What I am Thankful for

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for (in no particular order): 

My family 

delicious food 

music 

my bed 

a warm house 

JD's chippery 

finding out who my true friends are (and reuniting with one of them in particular this break!!) 

Travis Nelson Montie 

my puppy 

hummus 

trees 

coffee 

gummy vitamins 

and, because I just love them so much I can't help but mention them twice...my family 

And now a side story: I participate in this program called HOSTS (Helping One Student to Succeed) and every week I go to a local elementary school and tutor a little boy in first grade for 30 minutes. He is very sweet, calm (for the most part) and has really loosened up around me the past few weeks. He has actually taught me more than I think I have taught him. His home is a broken one, his parents can't even see each other and I can only hope that this doesn't effect him as he grows up because he has a lot of potential. Looking at the differences between his childhood and mine have made me that much more thankful for what I had. So this is my shout-out to my HOSTS kid (who will never read this). Thanks for being so fun and being a better teacher than me! 

HOSTS buddy: My favorite it mashed potatoes with gravy at Thanksgiving. 

Me: I don't like gravy. 

HOSTS buddy: Why?

Me: It is just so runny! 

HOSTS buddy: Well, water is runny, does that mean you don't like water?

See? Such a smarty-pants

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Weekend in San Antonio.

I realized that I never posted anything about my weekend at my Grandmother's house in San Antonio! 

Well, it was really fun, a lot more fun than I expected to be honest. I've had a nagging guilt for the past year or so that I have never been the best granddaughter. Forgetting to call her back, not being very pleasant during Christmas/other visits to her house...petty, silly things like that. 

But my weekend at her house made me realize that a lot of the things that make me who I am are actually very important to her as well. 

First of all, we both love to cook. I could talk about cooking and baking all day long. I love food, I love making it, I love learning about healthy food, the list goes on and on. Just ask Travis, or my parents, I could talk their heads off about food. Turns out, my Grandmother can too! In fact, we talked a lot about food. I got to thumb through her recipes and copy down my favorites, she taught me all about her new special diet she has to follow and I even took a copy of that as well. It was fun to see that my love for food probably came from her (no offense Mom). 

Second, books! Now, I don't read nearly as many books as she does but I do love to read when I have free time. Not only that, but when I brought up to my Grandmother that I don't like kindles/nooks she agreed and said that she likes the whole experience of having a real book in front of you. This sparked a conversation about how we love to turn the pages, see how far we come and after we finish books, we feel too connected to them for it to be an electronic version. 

Lastly, our love for photography. My Grandmother takes a lot...and then some more pictures. It is actually one of the things I sometimes dread about going to her house, "say cheese!" (as I am sitting next to my Christmas stocking early in the morning wearing my pajamas with dried drool on my face) hasn't always been my favorite phrase. I've always loved taking pictures too, I cherish my photos and the memories that I connect to them. She has a huge shelf of all of her photo albums in order by date. One of my favorite things to do at her house is go to that shelf and look through pictures of my Mom when she was my age, when she met brought my Dad home for the first time and when me and my brother were little. Sure, I may get annoyed at all the pictures but the payoff is huge, I can look back and see so many pieces of my families history, I think my family should thank her instead of getting annoyed by it :) 

I know these similarities seem small but in my family I had yet to find the origin of these passions I have. I think I found it in my Grandmother.  

Coincidence's

Last night, I experienced two strange coincidences. 

Travis took me on a date last night and earlier in the day I had been kind of craving Cafe Eccell for dinner. I haven't been there yet this year and I do love their pizza so we decided that we would go there to eat. Yesterday was kind of a weird day in that I began the morning with three hours of Pi Phi initiation (yay baby Pi Phi's!) which was fun but it also marked the one year anniversary of my cousin Alex's passing. Throughout the day I was kind of sad just thinking about how he isn't here anymore. Later that night, Travis picked me up and we headed to Cafe Eccell when suddenly it hit me (coincidence #1). My cousin Shannon had mentioned that Cafe Eccell is where she celebrated her engagement to her now husband. I'm guessing my extended family was there...including her brother, my cousin Alex. CRAZY! We ended up going to eat at a place that was so appropriate for the day. 

Then, as Travis and I drove past Cafe Eccell and into the parking lot, we say these two cars with security personnel standing beside them. We thought "Really? You're going to block half of the road because you're so important?"We proceeded to walk to the front door when we saw some people getting their picture taken...surrounded by four guys in black suits. 

It was George and Barbara Bush.

