its that time of year

im back.

i have completely embraced the holiday season. i spend my evenings mostly in the comforts of my cozy apartment in sweat pants and wool socks. embracing the christmas spirit, i made cut-out sugar cookies to give away to friends and indulge in over homemade hot chocolate and a movie. i thought it would be hilarious to purposely break off these sugar cookies arms and legs and frost on painful faces. to say the least, they definitely were a conversation starter and definitely showcased exactly how weird i can really be.

ive got the blogging itch back, finally.
it didn't have anything to do with my family complaining about looking at the stupid porcelain rooster every morning either.

saturday.

it was one of the most beautiful days in columbus this fall. one of my favorite neighbor friends, shawn, and i took a early afternoon stroll to the various short north vintage shops before i started packing for seattle.

got some cool hipstamatic prints, and got the spend some time a dear friend.

good day.

oh, and i really want an amazing crystal decanter.

yup.

us.

someone probably should name a city after us.

..and later say its all our fault.

and its contagious.

the week dedicated to tomatoes

my family came down to visit me on saturday and my mom brought me a trash bag full of tomatoes, and all sorts of different peppers. in an effort to not let any go to waste i've been making anything i can, eating all i can and pawning off some tomatoes to co-workers.

ive always wanted to make fresh homemade salsa and i desperately wanted to use my new juicer i got at springfield last week, and after a long day at work monday, i lit some candles, flipped on some music and chopped.

springfield extravaganza

on friday, my team and i took a day trip out to springfield, ohio for the flea market extravaganza. i got a couple random knick-knacks, but, what i am most excited about is the glass juicer i snagged. these as some of my favorite pictures i took while i enjoyed my day out of the office, aimlessly roaming around the springfield.

peanut butter pretzel chocolate truffles

after a particularly long thursday, i invited kayla over for a movie, peanut butter-pretzel chocolate truffles and wine. whoever thought of pairing chocolate and peanut butter is a shear genius. throwing in some pretzels in the mix made completed the 'something sweet, something salting' craving i had after i made dinner.

slice of columbus.

wednesday night, a few friends and i headed downtown to the slice of columbus charity event for nationwide children's hospital. $10 for all you can eat pizza from over 15 different pizza places around columbus? um. yes.

it goes without saying we way overindulged. i couldn't say no to the free ice cream from Culver's'.

there is something awesome about falling asleep on the couch to the food channel on a random wednesday night with a stomach full of pizza.

homemade hummus

it is insane how much better homemade hummus is than store bought hummus. after my first attempt of using yeast went awry when i tired making homemade english muffins, i decided to make something new that didn't require baking or waiting three hours for yeast that never actually rose.

after way over indulging myself when i was in california for the last part of august and beginning of september, i have been eating healthy, waking up with sessions of yoga and jogging in the crisp air around goodale park. this hummus is a killer addition to my 'think healthy' mindset i've recently been diggin' on.

what a good run, summer.

with my return from my californian vacation last week, it is time to say goodbye to what will now be known as one of the best summers of my life.

i am looking forward to getting back to my blog with new recipes, new adventures, new photos, and anything else i happen to fancy for the moment.

(my favorite pic i took in cali - laguna beach area)

fanastic journal for recipes

it's been a whole 15 months to the day since i graduated college. since then i've turned 23, resigned the lease on my apartment, opened a 401k, and recently been promoted.

my next venture? a recipe journal.

i love this leather bound one i found on etsy.

how amazing?

strawberry cream cheese muffins

so, strawberrys are 4 packs for 5 dollars at giant eagle right now. what?

in an effort to not let them go to waste i made strawberry cream cheese muffins tonight.

i have meant to be preparing for our weekend camping/white water rafting trip in WV this weekend, but i thought a strawberry muffin for breakfast sounded brilliant.

i will prepare tomorrow.

lake cumberland, ky

this past weekend i drove down 5 1/2 hours to lake cumberland kentucky to meet my family for an extended weekend of tubing, skiing and relaxation. i love my family and a day off work and a drive back to columbus on monday that stole a little bit of my soul, all so i could hangout on the lake was 100% worth it.

cream cheese lobster pizza

i originally set out to make cream cheese lobster wontons, however the crappy giant eagle by my apartment doesn't carry wonton wrappers. kayla made a cream cheese crab pizza one time this past spring, so when i saw the package of lobster and the package of cream cheese in my fridge, i had a stroke of genius.

this pizza is delicious for dinner, delicious for lunch, and delicious for lunch the day after that.

red white and boom

the most amazing view of columbus fireworks.