Cooking with Sara: Pat A (Zucchini) Cake

Sooo, I'm barely here in Atlanta, but I'm here!!  The only things missing are Bo, Rory, and all my worldly possessions, lol.  I don't even have internet service nor a laptop.  That means my blog posts are either done via my phone (not fun; I tried already this morning) or as a quick 2 minute spurt at work when everyone is too distracted by a fresh pot of coffee. 

As such, I don't have any fun outtake pictures for you for this week's food blog entry.  Boooooo.  (And, by the way, is anyone else bothered by the spelling of "outtake?" It bothers me as much as that last "e" in "lavender.")  Anyway, back to our topic at hand. 

I made Zucchini Cakes for this week's Blah Blog entry.  They're a favorite at our house, and Bo perks up whenever I mention that I'm making them.  I hope you like them too!

Oh, and just cuz I'm nice, here's a photo from our road trip!  It was taken with my phone (remember that part about having no computer?  I can't yet download any other photos we took!), somewhere in Arizona.  The sunset was beautiful there.

Cooking with Sara: Pass the Champagne, Please

This week's recipe is a celebratory Pink Champagne Cake.  What are we celebrating, you ask?  Well, today is Blah author Mellisa's birthday!!!  And...tomorrow is mine :)  Plus, any of you who've spent any New Year's with me knows how much I love champagne.  (I may or may not have vague recollections of forcing my beloved raspberry champagne onto random strangers at a New Year's Eve party.)

And, to please the mobbing crowds, I'm posting my out-takey, behind the scenes pictures here.  We should definitely toast to ridiculous photos made public.  Raspberry champagne anyone?

Cheers!

Yours truly in action.

I wasn't lying about making messes every. freaking. time.

Ever wonder what happens when you turn the mixer on to whip heavy cream and then get distracted by the huge pile of dishes in the sink and only come up for air when your friend starts saying, "oh! oh! oh!"  No?  Just me?  Well, you make butter.  For seriously. 

We taste tested for you.  We really are that generous in real life.

I'm that much of a dork in real life too.

Only my sister shares my love of ugly face photos.

Someday, I'll get one of the both of us doing them together.

Shocking But True

Isn't that river gorgeous?  What's even more amazing is that there is a huge network of running paths that meet up with this river in several places.  This, my friends, is the Chattahoochee River.  Yes, of Alan Jackson fame:

But, back to our beautiful river.  See, I've missed rivers.  And trees.  My oh my, how I've missed trees.  And seasons, too.  The reason I bring all this up is that well..we're moving :)  Moving to a city right along the Chattahoochee River.  To Atlanta.  Alpharetta, to be precise.

I'm making the drive over this weekend.  My little sister will be road tripping with me, and I can't wait!  She claims that we're going alien hunting and sasquatch spotting.  I don't even care; at this point, I'm just really excited to be sitting for extended periods of time.  Oh, and I suppose I'm more than just a teeny bit excited for the move.

I love moving.  I always have.  It might be because we moved a lot when I was growing up.  Sister and I still love rearranging furniture, and I'm pretty sure it's an excuse to pretend we're living in a different house.  I love the prospect of a new beginning.  I love exploring new places.  I love trees.  Did I mention that I love trees? 

So, while I'm soaking up our nation's beauty and driving driving driving and moving into an empty house, my blog posts may veer toward nonexistent.  I'm hoping to at least snap a few photos along the way.  Cross your fingers that I end up with more than just road signs :)

Happy trails, my friends.  See you in the ATL!



** gorgeous photo credits:  wikimedia.org and Sarah Heath's Picassa album **

Cooking with Sara: Stirring Up Some Stir Fry

It's Friday!  That means a new installment of Blah to Ta-Daa, yay!  This week, I've posted the recipe for my favorite stir fry.  Let me know what you think, alrighty?

Mayyyybe I should've broken the noodles before cooking them.

My eyes are green.  I will argue that to the grave.

Happy Birthday Pretzels

Ok, so maybe they're just birthday pretzels for me.  But I still vote you go.  The cinnamon sugar are deliciously messy, yummmm.  I'm not sure we even have Auntie Anne's here in San Diego anymore (the malls are going upscale, and even See's Candy got booted from one!).  I'll have to look that up.  But if you've got one nearby, go get a pretzel to toast me happy birthday.  Thanks!
 

Just Maybe I Was

Bo and I were up until 1am last night finishing up Sarandipity orders for this morning.  Yes, the both of us.  While I was getting pink and red dipping chocolate everywhere, he was putting together shipping boxes, and cutting bubble wrap, and generally keeping me sane.

So, this morning, my email pops up with a phone picture from him.  Yes, we love this man.

Cooking with Sara: First "Blah" Outtakes

Guess what?!  Today is the day of my very first Blah to Ta-Daa post!!!  You should definitely go check it out, pleeeeeease.  Please, please, pretty please.  And comment either here or there to tell me what you think!

These photos are the extra, outtakey ones from when my best good pal Marnie came over to help me bake and take pictures.  Can I tell you how much more fun it was to have her there?!  And not just because it kept flour and butter off my fancy camera's lens :)

What you don't see in the "real" photos.

I'm a disaster in the kitchen.  Every single time I cook.

Marnie has seen my disasters enough times to know to be

ready with the camera.  It was only a matter of time.

And I wonder why I have to sweep my kitchen so often.

If it's not flour, it's eight kinds of sprinkles.

For some reason, it was a hat kind of day.

Also, don't you just love those pics on the wall?

They're from an Etsy shop, and I lurrrve them.

Cookie Models.

Glamorous Cookie Models.

Cookie Models who laugh.  A lot.

And then grow tired of a life of being photographed.

Whar'd She Go?

Yeah, I've totally slacked off after last week's blog-filled bonanza.  This week has me swamped with work and with Sarandipity orders, so I'm barely getting a chance to sleep and eat.  When that happens, any possibility of interesting blogs goes whewwwww out the window, just like a little bird :)

What is exciting, tho, is that today (TODAY!) we're headed up to Mammoth. Bo has never been to that mountain, and we didn't get the chance to board last year, so we're long overdue for a snow trip.  We get to take Rory with us (hurrah for dog-friendly hotels!), so you can bet there will be lots of snow-dog pictures to come. 

Oh!  One last thing!  Tomorrow's entry will be my very first link to the new blog, hurrah!  I decided that with Valentine's Day coming, I'd share my sugar cookies recipe.  I'll post a couple of the non-serious looking photos here along with a link so that you don't have to go searching.