Category Archives: recipes

holiday white chocolate pretzels

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How is your week going? Mine is flying by. It’s the last week of school before I head home to California for the holidays, and I am a mix of productive “aaack-so-much-to-get-done!” and lazy “it’s-December-and-I-just-want-to-bake-cookies-and-watch-Love-Actually.” Tonight I channeled both of these inclinations and baked festive white chocolate pretzel goodies to give to some of my friends and colleagues as Christmas gifts.

holiday masterpiece

I came across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Peanut Butter Fingers, and I tweaked it slightly because I couldn’t find the white chocolate wafer candies that Julie’s recipe called for. I just used plain chocolate and they turned out great!

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Here’s all that you need:

  • pretzels
  • green and red M&Ms
  • small chocolate pieces {I broke apart these Andes peppermint white chocolate pieces}

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Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. If desired, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Spread a layer of pretzels over the cookie sheet.

3. Break chocolate apart into small pieces and place one piece in the center of each pretzel.

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4. Bake for 3-4 minutes, until chocolate begins to melt.

5. Gently press a red or green M&M, writing-side down, into the chocolate.

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6. Transfer pretzels to a plate and allow to cool.

7. When chocolate has hardened, store the pretzel treats in a tin or air-tight container.

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I packed mine up in these cute tins I found at Target in the dollar section:

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This is such an easy and inexpensive holiday baking recipe. These white chocolate pretzels are a special, home-made treat that your friends and loved ones will gobble up! {Or make a big batch for yourself — I won’t tell!} 🙂

Have a wonderful day,
-Dallas

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-Time spent: 20 mins
-Cost: $6.00

*This post is linked up at I’m an Organizing Junkie as part of Menu-Plan Monday!

MPM-Winter

Here are the other posts in my “Make Your Holiday Season a Masterpiece” series:
– homemade festive decorative chain
– little oases of rest in a hectic, busy season

 

marvelous monday: apple-banana oatmeal muffins

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You know how much I love muffins, especially healthy, hearty and delicious muffins that will get your day off to a marvelous start! Here’s another recipe that I found and tweaked slightly to make it more nutritious. I will be enjoying for breakfast all week and I hope you like it, too!

apple-banana oatmeal muffins
{recipe adapted from this one at Rock Recipes}

– 1 & 1/2 cups oatmeal
– 1 cup  whole wheat flour
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 2 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp nutmeg
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 2/3 cup milk {I used soy milk, but any kind will do!}
– 1/4 cup applesauce {I used no-sugar-added}
– 1/4 cup brown sugar
– 1 ripe banana, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper wrappers.

2. Peel the banana and mash it until the biggest lumps are out.

3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, applesauce, milk and vanilla. Set aside.

4. In a different bowl, mix together oatmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

5. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well.

6. Add in the banana. If batter is too thick, add more applesauce.

7. Spoon batter into muffin tins until they are about 3/4 of the way full.

8. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean.

These muffins are SO good served warm! Inspired by Julie at the blog Peanut Butter Fingers, I topped mine with some dark chocolate peanut butter for a healthy breakfast that tasted decadent. It’s the perfect way to get an ordinary day off to a special start!

You can download a printable version of this recipe here: apple banana oatmeal muffins.

Have a marvelous day! 🙂
-Dallas

easy honey-lime chicken enchiladas

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Tired of turkey leftovers? I was in the mood for Mexican food tonight, and when I saw this recipe for a honey-lime marinade for chicken, I was inspired! I turned it into a crock-pot recipe, added some diced onion and bell pepper, tortillas and cheese and green tomatillo sauce, and made honey-lime chicken enchiladas. They turned out del-i-ci-ous, and SO easy!

