down by the bay.

down by the bay.
somers point, nj
bayfet 2010
four blocks of food, crafts & games.
the anchorage,
a parking lot made into a beer garden.
so full you can barely move.
ran into only about half of my friends who were there.
was in bed by 5:00pm
think that makes a perfect spring day.

baseball season

hot dogs.
beer.
cracker jack.
chase utley.
the phanatic.
getting phevers.
take me out to the ball game.
crab fries.
tailgates.
home runs.
roasted peanuts.
'ill' tshirt.
the wave.
ringing liberty bell.

it's baseball season in this house.

bananas.

i have to thank gwen stefani for finally teaching me how to spell bananas.
if you read my blog often you probably know by now i suck at spelling.
i know how to spell success & beaggressive from cheerleading.
and banana from gwen stefani.
& in july i'll have my master's degree..
only in america.

on to banana & chocolate chip bread.
outside is crunchy,
inside is soft.
aka it's pretty sweet.

2cups flour
1tsp baking soda
1/4teaspoon salt
1/2cup butter
3/4cup brown sugar
2eggs - beaten
2 very ripe bananas - mashed
2-4tbsp orange juice
1/2bag chocolate chips

mix 1st three dry ingredients in one bowl.
cream butter & brown sugar.
mix in eggs & bananas with cream mix.
mix in dry mix until just wet.
hand mix in chocolate chips.
lightly grease pan(s)
bake at 350 in bread pan (i used two mini-loaf pans)
approximately 60minues

adapted from allrecipes.com

i added the oj because i wanted moist bread
& didn't have enough bananas
you can substitute one banana for oj,
but you don't taste the oj in the bread :)

three years later.

yesterday we remembered 32 members of the virginia tech community who are in heaven.
many people said things, way better than i ever could.
coleman collins - an ex-hokie basketball star put out what i often think.
i slept through the shootings,
less than a mile away,
i dreamt of ambulances as they rambled past my sorority house,
woke up to find all of my friends safe,
but it doesn't make it okay.
read it here.

can i tell you how much i love this VT print from etsy?
did you meet your lover on the blacksburg campus?
heading to a wedding of hokie love birds?
you need this:

Virginia Tech Print

Peanut Butter & Chocolate, is there a better mix?

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookies

not so much peanut butter,

but hit the spot nicely

devoured quickly

1/2cup butter softened
1/2cup white sugar
1/3cup brown sugar
1/2cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2tsp vanilla
1cup flour
1tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1/2cup rolled oats
1cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. cream butter & sugars
2. add pb, egg & vanilla
3. separate bowl mix flour, soda, salt
4. slowly add flour mix to butter mix until just wet (be careful, do not over mix)
5. add rolled oats & chips, stir in by hand
6. drop onto lightly greased baking sheets
7. bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned

a soft cookie,
perfect when small
disappeared - one day.

beautiful weather.

this is not an illusion.
stuck in traffic on 76.
103degrees.
felt amazing.
i parked in the farthest parking lot.
took a long walk to school.
perfect week to start my summer shape-up.
sunny weather = motivation.
the plants are growing.
enjoying spring,
or this pseudo-summer for as long as it lasts!

what plants are you planting this spring?

bracelet bonanza

loved receiving a lot of bracelets from my mom yesterday!
listed them all today.
if you let me know you're a blog reader 10% refund on all bracelets purchased!
if you a return customer & read the blog 20% refund on all bracelets purchased!

how do i thank you..

on thursday i finished nine months of my practicum for my master's degree.
i thanked the staff the only way  a poor graduate student could.
i baked.
chocolate peanut butter cookies
boxed chocolate cupcakes with mini chocolate chips with buttercream icing.
mini coffee cake muffins.

i was excited to find out that when i head back to full-time office work,
i will be visiting my pracitucm site often.
i've made some great connections
& will miss working with adolescents daily.

reminds me of how much i DON'T miss being an adolescent :)

now i'm heading back to my full time occupation.
i need a way to thank my two supervisors,
who have been extrememly flexible and supportive.

any creative, relatively inexpensive thank you gifts?

& i will be baking more for the entire office for being so flexible!