Penned and Papered

Mississippi Mud Cookies

2011-02-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

To my knowledge, I've never had Mississippi Mud Cake. So, I can't vouch for these cookies tasting just like their namesake. I can vouch for the fact that these cookies are something special.

I was looking through the fabulous cookbook M gave me for Christmas, Southern Living's 1001 Ways to Cook Southern, for an easy cookie recipe. I had all the ingredients and I had some marshmallows that needed to be used. It was a match! The recipe is simple, but the marshmallows make the cookies extra chewy. After one bite, I was hooked! They are chewy, chocolatey, fudgey, and just plain good!

I found a link to the recipe from Southern Living's site. You can view it here if you like. I made a few changes. The cookies don't look like much, but I firmly believe yummy food doesn't have to be pretty :)

Mississippi Mud Cookies

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup softened butter (room temp)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs (large or extra large)

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup milk chocolate chips

around 1 cup marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350. Microwave semisweet morsels in a small glass bowl 1.5 minutes until smooth, stirring after 1 minute.

2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed in mixer until creamy, add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended. Beat in vanilla and melted chocolate.

3. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add to chocolate mixture. Mix well. Stir in milk chocolate chips to combine.

4. Spoon onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Press 3 marshmallows into each piece of cookie dough. Bake for 12 minutes.

Puppy Love

2011-02-13T13:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from M, Beth, and Bailey :)

And Happy Birthday Mom!

This is Bailey. The new addition to our little family. She's a miniature long-haired dachshund. We got her on Saturday and are loving her to pieces!

Tater Tot Casserole

2011-02-09T19:18:00.001-08:00

I first heard of tater tot casserole when watching an episode of 19 Kids and Counting. It sounded like something I could really support! I started looking at sites like allrecipes.com and the Duggar family website for a recipe to make this yummy looking dish. None of the recipes I looked at seem just right. I made up my own as I went along, and I've been tweaking it into the recipe I'm sharing today. My family seems to like it, and I hope you do, too! This is the first dish I made and considered a success, so it holds a special place in my heart. Plus it's cheesy, comforting, and really tasty.

I usually serve this as a main dish with a salad and rolls. It can be put together and refrigerated in the morning, and you can pop it in the oven when you get home from work. That makes this a pretty simple meal to put together. No, it's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it sure is good.

Note: Because I added to and modified this so much, it makes a ton. I use a 9x13 glass pyrex dish plus a smaller size glass dish I have. Just know it makes more than will fit in a normal size casserole dish. You can probably get away with dividing it into two 9x13 dishes. It just won't be as deep.

Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

2 pounds tater tots

1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

finely chopped onion to taste

1 (16 ounce) container sour cream

1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 dash minced garlic

1 teaspoon seasoning salt (I use Lawry's)

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup softened butter

grated parmesan cheese (to taste)

2 pounds ground beef* (optional - I always use it because it makes this a more filling meal)

3 cups Cornflakes cereal

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray an extra large casserole dish or two regular 9x13 dishes with cooking spray.

2. If using, brown ground beef in a skillet, drain.

3. Place tater tots in a large mixing bowl.

4. Combine soup, onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese, a few sprinkles of parmesan cheese, garlic, seasoning salt, and softened butter in a small bowl. Pour mixture over tots. The mixture will be very thick. Mix the tots and the mixture together until all the tots are covered with the mixture.

5. Put ground beef in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add the tater tot mixture on top of the ground beef.

6. In a medium bowl, mix cereal and melted butter. Pour over casserole. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and extra cheddar if desired.

7. Bake, uncovered for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until brown.

Alabama Snow A

2011-02-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

Our claim to fame? My husband's genius snow creation. We won 2nd place in a local snowman competition. When M first suggested we make a snow A, I had no idea what he had in mind. I admit to trying to get him to give up when I saw what he was starting to build. I thought there was no way he could pull it off. Shame on me. Four hours later, this is what we had in our yard.

