Truffles and Sniffles

I figured out a clever way to smash double stuff oreos into oblivion. Instead of driving my roommates insane with my excited chocolate truffle making, I put the entire bag of oreos into a grocery bag, then put that bag into another one, and then stomped away. Works like a dream.

I made cookies and cream truffles. I tempered chocolate in a microwave. And they are DELICIOUS. I am very proud of my homemade alternative to expensive Valentine's Day chocolates. They were well praised. :)

Also I woke up this morning with a heavy cold. I did not even see it coming, if anything it was the epitome of an "unwelcome guest". I have been fuzzy-brained and sniffling all day. This is not to be born. I have a very important date this saturday where I will be all dolled up and fitted into a dress and having my hair done. Ladies, you will understand me when I say that this cold is not going to ruin my Cinderella night. So, like the reasonable college student that I am, I have been drinking orange juice and taking my vitamins and just keeping warm and snuggly all day long so that I can make a speedy recovery for being in heels and dancing this weekend! Cross your fingers and wish this Disney Princess luck so that her nose isn't all swelled up and red for the ball!

Stay happy and healthy, and indulge in all those chocolates your loved one got you yesterday, I know I am!

If you do not have a loved one this year, go and raid the chocolate isle today, seriously, why are you still reading this? Go and get your discount chocolate!

~Piper

Something simple and clever

Hello Hello Hello there my fine and dandy readers!

T'is the time of year where we are all stuffed with countless sugary goods and spending time with loved ones and family and friends. I simply wished to peek my nose in here and wish you all a very Merry Christmas, hoping that Santa paid you all a visit and delivered many goodies! Since Christmas has already come and gone, I am also here to wish you all a Happy New Year! Start making your resolutions now, 2012 is sneaking up on us!

Once school starts and we all hit the ground running, I shall be back in business with (hopefully) semi-regular updates and hilarious stories to share. I am gathering them as we speak!

So stay happy and healthy, bake many tasty things, share stories, give hugs and kisses, and last but not least raise your glasses of bubbly and toast this fine year of 2011!

Cheers!

~Piper

"I shall bottle your tears and sell them to the Gypsies!"

T'is the season of perpetual hope, a sudden love of the color red, as well as cashmere sweaters and hot chocolate.

There is nothing quite like finishing finals week off with a bang, that moment where all of your studying and mad essay writing skills pay off nicely and all you can do now is to watch the movies: "My Fair Lady", Disney's "Hercules", "The Parent Trap", as well as "Pride & Prejudice" all in one sitting.

Whilst doing so, I embarked upon a glorious journey of painting my nails, sipping hot chai tea, and creating a perfect snuggle corner on our couch and enveloping myself within my trusty micro-fleece blanket.

I shall also have you know, that every inch of our apartment is decorated in the spirit of Christmas. Everything is strung with lights and randomly-perched Santa-Clauses and several advent calendars scattered throughout the kitchen. Needless to say, one can never have enough chocolate.

But seriously, now that finals are over and one semester has successfully come to a speedy conclusion, Christmas break is here at last! Plans are being put into action and I cannot wait for homemade cookies, gift exchanges, snow, seasonal songs, as well as time spent with the family and my loved one. All such beautiful things will illuminate the end of this year and make it a spectacular one! Unfurling a new and beautiful year filled with opportunities and fantastic experiences!

I look forward to all that is yet to come, I cannot tell you how excited I am for it all! I hope you all are just as anxious, regardless of what seasonal holiday you celebrate this time of year. :)

Be sure and catch some snowflakes on your tongue for me! The Peanuts always stated they taste like sugar, let's put that fact to the test now shall we?

~Piper

Growth Spurts

As you get older it's strange that you become "okay" to things you absolutely hated as a child.

Like naps for instance. I know that when I was knee-high to a grasshopper the thought of a nap was like the worst form of physical torture. I never wanted to stop in my daily adventures or put anything on pause, so when it was announced that it was time for me to take a nap, it suddenly became a game of "hide and seek" between me an my parents. Now I see naps as glorious little "me time"s, where I can just relax, forget about any responsibilities I have, and succumb to a pleasant state of not caring about anything for 15 minutes.... Or maybe an hour. Two if you're really pushing it.

