i figured now was the time to let you in on a few of my goals for 2011, both in my life, and on the blog.

2011 goals for my life:

• complete a sprint tri with a smile on my face (registered for philly sheROX on august 7, 2011!!! even though i might contract the hep in the schuykill river, it’s been on my bucket list for a while, and no day like today…right?!)

• get in SHAPE
• get better about saving $
• continue building baking business (increase customers and outreach)
• cut out more junk food
• go 100% vegetarian (with 2 days/week vegan)
• get more sleep!!!
• be more positive, peaceful, friendly, caring, and supportive



2011 goals for the blog life:

• get rid of one day at a time, and focus energy on the sunday flog
  • after a long debate, i decided keeping 2 blogs is too much. my interests are plain and simple – food and writing. there is no denying that, so all of my food musings, recipes, and stories will be located on TSF.
• finally purchase own domain (no more .wordpress.com!)
• no more company sponsored giveaways
  • all giveaways will be products and items i use, love, and want to share (and have been purchased with my own money)

a HUGE thank you to every single person that has stopped by to read my blog, leave a comment, or share a thought. it has been a wonderful first year and i am so excited to see what 2011 brings. please don’t forget to keep up with me at the sunday flog!

happy new year!!!

xoxo allison

what are some of your goals for 2011??

• joe’s jeans brand jeggings
  • they are super comfy and stretchy, but still look great! i got the dark denim (on sale at the outlets for $39!)

• coffee mate creamers
  • specifically peppermint mocha (just as good as starbys but without all the calories and $$)

• celestial seasonings holiday teas
  • candy cane lane is amazing, especially after searching high and low for it for weeks!

• my new kate spade iphone case! (another outlet score for only $25)
  • i love the bright yellow color. so much fun in the bottom of my purse!

• the body shop brand concealer stick ($11)
  • one of the best concealer’s i’ve ever used. only con? it’s too fat for regular chubby stick sharpeners

• my new dell inspiron duo netbook/tablet hybrid
  • courtesy of my amazing boyfriend on christmas morning. it’s a netbook, reader, and tablet all in one. i am in LOVE

what are you currently loving?
get anything fun for christmas??

i ventured into the world of candy making with fleur de sel caramels first. they came out perfect – salty, sweet, and wonderfully flavored by the mexican vanilla i had in my pantry. wrapped up in a miniature cardboard box, these made for the quintessential holiday gifts for family and friends.

but i didn’t stop there. i found adorable ceramic mini loaf pans and couldn’t resist filling them with scrumptious treats to go with the caramels. when i stumbled on this recipe, i knew it was the one. chocolate and peppermnt all wrapped into one little cake-bread?

instead of mint green chips, i chose to stick with regular chocolate, and instead sprinkled crushed candy canes on top. not only was it just as delicious, it also added a wonderfully seasonal touch.

and when i say adorable, i mean adorable.

we’ve got strands of lights,

one that resembles a cute sweater,

and of course, santa!

tied with a festive ribbon, my gifts were all set!

introducing…almond joy oats

the bowl started with rolled oats cooked in water, to which i added a tablespoon of coconut oil, a few semisweet chocolate chips, a sprinkle of unsweetened dried coconut, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a handful of slivered almonds.

it was everything i wanted it to be and more.

unfortunately my dad looked at it, made a face, and told me he didn’t want to eat all that stuff

please make this.

Here’s just a little preview of some things I’ve been working on…

We’ve got baby bottles

ducks

and little feet

all together now!

all wrapped and ready to go

fun, right??

if anyone in the greater philadelphia/tri-state area needs cookie orders, let me know

I finally decided they would make great holiday gifts for all of my extended family and co-workers. I chose fleur de sel and chocolate, and used two different recipes until I found the one I liked best – Mark Bittman’s and Ina Garten’s. Ina’s won out in a landslide – it was simple, easy, and delicious.

Do you normally give gifts at the holidays?

i spent mine baking, dropping cakes on the floor, celebrating my boyfriend’s birthday, drinking candy cane lane tea, making caramels (more on that later!), and enjoying a big italian family dinner =)

just wanted to let you all know i will be guest blogging for leslie tonight, as she sails the high seas! it’s going live at 5pm, so make sure you check it out. i share one of my favorite recipes – it’s a good one!

that’s all she wrote. over and out.

well, maybe just one.

happy birthday to the most amazing boyfriend i could ever ask for. you are the calm to my worry, the happy to my sad.

the peanut butter to my chocolate.

until i took them out, placed them on the stove, and turned around to grab my cake tester.

then this happened:

and instead of cleaning, i grabbed my iphone to snap a pic. things like this dont happen too often. i guess i was due.

now they are staring at me.

please help!

we normally order edamame to start, and i realized i have issues eating it.

you see, my empty pods look like this:

whereas steve’s empty pods look like this:

see the difference? i refuse to only eat the beans, and instead drag my teeth through the whole pod. it’s salty and chewy and i love it! i realize, however, that this may not be normal. whoops.

how do you eat edamame?