So Long, 2009!

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." - Oprah

I'm oddly sentimental and nostalgic today, but maybe that's because 2009 was an epic year for me. It was filled with lots of change, lots of challenges and overall lots of happiness. I promised my roommates a list of my low points (one of my fave phrases from the end of 2009), and for your enjoyment, I'm adding some high points.

LOW POINTS

• Some particularly terrible chocolate chip cookies I made in June. Thankfully, this appeared to be a fluke batch because I think my life would be turned upside down if I couldn't make decent chocolate chip cookies.
• Wearing cardigans and pearls to bars. Yup. That's my idea of a big night out on the town (does anyone even say that anymore?) - a cardigan, pearls and one glass of wine.
• Dancing around my room to "Party in the USA" on repeat. Although this is arguably a comedic high point.
• Dressing as a 50s housewife for Halloween when the majority of college girls dress in little more than lingerie. Though, again, I think this could also be considered a high point.
• Although I think this is fantastic, many of my friends (specifically Miss Jeanna) maintain that asking for (and receiving! Yay!) a George Foreman grill, crock pot and toaster oven for my 21st birthday was not exactly cool.
• Swine flu. End. Of. Story.
• Moving out of my stunning apartment in StuVi2 and leaving behind the amazing Boston University.

HIGH POINTS

• Spending Halloween night at Jacki's baking adorable Halloween-themed cookies and watching Mamma Mia.
• Interning in the US Senate. Hands down one of the most surreal and fantastic experiences of my life.
• Watching the Yankees win the World Series again. It doesn't get old, and watching those games with my lovely roommate Cynthia was fabulous. And Faba, I'm sorry we made you stay in your room, but every time you walked in the living room the Yanks screwed up. It's not our fault you are bad luck.
• Living with Chels, Cyn and Faba. Our apartment rarely lacked laughter, and I loved our Scrabble games, baking, nacho-making, Apples to Apples rounds and 5-hour long conversations.
• The annual post-Thanksgiving brunch.
• Spending summer with my friends, especially my crazy work friends. It was the perfect last real summer vacation.
• Incredible family and friends who make me laugh every day, and who support me even though I'm a 21 year old graduating college who is not sure what to do with her life.

So what are you doing for New Year's Eve? What are some of your high and low points from 2009?

Whatever you're up to, Happy New Year's Eve everyone! Have a wonderful night, whether you're going out bar hopping or sitting in your sweats watching movies like me. Be safe, be happy and be ready for the promise of a fantastic 2010.

This is How I Study...

...and then, as my study group and roommates learned, I force other people to eat what I bake. Enough said. How's everyone doing with the studying (or holiday prep for those of you in the real world)? I hope you all are far more productive...

It's Christmastime!

At Boston University we're in the middle of final projects, papers, presentations and exams. In other words, most of us are just a tad bit sleep deprived.

On Tuesday night when I was supposed to be diligently studying for a Wednesday night final, the roomies and I decided to put up our Christmas tree. It's worth mentioning that our fab Christmas tree is actually my old school American Girl Christmas tree that Santa brought me when I was about 8 (As a miniature domestic diva, I was obviously a devotee of the American Girl brand). We keep it classy.

The thing is, our Christmas tree is super adorable. And we love Christmas. A lot. So naturally we were enthusiastic about our apartment's new decoration. Our excitement led to a photo shoot. Ok, so maybe I insisted that we take nauseatingly cute apartment pictures because that's what any domestic goddess would want!

This image is titled "Old Fashioned Connecticut Christmas Family Photo." No, we're not in Connecticut. And no, it's not actually old fashioned. And no, we're not actually a family. Though we are adorable, and we do tend to get along ridiculously well.

Also, please note that I am in fact wearing a cardigan and pearls. I started out our photo shoot in a sweatshirt and jeans, and quickly realized I should be wearing a cardi instead. I changed. The roommates were so not surprised.

Next is "Awkward Attempt at Looking Like We Like Each Other." It was at the beginning of our photo shoot. We hadn't quite mastered looking goofy and attractive at the same time, thus the strange bending and hand placements.

This is called "We Love Each Other... and Chelsea and Cynthia Like Holding Hands."

