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"Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

- Unknown {source}

36 Things

I know I don't usually post twice in one day (or in the same two hours) but I just got this lovely email from my friend Erin and I HAD to share it with y'all! Attached to the email was this article called "36 Things Every Single Girl Must Do Before She Settles Down". It's written by Erin Meanley, a dating blogger at Glamour Magazine. Go here if you want to read the whole article, but below are some of my favorites!

1.  Go to a movie alone.

 

2.  Lift weights. When I bench-press 45 lbs., I feel like the bomb.

 

5.  Live alone, or at least move apartments in NYC without the help of family.

 

13.  Get drunk during the day, just because you can. Attend Santacon, the convention for Santas, or something similar.

 

17.  Be a good wingwoman. It's not always about you.

 

30.  Learn to cook well. I'm still working on this.

 

Although I'm not sure if I would be gutsy enough to try everything on the list, I can confidently say that I've done more than a few already, so it would be interesting to try the rest! Overall it seems to be a pretty good list. What do you guys think? Would you add anything else?

Back At It...

I know, I know I've been a massivly slack blogger lately. But I have an excuse! Last week had to of been one of THE most stressful weeks that I've experienced in a while. You know sometimes, you get to that point where everything that's been going wrong inevitably builds up until it can't anymore? Well that's kind of what happened to me. Between my car getting keyed thanks to the psychos downstairs by God only knows who, money issues, and life in general, I needed a little time-out. Thankfully this weekend was blessedly uneventful and relaxing. And now, on to a new week!

As far as this week is concerned I am excited for Labor Day, but sad at the same time because that means Summer is officially over and I am once again destined to become pale. But as I have previously discussed I love Fall, so I'm not too sad. USC's first football game is this Thursday and I am soooo excited to cheer on my Gamecocks. Me and some of my local alumni friends are going to watch the game at Carolyn's since it's apparently a Carolina bar. Ahh time to break out the garnet and black! Also in the mix for this week, my friend Monica is coming down tonight! She's coming for a Braves game since she got swindled into buying a ton of tickets and she has invited me along.

As for my weekend/holiday plans go, Kristin will by making her second appearance in ATL along with her boyfriend Brian. Hopefully I can find sooome way to entertain them. Since it's looking like a beautiful weekend I believe floating down the Hooch will be involved. Any who I saw this quote today and thought it went well with how I'm feeling this week, along with this cute picture of Audrey.

   "Sometimes, if not most of the time, 

you find out who you are by figuring out 

who and what you are not." 

- Kelly Cutrone

Pistachios, Cinnamon, and Weekend Recovery

Let me just start by saying this past weekend was a blast. And since it was a blast, I'm fairly certain that I have just now recovered. Hoo wee all the girls need to come back so we can do that again asap! Aside from that, I'm still too exhausted to come up with anything super clever, so I'm just going to post the two recipes I made last Thursday. One was delish. One...not so much. But here you go, failures and all.

First up are the pistachio cupcakes I made. For some reason these were a big womp womp in my opinion. I'm not quite sure what went wrong, but there was just something about them I didn't enjoy. One thing that did go wrong was the fact that I overbaked them. So the first batch was a little on the firm side. Also, even though I wasn't a huge fan of these, they were best within the first couple of days. I still have some hanging around and they're just not that great. I'm going to send you over to Annie's blog to get the recipe since she explains it so well. (annies-eats) I'll probably try these again another time to see if maybe I was having an off cupcake day. P.S. the ganache was really good.

Onnn to the next!

Now these were amaaazzinngg. Omg thank goodness I brought a pan of these to work or every one of these would have ended up in my belly and on my ass. I have never made home made cinnamon rolls before but I swear on my mixer that I will never buy refrigerator cinnamon rolls again. I'm not going to sit here and say these were the simplest things I've ever made, but the work is definitely worth it in the end. I did a half and half thing and incorporated two separate recipes, so we have a little mixture here.

 

Fabulous Friday!

