Saturday Inspiration

Look ahead to the future, my friends!

(via)

Don't dwell in the past. What has happened cannot be changed. Focus on what's to come :)

Happy Saturday, beautiful!

What are you doing this weekend?

High Five For Friday

For some reason, my internal calendar is all messed up this week - I thought it was Monday when it was actually Tuesday and then I thought it was Friday when it was actually Wednesday... so when I panicked late last night because I realized I didn't have a H54F post ready for today because I was thinking it was Wednesday, I shouldn't have been surprised.

Here's my Top 5 happy moments from this past week:

1) Vacation. Oh, vacation. How come time crawls by at work or in a meeting, but it goes so fast when you're on vacation?! I was hoping I wouldn't be itching for another vacation this soon, but alas, I am ready to pack my bags and relax again.

Details on our latest vacation here.

2) While on vacation, I got to spend a lot of time reading. Hubby and I sprawled out on a couch, picked up some books, and got tangled together while reading each other funny parts from said books. I love moments like that! 

3) I was able to pick up two extra shifts this week at work. While I'm not so happy that my house needs a cleaning but I don't have time, I AM happy that my next paycheck will be a little sweeter. Trevor's last day at work is tomorrow {he's only going to school this semester - not working at all - so that he can take 21 credits and hopefully graduate in December} so any little extra bit of money helps.

4) My new blog design was installed! It's much more 'me' than my last design and I love the color combination of coral and gray. I really, really love it and I want you all to as well so let me know if anything looks out of place or isn't working so I can fix it! Krizmah at Little Homemade Housewife was very patient with me through the design process. Lots and lots of thanks to her for my wonderful new blog home!

5) Please, for the love of cute babies, unicorns, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, go watch this video. I spent the better part of a day laughing so hard I cried and so loud that my neighbors think I'm crazy. 

Just watch it and try not to laugh. 

I triple-double-dog dare you! 

Happy Friday, everyone!

Don't forget to enter the two giveaways I'm part of - they both end this weekend!

One is at  Frugal Foodie Mama {a giveaway especially for the blogger - ad space and a blog planner are just some of the prizes} and the other is at  An Organized Mess  {in celebration of her birthday!}. Hurry over and check them out, what have you got to lose?!

Pinspiration in the Kitchen: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Welcome! Today I'm linking up to my first Pinspiration in the Kitchen hosted by my friend Carrie at Frugal Foodie Mama. I'm excited to see what everyone else links up because I'm in the mood to make more yummy treats!

I've been meaning to make zucchini bread for a few weeks now, but hadn't gotten around to it - until this week. I didn't feel like getting the bread maker out for this recipe {it was cool enough to turn the oven on, so I did just that}. But I should add that this could definitely be made in one. Check out this post for more bread maker recipes.

Here's the nitty gritty:

I used this pin from my "Yummm!" board on Pinterest as a starting point. The recipe can be found at Taste of Home here.I usually don't follow recipes exactly as they're written and this one was no exception. First, I halfed the recipe because I only wanted to make one loaf. With only two people in the house, a lot of recipes have to get cut down in my kitchen! I also used a combination of whole wheat flour and unbleached flour instead of the flours they suggested. Best part about this recipe? It's healthy but still tastes rich and chocolatey! The following is my version:

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/6 cup canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 cup shredded peeled zucchini
• 
  
• In a large bowl, beat the sugar, egg, applesauce, oil and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flours, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and baking powder; gradually beat into sugar mixture until blended. Stir in zucchini. Transfer to 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
• 
  
• Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 12 slices
• 
  
• I gathered up the ingredients.

Mixed the wet stuff up.

Then mixed the dry stuff up.

Added the dry mix to the wet mix.

Look at the pretty color of the zucchini!

I added the zucchini to the rest, then put it in a loaf pan.

Baked it for 40-45 minutes, and this is what I got! Looks great, right?

Try it! Let me know how it turns out! And then hurry over to the link up to find even more delicious recipes to make {you can never have too many!} :)

Also linked up to The NODrama Mama and Mom's Test Kitchen!