A Free Moment

It’s currently 9:42 am and I’m finding myself with some time to write a post! I don’t like not posting often, so I wanted to share some things because this will definitely be my last post until I am HOME!!

This past weekend I went home (well home is my aunt’s house but you know what I’m saying!) for the last time. Saturday was spent studying mostly, and then Sunday was the tradition of brunch. So, so good as usual. I didn’t bring my Rebel just because I wasn’t planning on taking many pictures and spending most of my time studying. I can’t wait to play with it when I get home though

Yummy melon. So fresh and great. I’ve realized that I don’t really eat much fruit while I’m at school. I eat bananas, but the only other choices are red apples (I have never liked red apples–too mushy!) and oranges. Not my favorites. I can’t wait for the abundance of delicious Washington apples when I’m home.

The usual bagels from Einstein Bros.I love these because they aren’t like a lot of bagels–way too huge. They are perfectly sized and always freshly baked.

These are my aunt’s beloved Spinach and cheese bagels.

Bacon.

My very favorite part of every brunch. My aunt’s salmon is soooo delicious.

I can’t wait for more brunches when I get back

In terms of other meals, they have been quite random to say the least. I’m just working on eating what I have and getting rid of diner points. Not to mention, I’m just studying like crazy for finals. Ugh. Breakfasts have mostly been big bowls of cereal which oddly I love now. For the past year or so I’ve totally stopped having cold cereal for breakfast because I didn’t think it would keep me as satisfied as yogurt or oatmeal. But I’m in looove with it now. Especially with some sunflower seed butter. Mmm.

Let’s see some things I’ve been eating, shall we?

Stir fries have become one of my new best friends here. Just a lot of vegetables from the dining hall like red onion, broccoli, spinach, carrots, etc. mixed with some frozen shrimp I had. Also, I made some peanut sauce. Delicious and nutritious I swear, ever since school started I have forgotten how to spell. Just spelling nutritious took me a tad longer than it should have. And the other day I was typing up some notes and totally wrote ove and not of. Tell me that’s not a problem.

I’ve also gotten one of my friends into stir fries which is awesome! He’ll go to the dining hall and get a big container of veggies and whip it all up. So awesome!

Breakfast one morning–a bran muffin and banana.

Leftover salmon, broccoli, and half an Ezekiel.

I FINALLY roasted up my kabocha squash! It’s really good, but I have to say I prefer butternut any day! And more frozen shrimp and broccoli. I told you my meals are random and fast!

Well, more studying must get done. Hopefully I’ll be able to make it to the gym sometime today. Sitting down for hours upon hours does not make me a happy girl. My roommates have already both gone home so I have the room to myself which is nice. There are only two finals standing between me and my flight home. Sociology tomorrow and history on Saturday. I feel pretty prepared, but definitely have a lot more to do.

Lalalala, talk to you next time when I’m back where I belong!!

So close…

I can almost taste it! I just had my very last class of the semester. I still have finals next week, and that’s it. The past four months have gone by dreadfully slow at some points, but then I think where did all the time go? It feels like it was just a few weeks ago I was moving in here and getting settled. Man, that was a scary time! I’ve had so much fun in the past couple of months, but it’s also been hard. The work, stress, and mostly being away from my family. Luckily, I have tons of great family here that take very good card of me

That being said, t-minus 8 days til I’m home!

For the next week, I’m basically going to be glued to my chair studying. Food will most likely be boring and rushed unfortunately. I have gotten a few good meals in the last couple of days though!

Another yogurt mess, of course. Fage, cinnamon, Kashi GL Crunch, banana, raspberry jam, some crumbled muffin, and peanut butter. This never fails to be amazing. Sadly, I only have about 1/4 c left of my Fage How will I go on?!

Last night, I went to a class called Namaste Cycle. When I first heard about it I was sort of confused like, “How could yoga and cycling be done in the same class? They are so different!” I went last week and it’s actually just a cycling class and then a yoga class. I absolutely loved it, so I went again yesterday! The class is pretty hard, and you definitely feel those leg muscles working the whole time. And yoga just feels SO good afterward. A good stretch is very appreciated after all that hard work. I’m beginning to really like cycling!