Veggies were refused at the table, I'm not going to lie. They were the furthest thing from delicious and were not deemed as acceptable in my book, or any child's book for that matter. I loathed asparagus, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and spinach. Now I find that they are very flavorful and add that extra "oomph" to a dish. Though, I still hate asparagus....

Weird.

I mean come on, it looks suspicious, like it's up to no good.

Mozart and Beethoven were not my BFF's when I was a little sprite, despite my playing the violin for 10+ years. I always fell asleep at concerts and found it to be "too" soothing, to the point I found it boring. Then I gained an appreciation for it when I listened to Vanessa Mae and how she transformed classical to modern and full of life and energy and pizzaz. I also began listening to Josh Groban and Andrea Bocceli as well as Chris Botti and I dare say...they WILL change your life. I don't care who you are, you will melt from overexposure to pure awesomeness.

So tell me guys, before your black friday deals begin and everyone gives thanks to a good year, what has changed from your childhood to your now?

Almost there! Keep smiling! Over-indulgence is on it's way! Promise!

~Piper

An ending and a beginning

“Just think of it as you're being let go, that your life's going in a different direction, that your body's part of a permanent outplacement.”

You know…it really sucks when a door that you’ve been walking through every single week for a good number of years suddenly locks and you can’t come back in. It’s like someone put a big fat sign on the door that says “No girls allowed”. And even if you try the door, it’s locked. Looking for the key is pointless, because they have it and they’re huddled together inside giggling. Boo.

Well, that’s either the moment where you pull a Robin Hood and climb the nearest tree and swing in on a vine, or make like Humphrey Bogart and tuck your hands in your trench coat pockets and simply walk away from the plane and take it like a man.

“Here’s looking at you, kid….”

Despite my undying love for Robin Hood and his tights, I find that given this situation, it is better to just leave quietly and enjoy all the good memories.

Have you ever had that happen? You walk into work one day and suddenly your boss approached you, saying that budgets are being cut and they can’t afford to keep you. Suddenly, whatever spark you had in your heart that day is completely snuffed.

Experience doesn’t matter. How much time and hard work you’ve put in doesn’t matter.

You’re just…being let go.

Well shucks.

Now I know how Genie felt at the end of Aladdin. When he’s told he’s free and he’s staring at the empty bangles in his hands and he has that moment where he doesn’t know what to do with himself anymore. I haven’t quite gotten to the next part where he’s bouncing everywhere exclaiming excitedly that he’s free and packing his suitcase to see the world. I’m still wondering what will come next.

Well, we shall figure that out now, won’t we?

I guess this is the part in the story where I cue the Indiana Jones music and ride off into the sunset, leaving the viewers’ imaginations to figure out what happens next.

“Junior!”

Keep smiling, adventure is out there

~Piper

Crazy Random Happenstance

So guys, got a question for you.

Have you ever been walking down the street or sitting in a coffee shop or shopping at the grocery store--basically doing any everyday task--where you encounter your look-alike? I have never run into anyone else who looks like me per se, but I have run into several people who look like people I know. It’s crazy. As a matter of fact, this morning I’m walking across campus after getting off the bus, and the first thing I see are several students who look amazingly like very close friends of mine who attend school several hours away from here. I was horribly confused as well as momentarily shocked. It was one of those times where you wonder if you should call out their names to see if they will turn around. But you know that if you do you will be THAT PERSON who is awkwardly calling out a random name that no one is going to respond to, or that someone will respond to, it just won’t be who you thought it was.

Weird.

Anyway, that is pretty much a typical morning for me. Until I have finished my coffee/chai tea, my brain is not up to par with anything above singing a Disney song. After my caffeine fix, I can give you an in-depth close reading and analysis of “War and Peace” and recite the prologue of the “Canterbury Tales” in middle-english.

So ha.

