To Grandmothers House We Go: Lady Antebellum

Summer concert season 2012--a shorter, more condensed version than years 2010 and 2011 but still a winner.  Cara, Mandy and I started this one out with drinks at my grandma's house and walked our way over to CMAC.  Best new concert drink of choice? Champagne, Citron Vodka, Flavored seltzer and cranberry juice.  It tastes great and goes down smooth making for a great starter to the night.

It poured cats and dogs (not to use the most corny description ever) but it did and then the sun came out and the night was great.  We took our hoods off and put the umbrellas away, got our $9 coors lights and made our way around the concert.  In years past we would get to concerts super early for the best seat but we definitely mingled around the entire time--no seat necessary and we definitely saw more people. 

By the end of the show we had found my parents and then a few others friends that we walked down to the front row with.  We could almost touch the members of Lady A..literally. It was amazing.

ON the way home we decided to try and find the tour bus and were halted by security.  We decided it would be smart to trek through the woods back to the other side of the venue so we crouched down and made our way ducking every so often from the yells and flashlights of security.  The night was surely an adventure and we made the best of the one concert we have together...some serious memories were made that will definitely last a lifetime.  I love you girls and will miss you so much this summer.

Review: Dinosaur What? Dino BBQ.

Dinosaur BBQ.  Originally founded as a BBQ Pit "joint" of sorts in Syracuse, NY but also has a loving relationship with Rochestarians. Up until last spring I couldn't recall the last time since I had actually eaten at Dino BBQ but frequently heard of friends going up for the experience.  Now I can proudly say that I have enjoyed their fall off the bone pulled pork sandwiches twice in two years (not a huge accomplishment but it is in my book!)

Amanda, Mandy, Carolyn and I (along with a few boyfriends) savored every bite as we celebrated Mandy's 20th birthday.  She is the baby of the bunch but still deserved a big celebration none the less. Now the plate above is mine.  The original pulled pork sandwich "platter" with TWO sides, BBQ beans and corn bread.

Mandy's platter looked something like this:

The Tres Hombres Combo Platter with Salad, Mac & Cheese, Corn Bread, Ribs, Brisket and Pork.   All of which I tried and enjoyed every bite of.

We also celebrated the big 20 with a rather large peanut butter ball platter.  I had no idea that these were so easy to make! Literally takes 5 minutes to whip together the inside goop and then a while in the freezer and a dip of chocolate!

Happy Birthday to my best friend Mandy.

As for the Dinosaur BBQ itself, I would have to give a few suggestions for perusing the menu.

(1) The BBQ Baked Beans are not that great. I would definitely pick a different side dish

(2) Creole Deviled Eggs = AMAZING

(3) The sandwiches are equally as tasty sans bun.

(4) Get the corn bread as a side if it doesn't come with your meal (though it should!)

(5) the Mac & Cheese is spicy and to die for.

(6) If your stomach upsets easily take caution.

Overall I would say that Dino BBQ is pretty tasty but I definitely like to save it for occasions that happen once or twice a year.  Mandy's birthday was perfect for this since it is her favorite restaurant and I gladly cleaned my plate.

BPG Holiday & Studying

A few weeks ago I hosted BPG at my house for a "cookie and hot coco" party.  What a great way to start off the holiday season.  Wegmans catered with 30 delicious cutout cookies and I provided my homemade frosting

Great homemade frosting recipe:

(without measuring sorry!)

Confectioners Sugar

Non-fat Milk

** do this in a 3/1 ratio or however runny you like it! Definitely MORE sugar and LESS milk works best!

1 tbsp light corn syrup

1 tbsp vanilla (or to taste)

The best way for this frosting to get its TRUE effect is to actually refrigerate the cookies after frosting.  This allows the frosting to cool, harden and shine!

Here's Pam's amazing cookie creation.  So jealous.

As for today, I am busy studying away at Barnes and Noble.  It really is a great place to study though I often find myself getting distracted.   Thank god I started the day off right with a workout at 7am, and on 5 hours of sleep no less!  I definitely want to start upping the weights that I'm lifting, it makes me feel so jacked!

The agenda for today (I really should start paying attention to these agenda's that I make for myself, it would really really help keep me on track!)

1. Finish study guide for U.S. Health System

2. Begin to make some connections between the hundred or so years we covered

3. STUDY STUDY STUDY for epidemiology!!

4. Learn the equations for epidemiology...

5. fix leftovers from biaggi's for lunch

6. Bring healthy snacks to the library tonight

7. leave the library and 12 again tonight, watch greys and bed!

Weekly Recap & Welcome Home

Weekly recap:

This past week has been different, to say the least.  My first semester at UR is finally coming to a close and finals are beginning to pile up. I've definitely been trying to keep my cool when it comes to studying, which means not frequenting the library as often as most other students.  However, I have been busy working at other locations, see my post on Panera.  I decided that it is starting to get a bit disgusting, the amount of times I have eaten there in the past week at least.

I have also made sure to keep up with my workouts, thank god!  In spite of all the craziness and hints of snow, these are a MUST.  They keep me sane, in shape and motivated to push further into the night with all my work.  So yes, an hour here and an hour there has definitely made this finals week less stressful than the last.

I completed my first week of half marathon training, yay!  While I had to shift around the days a little bit, I did manage to get it done.

Today I went on a 4m run around the city, through Park Ave, East Ave and Monroe.  The training plan I am using, Jeff Galloway mixed with Hal Hidgon suggests some "run-walking" methods to get you through.  I am not a huge fan of walking just because it makes me feel inadequate compared to those Marathon Runners but it has actually really helped!

Tonight's agenda includes:

1. Study Session from 6:30-8

2. Working late into the night, say 2:30am and finishing my study guide!

also, Carolyn comes home today!!!!!!

