The Clever North Wind Had Other Plans

Tomorrow, I am leaving NYC for the first time since I got here (with the exception of a day in Long Island, but that hardly counts). Looking back, this is the longest I've really ever stayed in one place without leaving, if only for a day.

Ridiculous, huh? But in undergrad, I had my boyfriend 2 hours away, my mom 4 hours away, my sister 5 hours away, a beach 1.5 hours away, Disney World 2 hours away... and me and my car just peaced out whenever we could. It's not that I don't like where I live. It's just that I get restless and bored in one place for too long of a time. I think it's genetic.

The first time I saw Chocolat, I knew I had found an explanation for this gene. I think I'll call it the North Wind Gene. For those of you who haven't seen the film, Vianne comes from a long line of drifters. They stay in one place until the clever north wind blows in and tells them to go elsewhere.

Her daughter, Anouk, hates this. But she reluctantly follows her mother wherever she goes. My mom has the North Wind Gene. I don't think my dad has it, but his job certainly wants him to. I lived in 5 houses before I was 8. I was used to home being a state of mind instead of a physical location, but I still felt Anouk's resistance to our constant moving.

But once we moved to Florida and stayed for 10 years, I grew restless. You can fight nature, but it'll come back eventually. I couldn't wait to get to Gainesville. Once I was there for 4 years, I couldn't wait to get to NYC. I was seriously done with the entire state of Florida. I should also point out that even though we were in that same house for 10 years, my dad has since moved 3 times and my mom has moved twice. Again, you can fight nature, but it'll catch up.

I know I'll be living in NYC for a while, but that doesn't mean the North Wind doesn't want me getting out of town every once in a while. The stress of school and the excitement of seeing loved ones only adds to the need for a vacation! In general, I'm looking forward to the things I miss about the South: warmer weather, sweet tea, southern hospitality, Publix subs and Chick-fil-A nuggets. But this Thanksgiving, what I'm really looking forward to is starting some new traditions with my family.

This is the first Thanksgiving we'll be having in my sister's apartment, and it's the first Thanksgiving out of the awkward-transition stage that all families go through when the north wind stirs the pot a little. I'm sad that my mom won't be there, but I'm really looking forward to cooking all day with my sister. The menu has some changes that stray away from the traditional Thanksgiving we had while I was growing up, but my all-time favorites are there: my famous green beans, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and frozen chocolate mousse pie. I really don't care what else happens as long as I have those three dishes and my family by my side.

Apart from Thanksgiving, I'll be spending a weekend in New Orleans with my sister and her fiance before we head to Atlanta to start the holiday. I've never been, and I'm really looking forward to a REAL vacation with absolutely no responsibilities.

Safe travels to everyone out there going away for Turkey Day! Hopefully I'll find some time to blog while I'm away, but in case I don't, Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

(All images from Fanpop)

Put Some New Shoes On

also known as An Ode to TOMS Shoes

My friend B wrote a post about her fashion observations when she first moved to Boston, and I told her then that I had noticed a lot of similarities in NYC. One of the big things we both agreed upon was that women (and men) in walking cities like ours have turned to comfortable, socially-conscious TOMS Shoes as a solution to their walking woes. I realized after only a few weeks in NYC that I needed to join the movement. I'm officially hooked.

I first heard about TOMS in this AT&T commercial that I'm sure many of you have seen (sorry for the quality, it's the best I could find). A few months later, one of my fellow TAs came into class one day showing off her new orange TOMS. I started noticing them everywhere, mostly among my most save-the-world-y friends (Hi Kelci!).

As with most people, the first thing that drew me to TOMS was the premise behind them. This philosophy is such an essential part of the company's mission that it's printed on the sole of every shoe.

Another thing I love: the little animals inside the Classics!

(Personal Photo of my TOMS)

Founder Blake Mycoskie had the idea for this company after visiting Argentina and seeing the widespread affects of soil-transfered diseases on children without shoes. As of September 2010, TOMS has given over 1 million pairs of shoes to children in 24 countries from Armenia to Zimbabwe. They also give shoes to underprivileged children here in America, which just warms my future-public-school-teacher heart. In addition to giving shoes, they also provide some health education for their shoe recipients. And for $40 a pair (a little more for the specialty collections), it's not bad when you consider you're really buying two $20 pairs of shoes!

Founder Blake with some children in Argentina

Aren't their matching red TOMS just precious?

