Butter to my bread

An oldie but a goodie

There once was this redheaded girl, lets call her "Angela", who met this happy-go-lucky girl, lets call her "Amber", at a small college in North East Pennsylvania.  Angela and Amber did not get off to a good start, surprisingly.  Angela snapped at Amber the first day she met her (which is out of character) but their relationship, surprisingly, did not stop there. Anyway, after that and a few events in between the redheaded girl and the happy-go-lucky girl kept randomly meeting at different events on campus.  Proximity led them to start becoming acquaintances, which eventually turned into an inseparable love a great friendship. 

From one of the first times they hung out to more recently

One thing led to another and by the redheaded girl's senior year they were moving in with each other!  The two girls did everything together.  They crossed their fingers for snow days so they could stay inside in their PJs all day and watch bad television while simultaneously ordering Chinese food (and obviously go outside and make snow angels and snow men, etc).  They laid in each others beds to watch TV, laugh, cry, tell stories and laugh some more. They would walk to class and meet for lunch and do this and do that. Dance parties even happened, which led their downstairs neighbors to bang on the ceiling in frustration and anger. Damn, can't two girls dance?  Amber even took care of the silly redhead when she drank too much alcohol, what more could a person ask for?

At the end of the redhead's senior year she moved out and started her next adventure in New Jersey.  After the happy-go-lucky girl graduated she headed back to Maryland.  Although the two girls try to talk as much as they can; it is hard because they are busy and distance is a damper.  Distance doesn't change quality of friendship though because once you meet your best friend there is nothing that can tear you apart.

I'm writing this because I miss my bestest friend so so much. (If you did not catch on....I'm talking about me and my best friend, haha)

Amber is type of friend that people hope and dream to have.  She has been there for me through everything.  She cares and truly makes an effort.  When she says something it happens.  When she says she'll be somewhere she'll be there.  When she promises you something...she will do it.  She has visited me so many times and has spent vacations at my little apartment.  She even drove to Pennsylvania for my 21st birthday even though she worked that morning and could not go out because she wasn't 21 yet.  She did it just so she could be there for me.  I'm so lucky to have her in my life.  I could not ask for a better friend.  I'm so lucky. I'm so very very lucky. 


  Yesterday I received this from her:

I cried when i opened this card because lately I have been missing her more then anything.  It is hard being away from my closest friends (my closest friends live in Maryland, Maine, and Pennsylvania and my boyfriend lives in Pennsylvania as well). Distance can't tear you apart, but sometimes it does some damage to the heart.  

Where is your best friend in relation to you?  Does she or he live close? How long have you been friends? What makes this person your best friend? 

Thief

The little cat of mine is a thief.  He steals my things all the time.  Have you ever heard of a cat who steals things? Well, if not: there is a first time for everything!  I have a few pictures to validate what I'm saying:

He steals my straw right from my drink

He steals my pillows on my bed from me (and inhibits me from doing school work by laying on it)

He tries to steal my milk when I'm drinking it

 He steals my pens from me when I'm using them 

No matter how much he takes I could never really care because that cat of mine has also stolen my heart <3

Happy Thursday!

Oh my! Apple pie

Since I picked a ton of apples during my adventure to Battleview Orchards, I knew the first thing I was doing with these fresh picked specimens.  APPLE PIE.  It is my favorite. 

I have a simple recipe for you:

You will need:

4-6 Apples (depending on size) I use red and delicious, but you can use any kind you like
Pre-made pie crust *room temperature* (I cannot taste the difference, which is why I do not make my own)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
a few slices of butter

So, this is how I make apple pie:

1. Peel and slice your apples. I tend to cut them on the thinner side.
2. Put cut apples in a large bowl.  Add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
3. Cover the mixture and put in the fridge overnight to let the apples marinate.  (I think this is my 'secret' to apple pie, since I've never seen it in a recipe before)
4. Stir apples occasionally

The next day...or hours later:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lay pie crust in dish and fill with apple mixture
3. Cut a few pieces of butter (4-5) and place on top of apple mixture
4. Lay second pie crust on top of the pie and cut a few slits in the top.
5. Bake pie for approximately 30 minutes
6. ENJOY!

This recipe is easy and delicious! Even if baking isn't your 'thing'!  

Picking a winner

I've wanted to go apple picking for quite some time now.  For some reason the timing was never right, but I finally made it! *cheers and applause*  Now I'm certain it will be an annual tradition. The place we went to was called Battleview Orchards, which is located in Freehold, NJ.

