The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever....and They're Vegan!

I have a vegan friend who is always asking me to make her vegan food; this week her request was cinnamon rolls. Now, I am not a huge fan of cinnamon rolls. In fact, I'd probably eat any other sweet treat before eating a cinnamon roll, nonetheless, i was up for the challenge!

I looked online and found a recipe on a blog called Bitter Sweet. I didn't realize how time consuming making the cinnamon rolls was--but once the dough had risen, it went by pretty fast.

I started off by making the dough and letting it rise for an hour. It had risen way more than I thought, so if you attempt making these, this recipe could and should be halved.


After the dough was practically swallowing the bowl, I divided it and rolled out half onto my counter top. There was so much that the dough took up the entire surface of my counter. I added the innards (vegan butter, sugar, cinnamon) and rolled the dough up. Then I cut the dough and placed the rolls into pans, pans, and more pans...


They only took 20 minutes to cook. When I got the cinnamon rolls out I drizzled them with my makeshift frosting. (I didn't quite have all of the ingredients so I just improvised.)


Wrap up: So after the cinnamon rolls were finished, I decided I had to at least take a bite for all of the effort I'd put into making them. And let me be the first to say, DELICIOUS. I feel like I've been jipped my whole life by not eating cinnamon rolls. If you're looking for the best cinnamon roll recipe, you've got to try this recipe.

Here's the link to the recipe at Bitter Sweet.

Summah Vacation in Maine!

I spent an enjoyable 7 day vacation relaxing in Maine! The entire Speidel family (parentals, Jake & fam, Molly & fam, Hannah & her boyfriend-of-the-year, myself and finally, warren-but just for one day) all went up to the little town of Greenville, ME.

We had a wicked enjoyable week...

Living in this,

Flying,

Fishing,

Boating,

Trying to stay dry...while wearing clothes...on a raft...in the middle of the lake...,

Eventually getting soaked right after Jake threw in his first victim,

Bonding with my beautifully, wonderful sisters,

Admiring my amazing parents,

Trying to convince Warren to stay, (but I always lose to planes),

Filling my RedBull addiction (thanks Jake)

Hiking,

Playing with the 'twins' (Dash & Kate),

Riley,

Nate,

AND Exploring lil' ol' Greenville, Fireworks, S'mores (some more of what?), Movies, Swimming, Eating, Playing Rummikub, Shopping, Eating pickles on the Swing, Lounging in the Hammock, and LOVING being with family for a whole week!

I Promise, I Don't Have an Addiction

I love pickles. Like really, really, really LOVE pickles...borderline addicted to pickles. They are by far my most treasured food of all time. I love the way they taste. I love their saltiness. I love whole pickles, sliced pickles, hamburger-cut pickles, zesty pickles, pickle spears, pickle relish, giant pickles, basically anything with pickle in the name. I love the euphoria that comes when I bite into a juicy pickle. I even love the occasional shot of pickle juice. Wow, just writing this is making me salivate.

A few years back, I realized that I was a little too in love with pickles and decided that I couldn't buy them anymore...the reason? Whenever I open a brand-new pickle jar I would eat the ENTIRE jar in one sitting. It's sad and it's true. (although very delicious and satisfying)

The last time I bought pickles, and evidently ate the entire jar, was the night before Anna's bridal shower. I bought them for sandwiches and wanted to eat just one...but before I realized what I was doing, the jar was empty--every pickle devoured.

Yesterday, as I was grocery shopping, I found myself in the pickle aisle. I decided my self-control was pretty good, so I picked up a jar of zesty dills.

However, today I came home from work, looking for a good snack, and those zesty dills caught my eye. The results...

Sadly, I am out of pickles yet again & have consumed a ridiculous amount of sodium.

Update!

Wowzas, it's been FOREVER since I last posted anything. I have had quite the busy life lately and sadly, but unintentionally, neglected my little blog.

Well in recent Doree news, my best friend ever (that's right Anna, it’s you!) got hitched! After 3 years of being away, I finally got to go to my home town of Littleton, CO and see my mamacita, my old hood, and some of my closest friends growing up. Anna looked simply radiant and it was so fun to share the day with her and her family (aka: my second family), and to catch up with all of my beloved Colorado friends.

I was surprised by how much I LOVED being in Colorado. I guess after being gone for so long I forgot how beautiful and fun Colorado is. Best.state.ever! I literally could not get enough of it, and wished I could have stayed longer. We had some time in between brunch and the wedding, so my mom and I drove past our CO home and creepily sat in the rental car and just stared at it...of course my Mom stared and cried. We have some great memories in that house. :) Being in Colorado was simply lovely and I loved every moment of it. Alas, it was short lived, as I had to head back to good ol' *cough* Utah *cough* on Sunday.

Anyways, I want to give a shout out to the bride and groom. Anna and Eric, you two are the perfect match for each other and I wish you a lifetime...no, an ETERNITY of marital bliss! Love you ShmAndersons!

P.S. All of their wedding photography was done by one of my greatest friends ever, Kenzie! She's awesome, so check out her site!

