Happy Wedding Day Jackie and Matt!
May this be a special day, but may you also always keep in mind that life is full of “moments.”
May you have many memorable moments in your lifetime together.
#mrandmrskallis
Love ya,
Mom II
xo
Wedding
Bloom with Hope – Always and The TOUGH MUDDER!
StampinUp Bloom with Hope Watercolored in Shades of Blue
Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY! Jackie and Matt’s Wedding!!
Hopefully she is much too busy to be bothered reading my little ole’ blog post (or she will see her wedding card!)
This card is my #FreebieFriday post for our #WheretheRubberHitstheRoad group, and I couldn’t be more excited for a Friday!
Tomorrow’s celebration will be followed by an overnight with some of our besties, Joyce and Rob, followed by the #ToughMudder Event on Sunday, where Jake and Nick are participating in a team with Nick’s best buddy, Jon and his sister, Kelly. Go Team McKinney/Randza!
#ToughMudder is a 10-12 mile (18-20 km) obstacle course designed to test all-around strength, stamina, teamwork, and mental grit. The idea of Tough Mudder is not to win, but to have a story to tell!
Check out this video:
Oh Boy! Eh? It sounds like a lot of fun (for us spectators!) and is for a great cause – the Wounded Warrior Project.
Hopefully, I will get some fun photos and have some good stories to tell, but until then, have a great weekend all!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS – In perusing some new bloggers and blogs, I came across a fun new challenge site: Addicted to Stamps Challenge Blog and Laurie’s beautiful entry into the CAS Challenge #109.
CAS means “clean and simple” in the stamping and cardmaking world, so I thought I would give it a try with this card I made last week for Jackie and Matt’s wedding.
Clean and Simple can often be a challenge for me – I tend to want to over-embellish, but I think I kept this one pretty clean and simple 🙂 .
Wedding Survival Kit
One week from today is Jackie and Matt’s wedding. Another one of “our children” is getting married… (sigh)
Where did the time go?
When I met my BFF, Jill, we were pregnant with Nick and Jayme and had two little babies. I had Jake. She had Jackie.
Last year Jake married our beloved Colleen. This year Jackie gets to marry her dear Matt.
I can still picture our two little toe heads and the wonderful times we shared as we weaved our way through diapers and bottles and strollers and trips to the mall (just to get out of the house)….
to being homeroom moms together and planning holiday parties and the best obstacle courses for field day…
to PTA meetings, playgroups, the best themed birthday parties and homemade Halloween costumes…
to Jill & Jodi’s Junque craft shows, and then re-entering the workforce, being parents of teens, then sending them to college and empty nesting…
and now weddings.
It is a great life to share with friends like we are, and I am so excited to celebrate our Jackie next week.
One of the shower gifts I gave Jackie was this simple little “Wedding Survival Kit.”
I put all the items in a cute little keepsake box that Jackie can use for whatever she wants.
You can customize it to suit your special couple and make a sweet, personalized gift.
A crayon – to “color” all the days of your marriage bright and sunny
A rubber band – to remind you to always be flexible
A candle – to help the glow of romance always be part of your love for Matt
A paper clip – to help you hold it all together
A penny – to give you extra “cents” to know which battles are worth fighting and which are not
Some tape – to remind you little things can be “fixed”
A highlighter – to highlight all of the wonderful moments you and Matt will have
A glue stick – to help you “stick it out” during the rough patches
A battery – to help you recharge after a long day (or week…or month…)
A button – to remind you that sometimes you need to “button your lip”
A safety pin – to help you pin-point your problems and solve them
A dental pic – to always pick out the best in Matt
A q-tip – to dig out all the bad things in your relationship
A band-aid – so you can tackle those high heels in August
Can’t wait to celebrate your day next week at this time Jackie!
Love ya!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Pittsburgh-Style Sprinkle Thumbprint Cookies
So – we have already discussed that we Pittsburghers do cookies for weddings. Right?