My friend and I had plans to make a great dinner when I got back. On the menu: brown rice risotto and salmon.

I’ve made risotto before, but never with brown rice. I investigated a little online and saw that people found it worked pretty well. I used short grain brown rice and some homemade chicken stock. A couple of my friends boiled chicken the other day and were so kind to save me the stock because they knew I’d do something with it

Saute some onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil.

Then add the rice and a bit of white wine and stir until evaporated.

Add the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time and stir, stir, stir! This actually took like 50 minutes. I knew that brown rice would probably take longer, and it needed more liquid than usual. It probably could’ve cooked even longer but it was almost 9 and we were getting hungry! When it was just about done, we seasoned it with salt and pepper, and since we didn’t have Parmesan cheese, a handful of Italian blend shredded cheese. Hey, you gotta do with what you have right?!

No pictures of the salmon process, but I just rubbed mine with olive oil and seasoned it with salt and pepper. We heated up a pan on the stove for a few minutes so it got really hot, and then we seared our fillets for just a few minutes per side. This gets a great brown crust, and it’s so easy. My favorite way to cook salmon for sure.

My plate. I also had some steamed broccoli on the side. And the dark bits on the risotto were the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan Can’t let those go to waste! We felt so gourmet eating this meal haha. And we definitely ate this while watching Harry Potter 6. I’m sooooo in love and obsessed with all things Harry Potter. Not gonna lie, I tear up when Dumbledore dies! Sorry for anyone that hasn’t read the books or seen the movies…

I didn’t have my 8am math class this morning which was glorious. I slept in, and enjoyed a nice, hot breakfast on this cold morning.

Pumpkin oat bran topped with muffin and peanut butter. Delicious and filling as usual.

Alrighty, studying times starts now. I have a final Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Don’t even let me begin on the cruelness that is an 8 am Saturday exam…

Oh boy.

I’ve been slacking on the blogging front lately. Blame it on school. Thank goodness it’s my last week of classes, and then I have finals next week. Hallelujah! I cannot WAIT to go home. Except I’m hearing that it’s 14 degrees there right now…as opposed to the bearable 40 degrees it is here. But I don’t care because I will be HOMEEE!!!

I honestly don’t have many pictures to share. I’ve been trying to clear out my fridge so the eats have been repetitive and somewhat boring. I’ve also been a little sick the past few days, so not much was consumed. Let’s see what I do have…

These were some good leftovers. Luckily I have one more dough so looks like pizza night will have to happen again this week I’ll probably make the same thing! The hummus was just so delicious.

Lately, I’ve just been loving cold bowls of cereal. I mean, I used to always eat cereal this way when I was younger, but since discovering oats and such, I haven’t had it as much. But my favorite mix is Kashi GoLean Crunch, soy milk, cinnamon, and a nice peanut butter spoon (or two…). I had some of this last night as a matter of fact!

Sorry about the terrible lighting. This was a Maranatha Almond Butter jar. Inside was oat bran that had been soaking overnight in water, with 1/2 a banana smashed in and tons of cinnamon. In the morning, I microwaved it and topped it with some muffin. Gooooood!

Many yogurt bowls like this have been consumed. In fact, just this morning! Muy delicioso. Just Fage, Kashi GL Crunch, cinnamon, topped with homemade raspberry jam, peanut butter, and some candied nuts.

Well, it is t-minus 12 days until I am back here…

And get to see Mt. Rainier everyday…

And get to see these crazies…

Yeah, my family has a LOT of hair. I hope my brother has shaved his beard since I’ve been gone…

Can’t forget the other brother.

Wow, this picture made me miss summer so much!

And of course, my parents!

That would be graduation day.

And I can’t forget my baby…

Maggie I miss her sooooo much!

Alright, I’ve officially procrastinated enough. Gotta get ready for my soc lecture. Only 2 more of these to get through….

