Snickerdoodle whoopie pies.

Remember that one time when I made whoopie pies? Those were the traditional version. I have since bought a whoopie pie cookbook. Not the same one I talked about that my mom has (which I still need to get), but one I found for $3.99 at TJ Maxx. Awesome.

There are a bunch of great recipes in this book as well, and the first one I tried were the snickerdoodle whoopie pies, per request from the fiancé. Who doesn't love a yummy, cinnamon-y snickerdoodle??? No one, obviously. This recipe was a hit and the cookies were so soft and fluffy! Here' the recipe:

Makes 15

- generous 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- large pinch of salt

- 2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/2 cup butter, softened

- 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp superfine sugar

- 1 large egg, beaten

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 2/3 cup buttermilk

Coffee filling

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

- scant 1/2 cup cream cheese

- 1 Tbsp cold black coffee

- 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2-3 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer til pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract followed by half of the flour mixture and then the buttermilk. Stir in the rest of the flour mixture.

Pipe or spoon 30 mounds of the batter onto the cookie sheets, spaced well apart to allow for spreading. Mix together the rest of the cinnamon with the 2 Tbsp of sugar and sprinkle liberally over the mounds. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and just firm to the touch. Cool for 5 minutes and move to a cooling rack.

For the filling, place the butter, cream cheese, and coffee in a bowl and beat together until well blended. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. To assemble, spread or pipe the filling on the flat side of half of the cakes. Top with the rest of the cakes.

There ya have it! Delicious. I actually didn't make the coffee filling this time because Nick didn't want it, so I just made regular cream cheese icing. It was still just as yummy, but next time I'm doing the coffee filling!

Lace-patterned jeans.

[Peplum top and jeans: The Limited // Booties: DV Dolce Vita // Earrings: Forever 21]

When I was home, I tried on this pair of Joe's jeans at the Nordstrom sale and fell in love. However, I couldn't justify spending that much if I couldn't even wear them to work. My mom even loved them, but she felt the same way. It just wouldn't be smart. You can imagine my excitement when, a few weeks later, I come into work and my co-workers are looking at the brand guide for our next floorset and they say to me, "you're going to flip, just come look at this." Yes, it was true, WE WERE GETTING IN LACE-PATTERNED JEANS!!!!!

Yes, I flipped. SO excited. These aren't blush colored, but I still love these AND I can wear them to work. Win-win. I decided to pair the girly lace pattern with an equally girly peplum top but toughen it up with sky-high black and sparkly booties. Once the weather gets cooler, this will be my go-to outfit for nights out, I'll just add my leather jacket! I'm seriously obsessed right now.

This weekend...

... I pretended I was still a college student.

It was the weekend of what Milli-kids call "First Week" around here, a.k.a. the first week before classes, meaning they can have some fun without worrying about homework and all that yet. Of course, this continues throughout the year.

Michelle and Joe were coming into town Saturday night, and then I found out my twin in my Delta family, Alyssa, was already here visiting her boyfriend. So of course I just had to go out after work Saturday night.

It ended up being a lot of fun, but I was suffering a little bit yesterday. Y'know, massive headache, and then conveniently my cramps started kicking in. Perfect timing. Buuut there's nothing like a big greasy breakfast, some painkillers, and laying on the couch all day to cure the woes of a hangover. I did absolutely nothing yesterday, but since it was my only day off in awhile, I figured it was ok ;)

It was great to see some people I haven't seen in awhile, and it's so crazy that school is already starting up for everyone! I'm excited to see some more people I haven't seen all summer, too. This is what makes me happy that I am still in Decatur. Obviously it's not the ideal, but honestly, where else would we go right now in this in-between stage? This way, we get to work with our voice teachers AND see our friends that are still in school, and conveniently, most of the people graduating this eyar are the people I know anymore, and when they leave, we're leaving for our next step in life. It really works out perfectly!

Annnd everyone once in awhile, I'll pretend I'm still in college. Just occasionally.... and the good thing is, if I am useless for a day like I was yesterday, I wont' have to be worrying about the homework I should be doing, like I was when I actually was still in school :)

Michelle and I.

Andrew!