Massive cookie tables that serve as appetizers, desserts (along with cake!), and take-home treats/gifts/doggie bags.
Pittsburgh is also kinda famous for our twist on the traditional thumbprint cookie, which is typically filled with jam or fruit preserves and rolled in nuts.
Nope – in the Burgh, we do sprinkles and icing on our thumbprints!
Many of the local bakeries as well as our large grocery store chain, Giant Eagle, make and sell these by the hundreds of dozens. They come in a variety of colors of icing and sprinkles and there is also a chocolate icing version.
The ones I made this week are blue because, well – they are for an upcoming wedding (WOOHOO Jackie and Matt – only a little over a week to go!) – and I wanted to match the wedding color theme (as close as possible with sprinkles and icing – there are only so many shades of blue sprinkles available….)
Here are the ones I made last year for Jake and Colleen’s wedding in yellow.
I must give credit to two great baking bloggers for this recipe: Michelle – Brown Eyed Baker and Chelsea – Chelsea Bakes.
Pittsburgh-Style Sprinkle Thumbprint Cookies:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Sprinkles of your color choice
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour and salt. Once it is mostly incorporated, slowly increase the speed back to medium-high and beat for another minute or so until a dough forms.
3. Form tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in the sprinkles. If dough is a bit dry, you can add a little bit of milk or cream or put on your hands when rolling the balls to allow sprinkles to stick.
4. Place on baking stone about 1 – 1/2 inches apart. Make a slight indentation with your thumb or finger on the tops of all the cookies.
5. Bake for 8 minutes, then make a deeper indentation in the middle, and bake for an additional 7-8 minutes. The cookies should not brown much at all around the edges. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Icing:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons milk or cream
Pinch salt
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butter, room temperature
food color of your choice
Stir together all ingredients until smooth, then drop a spoonful into each cooled cookie.
I liken the taste of this buttery cookie to that of shortbread. It is thick and moist and dense and tender flaky all at once.
You need to allow these cookies to cool for quite a long time for the icing to “set.” I leave mine on racks overnight and then place in Ziploc Freezer bags.
To make the chocolate frosting version, see Michelle’s recipe on her Brown Eyed Baker Blog here.
Enjoy these Burgh style cookies.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Salted Caramel Black Walnut Brownies
We were going to a special event on Saturday (a wedding celebration for my brother, Jeff, and new Sis-in-Law, Terri 🙂 ), and I didn’t want to go empty-handed. I had figured on taking the usual “Jodi’s Almost Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies” because the kiddos really love them.
But I wanted to make something else special and yummy for the occasion. I was watching one of my cooking “heroes,” Ree Drumond aka The Pioneer Woman, in the morning and was inspired by her Crazy Brownie recipe.
So I checked the baking shelf (which needed cleaning out desperately – so it led to that!) Think I have enough stuff???!!
And set out to make my own brownies. I used some of her tricks, including a box of Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake for the base to which I added 1/3 of a cup of evaporated milk and a stick of melted butter.
I pressed about 2/3 of that into the bottom of my round baking dish. (I’ve always loved to bake my brownies in a round dish – my BFF Jill got me started on that years ago I think….)
Then I had all of these caramels in a Ziploc bag ALREADY unwrapped from some other baking project from who knows when, so I figured I would melt them with the rest of the evaporated milk and make a caramel gooey layer.
It starts like this….
and turns into this yummy goodness!
So I layered that on, sprinkled it with a layer of sea salt, added the rest of the batter in blobs (technical term) on top of it, then a sprinkling of chopped black walnuts, some leftover shaved chocolate and a smidge more sea salt.
It went in the oven looking like this:
and came out like this:
and was pretty amazing when I cut into it…
Yummy, sweet, salty, gooey goodness!
at Life In Between.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Blessings Jar – Thankful for one of the Best Gifts Ever
So it’s the Day After #GFC2014 Weekend, and I’m still feeling so thankful and so blessed! Relaxing with Marty on this Sunday evening, and a teensy glass of red wine :).
