Monday, January 31, 2011

What's cooking?

Here are a few photos of what I've been making in the kitchen lately...

Peppermint brownies for the holidays

I'm obsessed with brownies

Sea Salt Caramels

Don't even ask how long it took me to wrap them up individually in parchment paper.

Four layer raspberry fudge cake with white chocolate whipped cream filling

It honestly tasted like my favorite layer of our wedding cake.  Divine.

Sorry for the bad photos... our good camera was being borrowed to take pictures of this little nugget.

Sugar cookies with royal icing.

I actually still haven't frosted these.  Flowers and umbrellas?  I don't know why.

My coworkers loved these!

My favorite one :)


I promise you that Andy and I eat real food, too.


Here.  Black bean and salsa soup.

"Souper" easy and delicious!

Black Bean and Salsa Soup
Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 c. vegetable broth
1 c. salsa
1 t. cumin
sour cream, green onion, shredded cheese for garnishing

Directions:
Combine beans, broth, salsa and cumin in a food processor. Blend until fairly smooth. Heat soup in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Put soup in bowls and garnish as desired.
Source: Allrecipes

(I found the recipe on Annie's Eats.)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

FREE VALENTINE'S DAY CARD!

Heartstrings Valentine's Day Card
Unique party invitations and announcements by Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.
I looooove Shutterfly because they are so good to their customers!  Use the code "CARD4U" through Feb. 1st to get one free card.  I decided to make my Valentine for Andy using this, so I only paid $1.01 for s&h and tax.  Cheaper than a card I would have gotten at CVS, anyway, and it's personalized!  And again, if I embed the card I created in my blog and email Shutterfly with a link to my blog, they will email me with a coupon code for $25 off my next order.  Pretty sweet deal, huh? 

So, please excuse my sappy, romantic love letter to my husband and just be excited with me for the coupon  :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

What will 2011 bring?

I feel like it has been awhile since I've really posted on here.  I can't believe it's already January 18, 2011.  I feel like Christmas was ages ago.  I guess a lot has happened since then, too.  Andy and I are getting more prepared to leave Boston and move to Tempe, Arizona as this new year gets under way.  We've settled on the moving date to be somewhere in the first week of June, and we're starting to get things in order...  like ordering a moving pod, thinking about what we'll do with our cars, finishing up our newsletter to send to family and friends...  Something else we can check off our list is attending our church's missionary staff training, which was this past weekend.  It was five full days of teachings and talks that our Arizona team, the Indonesia team, and some other staff attended.  The training got me simultaneously excited and envisioned as well as overwhelmed and sobered.  

Andy and I are leaving Boston--our family, friends, beloved church, great jobs--to plant a church and share the Gospel with lost and searching people of Arizona, in faith that God will start a movement among Arizonians that will ultimately send people out to the four corners of the world so that those who do not know Jesus might come to know him.  WOW.

That is crazy!  I get to do this?!  I can't do this!  I'm not capable!  Oh but for the grace of God, I am.  Thankfully, God does not call the equipped; He equips the called.  So, Andy and I are on a journey of seeing the God be glorified in America's southwest.  I feel humbled and honored to be a part of this call.  Ever since I was a sophomore at BC and attended CFCF's annual missions conference, World Mandate, I caught the "church planting bug".  I knew that I couldn't keep this saving message of the love and grace of God to myself.  I knew that I would one day drop everything and go.  Somewhere, anywhere.  I am just thankful I get to do it with Andy.  Not to mention with some of our closest friends.  The missions movement we belong to always talks about making "lifelong friendships through sacrificial living" and about living life with "marvelous comrades."  God is so sweet that way.  He doesn't call us to do things all by ourselves.  He has given me marvelous comrades to walk life with.  Yes, we have to also say goodbyes throughout life, but I know that the friends I make in Christ will be friends for all eternity.  It's fun!  I will probably be posting more about this journey in these next few months. 

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Welcome 2011!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and spent them with family and friends.

We were blessed to have spent good time with both of ours.

I have no pictures from Christmas, sadly, but here are a few pics to recap our December... 




Gramma and Mom over for dinner on Gramma's birthday before Victoria sang in the BC Chorale Xmas concert, Dec. 4th.




Victoria and me at CFCF's Christmas Celebration service, Dec. 13th.


Andy and me in Times Square, Dec. 17th.


Friends (Alyssa, Joy & Ellie, Kristen & Sarah Grace, and Amy) and me in Times Square, Dec. 17th.


Andy and me at the Plaza Hotel, Dec. 18th.


Andy and me at Rockefeller Plaza, Dec. 18th.