6 Month Blogiversary!

Today is my 6 Month Blogiversary!!! I can't believe I've been blogging for 6 months!
This week has been and will continue to be insanely busy because my sister leaves for her freshman year of college on Wednesday! She is stressing out about all she has to get done before she leaves!She has been putting off doing lots of stuff and has tons of things to get done before that. I've spent all day today helping her finish up scrapbooks that were suppose to be her graduation presents to some of her friends. She also still has to write thank you cards for graduation presents and not to mention laundry and packing. Also tomorrow her and her friends are doing a city wide scavenger hunt before they all leave each other! My brother is also going back to school, but not until Saturday. They actually will be at the same college but freshmen move in is during the week and returning students are on Saturday. And boys don't have near as much stuff to do and pack as girls do- I doubt he has even thought about packing things yet!

Anyways we got some of our first tomatoes this week! They are mortgage lifters? Last year we grew a bunch of different tomatoes but they all got blight, so we were going to not grow any this year because the blight can stay in the soil, but my grandpa brought these back from Ohio when we went up for Memorial Day. So we are growing them in big pots instead of actually in the soil to try and avoid the blight. They are looking pretty good and are pretty delicious too!

I made a yummy capreseish salad with the tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, spinach, basil, topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.
And some Amy's chunky tomato bisque alongside!
I was really needing something sweet that night so I dug around in the freezer and found some Vita Brownies that I heated up and topped with some vanilla ice cream and some butterscotch!
The next morning for breakfast I used my neglected for too long juicer to make some juice! We have been out of one or the other ingredient to make juice for a long time and I finally got some apple, carrots, and ginger juice (we didn't have beets). And I finished off the end of the vanilla chobini with the end of the mango granola!

That was kind of my brunch because it was 11:30! After brunch my mom and I headed to Target with my sister to get some last minute college shopping done. We were in there for hours and by the time we were leaving I was starving. So I headed over to the grocery side (we have a Super Target which is the most amazing thing ever) and picked up some Vermont White Cheddar Artisan Wheat Things aka crack crackers. They are so addicting.
My mom decided she didn't really like them- she is crazy! So we drove through chick-fil-a so she could get some fries instead and of course we got peach milkshakes as well.
My mom and I did some more shopping, including grocery shopping at Wegmans! By the time we got home it was dinner time! My mom made chicken so for myself I made some Cous Cous! I found a box of Cous Cous at Wegmans that sounded similar to the Moroccan Cous Cous I made a couple months ago. I added some raisins and topped it with feta! I had some of my mom's mandarin orange salad on the side! It was a delicious dinner!



And I finally found Starbucks Ice Cream at Wegmans. I had a coupon for a free pint but they do not have it at Giant, I should have known my beloved Wegmans would have it!

It was pure bliss in an ice cream carton!

The next morning for breakfast I had some 0% Fage with pineapple preserves and apple granola. The one thing they did not have at Wegmans that they have at Giant is the mango granola!!!
Lunch was a delicious tomato, basil, mozzarella sandwich. These are probably my all time favorite sandwiches. We picked up some heirloom tomatoes at the local farm and they are the most amazing tomatoes ever!
I spent the rest of the day working on graduation applications! When I graduate in December I get both my bachelors and my masters because of the way the teaching program I'm in works. So I have to fill out two different forms, meet with two different advisors, etc etc. When we move my sister down to CNU on Wednesday I'm going to go to Richmond afterwards instead of back home. I am going to a wedding on Saturday and didn't feel like driving home and then back down there again (Richmond is in between our house and CNU). So I figured while I was down there I needed to go meet with my advisors to get all my graduation stuff squared away since I won't be able to once I start student teaching. All the paperwork was giving me a headache so I made some tea. I got some peach tea at Wegmans so of course I tried combining the two teas together. It worked out wonderfully and was delicious! Exactly what I was expecting the original one to taste like.

That evening my sister and her friends came over for a bonfire. We had hot dogs with watermelon on the side!
And then of course late we had smores! We have a fire pit in our backyard and usually make smores throughout the whole summer but this was actually the first time- and probably the last too!
This morning I ate a cherry pie larabar on the way to church. This was the last week in church with the whole family :( When I got home I made the best sandwich ever for lunch!
Tomato, basil, mozzarella, feta, and sprouts!! Holy yum!!!!!!!!

