My hand-knit scarves now to be sold at your local Christian bookstore!

I have been knitting and crocheting since I was a little girl when my Grandma B taught me how. I have so many memories of her lessons and the different things I would come up with to try to make. When I was 12 it was headbands and belts that were the "cool" things I made, even though most of them looked awful. :) Now it is scarves, mittens, and sweaters in my file of patterns. A few weeks ago, I saw some scarves come in with a clothing order at the Christian bookstore where I work. My adrenaline level must have shot through the roof with how excited I was when I attempted to convince the manager of the store that I could knit a scarf just as beautiful (and for much less money) as the scarves that were ordered. I was absolutely thrilled when he encouraged me to bring my scarves in to be sold at the store. So, for the last few weeks, I have been knitting non-stop, trying to make scarves and mittens in time for the cool weather fast approaching.
I do not know how well the scarves will sell, or how many years I will have this opportunity, but I'm trying to make the most of this season. These are just a few pictures of what I've been working on. I wish my Grandma B were still alive to see this happen, but I still treasure the sweet memories of her knitting lessons.

I loooooove Cheesecake

Cheesecake is definitely one of the best things this world has to offer. My two favorite cheesecake recipes so far are Oreo Cheesecake and White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. So, I was thinking, what would be cuter than mini cheesecakes for serving or hosting or.....well pretty much anything. I also was thinking it would be a great idea to come up with a recipe to make two different kinds at the same time. So, as bold as it might sound, I wrote my own cheesecake recipe. I looked at a ton of recipes in my cookbooks and online and came up with a base that would work for both the oreo and white chocolate raspberry recipes and baked them in my muffin pans. I just needed to divide the cheesecake in half towards the end and add a couple of individual ingredients. I was really careful while baking them, and I discovered something that surprised me. Even though they were pretty much the same recipe (except for a couple of things), the oreo cheesecakes baked slightly quicker than the white chocolate raspberry. Go figure.....They were all delicious, but because they were so different, I decided they shouldn't be baked together. So, instead of one recipe, I have two now, and I kind of wrote them both myself, I guess...... :) Next time, I'll know what to do differently.

Date night 10-02-10

Nathan and I had our date night on Saturday! We had some wine, and for dinner, pork loin stuffed with apple stuffing, seasoned potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Then we went for a walk around the grounds by our apartment. We live by a castle! So it was fun to look around, but too dark to get any good pictures. After that, we came back and had chocolate souffle for dessert and watched a movie. It was a great night. We love being together!

Pumpkin Cake Roll

A while back, my mom made this pumpkin cake roll, and I remembered it being amazing. So, for our church small group lunch tomorrow, I thought it would be a great fall dessert. Plus, it's so pretty. :) Not to mention, I now have a new holiday dessert recipe. Nathan and I tried a little piece of it, and it is really good. Hopefully, it will hold up until lunch after sitting in the car during church tomorrow morning....

Our new couch cover! Yay!

New York Marathon canceled

Sad news!
I will not be running the New York Marathon this year. As the time drew closer, the process and cost involved in getting to NYC for the race (as well as the day before to get my race packet) were becoming very complicated. I am hoping to do a race in the spring, and perhaps New York will work out next year. I am disappointed, but I know I will enjoy the race more when things work out to make it happen.
In the meantime, I will keep running and build a solid base for the next race I decide to run.
This weekend I will definitely fit in a good run on Saturday, and the rest of the day will be spent preparing for my date night in with Nathan.
I told him I will cook something amazing for us to eat. I enjoy cooking so much, having the time to actually make an extravagant meal will be fun. Not to mention, save us some money by not eating out. :) I am making stuffed pork tenderloin, seasoned potatoes, and chocolate souffle. I am really excited about it. With Nathan in classes, we don't get the chance to plan much time together, so this should be fun. :)

So, I love this time of year, when all the apple and pumpkin recipes are floating around. A new one I wanted to to try was Mini Apple Crostatas with Caramel Sauce. I found it on Pillsbury's website. I found a homemade caramel recipe too. These were really yummy, and so cute looking.

The new pumpkin recipe I want to try this year is a Pumpkin Cake roll with Cream Cheese filling. My mom has made it before and it is absolutely delicious and pretty too. That one is soon to come. :)