It’s been an interesting couple of years for me but im built like a piece of corn and I will persevere. Your support always helps so help keep the channel alive by liking, commenting and subscribing, it really means the world and PLEASE try this pancake recipe, you will not be disappointed, link to the recipe below!!
Love, Mar!!
#baking
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https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/americas-test-kitchen-from-cooks-illustrated/recipe-easy-pancakes – MAR’S TIP: ADD 2 TABLESPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT!!!!
Don’t forget to check out my husband Josh’s youtube channel!
Josh’s YT Channel: / @jgsautodetailing1568
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Hi guys and welcome back. I am chilling out at the house today. So I thought I would make my favorite p freezer pancakes. I got to feed hazelnut and our HOA actually started a free library where you could actually keep the books. Although they won’t let you donate or take cookbooks, which I would absolutely take. I’m sure some of the people neighborhood have some pretty cool uh vintage cookbooks. They do have regular books, which I’m excited to try out. So, if I can make it in time before it closes, I’m definitely going to see what I could pick up. I doubt it’s a large library just at our community center, but I mean a free book. I’m I’m pretty excited to see it. I wish Josh could come, but he’s at work um always during the times that the library is open. So, I’ll see if I could pick him something up as well. Hazel’s food, some nice hot water, and some kibble. She just likes it softer, so need to let that cool down. And then, yeah, we’ve been having a heat wave and I’m dying. I just took Hazel for a walk and I’m wearing long sleeves. I don’t know why. I was just feeling the sporty look. But, ooh, I am broiling hot. I need this heat wave to be over. Anyway, as per usual, I thought we’d have a girl chat, talk about some vowel updates because we are tminus 3 weeks to it happening, which is crazy again because I’ve been talking about it for 5 years in my head and now it’s finally come and I have all these like really mixed emotions in terms of like planning stress maybe like dress and veil blindness. Anyway, we’ll talk about it when I start my pancakes, but I thought I’d take you guys along for the ride as per usual. [Music] Hazel’s food is ready. She’s very excited. Can you go sit and stay? Okay, good job. She’s such a doll. As per usual, using my trusty dusty recipe book that I printed out. I haven’t ordered the custom binder yet, but I have my classic fluffy pancake recipe. Um, and these freeze really well. I found this recipe on America’s Test Kitchen or America’s Something. Um, and then the only difference I have is I add 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract cuz the actual recipe doesn’t have any flavor in it. I’ll leave it in the description box below. It’s fluffy and soft. It’s literally the best the best basic pancake recipe. I’ve not been able to find pancake recipe like this, so I really like using it. Um, and it’s ingredients you have at home, so that makes it 10 times easier. think I could get this done before the library closes, but we shall see. I’ve been trying to be more diligent with putting in my hair extensions because I feel my best when I have my hair extensions in. Losing your hair twice is really, really hard, especially after making so much progress to grow your hair out and then just have it fall back out again 8 to 9 months after the fact. So, that honestly took a really big hit to my confidence. So, I just, you know, pulled the trigger, bought the extensions, and I’m really, really glad I did, to be honest, cuz it’s changed how I feel about myself dayto-day. I don’t wear them all the time, but today was a particularly easy day to have them in because I wanted to try on my V renewal veil and then my reception lunch veil and figure out the hair because, as you guys saw, my V renewal veil is huge. It’s very heavy. My actual wedding didn’t go as I had fully hoped. Obviously, it it wasn’t anything like the day of that was particularly shocking, but just being in a bad headsp space for your entire engagement, trying to just kind of make things work or figuring it out as you go. I just kind of made decisions looking back in terms of color, in terms of hair choice, dress choice, all that stuff that I look back and I’m like, gosh, like if I had just a little bit more head space, I probably would have made very different decisions. But I was on a time crunch and to be honest, I just wasn’t allowed to focus on the right things as a bride at the time. So now I’ve had more time to think about those things obviously, but I’m having kind of like FOMO, I guess, or not FOMO, but like non flashbacks, which is so dramatic