I am beyooond excited right now for the simple fact that my best friend Kristin is on her way to my apartment right this moment!! I don't usually have friends that make the drive down here to visit (I usually make my way up to them), but when they do I get really excited! This visit was acutally supposed to happen two weekends ago. Unfortunately, Kristin's car Connie got sick and broke down. So naturally we had to reschedule. This falls into the category of "our plans always crash and burn" that I mentioned a few days ago. But fiiinnally she's here! And since I know you allll wanna know....here's the backstory.

Kristin and I met for the first time at Freshman orientation for about 10 minutes. It was biff at first convo and the rest is prettty much history. We're kind of the same person. Both only children with a love of reading, anything with sugar or carbs in it, the ridiculous music we used to listen to in the 90's (old school B-Spears anyone?....no?....ok moving on), working out, and a multitude of other things. Her family has become an extension of my own and I infinitely love them. The adoption papers are still pending so shh don't tell my mom. Hah jk mom juuust kidding. Ok, so looong story short, she's basically the sister I never had. And she's awesome. End of story.

                       Me and Kristin in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so we can do all the fun activities I have planned for her arrival! Some of my other friends are coming into town too that I am super pumped about. My friends Lisa and Ashley are actually moving here this weekend, so I'll fill you in more about them lataaa. But Rachel is coming to town to visit as well and I haven't seen her in probably two years. Ridiculous I know, but I guess that's what happens when you grow up....boo. Anyway, Rach and I (and Lisa) met when we were chapter Presidents of DZ. Me at USC, her at UGA, and Lisa at Clemson. We instantly bonded during our President's Academy and continued our ridiculous reign at National Convention later that year. I'm excited that the three of us will be reunited again. It's honestly about damn time.

                             Me and Rach out in Athens

                          The three of us at Convention!

Well, it's looking like it's about that time for me to get outta this freezing office building to go pick up baby Holden. He's getting all snazzy for the girl's visit. Gotta look good to love on my friends. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Warm Fudgy Goodness

 Good gracious I have been baking up a storm this week, but have yet to share any of my yummy treats with you guys. But the wait is over! Ok I lie, the wait isn't over since I'm only putting one of the goodies I've made this week on here tonight. I'll give you one guess what it is.....BROWNIES! Hah sooo original I know, but they were requested by my lovely co-worker Brittney as her b-day baked good. And at least they're from scratch, so I guess I'm not a total slacker.

As a side note, the b-day baked good is kind of just a thing I do....for everyone. Even if I don't know you that well I'll be more than happy to bake you a cake. I think it has to do with me needing an excuse instead of just baking for myself. I mean let's be honest, if I didn't have a reason or the ability to share them, I would probably weigh 800 pounds due to the ridiculous amount of sugar I would consume.

Anywho, I searched and searched and finally found a recipe from Smitten Kitchen that looked perfect. I frequently ogle Deb's many confections, and since I've baked a couple, I've come to reference her for sure-to-be delish recipes! I followed the recipe pretty closely. The only difference was I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened since it's all I had I'm sooo creative. So head on over to her blog to get the recipe and bake these asap!

                                     MmmmMmmmmmm....

Tomorrow I'll post about the pistachio cupcakes and banana cinnamon rolls I made tonight. For now though I'm going to think about how I'm going to work off the impending weight gain that is sure to rear it's ugly head from all of this baking. Hah just kidding, I think I'll sleep instead.  

Oh Mon Dieu

I am so excited...why you might ask? Because it's almost fall! I know you're probably wondering whyyy in the world I would want Summer to end? Well I'll tell you. In the South we have this little thing called humidity. Heat + humidity equals me not being able to do 80% of the things that I love, including, but not limited to: Running (unless I want to die from exhaustion), laying out (can't be out of the pool for more than 5 seconds), walking Holden (he might die), have a hair style not deflate as soon as I walk outside, etc. I would have to say that summertime was much more anticipated when I was not a full-time worker bee. Now that I am it's just another day, and another hot leather car seat.

