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!

Going Away Party!

Sorry I haven't posted at all this weekend!! Friday I was sick and I spent most of the day in bed! I really don't remember what I ate but I promise you it wasn't exciting and I was too sick to take pictures! Luckily on Saturday I was feeling better because I had my going away party that night and didn't want to be sick for that! I wasn't feeling 100% in the morning so I started the day with some cranberry orange toast with almond butter- of course.
Then I had some spiced tea that my mom makes- it is basically instant tea, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, lemonade, and tang (i know it sounds gross but its actually really delicious). It was exactly what I needed and I felt so much better!

After breakfast and a shower I ran to the grocery store to pick up supplies for all the things I was planning on making. When I got back I made a wrap for lunch. It had my last portabella gardenburger, spinach, goat cheddar, and hummus!
And the last juice box that I hijacked from our tutoring party last week.
Then I made some spiced nuts- it was a mix of almond, pecans, and walnuts. I cooked them in some melted butter and then added brown sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. They were delicious and I would have added some nutmeg too but I didn't have any!
Then I made some fake samoa girl scout cookies from Baking Bites. They were delicious- my only problem was that I didn't have all the coconut it called for and it definitely could have used more. And I also ran out of chocolate so they didn't all get chocolate on the bottom!
Then I made some asiago garlic bread. It was asiago and garlic (clearly haha) mixed with a little mayo, basil, and oregano. They were pretty delicious.
And I got some Sabra hummus- which is pretty much the best hummus ever.
And some Sundried Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins and Fire Roasted Tomato and Olive Oil Triscuits to go with the hummus.
So the party was wonderful- I got to hang out and see a lot of people. It made me kind of sad because I'm pretty excited to move back home and not be in Richmond anymore but I'm going to miss everyone so much!!!! There will definitely be lots of visits back down here so I can see everyone!

This morning on my way to church I snacked on a chocolate coconut Raw Organic Food bar. yum, yum, yum. This was sooooo delicious! It is definitely up there with my new favorite kind of bar. It was really moist and had little chocolate chips all through out it. Delicious!
After church Grace and I got swiped into Shafer by two freshman! yay for free food, even though Shafer pretty much is gross! I opted for a waffle and I topped it with some vanilla yogurt and pineapple off the salad bar. It was actually pretty good, but it would have been better with fresh pineapple and/or strawberries!
Now I'm getting read to head out and go get coffee with Ashlee Giles! I'm so excited because I haven't seen her in a really long time (like probably back in September at my b-day party!). I'm trying to make sure I get to see everyone before I leave- especially everyone that couldn't make it out last night! So today is Ashlee Giles, tomorrow is lunch with Emily and Megan and then dinner with Ashley Callaway/Turner. Then sometime, possibly Tuesday for lunch Kylin and I are going to go to Cous Cous and then on Wednesday Grace and I may be doing lunch! My days are filling up fast and there are definitely more people I need to see before I leave!!!!

Cleaning for Grandma!

So yesterday when I was unloading my groceries I discovered a frozen enchilada from Trader Joes that I totally had forgotten about! The funny thing is I had searched the freezer a couple days ago to see if I had any hidden food and couldn't find any! So I brought it over to Maggie's to eat during Grey's Anatomy. It was okay- it wasn't bad but it wasn't great and I probably wouldn't buy it again. I was so hungry that I ate half of it before I remembered to take a picture! There were 2 enchiladas and here is the second one haha!
I was still hungry after I ate that so I snacked on some of Maggie's Artisan Wheat Thins

ummm holy cow these were delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had seen them in the stores but the picture on the box didn't look that good so I hadn't bough them before. I can't even explain how delicious they were! Better than the Sundried Tomato Basil one which were my favorite before. I ended up eating the rest of the box of them which Maggie said was okay because she kept eating them constantly and wanted me to help her get rid of them!!

Anyways I woke up this morning and my right eye was killing me!! And I didn't have my glasses with me so I walked around without being able to see for a while. Then I put in my left contact and could half way see. Eventually my eye was not quite as red and painful as it was before so I sucked it up and put in my other contact because I knew I would need it in to drive home! Anyways while I was blind I had a Greens energy bar. I wasn't really sure what to expect and wasn't really expecting it to taste super good but wow it was amazing! Hands down the best tasting bar I've ever had. It was super fruity and covered in yogurty goodness! I will definitely be buying more of these!

Then while I was halfway blind I ate lunch! haahha I had Amy's Chunky Tomato Bisque- my new favorite soup!!! I love love love this soup!
Then for dessert I had this fake cadberry egg that I got at CVS last night on a late night contact solution run!

Ummm the chocolate on these are not that good but the inside was like what cadberry eggs use to be like!! Super runny and not like all thick and dried out like they are now lol. Anyways it made me miss the good old days when I was like 6 and the insides of the cadberry eggs would drip halfway down my arm and get all in my barbie dolls hair!

Then after I was able to see fully again I headed back to my house. After an unsuccessful try with our big real vacuum cleaner I vacuumed the steps and upstairs with the little "broom" vacuum thing. Then I cleaned the bathroom! By that point it was almost 8 so I headed downstairs to make some dinner to eat while I watched Prison Break! I made a delicious wrap with these awesome portabella garden burgers! ummm yummmmm! I've never really had veggie burgers of any kind before but have been wanting to try them. So after studying the selection at whole foods I decided on these ones because I love mushrooms! ummm these were sooooo delicious! I'm not a big hamburger fan and I will for sure be having these around all summer to eat while the rest of my family has hamburgers.Anyways into my spinach wrap went one portabella burger, tomatoes, spinach, goat cheddar, and a little garlic aioli. yummmmm yummmm yummmm. I will definitly be making more of these with the rest of those portabella burgers.
Then for dessert I had one of these yummy So Delicious banana split coconut ice cream sandwiches! These are just as good as the vanilla ones and I can't really decide which ones I like better!
So the plan for the rest of the night is either clean the downstairs or bake some cookies. Right now I'm leaning toward the cookies because I don't feel like cleaning anymore but I'm already gross from cleaning so I might as well finish it now. Whichever doesn't happen tonight will happen tomorrow! Hope everyone has a good weekend