Wedding Pictures Finally!

ever too late...right?! Tyler and I finally found time in both of our schedules to sit down and pic out wedding pictures to order.  While we're still waiting to get them in the mail, we thought we would share our favorites with you!  Enjoy!

Just About as Good as Cinnabon!!!

n Thursday, I took it upon myself to attempt a homeade cinnamon roll recipe, and boy did it pay off!  I always get nervous when I'm trying out a new recipe and I know that I'm going to serve it before really knowing if it worked or not.  This was no flop!  The recipe was a Food Network copycat of Cinnabon's cinnamon rolls, and I'm bold enough to say that they were better!  This will definitely be a recipe to repeat often...

"Just Like Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls"

For the Dough:
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4-ounce packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup plus 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the bowl
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 

For the Filling:
All-purpose flour, for dusting
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon 

For the Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
 

Instructions:
Make the dough: Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat until it reaches about 100. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon sugar (don't stir). Set aside until foamy, 5 minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, egg yolk and vanilla. 

Whisk the flour, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the salt and nutmeg in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky. Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, 6 minutes. (Add up to 2 more tablespoons flour if necessary.)

Remove the dough and shape into a ball. Butter the mixer bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat with butter. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Roll out the dough, fill and cut into buns (see instructions below). Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; place the buns cut-side down in the pan, leaving space between each. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325.
Bake the buns until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pan 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl, then whisk in the cream and melted butter. Transfer the buns to a rack and spoon the glaze on top while still warm.

How to Form Cinnamon Buns
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-by-14-inch rectangle with the longer side facing you.
2. Spread with the softened butter, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the far long edge. Mix the sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the butter.
3. Brush the unbuttered far edge with water. Roll the dough away from you into a tight cylinder and press on the long edge to seal.
4. Cut the cylinder with a sharp knife to make 6 equal-size buns (I cut 12 equal buns...I didn't want mine as big as cinnabon...I had to feed a big group)!
 

Back in the Swing of Things

reaks are great, and this one has been one of the best, but it is nice to get back into a routine.  We had such a wonderful Christmas break!  This was our first Christmas together as a married couple and even though I expected it to be so much different, it really wasn't much different at all.  Tyler and I stayed with my parents for the two...yes two...weeks we had off.   Once the of best parts of our break was the snow!  It snowed twice over the break, once on Christmas Eve and another a few days later.  One of the most wonderful parts about the Christmas Eve snow was that it hadn't melted by morning.  So technically, we had a white Christmas! 

Here's the gang on Christmas Eve...minus Megan and Jordan of course.  Little Jackie is hiding in the snow...can you find him?

 

Tyler and I were able to cross off a lot of different things on our to-do list for the break.  We made cut-out cookies with the family, collaborated to build a gingerbread house, made a trip to the Crate and Barrel, celebrated our 6 month anniversary of being married, went shopping, played lots of different games, and ATE!!!  One of the restaurants we wanted to make sure we hit up while we were in Dallas was Taverna.  Taverna is a small restaurant located near Knox street and it is delicious. 

As silly as it seems, Tyler and I went all out in celebrating our 6 months of marriage.  For starters, we stayed at The Stoneleigh, the same hotel we stayed at after our wedding.  We absolutely loved it when we stayed there on our wedding night, and I don't think this is the last we'll see of The Stoneleigh!  After checking in, we headed out for dinner (Taverna) and had the roasted lamb and saffron risotto!  Dinner was fabulous, and after dinner, we headed back to the hotel to watch the Cowboys game!  It was such a wonderful way to celebrate.

One of my favorite parts of this Christmas was having everyone over for Christmas Eve dinner!  Every year, my family invites the Selfs over, and it has become somewhat of a tradition.  This year, the Ellis family joined us, and it was nice to have both of our families there to spend the evening with.  Of course, the evening couldn't be complete without family photos...so, here's the new Ellis family!

Followed by, the new Carpenter family (sorry it's a little blurry)!

And of course...the sisters!

New pajamas for Christmas!!!

Here is the gingerbread house!  Kayla, Tyler, my Dad, and I each decorated a differnet wall.  Can you guess who decorated which?

Answers:  Kayla, back wall with climbing ivy.  Tyler, side wall with bushes and lattice.  Dad, other side wall with flowers and shutters.  Me, front wall with windows and wreath. 

Tyler and I were so excited to get to spend our New Years with our good friends Kolby and Emily!  We also spent the evening with my good friend Kassidy and her fiance Derek!  We spent the night out at the Lost Creek Ranch.  Emily's parents built the house for family/friend get togethers, and we're glad they did.  It was so much fun eating pizza, playing games, stargazing, riding the 4 wheeler, and just hanging out and catching up.  Here is a picture of us on the ranch.  Thanks Kolby and Emily for the invite!