I am definitely awake now, and I can tell you that today is going to put my mad skills to the test. There is an 80% chance of rain and I looked high and low for my umbrella today, but to no avail. Thus, I am going to have to make like a very fast person and sprint to my last class of the day should it start to downpour after work. Cross your fingers!

I offer you this challenge in the meantime: Take a look around you today and see how many look-alikes you can find. Whether they look like friends or family members or even celebrities. (We have a guy here on campus who looks exactly like Robert Pattinson, his secret codename is “The Edward Cullen guy!”)

It’s fun, amusing, and might provide you with a chuckle or two. Just don’t shout out their names, you will feel quite silly. I promise you.

Bottle up that sunshine in your heart and be sure and laugh today. Laughter is the best medicine!

"Fall back!"

In a world where college students’ umbrellas turn inside out, and the streets are flooded with water and fallen leaves….

(insert dramatic music here)

If feel like we have been here before. Cold weather, lots of rain, very little hope of seeing a smidgen of sunlight. It’s back. Fall has returned.

I was peeking out from under my umbrella this morning and couldn’t help but think of several pumpkin flavored recipes. It sounds odd, but when the colors change, suddenly I crave seasonal spices and flavors. As a college student living off campus, I have to cook for myself, and therefore my culinary world is expanding faster than you can say “Sundried tomato pesto turkey Panini’s”!

I find that fall weather is the perfect time of year to be contemplative, really sift through the memories you have made. Go through all the imaginary files in your brain and thumb through all that you have learned and absorbed like a sponge.

As I sit at this familiar window at work, I ponder what I was doing on this day last year…. Was I just as cold and wet from walking the distance from campus to work? Was I happy? Upset? What was I working on? What was I thinking at the time? How did I define myself then? Surely I cannot be the same person now.

It’s strange to think how, in a year, you can change and develop so much. College is the place for expanding your horizons in countless ways: making friend, getting involved in different activities, actually learning how to dance, falling in love, getting your heart broken, making mistakes, and learning from said mistakes, re-defining yourself, making a foundation for yourself and for the big world to see. It’s quite a road to travel, but you certainly aren’t alone!

365 days and you are still here, reading my blog, seeing a different me than I was last year. Writing and conveying words to an entirely different reader than you were last year at this time.

Woah.

That’s pretty nifty, if I dare say so myself.

If you don’t believe me, just sit back and take a few moments to ponder how far you have come in life, and be sure to give yourself a big pat on the back for hanging in there through the “life is a bitch” times and shining your best at “yes! This is totally awesome!” moments.

I am mentally giving you all a high five.

Be sure to bundle up today if you live in a rainy and cold environment like myself, if you do not, I’m totally jealous. Let’s hit the beach.

Keep smiling!

~Piper

It's a new dawn....it's a new day....

It's a new life.

And I'm feeling....good.

Actually no, not good, things have been rather hectic and crazy around here. Not favorable in the least, but hopefully things will improve and the sun will come out and the freezing ice rain will leave us alone!

So...yeah...hi there. You probably don't remember me or recognize me for that matter, since I am covered in dust and dressed in the shadows of a forlorn corner of the mind. I was kindly reminded that I had not posted a blog in a while, and I realized exactly just how long it has been!

Not a whole lot has changed since my last post, a pity to those who were seeking mind-blowing excitement and earth-shattering stories of my day to day life. Nevertheless, I will tell you that the seasonal colors are absolutely gorgeous, rain is absolutely dreadful to walk though in high heels even with an umbrella, coffee is slowly but surely wearing off on me...I think I need to take a break, and last but not least MIDTERMS are over! We can all take a wee bit of a breather now that the planets are back in order and school is less stressful.

A little tid-bit that you might enjoy is my Halloween costume! This has been in the making for the past couple weeks now and AT LAST it is finished! I am dressing up at the eternally gorgeous Audrey Hepburn in her classic role of Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", it shall be super fun to do and I cannot wait until I am in full Audrey mode! Watch out world, for one night and one night only, a crazy girl in college is about to take on the great role of a fabulous actress!

