SEE THIS: Annie!

(Singing, acting, and various other skills do fall under the realm of my creative side, and so have a fair shot for shameless plugs on my blog. Ha!)

I am, for the 4th straight year now, involved with Gardner Community Theatre's summer musical production. The shows have just gotten better and better each year, and this community theatre, though young, is an IMPRESSIVE organization I am happy to be a part of. They put on some good shows... though I am partial to the musicals. (There's a little about last years show, where I played a 15-yr-old Kim McAfee in Bye-Bye Birdie, here.)

Your next opportunity to see GCT in action is next month's production and family favorite: ANNIE. All performances are held at the GEHS auditorium, Gardner, KS and dates and times are as follows:

July 9, 7:00 p.m.

July 10, 7:00 p.m.

July 11, 2:00 p.m.

July 16, 7:00 p.m.

July 17, 7:00 p.m.

July 18, 2:00 p.m.

And if you are in a debate over which of those six performances to attend, let me just persuade you toward the option of the July 18th show... As that one will feature an extra special appearance from my Dad, who just might be the world's most adorable man. You seriously don't want to miss it!

(for more info, check out the link to GCT's website. I sure hope you can come!)

EAT THIS: Peach Blueberry Cobbler

I've been a tiny bit obsessed with peaches this summer ever since we visited a farmstand on our honeymoon and had the yummiest sweet little peaches ever. This obsession found me at various other local farmstands buying up any peaches I could find... and way more peaches than any one person could ever eat fresh (my husband doesn't believe in fruit). Whats a girl to do? Well, I think a cobbler is in order.
I actually modified this recipe from a Paula Deen Recipe, but I think my version turned out excellent!

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches (how to prepare peaches here)
1 cup washed blueberries
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon, divided
6 tblsp butter
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine peaches, berries, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, water, vanilla, and 1 tsp of cinnamon in a a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 mins. (liquid should be a thin syrup consistancy, if it is still very liquid-y, remove fuit and boil luquid til it reduces and thickens slightly.) Remove from heat.
Put the butter in the bottom of a 3-qt baking dish and place in the oven to melt.
Mix remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk in milk slowly (so it's not clumpy). Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir.
Spoon fruit and syrup evenly over the top. Again, not not stir, batter will bake up trough the fruit... and it's a beautiful carmelized thing. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until the batter starts to get a crusty golden brown.
HIGHLY recommend serving this warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream. YUM.

HERE WE GO!

Alright kids, I am super excited to launch my creative blog! I am going to atttempt to put something up here at least once a week. I may recycle some things from my other blog but I am super excited to share my ideas and the cool projects I complete. This is going to be fun. :)