I tried to just walk behind them so we could slip into the restaurant and let them leave without a scene. However, I was snapped at by one of the secret service men, "Could you hold on a second?" Well, ok I guess I can. We waited for them to finish taking their picture with some other restaurant go-ers and George Bush turned to us and waved. Travis said, "Howdy" which is hilarious to me because he never says "howdy" (I think he was starstruck). Then Barbara Bush leaned down to ask George Bush what the Rangers score was. We liked seeing that little glimpse of normalcy between them. 

But here is coincidence #2. Barbara Bush was initiated into my Pi Phi Chapter in 2002, she is a Texas Eta Pi Phi. She is a big supporter of our chapter and to see her on the same day we initiated our new members was a huge coincidence. Just that morning we were talking about how her! Our whole philanthropy is influenced by her so it was pretty cool to see her last night. Now, if only I had put all of this together in that small moment when I saw her. I could've talked Pi Phi with her!! They were leaving though, so I think my brain picked the right choice by not bothering her on her way out. 

It was a funny night. Those back to back coincidences, they were so right! And in case you were wondering, we split a margherita pizza and it was deelish. 

Little Things

I have been completely consumed with tests this week and I still have two more to take next week before I can really breathe. Even though my test week has been a little stressful, I have many little things that have made my week more bearable...

(no blog post is complete without little Zoe)

-A late night chat with Travis on Tuesday. We talked about life, things/people that stress us out, dreams etc. all while dangling our feet in the pool-

-A sweet text from my little asking me how my week was going-

-Tomato basil soup and chicken salad sandwiches for lunch at the house on Wednesday-

-Spending practically an entire day at Starbucks on Wednesday to prepare for my two tests on Thursday- 

-Checking my phone on Thursday and seeing three texts from each member of my family wishing me a happy jewish new year, all sent at the same time (dads idea)-

-Talking with my Mom on the phone and deciding that when I come home, we are making Peach Noodle Kugel and Honey Cake- 

-My group text conversation with Ashley and Lauren, we texted during my entire Oceanography class and I loved every minute of it. I even had a moment in class where I was trying so hard not to laugh out-loud that my body was shaking and I had to hold my breath for fear that letting it out would release my laughter. I love them!! Sometimes, I miss them so much my heart aches a little (note to self: they deserve their own post) 

Don't You Love Grandmothers?

In a little over a month, I'll be going to San Antonio to visit my Grandmother by myself. In my whole life, I've never gone to my Grandmother's house alone because she lives in San Antonio but, this time, it's just me and her! 

I haven't been down to San Antonio since Christmas and I barely remember being there because of that "pesky" abscess tooth I was suffering from. We have already planned to go to the Symphony on the Friday I get in town and then needlepoint while watching the UT vs. Tech game on Saturday. You can only do these things with your Grandmother. 

Don't ya just love it?

* Here's to hoping that pimento cheese and brunch at "the club" will be on the agenda too*

(my Grandmother and my Mom on Christmas Eve...pre-abscess) 

Fall 2011 Wish List

Any nail color from Butter London



Coco Mademoiselle Perfume 

Tiramisu Blue Bell Ice Cream (Coffee Ice Cream loaded with cake pieces, dark chocolate flakes, creamy caramel sauce and whipped topping swirled throughout) 

An Internship ;) 

This navy trench coat and red cashmere scarf donned by "The Duchess" 

A little sweetie like this 

Ahh...A girl can dream, right?

Bid Day!(Like...OH-EM-JEE!)

Some Recipe's For Youz Guyz!

These are a few of my favorite recipe's of the summer! 

Low + Slow Sweet Potatoes- so yummy and creamy in the center, I have eaten so many sweet potatoes this summer. 

3 Ingredient Corn Cake- this is basically your own personal serving of cornbread made in less than 2 minutes. (It's especially yummy with honey & butter on top!) 

Crack Wrap- so simple, so delicious, such a weird name. 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls- they're vegetarian/vegan so its fine to eat the whole batch, right? 

And finally, sweet Travis makes a mean baked salmon, he has made it a couple of times and it is so so good. Here's the recipe 

-Salmon Fillets 

- Creole Seasoning 

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees 

- clean salmon under cold water and place on foiled baking sheet 

- generously season the salmon and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily 

(the salmon goes especially well with grilled corn and crusty bread, MMMM!) 

