Feeling full

We had a great weekend. Nothing special or out of the ordinary; just lots of time with people we love. Which got me thinking. In the past week and a half or so I have hung out with...

...friends from my childhood
...friends that I met in high school
...friends from school in Ecuador
...friends from college
...friends from Bolivia
...friends that live in Chicago but that we know from Washington
...talked on the phone with my mother in law and my grandma
...and saw (almost) all of my immediate family (missed you Eric), some cousins and all of our nieces.

Phew! And the best part is that it wasn't like it was a week out of the ordinary! Just real life! It feels good in my soul to spend time with people I love from all different important parts of my life. This is what I was dreaming of when I was living in Bolivia. Feeling full from spending time with people. And I hope you're feeling it too.

So here's to another full week...

Banana Muffins (with pumpkin pie spice)

One of my favorite lazy day things to do is bake or cook something new. I bring my computer into the kitchen which sounds a little hazardous but usually I need a recipe from my computer and I gotta have Pandora going in the background. Also, I get such a sense of gratification using leftovers well (but doesn't everybody) so today it was banana muffins since I had some piling up in the freezer.

Here's the recipe I used (12 muffins, pretty much from www.foodnetwork.com with some slight variations):

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a muffin tin.

Whisk together in a medium bowl and set aside:
-2 1/2 cups flour
-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Whisk together in a smaller bowl:
- 2 cups mashed banana (I used 4 and it was a little less than 2 cups)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt

Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients. Mix with spoon just until incorporated. Don't over mix. Distribute batter into muffin tin. Bake for about 25 min. or until golden brown. Do a toothpick test at the end to make sure they are done (stick toothpick in the middle; if it comes out clean then they are done). Cool on a wire rack.

How can something so gross looking make something so good?

Extra tips:
- This recipe isn't too sweet so the muffins can be good for breakfast. I will probably dust them with some powdered sugar to add a little sweetness.
- Add nuts right at the end of making batter if you like.

Last step: make sure to build a tower of dirty dishes at the end! Enjoy!

Holy Love Among Friends

You know when you read something and you think to yourself, "Yes, that is exactly true!" Like something you couldn't pinpoint and didn't put your finger on until you saw it in someone else's words? Well that's what this was for me...


"When all this has been said, the truth remains that our destiny is to love one another as Christ has loved us. Jesus had very few close friends when He was on earth, and yet He loved and loves all men and is, to every soul born into the world, that soul's most intimate friend.

The lives of all the men we meet and know are woven into our own destiny, together with the lives of many we shall never know on earth. But certain ones, very few, are our close friends. Beacuse we have more in common with them, we are able to love them with a special selfless perfection, since we have more to share.

They are inseparable from our own destiny, and, therefore, our love for them is especially holy: it is a manifestation of God in our lives."


This rings true with me. It describes that indescribable feeling you have with friends. When you are with those few really good friends, the kind talked about here, it feels effortless and easy to love each other. It does feel holy; like God Himself is manifesting through the friendship. I love those kind of friendships! And I love that God created us to have that kind of relationship with each other.

This is from a book I am reading again called "No Man Is an Island" written by Thomas Merton in 1955. There are so many little tidbits of wisdom hidden within this book that you can read it multiple times and find something new each time.

Cute reusable bags

On my radar for a long time was finding good reusable sandwhich bags (that were cute of course!). When I was randomly at Old Navy, I spotted these colorful bags so I snatched them right up. They are useful, eco friendly and cheap (5 bucks for 2). I know it sounds like an advertisement or something but it's not...I just wanted to share. And if you work at World Relief, you know that we use them all the time so I think I need to go get some more!

Blue Cheese and Chive Stuffed Chicken

If you know me well , you know I love to cook but that I also love to watch cooking shows almost just as much. They inspire me to cook new things, use new methods and combine new flavors. I like to watch recipes then make them my own with little changes. Lots of people say that they watch cooking shows but never actually use the recipes that they watch...I am not one of those people. I saw this recipe on a Saturday and made it the next Monday. And I'm glad I did because it's good! And you will like it too...if you like blue cheese (my mom would add). It's a recipe that is easy enough to make on a weeknight after work or for company since it looks elegant when finished. Enjoy!

My version of the recipe: (4 servings)
- 4 pieces of chicken breast, skin-on a must, bone-in a plus (stays more moist and flavorful)
- 1 stick room temp. butter, plus a little more to top chicken
- about 3/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

- Mix blue cheese, butter and chives in a small bowl
- Separate skin from the meat using fingers then stuff about 3 T of filling into each chicken breast

Star ingredient

- Sprinkle a little salt (there is already salt in the butter and cheese) and some pepper on both sides of each piece of chicken.
- Place stuffed chicken in glass baking dish (stuffed side up).
- Sprinkle top of chicken with a little olive oil (makes chicken golden brown on top)

- Bake uncovered for about 35-40 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.
- If you want, you can add the extra butter on top about half way through cooking time for even crispier skin

So there you have it! Super simple but really good. I served with side of baked potato and green beans which made great sides (not over-powerful flavors for a very flavorful main dish). I didn't take any pictures of the process or finished product but I'll do a better job of that next time.

Extra tips:
- I saved some of the filling and used later in the week by spreading on bread and baking for a variation of garlic bread
- Wrap extra fresh chives in a moist paper towel and put in plastic bag to store in the fridge

In an attempt to make my (come on, let's just call a spade a spade) blog about more of my interests I think I will try to post more than just the occasional picture post. There are lots of things that I do/ think about/talk to people about that I should incorporate into my blog simply because they are a part of my life. I would love to post more of my design ideas/projects, the recipes that I love and have adapted to make my own and the ways I am visually and spiritually inspired.

I guess doing a post about posting will make me more accountable to actually do it!

We will see.