12 deep into the new year, here’s the bad, the good, and some muffins!

The Bad:

My apartment is officially carpeted with an atrociously large mass of lurking laundry.

My nails are cringe worthy… and in desperate need of gold (or pink??) glitter polish. I need to be more girly in 2012! And i’m glitter obsessed right now.

Beer bottles have taken over my recycling bin. There may be a kahlua bottle in there too – I blame hot chocolate entirely for that. Have you made a kahlua hot chocolate yet? Do it.

And my hair… well, it has officially reached an epic and unholy state of frizz and chaos ala Amy Winehouse ( miss her).

But, it’s all good in the hood. Everything is totally alllrrrriiiighhhhhtttt.

Why you may ask? Perhaps with a slight tone of doubt and skepticism?

Well, because, silly! We’ve got the good:

I’ve got you. duh… awesome. I have a major friend crush on you.

I’ve got a handsome new friend (!!!) who writes me the prettiest of sentences. Swoon. He needs a new jacket… but totally fixable.

I’ve got new opportunities on the horizon and a heart full of hope. Hope is all we’ve got sometimes, but it’s something to hold on to.

I’ve got an apartment full of sweet aromas and a pan full of muffins just waiting for me to rip their crunchy little lids off.

And muffins… well, muffins = love.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins – taken from Smitten Kitchen who adapted them from King Arthur Flour

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed, divided
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups and set aside.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400°F, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.