I ate a lobster claw

I don't know if you do this, but sometimes I compose blog posts, or potential blog posts, or snippets of blog posts (you get the idea right?)  in my head throughout my day. Today was such a day. It was a swell day. 

I slept in. Kind of. Actually I woke up at 7:30 and every hour until 9:30. I was having bad dreams I think because I woke up feeling angry and exhausted, and that's not how I went to bed! Also it was rainy, gloomy, and chilly for most of the day so that may have affected my mood too. After getting ready for the day, I vacuumed my apartment, which took about an hour because my vacuum is horrible so I had to use the hose a lot. Jeepers. Last night I used a freebie code to get a Redbox movie. I chose Rise of the Guardians. Yes a kid's movie. Have you seen it??? SO GOOD! Great animation and a really cute and good story line. I started it last night but was so tired that i went to bed so I finished this afternoon. Great flick. I'd recommend it. 

Then I decided to go spend some time in Market Common just walking around the shops. I really just wanted to browse Barnes and Noble. Maybe hunker down and start reading a book. I started a book this morning that I got from the library, while lying in bed deciding if I should get up or go back to sleep, and after 10 pages I could tell it wasn't worth my time. Drats. That's happened a lot recently.

Icky weather called for bright colors and patterns

I decided to "pop in" to Banana Republic since they had a sale sign and I also had a coupon so maybe I'd find a good deal. Can I just tell you that lately I have been a fan of their dresses? I have! I got a cute one about 6 months ago that I am in love with. Good material, great cut and length. I tried on a yellow one and liked it but didn't love it. Tried on a few shirts that I liked, but didn't love. And then. I sauntered to the sale section and low and behold my eyes lit up as I saw some aaaaadorable striped t-shirts. 

Fun fact about Gabe. I do not like summer clothes. 

Yes you read that correctly. Really, all I want to wear in the summer are running shorts and tank tops because it's so blimey hot. I realize that is not terribly attractive and cute so I give in and try to look presentable, as much as a sweaty girl can. Anyway. Yay for 2 new shirts to add to my pathetic summer wardrobe! 

Finally I made it to Barnes and Noble and wandered around. I liked to cruise through the stationary aisles and I stumbled upon these!

I was SO tempted to buy them but then I had the mental argument with myself about needing them vs. wanting them and decided that I didn't need them. So I walked away. Sadly. 

I made my rounds through the cookbook section, thumbed through a few knitting books, peeked into the movie/music section...and then ended up here.

My favorite section: kids books.

I was tempted to pull out an I Spy and play read, but there were a lot of kids around and I didn't want to take anyone's seat, especially being that I am 25, not 6. As I was reminiscing as I scanned through some of my childhood favs, I stumbled upon this:

I loved this book in the second grade. My teacher, Mrs. Ports (I had 2 teachers in 2nd grade actually, Mrs. Ports and Mrs. Erickson, who always gave out yummy Jollyranchers. Back then I recall they had a strawberry-flavored one and that was my favorite! Also I walked by her house everyday on the way home from school. I thought I was so cool). I was captivated by this tale. I don't think I've actually read the whole thing since, but I was tempted to today. Although, sometimes when I do that, the book/movie/whatever isn't as magical and wonderful as I remember it to be, so I prefer to just bask in the glory of it as my memory has it. 

I also passed by a rack of "The Giving Tree" books. I have a confession. I do not like that book or "Where the Sidewalk Ends." Deep breaths. I know. I know that was incredulous. I realize I am probably 1 of 3 people in the universe to say that, but it's true. I thought "The Giving Tree" was depressing and "Where the Sidewalk Ends" weird. Not a fan. 

Next. I decided to pay a visit to a bakery/deli I have passed multiple times. I ran into an old friend from college last weekend who was randomly visiting Myrtle Beach with her husband and she recommended it to me. I was in the area...why not? Well. I was pleased. It's totally run by an Italian family. I mean the name says it all: Toffino's Italian Bakery & Deli. It's a cute place. I was pleased with their pastry/dessert selection, and could see they are popular because a lot their sweet treats were all gone. Always a good sign. After some debate, I settled on....

