My Winter Staple

I have this friend...

This friend is a loyal blogger...

This friend is a wonderful person...

This friend hands down makes the most wonderful recipes and blogs them, daily and shares all of her wonderful recipes with her readers...

I want to cook wonderful things like she does, and I want to try almost every recipe she has ever posted...

I am pretty sure she should cook for money, because I am certain she would dominate the world and make a killing!

I think my friend Jaime may be a secret chef... :)

I am going to jump on Jaime's train and post one of my most favorite Winter Time soups to share with my friends. To me, there is nothing better than a hot soup on a cold and snowy day. I found this recipe back in 2006, when I was still super new to my current job and was bored out of my skull one day. I spent a few days (cough, cough - weeks!) bored and expanded my cookbook with recipes I found online during the day.

There are a few things about this recipe that I LOVE:

• It is even better as left overs the next day. It is even more thick and creamy than it was the day before!
  
• You can cut down calories by using low cal/low fat ingredients and it still tastes identical.
  
• If you like crackers, I suggest plain goldfish... they are my favorite!
  
• I hate onions, but the original recipe calls for 1 large one... you can use it if you want! (Sick!)
  

I don't have a picture of my soup as my dear friend is so wonderful at doing, but that is only because I made this on Sunday evening and it is gone now and I am just now getting around to blog about it!

Cheesy Ham 'N' Potato Soup

• 2 cups cubed potatoes
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) finely shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

• In a saucepan, bring potatoes and water to a boil. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid; set potatoes and liquid aside.
• In a large saucepan, saute ham in butter. Stir in the flour and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk and reserved cooking liquid. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low. Add the cheese, and reserved potatoes; cook and stir until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Yield: 7 servings.

I'm drooling all over again thinking about it! I can only hope that you enjoy it as much as I do on a cold snowy day!

My Secret to Cleaning (Myself & My House!)

It was about a year ago... If I do remember correctly.

*A year ago I decided that I was so over washing wash cloths every time I washed my face clear of make-up in the evening. Not only was it annoying to always wash them, but I had a horrible habit of forgetting about them and then they would get smelly and then would get thrown away.

*A year ago I decided that the "toss away" make-up removers were too expensive. Honestly, $6 for 24 wipes... I love spending money, don't get me wrong! However, that is an expense that isn't fun and I could be putting towards something more important... like shoes!

I put my mind to use and tried to brainstorm ways where I would make better use of my laundry and my money to keep my face squeaky clean.

One evening, I was at Walgreens with my parents and told my Mom about my dilemma. With a very serious tone and with no thinking at all, she says: "What about baby wipes?"

Is this lady serious? I thought about it, and really thought it was weird and told her I would think about it. However, the more walking around Walgreens we did, the more sense it made. I walked over to the Baby Aisle and scoped out the baby wipe selection trying to determine if this was something I truly was going to try. I didn't want to SMELL like a baby, so there goes the scented kinds. I also didn't want to risk breaking out in any type of rash with my sensitive skin.



Huggie's Natural Care, Hypo-Allergenic, Fragrance Free Wipes... my answer to everything!

Of course, I walked up to the register with a box of wipes, and my Dad looked at me like I was off my rocker. Why in the world would I need wipes? It's a year later, and he still doesn't understand - but that's a Dad for ya!

Let me point a few things out, and why I am so incredibly grateful that I still listen to my Mom!

*I can buy a package of 216 wipes for a mere $7. Compared to my once purchased 24 for $6.

*I clean my face, I throw it away! Heck, at the price that I paid, I can actually afford to use two wipes if my eye liner is truly not coming off my eyes.

*My face never breaks out from them, but are always fresh and so clean!

*For those mornings that I might get a little too crazy with spitting out the toothpaste all over the sink, ya pull out a wipe, wipe it down and bam! Clean sink again! Did I mention it's also wonderful for any type of counter cleaning in the bathroom as well?

*Lastly, when I go on a trip - oh how those handy little wipe containers travel just perfectly! Perfect size to pack into my suitcase, and holds just as many wipes as I would need to travel with!

