Hi friends!
As promised, I wrote up the recipe for the Award Winning Cupcakes. These are soo worth making!!
In an effort to start keeping track of my recipes online, and be able to share them in the www., I've added them to another blog that I created a couple years ago, but never did anything with. It's been my test blog so it's very plain right now. Heisel Rules is a private blog that I started when Matt was in Afghanistan and needed to get info to family all at once, and since it's grown, I wanted to use a less private, more public, place to call home to things that I don't mind sharing about. This may change in the future, but for now, I'll simply link you to the other blog for recipes, tutorials, DIY things, and what not. A facelift is coming soon for both blogs! Need them to get gussy'ed up! Hope this isn't too confusing! I'm gonna try this out and see if it becomes too much! Thanks for hanging in there with me!
Click here to be taken to the recipe. Thanks for stopping by!
So, since I've been without el job-o, I've had time to become obsessed with cooking. Like, over the top obsessed. And NOT with the healthy chicken kind, nosiree. I'm obsessed with the fat loaded bacongrease-doublecheese-broccoli-potato soup. But is has BROCCOLI!! ;) Ya, that's what I tell myself to make me feel better about the tasty soup I'm serving up! Or how bout that spicy chili recipe that I came up with all by my lonesome!! Or the divine pizza recipe that now makes it impossible to order pizza from chain restaurants! Fresh mozzarella is your friend, people!!
Needless to say, my waist line is now expanding! I am being a bad body owner! I can't stop though! I feel like it's possibly an addiction! Is that a bad addiction...hmmm....{taps finger on chin} But wait, isn't that my job as a newly wed, to provide good food for my strapping, hardworking husband...Isn't it?!
Along with the totally fat loaded dinners, I've also been working my hand at baking. Yummy goodies like Loft House Cookies (you know the ones-at the grocery store with the soft, whipped, colorful frosting with sprinkles), substituting the vanilla for almond! Oh my goodness, they're heaven! Or, perhaps the berry cobbler I made for Matt and Pop-in-law last weekend served up with a couple generous scoops of vanilla ice cream!
I've got to get the bottom of this, and get this addiction under control! ;) But first, I'll sip my eggnog hot chocolate and share the recipe with you! See? Here I go again....
So, I made this hot choco mix as a gift for a special someone that I'll tuck inside of an ultra cool deep mug, can't share who cause they don't yet have their gift. So we'll sit here and talk about them right in front of them, like it's an inside joke they've been left out of! I mean it with love! :) Are you wondering if it's you?! ;)
So, this hot chocolate is AHHHMAZING! For realz, if I'm gonna take the time to make something that is already pretty good dern prepackaged in the grocery store, it's gotta be good/worth it! This, folks, is GREAT!
*This makes a lot so you can always half the recipe. Or do as I did and store it in a container for later...you never know when you might need a choco pickmeup!
Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/4 cups cocoa ( I bought Nestle cocoa, but any will do)
1 tablespoon table salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (optional)
2 teaspoons all spice (optional)
Whole milk for serving (or any kind of milk or even eggnog...mmmm....)
Directions
In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, pumpkin spice (optional), all spice (optional) and salt, and whisk to combine well. Store the mixture in an airtight container.
For individual servings, pour 1 cup milk into a microwave-safe mug, and microwave on high just until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa mix, and stir to dissolve. For a larger batch of cocoa, warm the milk in a saucepan set over medium-low heat, taking care not to let the milk boil; as it warms, stir in 2 tablespoons of mix for each cup of milk. Top with whip cream if desired. I desire it therefore I did! ;)
Just think of how great this would be during the Thanksgiving holiday or you can give it in cute little mason jars for Christmas gifts! Simple!
Alright, I guess this confessional ends now. Time to go bake something...errr.. I mean watch tv which is calorie free! YES, yes that's what I'll do! ;)
Finally, it's here- Tour de Gapartment! Ya. It's French. So foreign, I'm sure you all have been wondering, "what the heck is a ga-partment, and why would you want to stay at one anyway?!" Well, lemme tell ya! First I'll give the specks of this dream palace-at 1100 sq. ft this palatial beauty consists of 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with washer and dryer, 1 kitchen/living room combo. Cupboards and cabinets for days, people!! How is it that we lived in a 3 bedroom/2 bath house and didn't nearly the amount of storage options?! Ikea 'ain't got' nothing on this place!
