Doggy Strollers and Butterfly Stickers

Today was my cleaning day. I am going to have a lot of friends and family coming into town in the next couple of weeks for my sister's wedding, and tomorrow my dad is flying in from Texas for a concert we are all going to. So I wanted to have a clean apartment again. I have not kept up with it as well as I usually do. So this morning, after sewing up my red shorts so they can survive another summer, I opened up the all of the windows to let in the scent of the rain and the warmth of the season, and I started on the kitchen. But today turned out to be no ordinary cleaning day.

I went around straightening up and I did the dishes, but after only a few hours into cleaning I got a phone call. My brother-in-law called me to say that he and my sister were heading over and that they had a surprise. So naturally I dropped everything and waited for them to arrive. As I sat on my couch and sipped my energy drink I noticed my walls. The walls above my windows were annoyingly bare. I always feel more at home when every wall is covered in pictures, paintings, and random knick knacks, so while I waited I decided to pull out some more things to hang. I found a pack of butterfly wall decals in my closet. Even though I have a bad fear of butterflies (that's a long story...) I put all 79 of them up because they glow in the dark and that is just neat. I was also just really happy to have an excuse to take a break from cleaning, even if it wasn't a real excuse. It was also a good way to pass the time while I waited for my sister and brother-in-law to arrive. I got halfway through putting up the butterfly decals when they finally did.

When they showed up I saw that they had something really large with them. With a closer look I saw that it was a collapsed stroller. Naturally, I thought that they were using it to announce their pregnancy, but that was not it and my sister is not pregnant (yet...). When they opened it up I saw that it was not a stroller for a baby. It was for a dog.

I should explain that for the longest time I have wanted a stroller for my dog, Maggie. For several reasons. First of all, tiny dogs in strollers is one of the most adorable things ever. The main reason I would like one, however, is because Maggie is the worst dog to try and take for a walk. She thinks that the only reason to be outside is to go to the bathroom. So whenever we go walking she will just do that the entire time (even in the middle of the road). I can't take her to the park either because she doesn't like the other dogs coming up to her, and at her old age she doesn't do so well with large amounts of exercise. A doggy stroller is perfect for her because she loves being outside, especially in the summer. So imagine my excitement when that was exactly what I was given today.

It's the little things in life that can make a normal day special. Even though I didn't get all of my cleaning done, my day was still exciting and productive. It was full of smiles, laughter, and butterfly stickers. The highlight was seeing my dog looking adorable in her stroller.

I hope that tomorrow will hold just as much excitement and fun, if not more!

-Emily

Thai Chicken Tacos

Thai cuisine is extremely full of flavor. For a well-balanced dish, there must be 5 distinct flavor profiles: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and spicy. It is also very rare to use salt in dishes to achieve a salty flavor, so instead they use fish sauce. When making these taco I tried to keep all of those flavors in mind. I did my best to include as many different levels of flavor as possible. They received high ratings from my boyfriend, so that means they must be tasty!

When I eat a taco, I absolutely love it when there are different textures and also different temperatures. So I made a cold slaw to go on top of the hot chicken mixture. My recipe is not very exact or precise. So feel free to play around with it and do what you think will taste the best! For example, if you love the flavors the lime juice brings and wish there was more, add more. cooking is always up for interpretation. Don't be afraid to stray from what is written!

Here's how I did it!

The Cabbage Slaw:

Red Cabbage.
Carrots.
Radishes.
Cilantro.
2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce.
3 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar.
1 Tablespoon of Fresh Lime Juice.
Cut your cabbage, radishes, and carrots into similar sizes so that they are uniform. Try not to cut them too small to where you can't taste them, but if they are too big it will be hard to eat. I didn't put exact measurements on this recipe because it really is not an exact science. Cut up as much as you think you need for the number of tacos you are making. The general rule of thumb for this though is to have a bit more cabbage than carrots and radishes, but you can change that depending on your tastes. Once you have all of your veggies cut up and mixed together, give the cilantro a rough chop. The cilantro is really just to taste. I like a lot of cilantro, so I added about 1/3 cup. I made enough slaw for 4 tacos, so if you are making more than 4 you will want to increase the amount of lime juice, soy sauce, and lime juice you add in. So add those into your slaw and mix together. Cover it and put it into the refrigerator while you work on the chicken filling.

