Project 52: Date Nights - Friends

Since our time in Charlotte is {hopefully} dwindling, we are trying to make the effort to hang out with friends and visit some of our favorite local haunts.

Daniel drove into town on Friday and picked me up at work so that we could meet friends, Benjy & Kristin, for dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Concord, NC. Unfortunately for us, something was going on at Lowes Motor Speedway, so we had to deal with traffic. But other than that, it was nice to catch up with B&K.

Saturday night we invited our neighbors over for homemade New York Cheesecake and coffee. I tried this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I have to be honest, I generally LOVE recipes from Smitten Kitchen, but this one was not my favorite. The taste of eggs was too strong. Without the cherry topping, I don't think I would have liked it at all.{Everyone else seemed to like it, maybe I am just too picky or they are just too polite}.

Sunday I had to work and Daniel drove back to Chattanooga. Still no offer on the house :(

A Few of My Favorite Things

err... I mean blogs.

On this snowy, cold Saturday, I thought I would share some of my favorite blogs. Just so you know on top of reading lots of books, I read a ridiculous number of blogs {I subscribe to 178 in my Google Reader}. To be completely truthful, I browse rather than read all of them - I probably only read a handful. The others, I look at to get inspiration for work, remodeling, do-it-yourself projects and new recipes.

Some of my favorite blogs {that I actually read} are as follows...

Five blogs written by real-life friends:  

Life As We Know It With Izzy Bug is written by my sister about life with her new baby, Izzy. Since I live in a different state, this blog allows me to keep up with what is going on in their day-to-day lives. Not to mention, my little niece is ridiculously cute {but I'm not biased}.

 

The Cutest Thing

My friend, Sally Loftis, writes a blog where she gives a "Girls Movie Review" of secular movies. She does an amazing job of giving a Christian perspective to things that are of this world. I truly appreciate her insight. She also has an ongoing commentary of Grey's Anatomy. 

A college friend of mine writes a hysterically funny blog called Mabel's House. I highly recommend checking out this blog if A) you want a good laugh; B) you are looking for design inspiration or C) you want to look at beautiful photography or read witty commentaries about life. Mabel's House has been featured on Apartment Therapy and Design Sponge.

I also read two different cooking blogs by friends... 

My college friend, Eralda, writes a blog called The Split Pea. It is full of her spectacular photography and offers recipes from around the world, including some from growing up in Albania. She tells beautiful stories that go along with her recipes. 

Deanna, a friend from high school, writes What's For Dinner?. Her recipes reflect her southern roots and how to juggle cooking for a young family.

Five blogs written by people I wish that I was friends with in real life:

Ashley Anne Photography - she has 4 little {sweet} kids to wrangle and still manages to offer amazing ideas for do-it-yourself projects that I adore. She is also an AMAZING photographer. She has been featured on Apartment Therapy here and here.

Smitten Kitchen - a cooking blog that I love. She never cooks the same thing twice {something I strive for} and her recipes are ridiculously good. Seriously. If you love to cook. Check out her blog. NOW. I'm not kidding.

Design Mom - this woman has 5 kids with one on the way. And she still manages to be an Art Director and plan things like the Alt Design Summit. Since becoming pregnant {again}, she has shared a series of posts by other bloggers about their experiences becoming mothers. It is a touching series that I have enjoyed reading. I enjoy this blog for its design aspects as well.

The Pioneer Woman - I know. I know. Everyone knows about PW, but if you haven't checked out her blog yet... be sure to read it for her {amazing} recipes, gorgeous photography, stories of life on a ranch; and ESPECIALLY take the time to read her love story {Black Heels to Tractor Wheels} of how she met and married Marlboro Man.

NieNie Dialogues - this is a blog about surviving. About hope. About raising your family, especially when things are hard. I highly recommend this blog to everyone. If you haven't read Stephanie and Christian Nielson's story about surviving a plane crash, you must live under a rock. You can read it here if you don't have the time to read her entire blog. Be prepared to cry...

There are so many other blogs I love dearly. But I am going to limit this post to 10. What are your favorite blogs?

Overwhelmed

Taking a moment to feel overwhelmed and indulge in a cookie {or three}.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookies 

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground clove (I did not have this ingredient, so opted for all spice instead)
1 cup quick-cooking oats (I didn't  have quick-cooking oats, so I used the regular kind, this may have contributed to their flatness)

 2 cups chopped pecans (I used what I had on hand - about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest (I substituted 1 tsp of orange extract - the orange gives a beautiful, unexpected flavor to the cookie)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (I used 6 oz because that is all I had on hand. They turned out really chocolaty and I am thankful I didn't use the full amount) 

Preheat oven to 350°F

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment.

Beat the butter in a bowl until light and fluffy.

Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla, and beat until well mixed (about three minutes).

Stir in eggs, one at a time.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove in a separate bowl.

Add half of the flour mixture to the butter with the mixer on low speed. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the second half. 

Stir in the oats, pecans, orange zest, and chocolate chips. 

Drop the dough, by the tablespoon, onto the cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. (I actually had to bake each batch for closer to 20 minutes and mine turned out huge and super flat. But they are oh-so-scrumptious). 

Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on a rack. 

Store at room temperature in a cookie jar or other airtight container.