Tag: ramblinrandol

Arizona’s Pecan Pie Bars

This week’s #CookieKindness box was filled with Pecan Pie Bars and went to Clarissa R. in Gilbert, Arizona. She was nominated by my sister-in-law Kelsey V. who lives in Reno, Nevada.

Continue reading Arizona’s Pecan Pie Bars

Alaska’s Fruit Cookie

This week’s #CookieKindness box got stuffed with Fruit Cookies and went to a fella named Joshua S. who was nominated by his sister-in-law, Tara. Her and I actually went to band camp together. Yes, we had four summers of “this one time, at band camp.”

Continue reading Alaska’s Fruit Cookie

Alabama’s Orange Slice Cookie

This week’s #CookieKindness box was filled with Orange Slice Cookies and went to a Shelby M. in Saraland, Alabama. She was nominated by Hannah G. an old waitressing buddy of mine. Has anyone been to or have someone also living in Saraland?

Scroll to watch my First Taste After Bake video to see me take my first bite of Alabama’s Orange Slice Cookie. Check it out to see if I end up spitting it out or actually enjoy.

Continue reading Alabama’s Orange Slice Cookie

What’s The #CookieKindness Project?

A few months ago a friend of mine was cleaning out their bookshelves and gifted me a few cookbooks she thought I’d enjoy (and she was correct, one of them is every recipe published from the San Francisco Chronicle). Capitol Cookies Cookbook was one of them. It’s subtitle reads, “Munch your way through the USA,” and is filled with each state’s “official” state cookie recipe…

…which sparked an idea. What if I bake my way through this cookbook and send each state’s “official” cookie recipe to someone living in each state? Now, I’ve got people all over the U.S. but not in EVERY state…What if I include my social media people and make it fun for everyone?

And that’s what I did. We’ve been shipping out cookies since the beginning of June and it’s been a huge hit. Check out the #CookieKindness Facebook Group for updates, recipes, and a chance to claim the next week’s box. If you want FIRST dibs, consider joining my Good Vibe Tribe (email list) by clicking here.

How does it work?

Every Friday I send out an email to my Good Vibe Tribe with the previous week’s state recipe with tips or tricks I learned after the first bake through. Then, I ask if anyone has someone living in that week’s state and to send me their name and address. The first person who sends me information, claims the box!

The box is filled with a half-dozen cookies, a hand written note explaining why they’re receiving the best piece of mail anyone could ever get, and a hand painted affirmation card which was donated by The Little Truths Studio in Oregon.

I am not charging anyone to send the boxes. My want is to inspire random acts of kindness because 2020 has been one helluva year and I feel like we could all use some good vibes and a reminder there is more good in the world than not.

Please consider joining us on this wild ride, who knows what’s going to come of it!

*Update, after many requests I have set up a Facebook fundraiser page for those who want to contribute to the #CookieKindness project. If you don’t feel comfortable giving Facebook your information, I’ve uploaded by Venmo QR code. A $20 donation covers the cost of ingredients and shipping but of course, any amount helps.

The Best [GF] & [V] Banana Bread Recipe, Ever.

This is the BEST gluten free and vegan banana bread recipe, ever. There’s also no added sugar, which makes it Paleo friendly for those of you who are into that kind of thing.

Continue reading The Best [GF] & [V] Banana Bread Recipe, Ever.

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Southern California Spots

Who loves the Netflix original Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld? You can’t see me but both of my arms are in the air…I’m writing this sentence with my tongue.

There is also a small chance I want to visit all of the spots he goes to in the Southern California area since I live here…so I compiled a list (including the most recent season) of all the coffee spots the show has hit this far.

Here they are:

  1. JOHN O’GROATS, LOS ANGELES

  2. RAE’S DINER, SANTA MONICA

  3. JERRY’S DELI, STUDIO CITY, CA

  4. NORM’S DINER, LOS ANGELES

  5. MILLIE THE MALIBU KITCHEN, CALIFORNIA’S, LOS ANGELES

  6. FACTOR’S FAMOUS DELI, LOS ANGELES

  7. HANDSOME COFFEE ROASTERS, LOS ANGELES

  8. JONES COFFEE, PASADENA

  9. 212 PIER, SANTA MONICA

  10. ART’S DELI, STUDIO CITY

  11. NOVEL CAFE, SANTA MONICA

  12. CAFFE LUXXE, SANTA MONICA

  13. BRITE SPOT, LOS ANGELES

  14. KILLER CAFE, MARINA DEL REY

  15. MED CAFE, MARINA DEL REY

  16. INTELLIGENTSIA, VENICE

  17. DU-PAR’S RESTAURANT & BAKERY, STUDIO CITY

  18. ALFRED COFFEE & KITCHEN, LOS ANGELES

  19. 10 SPEED COFFEE, LOS ANGELES

  20. 101 COFFEE SHOP, LOS ANGELES

  21. THE HIGHLAND CAFE, LOS ANGELES

  22. HOUSE OF PIES, LOS ANGELES

  23. TRE LUNE, LOS ANGELES

  24. BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL, LOS ANGELES

  25. ESPRESSO PROFETA, LOS ANGELES

  26. GOOD STUFF, LOS ANGELES

  27. ROSE CAFE, LOS ANGELES

  28. CANTER’S DELI, LOS ANGELES

  29. LUNETTA, SANTA MONICA

  30. ROSCOS, LOS ANGELES

I’ve left iHop off the list…he went with the Inglorious Bastards star either in the first or second season. If I make it through the list then MAYBE I’ll visit it just to officially mark it as complete.

