Useless Bay Coffee

The boys and I went up to Langley just south of Oak Harbor, about a 45 minute drive from our house to meet up with my mom and stepdad for breakfast while they were up in Seattle for an art show. From the second we drove down 2nd street in Langley, I noticed the amazing Useless Bay Coffee Company and that they also had live music and roasted their own coffee! I whispered to Brandon that I needed to check this place out after breakfast and wished that we had actually had breakfast there instead.
Since I am still nursing, I only drink decaf because I usually in all honesty drink about 5 cups in one sitting and I don't want to overload Benton on caffiene. lol. Anywhos I got their Organic Decaf Swiss Water blend and I seriously forgot how good coffee can just make me melt and make my morning THAT much more enjoyable. I wake up and look forward to after my workout when I can read my bible and enjoy my comforting cup(s) of coffee. :-) Emmm...it makes me get through my day that is for sure. I love starbucks but Useless Bay Coffee stumps them for sure. I can't wait until I can purchase their beans online because with the baby, it will be hard to drive 45 mintutes just to get coffee though Brandon and I have already decided to return to Langley and discover the precious little town some more when we get a chance when he's home again.

Until then, I wonder how long this bag will last me. Probably not for very long. Bummer!

Trip to P-Town

It has been a long 3 months and I am so ready for my husband to come back from deployment. It is almost that day and I am falling off my seat excited to welcome him home! It will mark the official first time that I can actually say I deserve the title of Navy Wife. I didn't know how much I was capable of until I was on my own with a new baby and a overly demanding dog who is in all essence, a second baby.
I started the deployment with the mindset of staying at home and taking it all in stride by myself. I felt I would be a failure as a wife, a mom and a person in general if I were to go back home to our parents. I can't tell you how much I needed their help though and I am glad that I did go back to Portland for 2 weeks. It was the perfect amount of time. Not so long that I would totally be out of my regular routine but long enough so that I could get some much needed relaxation and shopping done!

The great thing about Portland is the amazing food they have there. You could not run out of tongue enticing deliciousness if you tried! One of my familys all time favorites is Vertiable Quandary for a relaxing weekend brunch! Ah heaven! It doesn't hurt that the coffee in Portland is irresistably perfect and Vertiable Quandary has the most amazing window looking out onto their outside seating. It is pure bliss and to enjoy it with my parents was amazing.

Having a baby gives me little time to go out and enjoy a quality cup of coffee and relax and just take in the beauty that God created. I usually slurp my mediocre homemade coffee as fast as I can in anticipation of Bentons next moment of need. Don't get me wrong, I love to enjoy home brewed coffee while I watch Regis and Kelly in the morning but sometimes it is not possible to fully enjoy the aroma, the flavor and the warmth of coffee without an arm around the baby. I love him though and wouldn't trade him in for a million cups of quality coffee! :-)

My mom and my stepdad

My mom took me to Uwajimaya, a japanese/asian grocery store and got me a red bean mochi. YUM! This is definitely something I wish I could make! But be aware, each one of these little babies has 270 calories! WHOOH! Good thing I split it with my mom!

Emmm...delicious!

Fake Bake

I have never really had any pet peeves in the food industry besides the usual chefs/line cooks who do drugs and smoke without washing their hands afterwards. This past week has brought with it a new pet peeve which I will call fake bake. It goes something like this:

Scenerio #1
"Hey! Last night I went all out and made dinner AND dessert! I grilled steaks and I made a pie!" said anonymous
"Oh really? Did you make it from scratch?" Friend of anonymous
"Well, no it was frozen." said anonymous
*raised eyebrow from me*
*thinks: so where did the 'made a pie,' come in?*

Scenerio #2
"hey guys, I thought I'd bring you in some croissants I made from work." Said I
"OH! You did make those. I forgot you worked at a bakery. First I thought 'there's NO way SHE made that!' hahahahaha. I made a pie!" said anonymous
"uh huh. And what pie did you bring?" said I
"Oh a Care-el-mel fruit pie. I baked it at 5pm, so it's still warm!" said Anonymous
"You made it from scratch?" Said another
"no, it's frozen." said anonymous
*laughing whole-heartedly inside. I thought 'the hardest part of that was opening the box.'*

I mean, I don't snub people who bring store brought pies. I know not everyone LOVES to bake but you know being cocky about the fact that you "made" and "baked" something when it clearly was store-brought drives me nuts. I don't know, to me that doesn't qualify as baking. That's just me though and perhaps my mind is skewed because I am a baker and nothing but made from scratch goods will do.

Well, now that I have that off my chest. Time to catch up on school. My new school is different and for the first 3 weeks I kept reminiscing about my friends back at Faulkner state and missing them to pieces and not enjoying the new friends and the new facility around me. Perhaps that is why I never wrote about my new school thus far.

This week really changed things. I started to enjoy the people around me, the laughter and the silliness. I must say though...I am UTTERLY sick of puff pastry. I work with it at work, and I have worked with it 3 other times in baking classes and once again I worked with it yesterday. With a good partner even diasters turn into fun, so here is our poached apple in puff pastry.

The kiwi are acting as the apples leaves and the strawberry...well it's just there for color.

NOW HERE'S MY SURPRISE THAT I'VE BEEN ITCHING TO SHARE!

It makes me this delicious drink and more.....

So of course Emiline was right! It is indeed an espresso machine! SCORE!!!!!
Check out Stud #2! (the title of Stud #1 will always go to Brandon)

"oh so shiny. Shiny and new, new!"

The first whole week that I got this, I kept dreaming of making all sorts of espresso drinks. I told my co-workers. Apparently, their looks said I am a freak. I guess their enthusiasm for food and drink may not be as high as mine. lol.

One last issue of importance. I LOVE heroes and was SO excited about the first episode of the new season. It makes me want to have powers too! If I were special, I would want to...have the power to wish for an appliance and it would magically appear. Yes, that is what my power will be.