Another crazy thing that happened over the break was my best friends Lynley and Shawn got engaged!!!  I can't tell you how happy I am for them!  The story was incredible, and I can't wait to follow all the plans with them!  We love you two so much, and can't wait to celebrate with you!

Well, our break had to come to an end, and so it did.  We got back to Arkadelphia on January 2nd, just in time for a wedding!  Our friends Ian and Cara Deetz got married, and the wedding was beautiful!  Cara's dress was gorgeous, and we're so happy for them!

And that was it!  It's back to work and back to school for us both, but we're loving every minute of it!  Here's to a new year!

Officially an Alum

uess what?  On Tuesday, I had my last class as a college undergraduate!  Yep, I'm officially Erin Ellis B.A. and it feels great!  I finished up my last day of student teaching last Friday, and had two days of classes on campus including my student teaching exit interview (which I passed with flying colors).  It's been a pretty busy week what with it being finals week, people moving in and out of the dorm, and Tyler having his last week of school, but he still managed to find time to send me these beautiful flowers as a congratulations to my "graduating."

Ouachita has done away with December commencement, so even though I am officially done and will get my diploma, I'll have to wait until May to actually participate in a ceremony and walk.  That doesn't bother me though, because I will just join all of my friends when they graduate in May.  It has been such a wonderful week.  Tyler and I are getting ready to drive back to Allen to be with our families and friends over the Christmas break, and I can't wait to get there and start playing games and catching up!  I'm looking forward to our first Christmas together.  It may seem a little weird at first, but I'm glad we'll be together for everything.  Even though we have been together for so long, we have never officially spent a Christmas morning together.  We've always stayed with our families, so this year is going to be even better!  In other news, I just signed my contract with Ouachita Baptist University.

I am now a Hall Director and Assistant Director of Campus Activities!  This is me signing my contract!

Tyler and I are very thankful for the new salary we will be getting come January, and hopefully we can start all that saving that we planned on doing since we got married!  That's about it for us in Arkadelphia, can't wait to see everyone when we get back to Allen!  Until then, Merry Christmas!

Due to Popular Demand...

o one should ever spend the holidays without one of these fabulous cookies.  Ever since I first got the recipe from Tyler's mother, there hasn't been a Thanksgiving/Christmas without them yet!  They are so good and so easy to make.  Since they are such a popular little cookie with all of our friends, I've decided to share the recipe!  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chip Cookies

1 can pumpkin pie mix

2 T milk

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 t vanilla

2 t baking soda

4 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 t cinnamon

4 cups flour

1 package of chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (no order necessary) and drop by the spoonful on a cookie sheet (it does not need to be greased).  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.  Let them cool, and then top with cream cheese frosting!  CAUTION: one batch makes A TON of cookies!  You'll be baking for hours if you double it!  Enjoy!

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

anta's just around the corner and there's been a lot of change around Arkadelphia...at least around our little apartment!  This is our first Christmas as a married couple, and if you know me, it's not Christmas without all the trimmings!  Also, you'll notice that we have put up new curtains in the living room.  That along with curtains in our room has finally made the place feel complete.  We also purchased a pot rack to hang above our island (an excellent purchase if I do say so myself) and it looks great!

All of that plus some Christmas decorations make it the coziest home during this winter season.  We have been so busy wrapping up this semester, I have officially finished my student teaching...I only have two more classes of paperwork and presentations and then I'm a college grad!  Tyler still has one more week of school left, and after that, its time to head back to Allen for the holidays!  Tyler and I have been Christmas shopping, and we can't wait to unload at our parents' houses with armloads of presents...okay, maybe not armloads!  Now the hardest part is waiting for this week to be over so we can focus on our friends and family and not on school.  Since I know this is what everyone wants...the rest of the post is pictures of our apartment!

Garland and candles on top of our entertainment center

 

Our Christmas tree up close

 

Garland on top of the entertainment center looking at Christmas tree and wreath

 

Stockings on the entertainment center (we treat it like our mantle).  Tyler is the Santa and I'm the snowman!

 

The wreath I got on sale from Crate and Barrel last year...I've been waiting a whole year to hang it up!

 

Presents under the tree...I've had some time on my hands

 

Full picture of the tree

 

Snowman pillow on the loveseat

 

The "E" that Tyler's mom gave to us!  I love it!

 

On the wall in our bathroom

 

Any little thing we had got put out...we're still collecting Christmas things...I have a feeling when stores put things on sale this year, we'll have some more goodies for next Christmas!

 

 The best attempt at a picture of the living room.  Not a lot of stuff going on, but our little apartment doesn't need a whole lot.  However, we will have a lot of Christmas goodies (cookies, cranberry bars, etc.) and we'll make sure to bring some home with us!

Merry Christmas!  We love you all!