Vanilla Bean Organic Baked Goods

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

2008-12-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

Actually we will be driving in a 4-Runner. But that's besides the point! Tomorrow is my last day of work before I have a week of vacation. Woo hoo!

Mr. Vanilla Bean and I are headed down to Florida to spend Christmas with my family. I am so excited to soak up the sun and get away from this cold. I plan on hanging out in my bathing suit and flip flops as much as possible!

Yay for Christmas in Florida filled with palm trees, sunshine and all things wonderful! :)

A Weekend in Atlanta

2008-12-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was fun...and busy!

It started with Thanksgiving with the In-Laws and lots of good southern food....hashbrown casserole, candied sweet potatoes, squash casserole, pumpkin pie...yumm!

Then Friday we drove to Atlanta to see my Family. My sister is temporarily in Atlanta for school and my parents spent Thanksgiving with her. Anyway, the exiting part is that she is recently engaged and we spent Saturday shopping for Wedding Dresses - so fun! All the dresses she tried on were amazing! It made me want to buy one for myself!

After that, we met the boys (My sister's fiancé, my husband and my Dad) for Lunch in Marietta Square. If you are ever in Atlanta, you should definitely visit Sugar Cakes for Lunch! It was so delicious. Great Chicken Salad on fresh baked, buttery croissants. Creamy Butternut Squash Soup. Fabulous House Salads with Cranberries, Feta cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette. And do not miss out on the desserts - Chocolate Croissants, Tiramisu and Cheesecake - that are so pretty you don't want to take a bite and ruin it. Oh, but your taste buds are so happy, when you do!

We made it safely back from Atlanta yesterday and today was back to work. Ugghh. I am really unhappy in my job right now. If anyone knows of a good job in Birmingham, let me know!

I hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving too!

Where has the time gone?

2008-11-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week? And Christmas is just a little more than a month away? Where has the time gone? I haven't bought a single Christmas gift for anyone yet! I haven't even had a chance to attempt shopping this holiday season. Things have been so busy lately!
Does anyone else feel like there is not enough hours in the day??

Football and Cupcakes

2008-11-10T19:34:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I blogged. Sorry about that. I didn't even realize it had been that long. I guess that shows how busy the last week has been!

Just a little recap from the weekend -

Friday I took the day off work. I had a large order of cupcakes to make and I also had to travel 2-1/2 hours south to a football playoff game.

Mr. Vanilla Bean's team lost the game :( Although it was disappointing, he's slightly relieved that Football is over. Now he can focus on the Basketball season (it was becoming difficult trying to juggle both)!

Saturday I delivered the cupcakes to the Grand Opening Party at Crossfit Birmingham. My husband and I are both members of this gym and we love it! The party was really fun!

Tomorrow I am off work for Veterans Day so I am very excited about that!

THE BIG 27

2008-11-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's right.....I'm getting old. Today I've been on this earth 27 years. That seems like a pretty long time, yet at the same time the last few years have gone by so fast.

How does that happen?

Anyways, sorry I didn't blog this weekend but it was a busy weekend filled with birthday celebrations!

Friday night Mr. Vanilla's football team won their final regular season game. Our first playoff game is this Friday! Go Aggies!

Saturday night, Mr. Vanilla took me to a fabulously, delicious dinner. I had veal (no hate mail from PETA please) and it was scrumptious!

Tonight I am just laying low because Mr. Vanilla has football AND basketball practice and won't be home until late. Oh, the life of a coach's wife.

Here is a peak at one of my gifts from Mr. Vanilla. I LOVE it! (The picture doesn't do it justice. To me the gold is a weird color in the picture, but it's very pretty in person)!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T19:20:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween! It's my second favorite holiday, after Christmas of course! And I love love love carving pumpkins! I went a little overboard this year and carved three. Mr. Vanilla Bean just sat there and watched. He's thinks I'm a little crazy for enjoying pumpkin carving so much!

I just can't help myself :)

I hope everyone has a great Halloween! I am a little depressed that I won't be home to see all the Trick-r-Treaters this year. Mr. Vanilla Bean's football team is playing and I must be there to cheer them on! Go Aggies!

I heart Sara Bareilles

2008-10-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

The concert was amazing! Sara's voice is unbelievable. It has amazing clarity - I can't really describe it, but she definitely has a gift! And as if her voice wasn't enough, she plays the piano too! If she is touring in your area I definitely recommend getting tickets ASAP!

Check out the tour dates here!

Who Loves Sara Bareilles???

2008-10-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

Me! Me! I am going to see in her concert tomorrow night at the Alabama Theatre. It's a small venue so the sound should be great.
My friend Whitney and I are making a girls night of it with dinner and drinks before the concert! Should be fun - I will give a full report afterwards!
My weekend has not been great (more details on that later) so I am hoping this will cheer me up! :)
Hope everyone has a great Monday!
-vanilla bean :)

T.G.I.F!

2008-10-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else soooo glad that tomorrow is Friday??? I can not wait for the weekend!

Monogram Chick Give Away!

