Sweet Potato Pancakes!

Travis made me the BEST breakfast the other day. I told him that there was a sweet potato pancake recipe in Bust magazine (the most recent issue with Mindy Kaling on the cover)and he made it for me. And holy moly it was good. And it is vegan! So I thought I would share it here. They paired it with whiskey-kissed candied pecans which sounds amazing. we didn't have pecans though so we skipped them. These pancakes would be perfect for a fall brunch, they fill your house with the most amazing scent! Sweet Potato Pancakes (recipe from bust magazines oct/nov 2011 issue) You will need: 

3/4 cup cooled, mashed sweet potato

2 Tbsp. canola oil

3/4 cup almond milk (or any other non dairy milk) 

1/2 cup water 

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar 

2 tbsp. sugar 

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1 tsp each ground cinnamon and ground ginger 

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 

pinch of ground cloves 

cooking spray 

Directions: 

1. Prep your potato. Heat your over to 350 and put the washed potato on the middle rack. Put a shallow pan on the bottom of your stove to catch any drips (we didn't have any). The potato is done when you can easily insert a knife into the center. Our potato was fat and took just about an hour. 

 2. Whisk together sweet potato, oil, almond milk, water, vinegar, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Mix until there are very few lumps, but be careful not to over mix. 3. Preheat a large heavy bottom skillet (we used our griddle) over medium heat for at least 3 minutes. You will know it is hot enough when a drop of water dances around the pan. Spritz with a light coat of cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup of pancake mix and cook until the top looks somewhat dry (about 3 minutes). Flip and cook for another minute. Top with pure maple syrup.  mmmmmm. i want some more right now! maybe i'll make them for myself for dinner tonight!

Dog Party!

check out the crew we had at our house over the weekend! we dog sat miss chloe again! it was really fun. even though 3 dogs seems like so many more than 2! i guess because you can't pick them all up at once, and you can't pet them all at the same time. it just seemed like a herd for some reason!


when we were looking for a dog my first choice was actually a dachshund (pugs weren't really on my radar yet) so it is fun to get to cuddle one. chloe is super sweet and just wants to lay on you and stare lovingly into your face. or destroy any kind of stuffed toy she can find. when she comes over her first order of business is always to round up all the pugs toys and hide them in her bed.


i somehow always forget that priscilla is almost blind and deaf. i could really tell while chloe was here because she always seemed to be surprised that there was another dog in the house.
on saturday night we went to my brother's house for dinner. we got to see his border collie amber! i hadn't seen her since she was a tiny puppy! 


she was way more interested in catching the frisbee than getting her picture taken. she is in that funny gangly in between puppy and adult phase. i also got to meet his roommate's dog Bo!

look how beautiful he is! what a heart breaker. 

His roommate cooked dinner for my family and her family. when houston (my brother) told her that we were vegetarian she cooked us a tofu casserole, even though she had never cooked tofu before. I thought that was so sweet. i hope i can go play with their dogs again soon. turns out he only lives 10 minutes from me now. am i a bad sister for not knowing that sooner? haha.

Vintage Photoshoot

Last week I got a really fun opportunity to pull out my vintage christmas collection to be used in a photoshoot. My friend Brett  (check out his portfolio, he is amazing) was working on a shoot for the Nov/Dec issue of American Songwriter Magazine! I interned there and the creative director Rachel knew I had lots of vintage christmas stuff so she asked me if they could use it for the shoot! I took a few pictures of my collection because i don't usually have out just the vintage (I have TONS of christmas stuff) and i loved how it looked in a big pile on the table.
i was worried that i wouldn't have enough stuff! but we ended up not needing to use it all. i don't have pictures of the shoot, i wish i had taken some pictures of the amazing house we were in. it was a midcentury dream. and the kitchen had orange counters. and turquoise walls. i was in heaven! their couch was amazing. i texted travis probably 10 pictures of it saying how much i wish it was our house. and then i got to set up my aluminum tree for the first time, and couldn't stop sending him pictures of that.

so i got to set up the props then hold a light for brett while he shot. it was so fun! and it made me wish my job was set styling. i can't wait to see the pictures! 

