Category: Blogging

January 19th: Discover a New Bakery

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This is actually on my list every year and just get added back every year because who doesn’t like discovering a new bakery.

So, I just typed bakery near me into google and found this little spot – Rheinlander Bakery in Olde Town Arvada – which is such a cute little neighborhood.

Right now, because of Covid there are so many different restrictions and lots of cafes have outdoor seating, which makes the neighborhood even cuter.

When I went inside I was even more in love. They are very prepared for Mardi Gras right now with lots and lots of decorations and French Quarter treats, including coffee grounds and beignet mix from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans (which I love!)

I also really loved that you could see them baking right out in the open.

But what I loved most of all were the treats. I just got a few tortes but will definitely be back to try other things, maybe even a king cake for Mardi Gras in a few weeks!

If you are in the Denver/Arvada area I highly recommend this place. Aside from it being so cute and delicious the staff was very friendly and quick!

January 15th: Make Homemade Soup

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The end of last year and coming into this year has been a time of cooking, baking and creating all kinds of new food for me! I think I even talked about it in an earlier post about how I have been cooking casserole or dishes for a regular customer of mine weekly. It has been pretty great because it has provided some extra income while the bar (and all restaurants) have not been as profitable.

So I made some homemade soup!

Found this recipe and wanted to try it. Cooking Classy – Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.

It turned out great! And pretty easy to put together.

January 9th: Start a Recipe Box

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Anyone that personally knows me, knows that throughout covid I have been cooking and baking like a crazy person. Over the holidays when business was slow at the bar I even made a little business out of it, cooking cakes, cookies and pies for people. I even have one regular customer now who orders casserole dinners from me once a week. I take pride that I actually feed this person meals on a regular basis.

With all of that said, I have been making new dishes and baked goods on a regular basis. I often have to search my phone over and over again foe recipes. I have some regulars at the bar, who very sweetly bought me a recipe box with cards to keep track of everything.

So now, I need to fill it with all the recipes I have been accumulating so I don’t have to search for them online every time. I am very excited about this. Let me know if anyone out there has recipes to share!

This is 2020! January 1st: Get Book Recommendations

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Here we go! Excited to kick off 2020 and make a solid attempt to complete my list. Since 2017 I’ve made a list and attempted to complete as many of the 365 things. Once completed I cross them off. As the new year approaches I add new things so my list is full. Sometimes I add back in things I completed because of the way it enriched my life. This being one of them. I love asking for book recommendations and try hard to read at least some of them. So here’s ten that I got today!

  • 48 Laws of Power
  • Talking to Strangers
  • The Rituals
  • Love is a Mixtape
  • Black Hearts
  • The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck
  • The Girl Who Drank the Moon
  • Flowers in the Attic Series
  • The Hearts Invisible Furies
  • Where the Crawdads Sing

I already ordered “The Girl Who Drank the Moon” and “The Rituals”! Excited to get them and begin this adventure!

January 13th: Read an Entire Newspaper

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Reading an entire newspaper is exhausting! And I am at a slight fork in the road how I feel about this.

It has literally been years, maybe over a decade since I read any part of a newspaper. Do not get me wrong, I read and watch the news. But obviously, I assume, nearly every person knows and understands that printed newspapers are nearly obsolete.(I had to ask the woman at the store how to ring in the newspaper at the self-checkout, and she said, “how to ring in WHAT?” 😂)

It is no secret that the internet provided an immediacy to news and television broadcasts provide an ease. But after reading the paper today I have to say I found it somewhat refreshing (even though, as I said in my opener exhausting).

As I read each article I felt the sense that I knew the information or had at least heard snippets of the information on the internet or on tv, yet, the articles went into so much more detail, had more cohesive information and felt more intricately descriptive in theme.

However, if I think about the stories the paper is dated upon its release. Obviously, that is one of the debates that people bring up when they think of the extinction of printed news. But I think I have to fight for it. I think it is important to still print. I think it is important to still investigate and bring more details to stories that are too quickly being released online without the journalism of the past. I believe I could go on for a whole dissertation about this topic and the issue of fake news but I will not digress into politics.

Really I just want to say, this was a good experience. I think it is always important to stay up to date with news but with this experience I think it is important to just take a moment to do something in a way you thought maybe was not as important anymore. I am not buying stock in printed news or anything but I think it’s worth it to use its reliability to gather information. Maybe I will just start buying the Sunday paper and spend the week reviewing it.

January 11th: Make Hot Chocolate from Scratch

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I have gotten a little backed up on posting but it does not mean I have not been actively checking things off my list. I suppose one task I should add to the list is keep my blog up to date. So I suppose today I will aim to make that happen and back date my postings.

