Five Favorites: Vol. 1 {Album Picks}

I'm no good at coming up with topics to blog about.  I seldom have a random thought run through my head and think, "OH!  That's something I should bore the general public of cyberspace with!"  Maybe I underestimate myself, or maybe I'm saving all of you from horrendous writing, who knows?  Either way, I've decided that my best bet is to join in on some link-ups, as they tend to focus my crazy energy and make for better posts.  This week, I'm going to jump right in and join one of my favorite blogs by linking up with Hallie over at Moxie Wife.  She's adorable, smart, and I love any blog that incorporates the term "moxie" (remind me to write a post about my love of mobster movies/TV shows someday.)

For my first installment of "Five Favorites," I decided to share with you a bad habit of mine.  I like to fill online shopping carts with stuff I don't intend to buy (at least not all at once.)  Anyone else?  Yeah, I thought so.  It's so easy to hit "add to cart" because there's no obligation to actually follow through with the purchase, and you don't have to sneakily stash things you decide not to buy among the shelves (like I do at Target ALL. THE. TIME.  Do I need this scarf?  No.  You will now live with the diapers, little scarf!)  One of my favorite carts to fill up is my Amazon cart, and at the moment it is full of CD's (Yes, I'm the only one who still buys them) so I thought I would share with you my current Five Favorite album picks.

-1-


The Black Keys, "Turn Blue"

This album is actually getting some flack from critics, and I've listened to it so I can tell you why.  It's not the Black Keys you think you know - some members of Danger Mouse (who? what?) have joined the pack and taken this dynamic duo in a more electronic direction.  That doesn't necessarily bother me - I can appreciate a good drum machine at times.  I guess it boils down to not being a snob and taking each offering for what it is, and I have really liked what I've heard on this album.

-2-

Beck, "Morning Phase"

Say what you will about Beck, because I just won't listen.  After spending one of the most amazing summers of my life (2006, I'm looking at you!) driving around with the sunroof opening and jamming to "Odelay," Beck has a very special place in my heart. What I've heard of this new album is chill and ambient, which is totally cool with me - that's just the sort of thing I like to turn on to get me going in the morning.

-3-


St. Vincent, self-titled

After seeing her perform on SNL last week, I did a major Google search and listened to as much of her past stuff as possible.  I found out she is a former member of The Polyphonic Spree, who I was obsessed with at one point on time, and I'm really digging her electro-pop vibe spiced with some very precise and thoughtful guitar-work on her part.  I can't wait to get my hands on this one and really see what she's all about.  (About the name: she has stated that it is in reference to the hospital where Dylan Thomas died, as well as a tribute to her great-grandmother, who's middle name was St. Vincent)

-4-


Jack White, "Lazaretto"

If you aren't excited about this album's release in June, I just don't know what else you're looking forward to.  Jack White is THE man.  Which leads me to...

-5-.


Loretta Lynn, "Van Lear Rose"

This is not a new album, by any means.  Actually, I used to own this album.  But my car was stolen in college and my entire life  whole CD collection was stolen out of the backseat, this album included, and I've just never gotten around to buying a new copy.  If you like old country/bluegrass and can appreciate the input of someone like Jack White (who shows a lot of bluegrass influence in his music as well as delta blues - see also, the "Cold Mountain" soundtrack) then this is the album for you.  Just, go buy it.  It will make you happy, which is what music is supposed to do - right?

Go check out more fun Five Favorites over at Moxie Wife!

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Answer Me This! Beards & Bajas

If you've ever poked around on Kendra's Tierney's blog, Catholic All Year, it will come as no surprise that she is one of my all-time favorite bloggers.  Of all-time.  She's funny, stylish, her kids are adorable, she tells it like it is, has great ideas, and is such a wonderful example of what it means to be a Catholic mom living in a society where homemaking, homeschooling, and practicing our faith every day in every way is most definitely NOT the norm.  And she writes about it all so dang well.  Can I just be her when I grow up?  Okay, cool.

All that said, imagine my shock and horror when I saw that she actually tagged me in an "Answer Me This!" post and linked back to my post about Rosie's first birthday ... AND I  MISSED IT.  I had no clue.  One of my favorite bloggers actually mentioned me and I was totally oblivious.  Epic fail.  

So, in an attempt to redeem myself, I'm linking up over at my friend Haley's blog for Kendra's "Answer Me This!" series (she's being all cool and stuff and hanging out in France, so Haley's hosting this Sunday.)

I also promise to never miss another Sunday with Kendra.  

Unless I don't get around to it.  Which is totally possible.

1. What's the scariest thing that's ever been in your yard?

Hmm.  Well, there was a strange man (homeless? drunk? confused?) chilling on the front porch the morning of our wedding.  I wasn't there, but Daniel says he hit bricks pretty fast after seeing a bunch of dudes in tuxes coming out of the house.  Weird.

