Parents!

Guess who drove the full 1,354 Miles to see us? Brandon's parents! (And yes, I *am* very excited about being able to use that line.)

They got in town late last night, so we went to Lulu's for their famous 3-Pound cinnamon roll. We've been to Lulu's before, but we didn't blog about it because we wanted to keep at least one thing a surprise for people who come to visit us. And a surprise it was!

Kathleen cracks me up.

Ta daaaa!

Brandon's mom, Kathleen, is pretty much my #1 commenter here on the blog. So it's sort of hilarious (and fitting) that now she's finally on it herself!

Brandon's parents will be staying a full week, and his sister arrives on Tuesday. She'll be staying about a week and a half. So we'll be balancing work and sightseeing and family time over the next couple weeks. I'm pretty excited. ^_^

Yaaaay family!

Basil Lemon-Lime Shortbread Cookies

My mom sent me some cooking magazines a while back, and she got me a subscription to Bon Appetite for my birthday, so I've been combing through those magazines for fun summer recipes that I can make while Brandon's family is in town. First, I wanted something snacky to put out when we're taking breaks in between sight-seeing. I found this shortbread recipe in last month's Bon Appetite. It sounds weird at first, but it's really delicate and satisfying. It's not overly sweet, and the basil really does something for the buttery taste that I can't quite explain.

Lemon zest and lemon juice.

Lots of fresh basil.

Our super-safe food processor (Don't try this at home).

Brandon got a little artsy.

The dough was a bit green...

Action shot!

After rolling them into balls, the recipe insisted that I flatten them into 2" discs, and use confectioners sugar to keep them from sticking. I tried sprinkling it on top... That didn't really work. I ended up smearing the confectioner's sugar on the jar lid I was using to smoosh them flat. That worked fine.

Smoosh!

When they came out of the oven, they were no longer green. Which was a bit of a relief for now, a bit of a let-down for St. Patrick's day. Oh well.

Finished product.

The batch is very small, so I had to double it. But now I have something light and slightly sweet to serve with iced tea when Brandon's parents arrive tomorrow!

Cooking Post!

We've had a couple minor cooking projects over the last couple weeks.

Firstly, Brandon made some beef and potatoes in the slow cooker. It was delish.

He layered the potatoes on top of the beef.

 So many delicious herbs.

Technically, that's it for actual cooking (its been a busy couple of weeks) but we have had some ridiculously fatty breakfasts the last couple days. One morning I caught Brandon eating leftover nachos from Chacho's with scrambled egg and some other veggies thrown on top. It was terrifying. 

But I can't really talk, because I decided to learn to make hollandaise sauce, and had myself an eggs benedict for breakfast this morning.

Brandon added the green peppers at the last minute, saying "Please don't die."

Delicious.

 

So, basically I need to survive off of iceberg lettuce for about a week if I don't want to have a coronary. Time for some lighter meals...

Sixth Street, Austin

Over the 4th of July weekend, we decided to pop up to Austin to hang out. We keep meaning to do that more, and never get around to it. For lack of any better ideas, we decided to try Sixth Street, which is where all the bars are. It was pretty crazy. We didn't really get sufficient photos to show how crazy it was, but you're gonna have to trust me. It was nuts.

Sixth Street gets blocked off by the police every Friday and Saturday. No, this was not special for 4th of July, it's just like that every weekend. No cars are allowed. The streets are flooded with people bar-hopping.

There are a lot of different types of bars and clubs, too. Some raunchy ones, some nice ones, some classy ones, some cheap ones. There's really something for everyone. Lemme show you the few pictures we did take:

Brandon neglected to tell me that my hair was crazy. -_-

Resting our feet.

Not sure what's going on here.

We didn't go in, Brandon was just really amused by the name.

One place we did stop in for a while was Casino el Camino. It was a demon-themed bar that's been on the Food Network for its burgers. Despite the ridiculous theme and the fact that every staff member was covered from head to toe in tattoos, this place was amazing. The food was phenomenal, the service was friendly, it wasn't too loud. We actually really enjoyed it. 

Now, Brandon insists he didn't have much to drink, but our photos get kinda fuzzy after this. I'm gonna go ahead and say maybe the camera was on the wrong setting? We were also walking fairly fast for a while, because a bar fight broke out in the middle of the street and we needed to get out of the way. No joke.

