Fall 2012 Bucket List

First off, I’d like to give a shout out to Jane, one of my favorite bloggers, who writes In The Pink & Green. She’s got an awesome blog, writes well, has a great sense of style and seems like such a sweetheart. I hope to meet her one day! Yesterday she posted a Fall 2012 bucket list and inspired me to make my own.

Food

• Bake at least 1 new recipe with pumpkin
• Bake at least 1 new recipe with apples
• Make 1 new recipe per week using my CSA produce
• Use the double waffle iron I won on The Shiksa’s blog

Fitness/Health

• Run at least one registered 5k – the Pajama Run and/or the Reindeer Run
• Reduce sugar intake during the week, feel less guilty about indulging on the weekends
• Continue doing 30 pushups and/or 1 minute planks every hour at work with Dane

Education

• Attend a cooking class
• Read at least one book a week (I know, I’m crazy.)
• Go to the 30th Annual That BIG Book Sale
• Attend a Wine Awesomeness Wine School class

Fun

• Have a girls’ beach house weekend on IOP using the gift certificate Amanda & I won from the Bacardi contest
• Celebrate my baby brother’s 16th birthday – ahh!
• See Breaking Dawn Part II on November 16th…at midnight, of course
• Halloween!!

Travel

• Go to at least 1 college football game this  year
• Visit my family in Massachusetts
• Visit my grandparents in North Carolina

Fall officially starts September 22nd and ends December 21st. I have plenty of time to cross everything off!

What’s on your Fall bucket list?

What’s your favorite thing about Fall? I bet 50% of you are going to say PSLs….

What I’m Loving Wednesday 8.15.12

1. For the longest time, I thought that the monogram stickers on girls’ cars were awful. But not as awful as the “Salt Life” stickers. What the hell do those even mean?! However, when I saw a fancy X, my credit card flew out of my purse. All on its own, I swear!

I suppose one letter isn’t as awful as all three. Nancy, I know you are shaking your head.

2. The day before I left Flat Rock, something made me look up The Christmas Tree Shops, a store that I frequented while living in Massachusetts. To those who aren’t aware, this place is not a Christmas store. It is a mecca of bargain-priced “necessities.” My mom used to drag me to The Christmas Tree Shops when I was little, specifically when we were at the Cape. (The windmill location!! <---Danielle, you know this!) Much to my surprise, a store had opened in Greenville, SC. I almost had a heart attack and definitely made a point to stop there on my way home. Pure nostalgia.

3. When my grandmother took my brother clothes shopping, they brought me home a Hello Kitty pen. I don’t care how old I am, I will never be too old for anything Sanrio.

4. This picture. I believe this was circa 1991.

5. I’ve been on a cracker kick lately. The Trader Joe’s Roasted Gorgonzola flavored crackers did not disappoint. I foresee myself buying this regularly. Don't be afraid if you don’t like gorgonzola; they have just the slightest hint of cheese.

6. After posting about Casual: The Series on Monday, I got a tweet from Lauren, the actress who plays Girl. Brush with fame, what! If Brian tweeted me, I would probably pass out.

Have you watched it yet? Get on it!

7. Thanks to Klout, I received a great perk: free business cards from Moo! (Add me as an influencer!) Though the options were very limited, I managed to make some adorable two-sided cards. Here’s the proof:

FRONT

BACK

And just like that I got a craving for cookies.

 

xo!

The Friday Five

1. What I’ m Reading: Though I’m in the middle of Fifty Shades Freed, I really needed a break. I loved the second book of the trilogy, but now it’s just so repetitive of…well, you know what. I switched it up to something more serious.

Those Who Save Us book description:  For fifty years, Anna Schlemmer has refused to talk about her life in Germany during World War II. Her daughter, Trudy, was only three when she and her mother were liberated by an American soldier and went to live with him in Minnesota. Trudy's sole evidence of the past is an old photograph: a family portrait showing Anna, Trudy, and a Nazi officer, the Obersturmfuhrer of Buchenwald.
Driven by the guilt of her heritage, Trudy, now a professor of German history, begins investigating the past and finally unearths the dramatic and heartbreaking truth of her mother's life.
Combining a passionate, doomed love story, a vivid evocation of life during the war, and a poignant mother/daughter drama, Those Who Save Us is a profound exploration of what we endure to survive and the legacy of shame.

2. What I’ m Listening to: This song is fun!

3. What I’ m Wearing: My Grammy from Massachusetts arrived Wednesday. I’m so excited to spend time with her over the next 6 weeks. She even brought me an early, early birthday present: a Cape Cod Screwball bracelet.

I’ve been wanting one for a while to match the necklace that I got for my 21st birthday.

