fabulous friday #42

Posted on December 12, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you’re having a good one!

It’s a typical Friday for me… this morning I headed to one of my fave yoga classes, now I’m getting some work done on the computer, and later this afternoon I’m tutoring a few great kiddos.

We have been getting LOTS of rain here the past couple days… they say it’s one of the biggest storms we’ve had here in five years! Fortunately we are all safe and sound here. If it’s stormy and bad-weathered where you are, please be safe!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. The Lucy Hale song “Mistletoe.” It’s been bopping around in my head off and on since I heard her sing it on the “CMA Country Christmas” TV program, and this week I finally went and ordered it on iTunes. Love it!

2. This interesting and thorough article Allyn sent me with tips for staying calm and managing stress {especially useful in this often-stressful holiday season}: https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140805002649-50578967-how-successful-people-stay-calm

3. Speaking of the holidays, here are two socially impactful, beautiful gift ideas if you are doing some holiday shopping:

4. I’ve been craving veggies — carrots, celery, bell peppers, kale — even more than usual lately. For example: last night, I sliced up half a bell pepper as part of my dinner, and ended up going back to the fridge and polishing off the rest of the pepper later that night as a snack! I’ve never craved bell pepper before, but there you have it! I believe our bodies tell us what they need, so I’ve been riding the veg-tastic train all week. This is an interesting NPR article about how what you eat affects your mood: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/07/14/329529110/food-mood-connection-how-you-eat-can-amp-up-or-tamp-down-stress?

5. This quinoa veggie salad from Costco. Tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, lentils, beans, quinoa — healthy, light and filling. It’s made a great quick lunch on a couple days this week when time got away from me and I was a little rushed to get out the door.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! I’m gonna leave you with this beautiful John Gardner quote my brother sent me:

Questions of the day:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?

fabulous friday #41

Posted on December 5, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve done a fabulous friday post… feels good to be back into more of a regular blogging schedule, after the Thanksgiving craziness! 🙂

My day so far has been a great one… restorative morning yoga class, pumpkin spice chai latte at Starbucks, phone chat with my brother, a few errands checked off my list {including the Post Office, which was much less crowded than I was anticipating! Don’t you love when that happens?} This afternoon I have a couple tutoring appointments, and then tonight I’m getting together with my beautiful-inside-and-out friend Dana for dinner. I haven’t seen her in a month and I’m so excited to catch up!

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

1. Raaaaaaain! We have finally been getting some rain here in California, and it is so wonderful!

We’re singing and dancing like Gene Kelly around here 🙂 I love drizzly winter days when it feels so cozy to be snuggled up inside, sipping a mug of tea while cookies bake in the oven… which leads me to…

2. I made a holiday version of my pumpkin-spice chocolate kiss cookies! I used the same chocolate cake-mix cookie base, and then instead of a pumpkin spice Hershey’s kiss I topped them each with a candy-cane Hershey’s kiss. The classic peppermint + chocolate combo is a winner, plus they look so darn cute!

3. While we’re on the subject of holiday treats, I picked up this black-and-white drizzle kettle corn as an impulse buy at Safeway, and it’s become my go-to dessert. For fellow sweet-and-salty lovers and chocoholics out there, this is right up your alley! I love that it’s made with non-GMO corn and has no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives; no high-fructose corn syrup; and zero cholesterol or trans fats. The grocery checker told me there is also a peanut butter & chocolate version that I am going to keep my eye out for.

4. This quote from Whitney at sometimes.always.never reflecting on the past year — I feel very similar to the way 2014 unfolded for me:

“It was a year of small, beautiful changes that probably don’t look like a ton to an outsider, but that meant a lot to me. It was a year of personal growth and risks, reflection and change. It was a year of countless little moments that added up to a whole year that turned out to be really beautiful.”