And finally, my favorite "We Should Send This Out in a Christmas Card."

Our apartment is awesome. I will miss these fools who put up with my 50s housewife tendencies. I'm officially admitting I'm jealous of whoever is living with Chels, Cyn and Faba next semester.

How are you getting in the holiday spirit? Anyone else struggling to be excited for the holidays while battling exams or projects?

The Ultimate Comfort Food

In case you couldn't tell already, I'm pretty obsessed with my friends. I am so blessed.

Tonight my friend Jacki invited me over for dinner. She made the most fantastic macaroni and cheese I think I've ever had. I was super lazy and only supplied brownies (which I baked from a box mix - fail.).

Since I'm in the middle of finals, Jacki generously offered to guest blog about her absolutely fabulous recipe!

***

During finals, it can sometimes be a struggle to find the energy to cook dinner for yourself. Even though I cursed the dining hall last year, during this time of the semester, it really was my best friend. But, since I have an apartment this semester, I must resort to take-out or cooking for myself.

Tonight, I decided to cook an old comfort food: macaroni and cheese. This recipe is actually quite easy (thank you, Rachael Ray) but I doctor it up and make it my own by using two types of cheese, turkey kielbasa and bread crumbs (to make a crispy top when I bake it in the oven).

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan in a slow stream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups 2 percent milk
• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 cups shredded cheddar-jack cheese (I usually buy the pre-shredded kind to save time)
• 1 pound pasta. I usually use elbows or the curly ones shown in the picture below.

Directions

Heat a medium, deep skillet over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts into the oil, add flour and combine. Gently cook, whisking flour and butter together, until smooth and flour has had a chance to cook, about 3 minutes. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Gently bring milk to a bubble while stirring frequently. Allow the milk to thicken a bit, then stir in 2 cups of shredded cheese a handful at a time.

Meanwhile, brown turkey kielbasa in a skillet. Since kielbasa is already cooked, all you need to do is heat it through.

Add cooked pasta and kielbasa to sauce and coat completely by turning over and over in the cheese sauce. Transfer to a baking dish and top with bread crumbs and extra cheese (if you want). Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.

Here's the finished product. (Note: this is after most of it was consumed!)

Enjoy!

Sometimes My Life is a Sitcom

Over the past week, I've had lots of practice in balancing all aspects of my life - friends, family, internship, school. You know what I've learned? I completely fail at being Superwoman. I am so not one of those fabulous domestic goddesses that can balance housework with a family and a job and looking put together and all the other things a successful modern women is supposed to have in her life. Damn.

Tonight in my communication theory class we learned about narrative analysis theory. (Don't stop reading... I swear it's not as boring as it sounds!) Narrative analysis theory assumes that all of life, and thus all of human interaction, is a story that we're making up as we go.

I think my life has lately followed the narrative example of a sitcom. My roommate Chelsea gave me one of my favorite cards ever a few weeks ago. It reads:

"When my life feels like a sitcom, at least I have a great supporting cast."

Have I mentioned that I love Chels? She just had her own unbalanced moment and threw a temper tantrum 2 year-old style outside my room. So perfect.

So while I struggle to maintain some semblance of balance in my completely overwhelming life (and have I mentioned the ugly looming threat of graduation in December?), I'm choosing to embrace the simple, every day absurdities that make my life worth living.

I will say, despite the craziness, I love the wacky and humorous cast of characters who add meaning to my life. I may be making everything up as I go, but they're along for every bit of the ride.

And now, for confessions time (click here for the first round of confessions). These are the little ridiculous things that make up my existence at the moment:

1. I can no longer do work unless I'm listening to soothing Christmas music. And yes, I'm aware that it's not even officially December.
2. I listen to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA," and sing to it while I dance around my room. At least once a day. It makes me feel better. I know she's sort of slutty. I also know that the people in StuVi I whose rooms face my building can probably witness this catastrophe.
3. I've started yelling at my computer when I receive a new email. I've been having these fabulous dreams about camping in the woods without any means of communication. I'm tempted to go off and do it, but I somehow think this would be a mistake with the falling New England temperatures.
4. Lately when people annoy me, I pretend I'm a character on The Office and choose to laugh instead of ripping out my hair. I catalog all these people and plan to use them as characters in the novel I will surely someday write.
5. I have tripped on Comm Ave at least 10 times in the last week. And that's taking into consideration the 5 days I was home for break. Sadly, I always seem to be walking alone when this occurs so not only do I look like a loser, I have no one there to laugh it off with me.

