Guess Who This Is?

I have a confession. Usually when I get a call from an unknown number, my curiosity meter goes off the charts and I have to answer because I have to know who it is. I'm so intrigued! Today I had a call from a Maryland number...huh? I almost ignored it but then remembered my pal Amy is home in Delaware and maybe she was calling from a cell number or something....I don't know but I thought I had better answer it. BOY am I EVER so glad that I did! It was my brother, who is currently out serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Communication is pretty strict/limited so the missionaries can focus on their mission; they are only allowed to call their family twice a year, Mother's Day and Christmas. Well, I answered this Maryland number and recognized instantly that it was Dane but I was so confused. Why was he calling me? Well, I guess it sometimes pays to have your parents out of the country so I got the privilege of being the one he called. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! And let me tell you, actually I can't. I can't tell you. But I can sure try to convey how much I adore my brother. He's a stud. I adore him to bits and pieces. LOVE him. He's my twin, 6 years my junior and one of my very best friends. We got to Skype for over an hour while I tried to email and text my mom, stepdad and brother who are currently in London. Fortunately I finally got in touch with them so he did get to chat with them too.

Hard at work while we Skyped. Gosh I love my brother!

Now. Let's backtrack a little. Last weekend was gloomy, crummy, and rainy. To be honest I kind of liked it because I was really tired and liked having the excuse to stay in. So what do I do when I am home bound?? I bake!!!!

I tried out a new pretzel recipe! DELISH! 

Rosemary sea salt pretzels. I will definitely be making these again! 

(Erinn and Stephanie, if you are reading this, these take substantially less time than the pretzels we made...but that was a blast and totally worth it!)

I decided to try out macaroons for the first time. 

Clearly I'm a rookie but they tasted really good.

Last Saturday night I went over to Amy's apartment with the goal to rearrange her living room. Bonus! I had Jimmy John's subs for the first time. It was good but let me tell you, it didn't have a thing on KHOP (Kingston House of Pizza). After about 30 minutes of moving her furniture all over the room, we finally got it right. We are VERY pleased with it! And another bonus!!! I learned how to use the panorama on my iPhone! 

Then on Sunday I decided to make homemade nutter butters. Holy catscans these are good. If you like peanut butter, these are for you. This isn't a very good picture so don't judge too harshly; I had already wrapped the good ones up and didn't feel like getting them out. 

Wednesday I went to dinner with a friend to a local burger joint that is supposed to be really good in honor of National Burger Month. It was SO good. I got the Surf 'n Turf which had spicy shrimp on it. You better believe I ate all 7oz. But don't worry, I practically starved myself the entire day to prepare for this. Well worth it friends, well worth it. 

Yesterday I booked our (that is, Scotty and I) flight how to New England in June. Scotty is moving back home to live with my brother and sister-in-law. You know what that means? Practicing in the dreaded carry-on bag. Poor Scotty. I hate it just as much as he does. 

I popped into the grocery store yesterday on the way home from work because I saw they had a sale on strawberries so, naturally, had to have some! They were beautiful!!! And tasted wicked good, which I was delighted by because the last bunch I bought were not so great. I got 3 pounds, probably ate at least half of a pound while I chopped these up to freeze. I plan on making banana strawberry ice cream with...bananas and strawberries. Seriously. That's all. Amy showed me because she made banana/peanut butter ice cream in her food processor and it was to die for. Thank you Pinterest. 

And finally, Happy Mom's Day!

Yay it's May!

So. 

Let's recap. 

This may be a long post BUT it has lots of pictures (and yes, a lot of food pics. Don't pretend to be shocked)!!! That means it'll mostly be pictures with my commentary. Muahaha!