5. I brought back the chocolate advent calendar this year! Greg and I used to get these every year as kids and I have such fond memories of opening them together each morning before school. A couple weeks ago, I spotted chocolate advent calendars when I was at Trader Joe’s, and I grabbed one. {Actually, two — I got one for Allyn, too!}

It brings a smile to my face every morning to see what shape of Christmas chocolate I will get that day. Sometimes it’s the little things, right?

And that’s all for now. Have a delightful weekend, everyone!

Questions of the day:

What are you loving right now?
What are your plans for the weekend?
Do you get a chocolate advent calendar?

chocolate pumpkin-spice kiss cookies

Posted on November 12, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

I have a simple, delicious recipe to share with you today! These cookies are easy to make, come together in a flash, and would be the perfect holiday treat for a party or get-together. I brought them to a BBQ this past weekend and they were a big hit!

I got the idea for these cookies when I came across these babies at Walgreens after getting my flu shot: pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses!

I was intrigued and they were on sale, so I scooped them up! When I got home, I started brainstorming what I could bake with them, and I thought about the cookies my mom makes during the holiday season using chocolate Hershey’s kisses. I thought I could make a similar cookie — except with pumpkin spice kisses, I decided I wanted a chocolate cookie base.

Rummaging around in my pantry, I found this.

So I decided to make chocolate cake-mix cookies {similar to the funfetti cookies I made for Grandpap’s birthday two years ago.} I love cake-mix cookies because they are dense, soft and chewy. Yum!

I was able to whip these cookies up in about half an hour, and they turned out great! If you don’t have Hershey’s kisses, I think just making the chocolate cookies would also be a hit. Add in some peanut-butter chips and you’ve really got it made! 🙂

chocolate pumpkin kiss cookies

– 1 box chocolate cake mix {I used triple-chocolate fudge; I bet devil’s food would be good, too!}
– 1/3 cup vegetable oil
– 2 eggs
– 1 cup chocolate chips
– pumpkin spice Hershey’s kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and chocolate chips in a large bowl. Dough will be stiff and sticky.

3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, to allow dough to become easier to handle.

4. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. {Note: these cookies EXPAND quite a bit! My first batch, I made the dough balls much too big. Just a tablespoonful is enough, I promise!}

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set.

6. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

7. While cookies are still warm, gently press a pumpkin spice kiss into the center of each one.

You can easily adapt these cookies based upon your favorite Hershey’s kiss. I think using a peppermint kiss or white-chocolate kiss would be divine!

If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy:
– aunt elaine’s peanut butter blossoms
– pumpkin spice cake mix cookies
– eggnog cookies with buttercream frosting

year of kindness challenge: week 43

Posted on October 29, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

The autumn decorations are up at my grandma’s house, and I love them!

They make me smile every time I walk through the door. 🙂 I absolutely adore this time of year! The weather turned the past couple days and it truly feels like autumn. There is a cold crispness to the air and frost is expected here on the ground in the morning. I’ve busted out my cozy sweaters, scarves and boots!

Now, on to the kindness…

This past week’s kindness challenge was to buy someone else’s morning java fix or afternoon caffeine boost. I gave $10 to the barista at Starbucks to pay for the drink of the next person who came in, and said to keep whatever change there was as a tip. Two acts of kindness in one! It brightened my entire day. 🙂

The Week 43 Kindness Challenge is to take a batch of Halloween treats to a nursing home, fire station, police department, or school … anywhere that could use some Halloween treats, not tricks!

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn AT gmail DOT com.

Have a marvelous week!
– Dallas

P.S.: Head on over to this Year of Kindness Challenge page to see all the archived posts from the previous 42 weeks!

Questions of the day:

What kindnesses happened in your life this past week?
Do you decorate your house for autumn?

my favorite. dessert. ever!

Posted on May 31, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Friday, friends! Hope you have something fun planned for this weekend. 🙂 I am getting ready to head to LA this afternoon for my cousin Amanda’s bachelorette party! I am so excited! It will actually be the first bachelorette party I’ve ever attended. I’m looking forward to seeing my cousins and friends and celebrating Amanda’s final days of singledom!