Anyways, back to why I'm excited for Fall! Wellll, there's college football for starters. Not that I'm expecting my Gamecocks to pull another National Championship out of their hats (yeaa College World Series!) but I'm still hopeful. There's also sweaters, cute boots, leggings, scarves, and all the fun fashions that come with cooler weather. The other thing I'm super excited about is Gossip Girl returning (in addition to the other shows I watch)! The preview for the new season just came out and it's looking like things are going to get interesting! Watching the video makes me yearn for Paris. Though I've always wanted to go, I have just never had the opportunity. A plan is in the works to go with my biff Kristin soon, so hopefully it will go through. Somehow our travel plans always seem to snag and die a fiery death though, so I'll have to keep you guys updated lol.

Since I am new to this whole blogging thing and cannot for the life of me figure out how to put the preview on here, I will just share the link with you guys (Gossip Girl Preview), and leave you with this presh picture of Chuck and Blair. (Oh and I also made brownies last night, so that post is soon to come!)

Lilly Endless Summer Sale!

One thing you should know about me is I looove a good sale. I mean really it can be on anything, but when it comes to Lilly Pulitzer, I die when things go on sale. Today is Lilly's Endless Summer Sale. (Insert huge sigh) Unfortunately I'm borderline broke all the time now so this sale does me zero good. So since I have no funds to participate, all I can do is gawk at the beauty of Lilly and envision myself in one of these darling dresses. Below are some of my faves that will undoubtedly end up haunting me. Oh and did I mention the $2.00 shipping? Yea....

                                             Daphne Dress: $134.00

                                           Sandra Dress: $99.00

                                             Anya Dress: $69.00

                                              Danni Romper: $104.00

I think any of these would be presh for a low key summer wedding or night out! Alas, none will be mine. I guess that means more for you! Make sure you check it out today, since I'm not sure when it ends!

Monday No Fun Day

I'm not a huge fan of Monday's. I know, I know...welcome to the group right? It just always seems no matter what I do on the weekend there is always a type of fun hangover that follows on Monday. Example A) I had a fun weekend with the girls in Cola and now it's back to the work grind. Womp womp.

To help y'all and yours truly I figured I would post some pretty pictures to help inspire your Monday and maybe jump start your week. Just think, Friday's a mere 4 days away....until then I'll just daydream about next weekend. Enjoy!

 

PS. I get a lot of my pictures from this site called weheartit.com. It's great for really inspiring and creative images from all sorts of different tumblers. So check them out if you like these!

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th. And of course I would be travelling to Columbia today. Please pray for me and no traffic tickets.

Other than thaaat, I'm pretty excited because it's been forever three months since I've been back to see my friends who live/go to school in Cola. Since I'm going I guess I should explain a little about these friends of mine. They are ridiculous, but of course I love them regardless. When I was a sophomore at USC I went through rush and I'd say it was one of my best decisions I've made so far. DZ introduced me to some amazing people and experiences that will haunt me forever never be forgotten! Although we've all "grown up" and graduated now, three of my best friends, Cagle, Nicole, and Monica, still live in Columbia. I'll fill you in on each of them.

Monica is my shroomie. Plain and simple. While the four of us girls lived together Junior year, Mon and I roomed together in the DZ house Senior year since we were both on our sor. exec. board (Me as the Pres. and she was the Mamma Turtle New Member Educator). Somehow we survived senior year shenganigans, graduated, and moved on to big girl life. Currently she is an Event Coordinator at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. So if you wanna get married there or plan an Oh Baby! convention, she's (sort of) your girl! 

                                       {Me and Mon about to graduate!}

Moving on to Nicole. She was basically our mom in college. I'm pretty sure she taught Cagle how to do laundry once we moved in Junior year. Although she used to be wild and crazy as an impressionable Sophomore, she still is has toned it down a bit and has finally become the nurse that we all knew she would be! Instead of immediately heading to the ER, it seems she's the one we go to first about ails and how to fix them. Honestly, I would probably have lost a limb by now if it wasn't for her superb nursing advice.