to say, but like I’m just scared. like everything that I’m liking right now, I’m like, is it because I’m stressed out and I just want to get over it already and get over this like stressful hump of planning or is it because I actually like what I’ve chosen, which is a really weird slippery slope to be on. Not to say that I thought I looked so disgusting on my wedding day and like it’s, you know, channeled into now, but like I’ve waited 5 years to have this opportunity again and it may like sound so silly to you guys, but it meant a lot to me. So, I’m just trying to make sure I don’t have another like, wow, I have to wait another 5 years or I could have I had all this time to make the right decisions and all these things that I like and I still didn’t. That makes sense. So, today I went ahead and I tried on my huge jumbo veil. I had purchased these like bun molds, like you know the ones that you use like for a doughnut uh bun, and I yeah, I figured out that I can get the veil in there to stay. The veil is still heavy, but it’s much more secured. Um, but now I’m second guessing everything. I don’t know. I really wish I was more uh I guess confident in myself or my decision making. I feel like I used to, but I’ve taken quite a a mental hit the past few years. So now I I second guess myself a lot, which is totally on me and not in on anybody else cuz I can make the decision to not care what other people think and just do what I like regardless. Like I’m not thinking about, oh my god, would someone think this is silly? Who cares? It’s my thing. But that’s not how my brain works. So that’s kind of my dilemma right now. And again, we’re tminus 3 weeks to when it happens. So, I’m kind of out of options and time and to be honest, mental energy to even think of a backup cuz what if I end up figuring something out a week before or two weeks before and then hating that? It’s just this endless vicious cycle that does not need to happen. Put that to the side. And now I need to get the eggs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very, very, very excited. one that this is happening and two that we even have the opportunity to do this with family like everyone is so understanding and willing to spend time and money and energy to celebrate with us and obviously go on a family trip which is such a dream come true. I’m really fortunate that way to have a family that is tightknit like that. Um so the itinerary are coming together obviously although it’s stressful because we want to make sure everyone is happy and does things that they find fulfilling while they are in Hawaii. Um, it’s been a mix of my anxiety with the actual day of the vow renewal and my excitement with the rest of it. Which again, like the grass is always greener, right? How stupid. Like, I need to just, the more I talk about it out loud, the more I’m like, “Oh my god, I need to just get a grip.” But getting a grip is so out of reach sometimes. We’re having a family call tonight to go over o the final um the final plans for the uh itinerary, get our luau booked. Um maybe a couple more free time events just cuz I wanted to make sure everyone had time to do things that they wanted to do and pretty much talk over logistics, which is crazy cuz after this it’s game over and we just it’s a waiting game until we fly out. I have to say it was a relief figuring out that the veil can stay in my head. And I know I’m talking about the veil a lot. It’s been a pain point in my head for a while. Um, but everything’s coming together. I just need to get a grip. There’s a lot going on, not only foul vow renewal wise, but homewise, lifewise, career-wise, and I’m just going through this really weird season of life where I don’t think I knew who I was as much as I thought I did. and like my idea of who I was has crumbled, which sounds dramatic. I don’t know how else to say it. But now I’m trying to rethink like what are my interests? What am I good at? What’s my value? And that sounds dramatic, but like it’s been a rough 2 years for me to be totally honest. And I don’t really share that cuz I don’t like being a negative Nelly or a complainer or, you know, it’s kind of like wanting things to not seem as bad as they actually are or as rough as they actually are. Um, but yeah, I’m just kind of like a little deflated these days and I’m trying to figure out how to get out of that, but I have to take it day by day, which is also rough because 2 years of day by days is is is a little long for feeling like this. I don’t know if that resonates with absolutely anybody. I hope it does. And to be honest, honestly, I kind of hope it doesn’t so you guys aren’t like feeling the way I do. But if it does, you’re not alone. It’s a weird thing being 27 and having to be like I was so sure of myself at 17 and now I don’t know who I am or what my interests are or