My twin, Alyssa :)

Pure indulgence almond cupcakes.

I got this recipe from a cupcake cookbook my friend, Michelle, bought when we are at TJ Maxx during her visit. I love almond flavor, so I thought this recipe sounded delicious.... I was right - they are! Next time I'm making a double batch! Good thing I have a little frosting leftover....

Makes 12:

- 7 Tbsp butter, softened

- 1/2 cup superfine sugar

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten

- 1/4 tsp almond extract

- 4 Tbsp light cream

- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 3/4 cup ground almonds

- toasted slivered almonds to decorate

*Note: I ground up my almonds in a blender. Super fast and easy!

Buttercream:

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter

- generous 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

- few drops of almond extract

*Note: I added a little more sugar to make a larger batch of frosting and used a few Tbsp of cream to make it hold together better!

Preheat oven to 350. Place butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together til light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs and then add the almond extract and cream. Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold into the batter with the ground almonds.

Spoon the batter into a cupcake pan with paper liners. Bake for 25 minutes, or until risen, golden, and firm to the touch. Let cool.

For buttercream, place butter in a large bowl and beat til creamy. Sift in powdered sugar, add the almond extract, and beat together til smooth. Spread over the cupcakes and decorate with slivered almonds.

Enjoy!

J. Crew loveliness.

So I made the mistake of looking at the new arrivals at J. Crew online....

I think it's safe to say that I basically want everything. Look at how cute those flats are!!! SO many cute tops, shoes, jewelry, jackets, and everything in between. A couple of my favs??

The sequin bow pants:

[I mean, I kind of need those, don't you think? Too bad they're over $400.....]

Annd this beautiful jacket:

UGH. So pretty. Check out all new arrivals with the link I posted above, and check out the lookbook here. So many great styled outfits!

Cooking together.

Last night was absolutely perfect. Nick worked til 6, I was at work til about 6:30, and our plan was to make eggplant parmesan for dinner! When I got home, Nick was already getting the eggplant sliced up and ready to go! We breaded the eggplant slices and browned them in a pan before putting them in the baking pan, and we spiced up our tomato sauce with garlic, pepper, cinnamon, cayenne, and a teensy bit of nutmeg. It was super yummy. I love that my fiancé loves to cook and that he's so good at just winging it in the kitchen (he rarely follows a recipe). I also love that we actually were able to cook together last night and then have time to enjoy it together and relax the rest of the evening! With a side of kale and a glass of wine, it was the perfect dinner to eat while starting in on yet another HBO show on HBO online: Big Love. Nick was skeptical at first, but I definitely got him hooked. Woops! ;)

Making him take pictures with me... hehe

My miracle product.

My hair stuff came yesterday! This stuff is seriously the best thing. In the past year or so, I have finally started figuring out my hair. I'm pretty low-maintenance when it comes to the hair thing, but my hair is very fine, yet I have a lot of it, so it can be difficult at times. One of the things that can be annoying is that, because it's fine, it breaks verrrry easily, and when I try growing it out it never seems to grow fast or at all really. Trust me, I try everything I can think of to keep my hair healthy, like washing it every other day, not flat-ironing a lot, and using leave-in treatments and heat protective sprays before I do style with heat.

So my mom bought this stuff from her salon back home, and while I was home last Christmas, I started using the conditioning masque and loved it. She also had some sample sizes of the serum and I used it every time I styled my hair. I loved how smooth and soft it made my hair and how nicely it would lay. My mom sent me home with another pump of the masque she had and a couple more of the sample sizes of serum. Even without using the shampoo as well, I swear my hair is healthier and it has definitely grown! I think that chopping my hair short last fall really helped too, because I had too many layers going on and it was breaking off easier, but this stuff has definitely been a part of it. Like I said, I try really hard to keep my hair healthy, including regular trims (about 6-8 weeks), and I swear, each time, my hair dresser has to take at least 1/2" off if not more to get all of the bad ends. I went 3 months without getting a hair cut, and she barely took anything off! She even told me there was barely anything to take off! I was ecstatic, because this never happens, and I think my hair is going to be grown out a lot faster than I thought and definitely way before my wedding!

