brown sugar cupcakes and sunshine

Life isn't always sunshine and cupcakes.  Lately, there have been a lot of struggles.

As you know, I'm a planner.  I already made dough to bake into pizza this weekend and didn't think anything of it.  Yes, it's Thursday morning.  

New beginnings

It has been a week of new beginnings. 

Summer started with an amazing road trip (to one of the most beautiful cities I know)...

healthy peanut butter and jelly muffins

Recently, I've been apologizing to you a lot.  I'm sorry for all of the apologies...including this one.  I haven't forgotten about you.  It's just been a little ridiculous lately.  Can I send you pictures of the new landscaping in the front yard, completed job applications, graded essays and wedding plans in lieu of recipes?  Because that's kind of where my life has been lately.

100% whole wheat vegan tortillas

So, for the past several months, we've only been eating homemade tortillas.  We haven't bought any since we discovered this recipe.  They're just soooooo much better than the store-bought variety.  But, as we generally only eat whole wheat bread, I haven't really made the recipe much as it was originally written.  I've been pulling up that old recipe and changing it each time.  I eventually ended up with this version, which is our new favorite.  I decided it was time to write it down.  They turn out so soft and pillowy.  They're pretty amazing, if I can say so myself.

easy vegan onion biscuits

 It seriously became spring at our house this past week.  We tore out a bunch of half-dead trees and bushes from our backyard.  But, we've yet to clean up the carnage so at the moment we've got a big old plant graveyard on our hands.  We also planted a couple of apple trees, a Granny Smith and a Golden Delicious.  They're dwarf trees, so they shouldn't get too big, but they should provide us some apples in the years ahead (as long as the crazy deer will leave them alone...we've gotten needed used deer repellant already!).

healthier oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip bars

I'm doing it again.  I started reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver again yesterday.  It's Spring Break and I decided to read, since pleasure reading rarely never happens when classes are in session.

I read it for the first time nearly two years ago and it kind of really changed my life.  Now, reading it this second time is a little more dangerous.  I now have a yard.

lemon pancakes with strawberry compote

We've officially finished Phase I of our new home makeover!  As it has taken us nearly every weekend since we got the house in December, it's seriously something to celebrate.  We've moved from a complete houseful of ugly walls, curtains, and floors to a house with mainly ugly walls, curtains, and floors, but now it's speckled with pretty walls, curtains, and floors.  The speckling of pretty makes the ugly so much more palatable.