Ramblings

Many random things to share today. I’ve kind of been sporadically photographing meals this week, and switching off between my old camera and my Rebel, for convenience sake.

Let’s see what I have, shall we?!

Yesterday’s lunch was quite the looker.

It was a rainy, cold day here yesterday and all I craved was a hot plate of vegetable goodness! And I also have some squash I needed to roast, so I popped that acorn squash in the oven. It took forever to roast (I blame the suspicious basement oven), but it was delicious and worth the wait. I also had chickpeas, lots of sauteed spinach, broccoli, red onions, and jalapenos. Muy delicioso. And doused everything in Frank’s and had hummus of course.

Yesterday was spent totally lounging. I watched Food Network for a good two hours. I haven’t watched it in FOREVER! I missed my people. When Tyler Florence came on I definitely shrieked a little…my roommates didn’t understand my love for him. Haha.

My friend Tiara and I have been wanting to do a pizza night for awhile and yesterday was the perfect night! We hit up the Commons shop and Dining hall for some ingredient. I got lots of spinach, onion, jalapenos, broccoli, chickpeas, and a little tofu. And some cheese at the Commons.

I had a whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s and we split it in half because I had some…different ideas for my pie.

Mine on the right, Tiara’s on the left. I caramelized a ton of onions, and wilted about half of my spinach. And added my other stuff too. And garlic!

The dough, obviously.

You see, through all of the pizza nights I’ve had at my aunt’s house, I’ve discovered that hummus is amazing on pizza. Sounds weird, but it is just SO GOOD. This is what led to Tiara and I making separate pizzas But she did a wonderful mix of olive oil and garlic for a white pie.

Oh yeah, I put corn on there too! Corn gives a wonderful hint of sweetness to balance all of the other flavors. In the summer, we put fresh corn on our pizzas and it was amazing.

Right before it went in the oven. I also sprinkled a little cheese on top. With so many toppings, I never miss the cheese!

And we popped those suckers in a 425 oven for around 15 minutes (maybe more) until they were perfectly golden to our liking.

Our masterpieces coming out…Oh, and I just have to say that so many people came by and were seeing what we were doing. Not many people take the time to cook! And of course it smelled wonderful.

Just looking at this is making me excited for leftovers later today.

And I know Tiara is excited too! Look how gorgeous hers is!

So while we were enjoying our dinner, what do you know? The fire alarm goes off. Just a drill, but so annoying! It was like 8pm and raining. We had to stand outside for like 10 minutes, and then we all walked over to another dorm. This place had a piano, and someone started playing “Lean On Me”, and we all started singing. A kumbaya moment. I love my dormmates

Since I have time I’m just gonna keep this post rolling!

I had oat bran in an almost empty Cinnamon Raisin Swirl jar this morning. Scrumptious. Especially when topped with a little muffin-lovin.

The other night, I ichatted with my sister Grace for almost two hours. It was awesome.

Isn’t she a cutie? Especially with those brand new pearly whites of hers

Okey dokey artichokey, I have class in ten minutes. It’s a beeeautiful day and I’m hoping to take pictures. We shall see.

In other news, 17 DAYS TIL I AM HOME!!!!

Seattle is my true love

Buenos Dias!

Hola! I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve really posted, but I’ve just been busy busy busy. There are only 2 more weeks of classes and then…finals week. We’ll just let it go there.

I haven’t really been taking many food pictures lately. At least at school it’s hard to break out the Rebel and take pictures, you know? Especially in the morning when the roommates are still sleeping! I don’t want to wake them up at 7am with annoying (although I find them very satisfying) clicking sounds.

Today has been quite the delicious day so far, in terms of eats and weather! It is gorgeous outside. I can actually go out without a coat. Imagine that!

I have been eating a lot of Fage lately. No bother to me because I could definitely live on the stuff. It’s a good thing I stopped by the co-op yesterday and bought their last huge container This morning I had Fage, Kashi GoLean Crunch, homemade raspberry jam, peanut butter, and some nuts. And cinnamon to finish it off! This lovely mix kept me satisfied for hours.

