Thursday Things

1)     How long can I get away with eating cookies, cake, and/or leftover Christmas candy for breakfast (and lunch and dinner). According to my calculations, New Years. Just in time to start those resolutions! And, in my defense, sometimes the cookies are just appetizers I scarft down while I’m waiting to finish making cinnamon sugar toast.

2)     I was helping my grandma with something on her Facebook and I noticed that she had more notifications and messages than me. I am getting out social media-ed by my grandmother. What am I doing with my life?

3)     Two of my favorite Christmas presents from this year’s haul: a personalized, hand-painted kettle bell (pink, naturally) and the meat grinding/sausage making attachment for my KitchenAid. Score.

4)     On that note, why does the Christmas music cease on December 26? Where do all the decorations go so quickly (they were up right after Halloween for goodness sake)? Why are there already Valentine’s Day cards and banners and merchandise littering the aisles of stores? I’m still Christmasing people, lay off!

5)     Today I had coffee with one of my best friends. She gave me a CD. That she recorded. I have very, very talented friends.

6)     These pictures are making so many of my childhood dreams come true.

7)     This makes me hopeful for next year.

8)     23 Signs You're a Premature Old Person (alternate title: You're name is Amanda and you ate dinner at 4:30 today)

9)     I could post about a dozen more lists from Buzzfeed or Though Catalog but I’m tired from a day of reading Harry Potter and working (and I’m lazy and that’s kinda boring after awhile).

Merry Christmas

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people. Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord." 
~ Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you. May your days be filled with family, friends, laughter, love, and too many cookies. 

Pecan & Cranberry Crusted Goat Cheese Salad

I’ve never been one of those people. The ones who “do lunch.” You know, the fancy people who always seem suuuuuper busy but can always “do lunch” sometime.

Puh-leaz. I do lunch every day. I can’t not do it. I schedule my classes at school around it. I start thinking about lunch as soon as I take my last bite of breakfast.

Lately though, with work and baking and other holidays to-dos, lunch has consisted of cookie dough, cookies, frosting, or some combination thereof. Delicious for a while, but not a sustainable meal plan. Mainly because I have to wear jeans to work. 

Thursday Things

1)     I can’t believe that just a few days ago I was worried there wouldn’t be any snow for Christmas. Fast-forward to today and Winter Storm Draco is burying my town in inches and inches of snow. It’s glorious, fluffy, and blanketing everything in site.

2)     Also, my inner nerd is wigging out that the blizzard was named after a Harry Potter character. Draco? DRACO?! Agh! If only that meant Tom Felton was going to blow through my town. What a Christmas present that would be!

3)     Despite my dog being 7 and having been through many winters before her reaction to snow is always a mixture of fear and elation. With a heavy dose of stumbling mixed in.

4)     Last night, I leapt across the kitchen in an attempt to catch a falling cookie sheet. I missed the cookie sheet but made direct (and hard) contact with the corner of a cabinet and now my right kneecap is one large bruise. To match the one on my shin.

5)     My knee hurt less after two large plates of Chinese takeout and a viewing of Ryan Gosling’s abs “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

6)     It’s normal to have a box full of powdered sugar, brown sugar, and bags and bags of marshmallows sitting in the middle of the living room, right? Good, I thought so.

7)     I’m finishing up my Christmas shopping/gift making and am so mad I can’t get any of these gifts for my family and friends. Or myself.

8)     I turned the "Barefoot Contessa" on at work Tuesday when there was a bit of a lull. I walked away to do something and when I came back, two of the teenage boys I work with were standing, staring at the screen, mouths agape. They were actually interested in what she was making, asking questions and giving their opinions. To say I was proud is an understatement.

9)     I love me some candy, but these gummi candies do not appeal to me. Just, no.

10)   Not to beat a dead horse, but I’m going to talk about the snow again and how I have been baking cookies all day as a result of being cooped up. Including these bad boys. When rolled in powdered sugar they look like pretty little snowballs, but taste much, much better. 

Two - for - One

Today is your lucky day.

Not only am I posting two cookie recipes, which is basically the greatest two-for-one deal since Domino’s did that 2 Times Tuesday Deal (that was a thing, right?). But, in addition to that, I’m so friggin’ tired from workouts and working a long shift today that I’m keeping this short and sweet.

Chocolate and Salted Caramel Sandwich Cookies

I have a bruise the size of a grapefruit on my shin. I’ve been bumping into the corners of walls. I missed a step going downstairs and felt like I was going to plummet to my doom for a split second.

Coming back home has thrown me a bit off kilter. I’m happy as can be to be back where I belong and away from school, but it’s taking some getting used to. My body is used to the dimensions of my apartment. It remembers the feel of the floors. The layout of my kitchen.

