Afternoon with Ana

While in New York I was fortunate enough to catch up with some old friends- including my very oldest friend, Ana.  Ana and I became friends in the fifth grade when we both were cheerleaders together.  We've been friends through every embarrassing childhood phase imaginable. We started a band together in middle school (we even made music videos and signed photos- it doesn't matter if you can't sing or play instruments), built stuff in her dad's garage while blasting Nelly, and then made the harsh transition to black band t-shirts and a Slipknot/Slayer concert.  We even have a shocking number of exes in common (the perks of a small town). Despite our mutual inability to stay in contact from a distance, we always manage to pick up right where we left off.

the beautiful Ana!

Given the absolutely beautiful weather we were having, we were determined to spend the maximum amount of time outside possible.  At my dad's suggestion, we went to Aladdin's Natural Eatery for lunch.  It's right on the Erie Canal in Pittsford, and they have two stories of outdoor seating, so it's basically perfect for that one-in-a-million sunny day in Rochester.

Home Sweet Home in Upstate New York

After a week in Ohio it was time to hop a plane and head back my homeland of upstate New York!

Because I was flying from small city to small city I ended up on one of those itty bitty propeller planes.

And before I knew it I was home.  My mom being the wonderful woman with a similar love for food we stopped at Wegman's on our way home.  If you don't know it, Wegman's is seriously The Best grocery store.  It was started in Rochester, and I've been going there forever.  It's so great Cher demanded to go there when she came here to perform.  It's that good.  We got all stocked up for a delicious grilled dinner to take full advantage of the warm and sunny weather- steak, girl scout potatoes, corn on the cob, and salad.  Every item was cooked on the grill and totally scrumptious.  Next time we'll have pictures, I promise!

After dinner we settled in with a glass of homemade Limoncello made by my very own Dad.  My parents went on their honeymoon to Capri, an island off of Italy.  To celebrate their 20th anniversary we all went on a mediterranean cruise that was the trip of a lifetime.  While there we fell in love with limoncello- a lemon liquor.  This year he decided to try his own hand at it, and from what I hear it's pretty simple.  And I can vouch that it is very very good.

 my petite glass

Ohio Dreaming

After the weekend's festivities I made my way to Joe's house for a week of working in different medical settings to get nursing experience for school.   Joe's dad was kind enough to set up a couple different opportunities for me to shadow nurses.  On my way to work, I had a lovely drive through the country.  It's perfect for putting the windows down and turning the country music up.

Saturday Shenanigans- College Flashback

Okay, so this took a little while for me to post a follow-up to the Friday post, but I have been crazy super busy this week, so hopefully I'll fill you in on that later today.

So we last left off with us being slightly over-served on Friday.  I am a firm believer that a big greasy diner breakfast is the prefect cure for a hungover tummy.  We met back up Saturday morning at Jack & Benny's diner on High Street and had an incredible breakfast.  Joe and I have always been diner-enthusiasts, so I became familiar with the midwestern breakfast that is slathered in gravy but never tried it since I'm a late-comer to the meat party (read more about that here).  Now that I don't live here I try to take advantage of Ohio's best features (more on that soon), and one of those is gravy-covered everything.  So I finally tried it!  I don't remember the name on the menu, but I had hash browns, bacon, and fried eggs smothered in bacon with toast.  It was seriously amazing.  Hannah was equally pleased with her choice of eggs Benedict.

We split after breakfast, and Hannah and I headed up to Denison to meet up with some old college friends from the rugby team.  On the way was one of the best, most delicious Italian markets America has to offer (they also have a restaurant, which is obviously scrumptious).

 Carfagna's!

 Hannah stocked up for her trip home- big jars of sauce with a free pound of pasta with each jar!

Friday's Festivities: Roomie Reunion!

Ellie, Kimbrey, Milo, me, and Hannah

My trip started with a trip to Indy on a Megabus.  Being a nervous Nellie, I showed up twenty minutes early afraid it would leave without me.  This was a great decision as it was 35, snowing, and very windy.  Obviously, the bus came over an hour late at the exact time I was paying for a coffee across the street, necessitating a panicked run with my excessively large suitcase and backpack.  But I made it!

And I had coffee and a donut, so I was a happy camper, even though I was very awkward trying to juggle these things while getting out my kindle for the long ride.  Somewhere around this time I realized I forgot my toiletries, iPod, headphones, and stuffing for my little hexagons which had seemed like the perfect project to work on during my travels. I'm not the best packer.  I had a traumatic incident as a kid when I was too embarrassed to tell anyone I forgot to pack underwear for my week long trip, so I learned that it's okay to admit you messed up and took a few trips for toiletries already.  One day I'll grow up, I swear.  But now that I have a toothbrush (did I mention I forgot my replacement on my first night in Columbus?  ... geez), toothpaste, mascara, and hair clips I should probably survive.  I'm in a house full of ladies, so I should be able to hunt down the rest.

Hannah was gracious enough to pick me up in Indy so we could drive all the way to Columbus together (thank you again, beautiful!).  We could definitely tell we were in Ohio when we parked behind a car sporting this ridiculous magnet:

Double-Box Dessert

This is literally one of the easiest desserts ever.  And it is freaking delicious.  

My family was never huge on sweets, and my mom was never big on baking them.  But one thing we often make and always love is brownies.  We have never made them from scratch.  In fact I can't possibly fathom why anyone would when brownies made from a box are PERFECT.  Just don't even try to screw with that.

A while ago I came across the Slutty Brownie, a drool-worthy concoction of chocolate chip cookies + oreos + brownies.  And if that's possible, then pretty much anything is possible.

Being a great lover of the peanut butter and chocolate combo (who isn't?!)  I created this version which I am tentatively calling the Double-Box Dessert - peanut butter cookies with brownies on top!  Delicious.  

If you want to get crazy, throw some chopped up peanut butter cups in between those layers and you'll have a gosh darn masterpiece!

But before I go one making up new exciting adventures, let's just get going on the basics:

A Hot/Cold Pack for Katie

My semester is finally over!  Which is such a relief and excitement that all I want to do is take is take a nap.  I don't know if it's the weather (incredibly wet and dark) or the fact that I haven't really slept in weeks but I am honestly ready to crawl into my nice warm flannel sheets and sleep for about 14 hours.

To kick of my spring break I am headed to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow to meet up with my incredible roommates from college.  I could not be more excited to see these ladies!

One of these fine women is Milo- you may remember I briefly mentioned her as the soon-to-be recipient of this TARDIS.  This lady and I go way back.  We were both deejays at our college station, and she shares my obsessive affection for James Taylor.  Milo is also a very adept craft-ster herself!  She even made a spectacular slip cover for a stolen ottoman in our apartment that was seriously perfect.  She is a marvel.  

One year at our Christmas present exchange she gave me this homemade heat pack and it is one of my favorite things.  It's filled with I-don't-know-what (barley, maybe?) but it's nice and heavy and totally soothing.  I almost always study laying down on my stomach, so I can just let it rest in the small of back and it is oh so very nice.  And all you have to do to heat it up is toss it in the microwave! Super easy.  Joe leaves his in the freezer and it works well as a cold pack too.

Inspired by Milo's lovely hot pack I decided to make one as a gift for a friend of mine who I owed a hefty thank you too.  Katie has been giving me rides to and from our clinical throughout the quarter, and usually with very little warning on my part.  This clinical is on one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Chicago, so I was very very pleased when I could avoid the bus and train combo.  So along came this project to pass along the love.

You will need:

- 2 bags of lentils (or beans, barley, etc.)
-  heavy fabric

- needle and thread or sewing machine