The Chicken Filling:

Thinly sliced chicken breasts (about one per person or one per every 2 tacos).
1 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
Half of a small onion.
1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro.
Siracha to taste.
Soy sauce.
Rice vinegar.
3 teaspoons of fresh lime juice.
Tortillas.
Sour Cream.
Cut your chicken into small pieces. Dice up the onion and add that and your garlic to the chicken in a bowl. Chop and add your cilantro. For the siracha, I said to taste because it really depends on how much spice you like. Now for the soy sauce and rice vinegar, simply add enough to just coat the entire mixture. Also, add your lime juice. Add some olive oil to a skillet and cook the chicken mixture over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are clear. While you have that cooking, heat your tortillas and give them a swipe of cold sour cream.

Plating:

When you have your tortillas ready to go, add in some of the chicken mixture. Put the cold slaw on top of that. For an added kick of flavor get a lime, chili powder, and salt. Remove the rind from the lime and cut out the individual segments into a bowl. Sprinkle on a little bit of chili powder and salt and toss them. Just add a few to the top of each taco, and they will add massive amounts of flavor.

Finished product.

I hope you really love these tacos. I realize the recipe may be a little difficult to follow. This meal was something I just threw together one night, so it was a little difficult coming up with very exact measurements. But they tasted so good that I just had share! Besides, cooking is more fun when you are winging it. That is when the real creativity comes out. So feel free to use this recipe as a something to grow and expand on! Feel free to ask me any questions about it! Enjoy!

-Emily

Oh My God Shoes

In many ways I am not what you would consider a girly girl. But in so many more ways, I am. Today I went shoe shopping with my sister so she could get a pair of silver heels for our other sister's wedding. Silver shoes are surprisingly difficult to find. Actually, let me revise that: cheap silver shoes are hard to find. We were able to track down some in the clearance section at DSW. This is where I fell in love for a second time. The first time being with my boyfriend (love you babe). But today it was with a pair of floral heels, perfect in every way.

The fabulous floral heels.

I got the wonderful rush of bliss that only comes from love. They even matched my nail polish. The best part of all: they fit me. This may seem like a strange thing to go goo-goo over, but I have an extremely difficult time find shoes that fit me. Most of the shoes I currently own are from the children's section at my favorite shoe store, Shoe Carnival. I am a size 4 in most shoes, but sometimes I can make a 5 work. However, finding a pair of really nice heels in a size 5 that are super comfy, super cute, AND fit is not a regular happening in my world of tiny feet. But that is exactly what happened today.

I did not buy the shoes (broke college student, remember). I will go back for them eventually I'm sure. And if they are still there and still on sale, well that just shows that it is meant to be. If not it won't be the end of the world. In some ways it is not just the shoes I love (even though they are flippin precious), but also the feeling I got from wearing them. They gave me an overwhelming sense of hope for my future in shoe shopping. Ever since the store I buy my jeans at closed down, I have been pretty upset about my bad luck with shopping. So finding these shoes today and getting all excited and worked up over them may seem pretty silly. But it was one of those things that makes you smile and somehow shows you that everything works out in the end. When you can find something in a normal day that makes it super special, it makes your life a tad bit brighter.

Plus, the shoes were really cute.

-Emily

Barefoot in the Park

One of the best movies ever made is Barefoot in the Park. If you haven't seen it, it is about a newlywed couple (played by the amazing Jane Fonda and the oh so attractive Robert Redford) who have just moved into a small, shabby apartment on the top floor of a building that has no elevator. The wife has a hilarious mother (played by Mildred Natwick), and they have an exotic neighbor that lives in the attic and uses their bedroom window to get to his flat. It is a great movie that will keep you laughing the entire time. However, the point of this post is not to give a movie review.