Please, please tell me that you lovely people are coping with this insane time of year better than yours truly. How do you balance everything? What are the crazy things that get you through the day? And are any of you able to balance everything and still be a domestic goddess? I need advice...

It Takes a Long Time to Grow an Old Friend

I come from a small town, although that statement is slightly misleading. Actually, New Milford is the largest town in Connecticut, according to land area (check out our Wikipedia entry here). Still, it's the kind of small town where everyone is somehow connected, and if I don't know someone than he/she definitely knows my mother.

Confession time: I'm one of those freaks who loved high school. Yes, I had my awkward phases (okay, so maybe I never grew out of my awkward phases), but I had friends I'd known since I was about five. I was involved in every aspect of New Milford High School I could get my hands on, and loved every minute of my extracurriculars.

My friends from home are a pretty spectacular group. I love getting together with them and hearing about the fabulous things they're doing with their lives, and I have complete faith that they will all be extraordinarily successful in whatever they choose to do.

I started hosting a post-Thanksgiving brunch a few years ago, and it's become a sort of tradition. My lovely girls are understandably busy, so not everyone could make it, but I'm always so happy to see the ones who can.

On Saturday, my friends and I pigged out on lots of yummy baked goods, and caught up on our lives. We talked about our families, our classes, our plans for the future and our crazy college stories.

All of my friends are amazing, but there's something special and different about hometown friends. The girls who I played soccer with and competed with on the swim team were the girls who helped me through calculus (I know - what could I have been thinking?). The ones who I passed notes with in middle school are the ones who still keep in touch with funny and touching text messages.

So in a crazy season, filled with holiday preparations and final projects and exams, I'm grateful for my small hometown and the friends in my life that have been constants through all the ups and downs.

How did you end your Thanksgiving weekend? Do you have any traditions with old friends that your holiday wouldn't be the same without?

Some Turkey and a Whole Lot of Thanks

In case I haven't mentioned it enough already, Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday (it follows closely behind Christmas, which I'm mildly obsessed with). I love cooking and I love when the house is chaotic and filled with family.

This year, my family and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house, and our chef was my dad.

It's worth mentioning that everything I know about cooking I've learned from my dad. He had me making risotto (lots of stirring and the occasional pouring of chicken broth) at the age of seven. I stood on a chair in our kitchen because otherwise I couldn't quite reach the stove.

That being said, both my father and I are a little bit particular when it comes to details (that may be an understatement). So, as you can see, when we went shopping on Wednesday, our list was detailed and organized. We split it in half. I took the left column,

and he took the right.

When we got to the store, Dad told me to meet him at the checkout in 15, to keep my head down, not make eye contact, and to absolutely NOT talk to anyone.

The only problem is that my town is sort of small. And I sort of know a ton of people here. So I kind of couldn't help the chatting. Dad found me talking to an old friend and bumped his cart into mine. On purpose. Yup. My family takes Thanksgiving pretty seriously.

I spent most of Wednesday afternoon and evening preparing for marathon cooking, and woke up at 7 am on Thanksgiving to assist in the kitchen. Please keep in mind that I am not a terribly good morning person. I downed about three cups of coffee to keep moving, and chopped, stirred and sauteed my little heart out. Essentially my role as an assistant to the master chef (Dad) is to be an extra set of hands and not get in the way. I've mastered these responsibilities over the years.

Dad and I made two of the most perfect turkeys I think we've ever made. We also made regular stuffing, Hungarian stuffing and peas and pearl onions. Dad made the best cranberry sauce and I made my popular sweet potato casserole with homemade marshmallow sauce and a pecan crumble. Mom even contributed a delicious coconut custard pie.

My fabulous aunt (pictured with her dog, Prince) made amazing mashed potatoes and cheesy vegetables.

In other words, my family didn't exactly starve.

Unfortunately, I was so busy cooking and chatting and overall enjoying myself that I made a big mistake - I took no pictures of our spectacular feast. I know. Epic failure.