...a cannoli and a lobster claw. I had to compare to my beloved Mike's Pastry in Boston. While I was waiting for my treats to be packaged up, the gentleman in front of me, who I swear was a northerner, probably from Jersey or NY, and also Italian (he had a gold pinky ring on...come on now. Dead give away!). He had an accent and the build of an Italian. I was eavesdropping on his conversation and the nice young man ringing him up is named Georgie or George-O, I couldn't quite hear. AWESOME. And they were discussing the Italian Wedding Soup, which is made by George's grandmother, Mama Rosa. I am not making this up. It deeeelighted me to hear this. Got my treats and then headed to my car and decided I couldn't wait until I got home to try out the goods. 

Report: both tasty. The cannoli shell was interesting and part of it tasted a little bit graham cracker-y. Good though. The filling was yummy but Mike's is better. I mean you cannot beat a hazelnut cannoli. I'm sorry. But Toffino's was good. I'd go back. Correction: I will be going back. The lobster claw was INCREDIBLE. Both fillings, I can tell, are homemade, as I would expect. Really, really good. I was happy. 

Self-restraint. Though, I did decide to take another bite of the lobster claw as I was climbing the stairs to my apartment. MMMMM MMMMM!!!!

Good day!

And. On Wednesday my studly younger brother leaves for Provo, UT to enter the Missionary Training Center to prepare to serve his 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  in Australia. I'm so proud of this kid. I'm going to miss him LIKE.CRAZY. I love that I am best friends with both of my younger brothers. I'm terribly excited for him. 

Such a stud. 

Busted.

So. 
I got busted for slacking on blog posting and instagramming. It's true. I have been slacking. Mostly it's because I have been really busy at work and then when I come home I have 37 things to do and so I leave and then come home and then go to bed and repeat the next day. BUM-MER. Not cool. And partly I've just intentionally taken a hiatus. My boss told me I had some vacation and personal days that I still need to use by the end of the year so I took yesterday and today off. It's been lovely. I've kept myself busy but it's been relaxing and much needed.

Like I said in my last post, I am going to be a baking madwoman this week because...I had a brilliant idea and it involves lots of treats and I'm excited about it. On today's baking to-do list: baked pumpkin spice donut holes (just because I wanted to see if they are any good. They are!) and pumpkin spice sugar cookies (doubled because half will go to staffing on Thursday and half will be part of my brilliant idea). The sugar cookies will get baked tomorrow night so they are as fresh as possible. Pictures to follow later. 

Donut holes. YUMMMM!

They are ridiculously easy to make and pretty delish too. I'll be bringing these to work tomorrow to share. Recipe at the end!

 I got my birthday present in the mail from my brother and sister-in-law. Cool huh? I loooooove it!

And now we are going to talk about my faulty logic. I had planned on going to see Frankenweenie today but slept in, went for a short run--can we talk about this for a quick sec? I opted to run on the treadmill today with a goal of 6 miles. So at mile 1.68 an elderly gentleman walked in because sometimes they have meetings there and so I only got to run 2 miles. Bust. Sad day. Oh well..--, and then began baking. I was running behind on my tentative schedule and decided to not go to the movies and as a perk would save myself a few bucks. A few hours later I ran to the post office to send off a package and decided to "swing" by Kohls to see if they had these brown boots I found online. Two hours later...

Yes I took one of those dressing room pictures. Don't judge. In my defense, I have a really hard time shopping (for clothes) alone (seriously) because I like a second opinion besides mine/the mirror so I sent this to Clary and my mom. Clary and I agreed the dress was cute but nay to the boots. Dress purchased and two cute shirts. And patterned socks because 72% of my socks have holes in them. No dice. And sweater tights to wear with my dress. And everything was on sale! I love a good bargain. Faulty logic BUT...I kinda don't feel guilty.  yet

Baked Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes 

(adapted from The Craving Chronicles found here)

For Donuts
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoons ground cloves
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup low-fat milk

For Coating
1/2 stick of unsalted butter, melted (aka 4 Tbsp)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven 350°F. Spray each cup in a 24-cup mini muffin tin with baking spray or butter generously.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices (through cloves). In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined – do not over mix!