While taking my dog out this morning, I was reminded of Barefoot in the Park. There is a part in the movie where they describe all of their very odd neighbors. For example, there is one apartment that seems vacant because no one is ever seen going in or out, but there are always several empty cans of cat food that appear outside the door every day. Today I started to realize that I have some pretty odd neighbors myself. None of them have cans of cat food outside their doors, but they still are interesting.

I have one neighbor that lives across the hall from me. I met them once on the day they moved in, but I have never seen them since. I am starting to wonder if they are actually invisible. At first I just thought it was strange that I never seemed to see them. I mean, I see all of my other neighbors pretty regularly. So every now and then I will go and look out my peep hole in the door when I hear them leave their apartment. No matter how quickly I get to the door, there is never anyone in sight. I will even look out into the parking lot to see if someone is going to their car. But there never is. My invisible neighbors have an invisible car too. Or maybe Im just going crazy?

Then there's the long-boarders. It is a group of guys that live in the next building over. They each have a long board and they will just skate in circles around the buildings. I have almost clipped a couple with my car several times. Then every once in awhile they do the most entertaining thing. Two of them own big german shepherds. So they put them on their leashes and go zooming up and down the parking lot with their dogs pulling them. It's like Alaskan sled races, but the Georgia version.

There are a few other interesting people who live around here, but the strangest and my favorite is the little old man who takes walks. Sometimes he is with his tiny dog, but he is always wearing extremely short shorts and a t-shirt with the sleeves and sides cut out. He has a big pot belly, too. All he ever does is walk all around the complex. That doesn't sound so strange does it? Well it is because he is constantly having conversations with himself. At first I thought he was using one of those bluetooth phones, but then he asked himself a question and answered it too. When you put everything together, he is a very old man that wears very little clothing and talks with himself while taking walks. Definitely an interesting character.

One of the best parts about living alone is finding your Barefoot in the Park neighbors. Mine are not too extreme or crazy, but they do make living here much more fun. One of my very favorite hobbies is people watching, but not in the creepy way. You can learn so much about the people around you just by sitting on the porch with a cup of tea and watching. And in no way do I mean to insult these people for their oddities. When you see the weirdness in someone else, it makes it more fun to be weird yourself! So the next time you are bored and have nothing to do, brew yourself a cup of tea, go onto the porch, and find your Barefoot in the Park neighbors.

-Emily

Party Preparation

This post is sort of all over the place, but that's how I'm feeling today. I am going to a graduation party tonight for one of our friends. I have hit that all to familiar wall while getting ready today. What should I wear? I love clothes and trying out new outfits, but I have hit a point where I can't come up with anymore outfit combinations with what I have in my closet (and in the drawers, and on the chair, and strewn about the floor). All of my outfits feel so together and they make so much sense, but today I am feeling nonsensical. And I need an outfit to match. So naturally I consulted Pinterest.

The strappy tanks as mentioned.

In the magical land of Pinterest all of my problems would be solved. However, when I was browsing through "spring fashion 2015 casual" I hit another wall. I couldn't find very many outfits that weren't insanely skimpy. So much of it was belly shirts and shorts that would have been much more practical as underwear. I also saw something that looked exactly like a bra, but it had several different straps going around the back to make a design. It was labeled as a tank top, but it was missing the tank and barely had the top. I don't understand how it has become acceptable and normal to pretty much wear a bra and denim underwear in public. Where is modesty and self respect? Where are the outraged parents who can't stand the idea of their daughters walking around half naked? Pardon my language, but what the hell is wrong with my generation?

When we were young, my mom allowed us to chose what we wore (even if that meant I was going to school in two different knee-high socks and rainbow sweaters that sparkled), but she still made sure to set boundaries. When we saw Brittany Spears' belly shirts and short shorts we asked if we could wear that too. Then what my mom said next is the main difference between how I grew up and how these other girls grew up. She said no. Sure we whined and moaned then because it was definitely the end of the world. But we thank her now for teaching us what is and what isn't okay to wear in public. Compared to most girls in my generation I dress very modestly. Because of that, I don't get tons of attention from jerks in bermuda shorts who see me as a piece of meat. I was able to find a guy who loves me and respects me for more than my butt hanging out of my shorts. I am not in and out of relationships every 3 weeks, and most importantly I have respect for myself. I feel like a lot of girls in my generation have lost that, and now they strive to get as many guys to look at them so that they can feel wanted and special. I admit that I just made a huge generalization, but it makes the point well. When you have respect for yourself people will notice, and they will respect you too. As soon as that happens, maybe Pinterest will be more helpful in my clothing endeavors.