And for dinner we had BLTs. We have definitely been eating a lot of these over the summer! Its just the perfect way to eat all these delicious tomatoes!
And then for dessert was a brownie mousse cake!

Brownie Mousse Cakes are infamous in my group of friends in Richmond. It is like my signature dessert and I can't believe in my 6 months of blogging that I haven't made one yet! It is super easy, I could see this being on Semi Homemade with Sandra Lee because you use box brownie mix, can of frosting, and cool whip. All things that I would frown upon when baking many things because I am definitely a made from scratch is always better kind of girl. However this recipe was my absolute favorite dessert that my mom used to make when I was little and although I suppose you could make this more homemade with making your own brownies, icing, and using real whipped cream I never have because it is pretty amazing just the way it is! Also be sure to get the bigger size box of brownies- you know the ones that are made to be cooked in a 9x13 pan not a square pan. I had a coupon for free brownie mix at Wegmans and didn't realize until I went to mix them up that it was the smaller size so the "crust" part is a little thinner in my pictures.

Brownie Mousse Cake

15 oz brownie mix
1 can vanilla or cream cheese frosting
8 oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
12 oz Cool Whip
1 pkg mini chocolate chips

1.Preheat oven according to directions on brownie mix.
2.Grease the bottom of a spring form pan.
3.Follow the directions to make the brownie mix and cook it in the spring form pan
4.After cooking, let completely cool
5.Combine the frosting and cream cheese until smooth
6.Fold in the Cool Whip and about ¾ of the bag of the mini chocolate chips
7.Spread on top of the completely cooled brownie in the spring form pan
8.Top with the rest of the chocolate chips.
9.Refrigerate 3 hours before eating.


Well the rest of this week will be pretty busy helping my sister pack up then heading down to Newport News to move her in on Wedneday, then running around Richmond until Sunday! I'll try to blog in between all the craziness! Hope you guys have a great week and thanks for helping me get to the 6th month point in blogging!

Staycation!

The pool has been calling my name all week and I've been listing to that instead of listing to my computer telling me to blog! Instead of updating you on everything I will tell you a few exciting things from the week and then blog about today!

Most importantly- Tropical Smoothie is now open! That is right Gainesville, VA now has a Tropical Smoothie- it is about time! I saw the Now Open sign on my way to babysitting Thursday morning and of course stopped there to get lunch on the way home. I got my go-to favorite smoothie- a Blimey Limey and a Hummus Veggie sandwich. It was even more amazing than normal because I hadn't had Tropical Smoothie in such a long time. My only complaint is that this one doesn't have the combos. I really wanted the half sandwich and smoothie combo but it all worked out because I just ate the other half of my sandwich for dinner that

