COULD IT BE?

The most delicious cake is now available in a cookie form! I mentioned making red velvet cookies on previous post and it sounded like something everyone wanted to try, so....here's the recipe!!

Red Velvet Cookies
from Joy the Baker (who originally got if from Rachael Ray)

*1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
*1 tbsp of cocoa
*1/2 tsp of salt
*1/2 tsp of baking soda
*5 tbsp butter
*3/4 cup of sugar
*1 egg
*1 tbsp red food coloring (i used 1 tsp and it was fine)
*1 tsp vanilla
*1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don't have this, you can substitute it. put 1/2 tbsp of white vinegar in a measuring cup. fill the rest of the 1/2 cup with milk. let sit for 5 minutes and you have yourself some buttermilk {kinda})

Preheat oven to 350.
Line cookie sheets with foil. (DO NOT use Pam or oil. this will make the cookies spread out and the edges will be crunchy)
In one bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
In another bowl, cream the sugar and butter together. Then add in an egg, the food coloring, and the vanilla.
Mix the flour mixture and the buttermilk into the sugar mixture alternately.
This is supposed to make 10 large cookies, but I made smaller ones and used a spoon to measure them out. After putting them on the sheet, spread them out to the size of the cookie that you want. They won't bake much larger than how you spread them out.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.



Cream Cheese Frosting
from Food Network

*4 tbsp of unsalted butter
*4 ounces of cream cheese
*2 c of powdered sugar
*1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter and cream cheese together
Add in powdered sugar one cup at a time.
Mix in the vanilla.

In the original recipe for the cookies, it said to use a vanilla and chocolate frosting, but I think with red velvet, you have to have cream cheese frosting, so I replaced that part :)

ENJOY!

DELICIOUSNESS

I had a nice little craft day the other day and to finish up my night, I made cookies (again)! This time though, instead of making them with chocolate chips and caramel bits, I used mini M&Ms and peanut butter chips. They are very tasty, if I do say so myself, but they are a tad on the sweet side (i think its mostly because of the peanut butter chips).




Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

2 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp. of baking soda
1 tsp. of salt
2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla
2 eggs
1 package of peanut butter chips
1 package of mini M&Ms

*Mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Coat the peanut butter chips and M&Ms with mix.
*Cream butter with sugar and mix in vanilla.
*Add the eggs to the sugar mix.
*Slowly combine the two mixes.
*Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.



ENJOY!!

DO IT NOW!

I just finished one of the best books that I've read in a long time. The Condition by Jennifer Haigh was one that kept me interested the entire time. Each chapter was written from a different characters perspective and although the characters are related, they rarely crossed paths. This book follows a family that has to deal with a child with Turner's syndrome; they also all have their own problems also which is why I think the title refers to each character, not just the one with an actual condition. With each chapter following a different character, you get to see their side of the story and you also get to follow them to the past and see what parts of their lives have made them who they are. I found it really interesting the way the family deals with the other members and how they each lead their own lives; not every one knows what each other are doing day in and day out. This kind of raises questions as a reader because you wonder how the others would act if they actually knew. I recommend this book to everyone! It's more detail and past oriented rather than following a specific plot, but trust me, it will keep your interest!

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Day 76:



Yesterday, Sara and Kayla went to the farmer's market downtown. I unfortunately couldn't go because I had to go to work, but I had a nice surprise waiting for me when I got home from work! They picked up some lovely flowers that I am now keeping in my room :) There is a beautiful sunflower (my favorite!) and three other ones, red, purple, and pink (i dont know what kind they are). My roommates are so thoughtful! :)

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Today was uneventful, but I really enjoyed it! Besides finishing my awesome book, I also made a trip to the library and the grocery store. I left with good things from both. From the library, I got Practical Magic and The Maltese Falcon. I love the movie Practical Magic, so I'm interested to see if they are similar or it they differ like other movie adaptations. As for The Maltese Falcon, I saw this as Barnes & Noble once and thought it looked really good. It's a detective novel, so I'm sure I'll like it!

