German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

Last week I received my Southern Living Magazine in the mail....it's always a sweet day when I see that magazine in my mailbox!

Flipping through the pages found me this recipe.... German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars.

It does take almost three hours from start to plate....but two hours of that is cooling and chilling.

Step 1: Toast 3 cups of pecan pieces of halves for 8 minutes. (I used one large bag of pecan pieces.) Turn the pecan pieces half way.

Step 2: Line a 13 x 9 pan with foil, lightly greased.

In a bowl combine:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour,

3/4 cup powdered sugar,

3/4 cup cold butter cubed,

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

Mix until it resembles coarse meal.

Press mixture in bottom of pan and bake crust for 15 mins @ 350 degrees.

Step 3: Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate morsels over crust. Cool completely on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

Step 4: Whisk the following together until smooth:

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup butter melted

3 large eggs lightly beaten

Step 5: Stir in toasted pecans and coconut and spoon in prepared crust.

Step 6: Bake @ 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Cool completely on a wire rack (about an hour).

Chill one hour.

This is so sweet and so good and so rich and I know so, so fattening.. but my goodness it's worth it!

THIS is the sort of thing I do on my days off...and I LOVE it!!

I have a whole stock pile of crafts and recipes on Pinterest just waiting for fall to start...however, with all these upper 90 degree days, it doesn't look like Fall is coming to Texas any time soon!

Ready For Fall.....

I love fall...it's my favorite time of year. Not only does it mean (slightly) cooler temperatures.....

It also means an emergence of beautiful colors...

sadly our trees don't change leaves,

but you can find lots of browns, golds and oranges on porches and in stores...

 The girls and I are evening thinking about trying to grow our own pumpkins next year...

We love to make pumpkin pie, bread, and salted seeds.... 

 Fall also brings family time in the kitchen...

There is just something about that time of year that makes me want to bake....

and try new soups recipes....

There is nothing like a homemade soup, lounging in pajamas, watching TV

and hearing the wind blow and rustle my grapevine outside.....

I wish it could be fall all year 'round! 

I have a weakness for acorns...

At work I was selected to head a project for the next one and half months...

Of course, the theme everyone assumed we would take was "football"

and yes, that is indicative of fall, it's just not what I imagined..

There will be tons of fall colors, squirrels and of course,

acorns!

I would love more than anything to bring fall inside my home...

though the temperatures may only drop to the low 90's,

I can turn the air very low.....

Light some fall-scented candles 

and soak in the ambiance....

And how cute are the owl votives???

I am slightly obsessed with owls right about now....

much to CC's dismay!!

hahaha!

How fun and cute would these decorations be near the fireplace or on the porch?

 I wish we had real seasons here so we could enjoy the true "fall" that nature brings.

I try to take the girls to pumpkin patches, take some photos

and of course stop by Starbucks...

Honestly, I am truly not looking forward to Starbucks bringing back

their Pumpkin Spice Latte...

 Especially since my desk at work is only one section down from

one of our three Starbucks in the building....

 I better find a good "skinny" version of it...

or buy a couple of pairs of jeans one size bigger!!

This week the temps have been a tad cooler,

and by a tad cooler I mean highs of 97

not 100!

But I'll take it...

What I can't wait for is when our evening temps

starting dipping into the 60's!

That's when we can put on a scarf 

and take our evening walks....

Oh fall, please hurry!

B.A.T. Tostada's

We have been trying to eat lighter and healthier here. We try to do salads for dinner four times a week,

the other days are usually fish or chicken.

We NEVER eat pork....but Lena found a recipe in a magazine for a light bacon,

avocado and tomato tostada.

They were so very good!! And just right too...we didn't feel stuffed or weighed down after eating.

They hit the spot! 

 INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb thick-sliced bacon

2 large avocado's

3 roma tomatoes

1 cup sliced cheese

1 pkg tostada shells

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Today when I was taking out the trash, I saw such a cute butterfly bouncing around on CC's salvia.

I managed to get a couple of photo's before it got tired of me trying to snap pictures 

and flew off.

 Today we cleaned up and rested. 

I took advantage of Gypsy's good mood and snuggled on the couch with her.

She is so sweet.

I'm taking the girls to have frozen yogurt later, maybe get haircuts and go visit my Mom's friend, Andy.

I have been wanting to get over there to see him but just have been so busy I haven't found time. 

And that is such a shame!

He misses Mom too. He sent me an email saying he was having a "Bonnie" attack.

I told him just email me or call me when that happens.

I have them all the time.

My sister says she does too.

That made me feel less crazy!

Today it's 3 months since she left us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On to happier things though....

I am very much enjoying my day off. 

I love staying home and cleaning.

We are supposed to be getting some cooler weather, cooler as in high's of 95, not 100!

But I'll take it....

I am so ready for fall....

so, so ready!

Long Time No Write.....

I cannot believe it has been exactly one month since I have blogged. 

There really is nothing to catch up on....alot of work, alot of sadness, alot of nothing.

A couple of weeks ago we had to go out of town for family reasons. We stopped at Buc-ee's, of course. I saw this camo popcorn...only in Texas!

 CC had fun taking pictures. We went there on a Wednesday evening and went back Thursday to get Lena, she had spent the night with  my sister. 

The moon was so big and bright that night. It was amazing!!

We tried to get a good photo, but all we had was my cell phone. I pulled over to snap a quick picture. 

My sister gave me a bag of my old school papers. I pulled out one stack and found this paper and sticker on it. Believe it or not, this stick still smells like pine trees almost over twenty years later.

I remember getting this sticker. I swear I do. I loved the smell back then and still love it now!

 Lena had been wanting to try the Glow-In-The-Dark Fairy Dust project we have been seeing on Pinterest.

Let's just say it didn't really look the way it does on the tutorial 

and

if you put it in the frig like it tells you too, you will totally mess it up!

But, the girls had fun making it and it was pretty to see the progress of glow in the dark spots 

all over my cabinets and kitchen floors. 

 Lena is so good at graphic art. She makes the cutest, prettiest, neatest things on the computer.

I always have her email them to me and then use them as screen savers on my phone. 

These are a few she made. 

 She made a really neat one today of a model and then transformed her lower face to a tiger muzzle. 

It was so neat...she is so talented!

Charlie has been braving Bella and coming up on my bed to snuggle with me.

I love having him sleep up there on my head at night. It feels so good!

 Bella is still a devil and tortures our cats, especially Toby.

She will lay in front of her food bowl AND block the way to my bedroom so the boys can't get by to the food bowl in my room. 

She keeps us on our feet. 

She really does rule the roost...

and I love her, it's like having a piece of Mom with me!

 Saturday the girls and I were going to walk to Mission Cafe and have tortilla soup. 

They were almost closed so we decided to talk a little longer walk to the new Mexican restaurant a little farther down. We had so much fun walking.

We threw rocks, trying to break them and see what they look like inside. 

My cousin Michael and I used to do that in front of our grandpa's house. 

Lena was the only one strong enough to actually break a rock. 

CC got smart and thought she could try to pick up this rock....

yeah!

 And this evening just for fun we walked up and around that area to get some fresh air and some exercise.

We totaled a bit over two miles and of course it turned windy as soon as

we entered our neighborhood gates!

 The sky was so pretty coming home. Of course all I had was my cell phone but that lighter blue was 

almost an electric blue...so, so pretty!

Today was a wonderfully perfect lazy day. I woke up early, read some news, dozed back off.

Then I made breakfast, drank some coffee and read 1/2 of my latest Redbook.

A real lazy day.

And boy, have I needed it!