Our Bucket List

What I'm listening to: Hot Jazz Club Radio on Pandora (It's my favorite right now!)

Today, I am feeling rather adventurous! I ran some errands, and helped out a friend earlier this afternoon. When I got home, I got a wild hair and decided that I should make a bucket list of places and things we have been wanting to do around our area. I was honestly very surprised how long the list has gotten over the course of the evening.

After I thought I completed our list, I decided to go ahead and check one of the places off while I ran out to go grab a quick bite to eat this evening. Lexi and I jumped in the car, and off we went! We stopped at Panera Bread to grab a Sierra Turkey sandwich, my favorite. I usually get it with warm Baked Potato soup. It's so good.

Another favorite I have is driving past Downtown Summerville. It's so pretty, and there are so many neat hole in the wall places and shops to stop at. Last week, I found the cutest little local coffee shop called Coastal Coffee Roasters. They have so many neat products all made by people who live in our area.

Past Downtown Summerville was our destination, the Linwood Gardens. I had read about them when I was looking up information about the Charleston Tea Plantation a couple of weeks ago. They have a tour that apparently goes from Downtown Charleston, to the gardens in Summerville. I decided to forgo the tour and drive over there myself, so I could stop and take photographs and go at my own pace. 

When Lexi and I arrived at the road the gardens were along, we came to find out that this is definitely NOT a road with gardens. It was a road with pretty houses that the people who live in these houses, never clearly  take care of their yards. Needless to say I was very disappointed, and I'm sure my sweet Lexi was more than ready to exit the vehicle. I didn't even bother to stop and take a photo for you to see.

One thing checked off our bucket list. Hopefully the rest of our bucket list is not as disappointing! The plus: I hardly wasted any gas or time.

Here are some places around our area that we would like to visit in the near future!

1. Yearly summer River dogs baseball game.
2. North Charleston Amtrak Station. (Sounds very odd, but its old, historical and a great photo opp!)
3. Summerville farmers market.
4. North Charleston Park Circle farmers market.
5. Angel Oak Tree on John's Island. (We have been here once, but the park had already closed and we weren't able to see it.)
6. Charleston Tea Plantation
7. Firefly Distillery
8. Irvin House Vineyards
9. Beaufort, South Carolina
10. Champney's Blueberry Farm- You can pick your own blueberries! They also don't use pesticides, so you can pick and eat them right off the vine!
11. Boone Hall Plantation to pick strawberries in the early summer. Also to attend the Southern Living Taste of Charleston in the fall. (We have been to Boone Hall to tour and it's absolutely gorgeous. Parts of The Notebook was filmed here too! Hint: It's one of my favorite places in the Lowcountry right now!)
12. Magnolia Cemetery
13. The Hunley Submarine
14. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
15. Middle Place Plantation and Gardens
16. Fort Moultrie
17. Fort Sumter. (My fiance went with my dad and sister a couple weeks ago and now I'm wishing I would have gone!)
18. Stroll along Pitt Street in Mount Pleasant
19. Visit all of The Notebook filming locations
20. Botany Bay
21. Hilton Head, South Carolina
22. Bulls Island, South Carolina
23. Cypress Gardens, South Carolina
24. Rent bicycles and ride down to the washout point at Folly Beach to see the Morris Island lighthouse
25. Linwood Gardens in Summerville and Azalea Park down the road. Done! 

Hope everyone is having a great day! 
-A 

Update: Red is completed! :) 

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite recipes out of my Taste of Home Baking Cookbook! I received it as a gift last year for Christmas from my parents. They also bought me the Taste of Home Cookbook, that I use regularly. These cookbooks are great for beginning cooks who want to learn tips and tricks to making your cooking successful. The recipes are awesome, and submitted by people all across the U.S.!

Photo and recipe from Tasteofhome.com

I was a beginning cook not that long ago. I never really had the desire to cook until I graduated college. My dad always teased me earlier in life saying, "you probably should learn to make something other than macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches". He also warned my fiance before we moved in together three years ago that I in fact could not cook, and he was right!

Once I had my very own kitchen, my perspective on cooking changed. I found out that I love to experiment and throw things together and see how they will turn out. I have had my successes and failures, as any cook will have in their lifetime. Needless to say, the cooking channel has been my best friend, along with Pinterest, and I have picked up a ton of really great tips along the way!

Without further ado...Let me tell you how to make these ah-mazing muffins! Warning: These are not the healthiest things, but Oh. My. Goodness. They are good for the soul!

To start, grab yourself a big bowl and your hand mixer, or you can just throw everything in your stand mixer! Add the butter and granulated sugar into your bowl. Beat until the butter mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat in your egg first, then add your milk. On LOW speed, otherwise you'll end up covered! If you have an apron, its a good idea to put one on before this step.

Usually this next step you would mix all the dry ingredients together before adding them to the wet mixture. I just added them as I went along and they still turned out just as good as always! Add the baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Blend together quickly, then add your flour making sure to only blend until it just comes together and all the dry ingredients are moistened.

This next step prefers how you would like to enjoy your muffins. I do not have a mini muffin pan, so I just used my standard size muffin pan. Fill your liners, or a greased pan two thirds of the way full in each mold.

 

Pop them in the oven at 350 degrees until the tops just start to brown. About 16-20 minutes. Watch them like a hawk! You absolutely do not want these to brown too much, as they will not be as fluffy after they have cooled and rested for a day or two. You want these to be fluffy! Just like this:

While your muffins are cooling for a few minutes, you are going to warm up a couple tablespoons of butter until it is just melted in a small bowl you can easily dip the muffins into. In another small bowl you will want to mix together sugar and cinnamon to the ratio you enjoy. I do about one third cinnamon to two thirds organic sugar. Dip muffin top into butter first, coating the entire top.

Then dip in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. 

Voila! I give you cinnamon sugar muffins! These are best served warm after dipping. Enjoy! 

Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Adapted from Taste of Home Baking Cookbook

Yeild: 2 dozen mini muffins, or 12-16 regular size muffins

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 Cup Organic sugar (better flavor and larger granules) 

1 Egg

1/2 Cup 2% Organic milk (again, better flavor)

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

2-1/4 Teaspoons baking powder

1/4 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

Melted butter

Cinnamon-sugar mixture