August 2015 – Long Distance Baking

Berries. Coconut. Oatmeal. What can be better?! Seriously, oatmeal is one of my favorite meals. I usually eat it every morning for breakfast. If I don’t eat it for breakfast, there have been times when I’ve made it for dinner. A hot bowl of oatmeal is hard to beat. That is until baked oatmeal entered my life. I’ve been doing more cooking lately, like actual cooking of meals. Gone are my days of baking desserts-I’m so over chocolate and Nutella and everything sweet… Just kidding! But in … [Read more…]

Ok, I’ve officially given in. I’ve been ready for fall for weeks and I’m just going to pretend it’s here. I mean August is over halfway over, I feel like I held out long enough. I’ll try to ease on into fall and not jump straight on the pumpkin train (but really…who else is anxiously awaiting for our beloved PSL’s to be here?!). I wanted the warm, cozy feeling you get smelling those fragrant fall spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice…they just make me want to grab a … [Read more…]

It’s been a while since we’ve done a book review here on LDB but with summer vacation time nearing an end, we thought we’d share what was on our summer reading lists! Kelly The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion My mom and sister read this book back when we were seniors in high school. They both loved it and highly recommended it to me. Why I did not read this book sooner is beyond because it is that good! This memoir is about the year after Joan’s husband dies suddenly from a … [Read more…]

I don’t know about you, but I could eat pizza every single day and never get tired of it. I like it cold for breakfast, I’ll take leftovers for lunch, it’s never a bad idea for dinner and I am always on board with it for a late night snack. As much as I love eating pizza, I also love making it. In Idaho and Washington our grocery store (Winco) carried a homemade pizza dough in the refrigerated section. It was great because all you had to do was roll it out and pile on the toppings! I’ve … [Read more…]

“Beans, beans the magical fruit. The more you eat, the more you….”  Ok, you get it, no need for me to finish the song that was inevitably sung every time beans were served with dinner. But as annoying as this little bean chant was, the last line still rings true: “I could have beans for every meal.” I really feel like I could, especially these beans. I just recently bought a stockpot. A beautiful blue, cast iron, heavy-duty stockpot- a true thing of beauty. I love anything kitchen related. … [Read more…]

We had a bag of Peanut M&Ms lying around so naturally I had to make cookies. Also, I didn’t want to devour the entire bag of M&Ms while watching Bachelor in Paradise. Because let’s be honest for a moment, that definitely would have happened. Speaking of Bachelor in Paradise, have you been watching?!? It’s definitely my guilty pleasure TV show right now. I watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette seasons but Bachelor in Paradise is so much better! All the drama and tears makes me feel a whole lot … [Read more…]