I’m guessing that sometime over the next couple of weeks you are going to find yourself in a cookie dilemma. You need to bring some type of sweet or baked good to a church, work or social gathering and waited until the last minute to figure something out. Now you find yourself debating between slice and bake cookies or running to the bakery to buy a couple dozen sweets. If that sounds like a familiar situation, I’ve got another option … Read More

WHO: Jenny Frederick WHAT: World-Traveling Minnesota Girl BLOG: Traveling Chic Hi, E&C Readers! My name is Jenny and I am delighted to be a part of Madison’s “My 5 Things.” I’m a Midwest girl from Minnesota but I’ve also lived in San Francisco, Sydney, Boulder and briefly in Rome. I’m a month away from my 30th birthday, and although it makes me feel somewhat old, I’m excited to shirt into a new decade. I am an attorney by day and … Read More

I’m back! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and did not count a single calorie over the last four days. It felt good to take a little break from blogging and enjoy some much needed down time with family over the Thanksgiving weekend. Joe and I headed home on Wednesday afternoon and split our time between his parent’s house and my mom’s house. And aside from making two pies (Chocolate Tofu and Pumpkin) I did very little cooking … Read More

A few weeks back I baked up a batch of gingerbread muffins that I was sure were going to be delicious, healthy and perfect for the holidays. The muffins looked beautiful, as evidenced by these pictures, but the texture was off. The molasses gave these healthy muffins all too much chew, in part because I used a bit of applesauce in place of the oil, and in part because of the molasses, I believe. Things have been pretty busy in … Read More

It’s Friday! Let’s talk about something fun, shall we? Since winter is just around the corner, it seems appropriate to talk about beauty products. During the summer, feeling pretty comes naturally. It’s warm, chances are your skin has seen the sun just a bit, the weather isn’t dry. But for me, winter is a different story. Static, dry hair, dry, pale skin. It’s not my best season. But there are a few products that I use on a daily basis … Read More

WHO: Emily Schloerb WHAT: Marketing Coordinator WHERE: Kansas City BLOG: Country Roots & Cowgirl Boots I’m a 23-year-old marketing coordinator at Westfall GMC, a trucking dealership in Kansas City. I grew up in Iowa, graduated from ISU with degree in journalism. I started blogging shortly after I got married as a way to keep family and friends in the loop. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very consistent with my posts. This past summer I decided it was time to take it more … Read More

A couple weeks ago at work, the California Walnut Board came to talk with the food editors about the health benefits and great flavor of walnuts. As part of their presentation, they brought along Aida Mollenkamp to share some of her favorite recipes using walnuts. Since I am a big fan of walnuts, the presentation was right up my alley. One of the recipes Aida made was a homemade walnut milk. I had seen a lot of people make homemade … Read More

On Tuesday, our beloved little puppy turned six! Not only did she turn six, but she did so on November 6 and was born in 2006! So I decided to make her “golden birthday” a little extra special with a puppy cake covered in golden yellow “frosting” made with cream cheese, peanut butter, milk and honey. I realize that this makes me a certifiably crazy puppy parent. But until we have children, Nutmeg is our baby, and we both love … Read More

WHO: Karlie Van Soelen WHAT: Director of Communications & Missions at Federated Fellowship Church BLOG: http://karlievansoelen.wordpress.com/ I grew up in small town called Pella, IA, recently graduated in May, got married in June, and am the Director of Communications & Missions at Federated Fellowship Church: http://federatedfellowship.org/. I design at my job and on the side and love to sing. 1. Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people [woman], a royal priesthood [daughter], a holy nation [woman], God’s special … Read More

We returned yesterday from our trip to Napa Valley. My mom and I, along with our friend, Polly, had a great time drinking wonderful wine, sleeping in and working out to balance all the amazing food we ate. We also met up with our friends, Emily and Cody, who live in Sonoma. Cody is becoming a wine maker, and they showed us around his workplace while we were there. It made me a little jealous of the adventure they are … Read More