He's amazing!

Office Space: Before and After

2011-02-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

A space to write. A space to study. A space to read. A space to create. I have always had high hopes for our home office. When we picked out our house plan, I immediately knew that the front room would be "my space". I loved the large windows and the french doors opening into the living room. I was excited about buying a desk and setting up an office. However, we had to be realistic newlyweds. Furnishing other rooms had to come first. That's why my room sat emptily until last weekend. It was big, pretty, and very, very empty. This is what the office looks like now....

It's a work in progress, but at least it's not an empty room! M found the desk at Sams. I love how spacious it is. I can spread out different reference books and notebooks and still have room for my macbook. I borrowed the lamp from our guest bedroom until I can find the perfect lamp for the space. We are going to hang our framed diplomas above the desk. All in all, I'm happy with it. The chair was a quick DIY project to keep from having to spend more money. I took an old desk chair that M had in college and painted it. I know it's not fancy, but for less than 20 bucks we had a nicer desk chair. That works for me! Plus, I really love taking old things and giving them a new look and purpose.

Like I said before, this is definitely a work in progress. I'd love to hear some suggestions for cute (and cheap) things we can add to the room.

Life Without Internet

2011-02-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Until two days ago, M and I have had an internet-less home. Surprisingly, we survived! It wasn't as terrible as I expected, but I still feel like we're emerging from the dark ages into the 21st century. There were some maddening moments for sure. We had to rely on spotty 3g service on my phone. My poor husband has spent many frustrating hours trying to pay bills on a small touch screen. I've wanted to throw my phone against the wall while waiting on pages to load. Let's face it, we live in a connected world. Life without internet can be peaceful, but I'm not complaining about finally having affordable options for service in our subdivsion!

One thing I've learned.... it's hard to blog without normal internet. Please, please forgive me.

-Beth

Rollin' on the River of Love: Favorite Photos

2010-10-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Rollin' on the River of Love: Thank you

2010-10-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

We were engaged for 10 months. Sometimes I thought that the wedding would never get here. Planning a diy wedding is certainly a journey. There were so many people that poured their hearts, money, love, blood, sweat, and tears into making our day perfect. Y'all, I really can't put into words just how wonderful and overwhelming our wedding weekend was.

Looking back on September 17-18, the word that stands out the most in my mind is JOY. Before I can share any more about the wedding, I have to say a big thank you to everyone who made it so joyful for me and Michael.

To our parents, family, and friends: thank you for your planning, organizing, setting up, errand running, cooking, baking, food preparing, boat driving, flower arranging, decorating, and awesome wedding making. Thank you for your hugs, smiles, and laughter. Thank you for being with us. We love you, and our day was everything we ever dreamed!

NaNoWriMo

2010-09-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I love typing and writing that crazy word. NaNoWriMo. What is it? It's National Novel Writing Month where you attempt to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I've signed up the past two years, but I've never actually started writing the novel. School, work, and life always got in the way. I'm contemplating trying again come November.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Have you done it in the past? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Notebooks that Work (For now at least!)

2010-09-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote this post about simplifying my pen rotation. I am truly happy with all of the pens I listed. Notebooks are a different story. Does the perfect notebook exist? I don't think it does. My big requests are that a notebook should have paper that is fountain pen friendly and fun to write on. There are so many other factors - material, cover, binding, paper style, etc. - that are also very important. Simply put, the notebook must fulfill whatever purpose I have assigned to it. Yeah, I'm picky and weird. I rarely fill all the pages in a notebook before moving on to the Next Big Thing. However, there are some notebooks that I'm really liking right now.

1. Rhodia no. 16.
I have two of these that I am currently using. One is kept on my desk at work for notes and lists. It's also handy to carry to meetings. The other one is my "church notebook" (I'll explain about those in another post). This is a flip-top notepad with a spiral binding. I prefer the scored rhodia covers, but the spiral just works better and looks neater for work. I'm satisfied with it for now. The paper is the usual Rhodia paper that ROCKS for fountain pens.

