Gorgeous Fall weather = the perfect time for picture taking! :)

Another fantastic weekend has come and almost gone, so I'm closing it out by relaxing on my couch in my pj's, halfway paying attention to the World Series (even though I'd much rather be watching the Saints vs. Colts game, which is going to be the determining factor in whether I win my fantasy football match-up this week, but alas I don't have cable b/c I'm rarely home to watch TV, so I'm settling for baseball, lol). While I'm winding down before the work week begins, I wanted to share a few photos that I took around Capitol Square on Friday. After losing my purple Polaroid Lumix in Alabama a few weeks ago, I ordered a new camera, which arrived on Friday morning (you know I can't survive very long without being able to take pictures :).  Since I obviously couldn't wait to start playing around with it and see what it was capable of, I spent my lunch break walking around and snapping lots of pics. Here are a few of them:

Virginia Capitol (Shot #1)

Harry F. Byrd statue in front of the General Assembly Building

Edgar Allen Poe statue

Capitol from opposite direction

I'm still learning all of the nifty manual functions that it offers, but I can already tell that this is going to be a much better investment than the Lumix. Of course, I would expect no less from a Canon! Hopefully I will do a better job of keeping up with this one! :)

Enjoy the last few hours of the weekend, y'all!

Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies Recipe :)

It seems like I always go on a serious baking spree in the Fall...so many pumpkin recipes to try, and lots of tailgates and other events where I can test my baking experiments on my family and friends.  :)  In preparation for tomorrow's Virginia Tech vs. Boston College tailgate, I decided to bake Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies, which I made from scratch, using this Betty Crocker recipe as a guide, but adapting it to incorporate more spices and more pumpkin-y flavor!

Juliana's Chewy Pumpkin Spice Cookies

2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 - 15 oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 eggs (1/2 cup egg substitute)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt 

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, applesauce, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. 

Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.

 

On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls. 

  

Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. 

Cool completely, about 40 minutes. Frost with your favorite homemade or store bought cream cheese icing. (Don't forget to store them in an air tight container so they will stay soft)!

And VOILA! These little, incredibly soft, pumpkin gems are ready to head to Blacksburg and get their tailgate on! :)  With that, I should probably be heading to bed, as we have an early morning ahead of us in order to make the trek down to Tech to allow plenty of time for tailgating. If you happen to be going to the game as well, you should totally stop by and try a pumpkin cookie (or 2 or 3 :)

Night y'all and Go HOKIES!

A Fabulous Fall Weekend!

Autumn is here in full force, as was evident by the gorgeous fall foliage that made for a very colorful drive over the mountain on my way home Saturday morning (and again during my drive back to RVA earlier this afternoon). We definitely couldn't have asked for a more beautiful weekend! Mine started out with dinner at Sticky Rice with two great friends after work on Friday evening, which was followed by packing and relaxing before waking up early on Saturday to make the usual journey to the Valley.

Not surprisingly, it was another football filled weekend...JMU hosted the Villanova Wildcats at 1:30 on Saturday. After a very rocky and sloppy first half, the Dukes came out of the locker room fired up and ready to win! And they did just that!

(Please forgive the terrible quality of the photos in my post tonight...I lost my digital camera during our Alabama trip and thus resorted to snapping pics with my BlackBerry).

After happily witnessing the Dukes lay that smackdown on Villanova, Jon and I headed home and met Mom for a delicious dinner at Mamma Mia's. The really great thing about coming home for so many football weekends means getting to spend some quality time with both of them! :)  After dinner, I had to run by the grocery store to pick up some mini chocolate chips, and then we headed home, since Virginia Tech was playing Wakeforest at 6:30. The game wasn't televised so Mom and Jon got the live radio stream going in the living room while I started destroying Mom's kitchen with yet another one of my baking projects....

Homemade chocolate chip pumpkin bread batter (made from scratch, obvi ;) ready to go into the oven.

The Hokies didn't have a very good first quarter, but luckily they picked up their game in the 2nd quarter and ended up earning a solid ACC win over the Demon Deacons with a final score of 38-17. Meanwhile, my pumpkin bread had finished baking, so yummy aromas of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate wafted throughout the house.

This morning, I got up early and headed back to H-burg for the caffeinated service at HBC, then came home to pack, and enjoyed a yummy home-cooked lunch (thanks, Mom!), before hitting the road. (Yes, I hit the road before the Skins game kicked off...and I missed the entire thing...terrible I know, but at least I didn't miss anything good lol).

The weather today was amazing so I cruised back to Richmond in Sunny II with the sunroof open, music blasting, and the wind blowing in my hair 8)  I made it back to my apartment in time to unload all my stuff, and then decided that since it was so nice outside I might as well take a 20 minute afternoon stroll to City Church in lieu of the usual 5 minute drive. It was an excellent decision. City Church was great, especially after missing it the past 2 weeks and being reminded that I really feel like this is finally the church where God wants me to be. But time will tell...

On that note, I should probably be getting to bed....the first full week after a 4 day work week always seems to drag on, so I should at least try to get my usual 5 hours in before hitting the coffee pot tomorrow. Hehe.

On another real quick note before I hop off here, prayers would be greatly appreciated for the fam this week, but especially on Tuesday, as it's going to be a tough day for us.

Thanks and much love to you all! xoxo  Good-night!