It's funny, I was reading an article on People.com a few months back and my being a very big fan of any of the Real Housewives shows on Bravo, an article from Bethenny Frankel caught my eye. It was all about motherhood (something let's face it, I know nothing about!), and baby wipes. She was talking about the wonders of a baby wipe and how she cleans everything with them! I'm not alone and I'm not the only one who finds the baby wipe to be an amazing find!

A Review: William & Kate ~ A Love Story

I know, I know... I've been missing! I've literally had writers block for months and didn't want to have just boring old topics that you read in 2 secs and thought "Becca, really? Why did I read this?" Hopefully, through the months I have come up with some topics that are not boring and some what entertaining! I have a few topics in mind, so hopefully I can make up for some lost time!

My first topic involves one of my most favorite topics at the moment, The Royal Family and the wedding of William of Wales and Kate Middleton. I've loved the Royal Family from as long as I could remember. I was a young girl, and I would watch my Mom buy her Majesty magazine and read the current events of the Royal Monarch. I'd sit on the floor by the bookshelf and thumb through her various books looking at the pictures of a young William and Harry. I looked at those books fascinated by the pictures of Charles and Diana's wedding. Then again, emotional watching on tv the news of passing of the Princess Diana, followed by the funeral.

When the news broke out of the engagement of William and Kate, that sparked my lost interest up again and got me to the book store as quick as I could possibly get there! Now, let me start off by saying - I am NOT a reader. At all. I watch tv. I watch reality tv. I do not read. I used to be a reader, but that was when Land Before Time puppets were big at Pizza Hut, followed by the Book It star stickers for the button! I first bought a book on William and Harry, and their childhood growing up. William and Harry, Behind the Palace Walls. I read this on our trip to Blowing Rock, North Carolina over Thanksgiving. Very easy read, and a good peek into the lives of these two famous Princes. If I took anything from the book, it was that they were badddd!! Harry, Harry, Harry... what in the world were you thinking?! However, at the end of the book - you love them, even more. They are two very likeable boys, and you just cannot help but want to hug them both!


Then, in the midst of my searches -I found another book was on the verge of being released! All about William and Kate and their love story! Now, if you'll look at my DVR list currently - you'd wonder why I would even need a book because I have everything I need on tv! But, I wasn't over my obsession and I needed more books.

I hopped onto Barnes & Noble online and held a book for Kate and I the minute it was released. We would pick this book up the night before we left for Seattle for some Royal reading.

Now, as a quick side note - I am not yet done with this book. My sister and I wanted to read it at the same time so we had to wait until we were done reading other books before we could both start this one. During this time, my "not liking to read" actually flipped around and I read two books during the trip before I started this one! Yes, me the person who hates reading read TWO full books! (Maybe I'll talk about those later...)

I'm 60ish pages into this book and let me tell you, it is one of those books that leaves you angered. It is a biased book, it is a Royal Blood Bath, it is not at all a read for someone who loves the Royal Family. Now, I'm not sitting here saying that the Royal Family is perfect because no family is perfect. Yes, Charles did some bad things. Yes, Diana had quite a few imperfections that no one truly talks about. But, I still cannot help but love them. This book for a Windsor Family Fan is NOT good! I'm going to continue to read it because, well I bought it and cannot find the receipt to take it back. However, I am also continuing to read it to listen to how much Christopher Andersen truly doesn't know what he is talking about. His quotes, they quote no one. He doesn't list sources but leaves the person as a general quote. "xxx" said a friend of a friend with NO NAME. Uh huh... riiiight! I want proof that this stuff actually happened!

Whew. That said: I think I am going to make my New Years Resolution to be read more. Turn off my tv (it will be the hardest thing I've ever done...) and read the new books I bought in Seattle with my Barnes and Noble gift card and not let them collect dust. I vow that this book of bull honkey, and the two other novels I bought will be read by the end of February. It will be my greatest challenge, but I will do it!

Single + Childless = Boring?