But maybe it's okay that I don't have pictures. In fact, I didn't take any pictures on Thanksgiving at all because I was too busy enjoying myself.

All of the pictures in this entry are the product of my 6 year old cousin Mali's pretty fabulous photography skills.

I think that maybe, when it comes down to it, being a good hostess is definitely about making good food and providing for guests, but maybe it's even more important to take some time to actually enjoy the company and be grateful for such fabulous people - especially on Thanksgiving.

I know times are tough right now, and I know this post is a few days late, but I am grateful for so much, and not just on Thanksgiving.

How was your Thanksgiving? Is there anything you're particularly grateful for this year?

And, hey, it's okay to be thankful for the little things too. Right now I'm particularly thankful for a super cute sweater dress that I think Santa may be bringing me for Christmas.

And I'm thankful to all of you, for reading, and especially for commenting.

Thanksgiving Countdown - T-Minus 2 Days

I'm back in my hometown for Thanksgiving, and preparations are underway for quite the Turkey Day feast.

While I get my homemade vanilla ice cream and stuffing and sweet potatoes and marshmallow sauce ready, I'm working on getting into the spirit of Thanksgiving.

My cousin Emily is eight years old, and her poem was published in her school paper.

Miss Em is quite the creative kid, and she's just one of the many people I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.

So even as I work on my long, long to-do list, I'm going to remember why I love the holiday season, and the fabulous people that make me smile every day.

How are you getting in the holiday spirit? Baking? Cooking? Getting on your Thanksgiving Pants?

Taking a Personal Day

Despite my intense love for my fabulous-and slightly zany-friends and family, sometimes I really need to take some time for myself. I try to always be the best friend, daughter, sister, cousin, granddaughter, etc. possible (and often fall short). Still, over the past few years, I've learned that if I don't sometimes cut myself off from the outside world and regroup, I tend to become a bit of a crabby monster instead of the domestic goddess I usually aspire to be.

After a crazy few weeks filled with work and swine and then catching up with work after the swine, this wannabe domestic diva needed an afternoon to avoid real life.

Today I took a personal day. I refused to even look at the 15 items on my to-do list, and instead wandered around Boston. I gave myself time to reconnect with the city that I fell in love with three years ago.

I got to window shop at the Pru (someday, if I ever have money, I'm going to do some serious shoe shopping), and walk through the Commons and Harvard Square. I got to eat a red velvet cupcake at Sweet. I browsed through Papyrus and Barnes & Noble and Black Ink.

Since returning to my apartment, I have been relaxing in front of the television-an activity that's a rare luxury-watching ABC Family's wonderfully awful Christmas movies.

I'm so ready to tackle the next few days of work and school, and to then return home to Connecticut. Check back this week for Thanksgiving updates; I'm completely obsessed with the holiday.

So here's to taking some time off so I can be a better version of myself. What do you do to unwind and regroup?

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the majority of my playlist for my wanderings today was made up of songs from my new favorite show Glee. Check out their version of "Lean on Me" below.

A Grown-Up Birthday Celebration

Our apartment is slowly moving back toward its pre-swine glory. Finally.

In fact, it was Chelsea's 22nd birthday on Monday. Now, Chelsea did her best to avoid a quarter life crisis induced fit of depression. Nonetheless, I heard plenty of "I'm old! My youth is over! I'm not 21 anymore!" and other similarly pathetic statements.

I think the very classy and girly wine and cheese night held in our apartment managed to cheer the loony up. A bunch of Chelsea's friends gathered to celebrate her existence, and it was a great, very grown-up night of cheerful conversation.

Being a wannabe housewife, I try to make cakes for my friends' birthdays. Chelsea, however, is not a huge fan of real cake, so I dug out an old recipe for an ice cream pie. Now, when I say recipe, I use the term loosely.

