Burnt Berry Muffins

"I figured if I was going to make the world a better place, I would start with a muffin"

                          -Reese Carri

Good afternoon!!!!!!!

Hooray it's Friday afternoon and the week end (I like breaking that word up like the British do) is almost approaching us! I am working all week end but that's okay since I had off this week to get my life together before I am an official student.....

Last evening I started craving something sweet and I decided to put on my favorite apron and the highest heels that I could find and venture into the kitchen destined to make the best darn blueberry muffins you have ever tasted! I decided that I didn't exactly have to go by the recipe since I am a free spirit and I march to the beat of my own drum........Boy was I wrong!

They were burnt on the bottom and very soggy and doughy in the middle....My lovely friends ate them and said that they were good, but I think that they were just being nice! :-) Awe! Friends are the best!

I "attempted" to bake vegan blueberry muffins since I am allergic to eggs and I avoid dairy like the plague.......Baking is one of those things that I am going to really have to practice in order to make something edible one of these days.......

There was always the Thanksgiving disaster scones of 2011!  They looked as blue as Smurfette and sat on the dessert table all night next to all of the other edible desserts that were being marveled at and eaten.....Sad little scones, sad little faces saying "Why won't anyone eat us?"...... I was told later on by a master scone baker that one must gently fold the blueberries into the batter.....I suppose there was nothing gently about how I "folded" the berries in.....I kind of threw them in there and went to town.....Ugh what is wrong with me? Will I ever be a good baker?

I love a challenge and I am not giving up! Not all of us were born with the baking gene...I have the cooking gene, but the baking gene skipped me....Instead of being a talented baker, I am a talented letter writer, that means something doesn't it? :-) 

If you have any good vegan recipes or any baking tips at all, please send them my way, lord knows I can use them.......

My friend C is a terrific baker and when we stayed with him while he was beach house sitting during the snow storm of 2011, he made home made pumpkin pie, with a home made crust AND home made whipped cream...... It was beyond delicious! :-)

 He also made home made waffles in the retro waffle maker! YUM! 

I asked C if he would teach me some baking tips and he said YES! Woohoo! I feel like Betty Crocker herself has agreed to teach me the art of baking! My goal is to make a pie crust as delicious as C's.....Dream big or go home! Ha! Here we all are at Brekkie enjoying the waffles with fresh jam, vegan butter, mimosa's (this version had champagne and orange pelligrino) and spanish coffees which I believe have a little tequila in them! Wow!

Today is a quiet day, just writing a few letters and mailing them at the post office later this afternoon..... I will keep you posted on my baking endeavors and have decided to try to make vegan blueberry muffins again and this time I will follow the recipe to the T. Some of us have to really screw things up in order to one day be successful at them! At least I usually do....

I hope you all enjoy your week end and have heaps of sunshine and blue skies coming your way! 

Keep a good mood! 

Smiles, 

Miss Reese 

Muddy galoshes

"In the spring, at the end of the day you should smell like dirt                                                          

                                                                     -Margaret Atwood

 Hello Everyone!

How is everyone doing on this rainy Seattle Thursday? This morning I woke up feeling totally energized and balanced! I am returning to school on April 2nd to start the beginning of my Bachelors program in social human services! Wish me luck!

This makes me a little nervous and at the same time makes me want to nest like a pregnant woman in her third trimester. In order for me to be a successful student I need an organized work space to do homework and file and display important information. 

I began my day of uncluttering by making a strong batch of pomegranate, earl grey, lemon- orange iced tea with a few pieces of organic orange thrown in there for good measure. I drank it all day as I listened to Brazilian breeze on Pandora and bravely ventured into the scary planet that is my closet......

In order to get started I was armed with my all natural grapefruit cleanser, face mask, gloves, and a few rolls of paper towels.....There were small islands of clothes, shoes, old magazines, art work, art supplies, make up, and a few barn yard animals grazing on some left over peeps from last Easter! :-)

I did loads of laundry, threw away bags of crap, put a few bags together for good will and cleaned it from top to bottom.......I started cleaning my bedroom at 11am and 12 hours later I was done.! I celebrated with a delicious glass of Chardonnay and some vegan nachos! Thank you to the fairies above and my friend K for telling me about almond milk cheese!  Once it is melted you honestly think that you are eating real brie.....Salty and smooth and delicious! 