For some reason, I was reminded of one of the best (birthday) gifts I’ve ever received. And it made me realize what a great Wedding Gift this could be during wedding season, so I wanted to share.
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My BFF, Jill, gave me this gift on my birthday a year ago, which just so happens to fall on New Year’s Eve, so coincides beautifully with New Year’s resolutions and new habits to create for the new year.
You see, “best gifts ever” don’t have to be expensive or elaborate. The best gifts ever are from the heart and those that create memories for a lifetime.
My gift was a jar filled with blank colored index card sized pieces of paper. In explaining the gift, Jill encouraged me to write down blessings throughout the year and things I am thankful for. She said we could then reopen it the following year, and revel in the wonderful experiences of the past year.
I still have the jar, and I review the notes occasionally. Sometimes when I’m feeling blessed and happy, and sometimes when I need a lift.
In my happiness and afterglow of the blessings of this past weekend, I decided to revisit the jar and read some of the blessings from 2013. It doesn’t need to be New Year’s or Christmas or a Birthday or Thanksgiving to be thankful.
Let me share just a small sampling of some of the little notes I scribbled throughout the year. Some of them are BIG – like my oldest son, Jake’s wedding, my youngest son, Nick, getting a new job…. Some are very small – like planting tomatoes or a phone call from a friend. But ALL of them bring a smile to my face and heart, bring me joy, and make me realize how fortunate, thankful, and blessed I am.
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January 1, 2013: “Celebrated the first moments of 2013 with some of the people I am closest to – Marty, Jill, and Todd. This was our FIRST year when all the kids did their own thing – be we savored the moments, the friendship, the blessings, AND we texted with the kids!”
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January 7, 2013: “Received a beautiful card from Joyce and Rob thanking and celebrating our recent reunion. A reminder to consider perception becomes reality until clarified, and can result in boundless blessings.”
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May 4, 2013: “Jake ran and finished the Pittsburgh Marathon! 26.2 miles in 4 hours, 53 minutes. Such a amazing accomplishment! So proud! Jill and Todd were there with us to cheer him on!”
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May 8, 2013: “Pam called today. Had such a nice talk. Good friends are such a blessing.”
*****
May 13, 2013: “Nick got a new job. Starts 6/10/13. So proud and so happy for him. I know he will be a great SUCCESS!”
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May 25, 2013: Planted tomatoes. Can’t wait to watch them grow and enjoy the bounty!”
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May 28, 2013: Girl’s Day Out with Janet – manicures and pedicures and bridal shower shopping!
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June 1, 2013: Today was Colleen’s Bridal Shower! It was a great day to celebrate a very special young lady we love!”
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June 1, 2013: Jake brought flowers to the shower for Colleen, Teri, and me. So proud of him and love him dearly!”
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June 13, 2013: “Marty got a ride in the autonomous car!”
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July 12, 2013: “So thankful for best friends ever helping with Jake and Colleen’s Wedding Rehearsal Dinner – Janet, Jill, Dawn, Tracy, even Todd and ” Baby” Jake – LOVE them all!”
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July 13, 2013: “WEDDING DAY for Jake and Colleen! AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL DAY!”
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August 15, 2013: “Matt and Judy came to visit and stay for the weekend. GREAT time catching up and reminiscing. Love them!”
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September 1, 2013: “First invitation to dinner at Jake and Colleen’s. So good to be with them in their new home.”
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September 17, 2013: “Card-making class with Colleen.”
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October 12, 2013: Wonderful GFC Weekend with Pam, Jill, Janet and Joan!”
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November 16, 2013: “Marty’s 55th Birthday! Fun time with family and Hendy’s – lots of love!”
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November 22, 2013: “Jackie and Matt ENGAGED! YAY!!!”
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November 28, 2013: “WONDERFUL Thanksgiving – Johnny came to visit – SURPRISE! with Nancy – and it was GREAT to hug him! Then a lovely dinner with Dad and Carole.”