(Source - TOMS Blog)

Alright, I wanted a pair. I have to admit, at first I thought the shoes were ugly. I mean, they're blocky canvas covering your entire foot. But then I started thinking about it - whenever I saw someone in a pair of TOMS, I wasn't thinking "man, who would wear shoes like that?", I was thinking "cool, some kid in Africa has shoes because that guy does."

More Argentinian TOMS
I wish they would sell some of these patterns to us!

(Source - TOMS Shoes via US Embassy in Caracas, Venezula)

After a while, they start to grow on you. They have everything from the plain, unassuming classics to the bright and flashy. Heck, they even have wedges and boots.

(Source - TOMS Shoes)

It was decided. I would get some solid colored classics. I ran frantically around NYC looking for a pair to try on (I despise blind buying shoes), to no avail. I gave up and asked my TA friend for sizing help. She gave me a brilliant piece of advice: Since they're made of canvas, they stretch. I recommend going a half size down. If you're between sizes, go with the smaller size. Awesome. I'm between a 7.5 - 8 usually, so I went with the 7.5. I was debating between navy and black and at the last minute, I decided on gray.

Hello lover.

(Personal Photo)

I had heard these shoes were comfy. I did not know they were going to be THIS comfy. I have owned many comfortable, faddish shoes - Crocs, Birkenstocks, Sperrys, Rainbows. They all have one thing in common: they're great once you break them in, but getting them to that point is a beast. I am being 100% honest with you here: TOMS require absolutely NO breaking in. But they do mold to your feet after a while, as I'm sure you can see in the above photo of mine. $40 for comfy shoes with no breaking in and a charitable act involved? I need more of these. I think I've picked my next pair:

Black Glitters!

(Source - TOMS Shoes)

As I've probably mentioned a billion times, there's only one other girl in my program, and we have established a pattern of being the exact same person. Before I bought my TOMS, Miss M and I talked briefly about how we needed them for all of the reasons stated above. We never discussed what colors we planned on getting or when we planned on getting them. During our meeting before our first day of teaching, we were met with a pleasant surprise.

Matchy Matchy TOMS!

(Personal Photo)

Since we taught every Tuesday, we invented a new tradition: TOMS Tuesday. Every week, we would wear our TOMS on the way to class and then change into heels once we were at school. Wearing comfy shoes and toting your stilettos! How NYC is that? We would always giggle whenever someone on the subway was unknowingly participating in TOMS Tuesday. Now that our stint at the community college is over (for now), TOMS Tuesday lives on - and has seeped its way into other parts of the week. Pretty much any time we're both wearing our TOMS becomes a TOMS ___day. I am bound and determined for this to catch on. So tribe, if you've got TOMS (or maybe if I've convinced you to get a pair?), bust them out every Tuesday!

 Our final TOMS Tuesday, we changed a little early and let our students see our matchiness

(Personal Photo)

Last but not least, what I love about TOMS is the sense of community. Every time I see someone on the street, around TC or on the subway wearing TOMS, I feel connected to them. Most importantly, I feel connected to the kids we're helping. I know, I know it sounds cheesy. But these shoes have developed quite a following. My personal favorite aspect of the TOMS Community?

TOMS Weddings!

(Source - TOMS Wedding Collection via Signature Weddings)

Oh yeah. That's right. TOMS for your wedding party. TOMS for the bride. TOMS for the groom. Tiny TOMS for your flower girl and ring bearer! They have some great pointers about incorporating TOMS into your wedding on their website. Some are a little much for me, like forgoing gifts and asking guests to buy TOMS or giving away TOMS as invitations or party favors. Some I can definitely see how the die-hard TOMS-wearing couple could work into a wedding, like signing a pair of TOMS as your guestbook or throwing TOMS instead of a tossing bouquet (I'd fight to catch that).

Now I've recently gotten very into wedding planning (gee I wonder why?). I love the idea of giving TOMS as wedding party gifts - it reminds me of my cousin's husband who had his groomsmen design their own Converse! Okay boyfriend and parents, take a deep breath: being the MOH in your sister's wedding naturally comes with thinking about your own wedding, no matter how far in the future it may be. While I can't see myself as the type of die-hard TOMS aficionado who could pull of wearing them for the entire ceremony, I think I might have my heart set on some reception shoes.

Obsessed.

