to chop some of that up and throw it in as well.  And as I was mixing up the burger add-ins, I noticed that I had an audience…

Puppy had decided to camp out in the kitchen where I was prepping dinner, (my apologies for the creepy looking eyes – it’s just the flash glare, I swear!). I added the ground turkey to the bowl and mixed it all up.

I then made them into patties and put them in a pre-heated pan (sprayed with a bit of Pam) and flipped when eat side was browned.

   I placed my burger on a toasted whole wheat sandwich round (love them) and put a dollop of garlic mustard aioli on top. I then prepared a small salad of baby arugula, cherry tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Easy, delicious and packed full of great fresh flavors!

After dinner, I brought puppy out for a walk where he rolled around in something yucky, ahem… So an immediate tub was in order.

There’s puppy, post-tub, laying with his head on a pillow watching me do work. Isn’t he so cute?