Sure, Brandon. Didn't drink that much. I believe you.

We spent more time just walking up and down the block, observing all the crazy drunk people, than actually drinking. It was a pretty fun evening. Sixth Street is really something that needs to be experienced. Even if we got better photos, I don't know that they would have done it justice.

Embroidery

I finally bought a backup lab coat. I took this as an opportunity to work on a project I had been putting off for some time. I've wanted for a while now to embroider my Hebrew name (Shoshanah) onto my lab coat pocket.
This is partly for show, and partly just to make it easier to find my lab coat amongst all the others. Also it seemed like a fun excuse to teach myself to embroider.

I still have to erase the pencil marks. 

 Modeling the coat.

I think it turned out alright. Keep in mind, this is my first ever attempt at embroidery. Now my mom is all excited and wants me to learn more advanced sewing skills... We'll see.

Tiny Rat Pancakes

Brandon and I have gotten into something of a tradition: we make pancakes or crepes on the weekends. It's not every weekend, but it's pretty common.

When I was in high school, my stepmom would cook an egg every Sunday morning for her dog Princess. Princess would wake up on Sunday mornings and race around the house, waking everyone up, so excited for her egg. It was a fun little tradition that really brightened the weekend. We all loved seeing the dog so happy.

When I was REALLY little, my dad would make pancakes for my brother and I every week. Sometimes the batter would drip in the skillet, making tiny droplet pancakes we referred to as "itty bitties." I think you see where this is going.

Fast forward to now... And you have rat pancakes. Almost every weekend. PHOTO DUMP!

That's a chocolate chip. Yes, we give them chocolate chip pancakes sometimes.

Some weekends I forget to make the itty bitty pancakes when we're done making ours. Brandon always, always remembers. It's almost as adorable as watching them eat the pancakes. ^_^

New Armchair!

One weekend, I said to Brandon I needed some fresh air. So we went to Goodwill and poked around. We were there for less than 10 minutes before I saw a big, cushy armchair. It was in really decent condition, and it was only $25!

I know I recently joked that we need an armchair. And yeah, we really kinda needed one. But I honestly wasn't actively looking. We're only going to live in Texas for another year, two at most, and I don't want to invest in real furniture if we're just going to ditch it here. That's why this chair was so serendipitous. Cheap. Decent condition. Suuuuuuuper comfy.

So we stuffed it in the car (Impulse buy! No time to measure! Pray it fits! It BARELY fit.) and wrestled it up the three flights of stairs into our apartment. I spent my Saturday going over it with a lint roller, the vacuum, and scrubbing it with upholstery spot-cleaner.

This is my impulse-buy happy face.

Brandon  finds a comfy spot to work on his solar panel project. 

My new little sanctuary in the corner.

Our living room is considerably more cozy now that we have some proper furniture. Brandon liked it so much, I was able to convince him to FINALLY let me hang some things on the walls. A year into our stay in Texas, our apartment is starting to look like a home. ^_^

Tiny Pies in Jars in the Mail!

Remember the tiny pies in jars? And how I hinted that you could be expecting a surprise soon? Well, it's here. I made a batch of tiny apple pies in jars, and I'll be sending them out to people who made the Facebook mailing list.

This is actually an experiment on my part. I want to test to see if you can seal the jar, ship it at room temperature, and have the pie keep safely. So, everyone on the mailing list has been informed of the inherent risks in this project. You guys should be aware that you are all, in fact, my guinea pigs. MWAHAHAHA. (Kidding. Love you.)

You can expect the packages soon (actually, by the time I get around to posting this, you should already have received them.) Please respond by Facebook, IM, email, or letter informing me of the following:
1) Was the jar sealed upon arrival?
2) Was the pie fresh? Soggy? Stale? Smelly?
3) Did you heat it, chill it, or eat it at room temp?
4) How was it? Did you get sick? PLEASE DON'T GET SICK.

If this project works, this might be a mainstay of care packages from me. Or possibly a small business idea. We'll see where it takes me. 

I had some leftover pie crust and apple filling (I ran out of jars), so I made Brandon a tiny pie. He was very pleased.

As usual, the obligatory happy customer photo.

I hope you guys are happy customers, too.