contributing at everyday minerals

I'm now freelancing for the all natural beauty brand, Every Day Minerals. I'll be contributing more Numie-ness with a focus on DIY's. Be sure to check it out & follow along. First up: how to make this yoga bag!

carrot cake with espresso cream cheese frosting

I decided that for my dad's birthday I was going to make a family favorite: carrot cake. I had a bushel of purple carrots from my CSA and it was the perfect opportunity to put them to good use. You can't have carrot cake without cream cheese frosting, but - for this - plain cream cheese just seemed too boring. Espresso it would be! Look at me get my bake on ;).

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Greek yogurt

1/4 Cup Butter (Softened)

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

1/5 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Grated Lemon Rind

2 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tbs Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Allspice

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 1/4 Cups Packed Shredded Carrot

1/4 Cup Lemon Juice

1 Handful Raisins

Icing:

8oz Cream Cheese

3 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/3 Cup Espresso

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F & grease a 10" round cake pan

2. Beat together butter, yogurt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs one at a time and beat in.

3. Stir in lemon rind & vanilla.

4. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 

5. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the shredded carrot and raisins, stirring in with a wooden spoon.

6. Spread in you cake pan and bake for approx 50 minutes.

7. Let cake cool

8. Beat together icing ingredietns until you get a creamy, spreadable texture.

9. Frost your cake & decorate!

dogs & winter hikes

I did the one thing a person should never do. I forgot my father's birthday. That's right, I'll admit to it. I'm not perfect. I fucked up. I love my dad to pieces, and it's no excuse, but February was moving so fast and I honestly had no idea what day it was. I felt absolutely horrible and wanted to make it up to him. So, Adam and I made a surprise trip. We departed Philly at 8am and showed up on his doorstep just in time for lunch. 

He had no idea we were coming, and was baffled to find out that my mom knew all along. I loved that we pulled it off. As usual, the visit was full of good conversation, dogs, and outdoor fun. We went to Arad Evans for a fantastic dinner and just hung out. This time around we switched up our usual hike for a trip to Tinker Falls. The site is a quick ten minutes from our house, and has great hiking. There are trails that lead up in the woods, and one that goes to a hang gliding jump off point. From there you get a magnificent view of the valley where my parents live. You can also hike to the waterfalls themselves. I've never been to the site in winter and it was jaw dropping to see them frozen. Of course, my camera died before we made it to the waterfall, so I can't show you just how spectacular it was.You readers will have to imagine.

In the end, we arrived back in Philly content from another perfect weekend. I will never forget my dad's birthday again, but in a way it's funny; if I hadn't forgotten, we would have never paid the visit and had such a great time. My slip up brought us together for something wonderful. Out of every mistake, something beautiful can be born.