Oh Harriet...

I distinctly remember reading the book Harriet the Spy (by: Louise Fitzhugh) at age 5. I was in first grade and my mom would help me read it although at certain points. I recall sounding words out and guessing what happens next while tucked into bed, not too tucked because I didn't like that but the covers were folded under me as if I were a delicate pastry, although I ALWAYS kicked the covers out ( and never wore socks). Then in 1996 the movie came out and although I didn't go see it in theaters I distinctly remember going to my best friend Christin's house and having our moms pop popcorn and chat in the kitchen  while we sat in the living room, idolizing the brave Harriet who had come to life on the silver screen. I wrote down my favorite quote all those nights ago and it reads "I want to remember everything, I want to know everything." - Harriet the Spy.

I know, I know it is hard to imagine that I remembered that long ago being 22 currently, but two things have recently occurred  ONE: I found my long lost Hello Kitty diary although it wasn't the actual Hello Kitty, it was the dalmatian dog I want to say "Spotty" ?!, and re-read it simply amazed at the fact that I literally wrote every single day, secretly wishing that I was 8 years old again, when my only problems were excelling in soccer and dealing with the frustrations of Piney Grove Elementary School. Yes, I was an AR reader and I did in fact read this book BEFORE I saw the movie ( some habits never die), however I hid this journal from my parents and especially brother... I can only recall the horrors of walking into my room and hearing my mother read my journal aloud. Yes, even at a young age, with the horridly misspelled words I wrote about boy problems, and am proud to say that my new journal, the "grown up Me" doesn't have any boy drama to worry about, much less write about. Anyways the point is, this entry has been an ode to Harriet the Spy, the real and wonderful inspiration that got me writing in the first place.

A Whole year and 3 days!

WOW! I can't believe so much time has passed!! That is kind of crazy,  so much has changed. My beautiful first pet dog died in November 2011 (Tucker) and then lets see, my parents separated and are planning on divorcing, which happened around February 2012, and a week after that my "handsome solider" broke up with me and maybe 2 months later I found out his new girlfriend is pregnant. So needless to say my 21st year has been the hardest year of my life, however, after getting myself together, talking to awesome people and surrounding myself with amazing friends I began my journey to "recovering myself" in May. Even though so much has changed a few close friends have stayed in my life... shout out to Claire at SWEET VIRGINIA BREEZE (blog). Anyhow here's to a new year, a new beginning and lots and lots of new adventures!

For my 22nd birthday I met up with my brother in Boone, NC [he goes to Appalachian State University] and went camping and then hiking! It was so amazing and so much fun! Here are some pics :) 

camping at Grandfather Mountain

On the AT

burning chair

First Summit with brother!!

Camping with friends :) Everyone should do it!

WARNING THIS COCKTAIL IS AMAZING

Okay. Prepare yourself for a highly delicious and very dangerous cocktail... if you love coffee this one is for you.
Alrighty so there are only two ingredients, the first is:

illy brand cappuccino, which you can get from your local Fresh Market. These things blow Starbucks out of the water, and they have much less calories! We use the illy pods at home for our cappuccino maker so when we saw this we knew we had to have it!

This is the second ingredient, Pinnacle Whipped. It is amazing, and sweet just like whipped cream. 

The recipe is simple: 

2-3 oz of the pinnacle whipped 

1 can of the Illy

Fill a glass halfway with ice, then pour the vodka in over it. Add the coffee and mix well. That's it... it's so simple and it is sooo delicious! Enjoy! 

Pecan Sour Cream Waffles

These are to die for! Thank you Alton Brown for this wonderful discovery! Seriously they are perfectly moist, with the crunch of the pecans, oh, seriously it may be my new favorite recipe for waffles. AND its perfect for fall! So here is the recipe along with some pictures I snapped along the way. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped fine

Heat waffle iron. Combine wet ingredients and whisk well to combine. 

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl and form a well in the center

 Add the wet mixture to the well and fold in with the dry. Don't worry if there are a few lumps. Stir in pecans just before cooking,

Pour the desired amount into your heated waffle maker. ** be sure to spray with PAM before you add the mix.

We were out of regular maple syrup so I found this in the back of our pantry.... AMAZING you have to try it if you are a ginger fan!

Bon appetit!

21 at last

It's official everyone, I am FINALLY 21. The fateful day came on Sunday and it was amazing. Mostly because I was in Boone, NC and got to see my handsome brother!! He goes to Appalachian State University btw and its about 6 hours away from my house... and while this birthday was definelty an unconventional one... (no cake or pie or anything !) it was rewarding in other senses, that is minus the crazy Boone weather, and serious sunburn I got while there. Anyways its good to be 21, now I can make pasta with vodka sauce without relying on someone to buy me the vodka! hooray!

Naughty...

Here's the thing... I've been super bad lately. So my 21st birthday is this coming SUNDAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY I'm so excited...

So back to being bad. I kind of sort of bought myself an early birthday present. Or really presents and they are the following:

Born Standing Up ( a biography about Steve Martin in his comedic years)
A Room With a View
Jane Eyre
On the Road
David Copperfield
The Awakening
Anne Frank
Balzac & the little Chinese girl
Beloved
Brave New World
Brick Lane
An American Tragedy
Autobiography of a Face
Crime & Punishment
The Curious Incident
and finally Cousin Bette


I'm sooo excited to start reading!

The wrapped twinkle lights

Who doesn't love twinkle lights? As a teenager I have to admit I had them everywhere in my room, and I also became obsessed with the movie You've Got Mail, more specifically the scene where Meg Ryan  gives an ode to twinkle lights, which then becomes sad because she goes on to remember her dead mother but anyways. Twinkle lights = perfection.

The only problem I have with these beautiful, inexpensive, bringers of cheer is the ugly green cording. While I know it helps with the whole Christmas tree aspect, being able to blend in and all, it kind of is tacky. So of course    I decided to brain storm ideas to fix the problem, spray paint? acrylic paint? and then it hit me. Ladies and Gentlemen I am in fact a moron to not have thought of this sooner. WRAPPED and no I don't mean in a tortilla, although that certainly works for Chipotle (yummy) but in ribbon! It's so easy and I have tons of left over ribbon, and what else can add to this equation to make it perfect...? uh hello.... the herpes of all crafts... yes I'm talking about GLITTER (apologies for the gross reference)!

So first things first: make sure you have some lights that actually work. ( I actually completed this first strand and then when I plugged it in half of them didn't work so I had to unwrap allllll of it and that is horrible) I would also go ahead and set out the ribbon and pick out your glitter.

The next thing I did was put glitter on the lights, the part that holds the tiny bulbs in. Now I tried using just regular old tacky glue first and I found that it made a huge mess SO  I used this super bright pink nail polish I had and never use haha. It worked great! None of the glitter has rubbed off, so thats a plus but if you don't have any nail polish you want to use I would just use glue. I also used some of the Martha Stewart Glitter, sold at all Michael's stores. Its the best glitter, I'm obsessed. If anyone wants to know specifics just let me know :)

So once the glitter was dried I just wrapped all of the green cord in ribbon, and I actually ran out so I had some scrap fabric that I used also.

This whole project kind of took a while, the wrapping gets tedious BUT I was hooked and watching Gilmore girls so I really didn't even notice after the time went by. So Voila! The finished project! Turned on and off, I hope you enjoy!