Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

This weekend was nuts!  I spent almost all of it getting my apartment set up.  I went to FIVE stores Saturday morning and spend the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday setting stuff up.  The balcony door knob is fixed, the curtains are up (measured wrong and they are too short, OOPS), light bulbs are changed, pictures and paintings are hung, bath mats are placed, and the air filter is changed!  In between all of that work though, I couldn't forget the most important thing in my life...

FOOD!

 

I decided to try my friend's recipe for Pumpkin Pie Pancakes, which can be found on her blog, In Good Faith, on this post.

 

Most of the ingredients.

 

I need a bigger pan.  Making one of these at a time does NOT meet mine and S.'s appetite requirements.

 

Ghiradelli chocolate chips are the best.

 

The first two off the pan.  Topped with syrup, they did not last long!  GO CHECK OUT THE RECIPE!

 

Thank You, Mummy and Papa

          My parents are the best.  Not in the way that every kid says their parents are the best because it would be wrong to say anything else.  My parents actually are the best.  They have raised me to be the woman I am today, and they have given me every opportunity I could ask for by always putting my needs before theirs.  I can't even remember a time when I was told "No, you can't have that."  You might think that makes me a spoiled brat, but you're wrong.  In addition to never denying me anything, my parents also taught me the value of everything such that I never asked for anything superfluous.  Beyond teaching me the value of money, they also taught me how important it is to always be kind to everyone, to never give up on family, to never back down from a challenge, to always be honest, to let 24 hours pass if I'm mad about something before dealing with it, to get through tough times together, to always give everything my 100%, to recognize there are many people in the world who need help, and to help them.  Without these values, I wouldn't be the person I am today.  I wouldn't have gotten a scholarship to attend UNC-Chapel Hill.  I wouldn't have graduated from Emory Law School with honors and without any loans.  I wouldn't have landed a job at a great law firm in Greensboro.  And I, for sure, wouldn't have gotten my first paycheck at my law firm a few days ago.

          In the Indian tradition, it is custom to give your parents your first paycheck.  It shows respect for all they have done for you, but it is not an attempt to pay them back for what they have done. I could give my parents every single paycheck I get for the rest of my life, and I would not even come close to equaling the effort and love they have put into me.  I still wanted to do something though, so I got my mom and dad Northface jackets with my first paycheck.  I wanted to tell them how much I love them and how lucky I feel to have been raised by them. 

 

 Thank you, Mummy and Papa!

  

The State Fair!

We gorged ourselves on fried food last night on my first visit to the NC State Fair with S. We had corn on the cob, fried broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, and mushroom.

And, of course, the trip wouldn't have been complete without a fried dessert: a fried chocolate cream filled cupcake!!

 

Somehow, after all that food, we even managed to ride an incredibly scary ride without puking. I know, that's no fun! I also got to have my second trip to a petting zoo, and I fed goats, llamas, a camel, a pig, and a calf some carrots. It was sooo fun (and not at all gross to have animal tongue all over you). It was definitely a fun thing to do, and I'm sure I'll be back.

 

P.S. I took my NC Bar Exam at the state fairgrounds, in the big building where they keep all the animals and their belongings (ahem, food and feces). Thanks, NC.

 

My First 5K + S.'s Birthday

This past weekend was awesome.  I mean, it goes down in the books awesome.  I had been planning a surprise way to celebrate S.'s birthday, and I couldn't be happier with how everything turned out. 

 

Saturday morning, S. and I did the Get Heeled 5K to raise money for the Lineburger Pediatric Cancer Center at UNC-CH.  Granted, it wasn't how he would prefer to start out his birthday celebration, but he wanted to support me as I ran my FIRST 5K.  It was definitely a tough run, and I had to walk for a few minutes, but considering I didn't train for a month before the race due to my concussion caused by the car accident and my trip to Thailand, I think it went pretty well.  Excited to sign up for my next one!

 

 

After the race, I told S. to pack his overnight bag but didn't tell him where we were going.  We didn't end up going far, but it was to our favorite place in NC: Raleigh!  We had lunch at The Pit (famous for their barbecue).  S. was a tinyyy bit grumpy hungry...