Art history today was interesting. We talked about how we are supposed to analyze abstract art. I mean, if you saw this on an exam and had to write an essay about it, what would you say?

“Red, Blue, Green” by Ellsworth Kelly. Yeah, I have NO idea what I would say about this. This on the other hand…

“Study After Velazquez’s Pope Innocent X” by Francis Bacon. Yeah, it’s a bit creepy but at least there’s something there!

Anyways, after art history I had to register for next semester’s classes. I’ll be taking English, Economics, Communications, Journalism, a Global course, and Spanish. I’m trying to do 18 credits–it’s going to be crazy busy but I want to graduate early!

After doing some much needed dishes and organizing my desk, I had a delicious snack before sociology.

One “baked” Gala apple, doused in cinnamon, and dotted with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter. It’s time to start eating down my food supply! Meaning my peanut butter supply mostly…

Went to sociology, came back, and made the BEST lunch. It looks familiar, but it was incredible.

On an Ezekiel, I spread Laughing Cow Swiss cheese, aji amarillo, and a touch of honey. I put some roasted butternut squash and maple roasted turkey breast inside and folded it up. On the side, I had Asian mix vegetables and the rest of my squash. Completed the plate with more hummus and aji amarillo. Mixed with watching Biggest Loser on Hulu, and everything was good

One more class in 15 minutes and then I’m done. I want to go out and take pictures today! Gotta round up my other friends with Rebels

How to Make Gingersnap Ice Cream

For Thanksgiving, I made a lovely batch of gingersnap ice cream. I followed one of David Lebovitz’s recipes. He is definitely my go to person for ice cream recipes! Last year, I always used his vanilla base when I thought up my own concoctions. I strongly recommend anyone to buy his book ‘The Perfect Scoop‘. It’s amazing!

Step 1:

Boil 3 oz of ginger for 3-5 minutes.

Step 2:

Slice ginger into thin strips. You’re actually supposed to do this before you boil it, but I messed up!

Step 3:

Combine 1 cup of whole milk and 1 cup of heavy cream in a saucepan. Add 3/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt and stir together. Place the sliced pieces of ginger in the mixture and let steep for one hour.

Step 4:

While the milk mixture is steeping, start preparing the gingersnap cookie dough for the ice cream. Beat together 2 Tbs unsalted butter with 3 Tbs of packed brown sugar. Once that’s smooth, mix in 1 Tbs molasses and one egg yolk. Now add 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, and 1 tsp ground allspice. Form the dough into one large disk, about 5″ in diameter. Place in a 350 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes and let cool.

Step 5:

Add one more cup of whole milk to the milk and cream mixture. In a separate bowl, beat 5 egg yolks. To temper the yolks and prevent cooking the eggs, slowly pour in the milk mixture (but remove the ginger first!) and whisk continually. Once the egg yolks are mixed with the milk, pour the entire thing back into the saucepan.

Step 6:

On medium heat, stir the custard continually with a heat-proof spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent cooking. When the liquid coats the back of the spatula, it’s done! Pour into a bowl and chill for a few hours or overnight, which is even better. I also added cinnamon for some extra flavor!

Step 7:

Pour the chilled mixture in the ice cream machine. To get mine to the desired consistency took about 40 minutes. I like to let as much air get in as I can for a very voluminous ice cream!

Step 8:

Crumble up the gingersnap cookie and spread evenly throughout the ice cream. I like to layer the ice cream and cookies and give it a little stir at the end.

Step 9:

Place back in the freezer for a few hours now.

Well, there you have it. Homemade Gingersnap ice cream! I hope you all enjoyed it. I had fun doing it

The Day After

I hope everyone had a great day spending time with family and eating delicious foods yesterday. I had a wonderful meal here with my relatives and a good night spending time with them. I miss my family more than anything, but it’s only about 3 more weeks til I finally see them!

I made most of the dishes yesterday, and had fun doing it. Cooking is awesome Without further ado, here’s what we had.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette a la Barefoot Contessa. This was amazing. But when is roasted squash not good? And when has Ina Garten ever steered us in the wrong direction? That’s right, never!

