Memorable Muffins

This morning for breakfast Chelsea made more of the banana chocolate chip muffins from "The Cookie and Biscuit Bible" cookbook we borrowed from Steph.




Here is the recipe:

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
3 large ripe bananas
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 and 1/3 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 375. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. Mash the bananas with an electric mixer at medium speed. Beat the egg, sugar and oil into the mashed bananas. Add the dry ingredients and beat in gradually, on low speed, mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins, filling them 2/3rds full. Bake for 20 minutes. And this is what you will have:



Yum!



Yesterday afternoon we went shopping for some succulents to plant and this is what we got:

How cute is that tiny cactus?! We're on our way to getting our green thumbs, just wait for it! :)
We do need some more sun, however. Candace's sister Bonnie said it is 85 degrees and sunny in Minneapolis today. In Seattle, on the other hand, it is raining and 62 degrees. Oh well :)

Brunch!

Breakfast-filled weekend! Yesterday Chelsea and I went out to breakfast with our friend Hung, who is visiting from New York. Hung and Chelsea have been friends since college and we haven't seen him since the wedding, so it was fun to catch up! We went to a vegan breakfast place called Wayward Cafe on the Ave. It was good! Except for the fact that sometimes when I eat vegan food, I think it's going to be "just like" the real thing. I made the mistake of ordering a "ham & cheese omelet" and it was a little strange, not going to lie. But the homefries on the side were delicious, as well as the bite of Chelsea's pancake I had. Next time I need to remember that if it is not already vegan, then don't order the faux version because it won't live up to the real thing! :) We walked through the U District farmer's market after breakfast and bought these beautiful flowers for our Sunday brunch centerpiece. Chelsea also bought some fresh pasta that looks delicious--egg, spinach, and tomato-flavored, should be great!

Today I got to have real eggs and cheese in a scramble Chels made. Our friends Erin & Ashod, and Todd came over for brunch this morning. Chelsea made delicious banana chocolate chip muffins and light, fluffy scrambled eggs. We topped the eggs with an assortment of veggies and cheese, and Erin & Ashod brought a delicious mix of fresh fruit. Yum! Todd and I even stumbled through making our first Bloody Mary's, something I've never tried before but found out is delicious! The only mistake I made was when I said I already had the vodka, I did not realize it was vanilla-flavored. Oops. We couldn't taste it though :) I never thought I would like a drink with Tabasco sauce in it...

Chels and I have two days off in a row together, woo-hoo! She's currently reading through "The Complete Guide to Houseplants" to learn how to plant a cactus/succulent. I had no idea they needed such a specific mix of soil! And lots of sunlight--we'll have to get over that one, as we live in Seattle and that is just not going to happen. Hopefully it will survive... We might also take Chelsea's new bike out for a spin! Here it is:

We found it on Craig's List and it is Chels' early birthday present. We do have to figure out how to air up the tires--I know that sounds weird, but I have a feeling it's not as easy as you would think. We'll see...Claire might be called in as an expert to help us :)

Monday Monday

Hello all! Well, I'm afraid I am doing a poorer job updating this blog than I thought I would...thanks for reading, anyway :) Since Tuesday, we've been caring for our friend Danny's sweet chihuahua Satine. Kitten was not super thrilled with the new addition to the family and chased her around a bit. I think she was half-curious, wanting to be friendly, and half-jealous. All in all, it was a fun visit!

Yesterday Chelsea's older sister Stephanie and her fiance Dan came to Crate & Barrel to register for their wedding in August. As the floor manager, I am in charge of hosting wedding parties, a private event the C&B puts on for couples to create their wedding registries in the store. We have breakfast, product demos, and lots of friendly staff on hand to answer any questions. It was really fun for me to have family attend! You guys did a great job :) Steph and I had a one-on-one session today after work to help her navigate the store and product a little more, and it was fun to give her some tips and insider info. I'm excited for their wedding in August, yay!

Yesterday afternoon Chels and I went on a 5-mile walk with the family. Aunt Cathy, cousins Miranda & Claire, Stephanie, Chelsea, and I did the walk as a practice run for a half-marathon walk we planned to do with the family before Steph's wedding. Aunt Cathy and Cindy had the idea for the "wedding march" and we've been walking around Greenlake once a week since the beginning of the year to prepare. Very fun! We all made it, from Madrona (Aunt Cathy's house) to Seward Park in Seattle. What a beautiful walk! It was along Lake Washington Boulevard, right along the lake, with many big old houses and nice parks. It was a lovely walk and we had a great time--I'm proud of us!

Busy Week!

Whew, feels like we've been running around all week! Here's what we've been up to:

Wednesday night we went to a show at the Tractor Tavern to see Chris Pureka. Our friend Lindsay Fuller opened for Chris on Monday night in Bellingham, and Wednesday was Chris' CD release party. Good times! The music is awesome, check her out on iTunes. Lindsay's latest record (The Last Light I See) has just been completed and is also available on iTunes. We're all looking forward to her CD release party at the Tractor! :)

Friday night we went to dinner at our friends Nick & Ann Marie's for our first ever Lebanese food experience. It was delicious! Ann Marie is a very good cook so I knew we were in good hands :) We had fattoush salad, hummus and tabbouleh, falafel, pita, and baklava for dessert. Yum! Chels and I are going to try and make the recipes from our "It's Greek to Me" PCC Cooks Class next time we have Nick & Ann Marie over, so stay tuned... We also got to play with their sweet mini Australian Shepard puppy Gus, so cute!

Today we helped Chelsea's sister Stephanie out as volunteers for a yoga in the park session she put together for Street Yoga. Check it out at: www.streetyoga.org. Steph started working toward becoming a yoga instructor late last year and in January of this year she started the Seattle branch of Street Yoga (it is based in Portland). The goal is to teach yoga to homeless and at risk youth to help overcome trauma and create a safe, true home within themselves. Steph is now a yoga instructor and has been teaching classes around Seattle, with private lessons for me and Chels :) Today Steph put on a yoga in the park fundraiser for Street Yoga, and along with Lululemon clothing, taught 3 yoga classes to community members. And it was sunny in Seattle for the event, if you can believe it! :) Chels and I sold t-shirts for Street Yoga and passed out brochures and training information. I think we were pretty good sales girls! The event was really neat, good job Boo! We're proud of you!

California!!!

Chels and I were in California a few weekends ago to visit her parents and attend her cousin Jake's wedding. We had a blast! Friday night her parents hosted a get-together dinner for the Toby side of the family: us and Chelsea's dad Barry's brother and his family. Here is a picture of the cousins and new additions to the fam:

Megan & Jillian are close in age to Stephanie & Chelsea and they all grew up very close. We even got to watch fun family videos of them all on camping trips, very cute!

Here are the Toby's at Jake & Jazmin's wedding:

And one of the happy couple:

Jake is Chelsea's older cousin, the oldest son of her mom Cindy's brother John. Welcome to the family, Jazmin!

The three boys of the family: Joe, Jake, & Andrew

The Levy's, how cute!

Like father, like son:

Stay tuned, more fun photos to come!