what I’m good at or what my value is or you know what am I made for. I guess it’s stupid. Weird feeling. Weird weird weird feeling. I have to say the only thing that’s really saved me in this really really long season has been my husband who has been such a total rock and been holding it down and keeping everything like steady like just taking care of everything that I can’t right now. And also just trying to continue the journey with Jesus, reading the Bible, try to understand things I don’t understand or at least find some comfort in the fact that I just don’t understand right now. I don’t understand. I don’t know. know and I’m probably not going to know for a while and that’s okay. Again, weird territory to be in, but Jesus and a really sweet husband help a lot. But alas, until then, I’m baking non-stop, making messes, trying new recipes. I can’t even say that baking or cooking is particularly my passion, but it’s kept me busy in a productive way now. So, among all the, you know, wedding planner duties that I have, this has been a fun way to spend the time as well. Okay, my batter is beautiful and thick and ready. It doesn’t look thick, but it’s it’s thick. And now we just have to wait 8 to 10 minutes for it to sit. And I’ll just let the uh skillet heat up. I’ll be back 1 second. Okay, I gave it 6 minutes cuz I’m over it. So, I like to do a good 1/4 scoop. That’s a reasonably sized pancake to me. And right on my breakfast griddle. I love this thing. Although I don’t believe in nonstick anymore, but this is the only thing I couldn’t give away cuz it makes hosting really easy, makes pancakes really easy, bulk bacon. Okay, I, you know, moderately crunchy is what we’re going for. These are so fluffy. I can’t wait to show you guys. I tried doing a blueberry one, but if you put raw or frozen raw blueberries, unsweetened essentially, I think they get really sour and gross. So, I need to figure that out. I tried making a blueberry compost, but it didn’t quite do what I wanted it to. I’m trying stuff out. We’re in the uh testing phases. But the basic recipe I think you guys should try. It’s solid. It really is. I feel like last year a lot of creators on YouTube were decorating for fall on August 1st, and I haven’t seen any content like that yet, which I appreciate. I think September is when fall should start rolling in. And to be honest, I’m not in my fall mindset until after my vow renewal. But I do have some videos planned which I’m excited about cuz I feel like that’s the best kind of the best kind of content is between September and December. And then after that it slows down a lot between January and April. And then when summer picks back up, things get a little bit more interesting. But I’m excited. I’m excited to buy a few more decoration pieces. I’m not really a fall decor person just cuz I feel like it ends up cluttering my home. But a few more pieces would be nice. Just something simple to decorate a couple of different like, you know, tables and mantels and all that good stuff. Um, but I’m excited to see what uh my favorites have in store like Target and HomeGoods, all that good stuff. Nice. I didn’t discover this recipe until after I had filled my freezer to the brim for my sister, but I really think her kids would like it, especially if I added some like mini chocolate chips or something. So, I need to figure out how to um get those to her. I need to make some of those. I think the kids will like it. It’s an easy breakfast. I’m not saying it’s the healthiest breakfast, but at least it’s something and the kids will like it. Makes me the cool ant. There we go. Look how beautiful these are. Aren’t they nice? And they’re nice and golden. It’s a good recipe, I’m telling you. I’ll try just five this time. It’ll give me more room for error when I flip. My gosh, I forgot to show you guys. We got a little hazelnut for our cake. Um, we’re just getting like a kitschy Walmart cake or something for our uh reception lunch. But look how darling she is. I wanted to do this so badly because she couldn’t come with us obviously. And she’s so cute. So, she’s going to go on the cake or next to the cake and she’ll be a part of it that way. Isn’t that so cute? I love her. There’s a fine line between it baking it cooking on here and it burning. So, I need to lock in. No, that’s not even close. I have a few more pancakes to make, so I’ll come back when they’re all cooked and show you the final product. Here’s the final plate. This recipe makes 13 to 14 of the 1/4 cup pancakes. And they’re so soft and fluffy and squishy. They microwave super well. They freeze super well. I love this recipe. You guys should definitely try it. Puppy is fed. Pancakes are made. And I have like 45 minutes before I need to take my sweet husband his lunch. So, I’m going to run to the HOA office, drop off our check, and then check