From Kroger, I got oreos, cream cheese, and chocolate chips. Can anyone guess what I made??



OREO BALLS!

They were delicious. And it only took three simple ingredients to make them! Most of the time, people make them with white chocolate, but I'm not a big fan of it, so I took the same route I do with Buckeyes (peanut butter balls) and used semi-sweet chocolate chips. I really want another one, but I've already eaten too many!



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I also received another award! It's the Versatile Blogger Award from Natasha over at Natasha's Corner.



So now onto the rules:

Thank the person who gave you the award:
Thank you Natasha!! I'm so glad I stumbled across your blog. I've only know about it for a little while, but so far, I'm really liking it!

Share 7 Thinks About Yourself:
1. I really want to see a whale jump out of the water before I die :)
2. I would LOVE to see a polar bear in real life, not just on tv
3. I consider myself a very family oriented person and I would do anything for any of them
4. I only have a few really close friends, but I adore each and every one of them
5. My greatest fear is a bridge collapsing while I'm on it
6. I'm jealous of people who are musically inclined
7. I'm glad I started blogging!!

Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs that you think are fantastic:
Like Natasha said, 15 is so many!! I'm always trying to find new blogs (sometimes i forget the ones that ive already visited...is that bad??) I'll do my best though!
Ok, so I looked through the blogs that I follow, and I only technically have 4 new ones that I've recently started following! I've been following the other for a while now. In order to avoid cheating, I'm just going to nominate those 4 :)

Alfie @ Coffee and Stilettos
Rhiannon Nicole @ Hey Gorgeous
Jennifer @ more than a MOMMY
The Zhush

Let your nominees know about the award:
DONE!

Again, thanks Natasha for the award!

DAY 72

Day 72:



When I got home tonight, I was really craving something refreshing and delicious. That's when I thought about making a smoothie! I now feel super full from something that tasted great and was healthy. I made it out of strawberry yogurt, a banana, a handful of strawberries (both frozen and fresh), soy milk, and ice. I must say, I think I'll be making this a lot this summer, with the heat and long work days, I need something this easy and good when I get home.

DAY 62

Day 62:

Like I mentioned yesterday, I attempted to make homemade thin mints today, key word = attempted. They turned out more like mint chocolate cookies, but they are delicious. I don't know what went wrong from the recipe to how they turned out, but I still think they are pretty dang tasty! I got the recipe from here and it seemed simple enough, but I really can't think of what was different between what I used and what the recipe called for. After mixing everything together, you were supposed to end up with small pebbles; this is what I ended up with:


So, I thought well, I'll try and still form a log with everything and see what happens. I was able to make the log and let it set in the fridge, but then when I went to cut it to get the circles, the dough ran together so I just cut some chunks off and formed balls of dough. I haven't yet put the topping on yet (im waiting until i get back from work tonight), but I'll let you know how it turns out sometime later on in the weekend!

Now on to Little Women. Everyone said to continue with it and I'm really trying, but I think I've discovered my problem. The print is too small! I feel so overwhelmed when I look at the page and the writing it tiny and it is all squished on the page. Solution: go to the library and check one out with larger print. Problem: library doesn't have another copy. Solution: order one off Amazon for $.15. PROBLEM SOLVED!
In the meantime, I'll be reading The Condition by Jennifer Haigh. I got this book as a "Bargain Book" from Barnes & Noble a while back so I'm pretty excited to read it!

I also went shopping today! I was trying to find a dress for tomorrow for my stepdad's retirement party, but I didn't really have too much luck. I first went to my second home, Target, and found a mint colored dress that was really cute on, but when I sent the picture to my mom to see if she liked the color, she said that she didn't so I continued on my quest. I kept comparing dresses to this one, and none were as cute! I wanted something different from my usual blue and purple, but I couldn't find one that I really liked. So eventually I found a blue and purple one (shocking!) at Kohl's and then went back to Target to get the mint one. Now I have to decided if I want to keep both of them or return one. I'm kind of leaning toward keeping them :)

Here's the Target one one the left and the one from Kohl's on the right. Does anyone have an opinion as to which one I should return? (or if i should keep both?)