The ingredient for ice cream pie (and this is enough to make 2 pies):

• 2 half gallons of ice cream--You can use any flavors, but I used cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough.
• 2 chocolate pie crusts pre-made--If you're really ambitious (and not recovering from swine like I am), you can crumble oreos or chocolate graham crackers with butter for a yummy substitution.
• 2 jars of chocolate fudge that can generally be found by the ice cream
• 1 giant Crunch bar
• Rainbow sprinkles
• Whipped cream--I recommend the extra creamy variety because it freezes better

For the simplest celebration dessert ever, choose one of the ice cream flavors and spread a thick layer on the bottom of each pie crust. You should use up a whole half gallon of ice cream. Put the pies in the freezer for 5 minutes to reduce melting.

Then spread a layer of chocolate fudge on each pie. Over that, spread the remaining ice cream flavor, dividing the half gallon equally between the two pies. The pies will appear to be slightly overflowing. Place in freezer for 5 minutes to reduce melting.

While the pies are re-freezing crush the Crunch bar by placing chunks of it in a plastic bag and hitting it into smaller pieces (I used an olive oil bottle).

Take the pies out of the freezer and sprinkle the Crunch bar pieces over the tops of the pies. Then, outline the edges with whipped cream.

On top of the whipped cream, pour a light coating of rainbow sprinkles for additional color. I also

stuck remaining Crunch bar pieces into the whipped cream. The pies are ready to serve!

Admittedly the pie looks rather...ugly. I promise, though, that it was a big hit!

Most importantly, I think Chelsea had a pretty good birthday. Yes, we're growing up, but the wine and cheese is just one of the classy adult things we can participate in now. And, most importantly, even if we are growing older, it's nice to be surrounded by friends and it doesn't exactly suck to be celebrating in our beautiful BU penthouse apartment.

So Happy Birthday to my pretty roommate. I'm pretty thankful that you were born 22 years ago.

What are some ways you celebrate birthdays? Any special traditions or fabulous cakes?

The Newest Fashion Craze

I'm all about dinner parties and hosting friends and family and other wonderful home-like things. Sadly, I've learned in the last week and a half that being a fab hostess/domestic goddess is decidedly impossible when you're walking around in a big blanket and coughing up what must be an entire lung.

Yes, the swine conquered me. The piggy flu swept into my life and took over. It forced me to rest and took away my appetite and generally made me miserable. I even rocked the swine fashion

for a short period of time (see to the right).

Now, I'm all about taking time to recover from sickness, but over the next week I have a lot going on that requires me to be my normal domestic self. So piggy flu, I'm all about being a good hostess, but you've overstayed your welcome. It's time for you to go for good.

So you know I'm gearing up for the upcoming holiday by kicking the piggy flu for good. What are you doing to get ready for Thanksgiving?

And in case you too have been afflicted by the swine flu, feel free to share your experiences in a comment and click on this button to get great flu info from the CDC.

The Piggy Flu Chronicles Part II

Most importantly, Miss Piggy (my new name for poor Chelsea) is slowly recovery from her battle with swine flu. I'm thrilled, and I think Chels is probably pretty pumped that she can leave the apartment now.

One slight setback: I sort of seem to be coughing up a lung. Oh yeah, and I might have a fever. And body aches. And I can't keep my eyes open. Oops.

Anyway, here's to hoping that I haven't caught the latest craze sweeping the nation. And thanks to Chelsea who passed onto me the little medicine stash pictured at the left. (She even put the cough drops in pretty pink packaging!)

Stay healthy everyone! I strongly recommend getting lots of sleep--I think that's where I messed up. Idiotic.

What are you doing to prevent the swine?

The Piggy Flu

In case you haven't watched the news in the last six months or so, let me fill you in on something--this thing called the Swine is sweeping the nation. No, it's not a rad new dance (does anyone say rad anymore?) or a hoppin' new music group (I'm betting no one uses that word anymore either). It's a sickness. More accurately, it's a strain of flu that I like to call the Piggy Flu.

Sadly, my roommate has fallen ill with this new virus. Well, at least we think she has. In a particularly stellar move, BU Health Services has determined they don't care to properly diagnose flu-like illnesses anymore. Sweet.

Poor Chelsea is missing out on PRSSA Nationals in San Diego this weekend. I decided that a good way to fight the Piggy Flu is a vegetable soup containing virtually every veggie I found at the grocery store.

