Chocolate Chip Cookies and Tear Jerking Movies

I know I've said this before but THIS is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. I'm constantly looking for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe and so I seem to always be on the quest. I stumbled upon this recipe today and decided to give it a go. OH MY GOODNESS!! So far, this is the best! I found it on this wonderful blog called Kaitlin in the Kitchen. Check her out. She has the most amazing, comforting, recipes I've seen. I guarantee you will bite into some soft, chewy goodness when it comes out of the oven!

I decided not to fix the whole batch of cookies and froze the rest of the batch. To do this you simply drop your dough on your cookie sheet as if you're going to pop it into the oven but instead you pop it into the freezer. You can freeze uncovered for an hour to overnight. Once crystals have started forming on the dough balls you can now drop them into a zip lock and freeze until you're ready to use!

Lemme tell you I am so glad I made these cookies tonight because I watched the movie Hachi, A Dog's Tale. I have never bawled so hard in my life!! I mean not just tears rolling down my face....but deep, emotional crying. It's a true story about a dog named Hachiko that took place in Shibuya, Japan. You can read more about the story here. It's a wonderful story of love and loyalty and I warn you a box of tissues isn't enough. :) I had to eat a couple of cookies afterwards while still crying, mind you.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Staying clean the less expensive way!

Okay, I really didn't know any other way to title this post or maybe the creative side of my vocabulary was on vacation today. Lol! This past week I had to buy a few things that I ran out of, hand soap, shower gel and lotion. Now I'm one of those gals that loves shopping at your fancy bath and body stores in the mall but with the economic crisis going on right now, I just couldn't justify spending a fortune on bath goodies. So, here are a few alternatives and places to go that offer less expensive products but still fancy enough to make you feel good and feel like you spent millions! :)

I bought this shower gel at my local TJ Maxx and aside from the beautiful, romantic design on the label, it smells so refreshing and, I kid you not, lathers JUST as well as any other you buy in a fancy store. I only spent $3.99 for this big bottle. Sorry for the bad lighting. Bathroom lighting is hard to work with.

This may sound familiar if you've gone to those fancy stores in the mall but, yes, it's a knock-off and might I add JUST as good as those other ones and for this humongous bottle I spent $5.99. I bought this at our local Fred Meyer.

Now I swear this hand soap is the best hand soap I have experienced or smelled. Yep, better than any of those you buy in the markets or, let's say it altogether, those fancy stores in the mall. I bought this at TJ Maxx also and spent only $3.99.

So, in these economic hard times, give these less expensive, but just as good, brands a chance. Great places to look are Ross, TJ Maxx, CVS, Fred Meyer and Marshalls. I'm sure these stores are booming with business right now. So, be smart, save money and enjoy great finds like these!

Finally!

Man I thought my tomatoes were never going to turn red. I hear some homemade salsa calling my name very soon! My tomatoes kinda look like pumpkins. I have no clue what kind of tomatoes I have. My girlfriend, who is a master gardener, sent me home with these tomatoes that weren't doing to well...but the tag was gone so I have no clue what kind it is. Anyone know? :)

I still have babies popping up too!

This is what life is all about per Quincy.

Relaxing. He looks a little high though. Perhaps too much catnip? Lol!

Ah yes, the kitties are all still doing great. Mocha is even holding her own at almost 14 1/2 with her medical issues.

One little scare recently though. Emma somehow got out and spent the night in a bush only a few condos up from ours. My friend Bryan came and looked everywhere with me at midnight (after looking most of the evening) with no success. That night I had a dream that Emma came home with another cat friend! Arrgghhh!! I was so hoping that wouldn't be true. So the next morning I took another walk calling Emma's name out, combing the bushes and shrubs. All of a sudden, the cat that came home with Emma in my dream popped out of a bush to say hello. Yep, the cat looked exactly the same! We said our hellos and I continued on my way. "Emma!"...."Emma!"....and then a little high pitched squeaky meow came from a very low bush. Out crawled Emma, dusty from laying in the dirt and happy that her mommy found her. I carried her all the way home and let me tell you, she was one happy cat after she got in the door. Good thing mommy saved the day. Now I just have to figure out how the heck she got out. Sometimes the kitties are in the garage exploring and she may have slipped out when I was taking the trash out. Either that or Mocha shoved her out the door without me looking. See, Mocha has had this ongoing scheme of getting rid of Emma and Quincy.

Alls well that ends well, right Emma? She's fine..the food is still here. :)

Adding a little glamour to a simple lampshade!

So my girlfriend and I decided to meet up at a local fish market to pick out what we wanted to fix for dinner. Of course, this was before we stumbled into the winery next door for some wine tasting, lol. That's when we happened upon this adorable, most irresistible store! As I was amusing myself with their fun and amazing art, I came across this sweet little lampshade. Then I realized it was simply dressed up with a gorgeous ribbon that matched the shade and a brooch! Isn't it amazing how something so simple can bring something alive?

Things have been a bit crazy here lately (in a good way) but they will soon be calm and I will be visiting you all again very soon! Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!

Gooseberry Patch Blog!

I'm sure you have but if you're a slow discoverer like me I wanted to share it with you. I love Gooseberry Patch and everything about it! It's just so full of down home goodness. Whenever I look at anything Gooseberry Patch it makes me want to put on my jean overalls, chew on a piece of grass and kick my legs up in a field of sunflowers.

If you haven't seen their blog, swing on over and peruse your heart out! Just click on the button above and it will take you right over there!