I'm Really Weird Pt. 1

- Today for lunch I had BBQ with my family. I always get a ham sandwich. Every time I eat a ham sandwich I think of my Aunt Sally. When I was much younger, I used to love the way my Aunt Sally ate her Christmas ham. With a fork in her left hand and a knife in her right, she gently sliced through the meat and made a perfectly small bite to slowly chew with her lips pursed. I knew from that moment that I wanted to eat my Christmas ham just like her. 

- There is a leather wallet in Anthropologie that smells like something I know; a place or a person. The smell is so familiar but I can't quite put my finger on it. So most days that I go to work I detour to the wallet and smell it to try to spark some sort of memory. Stay tuned because I haven't figured it out yet...

- I can't fall asleep easily unless I have my retainer in 

- I don't like sharing drinks but I have found that if I really trust and love someone then I have no problem giving them a sip of my drink. Otherwise, it completely grosses me out. 

- When I eat chocolate covered almonds (which I do alot), I eat them from smallest to biggest so that the most chocolatey almond is saved for last. 

Why are you weird?

Summer '11 in iPhone pictures

Apparently, I only take iPhone pictures of my dog and Travis.

Exclusivity.

I really hope my title is actually a word. 

My summer has been incredible, I have been able to catch up with friends, make some extra moolah and even go on a vacation. I think this summer has been a true wake up call for me in the friend department though. Without going too in depth, I have been hurt for awhile over the fact that some friendships of mine feel strained and disconnected. At times I have felt excluded. I felt like I had been dumped, singled out and left to dry. For awhile I blamed myself...

 "I'm not fun enough"

"They must hate me" 

blahblahblah. 

Then it hit me. Exclusivity stems from insecurity. 

Unless you have done something major to hurt a friend, the reason for their moodiness is most likely one thing. You have something that they don't. Ever since I realized this, I have been able to better understand the ebb and flow of my friendships. While I do hope that a year from now I can say that all is well with my friendships in question, I will not dwell on the people that have hurt me. I will instead think fondly about them and hope that whatever the problem is, they sort it out. The friends I do have are the most wonderful friends I could ask for, loyal, funny and caring.

The only thing I choose to be exclusive about is my happiness because that is worth protecting more than anything.

Sorry..

My life has been a little busy lately and I haven't even thought of good things to blog about! I have not forgotten about this dear blog though, I am simply suffering from "bloggers block"

Here is a video me and my puppy made for you all today. I hope this satiates your thirst for Bloggy Woggy posts.

I will be back soon. 

Candidly Speaking...

I interrupt this irregularly scheduled blog to bring you this special announcement. 

I cannot take a good candid picture for the life of me. 

I went to a lakehouse yesterday and blew bubbles. Well, that is not all I did but it was definitely a good chunk of my day. Whilst blowing bubbles, a charming young lad snapped pictures. 

One would hope to look like a radiant beach/lake goddess gracefully blowing bubbles in the wind but this is apparently not my style. 

So now, I give you, "Candid Erin...blowing bubbles"

And for the grand finale...

We will now return to your regularly scheduled blog.

Goodnight.

Do I Have to Put a Title?

I don't always think of a good title for blog posts. Oh well. 

When I'm not working I've been spending time with family/friends as well as COOKING! 

I do love to make food, it is just so rewarding! Last week I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread...

Just wait till you see the inside... 

Here is the recipe from CuisineNie 

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• one can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees;. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar with pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in chocolate chips, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.
   
   
   This week I have also had a little time to play around with my new lens! 

 

Wowzers, I've been a productive little lady! For that I give myself a pat, pat, pat on the back.

Taking The Time.

Every so often, when my life gets a little hectic, I have to stop and remind myself how lucky I am. 

I think in this day and age, it is so easy to lose sight of the things that are important because we are taught to think bigger, go faster and climb higher. When my schedule starts to get busy and filled to the brim, I begin to run on auto-pilot so I can be efficient and effective in whatever I have going on. However, I always crash and realize I've been living with blinders on. 

I'll get this overwhelming feeling that I haven't hugged my family enough or that I haven't stopped to just be thankful I am still running around on earth. My "crash" just happened in the past few days. 

I've spent all of my summer so far trying to hurriedly complete tasks wether it is at home, summer school or work. My goal this week is to separate my "schedule" from my life. Yes, I want to do a good job at work and make sure I'm staying on top of things, but I also want to lay in bed with my mom talking about nothing, laugh so hard that my stomach hurts, take pictures of things that inspire me, catch up with old friends and just be thankful for all that I have.  

Life's too short but my love for it is so large that I want to fill every second with meaning. 