This place was adorable.  They had FRESH HOT HOMEMADE donuts.  Should I even continue with this blog post?  Seriously, nothing short of magical.

Steven and I took the liberty of climbing the trees instead of renting a stick-thing (that is the technical term) that you could just grab the apples from the top with.  What is the fun in that anyway?? I'm also proud to say that I did not fall off the tree...AND no one tried to pick me when I was up there thinking I was a red and delicious apple.  That was a victory in itself.   Also, note the last picture: There really aren't words to describe how good those baked goods looked.

If you've never gone apple picking before I highly suggest it and recommend it.  Even if you don't like apples (if that is even possible) there are many other things available like baked goods.  I can't wait to go again next year :)

**Apple pie post to come :)

7 Little Things

To say that I was thrilled when Chestnut Mocha tagged me in a post this week is a little bit of an understatement.   Ben and Katie were kind enough to tag me in a post  and gave me a "Tell me about yourself Award"! Of course, I could not take a permanent smile off of my face when I got this.  Thanks guys...you can now add the label of "day maker" to your resume, if it wasn't already on there!

So, anyway, here are the rules:
1. Say "thank you" with a linking post
2. Write 7 things about yourself
3. Give the award to 15 other blogs
4. Inform them about it!

{extra!extra! read all about it: I love traveling. Especially with my friend Katie}

1. I play hide-and-go-seek with my cat. 
2. I'm currently getting my master's degree in Mental Health Counseling
3. I am serious about 3% of the time. 
4. I do not have cable or internet in my apartment, so keeping up on current events, prime time TV, and blog posts is sometimes difficult.
5. I try to take pictures of nearly everything.  My Iphone has helped me do this with ease and poise... or so I'd like to think ;)
6. I love to shop. For anything. Seriously (food shopping even becomes a fun alternative).  Sales are an extra thing that gets my adrenaline pumping. Yard sales and thrift store make my knees go weak.
7. One of the events that had the most impact on my life was my volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic.

{In the Dominican Republic}

I'd love to know more about YOU:


Ashley  of Serendipitous Monments
Marina of Time of your Life
Dale of Savvy Spice
Anna of Embrace the Sunshine
Lindsay of Just us
Ariel of A Dreamer's Daze
Jane of In the Pink and Green
Tessa of Totally Tessa
Lara of Simply Irresistable
Veronika of Girl and Closet
Koltunovskaya of Koltunovskaya
Alycia of Crowley Party
Amber of Novels and Nonsense
Sara of House of Shoes
Melissa from Simply Melissa Ashley
Stephanie of Blonde Highlights
Crystal of Trust in Turbulence

I love reading all of your blogs.  Ladies: Please do not feel obligated to repost.  If nothing else, hopefully this will help others read your fantastic blogs <3 And if you do: I cannot wait to read your 7 things :)

What is everyone up to this weekend?  It's supposed to be a rainy one...at least in my area.  Hope it's a good one <3

Imma Machine...

...or so I feel like one when I get on my old school folding bike.  

^ Steven and I took a multi-mile bike ride to Asbury Park (can you tell I love Asbury Park) and stopped at numerous adventure points along the way.We rode down Ocean Avenue and stopped at an abandoned beach spot.  I was going to walk past the "do not enter sign" to show what a troublemaker I am, but then I envisioned myself crashing through a board on the pier and no one saving me because of my ignorance. So, I decided a picture wasn't worth a 1,000 stitches.

Also on our little adventure-ish-thing we 1. saw sidewalks ripped up from the hurricane.  2.road our bikes on the Asbury Park boardwalk. The feeling of this is indescribable to me. 3. rode around Ocean Grove, which is a quaint little town next to Asbury park.  The old houses are phenomenal. It's really something to see. 4. went on a little island (as pictured) and had a few snacks to refuel before the grueling trip back.  Sometimes I forget that as far as I ride I have to go that far back.

I'm proud to admit that I no longer have adverse feelings towards bike riding.  As a child I would cry at the thought of it. With much thought and a reattempt a few years ago, I have grown to love bike riding. 

Have you ever tried something you had previous ill feelings about?  If so, how did it turn out?

Cookies cookies cookies!