**Disclaimer: this blog isn't the happy peppy, Becca that you all know and love! This is more getting something off my chest. I promise that my next blog won't be so bitter and gloomy.*



Over the past month, I've had two situations occur that have made me scratch my head and wonder why people have said things the way that they did. The first time it happened, I was curious as to why that person had said what they did and it made me think about it for weeks. The second time, I realized that these words more than made me think, they actually hurt my feelings a smidge.

I've recently had people pass judgment on me and my life because I am not in a relationship/married, and because I do not have any children.

*A friend asked me if I had the opportunity to watch a particular movie over a period of a few weeks. I had told him no, I had not watched it yet and immediately I was told "How do you not have any time to watch it? You don't have any family or kid type responsibilities to worry about."

*Last week at work, we had a Cupcake Bake-Off for our department. I was appointed the person to organize it and get everything set up. I had sent out an email to our entire group 3 weeks prior letting them know the details and all that good stuff to participate. The night before I spent (along with my sister and one of my best friends) cooking cupcakes, decorating cupcakes and making everything perfect for the competition. I spent a good amount of money, and a great amount of time in making them to perfection to win a prize for the bake off. I took them to work the next day, and many people who said that they would participate backed out at the last minute. That's fine, I understand that life can be busy and things come up. No big deal! However, someone saw my cupcakes and the only thing that came out of her mouth was, "Wow. We can tell that someone has a lot of time on her hands with no kids or family to worry about."

These two statements truly made me think about not only my current life, but my future as well. I don't know if they think that it is a choice that I have made to not have a significant other in my life, or if I don't want a family - but that couldn't be further from the truth. Honestly, I could potentially have a significant other and children in my current life, but I have chosen not to marry any of my boyfriends who I knew that we were not meant to be life long partners. I am not going to run out and find just anyone to fill a missing void. I want to know in my heart the person that I am going to spend the rest of my life with is that person. Until then, I will continue to be the single girl that I currently am.

However, does being a single girl with no family make me boring? I do not spend my time as a single girl going out to the bars drinking every night. I do not go out with friends every night. I do not spend my time in my bed crying that I am alone. Instead, I spend my time bettering my career and working as hard as I can from the hours of 8:30am - 5:30pm. When I leave work, I either run errands, come home and cook dinner, clean my place, spend time with my family, spend time with friends, go to Weight Watchers, go to the gym, and yes maybe I spend some time sitting on my couch watching my favorite tv shows. The weekends are busy doing housework, grocery shopping, helping my parents remodel their house, volunteering for the Food Pantry of Delaware County, etc.

Does this seem to be the life of a boring person who has all the time in the world on their hands? Additionally, why am I being judged for being single and alone?

I look at all of my friends who are married, with or without children, and I am the FIRST person to congratulate them for their relationships and growing families. I am happy for anyone who is able to create that cute little family and I am honored to watch their families grow. Everyone deserves to be happy, and everyone deserves the best life possible. I just hope that at some point those all around who have those single friends remember that being single isn't always a choice, and many of us want what others have. Until then, I will continue to keep busy with my "boring, single girl life with no responsibilities." Sigh.

In the words of my favorite "single" role model, Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City:

“Later that day I got to thinking about relationships. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.” --Carrie Bradshaw

Whooooo's Having a Baby???

There is really only a few times a year that I feel like I have "creative juices." The #1 event that would involve my favorite use of creative juices would be Christmas. I love Christmas cards. I love making my Christmas card. I love taking the annual picture to put on front of my Christmas cards. Let's face it, I just love cards in general. I also love that people look forward to seeing what my card will look like and look forward to receiving it! Makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

A friend of mine recently asked me if I would be interested in making some Baby Shower invites for her dear friend who is expecting twin boys. I thought to myself, eh - why not!? I enjoy this time of stuff and another event to hopefully bring a smile to people's faces with the final product. I agreed, and am thrilled that I did with the way that the final product came out! Thankfully, my dear sister helped me with every aspect of the invites - we were a fantastic team of two!

