Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts

15 December 2017

Five for Friday - Gifts for Kids!


Happy Friday Y'all!  I'm sorry the blog was quiet this week but we:
closed on the house last Friday
moved on Saturday
finally got cable and internet on Tuesday
have been unpacking and getting settled ever since

We should be wrapped up this weekend including holiday decor!  Once it's all done I'll do a proper home tour post.

But speaking of holidays...Christmas is right around the corner!  Eeek, I am so so excited.  I absolutely love the holidays.  I love spending this time with friends and family and celebrating the joy of the season.

This is my last gift guide for this season and it's all about the kids in your life.  One of my favorite things to do is find the PERFECT gift for my niece each year.  I've had some good ones.  Here are my top 5 gifts for kids this year including the one I got for the Little Miss.

14 August 2017

Life Lately


Hey y'all!  Happy Monday - hopefully your week is off to a good start.  We've been crazy busy around here the last couple of weeks, and add to that the blog redesign and it's been a little bit since we've done a life lately post.  There's just so much going on at work, with the wedding, and with the house, that we can hardly catch our breath sometimes.  Here's what we've been up to lately...

13 June 2017

Show and Tell Tuesday - Best Recipes




Ok - I goofed.  Yesterday I said there would be a Stella & Dot post on Tuesday, but I forgot about Show and Tell Tuesday.  So Stella & Dot is being pushed to Thursday.  You all get a a bonus post this week!

This week's Show & Tell is about best recipes.  I've got a little bit of everything in here.






Let's start with the recipe we make all the time.  And I mean all the time.  Like 5 out of 7 nights a week all the time.  It's how we roast our veggies.  Take your favorite:  broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, brussel sprouts.  Chop them up.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle on garlic salt and ground pepper.  Mix it all up.  Spread on a baking sheet.  Roast at 415 degrees for 13-15 minutes.  Flip over the veggies and roast for another 13 minutes.  Eat.  So so so good.  Hands down our favorite way to eat veggies.






During football season broccomole is one of our favorite snacks.  Instead of avocado, there is reduced fat cream cheese and broccoli.  Served warm, you will scoop this up with anything handy - cut up veggies, tortilla chips, pretzels, a spoon.






We both love pineapple upside down cake, Phillip's mom especially.  I've made this one several times and it is a crowdpleaser.  I love how the half rings work with the bundt pan.  The cake is moist and delicious with just the right amount of pineapple.






This was a new find for us and we've made it several times.  It's a Cooking Light recipe for one pan jambalaya.  Oh it's so good.  And the leftovers are just as delicious reheated the next day for lunch or dinner.  If you are cooking for one this is a great make once and eat all week meal.

Those are some of my best recipes!  Always a hit and never a crumb left.  I'll see you all tomorrow for Workin' It Wednesday!

xoxoxoxo



05 April 2017

A Little Bit About Me

It's Wednesday already, can you believe it?  As usual, the week is moving entirely too quickly.  #toomuchtodo #notenoughtime

I've had some new readers join us and it's been awhile since I did an introduction for you all, so I thought I would take the time this week to tell you a little bit about me.






I grew up in North Providence, Rhode Island, so Texas is kind of a long way from home.  That's me, second from the right in the top row.  I come from a big, Italian family and as we continued to add more and more grandchildren to the picture, we kept taking more and more pictures on these steps.






Disregard the hair, it was the 90s.  So we added a few more kids from that first picture.  And we weren't done yet.  There were still four more that came along in the years after this picture.






I went to an all-girls, Catholic high school, BayView Academy and it was the best thing for me.  The Sisters of Mercy turn out some pretty remarkable women.  After high school, I attended Fairfield University for my undegrad (a BA in History) and then on to Ohio State for my master's in education.






Ohio State is where I learned my love of college football.  Oh boy, it is my favorite sport, hands down.  I had no idea what I was getting into when I went to my first game.  But it didn't take long for me to be sucked in!

After I graduated from my program I started working in student affairs.  Those are staff members that are involved in non-academic departments.  I worked primarily in housing and student conduct (oh the stories...).  I did that for about 7 years before moving over to the records and registration side of the house.  It's what I've done ever since.  It has allowed me to explore new places and live all over the US.  It's how I ended up in Texas.  I have lived in Connecticut, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas.  At the time I was single and unattached and moving wherever I wanted to for a job was a great way to see the country and also figure out where I wanted to put down roots.

I lived here in the Dallas area from 2010-2012, moved back to Rhode Island from 2012-2013, and came back to Texas in 2013 where I have been ever since.