So Friday, January 11th seemed like the perfect day to make some homemade hot chocolate! We had six inches of snow in Denver! Although much of it did not stick because it was so warm out, it still felt like a great day for some cocoa!

I found this super simple recipe online: Best Hot Chocolate from Scratch and went for it!

Gathered ingredients:

Started by heating whole milk and sugar:

Melted down the chocolate in the microwave:

Mixed it in once the milk started to slightly simmer:

Added a touch of vanilla. And boom- Hot chocolate!

It was decadent. And so easy! Definitely a great thing to do on a cold, winter day!

January 8th: Make a New Essential Oil Blend

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I had this on my list last year and checked it off around this time of year, but I loved it so much I made sure to add it back to the list this year.

I made nearly the same one but left our the peppermint this year. After reading some effects of peppermint it can be very invigorating… which absolutely can be a good thing but when trying to make a blend for pain relief I wanted something that was calming. So I just blended eucalyptus and lavender. Both are said to have calming and pain relief aspects to them.

I still have major nerve pain and inflammation my hands on a regular basis, so I’m hoping using this blend can help with that.

For those that have never made a blend, it is pretty simple. I always research what oils blend well together and for what purposes and then use the recipe with a carrier oil, usually fractionated coconut oil.

This is all I needed to make my new blend and I am already using it!

I found a lot of other recipes I cannot wait to try out this year too!

January 7th: Take Amtrak to Glenwood Springs

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This is such a great experience and another one that I actually crossed off last year but never input, so on another day when I am super busy with work I am crossing this off the list.

Anyone that lives in Denver, I highly recommend this. I went with a wedding party. It was a BLAST!

Here are some great pictures from the train! I would love to go again this winter or fall to see a different scene.

January 5th: Build Shelves in my Kitchen

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I love DIY projects, especially since I bought my house. Many blah posts over the last couple years often show that.

When I first moved in I knew I would be making a lot of changes. The kitchen at the front of my mind.

This is what it looked like when I first moved in.

I quickly moved my refrigerator, took down some of the cabinets and painted the remaining ones. This quickly showed that I needed some more storage areas.

I found these shelves on Etsy

But all the ones I found were either too small or far too expensive.

So I decided I could make them myself!

I contacted a friend who I Jew had an abundance of reclaimed wood, found piping online at Essential Hardware and went to work.

This is what the kitchen has become. It is amazing how some colorful paint and a cheap DIY project can transform a space.

I am pleased with it. But will always continue changing things up. I already have changed how the shelves are organized to make them look a little more decorative.

I have a few more to put on another wall but am having problems attaching them because of the type of material the wall is made out of. Hopefully a project for another day.

January 1st: Purge One Item Everyday for a Month

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Here we go again. Last year was not as good as I would hope but I’m going for… I only marked 60 things off my life… but I’m going for it again. This year I am kicking it off with purging items to declutter my life.

On the 1st I threw away some old boots that I have been holding onto for far too long.

Throughout the month I will continue to throw things out in hopes to clean up my house. They say decluttering brings a sense of peace.

February 19th: Make Dinner at Home Every Night for a Week

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This month I have really started to get into some more of the weekly/monthly tasks. Currently, I am working on spending only cash and not eating any pizza. Both are going well so far.

So today I am throwing in another one, and this one should help coincide with the other two. I plan to make dinner at home every night this week. Sometimes dinner will be from scratch but other times just making something at home, rather than eating out or eating from work (usually mostly pizza) will be beneficial.

My hardest nights will be the weekend because I work late but I just need to make sure I plan and make sure if I have to be at work at dinner time, I make dinner at home and bring it in for myself at work.

Tonight I just made some Mac & Cheese and chicken. Easy enough. Hoping to keep going all week!

What are you doing today? This week? This month?

February 18th: Deep Clean My Diffuser

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I started using a diffuser about a year ago. I am absolutely obsessed with essential oils and use them for everything from purification is the air, helping me breathe, helping me control appetite, relaxation, helping me fall asleep… the list goes on and on.

I typically just wash it out every once in a while, particularly when I switch between oils but I never really thought about doing a deep clean. Someone mentioned it to me and it I was shocked I had not thought about it before.

Below is the cleansing regime that I found on DoTerra‘s website because that is who I buy all my oils and even my diffuser from. But if you plan to use it, make sure it does not make your diffuser warranty ineffective, as I have heard that happens with some companies.

1 Fill your diffuser half way with clean water.

2 Add 10 drops of white vinegar.

3 Let the diffuser run for about 5 minutes to allow the water-vinegar mixture to disperse throughout the unit and clean it.

4 Drain the diffuser completely.

5 Using a cotton swab dipped in vinegar, clean the tight spots and corners of the diffuser.

6 Rinse with clean water.

7 Use a dry cloth to wipe the diffuser and dry it thoroughly.