This weekend I made homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Mmm mmmm mmmmm.   There are some things that I do not think are worth making homemade like cakes (I just cannot taste the difference). Chocolate chip cookies do not fall into this category.  They are so easy to make and there is nothing like the taste.  Oh, and the smell it brings to my apartment is worth every last splatter of dough on my kitchen walls. 

I do not have a specific recipe I use for chocolate chip cookies; I actually just use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips I buy.  It has never failed me this far, so why mess with a good thing?  This time I purchased Toll House Chocolate Chips and used the recipe on that bag. 

Fun fact: Now that I am an adult I eat a cookie as soon as they come out of the oven. (How many of you had parents who made you wait until they were nice and cool?! *raises hand high*) Needless to say: I did get a tummy ache, but results of this are inconclusive.  Is it from the excessive amounts of batter or the warm cookie? Maybe both? I don't plan on testing this theory any time soon :)

Semptember Foodzie

Receiving a package is something that can turn any mediocre to bad day great for me. Every month I'm guaranteed to have one of these days thanks to my FOODZIE box :) For my birthday, Steven got me a year of foodzie tasting boxes.  I really enjoy trying new foods, so this is the perfect way to make sure I do so. I have a very creative and thoughtful boyfriend. 

When your foodzie box arrives it comes with a little description that tells you what is in your box and where the products comes from (since the tastings come from all around the US).  Sometimes there are ingredients with recipes to try.  It's always a surprise.

This is what my box looked like this month:

What is shown: Card that has all the products* and where they are from, next two are ingredients in the box, finally me eating one of the greatest cookies I have ever had.  

The cookies were phenomenal.   They were HUGE vegan cookies. My pattern of thinking while eating this cookie went like this: 1. Try cookie 2. Take another bite 3. Eat half of the cookie 4. You mine-as-well just finish the cookie  5. Tummy ache :(   Oh well, it was worth it :-D 

*This month for my tasting pleasure I got: short bread cookies, pure raw honey, bengal breakfast tea, snicker doodle cookies, and coconut chili macadamia nuts. Can you say: YUM?!

New Beginnings. Meow.

    
A little over a year ago I began a lot of news.  Not like on the news or in the news or making the news...I'm not that interesting. What I mean is: I began a lot of things that were firsts for me.  I moved to a new city, started a new school (for my Graduate degree), I got my first apartment by myself, and did not know a sole for miles and miles.  I was excited for my new adventure, but very nervous as well.

       A year later, I look back on how fast time has flown by and how so many things have changed.  I now love my new town, feel like a pro in my Master's program, adore living by myself, and have an abundance of new friends.  Life is great.

       I can honestly say that the best 'new' that has happened in the past year is the little guy picture above, Maxwell. I know, it might sound silly because I've done a few notable things, but what can I say...he just tugs at my heart strings.

       I debated long and hard about getting a pet. I was unsure if I could be attentive enough or if my next place would allow kitties.  After much dispute I received this picture message from Steven:

Need I say more? Steven knew I was debating getting a cat for a while and when he went with his friend to pick up his new cat he found Maxwell.  I specifically said that I wanted a cat because everyone wants kittens and I wanted to get an animal that was less likely to be adopted.  Turns out that not many people want a one eyed kitten, weird- I know.  But to me, he is perfect.  After we adopted him he got his surgery and has been the tick to my ticker ever since.

I guess you can say I'm the lucky one <3

Thrifty Thrifting Things

      I strive to use an alliteration whenever possible, hence the title of this post. I'm also trying to think of one to use here, but can't think of one. *Insert witty alliteration here*

      I love getting things on sale, cheap, and/or used.  I get such a kick out of it. It is what I live for. Ok, the last statement might be a little dramatic, but I'm sticking to it.

      Recently I got a few things while thrifting (defined as: the act of going to the thrift store and purchasing items) that I want to share:

This is my new coffee table.  I got it for $15 dollAHs at the thrift store. I'm pretty impressed with my find on this one.  I've wanted a new coffee table for a while, but in case you have not checked recently...furniture is worth more than my life. Pretty much anyway.  I wanted to spice it up, so decided to paint the whole thing this robins egg blue color.  It was raining outside when my painter Steven painted it for me, so he was only able to do part of it.  Pretty sure that was mother nature's way of telling me it would be perfect like this :) 

To my kitchen table I added this doily, which was only $2!! I love love love love this! Did I mention I love it? It seems to give the room a more homey feel! 