Ye have been warned. Birthdays are kind of A HUGE deal for me. The bigger I can make it, the better. My pal Amy had her 24th birthday on the 23rd and the day before I had brilliant ideas poppin' out of my brain cells. I couldn't wait. These are the results:

*Eh hem* FIRST of all friends, let me just say I made my own caramel...WITHOUT a candy thermometer. WHABAM! And it was great! The author of the recipe said I could do it and she was right. Boy I felt like a million bucks. Also I'm glad because otherwise I would have had to make a late night trip to Wally-world (eh...) for caramels to melt (aka the cheapo way). Well, thank goodness it worked. 

 I felt it completely necessary that I "taste test" some so I put it atop some leftover brownies I had in the freezer and then thought, "what the heck?" and topped it with some sea salt and whipped cream, or "keem" as my darling nieces used to call it. Delish friends, DEE.LISH.

Now the point of making the caramel? Well, Amy's favorite candy bar, or one of, is Twix and I had pinned (I will admit, I am a Pinterestaholic. Yup. *no shame*) a homemade Twix recipe months ago and now had a reason to make them! YES! So I made 'em, cut up in attempt to make them kinda, sorta look like Twix bars and then got all crazy (this is what happens when I am scheming, the ideas just FLOOOOOW. It's amazing) and decided to wrap them up so they looked like candies. 

AND THEN. I decided that Twix bars weren't enough, because, like I said, I like to go ALL OUT on birthdays. I decided to make some peanut butter pudding cookies. Amy and I had made these together months ago and I remember us both devouring them so I thought these would be a hit. Instead of peanut butter chips, which I didn't have because I kind of decided to make them on the fly, I just used Reeses Pieces, peanut butter M&Ms, and chocolate chips. 

SOOOO YUMMY! And you know I taste tested that dough about 5 times. I gave her 24 cookies and she was kind enough to share. Mmmmm! 

THEN. And this was the AHA! moment I had right before I left work on Monday and decided to gather all my goods to super surprise Amy on Tuesday: decorate her desk/half of our office. Oh I was bursting with excitement! I got to work super early and decorated and was so nervous she would come in extra early (she always beats me) and I would be in the middle of decorating. Well, as it turns out she was running late and ended up getting in loooong after I had finished. Thank goodness. She was surprised and I was pleased. 

Now we decided to throw a birthday bash on Saturday and I got all crazy and made spinach dip (from a packet but it was from Mark from this fabulous store in Texas!) with homemade pita chips, and, now this is a big deal, guacamole. For the first time. By myself (which means without the guidance of Mark, who showed me how to make it). Now I realize it's not rocket science but I'm a baker, ok? This means I like specific amounts with specific ingredients and clear cut instructions. Cooking is a little more lenient in amounts and ingredients so I was a little nervous making this for the first time, and for a party no less. Fortunately, Mark is amazing and walked me through about 5 times. He even Skyped with me while I made a test batch. Yes he is that awesome. And yes I am pathetic. It's the curse of perfectionism. 

THEN. In my attempts to get back into making dinners more consistently that are a little more wholesome than a PB/honey sandwich, cereal, or a Greek yogurt, I found a super easy salad recipe which involved black beans, corn, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and a homemade cilantro-lime dressing. Friends, it's off the hook good. I added some spicy tilapia and whoa buddy it was good. YAY for leftovers! 

This shouldn't be anything new but I just am not feeling running as of late. I don't know why. Actually I do. April, well, after April 10th, April and I were not on good terms. No siree. Work sucked the life out of me (you work 3 weeks straight sans a day off and tell me how you feel. Yeah that's what I thought), I was recently asked to be the director of a girls camp my church does every year and usually the director is given this assignment months ago and I have kind of been thrown into the whirlwind of planning (with a mere 2 months to go until camp) while trying to get myself up to speed, plan, etc. etc. etc., while trying to maintain my personal sanity. This is no small task. I believe many of you would say, "Welcome to being an adult" or "Welcome to reality. Yeah well...fine. At least hand me some more cheese for my whining. Provolone preferably. Or sharp Havarti. 