                                       {About to go out for the night}

Last but certainly not least there is Ashley, aka Cagle. You will never see me call her Ashley....ever. A) no one ever calls her that...i mean except for her parentas and B) it would just be weird and wrong. Cagle is the wild card of the apt 332 family. She's the most ridic at every party, especially ones just for her (ask her about her bday and it's all over). But regardless of her fun and eccentric nature, she's the best. She loves big and hard and is one of the most loyal people I know. She's a techer in Lexington, SC and is damn good at it. So if you want smart kids, you miiiight want her to teach them, just sayin.

                {Cagle introducing me to my first Braves game}

That's the shortest version I could come up with since I could go for days writing about these girls! Anywho, I'm so excited to go back to Cola to see all of my friends and catch up since it's been so long. Nicole is moving into a new house so were about to christen that thing, celebrate Cagle's birthday, and see Christine all on good ole Friday the 13th. Good lord this should be interesting. I'll be sure to let y'all know how it goes!

                                       {The Crew at the Nut}

Accidental S'Mores Cake

Ok so last night I planned on making these delish looking chocolate cake s'mores cookies from Jenny's blog over at Picky Palate. The plan was in full effect until I re-looked at the ingredients and realized I didn't have box cake mix. Me being an amateur I said to myself, "no biggie, I'll just make my own cake mix and voila!" Baha silly me. Soooo with the batter being not thick enough to hold a cookie form I decided to impromptu make a cake!

This recipe came from a combo of different recipes. The chocolate cake and the frosting came from the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake recipe. The home made marshmallow fluff came from cdkitchen.com!

This will be the first of hopefully many posts on my baking attempts. Luckily this turned out fantastic and got devoured by my very grateful co-workers. So here it is. Hope you all enjoy! Ps...please excuse the craptastic pictures. My PowerShot is not the fancy smancy camera I wish it was :)

Chocolate S'Mores Cake

Ingredients: 
- 2 cups sugar
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water *

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
- 2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa**. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Marshmallow Fluff:

Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 2 cups light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Blend together egg whites, salt, and corn syrup for about 10 minutes until thick. With mixer set on a low speed, add in confectioners' sugar. After sugar is incorporated, add vanilla until blended.***

 To put the cake together stack the base cake layer on a plate, throw some fluff on top, add the next layer (repeat as necessary) then frost. Decorate as you feel! I know this is semi-complicated but trust me it really wasn't that bad!

*I left out the water in my cake. I'm not quite sure what this did or didn't do, soooo just wanted to let you know!
**I would personally do this whole thing with a hand mixer. I did it with both a stand and a hand mixer and the stand mixer just doesn't get the lumps out. Make sure you fully incorporate the powder sugar before you add more milk to keep the lumps at bay.
***This produces a TON of fluff. Feel free to half or quarter this recipe if you're just making it for this cake. But who doesn't love some leftovers for a nice fluffernutter? Also, I added in some crunched up graham crackers to this for the middle layer to make it a little less messy!

In The Beginning...

There was a 20-something, her dog Holden, and an oven. Well a lot of other stuff too, but those are just a few of the things that inspired me to start this blog! After countless conversations with my best friend Monica and her begging me to start this thing, I gave in. Anywho I guess I should tell you guys a little about my self. I am a 23 year old recent (kind of) graduate of the University of South Carolina. Since I graduated a little over a year ago from the fun and slightly unrealistic world of college, I have been working for a technology company which will remain nameless, but henceforth known as the most ridiculous company ever. Only my co-workers can really ever understand what I mean when I say that, but if you tune into this blog enough, I'm sure you'll learn enough about it. Aside from work, I am an avid baker and reading aficionado. I also try to work out occasionally too. The man in my life right now is baby Holden, my 12 pound Shih Tzu. He's a mess, but the sweetest dog in the world and always interested in what I bake up, even if he doesn't get to sample any of it. Any way that's all the info for now. Stick around and you'll be sure to see and learn all about my life, my friends and the ridiculous unscripted adventures in between. Hope you all enjoy the ride!