Snippets

Little snippets of life lately... with crappy iphone photos. :)

 

 Cooper! (Or Cooopaahh as Maxx calls him!) My newest furr-nephew :)

 All the tiny black squigglies, he calls "bugs". :)

xo, tracy

 

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Orange Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Look y'all, can't say for sure what's come over me lately. The 'little miss susie homemaker' is unleashing. I like to cook & bake stuff, but this... this is out of control. I've been really into experimenting with different foods & baked goods recently, so let me just do my thing, alright? :)

 

These cookies are pretty much already gone & I just made them yesterday. Enough said. Let's just dive right in, shall we?

 

 

INGREDIENTS

Makes 36 cookies

 

1 box vanilla cake mix

2 large eggs

6 tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup frozen raspberries

1/4-1/2 cup juice from 1 small orange (I used a cutie)

3/4 powdered sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

 

1} In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, melted butter, vanilla & the juice from the orange, by hand.

 

 

2} Fold in the chocolate chips & frozen raspberries.

3} Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This will allow the batter to be easier to handle.

4} Once the 30 minutes is up, Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F & prepare your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

5} In a separate, small bowl, combine the powdered sugar & cornstarch with a fork.

 

6} Using a regular teaspoon (shown above), spoon the batter into the powdered sugar/ cornstarch mixture until coated. Expect this batter to be a tad goopy. Place on cookie sheet about 1.5-2 inches apart.

 

 

 7} Pop these babies in on the center rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes.

8} Remove from oven & transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Voila! You're finished!

 

Store at room temperature for up to one week. (If they last that long!) I recommend not storing them in an air-tight container, as these cookies are gooey goodness.

 

 

xo, tracy

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Mini Blueberry Apple Crisps

As I've mentioned here, I'm not a fruit kind of gal. Again - love the taste, hate the textures. This complex I have is tenfold when said fruit is warm. Gross. HOWEVER, I really wanted to give it another shot. This recipe is super simple & fairly quick. And if you don't have kids... it will be even quicker. :)

 

So with Maxx in tow & using stuff we just had around this joint, this is what I've come up with!

INGREDIENTS

Makes 8 servings

1 - 8oz can of Pillsbury crescent rolls

1 cup apples - peeled, cored & cut into small chunks (about 1-2 small apples)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup quick oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp maple syrup

 DIRECTIONS

1} Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper & set aside.

 

 

 2} Using a cutting board- peel, core, & cut apples into small chunks. If the skin is your thing, by all means keep it on. Place apples in mixing bowl & add the blueberries, sugar, cinnamon & lemon juice. Mix it up until fruit is evenly coated.

 

3} In a separate mixing bowl, mix the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter & the maple syrup.

 

 

4} On a plate or cutting board, take apart the crescent rolls. Lay each one out flat & spoon the blueberry/apple filling onto it. Slowly roll up the crescent. This will get a bit messy & that's just fine. No need for perfection! Place each roll onto the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

 

 

5} Using a mini spatula (spoon or knife works OK too), carefully spread the oat topping onto each roll, as shown above. 

6} Place into oven on center rack & bake for 27-30 minutes or until golden brown & top is crisp. Keep an eye out.

 

7} Remove from oven & immediately transfer to a wire cooling rack.

 

8} Enjoy! You can serve while warm or room temp is tasty too! Also, we don't currently have any, but served with vanilla ice cream would be amazing. As for us, we stuck with some whipped cream. :)

We're BIG fans.. even me!

xo, tracy

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Valentine's Day Craftiness

Valentine's Day is here again, folks. Time to break out the colored paper, glitter & glue sticks. Personally, I love doing crafty stuff with my son. (Not limited to holidays, of course.) Seeing his imagination flowing & watching his super adorable "concentrating face". It's our special momma & son bonding time. I love it! We've already started making & handing out little Valentine's from Maxx to family & now we're making stuff for each other to hang up around the house.

