Honey Bars

Blake and I laugh because every time I cook anything it always ends up on the blog. I'm still working on it! I keep thinking, "Well, when I have babies I'll be better at making meals..."

I can only hope that will be true.

We were invited to a dinner party Friday night, and so I asked what I could bring. She told me to bring dessert so immediately I called my own Paula Dean...my sister!

She is the best cook, and she always has something for me to whip up. I told her my credentials for it were that it needed to be cheap to make, easy, quick, not too fancy and delicious, and so she told me that this Honey Bar recipe would be perfect. Our friend, Christina used to make these in college and we became addicted. I'm so glad Kel reminded me of these!

I've just recently added a link to all of my recipes right under the blog roll because I hate when I can't find a recipe I'm looking for. So I hope if you ever need to find one it will help! :)

Here is what you will Need:



1. 1 Cup of Sugar
2. 2 Cups of Flour
3. 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
4. 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
5. 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
6. 1/4 Cup of Honey
7. 1 Egg
8. 3/4 Cup of Vegetable or Canola Oil


First, mix all of the dry ingredients together (#1-5)



Then mix all the liquid ingredients (#6-8) -Sorry I didn't snag a picture

Then in a large bowl mix all together...



Mix well until a dough ball forms



Place on a greased cookie sheet...



Spread with your fingers...(Mine only covered about 3/4 of the cookie sheet)



Bake on 350 degrees for 15 minutes, but be careful not to over-cook



To add a little decoration I just sprinkled powdered sugar on top with my shaker, but you don't have to.



And Voila! Hunny Bars...



The full directions...

You will Need:

1. 1 Cup of Sugar
2. 2 Cups of Flour
3. 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
4. 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
5. 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
6. 1/4 Cup of Honey
7. 1 Egg
8. 3/4 Cup of Vegetable or Canola Oil

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all dry ingredients (1-5)
3. Mix all liquid ingredients (6-8)
4. Then in large bowl mix altogether and form into a dough ball
5. Place on greased cookie sheet and spread into a thin layer
6. Cook for 15 minutes (being careful not to over-cook)

The oh so very popular title...SNOW DAY!!

All weekend long Blake and I were taunted with the idea that we MIGHT actually get a little snow here in Columbia...

I could only hope for a paid day off due to snow!

So Sunday night we decided to take our chances, stay up until all hours of the night and make a trip to Wal-Mart to get these...



The Justin Bieber Backstage Pass game...

I kid. I kid.

In case the power went out we sure didn't want to be bored. For some reason we chose Scrabble (???) and one of my newest favorite games...Phase 10.

It was late...I'll let the Scrabble idea slide.

We also hit up every grocery store in town...

Twice.

Here were just a few of the things we got...can we say processed?!



The guy checking me out at the grocery store and I were laughing because if our power actually did go out, we would have been left with chips and cheese straws...

I may have been hitting up our little old neighbors for more than just a cup of sugar.

So that night we stayed up wayyyy too late...



playing this...(if you've never played, go buy it! We had so much fun!)



Even the dogs knew good and well it was too late to be awake at that hour...



So we tried not to disturb them with our lighting.

My eyes are still straining...



The next morning we woke up to the best snow ever!



Himmies is not too good with cold weather so I tried to bundle him up with his jacket, but I forgot it was the one I got him when he was born...

Fat guy in a little coat...



I tried to hold and protect him from the snow....

Last time we tried this I ended up blow drying snow balls out of his fur for 30 minutes and I didn't want a repeat...



But there was no chance. In 4 seconds flat he was out of my arms and frolicking in the powder.



After lasting all of 90 seconds I hopped back in the heat and whipped us up a fancy meal...



apparently it's true what they say...food is the way to a man's heart...

Inspiration...

For some reason I've gotten on a kick and have magically dreamed up the idea that Blake and I are about to build a house like this...



Now clearly we weren't the ones from Washington or Idaho who won the Mega-Million jackpot, so I'm not quite sure where this idea originated in my head...but, nonetheless it did.

So I'm running with it.

Perhaps it's the fact that I've entered myself and every single person I know twice a day in the HGTV home giveaway in Vermont for the past week, but who knows.

Reasonably speaking...our reality would look more along the lines of this...



but hey, a girl can dream, right? So let's go...

Here are my dreams come to reality from all over the web...I may not ever have a large space to make these dreams a reality, but perhaps one day when I'm walking through the store and see tall black candles...I'll think of this picture below and re-create a dining room table the same way...



This is so cozy and clean...I love it



I LOVE a good entrance way to a house, and how beautiful is this?! I love it...it's so substantial.



Or this...

I'll take stone any day over any other kind of building material...love it!



And how about this painting in Kate Spade's home...I told Blake a recreation of this is next on my "want" list for him to paint...



ahhh heavenly...I feel like I can breathe better just looking at this.



And how fun would an italian themed dinner be out here...red wine, please!



Speaking of Italian...doesn't this just look so inviting? I love how cluttered, yet organized it is



and KITCHENS!! for some reason I've been stuck on kitchens lately! That was the whole reason I started this whole "inspiration" thing...I was looking for my dream kitchen...

Oh wait, I think I've found it...



Oh so clean...



Cozy, yet functional and sleek...



