Instead of Pecan Pie

I went to a Pampered Chef party this past weekend and we had the best snack ever! And even I can make it.

Harvest Spiced Nuts

1 egg, separated

1 package (8 oz) pecan halves

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon pantry cinnamon plus

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, Line pan with 11 inch piece of parchment paper. Using egg separator, separate egg into large bowl (reserve yolk for other use). Whip egg white until frothy.

2. Add pecans to bowl. Toss to coat evenly with egg whites. Sprinkle brown sugar and spice blend over pecans, toss to coat evenly. Pour pecans out onto parchment, separating into a single layer.

3. Bake 18-20 min or until nuts begin to brown. Remove pan from oven. Let cool completely. Place in serving dish. Serve using tong (its sticky).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Not Martha Stewart

I've always said that I hate cooking. But I decided to be a good sport and make a Pecan Pie for our anual Thanksgiving Luncheon at work. So I researched recipes and decided to try Pioneer Woman's recipe mostly because she gives step by step directions with pictures. I followed the directions exactly and even made an extra pie for D to take to work. They looked so good last night when I took them out of the oven.

I cooked them for 1 hour (a full 10 minutes beyond what Pioneer Woman told me to do) but when it was time to cut them today before the luncheon I realized that even an hour wasn't enough. The inside of the pie was literally the consistency of Karo syrup - like I hadn't cooked it at all! I just took my pie back to my little cubicle and hid it under my desk. Then I brought it home so I could take a picture for the blog.

And it looks way worse in person! I might try to cook it for a while longer tonight to see if I can salvage it at all because pecans are expensive! And now I'm back to hating to cook.

Before There Was Justin, There Was Jordan

I traveled down to New Orleans this weekend to see the New Kids on the Block concert with my 2 favorite sisters – Dana and Julie. I was a huge fan in Jr. High but was never able to attend a concert. So when I heard they were reuniting, I knew it was finally my chance. We headed down to New Orleans a little early to see some sights and eat some gumbo then we made it to the concert just in time.

It was the most fun I have EVER had at a concert. They played some of their new stuff but it was mostly the oldies but goodies – The Right Stuff, Hanging Tough, Tonight, Please Don’t Go Girl, etc….

My mom made these signs for us to take as a joke.

We stayed at a cool hotel in New Orleans and then woke up Sunday morning and had some beignets from Café Du Monde before heading back to Baton Rouge. It was so much fun. Thank you Julie and Dana for making my NKOTB dreams come true!

Cowboy Wedding

My cousin Dena got married this past weekend in Chappell Hill, TX. It was a gorgeous day and she was a gorgeous bride. The wedding weekend had a country theme to it and was beautiful with all the fall colors.

I just love fall weddings....

and little country chapels...

and wrought iron crosses...
and happy newlyweds...
and my parents...

(Dad went all out and got Wranglers since he was officiating the wedding)

and big brown eyes...
and long eyelashes...
We had a few hours between the wedding and the reception so we stopped by to see Shandra and family. How can you resist these boys? They are really sweet and even though Andrew would not count to ten in Spanish, he was very hospitable and showed us all around his room.

Now back to the wedding...the reception was in Old Town Spring (Shandra, why have you never taken me here?). It was so neat.

I also love wedding cakes...

and D for coming even though his beloved Huskers were playing...

My September Post

I've been meaning to blog for a while but you know how it is when you wait a long time in between posts and then you don't really know what how to catch up on everything. So this is my official Sept. blog. I know you guys have been waiting on pins and needles :)

• Kate turned one! I was only able to be there in spirit but doesn't that big bow just make you smile?

• We are in full swing with football season. This was the scene this past weekend after the Huskers lost (don't worry we always have the LSU game on in the other room).

• Hurricane Gustav has come and gone. I was at my grandmother's house watching CNN the whole weekend with her and her dog.
  



• Hurricane Ike ruined our plans to visit Houston for the weekend to see Andrew and Blake.

• Work is busy but I have found a new friend to carpool with and it makes the drive to downtown a little more bearable. That and our almost daily trips to Starbucks.

The dogs are happy and healthy.

• D is training for a marathon and I'm training for the half marathon. It hurts me just to think about it so that's all I'm going to say about that.




• And I had some lovely fertility tests done. That's all I will say about that too because it wasn't the most fun thing I have ever done. But everything looks good so far so hopefully something will happen soon. And don't think I won't gladly give up the whole half-marathon thing in a heartbeat if that is the case :)

Gatlinburg 2008

We are leaving tomorrow to meet the fam in the Smokey Mountains.
This was a picture from our last trip there back in July of 1999. Back in the days before D and before Ryan and Dana had Cole and Kate. So our lives are a little bit different now but we still love to get together and go on vacation together. I can't wait!