I believe that the devil is sitting in hell in his red velvet lounge chair eating a large bowl of yogurt and drinking gallons upon gallons of whole milk ALL day! Laughing out loud and enjoying every single minute of it! Ha!

Hooray for a clean bedroom! I can't tell you how great it feels to be able to walk in there and be able to find anything that I need in a moments notice. That is the key to success in my humble opinion. When you need something and it has a home that you can visibly get to in under 4 seconds!

It's taken me close to 35 years to get to this point, but you know what my motto is : baby steps! I only have days like yesterday once every few weeks, so I really have to strike while the iron is hot! 

Below is a shot of my organized desk! I am also looking to get a magnet board to put next to my cork board. The idea of buying new magnets is just too exciting for words! :-) 

Do you have any tips for being organized? If so I would love to hear what they are! I am always on the hunt for ways to simplify my life and make things easier and more accessible! 

On my last blog I mentioned that I was going to the post office to pick up a package! It was from my amazing friend C who lives in Indonesia! Here are the bracelets she sent me! 

They are so meadow chic and I will think of her every time I wear them! She also got me stickers! I love stickers! 

  

Keep a good mood! Until next time! 

With a smile,

Reese

Skipping in the Sunshine*

   

   I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees.
                            -Pablo Neruda

Hello to all of my readers! All two of you! Ha! :-) How is everyone enjoying their Spring season so far? Yesterday was just a splendiferous day! The skies opened up around 3ish like they usually do and at around 4pm, it was just blue skies and sunshine as far as the eyes can see! 

I grabbed my trusty scissors and my camera and headed out into the great unknown, better known as the hilly streets of my Queen Anne neighborhood....

Along the way I met an adorable pug named Loki, he just wanted to love me and lick me and I wanted to love him and lick him.....Well maybe not the lick part, but definitely the love* :-)

I skipped about cutting flowers and chatting with strangers on bike, foot and even some in car, it's amazing how much you can chat with a driver who has their window open at a red light! Ha! 

  

Don't you just love old cars? I saw this car and it made me think of driving to Myrtle Beach with my friends to meet cute girls and boys! :-) Perhaps with a polka dotted handkerchief wrapped around my head and some cool sunglasses to drive down the freeway with while the windows are open and my favorite song is playing on the radio! Oh geez, it's so fun to dream!

I decided to come home at around 7 and make some home made iced tea! Nothing says Spring like a fresh pitcher of iced tea!...... I picked some fresh berries from a bush outside my window and decided to use them as a garnish..... For a simple and easy iced tea recipe, simply brew three bags of organic earl grey tea, squeeze some organic lemon and let it cool in the fridge for two hours. Then serve with heaps of ice, a straw and some seasonal berries for a garnish* 

 

For supper (I love calling it supper, it sounds so delicious and well thought out) I made an organic; quinoa, mixed greens, salmon, avocado, almond milk cheese salad with a green salsa/fresh lemon-lime dressing and some tortilla chips for some added crunch.....   

Num num num!  As you all know or will now find out, I am trying to eat only anti estrogenic foods, which means foods that don't contain any estrogen. When a woman has too much estrogen it can lead to a myriad of problems such as headaches, cramps, body aches and horrible times of the month (ladies you know what I mean)...

 I try to stay away from anything that is not organic since there are so many pesticides being drenched into our produce and hormones being pumped into animals both for meat and for dairy.

I am just learning about this new lifestyle, so I will keep you posted on what I learn... So far quinoa has been a saving grace since it has more protein than any other grain! I also put avocado on everything because it is so creamy and delicious, kind of the like the vegan's cream cheese if you will! 

Well that is all for today! I am off to do a bunch of errands and pick up a package from the post office, how exiting! I wonder what it is! 

Enjoy your day and remember to breathe! Until next time! 

With a smile,

Reese  

P.S. My friend S told me that I should be weary of putting strange berries in my iced tea since there are a bunch of them that are poisonous....So I think that I will be putting fresh raspberries and blueberries in my refreshing beverages and staying on this earth for a little bit longer* :-) 

             

First day of Spring*

Grassy toes

Floral notes fill the air

Spring is here..... 

By,

 R Carri 

Happy official first day of Spring everyone! Today was a lot of fun! My friend N and I decided to go on a walk and take a few pictures on this celebratory day.... I asked N what Spring meant to her and she said "Spring is the chance for a new beginning".....I love that! :)

We found a gorgeous park and I sprinkled rose petals on her as a welcome to this all wonderful season that has finally arrived.....We laughed and talked and walked and rolled around in the cherry blossom leaves.....What a great start to a fantastical Spring season! 