I have a delicious recipe to share with you today! I made this for my dad’s birthday cake on Monday. He loves peanut butter and chocolate, so I took my peanut butter cup brownies and upgraded them to a “brownie-cake” … and the highlight is definitely the homemade peanut butter frosting! This frosting is SO simple to make, and if you like peanut butter, you are in for a treat! I predict you will be licking the bowl. {Or maybe that’s just me!}

I will warn you in advance, I didn’t even try to healthify this dessert … I don’t even want to know how many calories/fat/sugar/etc. is in a slice of this! Sometimes you just have to treat yourself, right? But I did just come across this recipe by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean for healthy sweet potato brownies that I might try using in this recipe in the future! If you try it out, let me know how it goes!

I used my fave boxed brownie mix … Ghiradelli dark chocolate!

I made the batter as directed {if you’re trying to healthify things a little, you could substitute unsweetened applesauce for half of the oil} and poured the batter into a lightly greased 8 x 8 pan. Then I stuck in mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups in a tic-tac-toe pattern.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Once the brownies were cool, I frosted them with homemade peanut butter frosting!

homemade peanut butter frosting
– 1/4 cup butter, softened
– 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
– 3/4 cup powdered sugar
– 2 tbsp milk {to taste … depending on your frosting consistency preferences!}

1. Mix together the butter and peanut butter until well blended.

2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add milk until it gets to desired consistency.

After frosting the brownies, my final step was sprinkling mini chocolate chips over the frosting layer. Ta da! My favorite dessert ever!

These disappeared from our house in record time!

Thank you also for the sweet birthday wishes! I had a wonderful birthday. My family took me out for dinner and even surprised me with sunflowers! How pretty and happy are these flowers?

Thanks also to everyone who took part in my birthday beauty giveaway, and welcome to all our new subscribers! The two randomly selected winners are:
– Big Beauty Basket: Anna Wang
– Travel Beauty Clutch: Jo Tran

I will email you both to get your mailing addresses to send you the prizes!

Happy weekend, everyone! Eat something yummy and spend time with those you love!

This post is linked up as part of Menu-Plan Monday!

peanut butter cup brownies

Posted on February 13, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

Thanks to everyone who joined in Monday for this week’s #yearofkindness challenge {delivering valentines to a nursing home} and those who were with us last week for my fave romantic movies and easy, inexpensive homemade Valentines ideas. Today we’re continuing “Valentine’s Week” with a delicious recipe that you can make for your sweetie, friends, coworkers, or even yourself!

Peanut butter and chocolate may be my all-time favorite dessert combo, so it’s no surprise I was inspired to combine peanut butter cups and dark chocolate brownie mix! I thought I was soooo clever for using my muffin tin to make these cute little brownie cups, but one of my friends told me she and her mom have been making these babies for years. Maybe I’m a little late to the party, or maybe it’s just true that great minds think alike! 🙂 Either way, these are de-li-cious and so easy to whip up. Enjoy!

peanut butter cup brownies

– 1 package brownie mix {i like the dark chocolate variety}
– 1 package mini peanut butter cups
– 1 egg
– 1/3 cup vegetable oil
– 1/3 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with paper cups or spray with vegetable spray and set aside.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine brownie mix, egg, vegetable oil, and water. Stir until ingredients are well-mixed and there are no lumps in the batter.

3. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way to the top with the batter.

4. In the center of each cup, gently press an unwrapped peanut butter cup.

5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a fork inserted in the center comes out clean.

YUM! These are dangerously good. You’ll want to eat the whole batch yourself!

What are some of your favorite Valentine’s Day memories? Are you planning to do any Valentine’s baking this year?