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. (Using a 2-tablespoon scoop will ensure uniform size.) Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat.

Kitchen Creations...and other random things

So. I made the asparagus wrapped in prosciutto stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It needs a shorter name. Then again, who cares because it's SO DELICIOUS. A tad salty but ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh ma lantus it's good. 

We are feeling a little of the wrath of Hurricane Isaac here in South Carolina. Torrential downpours. Flood warnings.

It's an experience.

This picture was taken by my friend who was in Charleston yesterday. People were kayaking, canoeing, and get this, even wakeboarding through downtown Charleston. Whaaaat??? 

This I took on my way home from work today. 

My windshield wipers were wiping as fast as they could and I was still scared. 

My friend Anna and I were going to head to a sports bar to watch the Pats-Giants game but she called me in hysterics because all of the roads were flooded and she almost lost her car. The water was up to her tires. Geez.

And when I got home I had a package waiting for me.

When I was home in June I was introduced to Boden. My darling niece Anna (ok I still giggle with excitement when I say that) pointed out a dress she thought I would love and she was right. This girl has style, let me tell you. It was a little out of my price range. BUT. A few weeks ago I logged onto their site and what did I find? It was ON SALE (one of my favorite phrases). So naturally I pounced on that.

Photo
Iloveit. Holy catscans I love it. Empire waists and A-line skirts are my favorite!

So. The staff at work has been complaining because I haven't brought in treats in a few weeks and since my evening plans were cancelled I decided to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. And I decided to try out the PB2 in place of the peanut butter. And I substituted some of the butter with Greek yogurt. And I didn't have Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips so I had to use Hershey's milk chocolate *hangs head in shame*

To be honest. I am not terribly impressed. The peanut butter taste is lacking. They are bland. Drats. So I added some the real stuff--smooth peanut butter--to the last couple of batches of cookies in hopes that this helps. We'll see. 

Some times healthier cookies just are not worth it to me. 

I shouldn't have messed with this recipe. 

I failed the staff.

Lesson learned. It's the thought that counts right?

(Let's hope the staff think the same...)

P.S. I'm watching "Royal Pains" and Hank just said, "Done and done." That's my phrase!! Cool!

Bah!

I have about 157 thoughts zipping through my head at any given time. It's exhausting. Prepare for random thoughts. 

I'm a busy girl. 

I have a wedding in a few days to prepare for and I'm freaking out. I have to pack. I have to meticulously plan outfits. Do you know how exhausting that is for me? I mean I am meeting new siblings. And attending a wedding. And seeing family I've not seen a while. Hello! I gotta look good. I'm freaking out. 


My clothes are not good enough. My bathing suit is so last season. I'm bored with my wardrobe. And my legs are white. I have had no time to get to the beach. If I get lost or stranded somewhere, I'll just flash my white legs.


My hair looks stupid. I went to get it trimmed yesterday because the ends were looking a little fluffy (aka the split ends were taking over and I was close to losing my sanity. I had OCD when I was little. I "grew out of it" but sometimes my OCD (or perhaps it's perfectionism?) manifests itself, like when I notice how many split ends I have and then all I want to do is pick them. It's annoying.). Anyway, I went to the hair salon to get a trim and SERIOUSLY, if I had a dollar for each time someone commented on how thick my hair is, I'd have a nice chunk of change. I was taking the bobby pins out of my hair and the stylist shouts (literally), "OOOOOOOOOOOOH WE HAVE A THICK ONE OVER HERE TODAY!!!!" I was a tad mortified. Amused, but mortified. Thankfully there were only 3 other customers in the salon but for the love! Come on! And now my hair looks short. Growing out hair is such a long, frustrating process, especially when you have dry hair like mine that requires constant trims to keep it healthy. For. the. love.  


For kicks I put on the dress I bought for my mom's wedding last night. Bad idea. I was having a really bad evening and so I'm not sure why I decided to try on a dress when I was already feeling like the pits because you darn well know when you already feel horrible about yourself, finding more flaws is a piece of cake. It was. I'm mad. 


