erica danielle

Thank you all for the love and support of Baby Carlson! Such a fun time, I loved reading your encouraging words and congratulations! Thank you!! Sten was out in Geneva last night and I stumbled across this recipe on Pinterest the other day and wanted to give it a try. I've never strayed away from Mama Prints chocolate chip cookies , but these claimed to be the "softest, chewiest" cookies ever, so I wanted to give them a try. I must say.... I was NOT disappointed! Not quite as sweet as my usual recipe but definitely soft, fluffy and chewy- and they held their shape perfectly. They look straight out of a bakery. I will most likely make these again!    Recipe: Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies from Apple a Day   Ingredients: 3/4  C butter 3/4 C brown sugar 1/4 C S ugar 1 egg 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 C Flour 2 tsp. cornstarch 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1 C Chocolate Chips (I used mini) ...

Since all major life events get documented on my blog, I felt this should be no different. In case the title and the picture didn't give it away: I'm Pregnant! Sten and I are thrilled beyond words and can't wait for September! Sten is the best partner to enter parenthood with, and I can't wait to embark on this adventure together. And what an adventure it will be! On top of graduation, there will most likely be a move after graduation, a new job, a new town, new friends and a baby.... We have had so much fun telling family and friends, and I know without a doubt this baby is already loved beyond measure. xo. Erica

Phew. Saturday. Hasn't felt this good in a long time. This was an unusually long week. I don't know if it was because the CTA was under construction, or if it was because Sten was under some major stress with all the stuff he needed to do, or if it was just an off week, but I was so glad when 4:30p rolled around yesterday. We had some friends over for dinner and I made Thai Chicken Pizza . Which is always a Carlson fam favorite. We played some games and then had cake for Andrew's birthday! I was a little bummed about the way this cake turned out. I was pretty excited about it when I found the recipe, however, it was kind of dry and wasn't very sweet. I don't know what I did wrong. It looks pretty awesome, so I still wanted to post the recipe. I think next time I made this type of cake, I would use a different batter/ frosting. This recipe came from Bakergirl . Sten is in a Seminary seminar all day today. I have quite the agenda for myself this morning and the...

This recipe is a keeper. It turned out beautifully, and was so tasty. I found it on allrecipes.com.   Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Coffee Cake. Ingredients: - 1 C sour cream (I used light) - 3/4 C Butter - 1 1/2 C Sugar - 2 1/2 C Flour - 1 tsp baking soda - 1 tsp baking powder - 1 tsp vanilla - 3 eggs - 1 Tbls cinnamon - 1/8 C white sugar - 1/8 C brown sugar Directions: Preheat oven to 350  Grease one 10in bundt pan. Cream 1 1/2 C sugar and butter, add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Mix together flour, soda, and powder. Add to wet ingredients. Mix. Mix together sugars and cinnamon. Pour half the batter into prepared pan.  sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover with remaining cake batter. Bake 35-40 minutes. After cooling, I topped with a little butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon glaze and p. sugar... :) ENJOY! We're supposed to get another big snow here tonight... Why oh why??! I am very much over the winter and crave some war...

I can't believe my Birthday has come and gone and it's March 3rd. What a crazy time of year this is. My Birthday was a success with a great brunch with friends, cake with Sten's family and a trip to MN to visit my sis and Amos. A very Happy Birthday indeed!  Didn't take ANY picture of my friends at brunch. BLUNDER.  This sign greeted me as I walked into my mother-in-law's house on Sunday.  Ugh, I love this boy. Below was my 26 list I did pretty well: 1. Eat less sugar. -didn't happen. 2. Go camping. 3. Drink more water and less other beverages. 4. Go see and take pictures with the Chicago river when they dye it green. S uch a fun memory ! 5. Hold my new baby niece and nephew until they fall asleep. Love thos e little ones. 6. Go to a concert. Dierks Bently 7. Run a half or full marathon. Did BOTH! 8. Save lots of money for a new house some day. We did a good job of saving this year. 9. Unplug once a month. didn't ha...

Can't believe I started this little bloggy 2 years ago today. It's been a fun way to document recipes and our life while Sten is in Seminary. I haven't been as good at keeping up this year, mostly because I don't think our life is as exciting and I've been bad about trying new recipes... BUT in year 3 of blogging I hope to document our life changes as Sten graduates and we move on from this stage. I have no idea what the coming months will bring, but we are eagerly waiting, praying and listening to God. This year brought: - my 26th Birthday. - the green river (on my 26th life list) - camping . - m y favorite post from this year . - a niece and a nephew, both adorable. - summer visits from family members. - o ur epic vacation to Michiga n. - a half marathon - a full marathon - lasagna soup (which i have made about 10x since) - t he best Mexican vacation - a whole nother year of blogging!  cheers! thank you to all who read, it means so much to me! ...

This weekend was such a good one! We: - Drove out to Westmont to see Caleb and Emily's new apartment and were greeted with a delicious burger bar with ALL the fixings. We are so glad they live close and I can't wait for more dinner parties and game nights. - Had a lazy Saturday running errands and doing nothing until my work party downtown. - Woke up early Sunday to drive to Geneva in the rain after not getting much sleep the night before. - Came home in a daze and "watched" (I was asleep) every sports event on TV from the hours of 1-6p. - Had dinner with Karoline and caught up on life. - Slept so good last night! - Decided (2) late nights in a row are killers, and I can't do that like I used to! The AVT party was a blast. It is so fun to get dressed up and go downtown for a night of cocktails, good food and dancing. It's almost like pretending you're someone who is a regular on the Chicago night life scene, when we couldn't be further from ...