Collection 2: Vintage Cameras

I think if you have a blog you are required to collection vintage cameras. haha. this collection is more my husband's than mine, but i love it too. you can pick up old cameras cheap at yard sales and flea markets. we keep most of these displayed on our bookshelves. i would love to try and use the 8mm video camera. We have a project too, that we got for 5 bucks at the goodwill outlet.   the two polaroids are my favorite. the sx-70 models are so pretty.  folded flat.  and opened. how gorgeous!  i love little magicube cameras. i have some of the cubes too. we should get some film and try them out.  this camera belonged to travis' grandfather. so there you have it, another one of our many collections!

Nashville Flea Market

Today I went to the Nashville Flea Market, even though I couldn't find anyone to go with. I love going in the fall when the weather is so nice.


I started in the back barn this time, it is my favorite. If you are going to the Nashville Flea Market and looking for vintage the back is the best. The buildings are mostly full of deodorant, socks, and posters of Eminem. I set myself a small budget this time (only 20 bucks) which I think made me more picky. I didn't want to spend it all on one thing and then come across something awesome.  there is a lady in the back barn with the best pyrex. kitty pictures i wanted, but i couldn't find the booth owner. lots of vendors had their halloween stuff out but it was all so expensive. i found this great tin bucket that i thought was 20 bucks but it was actually 200. uggh. it was 6 inches tall! these kitty lights were fun, and weird, they were about 10 inches tall. i wonder what they were for. they weren't really in a holiday color.  

another lady had a TON of hoppalong cassidy and western stuff but she wanted a lot for it. so i only ended up getting a few things:

funny little elephant. a buck! the vendor also had some 8mm laurel and hardy reels i wanted to ask about (we bought a projector recently), be he is kind of mean and yells at you if you don't want to pay what he asks.

little kitty salt and pepper shakers wearing feather headdresses. 1 dollar! the lady who sold them to me then trapped me while she talked, in detail, about her 8 cats. it was kind of fun though. mostly i bought vintage pictures. these were for my dog collection the one on top is labled "our son." haha. there was another from the same family that had a little old lady between two guys and the lable was "a diamond in the rough." so cute. i liked this one because a lady is playing santa. it made me think of the episode of the office where phyllis wants to be santa. haha, love that one. and i liked this one because it reminded me of burgess falls, was a nice photo, and i like the tiny little boy scouts? at the bottom. so that is my tiny flea market haul. i hardly spent 10 dollars. but i had a great time walking around dreaming about buying a 250 dollar vintage bird bath.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

I love to bake. I love trying a new recipe that will keep me in the kitchen all afternoon. But I also like to have a few quick recipes that never fail when i have a sweets craving or some last minute guests. I've had a few favorite chocolate chip recipes but this one is now my favorite. I can make them without getting out the book now. So i thought i would share it with you!  Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cookies by Martha StewartThis recipe has less butter and brown sugar than a lot of other recipes, so the cookies are thick and fluffy. So perfect. I love to dip them in unsweetened vanilla almond milk.  2 1/4 cup all purpose flour 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 3/4 sticks of unsalted butter (room temp) 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 

1 tsp coarse salt (very important! coarse salt is the BEST in baked goods) 

2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

2 large eggs 

2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (i like 1 cup white chocolate/1 cup carob chips) 1. Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. 2. Put butter and both sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment (just a regular old hand mixer will work too). Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Reduce speed to low. Add vanilla and eggs, mix until combined (about 1 minute). Add flour mixture, mix until just combined. Stire in chocolate chips. 3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. bake cookies until centers are set and edges are golder (10 to 12 minutes) rotating sheets half way through. let cook on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored up to a week in an airtight container. enjoy!

Vintage heaven!

Remember when i was telling you about going to Hayti, Missouri for Travis' grandmother's birthday? We got to bring home some of her vintage treasures. it was so fun, like a great estate sale where you could hear the story behind everything you liked. it will take me a few posts to show you everything, so here is the first.
 this head vase is so pretty, even if it in rough shape. she will look pretty on my mantle at christmas.  another head vase and a cute doggy face. this is the second vase i've gotten recently where the plant is the animals tai. so adorable.  i love this silly turtle planter! the boots detach. she is sitting by our backdoor with a mum in her right now.  lots of vintage glass balls that just happen to be in my favorite colors!! i got another aluminum christmas tree too, but i didn't get a picture of it.  a stocking knitted by betty's sister for her son in 1965. it is so so cute! it says gregory and the year, and i love the little pom poms hanging from it. i can't wait to show you the rest! i'm hoping it will be sunny soon so i can finish photographing it all.  i brought home about 16 dresses made by travis' great grandmother! i'm trying to figure out the best way to photograph them.

how enticing does that look?