the good, the bad and the misshapen.

the past weekend began with ice cold corona lights squeezed with limes paired with sizzling chicken fajitas and cool, creamy guacamole at los tios, a neighborhood mexican joint down the street from our humble abode. after a full week i was finally able to relax; the laughing babies, boisterous guitar players and bottomless banter evoked a resonant ahhhhh deep within my stomach. or maybe it was just the guac? either way i was so relaxed, that i returned from dinner and promptly passed out took a nap on the living room floor with the cosby show playing peacefully in the background. really, is there a better way to fall asleep? 

well maybe this would be better?

oh cancun, how i miss thee. i can't believe it's been almost two years, we have neglected you and we will return and promise to swim in your warm ocean, eat your amazing food (there they just call it food, not mexican food) and just be. but we will not ride on a teeny boat driven by nelzo, as i white knuckle it and pray for my life. see you soon!

anyway, after a nice nap night's sleep, i was ready for saturday. i'm still pretty amazed at my productivity level on saturday. besides cleaning for over an hour (unheard of!), vacuuming (even under sam cooke's cage!), finally putting away my summer clothes and hanging up my winter clothes, i even made homemade muffins from a recipe of my very own and sewed a new clutch for fall. all before 2pm. seriously, i was stunned. after that i clearly needed some good old-fashioned lazy time. so i stuffed my face with said muffins while sprawling on the couch, whooped nelzo's ass at skee ball and ate too much cheese and candy with jess while watching huge men uncomfortably hug and cuddle wrestle. 

but really the weekend was about the good, the bad and the misshapen.

first. the good.

mini spice muffins. these are probably the best sweet thing i have ever made without a recipe.

but i have one for you. keep reading.

second. the bad.

pumpkin bread. apparently there is a thing as too much pumpkin. as i was mixing up the batter i absently read past the amount of pumpkin (1cup) and added the whole can (1 3/4 cup), plus some yogurt. clearly, i was feeling cocky from the above mentioned glory. confidence squashed. recipe not worth repeating folks.

third. the misshapen.

 

the outside of the clutch.

and the inside of the clutch.

it's definitely a bit misshapen (mainly the stitching), but i think it will work as a new-to-me fall piece. it perfectly fits the essentials (iphone, keys, wallet, lip gloss). also it fits my new rule of being plain enough to go with a lot of stuff i already own but has a twist so it's not so dullsville (read: the lining).

Hope you all had a productive weekend or non-productive if you would prefer:)

Mini Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 egg or 1/4 cup egg beaters

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

smidgen ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup apple sauce (preferably homemade)

3 tablespoons vanilla yogurt

1 grated carrot

1 small sweet potato

Method:

-Roast sweet potato at 350 for about 30 minutes, cool, peel and blend till smooth

-Put blended sweet potato into a bowl, add grated carrot, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, yogurt and egg

-In a separate bowl mix flours, salt, baking soda and spices

-Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, rotating and ending with apple sauce

-Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray, fill 3/4 full, should make about 20 mini muffins

-Bake at 350 for 12 minutes, rotating pans half way through cook time.

-Enjoy with ice cold milk