4. What I’ m Eating: I lose all self control when a bag of these are in front of me:

I like to eat 1/2 of a Mr. Goodbar and 1/2 of a Krackel at the same time. Weird, I know

5. What I’ m Doing This Weekend: Bring on wedding season!

• Friday rehearsal dinner for a wedding I’m going to with my friend Andrew and his sister, Katie, who is my blend!!
• Saturday wedding  and reception at the Charleston Yacht Club
• Beach time for Mother’s Day with Grammy and Auntie Kelly
• Hopefully a pedicure somewhere in there!

What Is Your State Known For? Round 2.

My blog has really morphed into much more than a food blog and I’m very happy with it. I’ve been very hesitant to write posts that were not food-related, but ironically, these posts have been incredibly successful. Examples of posts I second-guessed writing:

• The Joys of Being Single – Do I really find joy in embarrassing myself over the internet? Yes, I do.
• What Is All This Crap? – Revealing the junk inside my purse. Oh, and a video of me hula hooping. Normal for a 26 year old?
• The Dialect Vlog and Foodie Terms That Make Me Cringe – Some would consider these offensive, others would love them. I’m just really opinionated about language and grammar! Not sorry!
• Confessions of a Single Girl – this is a must-read if you’re in need for a laugh. Or a jaw-drop.

I am officially declaring Friday as the day for fun posts. Of course I will continue writing about healthy living, but it’s fun to shake things up a bit!

Last week I posted about what each of the United States is known for, food-wise. The majority of you agreed with your state’s quintessential food, while some of us disagreed and could immediately think of something better. I still think South Carolina should have been grits! I found a new map this week.

This is shameful, really. South Carolina is known for the most mobile homes. AWESOME! My home state (Massachusetts) is known to be the worst drivers. That’s pretty accurate. According to this map, I belong in Ohio.

Not surprisingly, this caused quite a heated debate on the original site, and a rebuttal was made.

Click on the image to enlarge or read the list here. Yay positivity! So South Carolina is known for having the most golf holes per capita. I can’t believe how random and unexciting that is. I had to laugh at Ohio being known for nerdiest state on the other map, and most library visits on this map. Makes sense!

Do you agree or disagree with these maps?

If anyone’s looking for me, I’m in North Dakota. ;)

What Food Is Your State Known For?

The other day, the site My Food Looks Funny posted a pictorial representing what food each American state is known for. When I first glanced at the map, I couldn't even make out South Carolina's food.

Luckily the legend informed me that it was a benne wafer. For those of you who have never heard of them, a benne wafer is a thin cookie made with toasted sesame. Benne (the Bantu-word for sesame) was brought from East Africa and planted extensively throughout the South. The seed has a nutty, sweet aroma with a milk-like, buttery taste. When toasted, its flavor intensifies, yielding an almost almond- or peanut butter-like flavor.Having lived in both Massachusetts and (briefly) Hawaii, I agree with their associated foods: clam chowder and pineapple, respectively.

My little cousin Maddie, enjoying her clam chowder last summer:Baby Xtina in Honolulu. What the fluff did my mom make me wear!? I look as if I liked it!

States that made me jealous were Maine (lobster), Vermont (Ben & Jerry's ice cream), and New York (pizza). Should I move back North?

I had absolutely no idea what North and South Dakota's were: knoeplah and chislic. Apparently knoeplah is a dumpling and chislic is cubed red meat. Anyone heard of either of these two?

What is your state's quintessential food? Do you agree that your state should be known for it? And do you regularly eat it? I don’t think benne wafers should have been South Carolina’s food. I was expecting it to be grits!

I’m really hoping that one of my Utah friends can explain the green jello thing…

I'm baaaack! Massachusetts Goodies and Mosaic Blogger Meet Up

I'm back in the dirty South! I had so much fun visiting my family and can't wait to go back again. While I was there, I found a bunch of new fun foods. The very first day I found the Peanut Butter & Co. Mighty Maple peanut butter at Hannaford for only $3.89. Another place I wanted to pick up nut butter was at Trader Joe's!  My aunt Jennifer brought me to their location in Acton, where I grew up.

We found lots of goodies and had fun checking out their products. Jennifer wanted to buy this just for the name:

After a week's worth of random food and souvenir shopping, my suitcase became so full I had to sit on it to zip it shut. No big deal, right? Well, when I got to the airport, it was 10 lbs over the limit! I opened up my suitcase to put stuff in my carry-on and because it was so packed, it popped open and bras and underwear went flying all over...oh, and peanut butter jars and brownie mixes, too. Oh, the life of a foodie. Here are all the goodies I brought home:

• Peanut Butter & Co. Mighty Maple peanut butter 
• Peanut Butter & Co. Rip-Roaring Raspberry jelly
• No Pudge! Fudge Brownie Mix, Cappuccino
• Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Brownie Mix
• Trader Joe's Sesame Honey Almonds
• Trader Joe's Almond Butter with Flax Seeds
• Maine Blueberry Honey (can't wait for this on my Blueberry Ricotta pancakes!! 