2. M By Staples Gold Series Writing Pad
I carried one of these everywhere I went the last month before the wedding. The paper is nice. It's not as smooth as Rhodia or Clairefontaine, but I like it anyway. I've had no problems with any inks or pens I have tried on it. I will probably keep on buying these

When I started writing this post, I thought there would be a much longer list. I'm actually kinda sad that I don't have more notebooks to praise right now. I do have a Rhodia webbie on the way that I'm excited to try and review. I guess the search for notebook bliss is still on!

What are your favorite notebooks? Is there such thing as a perfect notebook?

back!

2010-09-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

The wedding was ah-mazing, but married life is turning out to be even better. Thanks everyone for all the congratulations and well wishes. Love y'all :)

My aunt took this picture. There were so many talented people taking shots throughout the day. I can't wait to get the pro pics back, but I am loving seeing everyone else's photos.

Tomorrow

2010-09-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, I will meet M at the altar, take his hand, and promise him forever. Tomorrow, we will start a new life. Tomorrow, we will be surrounded by people who love us. Tomorrow is the day we have been looking forward to for years!

I will be back after the honeymoon with recaps and stories. Thanks for reading.

Love,

Beth

Wedding Freakouts

2010-09-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my crazy, stressed, and overwhelmed bridal brain. I have these moments. Usually they happen when I'm sitting at work, minding my own business. I can be working hard and not thinking about the wedding at one moment, and the next I get some random thought that throws me into full panic mode.

Some of my more common Random Wedding Freakouts:

1. How in the world am I going to modestly put on my dress in front of my bridesmaids? How am I going to go to the bathroom? Why haven't I thought of this before? (We'll cross that bridge when we get there).

2. What if a wedding guest falls in the river? (They won't.)

3. I want to leave in my dress, but how will we get M's tux back to the rental place? (Dear Beth, this is nothing to panic over.)

4. I just know I'm going to forget to pack for the honeymoon. (Um, really. How does someone even forget something like that.)

5. What if people hate me because there aren't enough chairs by the water for everyone to sit during the ceremony? (Hopefully, they won't hate you.)

Thankfully, I have wonderful bridesmaids who I know will help me keep my sanity. How did you get past your wedding worries?

Countdown to a wedding

2010-09-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

It's here. Wedding week! I feel like I'm walking around in a daze. All the stress that I've been feeling for the past month is gone for the most part. I'm not worried about getting everything done. I'm worried that I will have dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep. I'm worried about having everyone's eyes on me while I walk down the aisle. (Dearest wedding guests, if you want to look at the lovely scenery instead of me, I'm cool with that!). I'm worried that the day will fly by and that I won't remember anything about it. There is still a lot to do, but I have faith. Everything is going to be just fine, right? (Nod your head yes please).

Countdown to the wedding:

Monday

work
last meeting with day of wedding coordinator to plan out all the details
make an instruction sheet for my future brother-in-law who is handling the ceremony and reception music
make a backup of all the music we are using and go over the playlist one last time
thank you notes
continue cleaning and packing up bedroom to get ready to move
try to finish up wedding party gifts

Tuesday

work
continue cleaning and packing up bedroom to get ready to move
work on wedding day timeline
work on last minute details and decorations
try to finish up wedding party gifts
move stuff to new house

Wednesday

work
church
work on wedding day timeline
work on last minute details and decorations
pack for honeymoon
move stuff for new house

Thursday

last day of work
go to Sams with mom and dad to buy all the food for reception
gather up all tickets and everything we need for honeymoon
pack for honeymoon
Michael's parents, brother, and sister arriving from Florida
dinner with Michael's parents and my parents

Friday

pack
Bridesmaid/flower girl luncheon
Helping mom with food
manis/pedis with bridesmaids
rehearsal
rehearsal dinner
making the diy boquets after the rehearsal dinner

Saturday

Wedding!!