I made a small batch since it’s just Mike & me, but you could easily double or even triple this recipe to feed a bigger family. These enchiladas heat up great as leftovers and even freeze well for later meals.

honey-lime chicken enchiladas

– 2 large chicken breasts
– 2 tsp minced garlic
– 1/3 cup honey
– 1/3 cup lime juice
– 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
– 1 small onion, diced
– 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
– 3 wheat tortillas
– 1 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese
– 1 small can green enchilada sauce

1. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock-pot. Add chicken broth, honey, and lime juice, and stir to combine. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

2. Saute onion, garlic and bell pepper in a little olive oil over low heat for 3-5 minutes, until onion becomes translucent. Add ingredients to crock pot mixture and cook for another 1-2 hours.

3. The chicken mixture is done when chicken is fully cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated. If needed, take off the lid and turn heat to high for the final 15-20 minutes of cooking.

4. Turn off crock-pot and use a knife and fork to pull apart/shred the chicken.

5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8×8 glass baking pan by pouring about 1/3 of the can of enchilada sauce into the pan to coat the bottom.

6. Fill each tortilla with the shredded chicken mixture and a spoonful of enchilada sauce. Roll and lay into the pan. Pour the remainder of the enchilada sauce evenly over the tortillas and top with cheese.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is fully melted and edges of the tortillas are a little crispy.

I served mine with brown rice and broccoli for a filling, healthy and delicious meal!

What are some of your favorite post-Thanksgiving, non-turkey meals? {Actually, this recipe would probably work well with turkey, too, now that I think of it!} 🙂

Hope you’re having a great week!
-Dallas

butterscotch pudding cookies

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I am usually a triple-chocolate cookie kind of girl, but I found myself in a butterscotch cookie mood last night after seeing this recipe on the fabulous food blog Two Peas & Their Pod. What makes these cookies unique is the secret ingredient: pudding! This gives them a lovely moistness and keeps them fresh-tasting for days. {If they manage to last that long!}

This is a quick and easy cookie recipe that makes a few dozen cookies — perfect to take to a Thanksgiving gathering as a sweet alternative to classic chocolate-chip cookies. Or make a batch and send some to a friend, as I did. The pudding helps the cookies stay moist, which makes them a good choice to send through the mail.

butterscotch pudding cookies

(recipe adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod)

– 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 3/4 cup brown sugar
– 2 snack-size cups of butterscotch cookies
– 2 large eggs
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
– 1 cup white all-purpose flour
– 1 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 cup butterscotch chips
– 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips {if desired}

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Using a mixer or a whisk, beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add in butterscotch pudding, eggs, and vanilla extract.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

4. Stir in the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips.

5. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, or until slightly golden around the edges and set. Remove cookies from oven and let cool on baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

How are your Thanksgiving plans coming along? I hope you are having a wonderful week!

❤ Dallas

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– Time spent: 40 minutes
– Cost: about $5.00

chocolate-chip pumpkin pancakes

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I can’t believe how fast the weekend has flown by! As the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” and I’ve been having a super-fun time with my incredible brother in town. {Time also flies when you’re taking a timed test with only 240 minutes to answer 230 obscure literature and poetry questions … but in a different way.} <–SO glad to be done with the GRE test! 🙂

This weekend we’ve given Greg a tour of West Lafayette, including:

  • our favorite restaurants {Nine Irish Brothers! Lafayette Brewing Co!}
  • an epic evening of pinball at Main Street Amusements {Greg is a pinball wizard}
  • a really imaginative and gripping play called “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” presented by the National Theatre of Scotland through Purdue Convocations
  • many episodes of New Girl {I guess this isn’t limited to West Lafayette, but it’s been a fun part of the weekend!}
  • a tour of Purdue’s campus and a walk across the bridge from West Lafayette into Lafayette
  • laughing so hard tears have streamed down my face
  • fresh-baked cookies from Insomnia Cookies, an adorable late-night cookie shop close to Purdue’s campus
  • and a basketball game this afternoon, where Purdue soundly defeated Hofstra {boiler UP!}

Greg is coming with me tomorrow to school, where he’s giving a presentation on social entrepreneurship to my classes. {He’s the founder of a nonprofit organization called Give Running — learn more about it here!} I’m so excited to show him off to my students.