That year back in Rhode Island was the perfect year to be back because I got to be there for this little miss' first year of life.  From the day she was born until her first birthday.  I moved back to Texas two weeks after her first birthday.  She loves her Auntie Nichole though and we chat every week.  She was tickled when I FaceTimed her on her iPad this past weekend.






I LOVE to bake and love to try out new cakes.  This is the German chocolate cake that I make for my fiance for his birthday every year.  Except this year, this year he wants chess pie instead.






I took the trip of a lifetime in October of 2014.  I went on a solo trip to Hawaii.  It was a reward trip for myself.  I had lost 100 pounds after having had weightloss surgery the year before (you can read about that here) and I was wrapping up my doctorate degree.  I spent a week in paradise and loved every minute. Riding that high, I came back to Texas and two weeks later, met this guy.






He was who I had been waiting my whole life to meet.  Our first date lasted three hours.  We met at the Foundry in Dallas and sat outside and had a drink.  That drink lasted three hours, despite the chill in the air.  I knew from that night that he was the one.  He's smart, funny, well read, we have fun together and I love coming home to him every night.

We've traveled a bit - Enchanted Rock in Fredricksburg, TX; we've been to New England a few times.  We're off to New York in a couple of months and then Hawaii for our honeymoon.  We've also been to Vegas!

We went to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve 2015.  We toured the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam, we explored the Strip, ate at lots of great restaurants, saw a Cirque du Soleil show, and we got engaged!  Just before midnight on December 31 is when Phillip proposed.  We were waiting for the fireworks to start at midnight.  It was perfect.  It would have been an amazing trip regardless, but the proposal made the trip that much more special.






We love traveling, but we also love our home city of Dallas.  We love going to see the Mavericks, the Stars, and the Rangers.  We've been to the Opera, to see Broadway shows, we've been to the Fair, we've done overnights at fancy hotels, and tried lots of restaurants.  We love being tourists in our own city.






Other stuff about me...I'm the eldest of three siblings!  My sister is three years younger than me and my brother is ten years younger.  They've all been to Dallas to visit and I love when they get to come down.  My sister is also mama to my niece and she's a fantastic mom.

I've got two cats.  Jack, my tabby, was a rescue as a kitten when I lived in Boston.  He's 12 now and is enjoying his senior years.  He's not the jumper he used to be but he's a fair hunter and will chase down any Mayfly that may sneak into the house.  Kate, my tortie, is a goofy, daffy, sweetheart of a cat.  She's 9 and is usually found pacing the dinner bowl.  #sigh #shesnotfatshesfloofy






I love to read!  I've been reading since I was three.  I love all genres and I am sure my love of reading anything and everything helped me out when I was on Jeopardy!  Yup - I was a contestant on the show.  I won!  Only one day, but the whole experience was a huge bucket list item of mine.






After my weightloss surgery I picked up running and I love it.  I'm good for about 3 miles and then my breathing starts to get the better of me.  If I could figure out my breathing, I could probably go longer as my legs are fine.  I just end up with a stitch in my side around the 2.8 mark.






I love listening to podcasts - my current faves include Crimetown, S-Town, My Favorite Murder, The Popcast with Knox and Jamie, and the Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey.






I am a Barre addict.  I recently completed my 100th class at Pure Barre Las Colinas.  I love it.  I love how it makes me feel, I love the workout I get, and I love the people at the studio - the owner, the instructor, the clients.  3-4 times a week, you can find me at the studio.






I have signed on in the last few months as a Stella & Dot Stylist






I have loved their jewelry for years and signing on as stylist will help me with some personal goals.  Here I am wearing the super popular rebel pendant, the knot hoop earrings, and a wrap bracelet.  I love how versatile the jewelry is and believe in the mission of the company.  It's a win-win for everyone.  Every Tuesday I post about how I am styling my Stella & Dot.  If you ever see something you like, you can order here or email me at nichole@themrsfisher.com.

And that's a little bit about me!  If you have questions about anything, please feel free to ask in the comments or shoot me an email at nichole@themrsfisher.com

Enjoy the rest of the week and I'll see you back here on Friday for Friday Favorites.

xoxoxoxo



16 January 2017

Life Lately

Hi Y'all!  Happy Monday.  Sorry for the late post but it was an uneventful yet eventful weekend around here and I am late to posting today.  Today was also a holiday for me, so my schedule was all skewed - for the better, no work today!  I had an awesome barre class, got to meet my cousin's adorable German Shepherd puppy, ran an errand at Southlake (success - found a birthday present for Mama), got some yummy Thai food for lunch, snuggled with Jack for a nap, baked a cake, and then got my act together to blog, ha!  So what else have we been up to?