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November 29, 2013: “So Thankful for my Marty. His heart and mind are my ROCK!”
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December 22, 2013: “Christmas with the Hendy’s at Jake and Colleen’s House!”
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December 31, 2013: “My birthday lunch with my Dad.”
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You see – there are so many things to be thankful for! BIG and small!
Wouldn’t a Blessings Jar or a Thankful Jar be a great wedding or birthday gift to give a friend or loved one? Hardly any money, but it will create a lifetime of memories.
Appreciate the moments at Life in Between…
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Happy 1st Anniversary Jake and Colleen!
I can’t believe it is already a year!
A year since our family was so fortunate to add a new McKinney member.
A year since our Jake was lucky enough to “score” one of the greatest girls in the world to be his wife!
A year since Marty and I were given the gift of a wonderful “Daughter” (in law)!
A year since the greatest party of all time at Gable Farm!
A year since “I Do” and “I Do Too!” 🙂
Happy Anniversary Jake and Colleen!
I love you both MORE than you could ever know, and more than words could ever express.
I wish you a lifetime of love and joy and happiness!
Know that it will be tested with trials and challenges, but also know that it is worth it and you are both worth it, and it can last a lifetime.
Cheers and Hugs for the first of many HAPPY ANNIVERSARIES!
Love ALWAYS!
Mom
xo
S’More Cookies Please!
I could barely wait to share this recipe for S’More Cookies that I made on Sunday!
OOOOO LAAAA LAAAA!!!
It’s like a campfire memory in a cookie!
I was inspired to make these as I began thinking about cookies to bake for Jackie’s Wedding (which is only a month away!!! Sooooo excited!!!).
the beautiful bride to be, Jackie, at her bridal shower, with yours truly
For those of you that don’t live in or around Pittsburgh – aka “Da ”Burgh,” – we have what I’ve come to learn is an unusual tradition at weddings. (Much like french fries on salads, calling rubber bands “gum bands”, calling groups of people “Yinz,” being the ultimate “Stillers” and “Buccos” sports fans, calling bologna “Jumbo” and – oh – I could go on and on about our wonderful Pittsburghese – isms! 🙂 )
We have Cookie Tables at weddings.
VERY large cookie tables.
Like where Cookies are APPETIZERS and DESSERT… AND go with the meal…
The Cookie Table at Jake and Colleen’s Wedding on July 13, 2013 @ Gable Farms, Lake Latonka, PA
And just to be sure you understand correctly – this does not mean we don’t have wedding cake…. Oh my no – we have BOTH – cookies AND cake!
So when thinking of how to best celebrate our sweet Jackie and what kind of cookies to bake, I thought of S’Mores – which are Jackie’s favorite treat – and I found this amazing recipe by Jen at CarlsbadCravings.com.
I couldn’t think of anything to make it any better, so here is Jen’s recipe exactly as she posted. I hope you don’t mind me sharing Jen! (Photos are of the ones I baked.)
The only things I changed were that I baked for only 7 minutes on baking stones in my convection oven. I always under bake slightly and let set on stones to finish. I also added about an extra 1/4 cup flour, which I often do to cookie recipes to give them more fullness and chewiness.
Soft and Chewy S’more Cookies
Author: Jen@CarlsbadCravings.com
Serves: 3 dozen 2″ cookies (of course I doubled the recipe 🙂 )
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 Hershey bars, broken
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions:
- Cream together butter and sugars; mix in egg and vanilla.
- Add flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and salt. Mix until smooth.
- Stir in chocolate chips and chocolate chunks until well combined.
- Drop by heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheet about 3 inches apart.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove and quickly press marshmallows into cookies. Return to oven and cook until done, about 3-4 minutes
If you like s’mores, you will love these cookies.
I’ll be making these for Jackie’s wedding – most likely AGAIN – as I’m not sure these will last……
Cheers and Hugs,
Jodi
the creative life in between 