Cider-Glazed Sweet Potatoes. Oh man, I ate so much of these! It was probably one of my favorite things on the table. The recipe can be found here. I loved the mixture of apple cider, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, olive oil, and salt. Delicious! I would definitely recommend it.

My aunt’s mashed potatoes in the front (obviously). And a really simple cranberry sauce. Just water, sugar, fresh cranberries, some cinnamon, and a little orange and that’s it! I made it, and I’ve actually never been a fan of cranberry sauce before but I liked it this year! I don’t think I gave it that much of a chance before.

This is my grandma’s version of stuffing. It has rice, chorizo, herbs, and spices.

The turkey. It was seasoned with garlic, rosemary, and probably some other stuff. My uncle Shawn did the work, and I basted it all day. It turned out very moist and flavorful. Surprising, because I normally don’t like the Thanksgiving turkey!

Everything all together. Also, on the right side, I made some gravy. It was soo good! My mom’s recipe. She told me how to make it over the phone. I made homemade turkey stock, and used that with flour, butter, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper to make the delicious gravy.

My lovely dinner company.

My food. It’s more than it looks like I swear! And I totally had more sweet potatoes and salad

After digesting and cleaning up a bit, it was time for dessert! The best part of course. The night before (Thanksgiving Eve ) I made homemade ice cream and pumpkin pie. They both turned out to be SO delicious.

Pumpkin pie made with this recipe. That gingersnap crust was amazing! I love a cookie crust so much more than pastry any day.

Homemade Gingersnap Ice Cream. Soooo good!! I steeped a mixture of milk, cream, and sugar with fresh ginger for an hour so it was actual ginger flavored ice cream. I also made a batch of gingersnap speculoos, which is a kind of cookie. In the morning, after I churned the ice cream I crumbled the cookie inside. Incredible.

I miss making ice cream so much. I basically spent all of last year doing that. Grace and I already have big plans for some flavas when I get home

Max loved it too!

I went on a long shopping trip with my aunt today. We went to this huge outlet mall and scored some sweet deals. I got two sweaters, a pair of gloves, and a long-sleeved shirt for $100 at J. Crew. Pretty good deal I’d say! I just ate some leftovers and now I’m going to watch Elf with everyone. Ice cream will probably be in my future

I took this picture when I was making the cookies. Love my new camera I took pictures step by step as I did the pie and ice cream, sooo if anyone’s interested I can make that into a post!

I’m thankful for my family and everything they do for me! I really can’t go a day without talking to one of them. We have so much fun together and it’s not the same living apart. Of course, there are fights, but in the end we are a really close family. I can’t wait to spend Christmas with them.  22 days until I’m home guys!!!

Hallelujah

Awesome. Just lost about an hour’s worth of work because Firefox crashed. THANK YOU.

I had such a good post going too

Guess I better just start over…

I’m so glad this week was a short week. Only 2 days of school and I’m done

I’ve been having fun playing with my Rebel. The battery was charging last night, and so the first few pictures from school and earlier are with my old camera.

Here we go (again)!

Breakfasts have been focused on yogurt lately. I got a big container of Fage at the co-op last week and have just been lovin’ on it.

Baked Apple Yogurt–one “baked” Gala apple topped with cinnamon, on top of Fage, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax granola, and a dollop of crunchy peanut butter. And more cinnamon of course!

Definitely tastes better all mixed up.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Yogurt. Fage, granola, cinnamon, homemade raspberry jam (my mom brought this for me!!!), peanut butter, and candied almonds. Amazzzing. I actually had planned on having toast, but my loaf had some suspicious white spots I’m so bummed because the loaf was kind of pricey and it was really tasty! I just didn’t eat it fast enough I guess. It’s hard when I’m the only one using it!

I’ve also been eating TONS of veggie stir-fries. After a weekend of delicious foods, I’ve been craving some greens!

Regular mix of veggies with butternut squash added, leftover orzo from my party, and some Stacy’s Pita Chips. So addicting!

