I really did move...

...and not that you all would notice much if i didn't show up here ever again... ;) but head over to http://allisgraceforme.wordpress.com. i write there every once in a while (much more often than here). things have been a little touchy in the Mattison-Frazer household lately...just giving you the heads-up. i might beat around the bush a little bit...but you'll forgive me, right? and sometimes...well, i don't. tonight, i'm not. it's all there. for the world to read. yikes. (like the world reads it. ha.)

would love to have you follow me over there. and, you know. leave comments. it's more fun when it's a conversation and all.

Wordpress?

Will you follow me if I go to word press? (Hehe...are any of you following me any more as it is?? I know I haven't been super consistent lately...forgive me!)

I haven't figured it all out yet, but I'm working on it, and importing from blogger was pretty simple...even the comments came along for the ride...what do you think? I'll make it so you can follow me there too. :) 

All Is Grace

I kind of decided that "five of us" didn't really fit all that well with who we are...who I am...any more. For a while I could justify it since we had Chani and all...but then we added Maisie into the mix...hehe...and it didn't work again. Since I can't change the address of this blog, and I really like some of the features that wordpress offers (though if any of you are brilliant and can help me figure out how to use a theme that isn't quite so canned and ugly as the ones I'm finding on the wordpress site, that would be fantastically helpful), I thought I'd jump in there. 

I'll post in both places for a while to see what I think...but I'm thinking I'm going to change. Leave me a comment to let me know if you're coming along! Or if you're not!! 

FancyLittleThings

I can't seem to pull it together here, friends...and for that I apologize...but it has been a full couple of weeks over at FLT...and I'm posting there again today. I would love for you to go check out my friends' words again...(and if you need further proof that I can't actually write anywhere, hehe, feel free to read my admission of that in my post this week). Check us out here.

Happy Thursday-before-Thanksgiving! I hope you are finding so many reasons to be thankful this month...I am. Indeed.

Posting at FancyLittleThings...

Yep, I'm doing it again. And hoping to send you all there...not really to read my stuff, but to check out the other inspirational women who write there. :) I won't be posting the same post here, but I'll give you a little teaser...at FancyLittleThings, the month of November focuses on giving thanks. The authors are reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts and working on our lists of 1000 things that we're thankful for in our everyday lives, and digging into the writer's take on what being thankful does in the bigger picture. It's a pretty amazing read, and has me reading and re-reading and highlighting and thinking. And writing a long, long list.

Hope it inspires you! Here's the link to my latest post. (And make sure to click on the FancyLittleThings banner to take you back to the home page and see what my friends have written the past two days as well--there will be new thankful lists/posts daily!)

And today's procrastination...

...comes in the form of the most ridiculously adorable slippers...yikes. they come together quick. too quick. because it's all i want to do...and can justify saying, "oh, they come together so QUICKLY!!"

hehe.

here they are:

and here are the links: 

Slipper Tutorial (please note, the video demonstration makes slippers the size of doll shoes. if you adjust the numbers of stitches and then play with the number of rounds according to the size of the child's foot, you're get something that looks more like a kid slipper. to make slippers for a 2-year-old, about a size 5, i started with 16 stitches in the hdc foundation chain, made 3 increase rounds, two hdc in each stitch rounds, and then 3 decrease-the-toe rounds. the mary jane strap is just another hdc foundation chain with a 12 chain loop at the end to go around the flower)

Big Flower Tutorial

Tiny Flower Tutorial (this tutorial is done with UK crochet terms, but she translates them into US terms)

hooray for pinterest!! ok. now. i seriously have to go make a cake. 

hehe.

Today's Pinterest Adventure...

So...I followed this link...for a Salted Caramel Mocha. Hehe...umm, yes please. About twice a week, I indulge in coffee craziness...almost always when Philip is here on Thursdays, and often on Wednesdays when I don't keep the baby. I don't know what it is about not having that responsibility and feeling the need to splurge...but the recipe looked fantastic. All except one thing...well, three things...1) I am lactose intolerant. Butter and heavy cream and milk? Yikes. 2) I'm not big on mocha. And 3) I didn't have any heavy cream in the house. Now, if you're going to whip up heavy cream, you can't use a substitute, but...if you just need the heaviness of the cream, you can sometimes get away with it. So, instead of the 1/4 cup of heavy cream in the recipe for the caramel sauce, I used 1/4 c. of almond milk and an extra tablespoon of butter, melted and mixed with the almond milk prior to adding it to the sauce. To say that leaving out the cocoa powder (thus, turning it into a salted caramel...umm...cappuccino??), and substituting almond milk for the frothed milk and heavy cream resulted in the yummiest drink I've had...all month...might be an understatement.


Yum.


So, here are the pictures...and yes, I only made a single serving, where the picture in this person's blog shows what must be a double...I had to make sure it was yummy before I ruined perfectly good espresso. ;)

Espresso. Yes, I already poured it into the mug before I took this picture. The leftover will be consumed sans caramel. :)

Almond milk does indeed froth.

Yep, poured the unfrothed almond milk allllllll over the counter (most of it made it into the mug).

With a little extra caramel drizzled over the froth--I skipped the whipped cream...I usually do.

Here's the recipe... :) Have fun!

Salted Caramel Mocha

• 1 shot of espresso or 3/4 cup coffee
• 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons caramel sauce (see recipe below)
• 1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (the hot chocolate kind, not the unsweetened baking kind – I used Archer Farms dark chocolate cocoa and loved it)
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Extra caramel sauce and sea salt to drizzle/sprinkle on top

With an espresso maker:

Prepare espresso. Place caramel sauce, cocoa powder and sea salt in a mug and pour espresso over them. Froth milk and slowly pour into mug, stirring to combine everything. Taste and add more caramel, cocoa and/or salt to taste. Top with whipped cream, drizzle caramel sauce, and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Without an espresso maker:

Prepare coffee. Place caramel sauce, cocoa powder and sea salt in a mug. Pour coffee into mug, stirring to combine everything. Heat milk in microwave or on the stove and add to mug, stirring everything to combine. Taste and add more caramel, cocoa and/or salt to taste.  Top with whipped cream, caramel sauce and a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Salted Caramel Syrup

Makes enough for around 3-4 salted caramel mocha or hot chocolate beverages

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
• 
1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

In a medium saucepan, cook the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a spatula (if it becomes lumpy, reduce heat and refrain from stirring). When it turns a deep amber color*, add the butter and stir until it is melted. Add the heavy cream and whisk until the caramel is smooth (be careful, it will bubble up when you add the cream). Remove from heat and let cool. Refrigerate extra syrup.

(Mindy's note...*it can burn at this point--just a warning. burnt caramel isn't quite as yummy as non-burnt. be careful!!)

New Endeavors

Yesterday, I posted here, and hope to be involved once a week or so in different ways...I will write as the "Health and Fitness Author" while Ruth, the real health and fitness girl has her baby and adjusts to life with her first littlie. I would love if you would stop by and check it out...more because the blog speaks to me every time I read it than because I'm writing there. Whether the article is about family, marriage, faith, decorating, style, or whatever it speaks about...it speaks to me. This month, the focus was on friendship...in marriage, in life, with God. Next month, we focus on thankfulness, and the book One Thousand Gifts, by Anne Voskamp...I'm about 3 chapters into it and I'm loving it. Definitely worth the time. It has opened my eyes...to gifts I have ignored. I'd love to know what you think.

So stop by...and check it out. :)   FancyLittleThings.com