I was so excited to take home all these goodies, even if it meant that 50% of my souvenirs from Massachusetts/Maine were FOOD items! When I got home Tuesday night, I had a package waiting for me. I recently became facebook friends with the manager of one of our local Chick-fil-As. For being such a "raving fan", he sent me some gifts:

In the box were 2 stuffed cows, 2 football-shaped koozies, a pencil sharpener, a Pez dispenser, a towel, and lotssssss of coupons! Thank you to Rick & Debbie Blind of the Centre Pointe location! :)

Yesterday was my first day back to work, yuck, but I had a blogger meet up to look forward to. For dinner, Erica, Lindsay, Blair, Amelia, Kerr, Katie, and  I met up at Mosaic Cafe in Mt. Pleasant. Mosaic Cafe is an adorable restaurant that strives to use local ingredients and focuses on seasonal cuisine. The menu is full of soups, sandwiches, and salads. I chose the Oriental Chicken Salad: chicken breast salad (sesame seeds, snow peas, scallions & walnuts), carrots, sprouts, crunchy noodles, grape tomatoes, with a sesame-ginger vinaigrette for $10.95. 

It was pretty good, but not fantastic. I'm not sure if it was from the chicken or the dressing, but it was extremely salty. And my salad didn't have any snow peas, scallions, or walnuts on it. Hmmm. I still had a great time catching up with all the ladies and meeting Katie and Kerr for the first time. :) Here we are inside the restaurant. 

From left, Blair, Erica, Kerr, Katie, Lindsay, Amelia, me:

 

And another pic from outside. I purposely wore flats so I would be as short as Erica. She ended up wearing heels and we were still the same height! :)

Remember my 3-week Abstinence from Alcohol challenge? It's almost over!! The time is length is random, I know, but we decided to do it on the 10th, and just wanted to do it until the end of the month. On Saturday, I'll be celebrating the fact that I have been able to go without a sip of alcohol for 3 whole weeks -- even while on vacation! I'm a little afraid that a couple sips of wine will have me falling out of my chair. I better surround myself with good company!

One more thing: I added a new tab a couple weeks ago: Foodie Goodies. It's a page dedicated to my absolute favorite food products. Check it out and let me know what your favorites are! I'm always looking for new items to add!

Pumpkin Muffin Blogging with Nolan & Braden

It's 73* here in Townsend, MA which feels like fall to me. Pumpkin muffins in July? Sure, why not. Since I got here on Tuesday, I've been staying at my aunt Jennifer's with her and her three boys: Jackson, Braden, and Nolan. Nolan pulled out a box of Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread. I'm usually disturbed by baking anything out of a box, but Jennifer showed me how she "healthifies" this treat. 

Here is my 4-year-old assistant, Nolan, with the pumpkin mix:

Although they have no idea what a blog is, he and Braden wanted to take photos, too. Future bloggers?

Braden even took pictures of the muffin liners.

Nolan read the instructions while I pulled out ingredients for Jennifer's healthy version.

The boxed recipe has you combine the mix with 1 cup of milk, 1/3 cup of oil, and 2 eggs. We added skim milk, 1/3 cup canned pumpkin instead of oil,

and egg beaters instead of regular eggs. Nolan was shocked at how two minor tweaks could save so many calories!

He mixed up the batter and sampled it to make sure it was still tasty.

His "taste" was more like a muffin's worth of batter.

We threw in some Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips in half of the muffins to, um, balance out the flavor?

While the muffins baked, I calculated the difference in the Pillsbury version (with oil & eggs) versus Jennifer's version (with pumpkin & egg beaters). Here is the calorie/fat info for the muffins without chocolate chips.

	Calories	Fat Grams
Pillsbury Version	203	8.5
Jennifer’s Version	145	1.5
Savings	58	7.5

Quite a difference! Not only do you save calories and a whole lot of fat, you add Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron by using the canned pumpkin. The muffins are moister and taste more pumpkiny! Nolan was very happy with the results!

Do you ever use packaged mixes for baked goods or do you prefer homemade treats? Have you ever made substitutions like we did? How did it affect the taste or texture? What's your favorite packaged dessert? Favorite homemade dessert?

Greetings from Massachusetts!

Hi Hi hello!!


Day 1 in Massachusetts down, 6 more to go...I'm ready to move back.


Peanut Butter & Co. peanut butter is $3.89 at Hannaford's. This is not a joke.

I rolled down a hill today. Like I threw my body and rolled down my aunt's front lawn...just because I can. (There are no hills in Charleston.) I have reverted back to 5-year-old status.


I saw this nice lady at the DC airport. My cousin, the 9-year-old bad-butt, snapped the photo for me because I was too scared.

And I'm blogging from my cousin Jackson's bedroom. It's fancy.

Updates soon!


LOVE!