Tag Archives: happy

thanksgiving gratitude list

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am spending the long weekend with Mike’s family up in Chicago and they have welcomed me into their household with open arms and absolutely delicious food. Especially during the holiday season, it is very hard to be so far away from my parents and Greg! Luckily I’ll get to go home for winter break and spend Christmas in Ventura with them. 🙂

Something I like to do often, but especially on Thanksgiving, is to make a “gratitude list” of all the blessings I have in my life and all the reasons I have to be thankful and happy. Often I make a mental list {it is a great way to fall asleep … counting your blessings!} but today on Thanksgiving I want to write a list down. So here it is:

my {ever-expanding!} gratitude list

  • my amazing, supportive, one-in-a-million parents and brother, and all of my terrific extended family, too!
  • my fun and thoughtful and lovely friends, near and far
  • my health {something that I didn’t used to appreciate nearly enough, but feel more and more grateful for the older I get}
  • that I always have not only enough food to eat, but also enough grocery money to buy organic fruits & veggies & dairy even though they are more expensive
  • my safe, warm, cozy apartment that is feeling more and more like home
  • my parents’ home in Ventura that will *always* feel like home and welcome me back with open arms
  • the opportunity to pursue my passions for writing and teaching as a career
  • the incredibly supportive teachers and mentors I’ve had throughout my life — from my first-grade teacher who gave my shy self confidence by casting me as the lead in our school play, to my middle school and high school teachers who encouraged my love of writing, to my teachers at USC and now at Purdue who have helped me develop my own writing voice and  nurture my own creative identity
  • my goofy dog Murray, who never fails to make me laugh with his antics and happy doggy smile
  • long walks through an autumn park or on the boardwalk by the Ventura pier
  • rain falling softly outside on a lazy Sunday
  • snuggling up on the couch with my sweetie
  • all the books I’ve devoured and all those I have stacked on my nightstand, waiting for their turn
  • old movies, especially It’s a Wonderful Life, Some Like it Hot, and It Happened One Night
  • watching Bing Crosby Christmas movies every year with my Gramps
  • warm chocolate chip cookies and a big glass of milk
  • shopping dates with my mom
  • lunch dates with my dad
  • my brunch date tradition with my brother
  • 3-hour Simone’s coffee dates with my friend Erica whenever I go home to visit
  • a hot cup of tea, an empty hour or two, and a journal or good book
  • browsing Target with my friend Holly and stocking up on Taylor Swift cards
  • sending and receiving handwritten cards from those I love
  • sunsets {and the occasional sunrises, when I’m up early enough to see them!}
  • Christmas lights twinkling cheerfully against a night sky or the snow
  • hugs and kisses and even tears saying goodbye because it’s a blessing to have so many people to love
  • being part of such a wonderful community of bloggers, and that you would spend a few minutes of your day visiting my little corner of the internet here!

Happy happy happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have a blessed day with those you love!

❤ Dallas

marvelous monday: finding happiness in the details

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Happy Monday, everyone! I admit it, I had a hard time saying goodbye to this weekend. It was just so nice! I always feel such energy and excitement in the air when summer turns over to autumn. {I won’t lie, I still had a hard time waking up this morning … more on that in a minute!}

On Saturday Mike and I went to Feast of the Hunters Moon, a Lafayette tradition. It’s sort of like a Renaissance Festival but for colonial times. People seize the opportunity to dress up — not just in colonial period costumes, but as pirates, animals, face-painted Native Americans {which always makes me cringe after taking a Native American History course in college} … there is singing, dancing, cricket-playing, marching. We saw a fife & drum troupe and a miniature horse pulling a carriage around, bells jingling. Tents were set up all around with people selling homemade goods; we walked past a blacksmith, a leather tooler, potters and jewelry makers. And there’s all sorts of delicious and interesting food {as one friendly lady told me and Mike, “That’s why they call it FEAST!”} We sampled bison stew, fried smelt, corncakes, an apple fritter, and croquignoles, which are cinnamon-sugar donuts. It was a gorgeous, crisp sunny autumn day and I think my favorite part was just walking around taking everything in.

On Sunday we had a relaxing workday and book-browsing at Barnes & Noble, then played a few rounds of pinball at this local arcade before heading home. Would you believe that yours truly actually scored high enough to win a free game?? Yes, I was proud. The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” may just be running through my head right now. 🙂

Maybe because it was such a lovely weekend, it was extra hard getting up this morning. My first thought was: “Monday? Waaaah!” But I diligently rolled out of bed, and as I brewed my mug of tea I thought of that saying, “The dollar is in the details.” I think it can apply to happiness, too. The little details of our days can bring us so much joy if we just take a few moments to appreciate them.