For the finale of pumpkin week, I have a delicious lazy Sunday morning recipe to share with you: pumpkin chocolate-chip pancakes!

pumpkin chocolate-chip pancakes

– 1 tsp butter
– 1 cup pancake mix
– 3/4 cup water
– 1/4 cup pumpkin
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– handful of chocolate chips

1. Stir together pancake mix, water, pumpkin, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Let batter rest for a couple minutes.

2. Heat skillet to medium-low and grease with a little butter.

3. Drop 1/4 cup batter into pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cook until batter starts to bubble in the middle, then flip over and cook about 3-4 minutes on the other side.

Serve warm and melty, with syrup if desired!

Hope your weekend was wonderful! Thanks for joining in with me on this week of pumpkin recipes — I had so much fun!

Here’s a recap if you missed anything:

– pumpkin spice oatmeal
– pumpkin oatmeal cookies
– savory pumpkin and kale stew
– pumpkin pasta
– perfect pumpkin pie

Goodnight!
-Dallas

perfect pumpkin pie

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Happy weekend, everyone! Sorry that I didn’t get a pumpkin recipe up yesterday … with Greg coming into town and my GRE test this morning, it kind of slipped by the wayside. But I’m happy to report that Pumpkin Week is back today!

I shared in a post last month that I made a delicious pumpkin pie … and that I also made a disaster of a pumpkin pie! Seriously, it was pretty gross. It never seemed fully cooked, so I kept putting it back in the oven for longer and longer, and then the top started to kind of peel away from the rest of the {still-uncooked-seeming} pumpkin mixture. Imagine a creme brulee or pudding sort of thing happening, only on pumpkin pie.

Not. Good.

I was so disheartened I didn’t even take pictures of it. The bad embarrassed blogger in me just tossed it into the trash. I wish now I would have taken pictures so I could have shown it to you. {Thanks to Bonnie at Recipes Happen for encouraging all of us to embrace our mistakes, laugh about them, and learn from them!} Alas, I did not take pictures, so you’ll just have to imagine it and take my word that it was baaaaad.

Here’s what I think happened: I tried substituting truvia for the sugar, and something about that mixture didn’t work out. I don’t know if I added too much of it, or too little, or if just my pie happened to be unlucky, or what. Have any of you tried baking with a sugar substitute like truvia or splenda? Any tips or advice? As you know, I’m always trying to find ways to make recipes healthier! But maybe sometimes, like in the case of pumpkin pie, it’s best to stick with the basics. 😉

I’ve also tried making pumpkin pie with both evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk, and I must say that I like the sweetened condensed version better. It’s a little creamier texture-wise, and has a good balance of sweetness and pumpkiny goodness. My latest experiment has been trying reduced fat sweetened condensed milk, which I’m happy to report tasted just as delicious with fewer calories! Hooray for small victories.

In the past I’ve always used pre-made graham cracker crust from the grocery store  but in the future I’m hoping to try making my own graham cracker crust {or even my own graham crackers after being inspired by this post by Jill at Reini Days!} I’ll keep you posted! I also am very generous with spices, particularly cinnamon. If you’re not the biggest cinnamon fan, you might adjust the spices to fit your tastes.

perfect pumpkin pie

– 1 graham cracker crust {I like the reduced fat version just fine}
– 1 can pumpkin
– 1 can reduced fat sweetened condensed milk
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 2 tsp cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp nutmeg
– 1/2 tsp cloves
– 1/2 tsp ginger
– 1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Combine pumpkin with spices and vanilla.

3. Beat eggs and add to pumpkin mixture.

4. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat well.

5. Pour pie filling into graham cracker crust.

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.

Serve with whipped cream on top for the perfect pie experience!

YUM! I love pumpkin pie.

I’m in the mood for celebrating now that my GRE exam is over … hooray for the weekend! 🙂 Hope you are having a wonderful day!