(Source - TOMS Shoes)

So to sum it all up:Five Things I Love About TOMS Shoes

1. The movement

2. The style

3. The comfort

4. TOMS Tuesday

5. The community (and TOMS Weddings!)

Happy TOMS Tuesday everyone :)

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Inspired by one of my favorite bloggers...

sweet tea

cupcaking

verbing (the act of making a noun into a verb)

pandas

Jason Mraz

pumpkin spice anything

the Boston Red Sox

painting

Bethesda Terrace

receiving mail

fleur-di-lis topped keys

pasta with fresh vegetables

Glee

sapphires

Soarin'

the view from my linguistics class

getting paid to do my homework

telling people they're inadvertently using ASL

Instant Netflix

hotel pens

PNut's Twitter

redoing all the pictures in my room

cute stationary

Target

anything orange and blue

when Google changes its icon

Hungarian Pastry Shop

epiphany moments

my students' epiphany moments

proofreading

signing songs

telling people that I really mean signing, not singing

costumes

Philharmagic

my cousins

synesthesia

jazz standards

black and white movies

surrounding myself with talented people

TOMS Shoes

hipsters

wedding blogs

quoting movies

quoting song lyrics

quoting 30 Rock

when people get my references

making lists

sing-a-longs

living among artists

my incredible luck with random roommates

the color turquoise

Target

frozen strawberry margaritas

painting frames

leaves that change color

apples with peanut butter

when Pandora reads my mind

Chick-fil-A

southern hospitality

reading for pleasure

The Silver Screening Room

a tablespoon of ice cream in fresh coffee

when my friends start using my slang

my Lilly Pulitzer Pandamonium bag

awesomely bad things

movie trailers

bright colors

my mom's craftiness

my dad's wit

my sister's charm

my friends' kindness

being appreciated

having such wonderful people in my life

Anything else? Agreements, disagreements?

A Plague Among Us

Ladies and gentlemen, everyone I know has become infected with a horrible, horrible disease. It's been going on for about a week now, and it shows no signs of letting up. I know we will all be relieved of our pain in just a few short days, but for the time being, we are all desperately and miserably sick. I asked my friends to come up with a word for this pox, and the lovely Rox has done so for us.

re · turk · u · lous adj

extremely sluggish or unmotivated to perform one's required duties or tasks, particularly schoolwork, especially during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving vacation

Yes, we all feel returkulous right about now, and will continue to feel so until our planes and cars depart our college campuses and give us the freedom of a much-needed vacation.

Here's a checklist so you can see if you are returkulous as well:

- excessive, ongoing laziness

- an unrealistic view of how much one needs to do

- restlessness, or a feeling of being "on edge"

- irritability

- tiredness

- muscle tension

- headaches

- nausea

- difficulty concentrating

- the need to sleep at least 3 times as long as usual

- over or under eating

- the desire to do everything but the task at hand

If you feel you may be returkulous, talk to your travel agent today. The only cure is vacation. Can't leave? Staycations can provide a mental break without breaking the bank.

Side effects of vacations may include sun tan, weight gain from holiday sweets, shopping sprees, laughs, good times and hugs from family and friends. Staycation side effects may include any and all of the above, plus a newfound appreciation for the place in which you live. Holiday cleaning may occur.

Feeling returkulous is real, and you don't have to suffer alone. Talk to your friends about being returkulous. We can make it through this together.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: Part II

Disclaimer: Before you read this, you should probably get one big "that's what she said" out of your system. I apologize in advance.

The pumpkin spice cupcakes were a HUGE hit! Everyone who had one basically gobbled it up one one bite. (Get it? Gobble? Turkey? It's almost Thanksgiving? Okay fine.)

Following a process I learned at Yum Cupcakery, I decided to make some extra cupcakes to turn into cake truffles. Then I had this stroke of genius. Why not make Bakerella's famous Cupcake Pops?

(Source - Bakerella)

Uber cute, right? And she makes it look SO easy! Well, our cupcake pop attempt was a miserable failure. I made at least 3 big mistakes. Don't get me wrong, the cake pops we made were DELICIOUS, but they did not look anything like the adorable cupcakes on a stick above.

I wish I could give you a specific recipe for what I did. Bakerella recommends one 13x9 baked cake (from a box or from scratch) and one can of frosting for her cake balls. I tend to just eyeball it. I think I had about 9 cupcakes leftover and about 1/3 of the container of cream cheese frosting -equal proportions as above. I added a little extra powdered sugar (maybe about 1/4 cup) to try to stiffen it, called it done, and rolled the filling into balls to be dipped in melted chocolate and candy.

