brownies

i don't know what's gotten into me; but ever since i made those statements about not being a baker, i've been baking! it turns out, even though i've been baking, that doesn't make me a baker. so, the statements weren't completely false! i decided to make brownies the other day-even though it called for two sticks of butter and i know my body's not gonna like that. of course i went ahead and did it anyway. well, the pan i had was already being used to cook our dinner, so i decided it would be perfect to make little individuals using the cupcake thingy. when i made that decision i knew that the brownies would only have to bake for half the time. but, as expected, i forgot about them. they over cooked. therefore, even though they look delicious, they turned out to be dry. imagine trying to swallow a mouthful of sand. need i say more? see the damage below

doing good

doing gooddoing good

looking good

they weren't good, so we drank this bottle along with some leftover vodka instead. i must be getting old because my hangover comes almost immediately after my last sip. a little alcohol effects me a lot these days~in a bad way:(

a ride and a walk

since the weather is getting nicer we decided that we would start riding our bikes at least once a week together with claire. we'll find a cute place and walk her there then make our way home, exploring the city little by little. this past weekend was pretty nice and we rode to a cute little area surrounding clark and foster. there's a bunch of shops and restaurants. it was pretty fun!

we caught one of those push cart vendors and bought some ice cream. just a little refreshment!

these signs were outside of a dance studio. we enjoyed them.

claire girl's a tom boy?!

claire and i started our lives together when she flew in from california on december 1, 2006. she was so little, 2lbs, and adorable! her hair was so dark red and i was sure she was just the daintiest lady. she'll be two years old this june 16, her hair has really lightened up, and until about a week ago all signs of the "dainty lady" were in tact. and then she decided to mark her territory. i first saw her do it once about a week ago. i was shocked but didn't think much of it. she's always going from pole to pole sniffing each one thoroughly. i didn't really expect her to ever "mark" again. until last night when both chad and i thought we caught the tail end (ha, ha) of her marking yet again, on the same pole even! then today she marked that exact pole once on our way further into the park and once leaving. it's crazy! it's not like she's lifting her leg or anything; but still! maybe she just thinks it's what she's supposed to do since she's smelling other dogs' marks on all the poles. i think our little claire girl may be a tom boy!

i unsuspectingly put her in a dress today. that's irony.

she looks so cute in it!

kisses!

and we saw a mama and her goslings on the way home

baking binge!

so, i know i said that i don't consider myself a baker, and that's still a true statement-i think. except for last night when i made angel food cake to enjoy with the deliciously ripe strawberries and whip cream in the fridge. i think i may be on a baking binge! strawberry short cake is my absolute favorite kind of cake. though it's more of a summer delight, it's what i always chose to have on my birthday (in december). i love it and i have to say, it was as delectable!

my plate

chad's plate

almost done

so these are updates of my lush and lacy cardi. i can't wait to be done and am already plotting my next project! as you can see, i've finished the back, left, right panels and one sleeve. one more sleeve to go and i'll be wearin' this sucker! i'm gonna try to get 'er done by wed. and hopefully the next time i post on it it'll be an fo!

biking around

we rode our bikes today down to lake shore. though it seemed nice, it was pretty windy once we started riding. and why is it that no matter which directions you're going, it's always into the wind?! regardless, the lake was beautiful. we got some nice pics.

after that we cruised over to loyola where there were tons of really pretty tulips. i love flowers!

on our way home we ran into some geese. there were really funny waddling around and s**ting everywhere. hilarious!

they were talking to there friend in the water.

banana bread

this was only my second attempt at baking banana bread. i've never considered myself a baker of sorts, and don't usually have the inkling to mix up dough and utilize my oven. but, there are those accasions when the bananas in the basket have crept just past their ripe status and into the relm of black and icky. at our house we go through fruits and veggies like monkeys, so this is rarely a problem. the first time i made banana bread was a couple months ago, and it was dense and dry. chad told me it was delicious-bless his heart- but i know the truth. it was like eating sugared cotton balls. this time, though, was much better. i added an extra banana for more moisture and it turned out beautifully! delicious!

why do the banana chunks turn purple?