2. Beards.  Thumbs up or thumbs down?

Daniel has a beard and I love it, BUT he has to maintain it.  The above photo, while glorious in it's manliness, would make me nuts if I was that guy's wife.  Daniel has a little trimmer thingymajiggy and he has to keep that mess in check or it's game-over for me.  

3. If stuff breaks, can you fix it?

I am the resident putter-togetherer, fixer, tinkerer, and general handywoman of our household.  My husband is one of the smartest people I've ever met, but bless his heart he is not the best with "around the house" chores.  It doesn't bother me much, though - I really enjoy the challenge of putting together a new piece of furniture or taking apart the shower to figure out why only cold water is coming out (true story, and I totally figured that one out.  Boom!)

4. What was your first car?

Ahhh... the Baja.  Let's see if I can get through this without tears.  My first car was a white Ford Escort, circa 2000.  I will never forget the cow-print seat covers (with matching steering wheel cover!) and Powerpuff Girl floor mats, or the gnarled mess of mardi gras beads and rosaries hanging from the rear-view mirror.  It was wrecked, rebuilt, stolen then found abandoned on the side of the road and returned to me, then finally bit the dust one hot summer in the middle-of-nowhere-Oklahoma while I was visiting a friend at his lake house.  I had to scrap it for $250.  That was one of the saddest days of my life.  RIP, little Baja.

5. How often do you eat out?

Pretty much never.  Every once in awhile, Daniel will grab us something to-go and we'll eat it here.  We're serious homebodies and would rather eat in the comfort of our own home than go pay a bunch of money to be around other people we don't know while trying to wrangle our two toddlers.  Plus, who wants to be bothered with putting on real clothes and whatnot?  (Don't we sound like fun? You totally wanna be friends with us now, huh?)

6. Why is your hair like that?

My hair is pretty sad right now.  I keep it colored (at home boxed color - classy!) but I haven't had it cut since LAST July.  My friend Andi is an amazing hair dresser and I just haven't worked up the guts to try someone new since we moved to Florida last August.  I'm actually waiting until we go back home for a visit in a few weeks so she can give me a haircut.  Insane?  Maybe.  But my hair will be banging at least once a year.

SO there it is.  6 things you never knew you didn't want to know about me, but now you do anyway. 

You're welcome. ;)

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Slice 'n' Bake Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today was one of those cloudy, rainy days that just BEGS me to do one thing, and one thing only:

SLEEP.  But, alas, I have two small children in the house who (despite my repeated efforts to train them) can't quite run the place while mommy takes a nice, long nap.  So, after a snooze, what's the next best thing to do on a cloudy, rainy day?  Bake!

       Since we've made the decision to switch our family to a whole-food, "clean" eating diet, I had to hit the interwebs for a little inspiration.  Let me tell you, there is NO shortage of recipes for healthy snacks out there!  I was amazed (and slightly overwhelmed) at the number of websites that are solely devoted to this quest for a cleaner, healthier way of eating.  I quickly pinned a few ideas that peaked my interest to my clean-eating Pinterest board, and decided that the first thing I was going to tackle was a cookie.  I found this recipe at Amy's Healthy Baking and used it as kind of a "road map" while I was in the kitchen.  Below is what I came up with, and I think they turned out pretty darn well!

Notice something missing?  That would be the cookie that Olivia begged off me just minutes
after these beauties left the oven. 

       After posting a pic of my goodies on Facebook, a friend told me that today was "National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day."  I had no idea, but that totally justified the use of mini chocolate chips (not clean, unfortunately) in this recipe.  Of course, you can add whatever you want: dried fruit, nuts, etc.  I also reduced the amount of cinnamon from what was called for in the original recipe.  If the thought of cinnamon in your chocolate chip cookies doesn't jive with you, feel free to completely omit it (I think I might do so next time, as hubby thought it was kinda weird.)  You could also switch out the melted butter for coconut oil (or any other sort of oil you prefer) and the honey to agave to make these vegan friendly.  Also, if the banana you're using isn't quite as ripe as you would like, you can always add a little more honey to help with the sweetness.

Preschooler Approved!

        A note about chilling the dough: this step is totally not something you can skip!  If you're like me, you see a recipe that calls for chill-time and you're like "Welp, not making that!  Who has time to sit around and wait?"  But, trust me - these are well worth it.  Just give the kitchen a little clean and your oven some time to warm up while you wait.  I chilled my dough for 30 minutes and it worked perfectly.  I'm not sure if this dough would freeze well (if you try it, please let me know in the comments!), but I definitely think you could leave it in the fridge awhile and slice-and-bake as you needed.  There are no eggs, so you can also slice a piece off and just eat it on the spot if you'd like (it's really yummy, just so ya know.)

           **Note: In step two of the recipe, I forgot to mention that you add melted butter with the banana, vanilla, and honey.  I'm making a new recipe card, but wanted to let you know in the meantime!**

What kind of recipes would you like for me to share with you?  Would you be interested in a weekly "clean-eating" recipe link-up?  Let me know in the comments below, and don't forget to "like" me on Facebook, subscribe to e-mail updates, or follow me on Bloglovin'!  :) 

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