Some of the benefits of this product are:

- vegan

- no animal testing

- no artificial preservatives

- sulfate free (chemicals that make it sudsy... even without the shampoo lathers nicely!)

- no sodium chloride or dyes

- enriched with omega-6, panthenol, rice keratin, and antioxidants

- conditioner repairs damage and strenthens

- and much more!

So basically, I love this stuff, and I decided that this is what I am going to use all the time. Certain salons carry it, but there aren't any around me that do, so I ordered the set of conditioning shampoo, intensive hair repair masque, and leave-in serum from Amazon for about $38! A super good deal. For more info you can go to the Dermorganic site.

Get some ASAP. I guarantee you'll love it!

Flower power.

[Shirt: J. Crew // Pants: The Limited // Wedges: Target // Earrings: Urban Outfitters // Nail polish: F21]

Aren't these the most obnoxious/awesome pants ever?? I'm pretty much in love with them. They came out about a month ago and I resisted buying them, but when I got back from my trip they were on a Style deal for employees for $15. Obviously I just had to buy them. Duh.

When I wanted to wear these pants to work yesterday I thought of making it a bit more summery. Lately I've been in Fall mode and have been wearing boots/jeans/jackets to work. Mostly because I really want Fall, but also because it's freezing in the store despite what it may be like outside. I didn't realize for a sec that EVERYTHING in my outfit has flowers: Flower pants, flowers on the shoes, flower earrings, flowers on the blouse..... I guess I'm just a floral kinda gal. But what's not to love? Whether you wear one floral piece, like these pants or a great printed dress or blouse, or flower details head to toe like I did, it's a great way to add some femininity and flirtiness to an outfit!

Losing sleep.

So, I went to bed dog-tired last night at 12 am and I even took one mil of melatonin to aid my sleep.... what does my body decide to do (or more like my mind)?? Wake up at 5:40 am and absolutely refuse to go back to sleep. Ugh.

Of course, it doesn't take long after I wake up for me to start thinking. About everything. I start humming songs in my head. I start thinking about work, like "what am I going to wear today?" (I know, stressful things, haha). I mostly start thinking about how little money I have right now. It's really due to the fact that I took a week-and-a-half off of work to go home, which was totally worth it, and I know that! But it's really hard to think that so early in the morning. And Nick and I are fine and it's not like bills are hard, thank God, but it's frustrating. Especially when I thought I had much more cash in my "Wedding Fund" envelope than I actually do, now that I've counted it again. Like, $100 less than I thought I had :( And we need to start paying the church and get a DJ squared away. I really can't put anything away this month because, well, I did have fun when I was home and spend a little money, because, hell, I was on vacation! But the paycheck I just got last Friday was less than $200 because I missed an entire week on that pay period. Not fun. And my next paycheck conveniently comes right before rent is due again. I'm back to work and it will all even out and I'll be able to put money away for my wedding again, but I hate thinking about it right now, and yes, it causes me to lose sleep every once in awhile. *sigh* Yeah, I just needed to vent and release some stress. I realize that I am so lucky to live where I live, and to have the job I have, and Nick is lucky to have the job that he has. Crap, the fact that we have jobs in general is fantastic! So many people don't right now. I am so grateful for that, and I am grateful that I actually can have pretty much the wedding of my dreams if I want. I just can't wait for the day when money isn't quite as stressful! Y'know, when I'm still living paycheck to paycheck, but at least said paycheck is just a tad bit bigger than it is now. At least I have Nick to get through this time in life together! We do alright, and we live a good life, it just stinks that money can put a damper on that. Well, there's only up from here, and it's just inspiration for us to make our dreams come true in our lives :)

In the meantime, anyone wanna donate to our wedding fund??? Haha, jk... but seriously.... ;)

It's a good day.

[Maxi dress & necklace: The Limited // Earrings, sandals, & sunnies: Target // Silver bangles: Nordstrom // Elephant ring: F21 // Bag: Kate Spade New York at Nordstrom]

close-up of my new little friend.