So after my very long rant about today's strange fashion trends, I still need something to wear for tonight. I already got frustrated with my hair today which led to me cutting my own bangs (I won't do that again), so hopefully when I go back on Pinterest I won't get frustrated and I try to DIY all of my clothes. But it's been known to happen.

-Emily

Lobster Killer Qu'est-ce Que C'est

Several weeks ago, I got the chance to perform a scene from the movie Julie & Julia in my very own kitchen. You know the scene where Julie is trying to recreate Julia's lobster dish and she has to cook a live lobster? And then her boyfriend starts singing "lobster killer qu'est-ce que c'est" to the tune of Psycho Killer by Talking Heads? Well that was me, just in slightly different circumstances.

I am currently a culinary student at my university, and this last semester I took a class called Basic Culinary Skills. It was basically just a hands on cooking class that met once a week for 3 hours. One of the greatest classes I have ever taken (even though I accidentally missed the final, but that's another story). One day I received an email from one of the culinary professors, Chef Thor. He was putting together a project for all of the Basic Culinary classes. A lobster project. Chef Thor's email was a little confusing because he is from Iceland and English is not his first language. However, we were all able to decipher that we had to stop by the kitchens that day to receive coolers full of food for our project. We had to take all of the food, including two live lobsters, and make into one cohesive dinner.

The food we were given.

We were given 2 onions, 2 tomatoes, 2 lemons, an english cucumber, a pound of butter, an entire bottle of olive oil, a whole jar of capers, a bundle of parsley, a head of lettuce, a rather large baguette, a tub of rice, two lobsters (alive and kicking), and two lobster bibs (which I forgot to use). I was quite perplexed with the idea of fitting all of these things together into a meal that actually made sense. The obvious answer was to put everything into one big lobster gumbo. But I am not a huge fan of gumbo. I decided to do three courses, using one of the ingredients throughout each to tie them together. I chose the lemon for that.

First was the appetizer. I decided to make bruschetta. I started it by cutting the bread into small slices, brushing them with olive oil, and putting them in the toaster over to brown. For things like that I prefer to use the toaster oven because my oven takes half a century to preheat. Anyway, next I diced one onion and cooked it in butter (because butter makes everything better). I removed the seeds from the tomatoes and diced them, and I added them to the onions with plenty of salt and pepper until it all became soft. I also minced up some capers and added them to the still warm onion/tomato mixture. Each bread slice was topped with the veggies, and on top of that I added some parsley, lemon zest, and some cracked sea salt. I am not a huge fan of tomatoes, so I only had half of one. My boyfriend, Roger ate the other seven and a half. I guess he liked them!

Tomato & Onion Bruschetta.

The next two parts of the meal had the lobster in them. Cooking the lobsters was quite an event. I did some investigating on Pinterest beforehand so that I had some sort of an idea as to how to cook lobster. As a broke college student, it's not something I cook very often. In fact, this was my first time doing it. So I read that you had to put them into boiling water head first and let them cook for about 15 minutes. Simple enough. Except that picking them up turned out to be insanely freaky. Every single time I would grab one its antenna would tickle my arm. I dropped one of them a couple of times...poor little guy. I did finally get the courage up to put one into the water. I held him tightly with a dish towel and dunked him into the boiling pot of water. Immediately he stretched out his claws so that I his tail didn't fit into the pot. The little dude started screaming (yes, screaming) and flapped his tail viciously, spraying boiling water all over the kitchen. I screamed along with him. Eventually, I did manage to get him fully in the pot with the lid on. When Roger got to my apartment he found me distraught and crying. I told him what happened, and he burst into laughter. Looking back, I really don't blame him. It was really funny. But he did put the second one in the water for me. He's a good guy.