This was such a delicious wrap. I used an Ezekiel (my obsession), and filled it with a Laughing Cow Garlic & Herb, butternut squash, maple roasted turkey, aji amarillo, and a drizzle of honey. So good! And just some regular mixed veggies on the side, as usual.

I told you I liked my greens! At my aunt’s yesterday, I had a big bowl of broccoli, red onion, squash, spinach, and feta. Also some leftover chicken, orzo, tzatziki, and hummus. Suuuch a good lunch!

Okay, from here on my pictures were taken with my Rebel. Soooo in love with it! I’m definitely still learning about focusing, lighting, etc. so bear with me!

Dessert was necessary last night. I had a tiny bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with homemade chocolate sauce. Mmmm

Doesn’t my cousin look angelic in this picture?

Don’t laugh at this…I was wearing my aunt’s vest, it was like 11pm, and I was just messing around

This is getting to be a long post! Don’t worry, I only have breakfast left to share.

Toast topped with sunflower seed butter, and one half with strawberry preserves, and one half with TJ’s Pumpkin Butter.

Cottage cheese with more strawberry preserves, and a sprinkle of granola.

All together…

Okay, I’m done! Thanksgiving grocery shopping is on the menu for today. The stores are going to be craazzzy! But I think we have a great menu planned I can’t wait to get started!

My 18th Birthday Weekend

Hola hola!!

Okay, seriously I have had the best weekend EVER. By far, this birthday has been my best yet I have so many pictures I barely know where to begin!

Saturday morning was crazy. Actually, allll of Saturday was pretty much crazy. After I had my lovely breakfast that my mama prepared for me, we set out to get groceries and get COOKIN!

My mom, grandma, Giselle, and I went to Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Giant. I have a huge family and so a lot of food was necessary! We got started on everything as soon as we got back.

Chopping up some olives I believe.

I don’t really have many pictures of prep work because I was just too busy to take any.

This was a leg of lamb that was going to roast. What can I say–my family needs meat! My mom marinated it in a mix of yogurt, lemon, rosemary, and probably a few other things!

Okay, now the most important part…here’s the whole spread of food. We went for a Greek theme. I always love to have my family try new foods that maybe they haven’t had before.

My Green Salad. I think I’m becoming quite well known for this! It was spring mix, grape tomatoes, cucumber, candied almonds, and lots of feta! And a vinaigrette made with Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.

An orzo salad made by my mom. This was orzo, olives, parsley, feta, red onion, and grape tomatoes. Amazing! We actually bought asparagus but totally forgot to put it in. Everyone loved this, and many of them thought it was rice!

So for the main dishes, I wanted to do “Build Your Own Pita”. We set out white and whole wheat pitas, chicken, lamb, and a variety of toppings for everyone to make their own sandwiches. There was tomatoes, feta, red onion, hummus, and tzatziki for fillers.

This was homemade tzatziki made by yours truly. I used Ina Garten’s recipe. This woman never fails me! Instead of a whole 1/2 cup of sour cream, I only put in a few TBS. Divine! Seriously, I slathered this on everyyything. My cousin even proclaimed it the best he’d ever had

Pita chips and hummus were a must.

Lemon chicken and the lamb. I ate lots of chicken and some lamb as well. I can’t even remember the last time I had lamb, but this was delicious. Especially with the cool tzatziki!

Gorgeous platter of melted brie and grapes. We simply spread honey and a little fig jam on top of a wheel of brie and sprinkled crushed walnuts on top. Then popped it into a 350 oven for 5-10 minutes and there you have it, the most delicious cheese in the world. Addicting I tell you.

My mom’s Swedish meatballs. I’m not exactly sure what the sauce is, but basically butter, flour, dill, lemon, and other things. Apparently she used to make these ALL the time way back when, and everyone just loved them! They were really good.

There definitely wasn’t enough room for everything on one table.

The table. Sorry about the obtrusive salad tossers. Those things were like shovels! Ah, everything was seriously SO tasty, and everyone loved it. I love pleasing my family and having them like new things!