 

 

The Pit even had vegetarian tofu barbecue that was pretty yummy!  I think I'll try making it on my foreman though to aim for a more tender texture on the inside of the tofu.  The sides are creamed cheesy spinach and mac and cheese!

 

 

Later that afternoon, I surprised him with a visit to Raleigh Times, his favorite bar in Raleigh, where 19 of our friends came to celebrate his birthday with him!  I also made him dress in white, but he didn't know what for.  We ended up going to the Dayglow Concert at the Raleigh Amphitheater.  Dayglow (now Life in Color) is an awesome outdoor paint party with house/electronic music.  

 

 

None of us being huge house/electronic music fans, we were a bit skeptical, but it ended up being AWESOME.  We all had a great time, and the night will definitely be one we won't forget.  

New Bedroom Set!

I know, I know.  I still haven't posted any pictures of my new apartment.  The living room is pretty set up. I've got a beautiful cream sectional, a light brown shag rug that is super soft, and an espresso coffee table to match the espresso high top dining table.  I'm just waiting to get pictures hung, and then I'll do the grand reveal.  Will post pics soon.  Right now, I'm working on my bedroom.  Because the room is so large, my old Malm IKEA full size bed looks ridiculous in it (picture Will Ferrel's problem in Elf but reversed). 

I just ordered new bedroom furniture to remedy the problem.  I got the IKEA black-brown Hemnes queen sized bed frame, nightstand, and 3 chest drawer.  I would've gotten the bigger 6 drawer chest but since Sarah Jessica Parker could fit her clothes in my closet with room to spare, I figured there was no point. 

  
 

 

I'm just now realizing the knobs on the chest are different from the knobs on the nightstand. Hopefully, it's not too noticeable.

 
 

 The items should arrive by the end of the month, and then I can move my light wood IKEA Malm furniture into the guest bedroom (and closet the air matress!!).  Excited!

 

Happy Bday, S.!

Yesterday was S.'s birthday, and if you know me at all, you know that I go crazy for celebrating people's birthdays.  In addition to a midnight skype dance and song, I sent him emails throughout the day (some funny, some sappy) and drove up to Chapel Hill to spend the evening with him.  I decorated his guy apartment with balloons, a banner, and, most importantly, heavenly, out of this world black bottom cupcakes that Laura and I had made on Sunday.  I also wrapped up his presents (two ties, a dress shirt, and a dressy pullover because he wanted fancier business clothes with his start at Kenan Flagler's b-school). 

 

Pictures of us scattered all over the table

 

I think the surprise was a nice thing for him to come home to, especially since he had just taken a three hour final exam in finance.  Yuck, I know.  But his celebration isn't over yet...it continues this weekend, but it's a surprise, so more on that later.  Happy 26th Bday, S.!
   

 

Party Weekend

Good morning!  I couldn't post at all this weekend (and am barely able to now) as I am still recovering from an awesome weekend with my best friend from law school.  We went out in Greensboro Friday night (a little scarred still by the guy that shoved a huge ball of weed in S.'s face) and had an overall good time relaxing on my balcony and grabbing dinner at Mellow Mushroom.  We then bar hopped from Grey's Tavern to Boiler Room and ended the night asleep on my balcony.

Saturday, we headed to Chapel Hill for the UNC V-Tech football game and weren't we ALL in for a surprise.  Carolina ended up crushing V-Tech, so Laura was pretty sad (V-Tech undergrad).  But I'm pretty sure the Chik-Fil-A and Bojangles helped her through her misery. 

We went out that night in Chapel Hill, had dinner at Spanky's, continued the party at the Coffee Shop, took the Safe Ride "G" back to S.'s, and ran in the pouring rain back to his apartment from the stop. 

The night ended with two awful but awesome tasting Totino's pizzas (one more than slightly burnt) and Laura and I beat boxing/rapping our own song about a "pizza party."  Don't hate.

 

We spent Sunday shopping, cooking, and baking, and it was AWESOME.  I miss her already and hope we'll one day achieve our dream of living right on top of each other. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Do Your Friday Dance

I know I'm doing mine:

Why?  Because my best friend from law school, Laura, is coming to visit for the weekend!!  I'm leaving work a little early to pick her up from the airport, and we have an awesome weekend planned.

