Sister Act

{Surprisingly very warm!}

Since moving back home, I've really been working on being more of a "family" person. I've never been the type of girl to come home from school on the weekends just to see the family or call them every day. But as I've gotten older I've started to appreciate them more (esp the grandparents. My PopPop is hysterical!) 

Well, my sister had a break from school a few weekends ago and I wanted to get in as much sisterly bonding as possible. This girl is just as crazy as myself and we usually always have a good time when we're hanging out. She needed new jeans, so we drove to Towson and hit the shops. Obv, we couldn't help trying out our Rachel Zoe style. I think I may have to pass though when it comes to full fur coats and leave that to fashion trend to Rachel. 

{She is practicing her model pout.}

{People say we look alike. I guess I'll finally agree.}

Cookbook: Easy as Pie

Let me be honest here. I used to hate apple pie. Grandma made it every year for thanksgiving and even though I would help her make it, I'd never eat it. Enter my teen years: out of the blue I was a fan of apple pie. My love for my grandmothers apple pie has now reached the level of physical violence (try and take a piece of pie from me and see what happens people). Now, I typically like any apple pie, but its grandma's that brings out my dark side. But come on folks, who does it better than grandma? Certainly not I, despite my best efforts. While I think I can make a quality pie, it just never has that special touch that makes it perfect. Either way, my freshly picked apples were used in yet another attempt to recreate grandma's classic. 

{Goodbye pesticide! Hello deliciousness!}

{Sugar, spice and everything nice.}

{Giving my arms a workout. Too bad my arms still lack definition.}

{All nestled in and ready for the oven.}

{Pre-Oven.}

{Post-Oven. Pie, meet my belly. Belly, meet your new best friend.}

Johnny Appleseed

Mother daughter bonding in the orchard.

So my dog decided to snap my USB photo adapter device (technically terms unnecessary) last week, leaving me unable to update the world my small group of followers on the happenings of my life. So lets backtrack about two weeks when my mom and I went apple picking. Who doesn't love frolicking through an orchard on an outrageously hot fall day? Not these two crazy kids. We picked many an apple (and ate almost as many while picking as ended up in our purchased bags). I learned from this experience that I am the worst weight guesser ever. What I thought could quite possibly be 15 lbs. of apples was actually only 5 lbs. Can you tell I don't work out? 

We went to this small orchard, Baughers, in Westminster that has season fruit picking almost all year round. This particular weekend was the first break from the flood enduring rains, so pretty much everyone and their brother was at the farm. There were hay rides, build your own scarecrows, moon bounces, musical acts (or what carroll county calls off-key notes and random guitar strumming), fresh baked desserts and produce galore. While I've always thought of myself as a lover of summer, fall is quickly becoming my favorite season. Changing leaves, pumpkin patches, apple orchards, corn mazes and pumpkin favored anything have captured my heart, and folks, I can't say I protest. 

So cheap! 

Who doesn't love pumpkin shaped moon bounces? Excuse me, is there an age limit for this wholesome fun?

That's what I need guarding my front lawn this season!

One of my favorites.

Do I look like I could make apple picking a career choice? I look like a professional!

Clearly my attempts to scare the pants off my mom feel through with a face like that.

My mom seems to think she's still in kindergarden presenting apples to the teacher.

Just checkin out the selection.

All I talked about was how much I wanted to ride in the hay.

It looks like fall threw up on this table.

I don't think they think highly of Miss Daisy.

Oh the amish. Bringing us quality old-fashion goods since the dawn of electricity.

**Obviously an apple pie post is to follow.

Golden Anniversary

I just wanted to take a minute and congratulate my grandparents on their 50th wedding anniversary. In a time when the divorce rate is pretty much equivalent to 50%, its really encouraging to have such fabulous grandparents that made it through. I've actually been fortunate enough to see both sets of grandparents celebrate their 50th. I'm really lucky to still have these two wonderful people in my life. I try to make an effort to see them once a week now, thanks to the convince of my new job (halfway between my home and my grandparents). Grandma always makes the best dinner, PopPop challenges me on books, history, politics, travel and everything in between and I end up having the best night sleep. I really enjoy getting to know them now that I'm older and can appreciate their advice and wisdom. I love them and wish them 50 more happy years together!