Much socializing, picture taking, and present opening was up next…

My brother Stephen and my cousin David.

Aunt Esther and Uncle Victor.

I think this picture is so cool. My great grandma is in front, and she is surrounded by her sons and daughters. I love it!

My fashionista mama and I standing in front of (one of) my birthday cakes.I actually don’t really like cake. The only exceptions are cheesecake (doesn’t really count) and carrot cake. We picked up this beauty at Whole Foods.

And of course, I was sung to!

An off-centered chocolate cake, also from WF. We probably could’ve done without this but I guess it’s better to have extra dessert than not enough!

The best brownies evaaa! The original plan was just to have brownies (because I like them SO much more than cake) and ice cream. And of course homemade chocolate sauce for some delicious sundaes. I don’t know why I never managed to take a picture of the sauce though!

So next up was present opening. I got many lovely things from my relatives, but the best present came last…unfortunately my brother decided to make a video rather than take pictures sooo I only have a few images that captured this momentous event.

I GOT A CANON REBEL XSi!!!!!!!!!!

I can’t even say how excited and ecstatic I was when I opened the gift!! I absolutely can’t wait to start using it and play around with it. Thank you mom and dad, it was the best gift ever! And thank you for the entire party, and for flying mom out here and for everything else. I really couldn’t have asked for a better 18th birthday Love you both!

I actually left the camera at my aunt’s house until I go back there tomorrow for the rest of the week. I don’t have a case and don’t want to risk it getting damaged or scratched or anything at school!

Anyways, the party went on and eventually ended. We stayed up verrry late cleaning but it was all worth it. I had the best weekend, and can’t believe that Thanksgiving is this week! And then only 3 more weeks of school til I’m HOME!!!!!!

My gorgeous cousins Stephanie and Katherine!

This is the third “4 Generations” picture we’ve taken. I love that we can do this

Alrighty, I just got back from the gym and it is definitely time for a shower. I hope you all enjoyed this looong post

Goodnight!

Today’s the Day…

I’M 18 TODAY!!!!!!!!

Today’s going to be filled with family, food, and more. I can’t wait to eat to my heart’s content and to see all the people I love most. My mom and brother are here and I couldn’t be happier!

We have a tradition at home of having breakfast in bed. Obviously, I’m not home, but my mom brought me breakfast…on my aunt’s couch! Haha. I had all my favorites of course.

My very favorite Fage 2%, Nature’s Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, a sliced banana, and sunflower seed butter. My mom made it perfectly

We have to leave pretty soon to go grocery shopping for my partayyy.

Ah, I have so many things I want to share! I guess I’ll just do it quickly!

So the other night I told you I did something pretty fun at school. It was absolutely POURING rain, complete with thunder and lightning. My friends and I were hanging out in my room and we heard tons of people outside. We went out there to see what was going on.

People were putting on trash bags and sliding down this huge hill behind my dorm. Of course I joined in!

Ah, so much fun. I got SO dirty. We’re talking mud in my hair, face, pants, everything.

Such a college moment.

So my grandpa is here right now from Peru, and my mom and I went out to lunch with him and his wife. We went to this amazing Peruvian restaurant called La Limena. Highly recommend it to anyone in the area!!

Blurry yuca fries. AMAZING.

Choclo (Peruvian corn) con queso.

Ceviche Mixto–Shrimp, calamari, octopus, tilapia. Also some red onion, sweet potato, sweet corn, and toasted corn.

I demolished this. They give you a spoon as well to drink the “tiger’s milk”!

Lenguado Frito–a whole deep-fried flounder. Sounds heavy, but it’s actually light and crispy. This was my mom’s but of course I had a few bites!

Picarones, a kind of Peruvian donut. It’s served with a syrup as well. Sorry about all these blurry pictures. It wasn’t too light in the restaurant and of course I didn’t want flash!

My Grandpa Edgar and his wife Manuela.

Okay, I gotta start cooking. But first, my sister sent a package of homemade granola bars with my mom for me to enjoy. They are gorgeous and taste even better.

Bye!