-Dallas

pumpkin pasta

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Happy Thursday, everyone! I’m in a super happy mood because my brother Greg is arriving this evening for a long weekend visit! I’m leaving right after I finish teaching to go pick him up at the airport. I am sooooo excited to see him! 🙂

I have another new recipe to share with you today for pumpkin week! I made this last night after seeing a recipe on AllRecipes.com that compared this sauce to “inside-out pumpkin ravioli” … I’ve never had pumpkin ravioli but it sounds really delicious. So I thought I would give this pumpkin pasta sauce a whirl. And I’m so glad I did! It was even better than I expected.

I was starving when I got home from school this evening {a little later than usual because I had a meeting after class for Sycamore Review, the literary magazine I work for} so I discovered an added bonus of this recipe: it comes together pretty quickly! I made the sauce while the pasta was cooking, and the entire thing was ready to eat in about 15-20 minutes.

pumpkin pasta

– 1 package noodles of your choice {I used whole-wheat spaghetti; I think penne would also be delicious}
– 1 tbsp butter
– 1 tbsp flour
– 1 small onion, diced
– 1 tbsp minced garlic
– 1 zucchini, diced
– 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
– 1/2 cup skim milk
– 1 cup pumpkin puree
– 1 tsp onion powder
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 1 tsp chili powder
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– salt & pepper to taste
– grated Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.

2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large pot and saute onion, garlic and zucchini. Add flour and stir to make a rue.

3. Add the chicken broth, milk, and pumpkin. Stir together until well blended.

4. Add the onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and pepper.

5. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until sauce reaches desired thickness.

6. Drain the pasta. Add sauce to the drained pasta, and toss with the Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I served mine with fresh baked French bread. It was the perfect complement to the pasta and I loved mopping up the sauce at the bottom of my bowl with the warm bread. {Something I wouldn’t do in a restaurant, but at home it seems okay!} 🙂

Hope your week is going great! Tomorrow, I’ll have a classic pumpkin recipe for you to wrap up the work week: pumpkin pie!

-Dallas

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– Time: 20 mins
– Cost: about $8

pumpkin week: savory {and easy!} pumpkin & kale stew

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Whew, what a night! After a whirlwind election day, I was in the mood for something simple for dinner.  When I saw this recipe for savory pumpkin and kale stew on one of my favorite cooking blogs The Pajama Chef, I thought it would be the perfect dish to try as part of my pumpkin week series!

I must admit, I had never had pumpkin soup before and was a little skeptical, but after reading Sarah The Pajama Chef’s rave reviews, my curiosity won out and I decided to try out the dish myself!

This soup turned out absolutely delicious. It’s hearty thanks to the chicken and veggies, creamy thanks to the pumpkin and dash of cream, and very flavorful. It just tastes like autumn — warm and comforting. And it’s super healthy with the kale, carrots, and Vitamin-A-filled pumpkin!

{Here is my recipe, modified a little from the one I found on The Pajama Chef}

ingredients:

– 1 tablespoon olive oil
– 1 small onion, diced
– 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– freshly ground black pepper
– 4 cups chicken broth
– 1 & 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
– 2 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
– 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
– 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
– 3-4 leaves kale, chopped {about 2-3 loosely packed cups}
– 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
– 2 tablespoons half and half

1. In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and garlic, and season with black pepper. Saute for about 5-6 minutes or until soft and translucent.

2. Next, add chicken broth, pumpkin, black beans, chicken, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until combined, then cover and bring to a boil. {Sarah’s original recipe includes adding a can of stewed tomatoes as well, which I’m sure would be delicious. I took the tomatoes out of my recipe because Mike is allergic.}

3. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add kale and sage, and cook for another minute or two.

5. Stir in half and half and serve immediately.

This meal was a winner for me and I will definitely be making it again! And I’m already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 😉

What are some of your favorite stew and soup recipes? Have you ever made pumpkin or butternut squash soup?