Here I am, holding a cherry blossom branch and marveling at the delicious color and smell! I will cross my fingers and toes that the sunshine starts to come out and play a little more every day.....Good things are always bound to happen when a little light comes your way.....

N and I also stopped by a mini daffodil field on the way home and with our trusty scissors that we always keep in our bag we cut a few of them and put them in a vose when we got home....Fresh flowers are always a sure way to brighten the day......

It's time for a eucalytus bath, some chamomile tea and a few more episodes of "Downton Abbey", what a great show I am so hooked! Ha!

Thank you N for making my first day of Spring so magical and fun and botanically enriching! Until next time.....

With a smile,

Reese :)

Isn't N so beautiful? Love that shot above of her in the flower petals! So feminine and soft and pretty* :) xoxo

Cucumber sandwiches, iced tea and Spring!

A hush is over everything
silent as women wait for love

the world is waiting for the spring.
-Sara Teasdale

Today is the official last day of winter of 2012. Hooray and thank the fairies up above and all around!

What does Spring mean to you? To me it means starting fresh! It means wearing a ballet pink cardigan with a sparkley pin and matching lipstick.....

It means making cucumber dill tea sandwiches and a pitcher of iced tea and going to the park to enjoy it in the sunshine with friends....

Spring is a time to clean out your closet, recycle, donate and throw away all of the old things from winter that have been collecting dust and weighing you down....

Time to cut and dye your hair, walk more, drink more water, pick flowers and put them in voses all over the house....Light tea lights, eat fresh raspberries and listen to classical music while you clean out the fridge and get rid of the old......

I am so inspired in Spring to be the healthiest that I can be, mentally, physically, and spiritually....

Right now I am in a coffee house on the hill, staring at a palm tree outside the window and waiting for my friend who has just started a support group to help him quit smoking. He gave me his permission to write about this. I feel like it is a really healthy step for him and every other brave person in that group that wants to stop smoking. I am so proud of him for having the courage to open up to complete strangers about this addiction. I send him lots of love on his journey......

It is 5 on the dot and I am going to go and get myself a delicious and refreshing iced tea..... I will toast to a positive Spring season and bid farewell to a Winter that gave me it's fair share of challenges. In the end it forced me to take a long hard look at myself and ultimately show me insane amounts of perspective about what is really important in life!

I send all of you lots of love and I hope that you all have a wonderful Spring season.....Just as I told my friend earlier, baby steps.....A little bit every day goes a lot further than a whole lot every once in a while......Until next time.....

With a smile,
Reese

An affordable and personalized gift idea!

Happy Thursday! I am sitting inside a warm coffee house sipping chamomile tea and thanking the fairies above that I am indoors...It is so rainy and stormy out there that it is raining sideways and I think that I just saw a witch on a bike fly by like the one from "The Wizard of Oz".....:) So today I am going to talk about a wonderful idea for a personalized and affordable gift! I was with my new friend Tony who was visiting me from Italy and we happened to stumble into the Army and Navy store on 1st Ave....I was actually just looking for a key chain and I came across dog tag necklaces...... The man who was working at the counter informed me that I could have them engraved! That was the most exciting thing that I had ever heard! I told Tony about it and she also wanted a pair. They were only $5! Yes I said $5! It got my wheels turning and I thought to myself "what a wonderful gift idea".....You could engrave someone's birthday, or their name with their favorite quote like mine, or their kids names or their dog or cats name or whatever you want! Tony and I ended up getting the same quote engraved. It is so exciting to have a quote around my neck from the infamous Calamity Jane! Now every time I look down, I will think of Tony and the message that it conveys! What do you think? What would you get engraved on it? Until next time......

With a smile,
Reese

My first blog!

Hello everyone!

My name is Reese and this is my very first blog ever! Oh boy so much to write about, where do I start? Well, I will be updating "Every day with Reese" with some of my favorite things and newest findings! There will be a plethora of information about home decor, healthy living, self care, fashion and much much more! I look forward to sharing some of my favorite things with you and learning a lot of new and interesting things from my readers! Happy Wednesday! I raise my cup of earl grey tea to a brand new page in my life, blogging! I've enclosed a picture that I drew. Enjoy!

With a smile,
Reese