Another exciting thing was a find at Giant. PINEAPPLE CHOBINI!?!?! If you know me at all you know I love all things pineapple. I saw this and literally was like Oh My God! Of course I bought some!
Dinner last night was this ginormous salmon. My mom bought it at Costco, thus the ginormousness of it. It didn't look this big in the package but when I pulled it out almost a quarter of it had been folded underneath because it was so big it didn't fit in the package. I saw someone else make Martha Stewarts Salmon with an Herbed Yogurt on their blog last week and so of course I tried it with my salmon. It was delicious. It was also super easy, I highly recommend this, especially if you are trying to impress people and have no time! It is literally greek yogurt, dijon mustard, dill, and parsley smeared on top of the salmon before you pop it in the oven. I loved the yogurt mixture with or without the salmon and found myself picking little pieces that flaked off when I put the leftovers away. Try this immediately!
On the side I had some eggplant that I marinated in balsamic vinegar and herbs. It was delicious too!
For breakfast this morning I busted out the pineapple chobini! It exceeded my expectations and I was very satisfied with it. My only complaint is they don't sell it in the big tubs and only in the single serving containers!
I mixed it with some Bear Naked Mango Almond Agave granola. It was pretty amazing, too bad I showed it to my dad and he sat down and ate half the bag. He loves mango and I knew he would love this granola too. The big chunks of dried mango were perfect with the pineapple yogurt!
Then for lunch I made the most delicious sandwich out of the leftover marinated eggplant, some tomatoes marinated in the leftover balsamic marinade for the eggplant, some fresh basil, vermont cheddar cheese, and a "mayo" that I made of greek yogurt, dijon mustard, and dill (essentially the same as the topping on the salmon only I was out of parsley). It was delicious!
Dinner was not as exciting as lunch was. My parents decided to grill hot dogs and I decided to try a veggie dog. I'm not going to lie I was a little disappointed. I love veggie burgers so I thought I might love veggie dogs, but that was not the case. It wasn't horrible it just wasn't that great. I wouldn't buy them again but I suppose I'll eat the rest of the ones I have in the pack. I much prefer my veggie burgers! To go with that I had some Annie's Mac and Cheese and some cherries.
My family is staycationing this week! We are going to go hiking at a couple places nearby, go to a dinner theater, and do other fun things! I was going to tell you I might not be blogging as usual, but I haven't been blogging as usual so it won't be much of a change! I think once summer is over I'll probably get back into a more regular schedule but right now I choose laying out by the pool and reading over sitting inside in blogging! Until next time I will leave you a picture of Charlotte looking ridiculous. I came in from being out by the pool and found her like this.

The Beautiful South Restaurant- Hamilton, VA

Wow its been a busy and fun last couple of days! We drove out to Harpers Ferry on Tuesday morning and spent the day tubing down the Potomac River. Some of it was flat water that involved lots of paddling with your arms, which was very difficult to do in the tubes we were in, there was no comfortable way to sit and paddle at the same time. When you hit the rapids there was no paddling just hanging on and trying to sit up high enough in the tube that you didn't hit the rocks underneath! All in all it was really fun and if you have any river near you that you can go tubing in I highly recommend it. Its also a great workout because I can feel the burn in my abs (and my neck) and some of my family that came also said their arms were sore from all the paddling.

Anyways on our way back we decided to stop at a restaurant that we saw on the way up called The Beautiful South in Hamilton, VA. I'm not going to lie I did not have high expectations for this restaurant, I was expecting fried chicken and grits. What none of us knew was that they weren't talking about the US South but Southern Europe, their website says "Whether it is the southern region of Italy, France, Germany, or Greece, from where our family originates, the flavor and beauty of those places are captured in our food and atmosphere." Well I was happily surprised by that and their menu that had lots of yummy looking food. I started out with a salad that had their own house made Greek dressing that was really good!
And we ordered some calamari as an appetizer. It was also really good, even though I will forever compare it to 3 Monkey's in Richmond and I don't think I'll ever get any calamari as awesome as theirs!
My main meal was crabcakes. They were delicious, filled with lots of chunks of crab and not a lot of other fillers. They also came with their awesome homemade tarter sauce that was amazing! I ate one of my crab cakes and used the entire thing of tarter sauce with it and then stole my sister's tarter sauce that she didn't eat with her fish and chips to bring home with me to use on the other one!
I also had some of my dad's dish which was a pasta in a seafood cream sauce. It had scallops, shrimp, lobster, and crab. It was really good, and I almost got that for my meal too but I really wasn't feeling the pasta in it. But I'm glad my dad got it so I could steal a few bites!
When we got home I showered and took a quick nap before Harry Potter! Maggie and I got there around 10 and they were already letting us into the theater, which was awesome because we didn't have to sit on the floor in a line outside. Harry Potter was pretty good, there wasn't a lot that really happened in this movie- just a lot of build up for the next one. I haven't read the books but I love the movies, so maybe I should read the book because apparently they left a ton out of this movie. Also I was way more disappointed in the fact that they didn't show a New Moon preview before hand. Maggie and I kept hoping for the next preview to be for New Moon and then the movie started. During Twilight they showed a Harry Potter preview so I think it would only have made sense to show a New Moon one during Harry Potter!

