I Wanna Go Back- Pretty Please.

 “Once upon a time there was a girl I knew, who lived across the street. Brown hair, brown eyes. When she smiled, I smiled. When she cried, I cried. Every single thing that ever happened to me that mattered, in some way had to do with her. That day Winnie and I promised each other that no matter what, that we'd always be together. It was a promise full of passion and truth and wisdom. It was the kind of promise that can only come from the hearts of the very young."  

-The Wonder Years 

Don't Ever Turn It Down

kissssing

And I was sick with heartache
And she was sick like Audrey Hepburn when I met her
But we would both surrender
True love is not the kind of thing you should turn down
Don't ever turn it down

January Wedding

Avett Brothers

Simply Life

"It was one of those days that I didn't mind going to school because the weather was so pretty. The sky was overcast with clouds, and the air felt like a warm bath. I don't think I've ever felt that clean before. When I got home, I had to mow the lawn for my allowance, and I didn't mind one bit. I just listened to the music, and breathed in the day, and remembered things. Things like walking around the neighborhood and looking at the house and the lawns and colorful trees and having that be enough." 

- The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

Too often I get carried away in the whirlwind that I call life. Meeting, class, tutoring, meeting, office hours, read, read, read, babysit, radio show, meeting, laundry, sleep, stress, repeat. More often than not I have to make a conscious effort to stop and enjoy the world around me and all of the simple pleasures it offers. Like a beautiful sunset, warm air on my skin in late October, playing tag with the kids I babysit while crunchy leaves fall silently around us, a sip of hot coffee, or getting caught with a friend in a random windy rain shower. God gives us the privilege of experiencing miracles and blessings around us on a daily basis, and it's selfish not to take a minute for yourself to take note and appreciate these little wonders of life.

Finally Friday

I'd rather regret the things I've done, than regret the things I haven't done. 

-Lucille Ball 

What If...

What if we all got along & people loved each other & sang songs about peace? he said. Would that be a good world? & I said I didn't know about that, but it would be a good summer camp & he looked at me & shook his head & said, It's no wonder you're leaving us with such a mess.

-Story People

Weekend Recap

"Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am?" -- Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's 

All in all, this weekend proved to be extremely successful. Friday night was our semi-formal, and I had the best time I've had at a formal since Freshman year. We drank, danced, and danced some more. It seems that this has been a busy semester for everyone, so it's been hard to all get together and Friday night we were all back together just like always. It made me realize how much I've missed my friends lately! Formals are so much more fun when you have a date than can actually dance, and this time I was lucky enough to have the best dancer there. I also got to dance with his parents which was a highlight to the evening. 

Saturday we tailgated and watched one of the best games I've ever been to. Auburn won 65-43 and it was an all around great time. 

Sunday I was extremely lazy, wrote a paper (kinda) and baked the yummy pumpkin cookies. This is going to be a busy week so I was glad I got to rest.

Friday I'll be going to Knoxville for my best friend Caroline's important and extremely significant 22nd birthday and I can't wait! My family will be there, too, which is a plus!! 

The Best Thing I've Ever Made

• FOR THE PUMPKIN WHOOPIE COOKIES
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cloves
• 2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• FOR THE CREAM-CHEESE FILLING
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.
3. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.
4. Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)
5. Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

Thanks Martha!

Freedom, new friends, and an exciting road trip to plan

The LSAT is finally over! It was probably the worst experience of my life, and I never want to go through the miserable 5 hours it took to take the damn thing... although I'm still not ruling out the possibility of taking it again in December. We shall see. (And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't having withdrawals from logic games-- I almost did a few today out of habit). Anyways, there were a few good things that came out of that day:

• New Friends- I met some awesome people as a result of our LSAT taking. After we finished a group of us walked over to Mama G's to forget about the test that determines our future over several pitchers and then proceeded to go back to Amy's apartment to watch the AL/South Carolina and AU/KY game, while drinking away our sorrows.   
• A road trip planned with my new (and old) friends to visit several law schools... Such as Charleston School of Law; South Carolina School of Law (for Thomas); a pit stop in Asheville, NC to see the Biltmore; Washington, DC- thanks to my Aunt and Uncle we have an open apartment to stay in; and last... Willamsburg, VA just because I think it would be fun. I haven't exactly gotten the extra places cleared yet with the group, but it's worth a shot. 

Have a great day :)

Ben Rector: Free Falling

Yumm

One of my favorite things about fall is baking yummy goodies like pumpkin pie, and broccoli bread. My mom and my best friend Caroline's mom used to make this all the time when we were little and I'm feeling deprived now that I'm at school. Every little kid's dream, coming home to broccoli bread right? I know it might sound weird, but trust me- it's delicious and I'd be more than happy to share.