The walls are textured with a fresh coat of this beige-y color and there's new carpet in bedroom and living room areas with ceramic tile in the kitchen, bathroom, and entryway. (Note- thanks to Mrs. Heidi O'Boyle for pointing out how dirty tile and grout can deceivingly be, we spent 2 days cleaning the grout which I like to refer to as cucka, nasty poo! {watch for a post on this soon}) All kidding aside, this place is actually pretty nice! The owners (who live about 50ft away in a very nice, large home) lived in this place for 2 years, until their {now} home was built. I, now, think that's a brilliant idea!
But the best part, my hubs would say, is the 60ft x 100ft garage that is right outside our side door! Yes, I let my hubs move into a garage! ha! Every guy's dream right?! Please, men, no marriage proposals; I'm already taken, and I'd hate to have to break your heart in public! ;)
If you care to watch this spoiler, it's the before vid tour. Lotsa space for activities!!!
So, without further adieu: here's the video....BEWARE-there's music; so CRANK UP, YO! ha!
What a whirlwind, but the best news is this place will allow us the potential to be debt free in a year! We love that! Simple sacrifices now mean more opportunities later! Now that's what I call using the 'ol noodle! ;)
Hope you all enjoy! Check back for the video on cleaning tile/grout, it's a good'n! {hugs}
We have arrived! Well, actually we've been here since late Thursday night/early Friday morning. We arrived only knowing that we'd be staying at the hotel on post for a couple days and no other plan beyond that. However, we soon found a new home that will allow us to be able to save money, which is always a good idea! :)
It was a hard decision not to rent the typical 3 bed/2bath home, but with the prices for rent coupled with the sketchy area, particularly right outside post, we opted for this apartment that is in this HUGE garage. The owners built this garage and apartment and they lived in it for 2 years while they were building their {very nice} home on the property. Now, they rent this space out, primarily to military tenants.
this is the entire garage; notice I had to get this entire pic using a panoramic app. the Gapartment entry is on the left. Told ya it is HUGE! Promise its so much nicer inside than it looks on the outside!
country road leading back to main hwy
massive flagpole on the property
I must admit I wasn't sold on this idea at first, and since this is so a-typical {to live in a garage}, I feel like I need to defend our decision. Well, it's very private and not connected to their house, 1100 sq ft, 1 bed/1 bath, large kitchen and living room combo, plus the use of half of the huge garage. I've playfully nicknamed the place the 'Gapartment'. This was the best decision financially since rent is low, all utilities are included, so we will be saving a good bit on that alone. Plus, it's sorta out in the country so we can use his 10 acres if we so desire and we will feel safer.
In reality, we don't need the standard 3/2 combo; this will suit us just fine for now. The owners repainted the entire inside and they are installing new carpet this week! It'll feel brand new! :) We should be good to start moving our stuff in later this week! I'm hoping we can get our household goods around the same time! Fingers crossed!Let the decorating begin, I guess! I'll include some more pictures when we get our stuff in! Wish us luck!
In between frantically looking for homes, we have been exploring the city and surrounding areas. They have a QT for a gas station which has this amazing slushy drink called Rooster Booster Energy drink (we first discovered these in Atlanta and they are so worth it!) We ate the BEST mac n'cheese for dinner last night. I had this the last time we visited and it's soooo amazing. Just look at the pic.
Warning: your mouth will water!
They have a grocery store called Price Chopper, which is comparable to a Publix. They have motion activated coolers!!! Motion.Activated, PEOPLE!!! Check the vid below:
Before you ask, yes, that is my husband, and yes I do claim him. :) Serisously, never a dull moment, never! ha!
Today we toured Atchison which is an old, historic town. Most of the house rentals claimed that these houses are haunted. This town is the birthplace of Amelia Earhart (sp?).
We stopped by the local WalMart where I discovered these red beauties. It was only suitable to try them on given that we are now in KS and there's truly no place like home. ;)
And just cause she's too cute, we had to document what a rough life Bella is living..
So far, so good! Just looking forward to some normalcy, whatever that may be. For now, we'll enjoy the hotel room with a REAL bed and the complimentary breakfast every morning! It's like having a mother to cook breakfast every day! It totally ROCKS! :)
Well, it's about that time...to move it on out {mid} westward. We're packed (almost) and ready to hit the road in the am. Both excited and nervous, we're certainly glad to have each other!
Beware- lots photos below!