My Mondays always start with barre.  5:15am I'm there with Niki to lift, tone, and burn.  I've talked about it on instastories, but this is my hour of the day to be totally present and focused.  I don't think about work or homework any of the stresses of every day life.  Some people meditate or do yoga, I go to barre.






Post-barre sweaty selfie.  To be honest, getting out of bed for a 5:15am Monday class is easier than for a 5:15am Friday class.  It's almost like as the week goes on and stuff piles up, I'm more tired and getting out of bed at 4:40am on Friday is rough.






This gorgeous necklace arrived in the mail.  If you can't read the script, it says "focus", my word of the year.  Focus on my nutrition, my workouts, my wedding, my fiance, my family.  My goal is to focus and be intentional about things.






top | jeans (similar) | shoes | necklace (similar) | watch | bracelet

This was my outfit on Tuesday and it is one of my dressy, casual favorites.  I love the look of the bootcut jean.  It makes me look taller and leaner.  I still love my skinny jeans but on this day I grabbed the bootcut ones and just loved how it all came together.  The white top is sold out, but it's still in stock in blue and it's 50% off right now making it $10!






Last week at work was all about international admissions.  I won't bore you with the details, but I spent most of the week on this site.  I'm hoping this week is a little quieter.  #fingerscrossed






One of my problems with shedding the last 20 pounds is snacking at work.  I am so bad.  I bring my lunch from home and I've been trying to bring good, healthy snacks and avoid the bad snacks in the office.  I really need to buckle down and focus on this goal.






cardigan | tee | necklace | necklace | ring | earrings

I wore this jewelry combination on Saturday as we ran around town taking care of some errands.  I love the engraveable layered with my other necklace.






This one.  Starting at 4pm on Saturday and Sunday she is perched next to her food bowl waiting for one of us to feed her.  She whines at us, she stares, and usually we cave around 5:30 even though during the week the earliest she eats is 6pm.  #spoiled






And then this happened Saturday night!  Woohoo!!!  My Patriots beat the Texans.  Oh yeah baby - can't wait for the next game!






i kept my usual Sunday morning date with this little miss.  We try to chat every Sunday. 






And then I was super lazy the rest of the morning, ha!  I did put laundry in, but I basically curled up on the couch in my pj's with a cup of coffee and Kate and watched a Hoarders marathon.  I never just lounge around on a Sunday morning.  I'm usually baking, cleaning, and organizing for the week.  It felt good to be lazy for a couple of hours.






The Cowboys were on at 3:30 on Sunday and I knew we would be looking for a game time snack, so I made Broccomole.  We love this recipe.  Use whatever you want to dip - carrots, tortilla chips, carrots, whatever strikes your fancy.  We follow the recipe mostly.  I omit the green onions (blech) and we use anywhere from 2-4 oz of the cream cheese.  It just depends on how much broccoli we estimate is 3 cups.  This time I used Greek yogurt cream cheese and it was delicious.






During that abysmal first half of the game I worked on my paper for school but I was having a hard time getting started.






I had basically just about gotten to the point where I was ready to start writing when the fire alarm went off.






The joys of apartment living.  One day I'll dedicate a whole post to my anxiety about fire alarms.  I've lived in apartments for over a decade and this was the first time there was an actual fire.  It was one floor up from us and on the complete opposite side of the building.  I think it was small since driving past this morning in the light of day you couldn't see anything and our hallway smelled like normal when we were allowed to reenter last night.

The really bad part?  Phillip missed the Cowboys almost comeback.  The alarm went off just after the start of the second half and we didn't come back in until after the game was over.






Monday holiday - yay!  I took a late barre class.  Late for me anyway, instead of 5:15am I took the 6:30am class and Niki kicked my butt!  Such a great start to the week.






After that workout I needed coffee!  An iced coffee to be exact.






I showered and got ready before heading to Southlake in search of a birthday present for my Mama.  Her birthday is in February and I'm traveling around her birthday so I need to get her gift in the mail in a couple of weeks.  It felt like a good day to pop into J. Jill...






tunic | leggings

Where I immediately fell in love with this tunic and navy leggings.  How cute, right?  Picture it with a pretty blue patterned scarf.  Darling.






Instead of baking Sunday, I baked on Monday.  I try to bring in something the first day of every work week.  This week it's Mix and Match Mama's Fruity Pebbles Bundt Cake.






And then it was time for coffee.  How cute is this mug?  Target always has adorable holiday themed mugs.  There were a few more I wanted but Phillip would give me the side-eye if I come home with any more coffee mugs.  #iloveafunmug

That's what life has been like lately.  What have you all been up to?  Make it a great (short) week!

xoxoxo



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