The State Fair of Texas.. Fried Food Welcomed!

Fried Latte's, Margaritas, Butter, Twinkies, Ice Cream, you name it and they can fry it! Once a year the fair comes to Dallas bringing in Fletchers corn dogs, lemonade, the ferris wheel, games, and cars. They have the fair every year down around the cotton bowl stadium. Like they say, "Everything is Bigger in Texas."

The cotton bowl.. Where OU beats Texas every year :)

This was Dick's first time to the Texas State Fair so we saw EVERYTHING! My favorite was the animal tent that Children's hospital puts on every year. They have zebras, goats, giraffes, ducks, pigs, turtles, kangaroos that you can feed and pet! I think we spent like an hour in there! Here are a few pics of the little guys..

We also we enjoyed the best Corn Dogs ever made... EVER made! Fletchers con dogs with a little bit of mustard is the only fair food a person needs! Incredible and I'm not a huge hot dog fan!

Another fun part are all the buildings that you can walk through. They have a huge car show, arts and crafts, cooking shows, and lots of sampling. One really cool exhibit every year is the statues made out of BUTTER ONLY!

This year it was an OU vs. Texas games scene. How would like to have that job?! lol

We rode one ride that dick made me get on that I thought I was going to DIE! I hate fair rides. They are sketchy. This one went in the year flipping and spinning. NEVER AGAIN.

It was a gorgeous fall Saturday and the last weekend to attend the fair this year! What fried foods could they possibly cook next?

Running in Pink To Cure Cancer..

"YOUR MAMMO IS THE BEST AMMO"


This past weekend in Dallas was the Race for the cure for breast cancer awareness! Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m. I met one of my friends from college, Andrea Walker, and headed down to North Park Mall. Over 26,000 people gathered for either the 1 mile fun run or the 5k race. There were all ages of men, woman, dogs and children.

Reunited..and it was so much fun!

So many survivors with so many different backgrounds. It was a bitter sweet feeling to see the support from so many thousands of people. 

We FINISHED!! It was Andrea's 1st 5K!

Sweaty after running and having to dodge people, trees, and baby strollers! We definitely went for the freebies afterwards; water bottles, apples, bananas, nail files, and bracelets! 

Next year we plan to recruit more people and hopefully form our own team! Starting the tradition through the EEE's we have successfully supported Race for the Cure for 5 years!  It was such a great feeling for an important cause!

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice!

October 8th Weekend:
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Heath bar

The countdown to Halloween to bring in the Fall Season week two. The funny thing about this recipe is that I stumbled upon it while getting my hair done! It was in a "House Beautiful" magazine. It was a must-bake recipe and it turned out to be very tasty. My Dad rated it an 8 stars out of 10! That's pretty darn good in his books!  

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 cup of canned pumpkin (8- ounces)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 brown sugar

1/2 vegetable oil

1/2 coarsely chopped Heath Bars :)

1. Preheat over to  350 degrees and spray muffin tins with vegetable oil
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
3. In a larger bowl whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. 
4. Add the flour mixture in the larger bowl and stir until completely combined. 
5. Divide the batter among the prepared tins and bake for 20-25 minutes
6. Let cool completely

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces of cream cheese

3 tablespoons of butter, unsalted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups of confectioners sugar

1. Mix all ingredients into a bowl at a low speed adding the ingredients in one at a time. Mix until smooth
2. Spread the frosting on the pumpkin cupcakes and sprinkle the Heath bar on top

I hope this recipe bring smiles and yummms and will be the next hit for your friends and family fall season! 

Making Fall a Little Sweeter..

Every weekend through October I am going to make a new Fall recipe to bring in the season! It's going to be a countdown to Halloween. I LOVE fall if you can't tell!

October 1st Weekend:

Caramel Apples

At the State fair instead of getting corn dogs like the rest of the world, I spend my coupons on a caramel apple! They have candied or caramelised with just about any candy bar you can think of. 

Since the apple plays a huge role in the taste, I chose three of
the best apples in season. Seasonal Honey Crisp , classic Red Delicious,
and Granny Smith.

Straight out of the oven and melting with caramel. Since
they are already sweet enough, I chose not to add the candy.