 

We'll stop at my parent's house on the way home from the airport so she can meet them, then off to my apartment to prepare for First Friday in downtown Greensboro.  We'll have dinner, she'll meet S., and we'll all galavant around downtown like we own the place.  Saturday, we're heading to Chapel Hill early in the morning to go to the UNC v. VTech football game.  Laura went to VTech, but I try not to hold that against her.  Then, out on Franklin Street afterwards, and a relaxing Sunday to recover.  I am pumped!!  Just wish these gals were here to join us...

 



A New Beginning

 On Monday of this week, I began my very first real live grown up person job first job as a practicing attorney at Brooks Pierce Mclendon Humphrey & Leonard in Greensboro, NC.  I cannot tell you how excited I am to practice with this firm, as they have always been so considerate of my career goals and have always encouraged me to do what I have a passion for.  So far, things are slow at work, just with orientation and the partners getting used to the new kids being around.  I do have a pretty nice office though...

 

And look at these beautiful flowers my mom left for me after my first day of work...

She also left me a cute mug and a chocolate fudge brownie.  No picture of the mug because I forgot to take it, and you can guess why there is no picture of the brownie.  :)    

 

Cookie Brownies!

Everyone loves cookies.  And everyone loves brownies.  Then how can anyone not like cookie brownies?  Don't ask me.  They have been a favorite of mine since I once had one back at a bake sale in the 3rd grade, and, oh, how I'll never forget that moment when I bit into the heavenly baked goodness that is a cookie brownie (and I wonder why I was a fatty).  Every since then, I have been on the hunt for a ready make brownie box mix for the darn things, but to no avail.  Finally, I saw this receipe on pinterest, and I decided to cave and make the things from scratch.  Oh, how I was mostly pleased.  I thought they were a bit on the dry side, so I will bake them for 25 minutes instead of the recommended 30, but, yes, I will make them again!  They were delicious with a tall glass of milk or warmed in the microwave for a brief 10 seconds.

The Ingredients

All purpose flour, salt, and baking powder mixed together and set aside. 

The wet ingredients with chocolate chips added. 

Obvi, the best part. 

Now mix the wet and the dry.

Until it forms a brownie batter.

Spread it out in a pre-greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Remove, cool, cut, and most importantly... 

EAT!!!

What's that phrase again?  Oh, right...

NOM NOM NOM

Koh Samui

In Koh Samui, Digyna and I stayed at another beautiful village style hotel called The Buri Rasa Village Resort.  The hotel was awesome, and the view was even more spectacular. 

It was even more entertaining that we felt like honeymooners.

The elephant is so cute.

Yes, this was our entire compound.

Yes, this is still our room.  Yes, that is another bed on our porch.  No, we did not use it.

This was the hotel's restaurant on the beach.  We liked the jellyfish lanterns!

Some random pictures of the beach...

The iPhone didn't do justice to how beautiful and clear the water was.

It did, however, do justice to how cute and wet this doggy was.

We spent most of our time in Koh Samui relaxing.  We were wiped out from all off our adventures in Chiang Mai, and we wanted to come back to the States relaxed.  Therefore, we only planned one adventure type day.  We took a 1.5 hour speed boat ride to the very small island of Koh Tao, where we went snorkeling in the bluest water I have ever seen.

 But my butt still hurts from the speedboat ride. We rode the boat out so far that at times we could see nothing but water (and feel nothing but harsh waves shoving out behinds into the seats).  We even rode through a thunderstorm.  I'll admit, that was kind of scary.  But it cleared up, and boy was the destination out of this world...

Snorkeling was scary at first.  Digyna and I hated when certain little black fish would be all up in our grill.  But we eventually got used to it (and used to swimming without a life jacket), and we saw all sorts of colorful fish, ranging from white and gold to all different colors of the rainbow on one fish!

The water was so clear it was like you weren't even in water! You can even see our legs!

And look how blue the non-shallow water is.  Spectacular!

Koh Samui was the perfect way to end our 16 day vacation from reality.  Now we're both back in the states and back to work.  Now I'm just looking forward to the next time I can take off somewhere amazing.  I'm thinking Africa.  Suggestions, anyone?