My boyfriend being goofy.

The rice cooking.

I used the claw meat from the lobsters for salads. They were very simple salads. They were made up of the lettuce, cucumber, lobster claw meat, lemon juice, olive oil, and then just some salt and pepper. The lobster was way over cooked, but it still tasted good. For the main course I made a rice dish that was a mix between rice pilaf and risotto. Then the rice got topped with the meat from the lobster tail and also some lemon juice. For the rice, I started by dicing up the other onion really small and cooking it in butter until it was just clear. I then cooked the rice in the butter and onions, but I didn't let it brown. I took some of the broth from where I had cooked the lobsters and added saffron to it to let it steep. Then I added chicken broth base to some more of the lobster water, and I added that to the rice and onions one scoop at a time until it got absorbed. I also added one bay leaf. I let the rice, saffron, and broth cook for awhile, and at the end I stirred in some cheese. Somewhere alone the line I also added in a splash of vodka I was trying to go through, but that wasn't necessary. Again, the lobster was over cooked, but overall it was really delicious.

 Overall, it was a very interesting experience. Something I would definitely like to take another go at. In the end, despite the over cooked lobster and the massive mess I made in the kitchen, I made an A on the project.

-Emily

Margret Mae

My dear Margret.

Maggie is my dog, as I'm sure you can tell my the picture, however she is sometimes mistaken for a feline so I thought I would be very clear about it. She is my darling little eleven-year-old shih-tzu. Although in many cases she could be easily classified as a shit-zoo. She is a very large part of my world because she is my only roommate right now (I have plans to get a fish). Since she is so important and obviously adorable, I thought I should give a little back story to this fluff ball, as she will most likely be popping up several times in my posts.

She started out as our family dog. We got her when we first moved from St. Louis to Georgia. She was part of the deal that my parents made with us. They asked what would make the move easier on us, and my sisters and I said a dog and a pool. We definitely got the pool, but sometimes I still question if we got a dog, a cat, or a rodent. She exemplifies all of three of those critters in one fluffy package. But we love her all the same! When we got her we had the fun task of bestowing her with a name. My eight-year-old suggestion was immediately turned down by my sisters AND my parents. Apparently Chunk is not a good name for a dog. The name Maggie was chosen by my mom because she had always wanted a daughter named Margret that she could call Maggie for short. So little Maggie had received a name.

One of her favorite past times.

She really does love it.

Over the next ten years, Maggie and I grew closer. Each of my sisters moved out, and it just became Maggie and me living with my parents. For those couple of years our bond grew stronger, and she became my little buddy. So when the time for me to go off to college drew nearer and nearer, I started to worry about how little I would get to see her. She had always been there when I was crying and needed some love, or when I was mad and needed a good laugh. How could I face the biggest change in my life without that goofy little dog? But then, my luck changed.

Just a couple months before my graduation, my dad got a new job in Texas. Our whole lives got thrown into chaos (more than normal). I had already been accepted to my university, so it was clear that I would be staying in Georgia, but my parents would not. We were all of a sudden in a frenzy trying to get the house on the market, which was made extremely difficult with my dad already having moved to Texas. My mom still had to stay so that she could finish up at her job, and also work on getting the house ready for sale. The only problem was that she would still need a place to live, and so would Maggie. So we canceled my lease at the college dorms, and the summer before my first semester, we went apartment hunting for my mom, myself, and of course Maggie.It was decided that my mom would live with me until the house was on the market, then she would leave for Texas. For awhile I had assumed that Maggie would be going with her. But then the greatest thing happened. They said I could keep her.

I do partially believe that the only reason I got to keep Mags was because my mom didn't think she could handle the stress of a plane ride and would die (quite likely), and my dad wanted me to have some kind of alarm system when I started living alone (he was not entirely sold on the idea). But either way, it is undeniable that it was a good decision.

