Phone Photo Fun

Why hello!

First, I'd like to put it on the record that 15F is sooooo much nicer than -15F. I think I may have froze my upper eyelids while walking the dogs a couple days ago. Second, I thought today would be a nice day to share some pretty sweet photos with you. This was prompted by the Christmas tree decorating at my Grandpa's, yesterday. You can read more about my Grandpa, here. You want to, trust me.

Heh heh, I couldn't resist creating some ridiculous little imagery. 

Okay, first up, this is how Bob watches football. At two different houses, it doesn't matter where he is, this is his football position. Dead beetle style.

Second, here are some lovely photos from our ski last week. You can see more on my Instagram, Twitter, and/or Facebook page. See the top right side of the blog to connect and keep up on all the Alaskan awesomeness. 

And now, here are some photos from Grandpa's basement basement. What's a basement basement? Well, there's the basement...and then there's the basement basement. The latter being a straight up sketchy ass place below the regular basement with narrow, terrifying stairs, crushed and broken glass, oddities that were outcast from the kitchen, and enough food to seriously supply a small army. The kind of place you make sure your guests don't know about.

It would be a supreme location for an episode of Fear Factor...or Saw. As a child it was scary as hell. Now, it's a wonderful place (minus the spiderwebs) filled with old-timey treasures from bygone eras! Need a bottle of antibiotics from the 1940s? We got that! Looking for a canned WHOLE chicken from the 1950s? We got that, too! There's also rusted out japanese teapots and a deep freeze full of old caribou meat!

Also, there are these four beauties from my Grandpa's old office. I asked for them for Christmas. I love them. Note the old crazy old snowshoe at the top of the photo. Just one. Where is the other snowshoe? What happened to it? We'll never know...

This is my super sweet, adorable Grandma.When I grow up, I want to be just like her! 

This is why I have to take an antihistamine everyday. Or, I could just stop rescuing dogs. Haha, no, I'll take the Zyrtec. I've been trying to master the "petting dogs is okay", but "petting dogs then touching face/eye is not okay".

Ew, sorry for that gross picture. This one is much better. Look at these two explorers!

Well, I hope you enjoyed these little treasures from my phone. Keep in touch for more excitement down the road!

Cheers! Wishing you a crazy and eccentric Holiday season. 

Listening to Lily Allen – Somewhere Only We Know

Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

I questioned whether I should really post this recipe or not. For one, I've seen like a bazillion pumpkin pasta recipes in just the last three days alone. However, I'll have you know that I made this like a week ago, okay!? And second, I adapted it from...Rachael Ray. Disgust. Apparently my distaste for Rachael knows no bounds. That, and I couldn't get any good photos. Yes, the odds were definitely against me on this one, but this pasta was much too delicious not to share! It'd be a crime, and rather selfish. Plus, I wanted to share photos from our first ski of the Winter with you! There's currently no snow around here, so we had to go seek it out in the mountains. 

And we were not disappointed. Alaskan beauty at it's finest! Winter is the best time of the year. You can see those photos below the recipe, but first, it's pumpkin time! 

I said, "It's pumpkin time!" This pasta is creamy, cheesy and packed with pumpkiny goodness. The sage lends depth and the sausage...well, you have to have some vegan sausage right? Yes.

Cheesy Pumpkin Sage Penne with Sausage

Inspired by Food Network

Serves 4-6

• 18 oz. penne pasta, dry
• 2 Field Roast Smoked Apple and Sage Grain Sausages, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil 
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves,  minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella, shredded 
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast  
• 3 Tbsp. fresh sage leaves, minced

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside until ready to use. 

Bring a medium frying pan to heat with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and brown the sausage slices, for about 5 minutes. Set aside when done until ready to use.

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Bring a medium frying pan to heat with a bit of nonstick cooking spray and brown the sausage slices, for about 5 minutes. Set aside when done until ready to use.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes, until the onions begin to turn translucent and the garlic becomes fragrant. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the onion and garlic, excluding the sage and sausage. Whisk well to combine and allow to simmer over medium-low heat for about 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce begins to thicken. Add additional cornstarch as is needed. 

Once thickened, add to the pasta and toss to coat, along with the sausage slices.

Serve hot, with additional sage and cheese to top it off!

Now onto those Alaskan Winter photos I promised! 

I'm listening to Wild Child – Crazy Bird

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1 Year of Married Bliss

Todd and my one year anniversary was on June 30th. I absolutely refuse to believe that we've been married one year! What brand of craziness is this?It really has just flown by. I'm pretty sure we were married just a few weeks ago. Yes, I am certain of it. No? Well, it certainly feels that way. To celebrate we went on a hike near Sheep Mountain, where we got married. It's a little over an hour drive from our house and the road winds through the most breathtaking, Alaskan scenery. We took along some snackies of course (though the Primal Strips I reviewed a couple weeks ago didn't make it into the picture because we ate them beforehand!) and our beloved Bob.

Bailey got a little hot on the hike. We've been having somewhat of a heatwave up here, along with the rest of the states. Hey, Alaska can keep up with the times (or global warming)! I think his tongue almost fell out. It's a little ridiculous. I laughed and laughed when I saw these photos, especially the one on the right...

I really love this picture of my boys.  That's quite the stance Bob's got, and look at the mountains! We never did get a picture of the Matanuska Glacier. Doh!

And for you, Dear Reader. Wish you were here!

It's hard to believe that this was only one year ago...

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So, here's to a wonderful first year of marriage. I'm so thankful to spend the rest of my life with a true friend and love. I can't wait for year two!