out the library. I’m hopefully I I’m hoping I find something interesting. Um, I don’t know what kind of books to expect considering the demographic of our neighborhood, but it’s worth a shot. Check is dropped off. I’ve never been in here, actually. I’ve never been in here. Oh my god, it’s actually really nice in here. What? It looks so much smaller from the outside. Oh my god, there’s a bathroom. Oh, this must have been a model um house when the neighborhood was being built. Oh my god, there’s a kitchen. This is so cool. Literally, I’ve lived here 4 years and I’ve never stepped foot in here once. I could totally host an event here. Actually, this is I see it all the time, but it looks so tiny. Oh my god, this was totally a house. How cute. And the vaulted ceiling. Oh my god. Wow. You guys are experiencing this with me. Oh my god. And look at all the books. Wow. There are way more books in here than I expected. And I’m honestly kind of sad to see that there are no cookbooks. And they said it was because of spacing. Um I see why. Obviously they have a ton of books. I’m so excited. My gosh. But the cookbooks, I would have picked all of those up if that was allowed. Okay, I don’t even know where to start. Some golf uh books. I feel like Josh might get a kick out of that. Oh my gosh, for his themed office. I might take these two. And then the pudding bible. No way. My life as a beach boy. I’m hitting the jackpot right now. It’s so equity. I really hope no one else comes in here. But I cannot believe I’ve lived here for 4 years and I didn’t know that this existed. Please put all donated books here. Okay, so there’s a donation bin. I might email the HOA and say if there are any cookbooks, I would take them because what a collection. I I’m honestly in awe. I know it’s just like a HOA library, but I’ve already found three books. Colleen Hoover. This is what I have so far. I didn’t want to turn on the lights. I got shy. So, sorry about the lighting here. But, um, I’m going to figure out how to get these to my car. And I haven’t even scraped the surface. Excuse the angle. I have you propped up on my poperri bowl. But this is the haul from the HOA library and I’m pretty geeked so I have to show you guys what I found. I am actually not a Colleen Hoover fan. I really did give her a go when she was at her peak before the movie the movies were coming out. But I’ve heard great things and also I love having a book collection. That’s just me. And inshallah, God willing, when we do get a bigger house, if we ever do, I would love literally a bookshelf that looks like the one at the HOA. So, might as well collect them now. Um, I got some books for Josh. He has a like fishing cottage themed office. Um, but we have some golf inspiration in there. And there were some golf books. So, this one is um short game bible. Okay. Same by these this guy. Same book, but this one is the putting bible. I’m not a book sleeve person. I don’t like it. But I thought these looked really nice. Isn’t that cool? So, there’s that one. And then this one was kind of like a really pretty blue. So, these with like a candle on top or a whiskey decanter or something like that. I thought those would be a really nice addition to his collection. I also found I hit the jo jackpot with the golf books cuz we live on a golf course obviously, but this is um 50 places to play golf before you die. And honestly, the sleeve is actually gorgeous. I love the colors. It’s like this beautiful landscape. If you took off the sleeve, it’s a nice little green. And he loves green. That’s our favorite color. So, this would be nice. Also, it doesn’t have to be like a coffee table book. He could also have these on his own bookshelf, which I’m sure he actually would really love. Um, and then I got Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes, which is I’m assuming a popular golf course. I’m not a golf girly. Um, but I like the books. Is that nice? So, I think he’d get a kick out of these flipping through them. And then we’ll see where we could put those in his office. And then these two I thought were actually pretty exciting finds. I’m really surprised someone would donate something like this because they’re so large, which makes me think that they were expensive at one point. Um, this first one, I love this one. This is the New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge. And it’s, you guys, it’s the size of my head. This is such a heavy heavy Bible Bible heavy book. And it looks really nice. uncovered a nice sleek black New York Times coded and I my husband knows a lot of fun facts about things and he knows he knows a lot about a lot. Um so I thought it’d be cool to like it’s in perfect condition. It looks like no one’s ever opened this book before so it might be fun to flip to a random page and learn something. It has even like punctuation