Till tomorrow,
-Dallas

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– Time: about 30 mins
– Cost: less than $10

election day pumpkin oatmeal cookies

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Happy election day! Have you voted yet? If you haven’t, before you read any more of this or do anything else, please go out and vote! I think this picture one of my friends posted on Facebook says it well:

After a cold rainy weekend, we have been having beautiful sunshine here in Indiana yesterday and today, and I am trying to soak up every golden ray! It’s still cold enough to layer up with comfy sweaters, boots and scarves–my favorite fall fashion staples. I remember when I lived in California, I always wished it would get cold enough to layer up in autumn clothing. Now my cozy knitted goods are getting plenty of use, that’s for sure!

I’m loving Pumpkin Week so far and have a delicious recipe to share with you today: pumpkin oatmeal cookies! I tweaked these cookies to use up some leftover Halloween candy after I was inspired by this post on the Bon Appetit website that recommends topping oatmeal cookies with candy corn before baking. However, I think these cookies would be perfectly delicious without the candy corn, too, or with chocolate chips, nuts, or even dried cranberries. This is a good base recipe to experiment with!

pumpkin oatmeal cookies

– 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
– 1/4 cup brown sugar
– 2 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 1/4 cup pumpkin
– 3/4 cup oats
– 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
– butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, candy corn, or desired toppings!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the pumpkin.

3. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Batter will be thick!

5. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet. If desired, add chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or candy corn toppings.

6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown.

These are perfect served warm from the oven with a big glass of milk! 🙂 Do you know of any good recipes for using up leftover candy corn or other Halloween candy? I’d love if you would share them in the comments section.

Have a wonderful day! And please, get out to the polls and vote!!

-Dallas

marvelous monday: pumpkin week!

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Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? I had one of my favorite types of weekend: cozy at home, laid-back, while also productive. {Or, as my brother calls it, “tcb-time: taking care of business!”} I am taking the GRE Subject Exam in literature next weekend and spent a good chunk of time studying for the test using a study guide I got from the Princeton Review, which is amazingly helpful and has actually been cracking me up quite a bit with the authors’ witty jabs and digs at the test. {Mike probably thinks I am going crazy from too much studying when he looks over and sees me giggling over my test book.} If you or someone you know is studying for the GRE or a GRE Subject Exam, I’d highly recommend their study guides!

Another reason I am feeling so jazzed this morning: my brother is coming to visit on Thursday! He’s staying for a long weekend and I am SO excited to see him. He is one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met and has been my best friend since he was born and I was two and a half years old. 🙂 I feel really blessed that we are so close and that he still wants to spend time with his big sister. I am going to be on pins-and-needles driving to the airport after class on Thursday afternoon!

Greg and me at his college graduation this past May. I’m so proud of him!

As we transition from October into November, I had a realization: Halloween might be over, but I am *SO* not done with pumpkin yet! I feel like I haven’t even begun to take advantage of this marvelous squash in my autumn cooking. So, this week on the blog, I bring to you Pumpkin Week! Every day I’ll post a new pumpkin recipe, spanning all meals of the day. I’m hoping this week will motivate me to try all these pumpkin recipes I’ve stored up {like this amazing list from Two Peas & Their Pod} and might also inspire you to try some new recipes yourself!

Today we start with breakfast. I was inspired by Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers to work some pumpkin goodness into my morning batch of oats. It was easy and delicious — like having a healthy version of pumpkin pie to start the day off right! Plus, I love oatmeal on cold winter days. It warms my belly and just gets me into a happy mood.

pumpkin spice oatmeal

– 1/2 cup oats
– 1/3 cup milk {I like vanilla rice milk, but soy milk, almond milk, or just plain old dairy milk would all work}
– 1/4 cup pumpkin
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and stir together. Microwave for 2-3 minutes {depending on your microwave’s power} until desired consistency. I like my oatmeal pretty thick; my mom loves hers watery. It’s a preference thing!

Enjoy warm. Add more cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice as desired. YUM!

What are some of your favorite pumpkin recipes? I’m looking forward to sharing more with you tomorrow. Hope you have a marvelous day!

-Dallas 🙂