Finally, I scooped up this pencil skirt for $2.  I love the color and the fit of it.  It is pretty perfect :) 

Another mans trash is always my treasure :) 

Color me

  

(Top left is Sally Hanson nail stickers and the rest are from Five Below)

      In the past, I used to only paint my nails pink OR keep them without polish. Toes and fingernails were both confined to this limited spectrum.  Eventually I stepped outside of the box and starting using red. I KNOW...I'm quite crazy. If you think that is crazy, then you'll think I've gone mad by tell you that I now I have added many other pigments on the color wheel to my nails.

      Along with new colors, I've also been obsessed with adding a sticker to one of my nails lately. It adds a little bit of spice without being too much or overwhelming. Its like a cupcake opposed to a whole cake...a perfect portion, if you will (Unless you're like me and the whole cake would do just fine). Have you ever used these stickers?  Sally Hansen makes them, but I have found that Five Below also carries them! (which has been my saving grace for this mini infatuation, since they charge $3 for a package instead of $10! BING!)

And here are my current nails

Do you have a 'special' way of doing your nails? How do you prefer to keep them? Short, long, painted, plain?  Any tips from those of you who love color?  

Asbury Park

One of my favorite places to go to around my apartment is Asbury Park.  It is an awesome little city that has really cool people.  I have been dying to go to a place called Silver Ball Museum that is an arcade with tons of vintage pinball machines and other arcade games.  Since Asbury Park is only about 5 miles away, Steven and I decided to ride our bikes there.  It was a little ambitious, however since I'm getting over a terrible cold. Almost as soon as we left I made it clear that there was no way I could ride all the way there.

Before we turned around we found some damage that Hurricane Irene was responsible for.  

There is Steven standing next to a humongous tree that was ripped right out of the ground

There's a view of the lake and our bikes that we adore.  Look close, you can see the road that is closed due to the ground that pulled right up.

This was my attempt at using the camera timer app I just download for my phone

After this we turned around so we could drive to Asbury Park.  I could not wait to play pinball!! (Yes, I am that dorky)

Although pinball was fun, I have to admit that the classic Frogger game scooped up a majority of my time.  I was engulfed in it as soon as Steve showed it to me.  I believe I played this when I was younger, which could be some reason for my fascination.  If this place had Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers I would purchased an all day pass and played the night away :-D

Adventure to Wildwood New Jersey

The lady I babysit for has been in the hospital for the past month.  There was a chance she had stomach cancer, but it turned out to be two very large ulcers in her stomach, which were removed. Thank gosh.

She invited Steven and I to go to Wildwood with her on her annual family trip.  She takes her two children, Jack and Sophie, to Wildwood every year.  I was excited to go, since she has raved about how much they love Wildwood , but nervous because I knew it would not be completely relaxing.  Since she has been in the hospital for about a month I knew she would be weak and would need my help with the children more than she led on.  I accepted with delight (who does not want an almost free vacation anyway?).  I did, however, warn Steven that the children can be somewhat, well...misbehaved. That is putting it lightly.

When he first met the children he said to me "I do not know what you're talking about. They are so sweet. This is going to be so much fun"

After two days of screaming children who hit, talked back, whined, and were just plain mean, Steven said to me "I do not know how you do it."  **The little girl not only hit Steven, but she also bit him more than a handful of times, ouch!

Don't get me wrong, they can be super sweet, fun, and funny, but when they are bad....they are really bad.

Overall it was a great trip.  We rode bikes on the boardwalk, laid by the pool, went on rides, went to the water park, and ate food that is terrible for you.  Which is my idea of a good time :)

Riding the Carousel 

Roller Coaster

I think I now need a vacation from my "vacation", though ;) 

Text Request

My mom sent me a text today that said "Iwantagchildgetbusy". Obv she doesn't not know how to space, or spell for that matter. I read it numerous times attempting to decipher this message thinking maybe it was a code of some sort. With a lot of thought, I figured maybe she wanted an "ah child", so I considered not showering or putting make up on for a few days and sending pictures her way. When she got the picture she would scream "ah! Is that my child." Then i considered maybe she wasn't happy with where I was in my life and she wanted a "good child". With that I was going to send her a picture of my middle finger ;)

Nope, none of the above are accurate. My mother was not only requesting a grandchild, but also requesting me to "get busy". perfect.

Guess my weekend will be more eventful then previously anticipated.

Happy Friday