I based the vegetable soup off of the famous Weight Watchers garden soup (found here), but changed it up to suit my own tastes. Our super healthy soup contained:

• Yellow squash
• Zucchini
• Mushrooms
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Green beens
• Onions
• Carrots
• Cabbage
• Garlic

I boiled vegetable broth (about 8 cups, but I should have used more broth and fewer vegetables) with one small can of tomato paste, salt, pepper and some paprika. Then I added the vegetables and simmered for about half an hour. I also added some elbow pasta.

I'll keep you posted on whether or not the veggie soup has any magical healing qualities. I'm hoping it does. I hate when people are sick, and I'm not loving how many people have the Piggy Flu.

What are some of your favorite home remedies?

How a Chicken Deals with Chicken in Kitchen

Last week I got really excited at the grocery store. Yes, you are right to be concerned by that statement because yes, normal people refrain from getting excited at the grocery store. You can feel free to stop judging now.

Chicken breasts were on sale for $1.88 a pound. I know! So amazing! That was exactly my reaction! Because I am a dirt-poor college student who also likes to eat healthy when possible, cheap chicken is pretty much a gift from the gods in my book.

I excitedly bought several packages of the cheap chicken while beaming, and probably scaring the other shoppers. I long ago learned that buying food in bulk can save money in the long-run, thanks to the wonder that is the freezer.

When I got home, I immediately began my own elaborate process of freezing the chicken breasts. See, my mother taught me at a young age that "chicken guts" (her phrase for any germs found in raw chicken) are dangerous, yucky, unhealthy, etc. On my list of fears, chicken guts rank pretty high, right along with big heights and nuclear warfare.

So, this self-proclaimed chicken has created a method for freezing chicken that is as painless as possible.

• Pull out and label a quart-sized plastic freezer bag for each individual chicken breast.

• Flip a freezer bag inside out and stick your hand into the bag.

• Using the hand in the freezer bag, grasp a chicken breast.

• Use your free hand to help flip the bag around the chicken breast, so that the bag holds the chicken. Be careful to not touch the chicken with your free hand or the outside of the freezer bag. This is how you avoid the chicken guts.

This is a simple, efficient way to not only take advantage of fabulous shopping deals, but to avoid kitchen contamination. Still, I strongly suggest using Lysol or a similar disinfectant after dealing with any chicken. Otherwise there will be gross chicken guts taking over your kitchen. Well, at least that's what my mom would tell you.

What are some weird, but effective things you do in the kitchen? While you mull that over, check out one of my current favorite songs- "Chicken Fried." Appropriate, right?

This One's For The Girls...

Confession: sometimes I feel like a 40 year-old trapped in a 21 year-old's body. Other times I feel like I'm 16 again. While I admit that sounds a little bit schizophrenic, I don't know that I'm all that different from other 21 year-olds.

I'm two months away from graduating, and having to become a "real" adult person. Yikes. Instead of focusing on that terrifying figure, I'm going to live in denial a bit longer.

Sugar, Stew & Stilettos is where I'll share my domestic achievements (for a example, a beautiful homemade chocolate cake) and failures (someday, after years of therapy, maybe I'll talk about the lemon meringue incident of 2008).

In the interest of sharing, here are a few more confessions:

• I wear pearls and cardigans, and not just for business or family functions. Yes, I am aware that it is not 1950.
• I think doing dishes is relaxing. Most people who live with me do not support this because I tend to leave behind puddles (or lakes) of water.
• I don't like Martha Stewart, even though I'm from Connecticut and I wear pearls.
• I can walk in heels, but that is the extent of my natural grace. I run into walls often, and I trip both up and down stairs. Yes, tripping up the stairs is possible. I have a bruise on my shin to prove it.
• I make boxed mashed potatoes. On a regular basis. My kitchen is tiny. Potatoes are my comfort food.
• Sometimes I spend weekend nights in a library or bookstore. I do actually have friends (or at least I did before that public admission). Even my own father mocks me for this.

Do you have any confessions? Guilty pleasures?

One last thing- I firmly believe that some cheesiness is healthy every now and then. I dare you to not smile when you listen to this song.

This is for all you girls about twenty-five

In a little apartment, just trying to get by

Living on, on dreams and Spaghetti-o's

Wondering where you life is gonna go

~"This One's For The Girls" by Martina McBride