It's Friday. I'm finally getting over this stupid cold (just a little congestion left). I have all day to get some laundry done and clean up the apartment (yes, that is actually fun for me). I have brownie mix to make. I also have Saturday and Sunday off. The best part about today?? My fabulous/beautiful/wonderful friend and bridesmaid is coming TONIGHT. And we get to hang out all weekend longgggg. Now, I love living with Nick and having our friend Andrew right down the street, but I feel like they're my only friends as of late. I need my girl time. I really haven't had much this summer and it's kind of sad. So she's coming (and bringing her fiancé so Nick has a friend, too) and we are going to get some Mexican and jumbo margaritas tonight at pretty much every Millikin student's/alumni's favorite place, Mi Pueblito. What's better than cheap food and really strong margaritas?? Especially when they are huge and on special? Nothing, that's what.

So, cheers to a great Friday and weekend, my friends!

P.S. The Kate Spade purse? Yeah, that's actually mine now. I'm a proud mama. Isn't she beautiful???? Yes, it's definitely possible to be in love with a bag ;)

My future home....

... will hopefully be filled with things from Restoration Hardware.

I mean, that is if all things go as planned and Nick and I are opera stores, obvi.

I mean, seriously, this place has some of the most gorgeous pieces of furniture. And the light in this place makes it look even better. I just want a nice little home to decorate! Is that so much to ask? Too bad Nick and A) Have no money (and probably won't have enough money ever) to afford this stuff and B) Will not be settled in one place, especially not a house, in quite some time. Such is the life of a musician/singer... first we have to get through school... and then get jobs... and if our plan works out, we'll be traveling a lot. *sigh* A girl can dream, right?

Farm table. NEED.

Can this be my living room?

Second trip to P-town.

As of today, I have been home from Oregon for 1 week.

It feels like muuuuuch longer than that.

I'm definitely back in the swing of things at work and whatnot, but I still miss everything about my trip. However, I am reminded of how much of a whirlwind it was by the fact that Nick and I are both sick with a cold and congested and all that good stuff, most likely due to our packed schedule while home, late nights hanging out with friends and family, and then being so tired and having defenses down on our flight back to Illinois. Boo that!

I'm reminiscing on my trip and all of the fun and thought I'd post some pics from our second trip up to Portland for our catering tasting and a trip to Bartini, a great little bar off of 21st. The catering tasting was PHENOMENAL. Seriously, some awesome food. We ate so much we were still full at 9 pm. No joke. Nick probably ate half of the prime rib that was prepared for us because Dave (the owner of the company) kept piling it on his plate! I had discussed menus with Dave beforehand over e-mail and picked a few things to try that I thought would work for our Italian/Northwest-inspired dinner we want to have. I picked the pasta, the NW cedar-plank salmon, prime rib (Nick's favorite!), an apple waldorf salad, Oregon pear salad, and some passed appetizers like mini spanikopita, seafood puffs, and bruschetta topped with tapenade, mango salsa, and smoked salmon spread. The dinner menus also come with a fresh fruit display and fresh veggie display, and they had that on a much smaller scale. We looked at pictures from events they've done, and it looks so awesome! The presentation is so well done. So basically we found our caterer and are so excited because we know people will be raving about the food. We sure couldn't stop raving about it for the entire rest of the week!

We walked around NW 23rd til Bartini opened at 4 for happy hour! Every day from 4-6:30 (sometimes later on other days) all of their martinis are half off! And they are so good. Any martini you can think of, they have it, including dessert martinis, spicy martinis, herb martinis..... anything. They also have a happy hour food menu that is half price as well. It is seriously one of my favorite spots now that I know about it and will go there probably every time I visit Oregon! I love me a good martini :)

Now for some pictures!!

Mini buffet line.

Passed appetizers are top left, apple waldorf is bottom left.

Homemade raspberry sauce for the salmon and horseradish sauce for the prime rib. I'm not a big red meat person, but that prime rib was amazing. It was cooked to perfection!

Oregon pear salad bottom far right. I could've eaten that entire plate.

Pretty table set up for us.

Funny cake topper on the table!

Elderberry martini.

I believe this was the red velvet Manhattan.

The 'rents.

Inside Bartini. It's super tiny, but super cute!

Me and sissy.

Lavender Cosmo.

Death by Chocolate martini.