BEAUTIFUL MESS

The past week of my life has been one big beautiful mess.

1) Visited Philly for the first time... beautiful.

Highlights: quality time with my sisters, Betsy Ross' home, the tour guide at Independence Hall, meeting Will Shortz (my idol), wearing matching t-shirts to a sudoku competition, having our photo with WS in the Philadelphia Inquirer, running up the "Rocky" steps, spending a lovely autumnal Sunday outside the city with our friend, Brian.

2) Learning that I have a minor case of shingles... mess.

Thought I was the victim of some crazy spider or allergy, but nope... the real deal shingles. It will be a dream when they go away, eh?

3) Jason Mraz concert... beautiful.

I wasn't incredibly familiar with Jason prior to the concert, but was invited by my friend, Kristan. We all fell in love with the man. Let's face it... he plays the guitar, has curly hair, and has some pretty sweet dance moves. The concert exceeded my expectations, to say the least!

4) Joshua Radin/Missy Higgins concert... beautiful.

I loved (and still DO love) Joshua even more than Jason. My friend, Kristan, encouraged me to throw all caution to the wind and attend this concert... a) having never once heard any of the songs prior & b) having just been to Jason Mraz the night before. I was SOOOOO glad I opted in, as I now have a new favorite musician. Check out Joshua's song "Closer" if all you want to do is cry.... SO good! "I'd Rather Be With You" and "Brand New Day" also became fast favorites. Thanks, K!

5) Car accident... mess.

A sweet middle-aged lady forgot to check her blind-spot before changing lanes and ran into my car, thus denting/scraping the entire driver's side. I am grateful no one was injured, but obviously wish she had taken the brief moment to survey the scene before maneuvering her car my direction. I hope the repairs don't take long.

6) Halloween... beautiful.

I have the cutest nieces and nephews in the entire world!!!

7) Various conversations/correspondence with good friends... beautiful.

Need I say more? I feel fortunate to know so many stellar individuals!

8) Official expansion of my cereal repertoire... beautiful.

Move over, Grape-Nut Flakes. I still love you, but you've got a rival now....

9) Blogging twice in one day... mess.

Who does that?!? Please don't neglect the post below, though.... those pumpkin waffles would be on the beautiful list if they were from this past week.

10) Looking forward to a good night's sleep (which has been messily lacking this week)... beautiful.

Can't wait for my head to hit the pillow. I think I'm going to sleep tight tonight.

PUMPKIN WAFFLE HEAVEN

A couple weekends ago I had the privilege of spending a pumpkin-filled evening with one of my favorite friends. We started with delicious pumpkin waffles (which I have officially dubbed as Pumpkin Waffle Heaven... as in, "I died and went to PWH"), then moved along to pumpkin carving. Jake's jack-o-lantern was, of course, PERFECT... Mine looked more like a disco-ball, but it was adorable in its own whimsical, polka-dotted kind of way. Jake, if you ever read this, will you please send me the photos so that I can post them here for all the world to see?

Anyway, being that today is All Hallows Eve, I thought it would be appropriate to share this amazing recipe with the class:

PUMPKIN WAFFLE HEAVEN

2 cups flour

1 T cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 T sugar

1/2 tsp coriander

4 eggs (separated... keep both parts)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups milk (maybe a tiny bit more)

1 T vanilla

1/2 cup margarine

Mix dry ingredients, then add egg YOLKS, milk, pumpkin, vanilla, and margarine. Beat 4 egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into the batter.

To top it off, make this delicious dream:

BUTTERMILK SYRUP

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp corn syrup (light)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Bring buttermilk, butter, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil. Remove from heat once boiling and add baking soda and vanilla. Stir until it settles.

I hope you all enjoy...

Happy Halloween!!

I HEART WHEEL SHORTS

I do, okay?!?

I LOVE NOT CAMPING

I have a feeling I'm not the only gal who relates to the clever Miss Anne Taintor... (http://www.annetaintor.com/)

And my personal favorite....

RED VELVET

My dear friend, Paige, insisted that I have a red velvet cake for my 22nd birthday party. It was fitting, because I am unabashedly partial to the color, but I honestly had never tried red velvet cake before; I thought it seemed somewhat unnatural to opt for a cake that wasn't the darkest brown known to man.... But it turned out to be a delightful treat, so I whole-heartedly welcomed red velvet into my life.

A couple of summers ago, while in the Big Apple visiting my friend, Kristan, we stopped at a cupcake shop where I purchased the dreamiest red velvet cupcake imaginable. The butter cream frosting was thick and delicious; I could have died happily at the moment I inhaled it. It was SO divine that I purchased the cookbook online a month later, and shortly thereafter found myself happily dancing around the kitchen wearing a polka dot apron. Two bottles of red food coloring and an afternoon later, I had the satisfaction of partaking of the gems. My heart and my stomach were fully satisfied....

Red velvet is intensely rich, temptingly sweet, and simply satisfying. I hope you'll all enjoy it as much as I do!