Here are a few details that brightened up my Monday morning:

1. James Taylor on the radio. I love you, James!

2. Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice tea. {My mom got this for me last Christmas and it is so yummy I’ve been trying to draw it out and ration myself to a cup or two a week, though I might end up caving and using it all up this week! … It’s so perfect for autumn}

3. Pumpkin pie. For breakfast. {I needed to celebrate the yummy pie I made last night after a true disaster of a pumpkin pie attempt on Friday … more on that later this week!}

4. The “good morning” text message from my dad … he’s so sweet and always sends me text messages before he goes to bed on Pacific time, so when I wake up on Eastern time I’ll find a good morning from him waiting on my phone. Always gets my day off on a good note!

5. Watching a hilarious episode of Arrested Development as I ate breakfast.

6. A sunny 58-degree day outside … cold enough to wear my cute boots and scarf, but not too cold that going outside means freezing my butt off.

7. Cute dog videos on YouTube … I miss my dog Murray so much {he’s our family dog and lives with my parents in California} and watching videos of adorable & funny dogs that remind me of him almost makes me feel like I’m waking up to him snoring upside-down on “his” couch in the living room.

8. The pretty autumn wreath I snagged last year at CVS pharmacy, of all places. I just adore it! I love coming home and seeing it hanging on my front door. I hope it brings a little smile to our mailwoman’s face every day, too!

I’m feeling a zillion times better already, ready to embrace the day! What details are making your day marvelous?

❤ Dallas

happy anniversary, mom & dad!

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Today is my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary. They were college sweethearts and married young, right out of college — two years younger than I am now. I feel so grateful to have them as parents — I won the parent lottery! My whole life, they have been a living example of a real-life love story. I can’t ever remember seeing them argue or yell at each other. They talk through things; they admire and respect each other; and they laugh together all the time.

As I write this they are somewhere in the waters off Alaska, on a week-long cruise my mom has been dreaming about for years. I am so happy for them!

Congrats, Mom & Dad! I love you. Thanks for showing me every day how to love and be loved.

❤ Dallas

marvelous monday: strawberry chocolate-chip pancakes

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Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? Marvelous, I hope!

I had a fun, relaxing and productive weekend. It was a great balance of work and play! I did some grading and lesson-planning, worked some on the novel I’m writing for my thesis, and did some baking! {Delish new muffin recipe coming later this week, hooray!} The highlight of the weekend was definitely Saturday night, when I drove an hour to Indianapolis to see Bob Dylan in concert!!

It was a beautiful summer evening and the concert was held in an outdoor venue, so we got to enjoy the sunset just as Bob Dylan was beginning to play. I loved the casual, picnic atmosphere. There were no assigned seats {at least not in the back section where we were sitting!} Instead, people sat in blankets or lawn chairs in the grass. It was lovely.

And Bob, of course, was rockin’! It was so neat to hear him play so many of his classic songs live. For an encore he played “Blowin’ in the Wind” which might be my favorite of his songs. You can just barely make him out in this photo I snapped — in the middle of the stage in the black jacket, playing the piano. Can you spot him?

What a fun time! I had a blast. What are some of your favorite concerts you’ve ever been to?

I wanted to start the week off on a luxurious note, so for breakfast I made strawberry chocolate-chip pancakes. How can this not be a fantastic week with these babies kicking it off?

I love this recipe for homemade from-scratch buttermilk pancakes I found on the terrific blog Newfashioned Mom, but you could also substitute your favorite boxed pancake mix.

strawberry chocolate-chip pancakes

– 1 cup unbleached flour
– 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 5 tablespoons powdered buttermilk (or 1 1/4 c. fresh buttermilk, skip the water)
– 1 egg
– 1 cup water
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 cup chopped strawberries
– 1/2 cup chocolate chips
– butter for greasing pan

1. Heat pan or griddle on medium-low.

2. To make pancake batter: sift together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, water, and vanilla extract. Add egg mixture to dry mixture and stir together until big lumps disappear. {Batter should still be slightly lumpy.}

3. Grease pan with butter and pour in your pancake batter. I use a 1/4 cup scoop.

4. If desired, drop in the chocolate chips and strawberries. I prefer to cook chocolate-chip pancakes and add the strawberries on top after.

Option 1 on the left, Option 2 on the right.

5. When batter begins to bubble in the middle, use a spatula to flip the pancakes over. Cook until golden-brown on both sides.

6. Serve immediately with warm syrup. YUM!

Whenever I make pancakes, my first batch is nearly always a hot mess. Still tastes good, but not as pretty as the others. At least this one kinda looks like a heart! ❤

Hope you have a wonderful week filled with strawberries & sunshine!

-Dallas

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-Time spent: 20 mins
-Cost: less than $5