I was talking to Amy, who is running a marathon this weekend and another in Philadelphia in November. I was telling her I didn't really want to run the Myrtle Beach mini-marathon (half marathon; I don't know why they call it a mini-marathon because there is nothing mini about 13.1 miles thankyouverymuch) in October. I didn't like the course and, I donno, just wasn't feeling it. Amy suggested I run the half marathon in Philly when she runs the full. 

DONE. I am slightly more motivated though probably not until after the chaos of June is over. But still. Now I have a goal. AND it's my first distance race. We're making a little trip out of it and driving up with a group of friends, a few others who are running the half and a few coming to cheer us on. I am pumped! And you better believe I will be running up the Rocky stairs! 

Next month this cutie will be back in NH to live with my brother and sister-in-law permanently. I'm a little heartbroken because I love him so, but I think it'll be better for him: more room to run around and two people to care for him. So I busted out his dreaded carry-on bag to get him ready for the flight home. I can already feel my stress level rising. 

Per the request of Amy, I made rolo cookies for her because this week has been a bust for us both. Like I'd turn down a request for cookies and the opportunity to bake. NEVER! 

And now for today. I had yesterday and today off. Yesterday was devoted to errands and today was my fun day. I let my mane go free--and it was windy so I looked like a human Mufasa--and busted out my mint cords and loafers, and you know that means I'm in for some serious fun. 

The fun started with Iron Man 3. Dude. First showing of the day cost me a whoppin' $4.75. That pleased me GREATLY. And hooooooly catscans it was a GREAT flick. Robert Downey Jr. is one of, if not my favorite actor. This role was made for him. Go see it. You will not be disappointed! Then I went to get froyo for lunch. It's been awhile since I had some. I got hazelnut, chocolate, and vanilla froyo and topped it with--ready for this??--chocolate chips, brownie bits, chocolate-covered pomegranate seeds, cocoa puffs (why not??) and topped it off with chocolate jimmies (or for those of you not from New England, chocolate sprinkles). Ooooooh yes I loved it! AND this makes me SO excited to go home in June to a) see Heath and Emma and my New England family and b) go to Lagos, the best ice cream place EVER. I'm drooling already. OHMYLANTUSIMSOEXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I decided to "pop in" to Anthropologie. Right. Pop in. Ha. I don't shop at Anthro for their clothes. Not quite my style, though cute. I shop for their kitchen stuff, sometimes home stuff, and random books/literature/note pads/writing stuff. I honed in on this cup and plate (pictured left) when I walked and I ended up walking up with that plate because I have an obsession with nautical stuff and therefore I had to have it. I also loved these little ceramic sailboats (pictured right), but what would I really do with them? Eh. Not worth $24. But still cute. 

LOVED this tape dispenser.  

And my eyes popped out of my head a little when I saw these AH-dorable sticky notes. And hello! There were 480 in there! But I told myself I have enough stationary/sticky notes (For now. But that's a lie. It was a tactic to talk myself out of them and it worked...this time). 

 Then I got home and the top I had ordered for my new bathing suit had arrived!!! My new suit is ready! Now, woman to woman--or hey if you're a man, woman to man but let's face it, what I am about to tell you is probably more exciting and understood by a woman--I had to order a smaller size in my bathing suit bottom. Yeah. I almost died with happiness. You know that feeling right? Oh yes. AMAZING. 

Now. May I please just tell you how much I adore my brothers. I can't even tell you. There are no words except to say I am the luckiest sister ever. I love and adore and admire these fine men. They are some of the best friends I will ever have. 

Heath (on the left) graduated from Brigham Young University the end of April in Electrical Engineering (WAHOO!!!!!), was accepted to the University of New Hampshire's law program, and got a scholarship. I am SO freakin' proud. And I get to see him and his fabulous wife in a month. We're going to have some serious sibling time. I CANNOT wait. 

Dane (on the right) is rockin' and rollin' as a missionary for our church--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is doing very well and I am SO proud of him. You can read about his experiences and adventures here.  