2008-10-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love free gifts?? Monogram Chick is giving away the cutest monogrammed recipe holder! I love her entire shop, but this is probably one of my favorite items! You can enter to win here!

Organic Pumpkin Bars with Chocolate Chips

2008-10-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Yummm! My newest organic creation is a moist pumpkin bar with dark chocolate chips! I could eat the whole pan, but I will resist! This is the perfect fall treat! Order them for yourself or to send as a gift! Available for order now at my Etsy shop

Tumbleweed

2008-10-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

I could spend every penny I have on jewelry! Tumbleweed Bead Co. is my newest favorite Etsy jewelry shop!

I have always loved hammered gold jewelry and this shop offers plenty of it! Be sure to check it out!

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

2008-10-12T19:48:00.001-07:00

I love chocolate covered pretzels! The saltiness of the pretzels combined with slightly sweet dark chocolate is sooo delicious! Problem is, all the chocolate covered pretzels I find in the stores are filled with high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and other artificial ingredients that I do not want to eat!

So this weekend I decided to make my own! I started with organic pretzel sticks and then dipped them in melted dark chocolate. And just for fun, I even rolled some in organic coconut and some in organic pecans. They turned out better than I even expected......and without all those bad ingredients!

Now I am just trying to decide if I should add them to my Etsy shop - I am a little concerned about the chocolate melting in shipping.

What do you think?

A few more treasuries!

2008-10-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon a few more treasuries this week - one featuring my organic double chocolate brownies and one featuring my organic chocolate pound cake!

Anthropologie Wish List

2008-10-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

I am in love with all the new accessories at Anthropolgie! They have the best coats, boots and bags for Fall! My birthday is coming soon, so may be this list will be a hint to Mr. Vanilla Bean :)

Nanda Handcrafted

2008-10-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

I love these amazing knitted neckwarmers by Nanda Handcrafted! I am so excited to buy sweaters, scarves, and tweed for fall - yay!

Today's Etsy Favorites

2008-10-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a bad weekend (Auburn lost, my Tampa Bay Bucs lost) - so dissapointing. But today is a new day and I am drowning my sorrows with online shopping! Here are a few of my new Etsy Favorites!

Sweetgrass Place Setting by Jd Wolfe Pottery

Rococo Shawl by Tickled Pink Knit

Fleur du desert (desert flower) necklace by Olala Design

2009 IS COMING!

2008-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

And who doesn't love picking out a new, fun calendar to begin a new year! Look no further than Valentina Design and their new fresh, colorful calendars! I can't wait to order one for myself and a few for friends and family too!

Also, I want to give a big thanks to sweetnsassybaby for featuring my brownies on her blog! Check it out here!

Virtual Bake Sale!

2008-09-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

For all of you who love homemade bake goods, the Team EEAT (Etsy's Edible Arts Team) is having a virtual bake sale in the Etsy labs tomorrow, October 1st at 8 pm Eastern Time.

Come meet the fabulous bakers of Etsy and see all their luscious treats! Many will be offering great discounts and free give-away items!

I will be offering 15% off my baked goods! Come check it out!

Prints from Corid

2008-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

I love these unusual prints on vintage paper from Corid! I would buy her whole shop if I could!

More Treasuries!

2008-09-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

I never thought I could love a little collage of pictures so much, but I LOVE the Etsy treasuries. It's so fun to look through them and see so many talented artists featured. Plus, I love the color combinations and the original theme of each treasury.

It's also really fun and exciting when someone features you in their treasury.

Yesterday, Peanutbutter and Ella featured me in one of her treasuries - thanks Peanut!

The Pebble Collection

2008-09-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

I love the fun, girly jewelry from The Pebble Collection! The pictures above are two of my favorites, but be sure to check out the entire collection!

Treasury Love!

2008-09-24T16:14:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon two Etsy Treasuries yesterday featuring my baked goods! The first Treasury pictured here was even featured on Etsy's front page last night around 7:30 pm. So exciting!!

Thanks to the curators for featuring me in your beautiful Treasuries!

Also, thanks to the Etsy Edible Arts Team for featuring my shop on their blog

Here Comes the Bride

2008-09-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

I love flowers and in my spare time I do a little flower arranging for weddings. I am not a seasoned professional by any means, but I really enjoy it. This weekend I did a few bouquets and arrangements for a wedding. The couple was really sweet and their wedding was beautiful. These are just a few of the first photos. I hope to post more in a few days!

*Photography provided by Gresham Photography

Rick and Bubba, Rick and Bubba

2008-09-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

If you aren't familiar with the "Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive" (also known as Rick and Bubba) you are missing out! My carpool buddy, Whitney, and I listen to their morning radio show on our long commute to work everyday. I honestly don't know if we could survive the commute without them!

Lucky for us, their show is taped right here in Birmingham! Friday we took a day off work to visit them. We had a great time watching them in action (even if it was through double-paned glass)!

You can hear their show on radio stations all over the country, so find them in your area and start listening! You can check out their website here

Organic Lemon Pound Cake with Citrus Lemon Glaze

2008-09-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

My newest pound cake addition to my Etsy Shop. If you love lemon desserts this is the cake for you!

