baking | Living My Full Life

One of my favorite things to do is look back though past events and times in my life. I thought it would be fun to do a recap of all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things that went on for me this summer.

May

I shared some articles that I wrote for the school newspaper, my brother moved back to Pittsburgh, and I made Jimmy an Oreo cake for his birthday. Yum.

I answered 12 questions about purity rings and got super muddy at MuckFest MS Pittsburgh.

June

My family went on vacation to the Outer Banks and we rode horses on the beach. That was definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I also wrote a super random poem about swimming.

July

I took two weeks off of blogging and social media. It felt pretty amazing. I also competed in a triathlon and began working for my parent’s real estate brokerage during that two week period.

Hannah did some modeling for my blog and I struggled through a dry socket after having my wisdom teeth removed. Worst time of my life. I also baked 763 cookies for my brother’s wedding during the week that I had a dry socket.

My brother married the love of his life, Racquel. They’re such a beautiful couple!

Hannah got the cutest puppy for her birthday and I made a lot of pickles! The pickle recipes can be found here and here. I promise they’re super simple.

Jimmy proposed to me. That was hands down one of the best moments of my life! What a blessing.

Last but not least, I started a crazy busy semester at good ol’ Penn State.

So that’s my summer in an nutshell. I had my ups (getting engaged, watching my brother get married, and baking a ton of cookies) and my downs (wisdom teeth removal+ dry socket).

All in all, I’d have to say that it was a wonderfully perfect summer.

I’m sad to see my summer break end, but I’m also extremely excited to see what God has in store for the future!

How was your summer?

Hannah recently entered a local teen fashion contest. The contest was for teen girls to show how to dress up a basic outfit in an inexpensive way while also providing shopping tips.

She asked me to take her pictures, and of course I said yes. I love being behind the lens of my camera. I’m not sure when Hannah will find out who won, but I do want to share the photos she submitted!

Her “plain” outfit.

Her fully accessorized outfit!

Very schnazzy.

Love her. So much.

Cookies

This summer has been the summer of zucchini for my garden. The zucchini grew and grew like crazy. I think I still have some to pick.

I have made countless loaves of zucchini bread. I’ve tried every variation, too–chocolate chip, nut and raisin, banana and Nutella. You get the point.

I was staring at a zucchini laying on my dining room table a few days ago. I was in the mood to bake (as usual), but didn’t want to make another loaf of zucchini bread. So I made cookies.

You would think I’d be tired of cookies by now. Nope. Definitely not.

Here is a lovely recipe for milk chocolate chip zucchini cookies.

These cookies are different from “regular” chocolate chip cookies for two reasons. They have milk chocolate chips and they’re super soft. I think the softness comes from the moisture in the grated zucchini.

If you enjoy soft, chewy cookies, definitely try out the recipe and let me know what you think!