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!

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.