Camping Adventures!

On Sunday, at 7:30PM, my fiancé and I made a last minute decision to go on the camping trip we planned one month ago. Earlier in the morning on Sunday we decided we were not going to be going because the weather forecast showed nothing but rain, but then it got to be later in the day and the rain had disappeared. I didn’t want $26 dollars and our smores supplies to go to waste, so we drove up to Red top Mountain and spent the night.

We pitched the tent in the dark, my flashlight died, we roasted weenies, burned marshmallows (okay, that was just me), and we woke up to a beautiful autumn view on Lake Altoona. I forgot how much I enjoy camping and we will definitely be doing this again, but maybe with friends! Camping is such a cheap and rewarding leisure activity; it is also a nice way to unwind if you feel you’ve been spending too much time around technology, work, and the general stressors in life.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Pepper Jelly- YUM!

I made pepper jelly for the first time with my stepdad several years ago. We used peppers from his garden and it was slightly spicy, but so good!! In recent weeks, I have gotten a craving for pepper jelly again and I also received some requests from my best friend because she loves it as well!

I picked this recipe and it made about seven 8oz jars of jelly. I don’t have a tall pot or a canning pot, so I improvise, but it always comes out delicious!

Pepper jelly is best eaten on a cracker with cream cheese. If your pepper jelly is too spicy, the cream cheese will help to dull the burn!

They can take up to 48 hours to set, so don’t be discouraged if they are still liquidly.

AmeriCorps: Do I Stay in Touch With my Team?

It has been over 1 year since my AmeriCorps journey has come to an end (May 2019). I would say that I do a decent job of keeping in touch with 5 of my 8 team members and I talk to 1 fellow team leader on a quarterly basis.

I keep in touch through the app Marco Polo, I write letters, and then there is the occasional FaceTime or Instagram video chat.

I honestly didn’t know whether or not I would develop good enough relationship during my time in the program, but I am glad I did because a lot of high school friends and I grew apart or we don’t see each other as often, so I am grateful for new friends. I also only made one friend in my almost 6 years of college (LOL), so I will take all the extra friends I can get.

This post is a short one, but I wanted to encourage everyone to reach out to those you care about and to keep in touch with people who care about you, too. Write letters, send emails, follow them on social media, and maybe meet up every few months/years. Take a road trip, go camping, or meet up at a restaurant if you are in their areas.

It’s Halloween Time, ya’ll!

Yesterday I made Halloween cookies inspired by this recipe! They turned out really cute! It was my first time making royal icing and I would say that I prefer the taste of buttercream; however, decorating the cookies was easier with royal.

I didn’t realize how hilarious putting eyes on pumpkins would be, but I love it! I ran out of black gel food coloring, so I used brown and blue and I think it came out just fine. I put purple sprinkles on top of that to give them a little more sparkle! I have to be careful about when I choose to eat some of these, because they will stain your teeth! Luckily, with most stores requiring masks, no one actually sees my mouth!

I am actually quite proud of my Frankenstein cookie. He is one of a kind and I don’t think that I will be making any more of him. I am not the best free-hander when it comes to cookie shapes, so next time I will make sure to have a Frankenstein shaped cookie cutter.

So, my owl friend was created because I am participating in a bake-off at work and one of the categories was “Spooky in the woods/Forest creatures”, so I thought an owl would be a good options. Unfortunately for me, owls are a little more difficult to make and I am not too proud of what happened with the icing colors. All in all, for my first time making an owl, I guess it wasn’t too bad.

I’m Back!!

I have decided to return to this blog after a little hiatus. Allow me to update everyone:

• I am one semester away from graduating! Woohoo!
• I still work at the book curation company; however, I have since been promoted to Assistant Business Manager.
• My hair is now over 2 feet in length.
• I have been working remote since March.
• All of my classes have been online.
• I am engaged!!
• I have not traveled this year, for obvious reasons, but I will be going camping this weekend!
• My apartment is Halloween-ready!
• I have been cutting my fiancé’s hair since March and I am a total professional now (not)
• I bought a new laptop because my old one bit the dust (Dell Inspiron 15 5000)
• I am beginning to sell things on Poshmark to make some extra cash.

Those are all the big updates that I have for you all. I will make another post detailing how I am getting ready for Halloween- spoiler: it involves cookies!!