That's my goal this summer, to take the time to be happy and find purpose in the mundane and relish the good times I have.  

*I hope whoever reads this will do the same.*

Happy Birthday Brother!!!

 My baby brother turned SIXTEEN today! 

I can't believe he has gone from this

And this..

 To this! 

What a guy. Happy Birthday Jonathan! Don't grow up too fast.

Summer...Week One

I haven't blogged in a little over a week, my sincerest apologies go out to my three readers ;) 

Here is what I have been doing my first week of summer: 

- Got hired at my summer job

- Went bowling in College Station 

- Went to lunch at the most delicious restaurant, "Maddens"in downtown Bryan 

- Moved home 

- Started a maymester math class from 9-12:15 (it sucks)
-And on Friday I start my job!

So I have done quite a bit! Hence, the lack of blogging. I'm now in Starbucks sipping a caramel macchatio and attempting to study for my first math test. Isn't this supposed to be summer? Oh well, my summer will start on June 2nd! 

P.S it was a huge mistake to go to the Highland Park Village Starbucks because now I can't stop people watching. 

Louis Wain.

Have you heard of him? 

I learned about him in my film history class in regards to postmodernism. His story is very intriguing and freaky, so I thought I'd share. Louis Wain was an English artist who specialized in drawing animals and serene country life. He also frequently drew anthropomorphized (giving human characteristics to non-human things) cats. 

Cute right? For the next thirty years he became a pretty influential artist. Then, at the beginning of the 1900's, his popularity started to decline, his mother passed away and he had no money. He had always been considered a nice guy but just a little "off." But then, he started behaving in erratic ways all of the sudden. He began having delusions, locking himself in his room to write incoherently and he became hostile towards his own sisters saying, "the cinema screen has robbed the electricity from their brains."

His sisters couldn't handle him anymore so they admitted him to a mental hospital where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia (which may have been triggered by a parasite). Wain continued to paint and his work that follows is all representative of his progression into insanity. 

And here is a montage of it all...

These paintings are frequently shown in psychology classes because it is such a vivid example at the kind of mental wildness that schizophrenia causes. It's kind of scary but at the same time so fascinating that he couldn't visualize a "normal" cat through his illness. 

Looking Forward to Summer.

So I can squeeze my mama...

(P.S this was Zoe as a 'lil puppy! Such a cutie!)

 So I can see my dad sitting in his usual spot on the couch every night with Zoe around his neck...

So I can eat delicious homemade meals like this one...

Oh and don't worry, I did not forget about you brother, you are so adorable...

So I can see these two later on in the summer!

Only 3 finals stand in my way from these things! 

*Just keep swimming, just keep swimming*

Blog Love.

Here's some advice: The best way to procrastinate during finals is to read blogs. 

And today, I shall share with you three of my very favorite blogs! 

1) nieniedialogues- this was the blog that got me into the blogging world. Stephanie Nielson and her husband Christian have four kids and she has blogged since about 2005. In 2008 they were in a plane crash that left Stephanie with 80% of her body burned. But this is no tear-jerker kinda blog. It's uplifting, positive and funny. Go read it, you'll love it. 

2) Rockstar Diaries- my friend Sarah introduced me to this one. Oh the fashion, oh the photography, oh the couple cuteness. Just go read it. 

3) Todays Letters- this one is really addicting. This couple (who lives in Dallas, woohoo!) writes letters to each other everyday and now the wife made a blog out of it! It's really something special. They are an adorable couple and the pictures they post are pretty. Maybe I'll run into them when I go home this summer? I mean, who knows!

I think this is a nice intro, maybe I'll add more later?

Birthday!

My 20th Birthday was a really fantastic one. I do wish I had been able to see friends but it's finals week 'round these parts, so its a little stressful!

So on my birthday, Travis took me to lunch. We picked up food and went to the park for a sophisticated picnic...involving sammiches and a playground.

After we ate, we had a birthday "photoshoot"

Like...hi!

The it was time for the real fun...the playground

The rest of my birthday was spent studying, relaxing and blowing out birthday candles on a slice of carrot cake. (note the "birthday princess" ribbon I'm wearing)

 

 Then, last night, we saw ARCADE FIRE!!!!!! 13 rows from the pit. It was AMAZING. It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. They are such great performers and seem very down to earth. Not only that but, we saw them in The Woodlands which is where Winn Butler grew up and it's the place their album "The Suburbs" is about!

This is how close we were, no zoom! "Coming Soon: Arcade Fire"

My birthday was a blast! I am a lucky girl.