The inspiration of the card was the Baby Boy's Nursery. The Parents-to-be decided to decorate in green and browns with owls. I won't lie, I was scared out of my wits when I heard the decor in wondering what creative juices I had to create these invites!

Kate and I went to every craft/scrapbooking store in Central Ohio to find all of the perfect supplies that would create an invite that would make the Mama-to-be cry! :)

After about a week of non-stop working on the invites on the weekends and after we both came home from work, they were finally complete!

This is the front of the invite, with the ribbon that you actually pull off rather than un-tying. We have the two owls on the front to represent the Twin Boys Johnson.
And... the inside! This is the part that took a TON of time but at the end of the day, I couldn't be more pleased! Every leaf under in the center was handcut, the branches were hand drawn, the little placed owl was handcut and glued one by one! Green and brown are the dominant colors to represent the colors that are being used in the nursery.
Today, is the baby shower!

I received a surprise message from the hostess today which made me smile ear to ear! They used the front two owls of the card, the branches as well as the brown and white polka dot ribbon as the inspiration for the cake! Everything matches perfectly!
Though it was a long and stressful time getting all of these complete, I wouldn't trade it for the world! On the flip side, it was so much fun and seeing the final product complete made me realize how I wouldn't mind doing this again! Kate and I always joked around about how we should do things like this, but I am serious! I loved it and would do it again anytime!

I hope that the shower today went off without a hitch, and everyone enjoyed the themselves and that the soon-to-be baby boys know how lucky they are to have such loving people in their lives!

The Pacific Northwest Collection

If you were to ask me, "Becca, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?" Most people would likely say a sunny tropical beach, a little French village, a rustic Tuscan Vineyard... but if you were to ask me right now, I'd say Seattle, Washington.

As many people know, my family is originally from the Pacific Northwest (Washington & Alaska). I was born the Seattle area in 1981, and lived there until I was in the 4th grade. We packed up and moved to Sacramento, California until the end of my 8th grade year. Once again, live moved us to Columbus, Ohio. I hold very special thoughts and feelings for all of the places that I've lived and wouldn't trade my life in each place for anything. (However, I won't lie... there were PLENTY of things I'd like to erase from my time in Sacramento. Damn those middle school years!) I am now inching towards the ripeful age of 30, and as much as I love my life in Columbus, my heart wonders what it would have been like to have lived my life with family near by. So many Thanksgivings, Christmas's, Easters, the Warren clan was just us four. Occasionally, we would have family come to visit, or we would go to visit them. Although, majority of the time - it was just us. My Dad, My Mom, My Sister and myself.

My family is growing older. My cousins are having babies and our families are expanding. I'm missing Wedding Showers, Baby Showers, and major Holiday's with my family. I will admit though, I am very lucky to have the ability to go back and visit my family minimum once a year. Sometimes more. I've learned from my Mom, that a new piece of art everytime I go back is a way to bring a little piece of "home" back to Ohio. It's a horrible habit, really... and quite frankly, just expensive! I love the hunt during my trips to find just the perfect piece of art to hang on my walls. I joke that my bedroom is called the "Pacific Northwest Greenhouse." All of the art are flowers, from the Pacific Northwest and up until this past weekend - my bedding was green. (Hello, Crate & Barrel and new bedding this past weekend!)

Featured below, every piece of artwork that I have in my room alone that brings "home" closer to me.

Piece #1: This is my newest picture which came from Alaska. My parents went up this past Summer, and my Mom had picked this picture out for me. I still need to have it framed, but it is still pretty nonetheless!

Piece #2: Another Alaska piece: Pressed Alaskan Wildflowers. This picture is actually hanging up in my bathroom. I've decorated around it, and everything in my bathroom is yellow and green.

Piece #3: Nothing screams Seattle, like the Pike Street Market! If I lived in Seattle again, I would find anyway I possibly could to get there every weekend! The fruit, the veggies, the flowers... by far the absolute best Farmer's Market in the world. Oh, and did I mention the Original Starbucks directly across the street? The atmosphere is so lively and fun! I would be crazy not to have a piece of Pike Street in my collection.
Piece #4: Nothing screams Seattle to me than Springtime flowers. Whether it be tulip fields, daffodil fields, blooming daliahs, or budding hydrangea bushes... the more flowers in my life, the better! This picture is clearly still waiting to be framed, but will be by this winter. When it does get framed it will look like................

