On [a late fall] Healthy Breakfast.

The mornings have been cold here lately. We were recently given a huge bag of pears that need to be eaten quicker than we would normally consume them. This morning I whipped this up for breakfast while we sipped our hot coffee and waited for the heater to warm our little home.

Lightly toast steel cut oats with butter in a sauce pan.

Add water at 2:1 ratio.

Rolling boil until all water is gone.

Add pears, chopped dates, crushed walnuts, and a dash of pumpkin spice. Top with either honey or brown sugar, depending on your sweetness preference.

Enjoy. Obviously, I did before I was able to take a picture of the finished product!

On [bringing you up to speed with] My 200th Post.

This is my 200th post! Can you believe that? This little blog of mine has changed so much in the last almost FIVE years! Hopefully it will be even better (and more consistent) moving forward! :)

I don't have a lot to say, and thanks to the flu shot I got yesterday, my brain is working at about half capacity. Apparently, Kelly and the flu shot don't mix. I had never received a flu shot until yesterday. That was only because my place of employment requires it. Next year, I might just rock a mask for flu season so I don't have to be a sicky from the shot.

How I feel right now.

You know what DOES mix? Kelly and SCHOOL. Holy cow. I tried so hard to be done with school when I finished my master's degree in December. Well, friends...I've enrolled in community college. I have this pesky little strength called input, and I just can't stop collecting new information.

Most people start out in community college, then maybe transfer to a university, and might finish up in grad school. I'm just doing things a little differently. And I love it. I especially love that I'm only taking one class, so I could potentially ruin the curve for all the stressed out full time students. Hehe.

And here are some terribly irreverent poke at community colleges, thanks to our good friend Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory.

On a completely different note, this girl is amazing! 

For more stories on amazing women around the world, check out the SheLoves Magazine online community.

In real life...
the husband and I traveled across the country to visit family a couple weeks ago. We had a great time hanging out with family, and it was awesome for Adam to show me places he lived and worked before he met me.

We also ate some delicious kolaches, which I have now determined that I need to attempt to make! Does anybody have any tried and true recipes, or should I just trust the power of Pinterest?

On My [quarter of a century] Birthday!

Earlier this week, I updated you on the final outcome of my [25 before 25] list, but I figured I should tell you about my ACTUAL birthday!!

I woke up to the husband telling me happy birthday, which is the best present ever! He is so wonderful to me. He made me coffee and sour cream blueberry pancakes, which is honestly an everyday occurrence (did I mention he is too good to me).

Because this is how I feel about mornings:

Zooey, dropping knowledge.

I got to spend the WHOLE day with Adam, because I was filling in for somebody at his job. We got Mexican food for lunch and ice cream (with sprinkles, because BIRTHDAY) after work!! Then we went for a short hike in the woods, because there are TONS of hiking trails around here!

Alien cobra plants.

We even went and saw these crazy flowers that look like COBRAS! The scientific name is Darlingtonia, but most people call them Cobra Lilies.

We finished off the day with the Bachelorette finale at some friends' house. The finale was pretty terrible, but it was still a great time! Yay for Juan Pablo being the next Bachelor.

A few days later, Adam and I went and bought this beauty of a desk with birthday money. We got it for less than half of the original price, thanks to markdowns, coupons, and 10% since it was the display. I love it SO much, and find it very inspiring! Adam is so kind to let me take over (almost) half the living room with my writing space.

On Blueberries, Blueberry Picking, and Blueberry [Lemonade] Cupcakes.

Adam and I were in Eugene on Saturday, so I decided we needed to pick blueberries. It was over 90-degrees out and the berry patch only had an hour until closing, but I NEEDED blueberries. Let's just say the heat was talking.

We both promptly removed our long-sleeved shirts! It was HOT!

We got to the blueberry farm and fell in LOVE! It was so cute and well-kept. The berries were just starting to pop, so there was a good mix of ripe berries and little baby green ones. Plus, picking your own saves you $2 a pound. Hello! I can handle 45 minutes in the sun to save $2/pound! 

Together we picked nine pounds, and probably sweat about that much too! The farm was remote enough that it was extremely quiet. We enjoyed the time together in peaceful nature. Plus, since it was almost closing time, we were the only ones picking! 

I found this recipe for Cherry Limeade cupcakes, and decided to modify it in order to use some of my fresh blueberries. So, I made Blueberry Lemonade cupcakes! They are just a tad too sweet, but the tartness of the blueberries and the sour lemon taste cup it down to almost perfection. They are a dense and intense dessert, so just one suffices. 

my breakfast yesterday. featuring fresh blueberries and my strawberry freezer jam.

