Food

Hello from…

Hello from the Outer Banks of North Carolina!

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I’m on vacation with my parents and sister. I just wanted to pop in and share some pictures!

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Before I even left for vacation, Jimmy drove out to my house and gave me a care package for the trip (sorta like I did for him when he was working a few hours away for a week). He included all of my favorite things: sun block, peanut butter, snacks, gum, stickers, and Sharpie markers. He’s the sweetest. I’m glad he doesn’t judge me for loving stickers at age 20.

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Hannah and I watched Eclipse during the nine hour drive from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.

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I’ve been enjoying plenty of raw oysters.

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My mom loves sipping coffee on the deck of the beach house we’re staying at.

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I love the deck because I can hear the ocean while I read my Bible.

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Hannah looks older than me. Nothing new about that.

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I played skee ball in the local arcade and turned in my tickets for stickers. Best. Prize. Ever.

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We’ve been saving money by packing lunches each day. Tuna and turkey sandwiches for the win! Yes, my nickname is Stitch.

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My dad is in fishing heaven. I spent about 30 minutes with him in the fishing aisle in Kmart. He was so “in the zone” that he didn’t know I took this picture.

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Cookies have been baked. Coffee has been thoroughly enjoyed.

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The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. I just gape at everything.

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The fish are biting.

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Lastly, what kind of journalism student would I be if I didn’t read the local newspaper?

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Well, that’s all the pictures I have for now. I can’t wait to take more because I’m going to be going on some fun adventures this week.

Where is your favorite place to vacation?

Baking Mode

I have been in “baking mode” ever since my brother and his fiance asked me to bake 500 cookies for their wedding.

A lot of taste testing has been happening in the Smith household! Bill and Racquel’s wedding theme color is light blue, so they asked me to incorporate it into the cookies somehow.

Here’s what the bridesmaid dresses look like.

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That shade of blue is the theme color for the wedding. I’m going to be a bridesmaid, along with Racquel’s sister and friends. Hannah is going to be a junior bridesmaid! Her dress hasn’t been chosen yet, but I believe it’s going to be white.

On to the cookies.

Here’s what I’ve tested so far. Bill and Racquel really liked the Mexican wedding cookies, and are going to try the others today.

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Mexican wedding cookies adapted from this recipe.

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White chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies loosely based off of this recipe. I used white chocolate and dyed it blue. Yes, my chocolate “drizzling skills” need work. Haha.

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This recipe was used to bake the snickerdoodles.

I have whole list of cookies I still want to try out, but it will probably be a few days until I actually get a chance because I’m going to be pet sitting for 9 hours each day for the next two days. More on that later!

What is your favorite cookie?

I love oatmeal raisin and peanut butter cookies.