So while getting the recipe for those Fried Apple Rings I saw that Emma had a post about Homemade Blueberry Poptarts. I was like hm, puff pastry...I wonder what baking with that's like. 

So I bought some Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry yesterday. I thought I had blueberries, but I didn't. So I improvised. I ended up making a few different kinds...peaches, brown sugar and cinnamon, and apples and cinnamon. I also made two almond sugar croissants. These were so flippin' good. Look guys, I've expressed that I am not a great judge of my own baking/cooking but I know these are great. I can't wait to bake them for a family brunch :) 

I did add a glaze to them after I took these photos. I used Emma's suggestion (four tablespoons of melted butter, a tablespoon of cream, and powdered sugar to taste).

I was looking through old blog posts and thinking about what an awesome summer I had. I can't believe the oppunrtunity I had to spend so much time in the Chicago area. Very soon Mr. SB will be heading back to California and as hard as that's going to be, I'm so thankful for the time we've had to build a strong foundation for our future. And with all these thoughts going through my head I realized I never posted the photos from when Mr. Scottie B. and I were youngsters. I tried to scan these photos but I was having issues. I gave up and just took a picture of the pictures (is that strange?). And I'm also including one of the first pictures from our second date. (no laughing at how silly I look at 12)

It's been a while since I've spent a whole weekend in Madison. It was pretty awesome to spend the weekend with the family, but I missed Mr. Scottie B. very much. Well anyway, since I was in Madison, mom and I spent Sunday together. We went to church! Then...thrifting!!! We went to Stoughton, which is a little town about 30 minutes outside of Madison. We found an estate sale and went to Stoughton Antique Mall. The Antique Mall was three stories and full of so many awesome finds. Mom and I agree that sometimes stores/places like that just have SO much stuff. We ended up not buying anything but had so much fun looking through everything. We had a late lunch at The Egg and I (couldn't find their website). After lunch we went to Savers. It looks as though I may be attending the Navy Ball and so I've been looking for a formal dress while thrifting. The dress pictured below was an 80s style velvet dress with a very large bow on the back. It was kind of adorable, but...naw :) It was good fun though.

As for tonight I came home and had been motivated to make something. I decided to make Fried Apple Rings that I found via Food Coma. I'm trying to branch out from my normal baking. They turned out okay. They were not as crispy as I had thought they'd be, but still pretty delicious. I drizzled some honey on them and ate a few. yum. There is a few things I'd do differently next time, maybe thicker bread crumbs and a little more cinnamon.

As for my goals that I had set out in my past posts....

• I did bake treats and send them off for Mr. SB today (actually mom mailed them since I was workin') 
• Actually writing down my work out plan has been hit or miss, but I have been going to the gym 
• I did not bake Ethan a treat but I did buy him two awesome books (one was Veggie Tales "Jesus made me special" and the other "I use to be the baby" about being the big brother now) 
• I did read through my manual, but didn't get as much practice in prior to the party 
• The Wrigley Field event sold out three minutes before I went to the website :( let's not talk about it 
• I have been up on time for work 
• And I have been thanking God for my blessings, but have needed Him for struggles a lot this week

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Happy Birthday Jax

I stayed in Madison this weekend because Jaxson turned ONE today! We all agreed this year went by quickly. Jaxson was super cute as usual. He got a ton of awesome gifts, including a new ugly doll from yours truly. He ate his cake like a champ, no encouragement needed. I snapped a lot of photos of Jaxson. I realized I didn't have a whole lot of pictures of Ethan, but he was busy running around playing. So here are photos of the day! Happy Birthday Jaxson. I love you so very much and it's been such a joy to be able to watch you grow up this past year.

And this is what I wore today. I bought this white skirt a few weeks ago, but it was too thin to wear without an extra slip. After purchasing one yesterday, TADA! I found another skirt this weekend that has the same shape as this but is red with white polka dots (I'm excited to wear it). Momma and I are gonna have a mom-daughter day tomorrow. Probably thrifting and lunch.

What is everyone else doing this weekend?

It's midweek and I hope everyone is having an awesome week. I had a rough day being positive yesterday and I woke up today to the sweetest text from Mr. SB. So my day started out better and I had a more positive day. After work I met Mom, Dad, Jaxson, Ethan, Ben, Courtney, and Lola at the Monona Terrace. They have "Tunes on the Terrace" that is a free event every few weeks. We all went once before and it was a lot of fun. Tonight's music was 60's and 70's dance music. I spent a lot of time out side of the show playing with Ethan, which I was okay with :) He's such a smart guy, he impresses me each time I spend time with him. Here are a few photos from tonight.

Well I was thinking today of a few things I need/want to get done over the next week and a half or so. I thought I might be kept more accountable if I wrote them down here.

• Bake treats and hand write a letter to Mr. Scottie B. and ACTUALLY mail them (sometimes before next Wednesday)
• Write down a work out plan (I've just been going into the gym without a set routine and feeling unproductive)
• Bake Ethan a special treat for Saturday (it's Jaxson's birthday and I don't want him to feel left out)
• Sit down and read my camera's manual before Saturday to help me take better pictures for Jaxson's birthday
• Buy tickets for the Wrigley Field event (I'm going to get us outfield seats, how awesome?)
• Wake up in time to actually get ready for work the rest of the week and next
• Remember to not just reach to God for my struggles, but to thank Him for my blessings also

I think that is all for now, hm. I may add a few goals to these. What are you goals for the next week? I'd love to hear them and help encourage you to meet them!