Finally, OneRepublic came out with a new album in March and friends, it is AAAMAZING. I LOVE IT. Michael Buble also came out with a new album in April, but, to be honest, I like OneRepublic's better, at least right now. And I found a really cool recipe for homemade rosemary soft pretzels. I think I'll give 'em a try tonight. And I thumbed through a macaroon recipe book at Barnes and Noble today (and used my iPhone to snap some of the recipes; does that make me a bad person? I did't want the whole book!), and I think I might try to make some macaroons tonight, or tomorrow. Hmm...baking and listening to OneRepublic? Yup that sounds like a swell evening to me!

BYU Flashback: Bocelli and the JFSB

My brother begins his college career and freshman year tomorrow at

 BYU (Brigham Young University), my alma mater!

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I'm ecstatic. I'm sad I'm not there to help him get settled in but I'll pass on that role to our mom and our brother (who will be a senior this year!!!) and his wife. I have, however, gotten to take part in it from afar answering frantic phone calls about where the WILK is, where he gets his ID, where the ASB is, where the best grocery story is, etc. I've given my bro a list of places he has to eat, things to look forward to, and a few tips of things not to do, you know, trying to pass on some sage wisdom from an alum. 

I know he'll love it. 

Anyway.

I was listening to some classical music today. Yes, I like--nay, love--classical music. Right now it's Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker soundtrack. Love it. Anyway. Occasionally a Bocelli track or a Josh Groban will play and since I've been doing a lot of reminiscing this weekend about my days at BYU, I thought I'd share one with you all. Don't act surprised when you get to the end.

I did not like studying in the library. I went there often, but I was not my favorite place to study. The building LOOKS pretty...and it is. But don't let that fool you.

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First of all it was always cold. Second of all, I was always hungry when I was studying but unless I was in the snack zone (aka the talk zone), I had to stealthily sneak food and that was just annoying. I know, I know, I could have left and ate somewhere but hello!, I didn't have time for that. Third of all I had to find a new study spot/floor every semester. Weird, I know, but it had to be done. Until...I found a great spot my junior year on the 5th floor (the top floor). It had the most windows and therefore the most light, which makes for a very happy Gabe. Plus I felt like it was the most removed from constant traffic and so it was (theoretically) quieter and more pleasant than the other floors. Well. It was until all of the sudden all the "cool" accounting kids and their friends turned my beloved floor  into flirting central/social hour every hour. 

FOR THE LOVE. 

Yeah. Not happy about that. AT ALL.

So I moved. I tried the Eyring Science Center (my major building), but it was too noisy and busy in there. It just didn't feel right. I tried my apartment but that's a baaaaaaaaaaad idea. Too distracting and plus, when I came home I wanted to be done (mostly, let's face it, in college you are never done) with the day. 

And then.

I don't know how I discovered this but one day I was in the JFSB (Joseph F. Smith Building) on the 4th floor and I found my spot. Let's back up for a sec. This building is probably one of, if not my absolute, favorite. It's beautiful. 

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It has a courtyard. WITH a fountain.
AND a spiral staircase!!!

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Now. Get this.

In the above picture, see where it looks like there is a light colored rectangle in the middle? Those are sitting areas. With comfy couches, plush chairs, and table and chairs. THIS is where I delighted in studying. 

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It was so quiet, cozy, and bright. There was artwork on the walls, lamps on side tables, a thick, ornate rug on the floor, and my favorite thing, a HUGE floor to ceiling window facing the courtyard for me to constantly look out of. Peaceful. Blissful. I loved it. When I was in 6th grade my mom told me that students who listened to classical music study better and retain more...or something like that. So ever since, I have always listened to classical music when I study. So. I would sit on the 4th floor of the JFSB at a table with my books and notes spread out (truthfully, so no one else would sit with me. Rude I know but a)I needed a lot of space and b) I was protective of my study area!) facing the huge window listening to Bocelli, Josoh Groban, Bach, etc. and study. I loved it. Especially when the sun was setting.