Well, I was wrong. Looking back, because of how moist the pumpkin spice cupcakes were, I should've added much more powdered sugar and/or frozen the filling for longer. Bakerella's method of using the cookie cutter to shape the balls into cupcakes just didn't work out for me, partially because of the consistency of the candy and partially because of the size I was trying to use. My lovely sous chefs, Jungle M and Jungle K, told me I should give up and just make round cake balls instead.

Just chilling.

(man, I am punny today)

It wasn't stiff enough, so they weren't quite round (okay fine, you're allowed another TWSS here). I didn't melt enough chocolate, so they weren't quite cake pops. The chocolate didn't cover the entire filling, so they weren't quite sealed. Lucky for me, literally no one I served them to knew the difference. We dipped the pumpkiny goodness in melted chocolate and/or orange candy melts (available at Michael's).

Festive! Jungle K was not pleased.

And then we added sprinkles and/or M&Ms. Someone had the wonderful idea of dipping the cake pop into a bowl of sprinkles to make sprinkle-coated pops!

One of the most important food groups.

Cake pops drying in my makeshift candy holder

(on my incredibly messy kitchen table)

Then we wrapped them in little plastic candy wrappers and tied orange ribbons around them... precious! Overall, it was a delicious disaster. But I am not discouraged! I fully intend to try the cupcake pops again the next time I make a batch of cupcakes. I really think the key to pop success is stiffer filling, longer freezing time, and deeper dipping chocolate. But they were a crowd pleaser nonetheless, even if I was kind of disappointed with them. Until next time!

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice, Part I

I've already expressed my undying love for cupcakes. I also love fall - my birthday, college football, leaves changing colors - it's wonderful! So why not combine the two for my first NYC cupcaking adventure? This recipe comes courtesy of my wonderful sorority sister over at Living in Lilly. I altered it ever so slightly, mostly because New York grocery stores don't believe in butterscotch.

The All-Time Best Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz) package instant butterscotch pudding

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Frosting

And LOTS of candy for toppings!

ALL the candy.

My Alterations:

- I used instant vanilla pudding instead of butterscotch pudding. Butterscotch wasn't available at any of the 4 grocery stores I went to, but after some research I learned that the big difference between the two is the use of brown sugar.

- So I took out a Tbsp of the white sugar in the recipe and added in an extra Tbsp of brown sugar. It didn't mess with the consistency at all; they were still some of the most moist cupcakes I've ever had!

- Instead of the spices, I used 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Seasoning. Since I'm new to the kitchen here, I didn't have many of the ingredients, so buying the blend was significantly cheaper. If you have an established spice rack, going with the individual ones is probably a better idea.

- Taryn also provided a homemade Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. Since I don't have a stand mixer (or even a hand mixer right now), I decided to opt for the can of frosting. I'm usually really opposed to this, so if you can go homemade, I highly recommend it. But anyone who has ever tried to make frosting without a mixer feels my pain on this one.

- I also doubled the recipe (actually I made it twice in a row), so I could have leftovers to make cake truffles... which I'll talk about later!

Roomie D with the massive amounts of butter that went into our 48 cupcakes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups.

2. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat together butter, white sugar and brown sugar. If you have a standing mixer, use the paddle attachment. If you're poor like me, do it by hand and skip the gym that day.

Ouch forearms.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend before adding the next.

5. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin with the last egg.

6. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. I tend to do half the dry ingredients, make sure it's totally mixed, and then add in the other half. Habit, I suppose.

7. Pour the batter into prepared muffin cups.

Ready to bake!

8. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes

9. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

10. Top with cream cheese frosting and delicious decorations!

Our naked cupcakes just waiting for a wardrobe

So How Did They Turn Out?

I'll be the first to admit it. I am a cake snob. I expect my cake to be moist yet springy, dense yet fluffy, and all around delicious. These cupcakes were PERFECT. This recipe is practically foolproof. It's just the right amount of spice, and the pumpkin puree makes them yummy and moist - so moist that you can see a few of them shedding their liners in that picture up there! It was a great recipe to get back into the groove of baking to. I HIGHLY recommend it!