I think about half the blueberries we picked will be eaten fresh, but I'm freezing the rest. We'll use those for smoothies, pancakes, crisps, cobblers, muffins, and maybe just for a little sweet snack. We have already devoured all of the strawberries I froze via smoothie. Yum!

Have you picked any berries this summer? What fruits are in season where you live? Do you have any good blueberry recipes?

My Favorite Products Made in Oregon

Adam and I are self-proclaimed foodies, and we especially love finding superb local ingredients and treats. Here are three of our favorite things, all from our home state of Oregon!

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Moonstruck Chocolate.
This chocolate is freaking gold, guys. My first experience with it was when I was living in Missouri and Adam was in Oregon. He mailed me some and I fell in love...with the chocolate!

Our favorite is Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almond, but you can't go wrong with the classic Dark Chocolate. We haven't even tried any of their truffles, but I'm sure they're amazing.

Every grocery shopping trip we check if it is on sale, and almost every night we find ourselves drinking hot tea and nibbling on this chocolate. I told Adam he should hide it from me so I don't gobble it all up at once.

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Jacobsen Salt.
I got this salt for Adam's birthday, but I find myself using it instead of all the other salt options in our house when cooking. I also ordered the sliding tin of finishing salt for him, but it wasn't in the package. I contacted the company and they sent us TWO sliding tins. Hello, customer service! We are quite pleased.

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Tillamook Cheese.
I'm actually not a big cheese person, but I can't help but love a good cheddar melted in a quesadilla, grilled cheese, or atop tortilla chips.

I remember seeing Tillamook cheese in the specialty cheese section of grocery stores when I lived in Missouri, never failing to make me miss the Northwest. It's in the regular cheese section here!

We pretty much always are eating our way through a baby loaf of this stuff in our fridge. We hope to go visit the Tillamook Cheese factory at some point while we are living here in Oregon.


Have you tried any of these yummies from Oregon? What are your favorite local products?

*full disclosure: while these companies are NOT reimbursing me for these reviews, some links are Amazon affiliate links.

On [my blog] Turning 4-Years-Old! GIVEAWAY!

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I'm often asked what the name of my blog means. Rainboots & Beef was chosen embarrassingly haphazardly; a thrown-together name consisting of two of my favorite things (rainboots and beef, in case you weren't sure) for a blog I didn't have big plans to make into much of anything.

It all started on a cool fall evening in 2008; it was my junior year of college. I was probably bored, or procrastinating, or both. I did a short-lived series on things I was thankful for, given that it was November and all. I'm pretty sure all I mentioned being thankful for was rainboots and mood rings. My, how things have changed.

The blogging was random at best, and very inconsistent. I'd log on every once in awhile (usually if something emotionally major had happened) to write an angsty post about my feelings.

Finally, in the beginning of 2011, I started taking this thing a little more seriously. I still wouldn't describe what I was doing as consistent, but I was more careful with my content, and intentional about posting.

Around the same time, I began following other bloggers, and realizing that I was becoming invested in their lives. I celebrated when they had babies. I listened when they needed to virtually vent. I was actually reading the content in my Google Reader and on the lookout for more excellent blogs to follow.

When 2012 hit, I had found my blogging groove. In preparing for France, I realized what an amazing tool this was, and wanted to use it to connect with my supporters, and also tell the stories of the people I was meeting.

And now, here we are, four years removed from humble dorm room beginnings.

In celebration the 4th birthday of Rainboots & Beef, we are partnering with the generous folks at steakclub.com. I'm sure you've heard of wine of the month clubs, chocolate of the month clubs, or popcorn of the month clubs...well, this company has MEAT of the month clubs. Yes. Meat.

Heaven, right!?!

Steakclub.com loves that this blog has "beef" in the name, so they are giving away two USDA Prime 1-inch thick rib eye steaks to one fortunate reader of Rainboots & Beef.

To enter, simply use the rafflecopter form below. It will ask you to "like" Rainboots & Beef on Facebook for one mandatory entry. Additional entries can be garnered by following me on twitter, posting a comment, or tweeting about the giveaway. All entries must be collected by Friday, November 9, 2012. I will post the winner the following Monday, November 12, which is Rainboots & Beef's birthday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Go put on your rainboots, and get ready to eat some beef!
*post may contain Amazon affiliate links