Piece #5: This! Same artist did both of these paintings. My favorite thing about this picture is not only the flowers but the mountain! I heart Mt. Rainier. As much as I love looking out my window in my current condo and seeing my pond and fountain, I'd rather prefer to look out my window to see the mountain. Awww, the mountain. This picture used to be the focal point of my bedroom... until........

Piece(s) #6: These came along! I bought these pictures of Alaskan Fireweed in Homer, Alaska last Spring. They were sold individually, but they were all so eye catching I could not decide between the three and buying just one. In typically Becca Fashion, I bought all three. These three pictures were the inspiration in purchasing my new bedding this past weekend.

I'll post pictures of the bedding and pictures together later... if you saw my room right now, you'd think a tornado just came barreling through Dublin.

Growing up, I have had tons of collections. I've collected Dreamsicles (my collection of 15 has now minimized to the meaningful ones given to me), I've collected [shamefully] Winnie the Pooh memorabilia (don't judge me! I was much younger and do not collect them anymore!), I've also collected college hoodie sweatshirts. However, as much as I still love all of my hoodies, my pictures are by far a few of "my favorite things."

The Beginning of Something New...

I've had this blog topic in my head for well over a month now, and I think it is just about that time that I sit down and waste some time at my parents house. (Cough, Cough - hide in their office, so I do not have to sand, scrape, or paint the garage anymore. Shhh!) Now is as good as time as any to enlighten you with what's happening in the ever exciting world of Becca. (Can you sense my sarcasm in that last sentence??) :)

About two months ago, my dear friend moved back to Columbus from the Cleveland area - which completely made my year! She's a happy girl to be "home," and I am a happy girl to have her "home!" With her moving back provided us with much more opportunity to run around Columbus and cause the trouble that we've caused from knowing each other over the past 14 years. While chatting one evening about what our plans were for the evening ahead, I realized that our plans have turned into something that is almost routine. Go to dinner, go shopping, go the movies, etc. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love doing all of the things above but I felt that maybe it was time to branch out and expand our horizons. Columbus has SO much to offer, and it's about darn time we explored those new things!

In an effort to expand our horizons and not end up at the same place every week, together we came up with a plan. An idea. A way to get get all of our extended group of friends together for some fun! With this thought was the birth of what we now refer to as the "Friday Night Supper Club."

The Friday Night Supper Club has officially launched off, and is in full swing!

What is the Friday Night Supper Club you ask?

Definition: In doing research, there are far more restaurants in Central Ohio than any of us ever could imagine. Every Friday evening, a group of friends join around the table of a restaurant on the schedule. It could be fancy. It could be casual. It could be spicy. It could be mild. It could be Mexican. It could be Italian. The choices are endless!

There is a schedule floating around the email of the core members of the club with where we will be enjoying dinner each Friday (unless other things have come up which prevent from occurring. Things like Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, etc.). Each Friday, a group of girls join at the table of the restaurant of the week to expand their horizons. Sometimes there are only two people, sometimes there is a group of expanded and new friends, it just depends. We certainly have an open door policy to our club and anyone is welcome!

New places that we've experienced so far are:

• Cap City Diner: Shout out to the ever famous Alfredo Potato Chips and Meatloaf. They certainly lived up to their name!
  
• Figlio: Bread & oil, good. Wine, good. Dessert, good. Company, fantastic!
  

That's just the beginning, and we're certainly looking forward to all of the fun places coming up and all the laughs throughout the evening. If anyone who reads my blog wants to join in the festivities on a Friday night, give me a shout and I'll forward you the schedule on where we will be in 2010.

In the meantime: thank you for the fun - Courtney, Kate, Mindy, Beth & Rochelle. We cannot wait for the next time, when we wine at dine at the Columbus Fish Market at the Crosswoods!