We just bought the caramel apple wraps from the grocery store and popped them into the oven for a little longer then the package says. Quick. Easy. Fun. Yummy!



The alternative is Mrs. Prindables apples. They are online, QVC or at Neiman Marcus. They are adorable and they are offered year round celebrating every season. Best apples I have ever tasted ya'll! 

A drink that only brings smiles...

Fall is one of the best times of the year with the brilliant colors of orange, browns, plums and the crisp cool weather that is a relief for all the Texans. There is also the fun trick or treating for the kids, fall festivals, pumpkin carvings, candy corn and Carmel apples. BUT what fall also means is Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

One thing that me and Dick look forward to every season! It's quite possibly a little bit of heaven on earth! There is nothing like sitting on the porch of Starbucks sipping on ones of these little guys with my man and sweet little Lucy. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Starbucks has it going on throughout the holidays. The offer the Pumpkin Spice, an excellent toffee mocha, and right around Thanksgiving they start the Christmas edition of Ginger Bread and Peppermint Mocha! A-MAZING!

I just can't wait, for this marks the begining of the holidays! Bring on the best part of the year!

With a warm happy coffee loving heart,

Every Sunday is Family Night..

Sunday night's have always been good ol' family night. No matter what our week consists of, it is mandatory that Sunday night you are to report to "Pretty's" house. We play games, eat dinner, catch up on T.V. shows and rest before the week begins.

Well last Sunday night was a little different... Memaw, My mom's mom was in town, so we had a family progressive dinner.
Here was the line up:

1st: Dick's new apartment- Appetizers
2nd: My mom's house- Main Course
3rd: The Apple's house- Dessert

It turned out to be a fall themed progressive dinner since the weather turned crisp and cool. There is something about the smell and decorations of fall that screams FAMILY!

APPETIZER:

This me and Dick's appetizer. Twice baked potatoes inside of mini pumpkins
hollowed out!  It was incredible and such a hit!



Main Course:

Memaw's baked beans 

Corn casserole

Before I continue.. I have a confession to make. I am an extremely picky eater when it comes to meats. I really only eat like fish and poultry! Most would say those aren't meats.. but I will venture out into a hamburger every now. Overall I am plain weird about meats. I DO NOT fit in with the fam on this subject.

Whew.. Okay so saying that, these were my two favorite dishes of the main course! There was also a beef and gravy dish that my grandma claims is her speciality! She wanted to contribute :)

Dessert:

My  sister made the adorable Rice Krispy treats. They are made with candy corns to bring in the fall!

And an Apple Pie. She thinks she's cute cause there last name is "Apple." LOL






If your not hungry after that menu there is something wrong with your taste buds!
Happy Fall Ya'll!
Abigail

Baby Showers Galore!

If you have not heard, my sister will be having her baby in just a few short weeks. Not to brag or anything but I will make the best AUNT. It's kind of crazy but her little boy is due October 31st. I think we all secretly pray that it's any day BUT Halloween. If he is born on the evil holiday,  I guess he will arrive in his first costume that will for sure make a statement! NUDE! 

They have decided to name him Jonah Dalton Apple. So far the Doc says he will be tall and have long arms! So we are glad it's a boy and not a girl.

A few weekends back we had two baby showers for the Apples to prepare for this sweet little blessing.

Saturday Night Couple Family Shower
This shower was at Johnny's sisters house, Christy. It was such a fun night as they catered in food from On The Border and invited mostly family and Johnny and Katie's couple friends.

The Apple's and Baby Jonah

Diaper cakes are always a hit! This is the one that I made
for this shower. Instead of diapers on top I decided to
 top the diapers with a few extra gifts!

The other really cute diaper cake that was
made of wash clothes and diapers and had
toys and socks all throughout!

Next was the Prestonwood Church Shower. It's always over the top in cuteness!

Sweet invitations!

Petits-Fours from Steins! Katie's favorite
and all  the  soon to be mommy wanted!

Sweet baby boy blue table decorations

Hydrangeas and roses

The Grandma's to be:
Pretty and KK

So many presents, so many blessings, from so many sweet friends.
Jonah is loved already!

All the precious hostess 

He is going to be such a fun Dad!

In less than a month we will have a new addition to our family. God is so good! .. I'll keep you posted! :)

With Love and a Thankful Heart,
Abigail