Anyways I got in after 3 am from Harry Potter and passed out until 12:30 Wednesday. For lunch I had my leftover crab cake and then spent most of the day laying out by the pool with my cousins. For dinner my mom made chicken so I made an Amy's bowl! This was my first Amy's bowl and it was really good! I usually am not a big fan of rice but I figured I would try this anyways. I added some green onions and ginger and it was pretty amazing!
Oh and on the side I had some zucchini and squash. It was a very filling meal.
After dinner we waited for my sister to get off work then headed to Manassas to get ice cream at Milwaukee Frozen Custard. Milwaukee is the best ice cream place ever (even though its frozen custard not ice cream). It has become a tradition to go when Stephanie visits. I'm not sure when the first time we took her was but every time since then when she has come down she has asked to go, so of course we always do! They have vanilla, chocolate, and a flavor of the day. Over the years they've gotten other things like italian ice and such but nothing compares to their vanilla frozen custard. The chocolate is good too, but the vanilla has such a unique flavor you just can't resist it. The flavor of the day was cookie and cream so it was just the vanilla and oreo which I got in a chocolate dipped waffle cone. Delicious!!!
After that we wandered around McKay's Used Bookstore which is in the same shopping center. Then we came home and me Alicia, and Stephanie watched the Twilight commentary, I know I've said it before but it is hilarious and every Twilight fan should watch it!

This morning I said goodbye to all the relatives as they headed down to Williamsburg and VA Beach. After they left I made some orange, carrot, cucumber, and ginger juice which was delicious.
And some Vanilla Chobini with cranberry coconut granola.
Then I laid out by the pool for a while before lunch time! For lunch I ate my dad's pasta leftovers (he told me I could eat them I did not steal them!!) I added some garlic and asiago cheese which made them even better!
Then I read for a while before taking a blog break! I think later this evening there will be a grocery store trip and hopefully a DSW trip with my mom! Hope everyone has a great evening!

Puppy Play Date!

I hope everyone is having a great day! Charlotte had a very fun and exhausting day playing around with Corbin!

Last night for dinner my mom made a chicken casserole. This is like one of the only ways I eat chicken.
Wild Rice Chicken Casserole

6 ¼ ounce package quick-cooking, long grain and wild rice
1 cup cooked, chopped chicken
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 ¼ cups finely chopped onion
1 cup light mayonnaise
10 ¾ ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
paprika

1. Preheat oven to 325°
2. Cook rice according to package directions
3. Combine rice with chopped chicken, celery and onion
4. Place in a 8 by 8 baking pan
5. Stir mayonnaise and cream of mushroom soup together and spread over chicken mixture.
6. Bake covered for 1 hour, uncover for last 5-10 min of baking and top with paprika if desired

Last night after dinner we watched the movie Seven Pounds. I have been wanting to watch this movie for a while, there has just always been other movies I wanted to see more. If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it, it was so good but so sad!

This morning I had a lovely breakfast of Vanilla Chobini with coconut cranberry granola.
Then I lounged around and wasted time online. I was about to go out to the pool when Maggie texted me that she was up in Manassas. So I quickly showered and made lunch so we could take our puppies to the dog park! Lunch was some bunny butts with tomatoes!
And I made some juice to take with me- apple, orange, carrots, beet, and ginger! It was delicious
Charlotte spent her time at the dog park sniffing everything, sitting in the shade, and not playing.Corbin on the other hand spent his time playing with me and Maggie, sniffing everything, and sitting in the little kiddie pools. hahaha our dogs are so social!
After the dog park we brought the dogs back to my house to let them play in the pool. They were like totally different dogs, they started chasing each other around and we ended up putting them both on a float in the pool where they both ended up in the water totally wet. All this excitement has really worn out Charlotte though, she is now fast asleep on the couch!

For dinner my mom made spaghetti and I was able to convince her to leave some sauce out sans the hamburger that she puts in. I had some spaghetti along with a roll and green beans.
After dinner my sister and I went to starbucks where I got an iced Apple Chai! yummmm!
And we left some Operation Beautiful notes around Gainesville! If you haven't heard of Operation Beautiful check it out!
Now we are watching some Clive Own movie and I have no idea what is going on because I haven't really been paying attention so I guess I better go figure out what I've missed!