We had a wonderful trip to Washington DC (and surrounding areas) this past week. We stayed with one of Matt's Army buddies for the first couple days. They were such gracious hostesses and even had a sweet lil 2 year old boy that was down right darling. Glad to call them all friends of mine now as well! I love the people that the Army introduces us to! Makes me feel proud to be a part of the Army family! :)
sweet mr Dylan
During our visit to DC, we got a personal tour of the White House! It was a tad smaller than I expected/thought, but still very nice nonetheless! I'm so grateful to our special tour guide and for taking time out of his (and his family's) day/weekend to do this for us! We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe DC and then got to see Ford's Theater.
before White House tour
Rock it Hard, baby!
Ford's Theater
We also got to tour the Capitol with Matt's Congressman's office . This is by far the best way to go if you are in the area and want to tour the Capitol! We even got to go to the Congress floor!! The tour was a little over 2 hours, but honestly, this was our favorite part! Sooo worth it, and did I mention, FREE?! Actually, most everything we did on the trip was free!
P.S. Matt wanted me to mention that while visiting his Congressman's office, he visited Ron Paul's office and got to sit in his chair. (Silly, Matt!)
neat view from one of the tunnels under the Capitol Building.
Jefferson Monument
We topped our last night off with the Nats vs. Braves baseball game. So much fun to hang out with the fam while watching the game. Below is some of the shenanigans that we couldn't help but get into! ;)
Special Congrats to the newlywed couple!! We are so blessed to be a part of your very special day! Here's to a lifetime of many happy memories!! Muah! We love you!
We came, we saw, we conquered need to come back to see everything! Great trip, though, and so glad we took the time to see what we did!
Well, I think that's about all for one night. The sound of snoring alarm will sound early, gotta get my beauty rest for the long drive ahead. ;) We will miss this city and all our friends here, but we're ready to get the next chapter started. Wish of tons of luck and love!
Hey friends!
Since it's been a minute since I gave you an update, I thought it was due time! This past Wednesday I got to experience for the very first time a Military pack up. The Army contracts with local moving companies and we got to use Covan. A team of 3 people arrived Wednesday at 9am and finished up around 2pm.
Here's a pic of the living room in shambles right before they got started:
We had some entertaining moments while they packed our things. I walk into the living room to check the status and I see this picture:
Yep, you're seeing that right. That's actually a wreath. Ya, that really happened.
So later on that day when they had left, we go into the garage where our 'outside' type stuff was packed and we saw this:
Once again, this is an Xmas wreath. Hey, if you're gonna be wrong, be consistent. ;)
Another crew of 2 men came back on Thursday at 8:15am and they were done at 1:30pm. There wasn't any entertaining moments to account for, sadly. Just a little anxious watching strangers load our things an take them away.
But, alas, we are now living the high (albeit bare) life! The house is bare and we can now hear the strange echo that comes with an empty home. I'm actually quite surprised by how little we can live without! We've managed to "camp out" with minimal household goods and we're still whipping out pretty good meals! :) Priorities, right?!
Pic of said camp site:
And even though our bed now consists of an air mattress and our bed time story is the sound of the nightly air pump inflate, we are in pretty good spirits. Getting excited for the DC trip and then the big drive out west after that. Life is good. We're together and we're healthy, so we're counting our blessings. Thankful to have this dude by my side.
Heisel Rules!
Stay tuned...tomorrow is my love's birthday! :) :)
What’s your super power? Mine is being able to juggle many incredibly stressful life changing events at one time, all while keeping my cool and my makeup intact. No, really. ;) Try moving to a new city, finding a new job, finding a home in said new city, all while selling 2 houses in a down market. Ya, about that.
They say one “gets used” to the military move and all it entails, but I find it extremely difficult to say goodbye, and not to mention the dreaded search for a new job. Just when I started to feel comfortable and capable, we have to leave. {Yes, I’m confessing that this is the first PCS for this chick. Don’t hate, mmkay?}
So, like it or not, Mission: ‘Move for the Military’ adventure is soon to be in full swing. And where I think of an adventure as the beaches of Hawaii, the towers of London or even wine tours in Italy, well folks, I’ll take what I can get. ;)
Will you join us as we saddle up and head out to the wild wild (mid)West?! Ohhh I hope so! I.sure.do.hope.so!
Heisel Rules the Wild, Wild (mid)West! Coming soon!