I hope you all have your costumes picked out or at least have a rough idea as to what you want to be. If not, e-mail me, I have a million awesome suggestions!

Now that I have assured you that I am not dead (yet), I promise I will get back to a regular blog posting schedule here soon. Perhaps updating on just tuesdays. We shall see how it goes. Until then, thank you for hanging in there! I shall see you in the next post!

Keep smiling.

~Piper

Ahh...ahhh...aaaaaaaacccchhhhoooooo!

Grab your hankies ladies and gents,

Cold season is here.

Yes, I have caught the dreaded plague that has been going around. No matter how much hand sanitizer I manage to use or how many vitamins I take...there is always a bug that manages to dodge right past me and get me horribly ill.

Today was where the evil seed blossomed into something big and terrifying. My head turned fuzzy and dizzy, my stomach was queasy, and my nose became runny. And what did I do? I still went to school.

So put that in your oven and cook it!

Ahem, yes, I am quite proud of myself. I actually contemplated riding the bus back to my apartment several times during the course of this day, but I still managed to suck it up and pull through the entire day without tossing my cookies. I should like to call it a personal victory.

A word to the wise, keep your tissues close, spray everyone you come into contact with Lysol, and drink as much orange juice as possible. Seriously!

Watch out for the plague. Nibble on some pumpkin spice muffins, take many naps, watch chick flicks, and curl up with a good book where the prince and the princess live happily ever after.

(Achoo!)

Love you all, stay healthy!

~Piper

Ahhhhh Cashmere….

It’s that time of year again dear readers,

Where Mother Nature decides that there is no longer any reason for the weather to have a coherent pattern of temperature increases and decreases. It is scattered and all over the place.

So, armed with a vast wardrobe and a thick skin, I ready myself for the days that are above 80 and the days that are below 65. Us college students are a resilient bunch.
Aside from that, I absolutely must tell you about the crazy things that have been going on in my life!

Are you ready for this?

Last night I decided to make fried chicken, but since I was without a fryer, I wanted to improvise....

I looked up recipes for pan fried chicken breasts that had a nice crunchy skin to them. I immediately entered into my own version of “Iron Chef America”/”Chopped” where I only had select ingredients and I had to improvise with what I had. I was missing most of the bizarre spices that were mentioned, so I combined some chili power, paprika, and salt, then I tossed in the flower and bread crumbs as well as garlic salt and pepper. I was golden! I had a basic foundation that I could work off of, the rest was completely of my own invention…ahem…I mean…I totally knew what I was doing. And let me tell you, this fried chicken was FANTASTIC.

So after that strange episode, I also had a bizarre dream last night....

(Keep in mind that this is a dream.)

I had a landscape class in a forlorn building that was incredibly hard to find on campus. So I was a tad late, but the teacher didn’t seem to mind. He was a middle aged fellow with red glasses, a short dark moustache and beard combo, and a sassy attitude! He gave us all a list of places/landscapes to find, assuring us that we had never seen them before. And sure enough, he was right.

They were all drop-dead-gorgeous scenes that looked to have been out of a National Geographic magazine. The catch though, was that each and every one of those places had a difficult task assigned to it. For instance, one place was a steep hill that we had to climb up, but with very thin strings to use as rope. And then another was a long tunnel that flooded with water every five minutes, so you had to sprint. By the end of the list, we all came back exhausted and tired and dirty, and the professor just looks us over and said, “Congratulations, you survived the first day. See you Wednesday for the next list.”

BAH!

Strange dream. Very strange.

I also wanted to inform you that I am super huggable today. I am wearing my cashmere sweater and I swear to God…it is the most glorious material on the planet. Mr. Darcy would totally have attracted Elizabeth Bennet much more quickly if he had been wearing cashmere.

Just saying.

Well, I hope you all are relishing in the fall weather and are readying yourselves for scarves, crunchy autumn leaves, sassy boots, as well as warm snuggles with loved ones.
Much love to you all!

~Piper