Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Nathan and I had a couple from church over for dinner one night, and I was so excited to make this Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. It pretty much took all day to make, but it turned out great. Each layer is made one at a time, chilled, and set, before you chill the whole cake hours before serving. But it was worth it. It's really rich, but very light at the same time, and each layer has its own flavor and texture. I will definitely be making it again, maybe for Christmas.....I will have to add it to the list of about 50 desserts that are on the "possible Christmas dessert" list. :)

Scarves at the bookstore

These are pictures of the scarves that are now sold at the bookstore. The line is called "Knits of Grace."

Here they are, up on the wall and ready to be sold.

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!