In the middle of August, we took one last trip to Lopez Island for this year.  As crazy as the summer is, our fall appears to be even busier so I don’t think we’ll be able to squeeze in another weekend before the weather turns ugly.

When I turned 39 back in July, I wrote about some of the things I would like to accomplish in the coming year before the big 4-0.  I told you this would be the year of yoga and so far that part of it is shaping up well.  I have been going to class 3 times a week and am feeling more and more that I would like to get back to teaching.  Slow and steady though – I need to get my own practice back on track before I start teaching others.  I also mentioned some of the cooking challenges I wanted to tackle and included in that list was working on Holly B’s cinnamon rolls and almond butterhorns.  (If you are new here, I’ve raved about Holly’s cookies here and here and I’ve written love letters to Lopez here and here.)

(She is not really the mayor of Lopez, but she should be.)

What I didn’t say is that what I really wanted to do was bake my way through her amazing cookbook.  I know, we are all over this approach, right?  Julie and Julia and all that.  There are groups all over the food blog world who are slowly cooking or baking their way through books.  I am so 2008.  But I’m not wanting to start another group, I’m just wanting to make every recipe in her book and become a better baker along the way.

Because Holly B’s is a bakery close to my heart and because she is essentially a one woman operation, I decided I would ask her permission before starting and certainly before posting any more of her recipes here.  I wasn’t sure of the response I would get but before I could get the words out, she cried out, “Sure, I’d love it!  Do you want to take pictures?”

So, my Holly B’s baking adventure begins.  I plan to post a recipe from her book each Tuesday which is the day the bakery is closed during the summer.  I am not going to go recipe by recipe because I know it will bore me to make bread for weeks, cookies for weeks, etc.  A little jumping around will make it more interesting but I do plan to make everything at least once.  I will also always post a link to her web site where you can buy the book for yourself.  Believe me when I say it is a treasure!  Click here to order a copy (you will need to send her a check.)

In addition to eating things like this amazing pizza at the bakery (recipe coming someday soon!), we went to a beautiful park.  It’s called Spencer Spit and we hadn’t been in a long time.  I love it there for the ever present beauty, for the ferry views, and for the driftwood sculptures.

But these days I think I especially love the park because Spencer is also the name of this guy.

And while I’m posting pictures of my sweet boys, here is one more.  To me, these guys do not look like brothers.  Graham is long and lean with dark skin and gray eyes.  Spencer is thick and stocky, pale and blond with hazel eyes.  But in this photo, with them both laughing, they do look alike to me.

For a great recipe, check out what I posted a year ago – Chocolate Toffee.