On a side note, I also got a bike that I LOVE! Yay!

Life As I Know It

So it's been a while since my last post, but that's probably due to the fact that nothing monumental has happened in the past few months. So just to keep you up-to-date, here's a list of a few great things that have been going on...

1. Anna's Surprise Bridal Shower
This was the greatest b/c all of our friends from CO and some from college came to celebrate Anna's big day. I hadn't seen most of the people that came for a while, so it was fun to catch up.


Thank you all for traveling from afar, it wouldn't have been the same without you! (Also, for those of you not pictured above, I loved seeing you guys too!)

2. Warm Weather
For about one week in March, we had a warm spell. After a long winter, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and tried to go outside and do things for at least an hour a day after work. (Walking, running, skipping rocks, tanning, fighting off kidnappers, you know, typical things.) Unfortunately, the weather was short lived and here we are with snow again.


3. Hogle Zoo
One Saturday, Martin and I decided to go to the SLC zoo. It was kinda last minute, but we couldn't have planned it any better if we tried. We went after the first session of conference on Saturday and when we arrived there were literally no people there. We felt like the zoo was reserved just for us. It was fun to see all of the animals and get private tours through the exhibits. As much as I love the zoo, I did feel bad for a few of those animals b/c of their crappy habitats, however, for the most part the animals looked content.


4. General Conference
It was the first time I have ever been to Conference in the Conference Center. Martin's aunt works in the Mayor's office and got us great seats on the ground level. However, due to an unexpected spout of snow, we were late and our seats were given away. We did, however, manage to get great seats in the second level. It was such an awe-inspiring experience and I never wanted to leave.


Oh and Martin and I were photographed while standing outside. Maybe we'll make it into the Ensign!

5. Company Kickball Team
That's right, we have our very own kickball team. I'm not real sure how well we'll do when we're actually playing against other teams. We had practice this week and needless to say, it was a complete mess. The day after practice, we all came into work with bruises, sore muscles, and some people were even limping. Our first game is the end of the month, so hopefully we'll pick up our game by then. The plus side is that we (the girls) are going to wear these fabulous knee-high socks. At least we'll be the most stylish team playing. ;)


6. David Archuleta
Be envious every 13 year-old girl, because I saw your idol, David Archuletta live. He even rode in on a Harley. What a stud muffin.


Oh and it was his mother, Lupe's, birthday. What an added treat!

7. First Ever Heavy Metal Concert (probably my last too)
Not real sure I can categorize this one under great. It was a new experience for sure. Screaming, moshing, being knocked down... sounds super fun, right?


Well that about highlights my life for the past month or so. I'm just soaking it up and enjoying the simple pleasures.

Hair, Hair, Hair

As many of you know, I have very long, pin-straight hair. I think my hair is so long because I got it cut short once and absolutely hated it, so I refused to get it cut ever again. Well, this lasted for a while until I started getting annoyed with the length of my hair. I promised myself that if I ever got the chance to donate my hair to "Locks of Love," I would. Welp, it was time. I mentally prepared myself to go in and get 10 inches (base requirement) cut off and end up with a fabulous mid-length style.

So today after work, I went to a salon downtown and asked for *the best* stylist I could get. I got this man who had been working there for 10 years, so I trusted him. I basically told him that I wanted to wash and dry my hair and cut ONLY 10 inches off and then keep the length. After that, I told him he could do whatever he wanted, as long as, he kept the length. Welp, time passed and then he finally spun me around in my chair. I was shocked to witness not only 12 inches of ponytale laying on the counter, but another 2-4 inches laying on the ground! Seriously. The back of my head is shorter than short and then I have random long pieces in the front.

As much as I hate my hair. I loved the experience. It was something that I've always wanted to do, and I did it! It's fun to have a drastic change and I know it will grow back. I figure that this is one thing that I could do so easily for someone else. So if you have more than 10 inches of hair and are ready for a new do- donate!!! It's super easy and very rewarding.

(And yes... this was taken after the make-up was cried off.)

Funny. Couldn't Resist Putting It Up.

Sundance!

Today I went with two of my really great friends to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. It was A-MAZ-ING! We left around noon and headed up to Park City.

Once we arrived, we drove downtown through Mainstreet. It was so fun to just people watch as we drove slowly down the road. The streets were filled with hundreds of people looking at stores, eating at restaurants, watching for celebrities, and enjoying the festival itself.

Once we found parking, we got on the bus and headed back to Mainstreet. We walked around for a while, then found a Mexican restaurant to eat at. It was delicious.

After dinner, we walked down more of Mainstreet. We saw a group of people surrounded by a staircase waiting for someone to come down, so we decided to join in. We outsmarted the crowd and stood on the bridge just over the staircase. After a bit, everyone in the crowd started taking pictures of someone going down the stairs. It took awhile for us to realize who it was, but then we figured out it was Ben Affleck. So fun! We also saw a few smaller-name actors and Paris Hilton, but they weren't as great as Ben.

I loved the whole experience! My favorite part of Sundance was just watching everyone around me. There was such an excitement in the air and something everyone should experience.