like if you need to learn punctuation like that’s so funny. So, this is a cool one. This is totally English major coded. So, I’m keeping that one for myself. And the last one, I don’t know about you guys, but if you have a husband that is into American history and American military history, my husband is totally like one of those guys and he knows everything about the wars and all that stuff. So, I picked this one up with him in mind. It has a gorgeous unsleeved cover. It’s green and yellow. Oh, it looks so like chic. I love it. And then it has all these just like this information. It’s also the size of my head. Nuclear weapons and war incident. U2 UT U2 U number two. Incident cold war. Maybe I need to read this. Need to catch up on my American history. But I thought he’d love this one, too. So, I hit the jackpot and I actually emailed the HOA. I don’t know if I already said this earlier, I emailed the HOA asking if there is any way we can allow cookbooks to be donated because I would literally take all of them and I would gladly like if any are donated, I I’ll I’ll take them. Don’t even put them in the bookshelves. Leave them in in the Marta bin. I will take them. I’m really into cookbooks. That’s the only way you could really kind of dive a little deeper into different recipes and stuff. It’s just, you know, Google will show you the top three recipes and I don’t want to end up on page 12 before I find something new. Um, and you never really know what you’re looking for, right, until you see it. So, it’s kind of hard to just search that up. That makes sense. So, I got Where’s my Colleen Hoover book? She’s in here somewhere. So, I got two books for me and I got five books for my sweet, sweet Josh. That’s not a bad haul. This This was fun. I think I’m going to try to visit every other week or once a month just to see if anything new is there. Anything else that catches my eye, but this is the kind of collection I’m here for. Been running around all day, but I brought Josh his lunch. We always sit in the car to have his lunch together so that he has the full time. It does. He doesn’t work far from where we live, so it’s easy. And you got to show him the sandwich, babe. The sandwich. Risk it, Sammy. So, this is our chill time during the day. It helps break up the day. Yeah. totally dropped Josh’s uh guacamole on the floor and completely shattered my Tupperware before I took him some lunch. So, unfortunately, he didn’t get a side today, but we got a good laugh out of it. We’ve been having the gnarliest heatwave, but there’s this spider in my garden, if you guys can see it, if it’ll focus. That has been tormenting me. It’s not focusing, but it’s right there. If you guys can see it. This thing will not stop setting up camp and it’s literally made a it blocked my walkway. So, I need to try and get to my basil back there because it’s dying and I need to freeze dry it soon. But my gosh, this little thing is causing me quite the headache. 2 years into gardening and I’m still getting bullied by bugs. This has to come to an end. I’ve had enough. There is no amount of exposure therapy that has helped. If anything, I’ve seen bugs I’ve never seen before. And again, just reason 1,532 of why my husband is literally I would probably be passed away by now if it wasn’t for him. That spider is just an ugly little thing. My goodness. And it blocked my path. I’ve been tip- tapping away on my laptop. We have a family call schedule today to make finalized itinerary plans, but I forgot I got this little the makeup haul that I did earlier this week and I’m having my I’m having trouble opening this up. It’s my favorite nude. I can’t open it. Why do they do this? Oh, great heavens. my favorite nude lip liner over my favorite cool pink lip gloss, which happens to be a Merit one. I know I’m a Merit stand. The lip glosses at least. And the blushes, they’re not bad, but I thought I’d try them out because I haven’t had be I haven’t been able to use that one in a while. Am I going to be able to do this? I need to look pretty for the family call. Of course. Looks good enough for me. I don’t like gloss without lip liner. It just doesn’t sit on well. Mhm. I still like her. I still like her. This is a solid pink color. If you are a tan skin girly, I’m a deep autumn. This is actually a good one. Although it says pink be and it’s supposed to be a cool pink. I think it looks really good. I love it. Feels good on my lips. Not I hate a gummy lip gloss. Disgusting. But now I’m ready for the family call. I have a few more things I need to square away. I have like three different to-do lists going. I’m a to-do list maker. I love it. Um, but there’s quite a bit to do. So, I think this is where I’m going to end the vlog. Thank you so much for spending it with me. And as always, I love you guys so much. Bye. [Music]
Dining and Cooking