Let the light shine in...



so classy...



I want windows in my dream kitchen...windows everywhere, please!



Gorgeous...



I want it right now...this one is amazing...



and I LOVE this candle idea above the stove!!



Love all the squares...



Simply...

Amazing...

Last Night...

Last night we had nothing in the fridge that resembled the makings of a meal.

So Blake suggested we use our Christmas gift cards and head to Macaroni Grill

Here's what I got...



The fried mozzarella.

I know that doesn't really count as a "meal," but who can resist?!! (And our gift card was for $25 so I was trying to stay in range) :)

And here's what Blake got...



Create your own Shrimp pasta...or something like that.

When I got home I crawled in bed with these to keep me entertained...



And of course, Teddy got jealous that I wasn't paying him any attention so I pulled him up in bed and read him the "story" of Erin and Wesley going to Disney World...



He asked me to take him this year.

I said yes...but only if he behaves.

He doesn't stand a chance...

My Two New Good Beauty Buys

While I was in Florida visiting my Grandparents for Christmas, my mom, Grandmother and I headed to Sephora to pick out stocking stuffers. My lips are always dry so I asked the lady what their best lip treatment was. She told me about this line called Korres which is a Greek, all-natural company, and I've fallen in love.

I bought this Lip butter ($10 which you can purchase here) in Guava (a clear color) and I absolutely love it! They have the prettiest line of colors though.



I've also gone through about 6 different make-up lines looking for the best, but I kept switching around because I didn't love any of them...until now.

I asked for Chanel make-up for Christmas, but when I used it I just didn't like it...and it's way too pricey for me to keep up with, so I took it back and headed to Laura Mercier. I like their foundation best, so I asked for this one, but they were sold out of it in my color...



I was bummed, but the girl told me I should try their silk creme foundation. I was hesitant because I don't really like taking a chance, but I had no other choice...and now, I have finally found the foundation I'm sticking with for life!!...or at least until I change my mind in a few months. jk...I absolutely LOVE it!!

New Years and a dress up party in Rosenthal's...

Our New Years was quite uneventful, and in my eyes...perfection.



I was so excited to not have to dress up and head downtown this year-maybe next year I'll be up for it, but after all the craziness of the holidays I was perfectly content to sit at the lake and watch this as we waited for the new year to usher in...



Finally about 5 minutes before midnight the boys switched the channel from ESPN to this...



HAPPPPPPPY NEW YEAR!!



We had a fun little celebration, and shortly after I hit the bed :)

The next morning we woke up, and wanted to head to see our pottery in Highlands. Remember this post? They had just closed for the day so that they could make it in time to watch the Alabama game, but they let us sneak in for a second.



We decided to stroll along the streets to see if any other stores might be open, and thank Heavens we did!! This window was speaking my language so we walked in to check the store out...



Rosenthal's...my new favorite store!



And this sure didn't hurt...



We weren't supposed to take pictures in the store, but the sweet ladies of Rosenthal's turned their heads when I pulled my camera out.

For the next hour and a half we had a dress up party to ourselves...Nikki found this bag...



And I found this one...



We wore them around the store the entire time in hopes they would magically become ours.

We found some not so pretty things too that Nikki happily modeled for me...



We went running through the store trying on everything and anything! I seriously felt like it was a scene straight out of a movie. I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my entire life...



I mean, seriously...please look at Tina Turner Nikki. I almost died...every time I pull this picture up it makes me laugh. She wore it for a good 5 minutes in all seriousness.



I've never seen so many GORGEOUS fur coats in my entire life!! (Sorry PETA)



I tried a million of them on including this monster...



I wanted to take this one off the mannequin and try it on, but I thought that might be pushing my luck. The best part of this picture...when I was showing Blake he got to this one and said, "Gah, she is gorgeous!"...I said, "BLAKE! SHE'S A MANNEQUIN!!" He thought she was a real person...



The ladies of the store got in on the fun with us, and let us have the absolute BEST time in there! There were two of the leopard bags, and Nikki and I were dying to take them home, but they were only 50% off.

We left the store and decided it was just a little too much to pay, but when we got to the next store Sharon said, "Let's just go back in there and see if they'll take any more off." At first I was hesitant because that kind of scares me to ask...especially since they were so sweet, but then visions of leopard danced in my head and I booked it out that door and back into the door of Rosenthal's.

We walked around the store with both leopard bags on each of our shoulders for a good 20 minutes. One of the ladies said, "I'll give it to you for 60% off"...I still was hesitant though, only because I've been waiting on a dress in Greenville, and I couldn't do both the bag and the dress.

After about 15 more minutes I finally got the nerve up and walked up to her little desk. I whispered, "Is there ANY way you might be able to do it for 70% off?"

"Done...I can't tell you girls no!"-she said

Nikki and I literally jumped for joy...we were all laughing and dancing, and you would have thought we had just won the lottery...that's what it felt like!

Gosh, I love being a girl.

So we checked out with our bags and headed out the door...



I probably looked at mine 56 times on the car ride home. I was so excited! I called my precious sister on the way home and told her about the whole extravaganza...we were both dying on the phone!

I am so excited about my new purse I can hardly stand it!! And don't worry...I won't be going over the top with my leopard...or maybe I will? You never know... :)