Today we're making a little hedgehog! I spotted these little fellas on Pinterest & knew we had to try it out. So just to clarify, this was not my idea. RELAX. ;)

{Craft has been adapted from this blog.}

 

Now our little hedgehog has a home. :) The heart you see (bottom left) are the Valentines Maxx made for family & the photo book/scrapbook is something Maxx & I made together for the mister. (He hasn't received it yet. Just using it for blog purposes only. Shhh)

When you don't have a ton of extra moolah to actually go out on a nice date night or movie with your significant other, or buy pricey jewelry & flowers, this is second best. We have our days when we wish we could, but truthfully.. the material things are not all that important. It's important to spend time together as a couple, yes, but there are different, budget-friendly ways of showing that you love & appreciate being in each others lives. Such as staying in & making dinner together, & breaking out all craft supplies & going balls to the wall! This here may not seem like a whole lot, but it means more to us than you'd think. The thoughtfulness & the time spent together creating is key.

What are some ways you keep Valentine's Day on a budget? I'd love to hear!

xo, tracy

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My Happiness

Happiness is simple. Or at least it should be. It's a choice we make, really. We can choose to be happy, or choose to be angry/sad. As someone who tends to let little stupid things ruin her day, I'm slowly learning to let said things go & not freak out as much. I think I, & the people around me, probably already notice a huge difference in me.

Here's a short story (ooo, fun!):

Truth be told, we pretty much struggle each month to pay bills. (I don't normally admit this to people.) This is extremely frustrating & stressful. If you've ever been there.. then you know how this is. Sparing you the details, I'll just say this: a lot of arguing, sleepless nights & tears have been shed. Seems like we just can't catch a break. Not knowing if we can pay this or that.. Where are we going to get the money from? What are we going to do? How long is it going to be like this? Living so stressed out all the time, expecting things to go wrong, because it's what we're used to.. can do heavy damage. To your family, to your close relationships, to yourself. With some help from a friend, she made me realize something. We always work it out. No matter what, we get our bills paid & on time. So.. why am I fretting so much?

This is when I knew I had to change my attitude & mindset. And so I did! I started focusing on the truly important things. There's no need for me to be all anxiety-ridden over stuff that just works out in the end. Because then I look back & think, 'well that was stupid'. Damn it, I could've slept!

Things still aren't perfect, but I can make an essentially "bad phase" into a bearable one. How, you ask? By keeping things that matter to you most in your mind at all times. Being thankful for your health.. being thankful & counting your lucky stars that your child's health isn't in danger.. Release the tiny, petty things. So what if that minivan cut you off on the way to work.. don't let it break you down! Focus on the things that bring you true joy & happiness.

These are 4 things that bring me complete happiness:

 1. Duh, y'all. He's healthy, he's happy.. I'm the luckiest person in the world.

2. My husband. He's the one that provides for me & our son. Taking on extra computer work so we can make ends meet. Without him doing this, not sure where we'd be. He loves us so much. So thankful!

3. My BFF (you know that's right), Kari. When I was going through all the crap last year, she was my rock. My go-to. My person. (Grey's, anyone?) She put up with me practically every night when I just had to get out of the house. And she listened to me yap (bitch, really) for hours. No judgments. No criticizing my actions. I don't think I've ever properly told her how thankful I am to have her in my life. Not to get all mushy.. but..I'm seriously so happy to call her my friend. She keeps me on the up & up. I hope you all have a Kari, too. If not, go find you one. :)

4. YOGA. I practice yoga every day in the morning. Now I couldn't imagine starting my day any other way! It helps me prepare for the day & wake up with ease, release my stresses, & relax! This is one of my favorite yoga routines by Tara Stiles. Very challenging as far as balance. So worth it, though! Give it a shot sometime!

Look, people, we all have bad days & bad phases.. & we're entitled to have these once in a great while. And while it's not OK to avoid your problems altogether, you can at least look to that one (or two, or three) thing(s) that help carry you through the tough times. Bringing you out of your funk & into a life worth living.

What's your happiness?

xo, tracy 

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