Proof I can Bake/I love Fall

After my last post/baking fiasco I decided it was time to redeem myself by baking something else. I thought about chocolate chip cookies or brownies, but both I've made many times before. In order to truly be successful I needed to bake something I've never baked before. Enter: Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread.

I love fall. I own a dozen sweaters and I'm sporting them even in this 90 degree St. Louis heat because it is Fall goshdarnit. I stumbled upon this recipe here last night and decided it would be perfect for welcoming Fall and eating something delicious (hopefully!)

This time I followed the recipe to the T, minus the nutmeg because I can't stand that stuff.

And I forgot to melt the butter before adding it so it was more chunky than creamy.

Without further ado, my pumpkin cheesecake bread.

I took a bite before the picture. I couldn't wait any longer!

Here's the entire loaf. Its a little heavy with the cream cheese filling but really tastes great. I definitely recommend this recipe. Only problem is I have four more cups of pumpkin puree left over. Anyone have a favorite pumpkin recipe to help me out? : )

My Bride Twin

Yesterday I was looking at my wedding photographers blogs, because Ashley and Aaron are awesome and I love checking out other work they've done, and I saw that they shot a wedding that was very similar to mine.
It was in Vancouver, at Pearson Air Museum. Now, you may already know this, but before Kirk and I were engaged I was eyeing Pearson Air Museum as a possible venue. I loved the easy theme of travel especially with the amount of travelling that Kirk and I have done, and I thought it would be a fun and educational experience for our guests (as a teacher I'm all for learning opportunities!).
Alas, they raised their prices dramatically and Pearson wasn't meant to be (Side note: We loved having our reception at the Landing, and don't regret that decision at all).
The biggest similarity between our weddings is the bride has the same dress as me! To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should be upset or impressed. I went with impressed because the dress is beautiful, obviously this bride has good taste!
It was neat to see a wedding with so many similarities as mine.

Sugar, Sugar

I like baking.

Or maybe I should say I like baked goods. A lot. Dessert is the first thing I look at when I go to a restaurant, even when I know I'm not going to order any. I love walking through the bakery at the grocery store (it smells so good!).

I'm weird. As far as the whole me+kitchen situation, it usually doesn't equal amazing success.

I can read and follow a recipe (usually). My best friend (and old roommate) Halle is good at baking. We used to bake together in college and she taught me a few things.

Sometimes we liked to dress up while baking...

But now I live with my husband who could care less about baking (but is a good cook!) so I'm on my own when it comes to homemade dessert items.

BTW, I like to think of myself as a scientist baker, analyzing my recipe and making it an experiment. Believe me, you never know how my desserts will turn out.
Super scientist to the rescue!

So earlier today I decided to make buckeyes. Buckeyes are amazingly delicious peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. Yum! Now, I've never made buckeyes before, but Hello! Super scientist me had the recipe AND all the ingredients so no problem right?

I used this recipe: here.

• PB. Check
• Vanilla. Got it.
• Choc. Chips. Picked them up at the store.
• Butter. Yep
• Confectioner's sugar. Hmm. That must be regular, granulated sugar. Got it.

So I started mixing when Halle incidentally stopped by. We chatted for a few minutes while I stirred and she happened to notice that the recipe called for confectioner's sugar. Which means, powdered sugar.

At this point I decided to go ahead with the recipe joking that it cant vary that much. Sugar is Sugar... right?

Eh. Turns out not. My buckeyes are grainy. and gritty. and not the smooth texture they should be.

Lesson learned. And I know I will be the only one eating these bad boys so 10 lbs. gained.

Trip to the zoo! Happy One Month!

To celebrate our one month Kirk and I decided to head to the zoo! We've been wanting to go since we moved here, but the weather was never cool enough. On our one month, it was perfect!

The zoo in St. Louis is free admittance, but you do have to pay for parking. A LOT. So Kirk and I parked a ways from the zoo (where its still free) and walked. We're smart sometimes.

We saw some cool animals. Like Rhinos.

And a favorite! Elephants!

And penguins! Look how close we got to them!

Gotta love the flamingos!

And the tortoises!

We were pretty exhausted and only saw about half the zoo so we're for sure going to make another trip.

Go....Cardinals!

Our friends Justin and Jessica gave Kirk and I Cardinals tickets as a wedding gift. So last Friday night we went to the game!

We were pretty excited even with a weather forecast that looked like this:

We took the tram to the park which went pretty smoothly, said hi to Stan, and headed inside.

Busch stadium is really nice. We found our seats pretty easily and got comfortable.

I decided not to wear Cardinal Red because I didn't want to be disloyal to my true team, the Braves. I did cheer for the Card's though because they played the Giants, who I can't stand!

Before the game we got a surprise from Budweiser (not free beer). The Budweiser Clydesdale's came! They were so amazing and huge!

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Giants took an early lead and things weren't going well. By the top of the 8th inning the Giants were winning six to one.

With thunderstorms looming Kirk and I decided to head for home. While we waited for the tram we heard fireworks and cheers erupt. Albert Pujols had hit a home run. We were sad that we missed it but still had a good time, and grateful that we made it home before it started pouring on us!

One Month!

Tomorrow Kirk and I have been married officially for one whole month! It has gone by so fast! Here are some things that have happened.

We said "I Do."

We celebrated with family and friends.

We honeymooned.

We packed up our stuff and moved to St. Louis!

And lately we have been settling into our apartment (pictures to come later), getting used to living with eachother, spending time with Halle and Matthew, and I've been looking for a job!

So far married life has been wonderful. We feel like if we can survive all that life has thrown at us in our first month of marriage, we can survive anything!

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We hope to keep you updated in our home away from home. : )