Savory with a touch of sweetness, this bread recipe cooks up like cornbread but offers fiber and calcium from the broccoli. It works well as a side dish, especially on soup night.

Ingredients

• 1  cup  egg substitute
• 3/4  cup  fat-free cottage cheese
• 1/2  cup  fat-free sour cream
• 2  tablespoons  butter, melted
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  cups  finely chopped onion
• 1  (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
• 1  (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the onion, broccoli, and muffin mix; stir until well blended. Pour into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 27 minutes or until set.

 

Story People-Stress Management

 I can imagine it working out perfectly, I said. I can't, she said & I said no wonder you're so stressed.

This is so typical. It's like they wrote it for me. I love it anyways though. 

P.S. Doesn't the little sketch look like Mary Poppins? I think that's who it is.

Neverland

Don't we wish that we could all just never grow up? Just fly around and hang out with mermaids, Indians, and little lost boys all day? I'm still waiting on my Peter... although after watching the movie for the first time in a long time tonight, Peter is kind of a womanizer. I mean he has Wendy, Tinkerbell, Tigerlily, and the Mermaids all fawning over him and fighting for his attention. At one point Wendy even sees him eskimo kissing Tigerlily and gets mad and ends up walking home alone, unnoticed by Peter who is still galavanting around with Tigerlily. Sound familiar? And he still wins in the end, never having to grow up-- sailing the ship in the clouds. Must be nice. 

Where The Dirty Hipsters Are (Wild Things Spoof)

As an old fan of Where the Wild Things Are I'm pretty much obsessed with this video.

Dating Tips from the 1930s

With formal coming up next weekend, and my newly acquired date (the dashing Mr. Edington), I thought it would be a splendid idea to touch up on proper etiquette; after all, it has been quite some time since I've been to a function like this.

In a nutshell: don't talk while dancing, don't powder your nose on in front of him, don't kiss in public, don't get upset, don't flirt with other boys, and don't become too inebriated. Hmmm...

Oh, Autumn, How I Love You

I used to moan and groan every year when the crisp, cool weather of Autumn would roll around. To me, it symbolized the end of freedom, shorter days, and yet another math class that I would have to figure out how to push my way through. However, now I think Autumn is my new favorite season and this is why:

Hayrides, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Corn Mazes, Pumpkin Carving, Haunted Houses, and the Middle Tennessee State Fair

It's not that I didn't enjoy these things before, but now, since the opportunities to do such things are rare, I realize how much I loved them. So if you're up for carving pumpkins, going on a hayride, to a corn maze, or a haunted house I'm your gal.

We're Going to be Friends

Today, while I was contemplating sandwich choices at Au Bon Pain, a guy walked up to me, ruffled my hair, and said "Hey!." I wasn't quite sure who he was at first but he did look familiar; however, he proceeded to say "Remember me? From economics?" Then it clicked, and I said "Oh yeah! How've you been?" then he said, "I'll never forget that time you bought me Chinese." Again, I couldn't quite remember what he was talking about, but I'm glad that something so small made a lasting impression. He was inspirational and uplifting, and I need more people like him in my life. So what do I have to say? Never turn down a new (or old) friend. :)

Fly far far away

I honestly don't know why I'm so anxious about graduating this year. When I was little and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would think in my head "anything! just let me get out of here and go someplace and meet new people" and now is the time, and I have no idea where I want to go or how I'm going to get there. I'm trying to remind myself that I have waited so long for this to finally be here-- to be on my own and go any place I want to go -- so don't blow it and settle for anything less than what I've imagined. I don't want to disappoint myself, or wake up with a sailboat tattoo reminding me of the things I've never done.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Nothing makes me want to be a kid again like Shel Silverstein. It takes me back to Mrs. Crane's third grade class, complete with Pippy Longstocking and Robert Frost . That was back when "playing beautyshop" during reading hour was our naughtiest form of rebellion, and my biggest fear was having to play softball during P.E. I never tired of reading, and would do nearly anything to get out of writing in cursive-- or at least to get Caroline to write it for me. Even though I wish life could be that sweet and simple now, I know that in 10 years I'll look back at my life this very moment when my main concern is studying for the LSAT (and figuring out what to write in my blog) and think the exact same thing. 



There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

Shel Silverstein

LSAT Movitation

What could put you in a better mood while studying for the LSAT than this? 

 This is how I imagine myself after I finish law school: living in New York stealing masks out of dime stores with my lover, who also conveniently happens to be a dashing young author- with a book titled 9 Lives, to make things even peachier.