Cranberry and Brie Combo

My mom asked me a couple weeks ago to help out and make dinner one night a week. Since I love to cook, I didn't complain. Tonight was my night to cook and I thought I'd try to make a cranberry and brie sandwich. I had a couple cranberry and brie paninis while I was in the UK and thought I'd wing it and test the recipe out on my parents. Turns out my fake-it-till-you-make-it approach worked out pretty well (minus the fact that my dad dislikes brie and asparagus...sorry dad!)

French bread, brie and canned, whole cranberries (think Thanksgiving)

(Arranging the cheese can be tricky)

A side of roasted asparagus thanks to Bon Chic Bon Gastronomique (minus the bacon since I didn't have any, although I've made her roasted asparagus recipe before and its very yummy with bacon)

Finished product = yummy!

Obviously a glass of wine is a must.

And since I didn't use all the brie to make the sandwiches, I threw it in the toaster for a delicious post-dinner snack.

Old Habits, New Adventures

So this badass chick above, this is Chelsea. 

Chelsea and I have been friends for a couple years now. Heck, without her around, I would have been living with drug addicts and prostitutes on the streets living alone paying inflated rent for a studio apartment in the ghetto of Wilkes Barre my senior year. Chelsea also set me up with my study abroad program in Wales last year. She was supposed to go with me but unfortunately, due to unforeseen complications, she had to wait a year and left me to fend for myself in a new country. But no worries, it all worked out for the best. One year later, its her turn to fly across the pond and live it up in the UK (actually she's there right now partying Welsh style). 

But before packing up the passport, Chelsea made a pit-stop at school to have some last minute fun with friends. Unfortunately she lives near Chicago and doesn't get to visit over the summer. On Thursday night, a.k.a. pitchers night, we all headed out to Hardware for $3 pitchers. Hardware is a ghetto ass bar in the center of town. Dudes here think Jersey Shore is a way of life, girls think sex in public is romantic and the liquor is lower than bottom of the barrel. But we're all young and broke so we take deals when they're thrown at us. After some dancing and hanging out with friends I hadn't seen in months, I left Chelsea and the gang to fend for themselves while I bailed early (don't judge! I had work at 6:30am that morning and spent 3 hours in the car!). 

The festivities didn't end on Thursday however. Friday night we headed back out to Hardware for some dancing and a live (poorly executed) cover band. And since Mike, the boyfriend, opted out of joining in on the fun Thursday, he was asked nicely forced against his will to come out Friday. It was nice to have a night out with him and our friends since normally our relationship consists of movies, ice cream and nights on the couch. After a few hours of watching drunk and not so attractive girls make fools of themselves dancing on the bar, we said our goodbyes to the girl of honor and wished her all the best on her European excursion. 

Obviously the best dancing involves one hand holding your drink and the other up in the air.

I can't take anything seriously (i also am oh-so-very-not photogenic).

Me, the boyfriend and the girl that said we'd make a great couple a year before we ever said two words to each other.

We all photograph so much better BEFORE the alcohol kicks in...

All in all, I'd call the last minute all-American celebration a success!

The Help

So yesterday my mom and I enjoyed some good ol' fashion bonding over this remarkably touching movie. Now, as an avid reader, I of course read the book before viewing the movie. I had actually picked up the novel randomly at a hostel in Barcelona last Thanksgiving. I had finished the book I had originally brought on my trip and began an anti-climactic search for some new reading material. Seeing as The Help was the only book I could scavenge in the hostel lounge, I decided to give it a go. Later on that weekend I was informed by another one of the guests that it was actually a bestselling novel back in the U.S. Now, I have been known to read mostly anything I can get my hands on, so the fact that this book came recommended sure didn't hurt its ranking. One week later and a broken book light later, I was quoting Roger Ebert's famous line and giving it "two thumbs up". 

Fast forward 10 months and we circle back to the start of my post. Mom and I origionally made plans to see this much talked about movie the weekend Irene rolled through, but do to winds, rain and my mom's inability to leave the house seeing as her eyes were glued to the news channel, we sadly bailed on our plans. Two weeks (and clear skies) later we hoped in the car and headed to the cinema. Now, how many of you read a book, then go see the movie adaption and find yourself annoyed, pissed, or disappointed (Am I the only one raising my hand here, even though there is no one around to see it)? This had to have been the first movie adaption I've seen that I found to be almost perfectly done. I was shocked! At this stage in the game, I go into the movies expecting to be disappointed, so this experience was a pleasant surprise. I guess I can't further my stance that the book is always better than the movie. 

P.S. It also doesn't hurt that Emma Stone is one of my new favorite actresses Hollywood crushes and she did a beyond fantastic job as Skeeter. 

Newcomer

Ever heard of the game Taboo? Well every Sunday for about four months, my friends and I would get together for a dinner and game night. 78.4% of the time Taboo was the game of choice. And when the card with the word "blog" came up, it was quite possibly the easiest point for the lucky teams to win. Why you ask? Because all sed lucky card carrier had to say as a description was "what amber reads daily" and the immediate response was what? You guessed it: "Blogs!" 

Well ladies and gentleman, for a year I have been an avid follower. A non discriminatory follower to boot. Whether its a pertains to fashion, food, movies or lifestyle, i'll read it. But today is a big day because today is the day I start my own (that's right, crowds are currently cheering in my head at this news)!  I can't promise quality here, but I can promise honesty and honestly folks, I have no clue what I'm doing. So be patient, feel free to laugh at my poor attempts at humor and enjoy the journey i'm more than excited to share :)