Whew. I'm sure there are lots of things I've left off. I wonder how many trips we will make to haul stuff to the venue this week? Y'all keep me in your prayers please.

xoxo, Beth

Faves - The Pens I Always Use

2010-09-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I was on a quest to find the perfect pens and notebooks. I bought and tried so many different types and brands. Many pen and paper lovers will tell you that this is a never ending quest. They are correct. However, I've learned to simplify. I have been sticking to just a few pens and notebooks lately. Maybe I've gotten lucky by finding ones I love. I know part of the reason I've simplified some is that I've been putting all extra funds towards the house and the wedding. I'm sure I'll get in another "buying and trying" phase at some point. For now, I'm content with using what works for me.
These are my favorite pens:

1. Lamy Al-Star (Raspberry)
2. Levenger True Writer Stub
3. Lamy Studio Palladium
4. Mont Blanc Noblesse

I highly recommend any of these pens. I reach for them over and over. What are your faves?

more than just a piece of paper!

2010-09-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

It's our marriage license! Wow.We could get married today!

Pardon the bad cell phone pic.

This is What Planning a Wedding Looks Like

2010-09-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

lovely

What Keeps Me Sane

2010-09-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

First off, I just wanted to say Happy Labor Day! I hope it's fun, safe, and relaxing. We are going to my grandparents' house. I'd love to be able to float around in the river or ride the jet ski. I also wouldn't be opposed to laying on a blanket in the grass reading a good book. There will be plenty of time for that next summer. The plan is to work, work, work on wedding stuff all day.

So, I guess I'm laboring on Labor Day. What keeps me sane? I HAVE to write everything down so I can remember what all there is to do. I'm a little obsessive about finding the best planner or calendar. Usually I start a planner only to use it for a couple of months before moving on to the next greatest thing. Last year, for the first time in my life, I finished a planner. I'm so proud just typing that sentence. I loved this planner so much that I bought one for this year. It's an academic planner that runs from August to July. Really, it's amazing. The paper is made by Clairefontaine, so of course it is fountain pen friendly. Having a page per day really helps me keep track of everything. I use it to record appointments, to-dos, and things that happened during the day that I want to remember. Seriously, I'd be lost without it.

Without further ado, I present to you the planner that broke me of my fickle planning ways....

The Quo Vadis Textagenda. Honestly and simply. It's great.

Messiness.

On marriage

2010-09-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight at church we sang "The Greatest Commands", which is one of my favorite songs. I got teary-eyed towards the end. The song is based on 1 John 4:7-12.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

This is such a profound reflection on God's love for His people. One of the verses that our minister is going to use in the wedding ceremony is Ephesians 5:25. This verse tells husbands to love their wives in the same manner that Christ loves the church. It is a sacrificial, pure, and profound love.

As I think about marriage, these verses are close to my heart and mind. Although I have yet to experience what it is like to be married, I have a pattern to go by found in God's Word.

I am so looking forward to M and I finally being husband and wife. I pray that we can serve God together as we learn even more what marriage is all about.

-Beth

A September to Remember

2010-09-01T08:38:00.001-07:00

Okay, okay. So, we aren't newlyweds yet, but we are getting married this month. Did you hear me? THIS MONTH!
Life changes, and after much thought, I decided this blog needed a change as well. What was once simply a blog about pens, notebooks, and office supplies is taking a more personal turn. It's going to be a little bit of everything.
You may be wondering why I am keeping the title "Penned and Papered". Quite simply, I like it. A deeper answer is that I want to document everything about this exciting time in my life - just like putting pen to paper. Plus, I still want to share reviews of my absolute favorite things.
Thanks for sticking around, and please stay tuned for pre-wedding reflections, wedding recaps, recipes, house stuff, and stories about our life as soon-to-be-newlyweds.

xoxo,
Beth