On The Road... Day 2

Today we drove for about 8 hours from Winnemucca, NV to Rock Springs, WY. The scenery varied. Some stretches were quite boring & desolate. We even saw tumbleweeds rolling across the highway. Others were curvy, mountainous, & beautiful. We stopped for a nice lunch in Salt Lake City at a restaurant called Caffe Molise.
I've decided to sum up this section of our trip in pictures. Check them out:




Yikes... snakes & scorpions!! We actually saw a woman lying in the grass taking a nap.

The Bonneville Salt Flats just before Salt Lake City.









Day 2 was another success. Two more days of long drives before we rest for a few days in Ames, IA. Tomorrow we'll be driving to North Platte, NE.
Stay tuned...

On the Road... Day 1

We are on our way...

Our Honda Civic is packed tight and we began on our driving adventure across the country. Our first stop was North Lake Tahoe, CA. Most of the drive was beautiful. The mountains still had some snow and the scenery was gorgeous.



We stopped at Jason's Beachside Grill for lunch & couldn't have asked for a more beautiful afternoon.



After lunch, we were back on the road and began driving through Nevada. The drive through Nevada was flat, straight, and desolate. Not many cars were on the road & it was a bit eerie. At one point we passed a sign that said "Prison Area. Picking up hitchhikers is prohibited." We could see the prison from the road.
I (Court) drove this leg of the trip. Dave was able to get some CFA studying done in the car, while I listened to an audio book of Dear John. I had no idea that the story takes place in North Carolina, so I am really enjoying it.

We stopped in Winnemucca, NV for the night. It is a small town just off I-80. We walked to dinner from our hotel and felt like we were part of some strange, old movie. The town was pretty dead besides the few older people hanging out in bars or pulling slots at the casino. We did get to see the largest piece of drift wood ever collected. It is 1,477 years old. :)


We ate at the Winnemucca Pizzeria. It was pretty good, but nothing special.


Day 1 was a success! Today we'll be driving about 8 hours to Wyoming. It is time to wake Dave up & get back on the road.

And the adventure begins...

We are all packed up & will be heading out on the road tomorrow.
It seems surreal!
Thanks to everyone who has prayed for us, send us cards, offered words of encouragement, and just been good friends. We greatly appreciate it! We're going to miss our friends and family in the Bay Area, but we are excited for what God has in store for us in North Carolina!

I will try to occasionally post on this blog throughout our journey across the country. We'll be taking 10 days to get to North Carolina.
Stay tuned...

Courtney's Cupcakes & Cookies

I'm thinking about starting a home-based baking business in North Carolina. I love to bake, so why not try to make it into a business? My idea is either cookies or cupcakes. I like "Courtney's Cupcakes". I would deliver locally or have pick-up orders. I'd maybe have a tasting party every so often to let people taste my delicious creations and spread the word. I could also maybe sell my product at local farmer's markets. Or sell them at a church cafe.

North Carolina allows for home kitchens to be licensed for business so I wouldn't even need to rent a commercial kitchen space to be legal. In order to have your home kitchen approved you need to not have any pets, have a municipal water supply, & be subject to occasional inspections. Those who know me will know that I am definitely not a pet person, so no concerns there.

Hmmm...

Right now it's just an idea, but I might start working on cake & icing recipes. Anyone have some good recipes to share? I'll buy some new baking equipment & piping bags... I'm excited already! :)

Even if I don't run with the business idea or if I do and it fails, at least family & friends will get some yummy baked goods out of the idea.

What do you think?

Pointe Shoes for Sale

Freed of London Pointe Shoes
$30 per pair

Sizes: 5 XX & 5XXX
Makers: P, F, Z, R, Butterfly, Bullhorn, Triangle
(Ask about a specific size & maker and I will check what I have available. The majority of the shoes are 5XXX F or P.)

Sides: 2 inches
Heel: 3 inches
2.5 DV
Full, hard shank & some 3/4 shank (5 XXX)
Color: Pink & a few White in size 5XXX

Excellent shoes!
Retail for $70+

I will ship shoes for $5 shipping charge.
Transactions made through PayPal.

Purchase 5 or more shoes for $25 per pair. $10 shipping added.

CONTACT ME IF INTERESTED.
CourtneyTeas@gmail.com

Mini Apple Pies

Dave loves apple desserts, therefore for his birthday today I plan on baking something with apple.

We love basic apple pie, but I like to make different variations. A favorite in our house is my

butterscotch apple tart, but today I decided to try making mini apple pies. They are simply a bite-sized version of apple pie & they're adorable.
They're perfect for popping into a lunchbox too.

The above images are from the online recipe. The images below are my mini pies.

Ingredients:

2-1/2 pounds firm apples
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Pie Dough (make your own, or buy the roll-out kind)
1 egg beaten with 2 Tablespoons water to make an egg was

• Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/4-inch wedges.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saute pan over medium heat. Add the apple wedges and saute for 3-4 minutes.
  
• Add the 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar to the apples and stir until combined. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and stir.
• In a small cup combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Add the mixture to the sauteing apples. Stir to combine and remove pan from the heat. Let cool completely.
• Roll out your pie crust to 1/8" thick and using a 5-1/2" bowl, cut out a circle.
• Place the (extra large) circle of dough into the cupcake well of a regular-size muffin pan.
• Carefully smooth and stretch the sides to fit flat.
  
• Put a smaller round of dough on top of the filling (I did use the 4-1/2" cookie cutter for the tops), and squash the edge of the top crust into the bottom. Trim off the excess, leaving about 3/8 - 1/2" of dough all the way around.
• Crimp the top and bottom pie crust together and curl on top of the pie. Don't leave the crimped edge on the flat part of the cupcake pan or the crust will burn. Add pie dough decorations if you'd like and cut three little slits for steam venting. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
• Pop the minis into an preheated, 375 degree F oven and bake for 20 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown).

YUM!

Happy Birthday Dave!

ReloCube Booked

I booked our ReloCube today, so the move is becoming more of a reality. We'll be packing up on April 22nd and heading out on our adventure across the country on April 23rd or 24th. Only 7.5 more weeks in California. It's a little bittersweet. We're super excited to move to NC, but we have many great memories and friends here in CA that we'll miss.


P.S.: Anyone that wants to come help us pack up our Cube on the 22nd is welcome. We certainly won't turn down any help. :)