More tomorrow!
-Dallas ❤

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Looking for more Valentine’s Day treats to make? You might enjoy these earlier posts:
– red velvet cupcakes with coconut cream-cheese frosting
– rice krispies treats with m&ms
– chocolate strawberry coconut cookies

what I wore to teach writing camp

Posted on December 18, 2012 by dallaswoodburn

I was delighted to teach a special one-day winter break session of my youth writing camp this past weekend! It was so much fun. I always come away from teaching creative writing sessions thinking, “I hope my students had even half as much fun as I did!” 🙂

When deciding upon what to wear to teach writing camp, I tried to come up with an outfit that was:
1) fun
2) professional, and
3) warm {it was cold by California standards this weekend!}

Inspired by Deme at Fresh Coat of Paint, I ended up layering a sweater underneath a pretty summer dress and pairing it with tights and flats. I also added some sparkly jewelry and a flower barrette for extra flair.

Here’s a back view:

I was pleased with the outcome! I think the pop of bright blue made for a cheerful and inviting look, which is great when working with young people and trying to establish and open, fun and safe classroom environment. {And I’m linked up at Fine Linen & Purple, woo hoo!}

I was really excited to find these babies at the grocery store yesterday:

PUMPKIN MARSHMALLOWS!!

I used them to make a pumpkin-y batch of my rice krispies treats, which I brought to writing camp as a snack for the kids. They gobbled them up! The pumpkin marshmallows are a nice seasonal change from regular marshmallows. Highly recommended!

Hope your day is going wonderfully!

-Dallas

———–

my aunt elaine’s peanut butter blossoms

Posted on December 14, 2012 by dallaswoodburn

I have a delicious holiday cookie recipe to share with you today! My mom makes these every holiday season and they are always one of my favorite treats. You could make them any time of year, but in my family they are a special sign of Christmas!

I made these as a treat for my students for the last day of class. They are a classic combination of peanut butter and chocolate — what could be better? I like that they look special and pretty yet are very simple to make. I even health-i-fied my aunt’s recipe a little bit by cutting down on the sugar and substituting whole-wheat flour for regular white flour, and they turned out just as delectable as I remembered.

Enjoy! 🙂

aunt elaine’s peanut butter blossoms

– 1/3 cup sugar
– 1/3 cup brown sugar
– 1/2 cup butter
– 1/2 cup peanut butter
– 1 egg
– 2 tbsp milk {I used soy milk}
– 2 tsp vanilla
– 1 & 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 25 Hershey’s kisses {I used the dark chocolate variety!}
– extra 1/4 cup or so of sugar for rolling the dough in before baking

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Blend in peanut butter and milk.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir together.

5. Spread a thin layer of sugar in the bottom of a shallow dish {a pie pan is perfect!}

6. Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into small balls and roll them around in the sugar until they are evenly coated. Place them onto the cookie sheet, evenly spaced.

7. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are golden brown and cracked open and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. While cookies are baking, unwrap the Hershey’s kisses so they are ready to go when cookies come out of the oven!

9. When cookies are still warm, place a Hershey’s kiss in the center of each cookie, gently pressing down to attach the chocolate to the cookie as it cools.

What are some of your favorite holiday cookie recipes?

Happy Friday!
-Dallas

You might also enjoy these holiday recipes:

– white chocolate m&m pretzels
– chocolate-covered popcorn
– perfect pumpkin pie

rice krispies treats with m&ms

Posted on August 31, 2012 by dallaswoodburn

Last weekend I went to a welcome-back potluck for my Master’s program and I volunteered to bring dessert. {I always volunteer to bring dessert — any excuse to bake!} I racked my brain for something to make. Cookies? Cupcakes? Lemon bars? But with a busy weekend to-do list of errands and course planning, I was a little pressed for time. I thought back to picnics and potlucks of my childhood, when my mom would often bring Rice Krispies treats — they used to be one of my favorite desserts. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a Rice Krispies treat. A craving hit and it was immediately decided: I would try my hand at making some for the potluck!