Now it is just me and my crazy little shih-tzu. She is full of anxiety issues, and she is extremely stubborn. She always backs onto the carpet when coming off of tile flooring, she is terrified of stairs, thunder, and her own shadow, and she only comes when she wants to. But she is still the greatest dog I could ever ask for. In her old age she spends most of her time sleeping and taking up the entire couch, but she still had a small spark of fire in her. Miss Maggie Mae is the best roommate, and she fills me to the brim with giggles and smiles.

-Emily

Finding a Forgotten Love

I am very much part of the generation who was forced to read all sorts of "horrid books" my entire life, and, regrettably, I lost my passion for reading. It's not that I am a bad reader or that I don't have time for reading. I just have not had the same hunger for the written word that I used to have when I was younger. In school they would push tons of books that were probably very good, but we detested the thought of them because they had that one terrible word attached to them: homework. If you tell any young pupil that something is homework it will instantly become, in their eyes, some vicious monster with patchy gray fur, bulging yellow eyes, and big ugly fangs. That can make even the greatest stories like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby seem like dry toast.

Now that I am older and look back at the books I declared as ridiculous, I see that I was quite wrong about them. Except for As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. No offense to any diehard Faulkner fans, but that was truly dreadful to read. However, in almost every way I found that I was completely wrong about reading as a whole. I discovered the thrill of being lost in an enchanting story, and the agony of that story ending, leaving you feeling as though you had discovered an amazing new world that you could no longer return to. Unless, of course, you read the book again. The two books that made me fall in love with reading again were The Great Gatsby and East of Eden. Since then I have been reading more and more to catch up on lost time. After all of the books I have read, no other series is nearly as important as what I am reading now.

In my family, Harry Potter has played a huge role in our lives. I remember my mom reading the books to my two sisters and I as kids, and always waiting for the next one to come out. I was much younger than my sisters when my mom started to read the books to us. So when they out grew being read to, they continued to read the story on their own. I, however, was at the awkward age of being old enough to read the Harry Potter books, but being young enough that I did not have the incentive or motivation to read them on my own. The story did continue to play a large role in my life as the movies came out. From then on I was well versed in the films, but not so much in the books. Growing up like that, I have had a very unique intertwining with the story.

Most people read the books and then saw the movies, and they all got upset with how the movies changed a few things. Then there are the people who watched all of the movies and then read the books. My experience has been different than both of those. I was introduced to the magic of it all from the books when I was little, but then I went on to only see the movies. But even my movie-watching experience was mixed with things from the books because my mom and sisters all would say to me "no this is how it REALLY happened," or "this movie got it wrong because in the book..." and so on. So now I am reading all of the books on my own to catch up on anything I was not already aware of. It has given me an interesting way of seeing the story now.

Reading the Harry Potter books is a lot like finally hearing the true story after listening to people spread around rumors. I know the story well from several different sources, but now I am learning what really happened and exactly how it happened. I'm sure there are people who would criticize me for being someone who watched the movies before reading the books, but I wouldn't change anything about the way I've gotten to know the story. Harry Potter plays as big a role in my life now as it did when I first heard my mom read "Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived."

-Emily

The Life of Pies

Sick days are the worst. Your head hurts, your nose is puffy and red, and all you want is comfort food, but you have zero energy to make any. Today I am having a sick day. And all I want in the world is warm and delicious cherry pie. The recipe I have is my grandmother's, and I have many fond memories of covering it completely in whipped cream and eating it on Thanksgiving. There is just something magical about comfort food and how it makes us all feel better. So today I am sharing this yummy cherry pie recipe because I am craving it more than anything!

Here's how to make it! (Some pictures are included at the bottom)

If you plan to chill your crust then start with that. If you're like me and don't chill the crust despite all of the recommendations, start with the filling.

Grandma's Cherry Pie Filling:

1. 2 cans of tart pitted red cherries.
2. 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.
3. 3/4 cups of sugar (or 7 artificial sugar packets if you would like a sugar-free pie).
4. 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.
5. 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
6. 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract.
7. 5 drops of red food coloring.
8. 1 tablespoon of butter.
9. 3 cups of all-purpose flour.
10. 2 cups of shortening (regular vegetable shortening works well).
11. 1 teaspoon salt.
12. 1 cup of ice water.