But of course, a cupcake is more like a muffin until you put it's topping on. I bought this starter kit from Michael's. It comes with three frosting tips, a filling tip, and a handful of disposable pastry bags to start you off:

(Source - Shop Local)

My roommates had never piped frosting before, so teaching them was SO much fun for me. I was definitely in my element. Some examples:

Piping the standard cream cheese frosting

A perfect little pumpkin cupcake!

Roomie S piping little green grass

Pumpkin Patches! How precious.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcake

(covered in cinnamon sugar)

All our pretty cupcakes!

So there it is - the first cupcake adventure in our dorm kitchen. Success!

Do you have a favorite fall or winter dessert recipe?

Hello Cupcake!

For those who don't know, I've always loved baking. But before I get into my first cupcaking excursion in a city of cupcake snobs, you need a little background info. Last summer I had the great pleasure of interning with Yum Cupcakery (now Sarkara Sweets Cafe). It was one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had; I didn't want to leave, but New York was calling. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the first of the Things I'll Miss about the Swamp:

(Source: Sarkara Sweets)

Yum/Sarkara is owned by Stephanie and Susan Claire Browning, two lovely young women following their dream of serving delicious sweets to the good students and people of the Swamp. Their concept is one-of-a-kind (at least I've never heard of anything like it); think Coldstone or Build-A-Bear for cupcakes. Various flavors of cake are already prepared, along with a smorgasbord of cream cheese buttercream frostings. Customers come in and select their cake, filling, frosting and topping(s). A few pre-made cupcakes are there for the grab-and-go type (or indecisive/intimidated first timers).

Vanilla cake with coconut frosting, gold pearls and a fondant flower

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

They wonderful pull-apart cupcake cakes and other yummy things for catering orders. They also have a strong following of people with dietary restrictions; they offer gluten-free and vegan cupcakes, along with treats for those on the raw food diet. I've never had the raw, and the gluten-free is (naturally) a little funky for someone who isn't used to non-wheat flours... but the vegan is DELICIOUS. Sometimes I chose it over the regular cupcakes!

Hello Kitty Pull-Apart Cupcake Cake

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

Now I know a lot has changed in the months since I worked there, but Stephanie and Claire's generosity and kindness will never change. These girls love creating new recipes, tweaking and perfecting until everything is absolutely perfect. In my summer at the Cupcakery, I learned so many random things that I would have never learned otherwise. For example, if you can trick your brain into thinking it's eating the most peanut buttery goodness by just adding a touch of sesame oil. There is always a market for unconventional flavors. Cake should be hand mixed, no matter how much it hurts your forearms or you look like a crazy person stirring moonshine on the bayou.

Red velvet cupcake with champagne frosting, pink pearls and red sugar

- a personal favorite

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

This experience changed my life. Baking became a ritual. There was something soothing and repetitive about following the natural order - sift dry ingredients, cream butter and sugar, add wet ingredients, add eggs one at a time, alternate dry ingredients with milk into wet ingredients. It was everything about science that I liked, except you got to eat the end result. When I took vacations or didn't work for a few days, I missed the process.

Chocolate cupcake with blueberry frosting and chocolate sprinkles

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

I loved the look on someone's face when they tried something new for the first time, or when they remembered just how important it is to do simple things perfectly. So many tips and tweaks went into a simple chocolate or vanilla cupcake - they had to be flawless. And who cares if I had red velvet batter in my hair that day? I just had to get the last scrap of it out of the giant mixing bowl and into Flaubert, the piping bag. For me, the most rewarding thing was talking to a parent with a child with Celiac's who had never had a birthday cake before... until Stephanie and Claire.

Chocolate Cookie Monster Cupcakes

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

So, in short, although I've always loved baking, and I've always had a thing for cupcakes, working with Yum/Sarkara made it more than just a thing. So now, in my most stressful times, I find space in my schedule to bake cupcakes for friends. I don't mind being That Cupcake Girl. I don't mind passing out baked goods to the security guards in my building, my students or a slew of professors. I certainly don't mind having a cupcake or two around (although I could do without frosting). So although this is far from a cooking blog, expect a recipe or two. I want this blog to be about everything in my life, and cupcaking is a big part of my life. And since I'm currently watching Julie and Julia, I leave you with a quote:

"You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure (and when I say nothing, I mean nothing) you can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. It's such a comfort." - Julie Powell

Next up... my first NYC baking adventure!