Lucky for me, this recipe could not be simpler. It’s the perfect, inexpensive crowd-pleaser for any gathering — especially in the summer, when you don’t want to heat up your kitchen by turning on the oven. This would also be a fun recipe to make with kitchen-helper kiddos!

Looking for a dessert to bring to a Labor Day picnic? Try whipping up some of these!

rice krispies treats with m&ms

-1 package mini-marshmallows
-1/3 cup butter
-1 large bag mini m&ms
-6 cups rice krispies

1. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with butter and set aside. Melt the rest of the butter in a big pot on the stove. When butter is halfway melted, add the marshmallows.

2. Stir until the marshmallow is completely melted and smooth.

3. Turn off the burner. Add the rice krispies two cups at a time, stirring thoroughly until the mixture is combined.

4. Add a heaping cupful of the mini m&ms. {Feel free to use whatever kind of m&ms you want; I like the minis because they are so dang cute!}

5. Press the rice krispies mixture into the greased 9×13 pan. Pour the remainder of the m&m bag onto the top of the rice krispies and press down with a spatula.

6. Let cool for 15-20 minutes {or as long as you can stand it} before slicing into squares and serving.

Have a delightful weekend, everyone! I’ll be soaking up these last rays of summer before autumn sweeps in …

xoxo,
Dallas

————————–

Time spent: 15 mins
Cost: $6.00 {with about half a box of rice krispies left over for breakfast this week!}

lemon bars for my gramps

Posted on August 10, 2012 by dallaswoodburn

I have always been especially close with my Gramps — I’m even named after him! {His middle name is Dallas.} I’m really grateful to be home for this week and get to spend time with my family. I love being able to just hop in the car, drive three minutes down the road, and pop into my Gramps’s house to say hi. We usually end up chatting over TCM movies, episodes of M*A*S*H or “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”

Speaking of The Food Channel, my Gramps loves lemony desserts. Lemon meringue pie, lemon cake, lemon sorbet. He was diagnosed with cancer this past December {that is mercifully in remission now} but ever since undergoing radiation his taste buds really crave sour food. So I decided to make him some lemon bars after I was inspired by this recipe on a blog I love, Recipes Happen.

I’d never attempted lemon bars before, but these were easy-peasy and turned out really well! I like the shortbread texture of the crust mixed with the smooth tartness of the lemon and the sweetness of the powdered sugar on top.

gramps’s favorite lemon bars

for the crust:
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-1 cup flour
-1/3 cup powdered sugar

for the lemon topping:
– 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
– 3 eggs
– 3 tablespoons flour
– 1/3 cup lemon juice {I used two medium-sized lemons}
– zest from one lemon {about 2 tablespoons}
– powdered sugar to dust on top

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish and set aside.

2. Combine the softened butter, flour and sugar to make the crust. Dough will be crumbly. Press into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.

3. While crust is baking, make the lemon topping: beat the eggs and add the sugar and flour. Juice the lemon and pour the juice through a sieve to make sure no seeds get into the dessert! Grate the lemon peel and add to the mixture. Blend well.

4. Pour the lemon topping over the hot crust and put back into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

5. When done, lemon bars should be solid in the middle, not soupy. Dust with powdered sugar. I’d recommend letting them cool before attempting to cut them. {I personally think lemon bars are delicious refrigerated!}

Enjoy! Gramps and I sure did! 🙂

Hope you have a wonderful weekend with lots of time with your loved ones,
Dallas

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Time: 40 minutes {including bake time}
Cost: about $3.00

Day-By-Day Masterpiece

Tag Archives: treat

fabulous friday #42

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the day:

fabulous friday #41

Here are 5 things I’m loving right now:

Questions of the day:

chocolate pumpkin-spice kiss cookies

year of kindness challenge: week 43

Questions of the day:

my favorite. dessert. ever!

peanut butter cup brownies

what I wore to teach writing camp

my aunt elaine’s peanut butter blossoms

rice krispies treats with m&ms

lemon bars for my gramps