Open your 2 cans of cherries and pour only the juice into a medium sauce pan. You should have about 2 cups of liquid. Do not rinse the cherries because it just washes away all of their flavor. Add in the cornstarch and heat the mixture over medium-high heat. Be sure to stir it consistently so that the cornstarch doesn't clump and stick to the bottom of the pan. As soon as it gets hot enough it will thicken and turn into the consistency of a thick glaze. Add in your sugar and stir it in until it is melted. Remove your pan from the heat. Now add in your lemon juice, salt, and almond extract. I used imitation almond extract because my sister has a nut allergy, but it tasted exactly the same. Next, add in the cherries and stir them until they are well incorporated with the sauce. Finally, add your food coloring in. The main purpose of it is to brighten the color and make it pretty, but if you have an allergy to food dye then you can leave it out.

Let it cool a little before you pour it into your pie crust. Then the last touch is to cut your butter into fourths and disperse them on top of the filling once it is in the pie plate. Do not forget this step! I know from experience how much of a pain it is to try and lift up the top crust and add those in. It really is the finishing touch that makes all the difference.

Now for the pie crust! the original recipe calls for 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter, 1 part ice water. I didn't like the flavor of the salt so I replaced it with shortening because that is what my grandmother's recipe used. The 3,2,1 ratios seemed to work pretty well. However, be prepared to tweak as needed. It is not set in stone, so don't be afraid to add more flour if needed even though the recipe says 3 cups. Cooking isn't always exact or perfect. And that's okay.

Perfect Pie Crust:

If you made your filling first like me, this is the point in time where you will need to get your oven preheating. Turn it to 400 degrees. Now the crust. Get a big bowl and wash your hands. As they say on the food network "your best cooking tools are a pair of clean hands." Add the flour, salt, and shortening together and mix with your hands until they make crumbs. If the shortening seems like it is staying in big clumps you may need to add a bit more flour. Next, add in your ice water a little bit at a time. And when I say ice water I mean it. I had a bowl filled with ice and water and took it from there as I needed it. As you add it in, mix it with the crumbs you just made until it gets to the right texture. You do not want it sticky, but you also don't want it to be crumbling and falling apart. Once it is where you want it, take half and roll it out on a floured surface. Add flour to the top of it if it sticks to your rolling-pin. Place it into the pie plate and roll out the top crust. (If you struggle with getting it into the plate, try rolling the crust onto the rolling-pin so you can transport it without breaking it). Put your filling into the bottom crust (Don't forget your butter!!) and before topping it, take a butter knife and gently poke a design into the top crust. This makes it pretty, but more importantly it lets air escape while it cooks. Top your pie, seal the edges, and bake it at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

I hope you enjoy!!

-Emily

Just Getting Started...

Hello all! I am Emily. I am a new blogger. Well, not completely brand new. I did start a food blog several months ago where I made 5 or 6 posts. Obviously it went nowhere (not because my food was bad), so I am starting over here! I am not entirely sure of what I am doing quite yet (and I realize that for a long time this will be like talking to myself), but I am all set and ready to hop on to the bumpy ride that is this blog.

Trying to pick a blog topic, or as I read somewhere a blog "niche," has not been easy. I love food, crafts, and also the occasional rant about how ridiculous I find my generation (and people in general for that matter). Most of my time is taken up with food, my shih-tzu and dear boyfriend, Netflix, and being crafty. Usually, but not always in that order. I want this blog to be a combination of all of those things, even if they don't normally fit together. I did finally picked a topic that ties every aspect of my life into one, somewhat cohesive "niche."

The purpose of this blog will be to simply share recipes, give crafty and creative ideas, occasionally rant about life in general, and overall give insight into the chaotic fun that you can only find as a college student living alone for the first time.

So from here I will delve into the guide on how to survive the boredom and fears that come with living alone for the first time. I will also share what I think is the best way to make the most of life when you are a broke college student. It may be a painful start, but that's how most things begin. After all, no one said it was easy to fight zombies with frying pans.

Here we go.

-Emily.