P.S. They celebrated by going on a European tour of Poland, Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary. Awesome right?

Bookcase + Stairs = Functional Education

What happens when libraries and staircases are left alone to their own devices? They create flipping fantastic staircase-bookshelf babies. It may be unnatural, but it sure is beautiful. And talk about space saving! I dream of having a library to call my own, but I know full well the likelihood of having such a thing taking up one whole room in my mansion 1br apartment is slim-to-none, so in the meantime, I'm now going to fantasize about this combination and tell myself its possible to recreate when I win the lottery (mental note: start playing the lottery).

If Bookstores Could Talk They'd Say...

When I stumbled upon this photo, I couldn't help but find it amusing. How do you all feel about this list? Do you agree? Find it insulting? I've always had this dream of working in a bookstore (or owning one) but after reading this, I'm starting to see the pitfalls of being surrounded by books on the regular: the customers. 

Diners and Dives

Dear mother nature, 

Please stop raining. 

Kthanksbye

This weekend the weather was raining, muggy and cold. Needless to say, I wasn't the happiest of campers. I had spent the past two weeks anticipating my upcoming trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maze (can you tell I don't get out much?) and when the gray clouds rolled in, so did my pouty face. Mike and I opted out of spending our evening in the miserable weather in exchange for a burger and movie date. We usually try to go to a different restaurant every time I'm up visiting, even though they usually end up being chains, but this time we decided to revisit Red Robin and indulge in some German themed burgers. 


Afterwards we headed to the movies to check out Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogan in 50/50, which was fantastic. It enbodied up to the classic cliche, "you'll laugh, you'll cry". While I still wished we could have spent the night wandering through dried corn and climbing over pumpkins, our classic date combo still hit the spot. (Plus, there's always next time I guess...glass half full here people).

{I'm a piglet, I know.}

{He wouldn't let me take a photo of him eating his burger so instead, opts to awkwardly laugh.}

{Hello Octoberfest burger. You are about to become my bitch.}

{Speckled lemonade, grown-up style.}

I was also fortunate enough to catch up with my best friend Nicole and good friend Angela. Angela's sister and mom were visiting from Philly so we decided it was a necessity to visit Sweet Treet, our favorite greasy family-style restaurant. Nothing beats the $1.99 breakfast special, over easy.

{They LOVE their Steelers}

{My heart hates me, but I'm an addict to this breakfast.}

Rock and Roll Bash

Last Saturday the Casey Cares Foundation held its 9th Annual Rock and Roll Bash. The Casey Cares Foundation is an awesome program that supports families of terminally ill or critically ill children by providing family-friendly activities and support during their difficult time. My boss sits on the board for the foundation and was able to hook up all of the employees in the office (yes, all four of us...) with free V.I.P tickets (we're talking open bar and buffet here people) and a hotel room to crash in after we're drank our body weight. The night was full of ice luges, girls with painted on shirts, drunk dancing and good old fashion rock n' roll. It was great to hang out with my co-workers outside of the office and get to know their personalities better. 

{Donna, myself and Monica. We miss you LeAnn!}

{These girls shirts are PAINTED on. Yes, you heard me correctly.}

{My friend Chris made it out to join in the festivities.}

{My boss is a bit of a spazz with the jazz hands once you get a couple drinks in him.}

{Craig and his wife accepting their donor award.}

I must say, I couldn't be happier to work with such caring, funny and festive women (and man). 

P.S. Did I happen to mention that I fell asleep before all of the 50 year old women I was sharing the hotel room with? Just passed right out onto all 9 pillows taking up residence on the bed.