While editing photos I was thinking about how personal I want this blog to be. I mean I upload lots of photos of friends, family, and myself...but there is a lot that I leave out of my blog (emotions, struggles, and such). Well for now I am going to just give those reading an update about my weekend. I drove down to see Mr. SB on Friday night and we went out with friends. I will be honest and tell you that...I drank too much. I swore that I would never drink ever again (or until Saturday night at the wine bar). Aside from a drink or two too many, I had a fun night. I wasn't feeling 100% on Saturday so it resulted in a lazy day. Later in the afternoon, Mr. Scottie B. and I finally got ready and headed into Chicago :) We met up with Morgan and Nick at 694 Wine & Spirits. We drank some wine, ate delicious food, and enjoyed great company. Nick and Morgan are an adorable couple and so much fun. We always laugh a lot together. 

Sunday started with church. Mr. SB led worship on the piano and it was super awesome! After, we headed to Egg Harbor Cafe for brunch. Then Starbucks where Mr. SB had me watch two youtube videos (that I'm too lazy to link, but both were funny). After that we went to Bdubs to watch the Cowboys win! We had talked about going to see Lion King but the game was more exciting. We spent a little more time together after the game and then I headed back to Madison. 

(this was from last weekend, how cute is he?)

This next weekend I will not be seeing Mr. SB. It's Jaxson's first birthday party so I'm gonna stick close to home and spend time with family. Hope everyone's weekend was amazing also!

Lazy Thursday

So. I was gonna go to the gym after work, just like I have all week. But I came home. So then I told myself that I'd change at home. Well I had a letter from Mr. SB waiting at home. sigh, he's so great. After I read the letter...I just did not feel like going to the gym. Then I realized an episode of Project Runway on that I hadn't seen yet.

Here I am, drinking lemonade and eating peanut m&ms and NOT going to the gym. I guess I'm giving myself the night off. I decided I'm gonna go tomorrow to make up for my laziness.

I thought I'd share a few links and such.

I stumbled upon this blog recently. It's this super cute LDS wife, who is pregnant. As someone who grew up in Idaho with lots of LDS friends, I think it's an interesting insight to a young blogging LDS hipster wife.

April posted a new photo of her belly! Gah, she's getting more beautiful with each day her belly grows. I can't wait till I get to visit Idaho and meet that baby.

I unfortunately did not make it to Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this last weekend. Mr. SB, a few friends, and I ran the Fort2Base race. It was 10 nautical miles (11.5 miles). It was awesome! I'm so thankful that Mr. Scottie B. encouraged me to do the race. My goal was to finish it and I did (with a pace of 11:12 minutes/mile). After the race we went to breakfast with friends and then I took a nap (Mr. SB went out with friends to watch sports). I met up after to watch sports and watch the Cowboys lose, dang it! But I wanted to link to A Beautiful Mess because she was there for Red Velvet and her blog is full of photos of Chicago.

And lastly, I WILL be making this to take with me on my weekend trip to see Mr. SB. I think it'll be the perfect breakfast snack to reheat. So I'm heading to see Mr. Scottie B. tomorrow. I see him pretty much every weekend, but when each weekend approaches I get butterflies thinking about getting to see him (this is where you all say "awww"). I wish I could introduce everyone I know to him, he's just so wonderful.

What is everyone's plans for the weekend? Exciting stuff I hope!

A to Z

Here is one of those lame survey's (brings me back to myspace days). Stole this from Miss Indie's Blog. So here are things that you probably don't care to know about me, but you're gonna find out anyway :)


A. Age: 21!
B. Bed size: uh, full.
C. Chore that you hate: I don't think I hate any chore, probably dishes. Or mopping.
D. Dogs: are a lot of responsibility. I'll just hang out with my parents pups for now.
E. Essential start to your day: Water, like a whole bottle.
F. Favorite color: If I had to pick one, gray.
G. Gold or Silver: Silver.
H. Height: 5’3"
I. Instruments you play: I could once play the piano a little. But I'll leave all the musical stuff to my boyfriend.
J. Job title: uh, I don't really have an official title (office assistant to a loan auditing/quality team).
K. Kids: No kids. But I've decided I will someday.
L. Live: in Madison, WI.
M. Mother’s name: Diane. She hates her name and I LOVE it.
N. Nicknames: Tay. Tayloretease. and there are some meaner ones my brothers gave me.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Broken arm when I was six.
P. Pet peeves: People who stand too closely in lines (particularly at the bank) and people who drove with their blinkers on.
Q. Quote from a movie: I'm terrible at things like this. Lately Mr. SB has been quoting Sandlot A LOT. That's all I can think of.
R. Right or left handed: Right.
S. Siblings: Three older brothers.
U. Underwear: Yes, I wear them.
V. Vegetable you hate: Peas.
W. What makes you run late: Getting ready, usually picking out an outfit or doing my hair.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth and elbow.
Y. Yummy food that you make: Mostly baked goods. Cupcakes, cookies, and such.
Z. Zoo animal: Giraffe.


Well there you go. Are you bored yet? If so, here is a cute photo of Ethan so you don't feel like you completely wasted the past three minutes.

See, worth it :)

Cupcake Fun

Last night Adam, Ethan, and Jaxson came over while Rachel had a work appointment. We ate tacos for dinner. Ethan and I made cupcakes, he was such an awesome helper. He even helped me do the dishes! After I finished baking, mom made Rachel a quick birthday cake (belated bday cake actually...since her birthday was last week). When Rachel got back we sang a quick Happy Birthday. It was a fun night.

Ethan has developed the funniest habit of taking my glasses and wearing them :) adorable

                 For the record, Mom let this happen...NOT ME!