My life is currently crazy busy so I haven't had time to get into a consistent running schedule. I'm a little frustrated with that; so much so that I had a "nightmare" last night about the marathon and how the day had arrived and I hadn't trained and wasn't ready. So, today I ran 5 miles. I can do this. 


I am considering going back to school and I'm giddy about it. 


Being home was great. It went by way too quickly but I enjoyed every nanosecond of it. I can't wait for Christmas. More to come on my trip home later. 

What would you do for a lobster roll (not a Klondike bar)???

There are 2 things my mom has discovered she can bribe her children with: Lago's ice cream and lobster rolls.

I will do just about anything for either of these and my mom uses it to her full advantage. I will weed, take down a ceiling (more on this shortly), and help strip, paint, and revamp a shed (to come), and anything else my mom asks me to do if only she will say, "I'll take you to Lagos!," or "I'll buy you a lobster roll [from the Beach Plum]!" And then I can't help but say, "OK!," as my eyes glaze over envisioning the succulent taste of either treat. DIVINE I tell you, DIVINE!

I spent yesterday taking down the laundry room ceiling with my mom and Heath. Here are the before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

Now what I have learned from this experience? You know how construction workers often put up sheets to seal in a room when they are doing things like this? THERE IS A REASON!!!! We didn't, although we did think about and our entire house, no lie, was covered in a film of nasty dust and debris from this little adventure. Not to mention I think we each took 5 years off our lives with the amount of dust, dirt, and grime we have inhaled. Gross. And don't worry, we didn't open the windows until we were nearly finished because we all thought they wouldn't open (they had been winterized and basically sealed shut). FALSE. With a little elbow grease, they opened just fine. You better believe we were gasping for air! At least we did it though and after the shed project is complete, our SWEET reward will be one of the best lobster rolls on the coast. Hallelujah!

And now on to other things.

My mom and I went to Newburyport, MA on Thursday. I love this place! Quaint, cute little shops, cobblestone sidewalks; it's spectacular. In fact, we discovered a vintage shop and had a blast. I bought a navy blue/white polka-dotted dress and this exquisite pair of multi-polka dotted heels. Yay! Which brings me to my next little written excursion...

I love vintage stuff. I'm sure I've said it before, but I was meant to live in the late 1940s and early 1950s. When we visit Newburyport, we always stop into this antique shop called Flukes & Finds & Friends. It's one of our favorites. Anyway, I have this desire to own vintage luggage including a hat box. I just think they are so fantastic, magnanimous even. And I found this set in the antique shop and I oooohed and aaaahhhed over it and opening each piece and just squealing with girlish delight. You see, I have this vision: I am off to visit somewhere amazing (eh hem EUROPE eh hem) and I step off the train in this wonderfully fitted empire waist, knee-length dress, white gloves, carrying vintage luggage, ready for some enchanting adventure. Come on, you have go to admit it's pretty cool. It's one of my dreams. I didn't buy the set because I am waiting to find the perfect set. The set I found was lovely but not perfect so I'm waiting and dreaming. Plus when I'm not using them, they'll make a nice side table to set my books on, don't you think???

And while I dream I think I am going to purchase this vintage beaut (but in yellow, not red)
And P.S. I ran an 8-minute mile on Friday. WAHOO!!! And my mom just came into my room doing a boogie singing "All the Single Ladies." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the infinite reasons I love my family; unexpected moments resulting in gut-busting laughter. I love my family and have never been so happy to be home.

sunday scribblings: my style

"A mix of the classic and modern with a feminine twist." -Ivanka Trum

My fashion icons: Jackie Kennedy Onassis; Grace Kelly; Audrey Hepburn

Some of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe are my A-line skirts; pink "Jackie O" dress; navy blue button up "blouse" dress; pointed-toe brown pumps accented with a small button; ballet neck shirts; button up blouses under sweaters, fun blouses

I like simple, unique pieces of jewelry: pearls, pendants, beaded bracelets and necklaces, pins, dangling earrings, jewel earrings, & rings

My favorite colors to wear: green, purple, brown, and orange!