Dali Decals

2008-09-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon these decals a few weeks ago from Dali Decals and I am in love with them!!! What a great idea! I can't wait to order one!

Organic Chocolate Pound Cake

2008-09-16T20:13:00.000-07:00

My newest addition to my Etsy shop is this luscious chocolate pound cake!

Everyone who tries this cakes asks "how do you make it so moist?" I can't give away my secrets, but I can tell you that if you love chocolate (and who doesn't), you won't be disappointed by this delicious cake!

Valentina Design

2008-09-14T15:57:00.001-07:00

Bright and modern, a print from Valentina Design is sure to brighten up any room in your house! I can't wait to give these as gifts this holiday season!

Little Brown Pen

2008-09-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's still pretty warm here in Alabama, but Fall is just around the corner! The adorable new stationary templates from Little Brown Pen will make you wish it was here sooner! At only $4 per template, Little Brown Pen makes it affordable to always have the cutest stationary right on hand. And don't forget to check her Etsy Shop often, as she is constantly creating new, mod designs!

*Thanks to Pfeiffer Photos for mentioning me on their blog - you can check it out at http://pfeifferphotos.blogspot.com/2008/09/blogging-low-cost-high-return-business_10.html

PAPER + FABRIC

2008-09-09T17:56:00.000-07:00

Another day, another great Etsy find! These cute cards are from Lockette and are made by fusing fabric to paper. She has so many unique designs, but my personal favorites are the "Boo Yah" Halloween Stationary Set (I love Halloween!) and the "Round" Stationary Set.

*Also, thanks to Little Brown Pen for mentioning me on her blog! You can check out the post here: Forget Flowers

Studio Mela

2008-09-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

I love being apart of Etsy! I have found so many talented artists and so many things that I can't wait to purchase. A few weeks ago I found a great Etsy shop with adorable art! I purchased "Sweet Security" and "My Little Family" (pictures above). They arrived last week and I can't wait to frame and hang them in my house! You can purchase these and other great pieces

at DazeyChic's Etsy Shop

She also has a great blog. Check it out! Studio Mela

WAR EAGLE!!!

2008-09-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE football season! Is it weird that a girl who loves to bake, shop and read celebrity gossip magazines also likes football more than some men do? Unless you like football too, you should stay away from our house during football season because it dominates our lives (and our television) 24/7 ! I do make a few exceptions, regarding the television, for The Hills and Gray's Anatomy. Although, I usually end up watching them on the Internet after they've aired because they usually interfere with a football game.

Our football schedule for this week:

Friday 9/5 Sylacauga High School vs Wilcox County (my husband coaches for Sylacauga so I try to be at every game. We won 41-20! Go Aggies!

Saturday 9/6 Auburn vs Southern Mississippi (pictures above) - although we both graduated from University of Alabama at Birmingham, we are both Auburn fans!!! We had a great time at the game yesterday. It was hot and we are sunburned, but that's a small price to play for a good win! Final Score 27-13! WAR EAGLE!

Sunday 9/7 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New Orleans Saints. I am watching this game on TV, as I blog (I grew up in Tampa Bay and I am a HUGE fan)! Currently the score is 10-7 Tampa!

Tuesday 9/9 - Nichols Lawson Middle School vs Childersburg (My husband also coaches the middle school football team in Sylacauga)

Did you think I was kidding about football 24/7?? :) With all the football excitement this weekend, I didn't have much time to bake! But it was a great weekend!

What's In A Name?

2008-09-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember my parents have called me "bean." I'm not sure how old I was when the nickname started. I must have been pretty young because I have very few memories of being called by my first name, unless we were having a serious discussion (probably because I did something I shouldn't have). By the way, my first name is Alima. Pronounced Aleema. You can probably see why "bean" was an obvious nickname. The spelling leads a lot of people to pronounce my name A-LIMA, like the bean. So Lima-bean became Leema-bean, Leemie-Bean and then, most commonly, just bean.

I am almost 27 years old now and my parents, along with quite a few other relatives still call me bean. A little silly, I know, but it just stuck and it seems there's no stopping it! It used to bother me when I was a kid because I felt embarrassed in front of my friends by my silly nickname. Looking back now, I see that all kids are embarrassed by their parents, nickname or not!

Turns out my family members aren't the only ones who love nicknames! Before my husband and I even dated 2 weeks he had already given me my first nickname. 7 years later, we could fill a large book with all the nicknames he's given me over the years - each one with their own little story on how they originated! The current nickname is "nugget" in case you are curious :)

When I started my bake shop I pondered on the name for several weeks. Naturally, my husband suggested I use one of my nicknames. I wasn't sold on that idea until he mentioned "vanilla bean." I immediately loved it! Vanilla is delicious, everyone loves it and I use it in almost everything I bake. The fact that vanilla comes from a vanilla bean, which allowed me to incorporate my nickname, was just too good to be true!

And that was it - Vanilla Bean was born!