Thursday Things

1)     I got a tough lesson in the value of patience the other day. I didn’t want to wait for butter to soften on the counter so I threw it into the microwave for “just a few seconds.” Yeah, fast-forward a minute (because I got distracted, surprise, surprise) and I had butter so soft it had formed a puddle on the bottom of the microwave. That was fun to clean up. Except not.

2)     Last night a few of my favorite guys treated me to dinner, a few bites of red velvet cake, and a heavy dose of laughter. It was wonderful.

3)     Finished my final today in a little over an hour. I’m going to attribute that to my completely lack of preparation this tweet of encouragement I got from Haagen Dazs.

4)     This is so fetch!

5)     I’m pretty fortunate to be friends with former teachers. And one such friend made an impromptu visit last Friday. I was treated to some amazing (AH-MAY-ZING!) Korean food, groceries, and supplies to make my own Dook Bae Gi. Thanks again Rae!

6)     I got even more Korean food on Tuesday when I hit up bopNgrill to write a review. You’ll have to wait until February to hear my thoughts on the restaurant but this pick of the kimchi fries should keep you full until then!

7)     While watching even more Dawson’s Creek (it’s a sickness, I tell you), there was  scene where Dawson had to hide under a table and I couldn’t help but think how this would be totally impossible nowadays. In 1999 teenagers didn’t have cell phones that were going off every minute with new Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram notifications. Not to mention the incessant text messages. Anyone’s cover would totally be blown in a matter of seconds!

8)     I can’t believe I just said “nowadays.” Oy.

9)     There’s a reason I don’t study (besides laziness), because when I study bad things happen. Like on Tuesday night when I had plans to review for my Russian Lit final but then ended up having car problems. I tried unsuccessfully for four hours to fix it, attempting everything I could think of to get it started, and then proceeded to cry. Eventually I had to call a tow truck. The driver was really nice though and ended up giving me a restaurant recommendation – so it wasn’t a complete waste.

10)   Watching these isn’t a complete waste either. Trust me, I did just that last night. Totally cultural.

11)   Today marks the first day of my winter break. From here on out I’ve got three glorious weeks of no class, discussion sections, or assignments. Oh happy day. 

On exercise

I was on my third episode of Dawson’s Creek when it happened. I was just laying there, astonished by the antics of Dawson and Pacey, when I began to feel it. The urge, the pull, the itch, whatever you want to call it. All of a sudden I had to run. Had to.

I paused the show, frantically dressed and gathered my shoes and iPod, afraid the feeling would slip away.

I was out the door and moving, not sure where my feet were carrying me. I took off faster than normal, bobbing through the early afternoon crowd I never encountered on my morning jogs.

Twenty-four minutes later I was climbing the stairs back to my front door, feeling a satisfactory burn in my lungs and fatigue in my legs. I smiled, a sense of accomplishment spreading through me. I did it. 

Thursday Things

1)     Currently working my way through Dawson’s Creek (again). It’s really the only logical thing to do when I’ve got three finals in the next week. And I’ve been sitting in my apartment watching these episodes oscillating between complete and total agony at how stilted and terrible and overdone this show is and being near tears the entire time because the teenage angst is just all too familiar. Ugh. Too much.

2)     Know what else is too much? Tearing up in a nail salon. Yes, that’s right. Real tears, real crying. See, the nail salon I go to plays chick flicks on loop, which is normally very entertaining (who doesn’t love a little “Sweet Home Alabama” with their pedicure?), but not today. Today, I just sat there with my hands under the dryer trying (unsuccessfully) to not openly weep during the end of “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” I failed...

3)     I ate cookies for lunch today. Just cookies. ‘Tis the season, right? And I can’t decide if that’s better or worse than yesterday when I just ate the cookie dough.

4)     Better than both cookie based meals? This pumpkin pie stuffed pretzel. Yes, a PUMPKIN PIE STUFFED PRETZEL. Mull that over for a little while.

5)     I got that beauty above when I went to the Christkindlmarket with my family on Tuesday. It’s a yearly tradition. They come down at the end of classes, we head into the city enjoy the wintery sights and stop in Macy’s to ogle the Christmas decorations. It’s magical and wonderful and necessary.

6)     These cappuccino-candied almonds are also necessary. For my mental health. So good. So, so, so, so, so good.

7)     I can't look away. And I'm not sure I want to. 

8)     Dave Barnes is currently heavy on my Christmas music rotation. Get into it y’all.

9)     I have an unnatural affection for cookie butter, and Julie’s recipe for Sandy Buddies just upped the ante. Big time. Plus, Julie is just a doll, peruse her site, seriously.

10)   Someone else loves Mindy as much as I do.

11)   Pacey Witter fo' life, btw. 

White Chocolate Potato Chip and Macadamia Nut Cookies

Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. Stress, stress, stress.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. Sorry, sorry, sorry. 

Cookies, cookies, cookies. Yum, yum, yum.