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I also had my humanities classes in this building and it was here that I discovered my love for art and fed my fascination for the humanities. I remember curling up on the couches in this building during my classes and reading "The Odyssey" or studying famous artists and memorizing their works. I distinctly remember several (dozen) times when I would be listening to Bocelli tracks, pausing to allow myself to daydream of watching the sun set in Italy.
I told you that was coming. Don't act surprised!
But it's true. It didn't matter what subject I was studying (chemistry, humanities, nutrient biochem); Bocelli would come on and after a few songs, I'd set my pen down and daydream of Italy, especially if the sun was setting. Now, fun fact. Get this. I just learned this today as I was Googling pictures of the JFSB. This information is taken from here.

"In 1536, the famous Renaissance painter and sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarroti, was given a commission to renovate the Piazza del Campidoglio on the famous Capitoline Hill in Rome. This hill is adjacent to the ancient Roman Forum, the seat of government for one of the most influential western empires. The piazza renovation went through a few different designs, and lasted ten years. In the end, the piazza included an overlapping petal pattern surrounding a twelve pointed star at its center."

So now you ask. Who cares? What's the point? Read on.

"Although seen from two different vantage points, the similarity between the two locations emerges. In fact, the two are almost identical." Yup now go look at the picture of the JFSB above again. Identical.

Unbeknownst to us all, I was merely channeling the Italian connect between the JSFB and Rome. This is also means that I am meant to go to Italy. Clearly. So, now I will go indulge in Bocelli, dream of Italy, and start planning a trip. 

On a side note. Remember my post about the pen thief? Well yesterday when I was in Fresh Market, I passed by a gentleman who looked familiar. I figured he might have been a patient of mine in which case I usually try to avoid eye contact because sometimes it's really awkward running into a patient at the store. I don't think they realize sometimes how much I know about them (stooling patterns, how often and what color they pee, I mean really, I know a lot about them). Today as I was sitting in church I almost exclaimed, "AHA!!!!" The gentleman was none other than the attempted pen thief!!!! What are the chances?

Now I'm off to make my asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with goat cheese. And dream of Italy. Again. And of the JFSB. Good times. 

And They Will Live Happily Ever After

The festivities of June 2012 have nearly concluded. 

Let's recap, shall we?

Week One: Dane's graduation

The beaming grad. Yay!

Madre and Me

Week Two: Mom and Dan's wedding in California

Awww the cute love birds! 

My *parents*!

Week Three: Heath and Emma's wedding in Washington (state)

This is my fav ^

My brothers right before Heath left to help with the final wedding preparations. 

I love my brothers. 

Dane and I dressed and ready to go!
I secretly hated that dress. Bad decision on my part.

Nick and Heath: childhood best friends

Nick flew all the way from NH to attend Heath's wedding. If that isn't the epitome of a best friend, I just don't know what is. 

Week Four: Scotty arrives...on Tuesday!!!! T-minus 2 days

I got off the plane yesterday and headed straight to the pet supply store to get a leash, a proper walking harness, food and water bowls, and some starter treats. I am SO EXCITED!!! I got off the phone with our neighbors who are sending him off tomorrow morning and they gave me an excellent report. He's ready! 

I am so excited for my little "luce"!

Now. Today is Sunday and I'm jet-lagged upon jet-lag so I was feeling very lazy. But then I remembered that I have to make some good rolls for Wednesday because I'm teaching my church's young women youth group how to make a quick, yummy roll (because we're talking about our divine rolls...haha, get it??! Sorry, couldn't pass that one up!) and to do that I needed a good, easy recipe. I thought I found one a few weeks ago, buuuuut I wasn't satisfied. I was about to give up the hunt when I spotted a homemade French roll recipe.

 French bread? 

Say no more. 

Done and done.So I read the recipe (easy) and off I went!

DIVINE.

I pulled them out of the oven and didn't even wait for them to cool. I popped one steaming hot piece in my mouth. Crunch!, followed by a tender, chewy inside. I put a little buttah on it and oooooooooooh my lantus I was in heaven. So I had another. And then polished off a third and told myself that was enough. 

DIVINE rolls indeed!