UPDATES

Ok, I have some updates.

Shoes:
I saw another employee wearing Toms this Saturday at work, so I am EXTREMELY tempted to purchase a pair! I have the canvas color, but the black ones would be good for work and for just walking around campus. They are so comfortable, but I still don't know how they would do for a 8 hour shift...I might just have to try them out!

Television:
I am a very disappointing fan of Grey's Anatomy. I haven't watched it at all for the past couple of months! I'm hoping to get caught up before the finale though. Hopefully, it will be possibly after finals and all of my tests are done.
As of this morning, I have only 3 episodes left of Friends before I start over. For a couple of years now, I have been watching them in the morning while I get ready and I've probably gone through the entire series 5 or 6 times. On that note, I think it's time to start a new series. I'm thinking That 70's Show or Will & Grace...both would be very entertaining in the morning!

365 Picture Thing (i still don't know what to call it):
Technically, I only have a picture for Friday, not Saturday or Sunday. So this is what I'm thinking...the whole point is just to post a picture for every day...since I missed those days, I'm going to post a picture of something that happened or that I thought about that day :)

Day 13:
On Friday, a student organization was giving away free snow cones and cotton candy on campus! I took a picture, but I'm too lazy to go get my camera right now :)

Day 14:
I worked a 12 hour shift...not much was going on in my mind but Macy's, Macy's, Macy's...

Day 15:
For dinner, we had a delicious homemade pizza! This was one of them...the buffalo chicken pizza. The recipe is on Sara's blog My Fancy Tuna!

Movies:
This weekend, I really wanted to see Avatar. It was at the student center on campus for $1, but I just didn't have the time to go :( But, on Thursday, we did go to see Ferngully, which I have to admit was very strange. I think if I would have seen it when I was younger then I would have liked it a lot more.

Holgas:
I haven't had the time to upload my Holga pictures, but I'm hoping I'll be able to upload them sometime this week!

Sketches:
Cade wanted me to paint him so pictures of guns (no, not redneck at all!), so I decided that I should start by sketching them. I only have the outline of one of them done right now, but I'm going to try and finish it sometime this week. I will post a picture of it when I'm done!

I think that's all for the updates! Hopefully, I'll actually take a picture for today :)

TASTY DINNER

FIRST DAY OF SPRING IN 20 DAYS!! YAY!
Spring = best season (hands down)

So for dinner tonight, I decided to make chicken pot pie. YUM. I love this stuff. It's not just the kind that you pop into the oven from the box, it's the kind you actually mix with your hands (fun).

This is also my first recipe that I'm posting on here!

Here's what you need:

> 2 deep dish pie shells
> 1 can of Veg-All (I use the original, salted kind)
> 1 can of green beans (kitchen cut work best)
> 1 can of corn
> 2 cans of shredded chicken
> 1 can of cream of potato soup
> an egg, beaten

You can probably make this in a ton of different ways, but I'll just write my method.

First, I mix the cream of potato soup with milk (probably about 1/4 cup, but I don't measure it).

Then, mix in salt, pepper, thyme, and poultry seasoning (we don't have poultry seasoning at the apartments so I use basil and oregano which works fine).

Drain the chicken. Squeeze it to get all of the liquid out of it and break it apart when you put it into the mixture with the cream of potato soup.

Drain all of the vegetables. Mix them into the mixture (I like to mix it with my hands, this way you don't smash any of the vegetables).

Dump the mixture into one of the pie shells. VERY CAREFULLY take the other pie shell out of the pan (an easy way is to get the sides off first, then flip it on top of the filled crust, and the bottom should come off pretty easily).

Now, brush the beaten egg on the shell (it will make it shiny and brown while it's cooking).

Last, but not least, pop it in the oven at 350° for about 40 minutes. You'll know when it's done because it will look at pretty and brown :)

plus equals

ENJOY!

PS: During midterms, this pie serves as very good comfort food :)