Do you have a similar situation? Which show and where is it do you want to go because of it? Tell me in the comments ❤

Everything you have ever wanted, is sitting on the other side of fear. (3).png

RamblinRandol is my journey back to loving myself (which happens to include this type of randomness). It’s an open letter on how I’m growing through what I’ve been through. And like Maya Angelou said, “the ache for home lives in all of us…” It’s time for me to feel at home in my own skin.

Click here to be my digital penpal and receive an email from mwah twice a month or hang out with me on Instagram @sjrandol.

 

(One Of) The Best Pieces Of Advice I’ve Received

(One of) the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received was actually scribbled on a stock image and re-shared on Facebook by an old high school friend (thanks, Kaylin!). The second my eyes finished reading the final word, an audible “oh” escaped my lips while a simultaneous explosion erupted in my head and heart.

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5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Bread

There seems to be an endless supply of leftover ingredients after making or baking any recipe. You know, half bags of pecans or walnuts. That extra bag of brown sugar you bought because you couldn’t remember if you had it at home so you bought one for good measure. You know the song and dance.

So this past weekend I did an inventory check in my fridge and cabinets to see what I had and could use to make this week’s taste test recipe. Google is magical for these moments. After searching “less than five recipes” I found this one!

Anything with chocolate has to be good right? Scroll to find out.

Here is this week’s recipe:

THE RECIPE:

  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 3 cups self-rising flour
  • 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat eggs, sugar, and sour cream until well blended. Gradually stir in flour. Fold in chocolate chips. Transfer to a greased 9×5-in. loaf pan.
  2. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 65-75 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

BAKING HACKS/MY FINDINGS:

  1. Full disclosure: I cut this recipe in half because I didn’t have two cups of sour cream on hand and I was NOT going to the g-store to get more! Mentioning because maybe(?) this had an effect on the rising and settling of the dough.
  2. When the bread came out of the oven it looked like the picture featured on Taste of Home, but after it cooled it sank and felt VERY dense. Now, I’m not sure if cutting the recipe in half messed with science or if this is what happens with this recipe after the bread cools.
  3. I did shake the chocolate chips in some flour so they wouldn’t all fall to the bottom, maybe that contributed, too?

WILL IT MAKE THE CUT:

 

Nah…banana bread will always be my number one. Sorry, not sorry!

ps: original recipe found here.

Everything you have ever wanted, is sitting on the other side of fear. (23)

 

RamblinRandol is my journey back to loving myself (which happens to include baking because it helps me in times of stress and anxiety to keep my hands busy). It’s an open letter on how I’m growing through what I’ve been through. And like Maya Angelou said, “the ache for home lives in all of us…” It’s time for me to feel at home in my own skin.

Click here to be my digital penpal and receive an email from mwah twice a month or hang out with me on Instagram @sjrandol.

The Brave & Brokenhearted Manifesto

Have you read Brene Brown’s Manifesto of the Brave and Brokenhearted? It’s a story I go back to each time I feel like dipping out when the going gets too tough.

Paragraphs three, four and five are my favorite to re-read over and over when I need the reminder.

And it goes like this:

There is no greater threat to the critic and cynics and fearmongers than those of us who are willing to fall because we have learned how to rise. 

With skinned knees and bruised hearts; we choose owning our stories of struggle, over hiding, over hustling, over pretending.

When we deny our stories, they define us. When we run from struggle, we are never free. So we turn toward truth and look it in the eye.

We will not be characters in our stories. Not villains, not victims, not even heroes. 

We are the authors of our lives. We write our own endings. 

We craft love from heartbreak, compassion from shame, grace from disappointment, courage from failure. 

Showing up is our power. Story is our way home. Truth is our song. We are the brave and brokenhearted. We are rising strong.

I won’t let my past dictate my future. I get to write my own ending. I’m not one to play the victim but I can work on not feeling like the villain.

Side rant: it drives me batty when people are hell-bent on playing the victim, turning every injustice into a personal attack on their own day.

Will you look in the mirror and ask yourself the hard questions? Will you look your truth in the eye and not run from it? What would happen if you stopped running and started to tackle it?

Hold yourself accountable. Save yourself. It’s only ever up to you to make a difference in your own world. Ask a question. Seek understanding before you judge.

Tackling my own demons has been my biggest struggle these past two years, and yet, the most rewarding.

Stay hungry for the growth my friends.