What a B.A.M.F

Park Ave Holiday Festival

Last night my two lovely friends from William Smith, Emily & Alyssa, came to visit.  Emily had been begging to see me and I thought the perfect time would be during the Park Ave Holiday Festival.  I had never been to the festival before and figured that going with them could be a great time.

The festival itself was quite interesting and rather crowded.  I should have known this since the summer Park Ave Fest is insanely busy but yet again I forgot to plan ahead.  So unlike me.  It took forever to find a parking spot and get reservations but once we did it was great!  I took them through ParkLeigh to look at the holiday gifts and we stopped for free Hot Chocolate outside a cute cafe.  

Dinner was at Magnolias Cafe.  We indulged in soup, salad and sandwiches.  The soup I ordered, Tomato with Artichokes and Crostini Bread was quite tasty for a cold evening.  My sandwich, The Rising Sunflower was piled high with turkey, pesto mayonnaise, roasted red peppers and havarti cheese along with the usual tomato lettuce and onion.  Toasty and warm. It most definitely hit the spot.

We later stopped at Stever's Candy Shoppe, a homemade chocolate shop on Park Ave.  The stop was a must since the last time they visited it was closed.  While I literally wanted everything in the store I chose three items.  Cinnamon dusted chocolate, a peanut butter filled santa (as a gift) and a dark chocolate gingerbread boy (gift).  I immediately dove into the dusted chocolate which was just as delectable as it sounds.  I HIGHLY suggest stopping by if you're ever in the area.

Inside Stever's Candy Shop! Insanely busy with a huge line but so worth it!

Dinner at Magnolias

Outside Stever's prior to meeting some very talkative interesting ladies!

Cinnamon Roll Vanilla Cake (Bars)

Tis the season for pumpkin, yes it still is and will be for a very, very long time.  Last night I was planning on having a low key night catching up on Grey's Anatomy and baking up a storm by myself, but really, what fun is that? I also pondered the idea of going home and snuggling up with my favorite beast but I was interrupted by a call from the one and only Maureen Dever. 

I met Maureen through my best friend Carolyn who knows her through college.  What a twisted up mess but I am so glad that we have become friends.  She is an amazing person with lots of talents (including her skills on a cricket machine) and has such a kind soul.  If you can't tell, I love her to pieces!

She had me over to her house, which is only twenty minutes from both of my houses, and we decided to have a baking party.  Yes, a party with the two of us, and it was so much fun!  We used Picky Palate as our recipe resources mainly because her recipes are quick, easy and oh so tasty.

Cinnamon Roll Vanilla Cake (Bars)

Adapted from Picky Palate.

4 eggs

1/2 cup milk or buttermilk

15 ounce can pumpkin

3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 box yellow cake mix

1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (start w 1/4 cup and add a little more cream if needed)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan with non stick cooking spray.

2. Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin in mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.

3. Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.

4. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day.

These were a bit too sweet for my taste so I would probably cut back on the pudding packet though it definitely gave a moist spongey texture to the cake.  I just can't get myself to like super sweet things, must be the health nut in me.

Also, the amount of butter and cream was a bit unsettling to my stomach so I would substitute in Fat-Free Milk with a bit more sugar and Greek Yogurt!

Carolyn.

This is Cara or as I often call her, Carolyn.  She's a spitfire redhead with big plans ahead of her in the next week.  I am so jealous because she is spending a semester in Florence, Italy.  Now more than ever since I decided to transfer and not go abroad I am wanting to live my life vicariously through this girl, better yet, I can still call her my best friend after admitting this.

Thanks to Cara I was able to meet Maureen.  Now this girl can bake.  Look at this amazing Chocolate Brownie Coffee Mousse Torte. Yum!   I am trying desperately to retrieve the recipe for this dessert and am hoping a blog post such as this will do the trick.  Think of it as a mixture of rich savory brownie with fluffy expresso/coffee flavor...I am in love! Combining my two favorite things all in one.  Perfection.

Dinner Dates.

I must have been out of my mind last night to not bring my camera to my dinner date with Emily and Alyssa.  Initially I had wanted something summery due to the 80 degree weather we were experiencing but to my dismay, they did not have a grill.  I now know that when I have a house senior year (or hopefully next year), i will require a grill to be on the premise. 

Our trip to Wegmans led us to the following dish, one of my favorites I might add.

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Garlic and Vegetables.

Ingredients:

1/2 box Wegmans SUPER pasta

2-3 garlic cloves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

grape tomatoes ( as many as you desire).

Mushrooms

Asparagus or another green veggie

OPTIONAL: chicken.

Directions:

1. Sautee on medium heat the mushrooms and asparagus (or other hard green veggie). NOTE- you want to do these veggies first because they take longer to cook.  Use EVOO to coat pan and add garlic to your desired taste.

2.when veggies are almost done, start boiling your water and add tomatoes to your veggie pan.

3. Add Whole Wheat spaghetti and cook until soft.

4. mix together the pasta and vegetable portions and remain on stove until tomato juices have dispersed throughout the pot.

BONUS: try Wegmans Garlic Tuscan bread by slicing and buttering.  Place in aluminum foil and place in oven (on 350) until pasta dish is fully cooked.

ENJOY :)

Summer Concert Season 2011

Last summer my friends and I started a new trend among us of going to the best concert of the summer, and making sure that we went to A LOT of them.  We live next to a great summer concert shell that gets artists like Maroon 5, Sugarland, Kenny Chesney and Jason Mraz.  A mere 2 hour drive from us is Darien Lake which also has a great concert venue--the atmosphere is a bit younger at Darien and has a great pre-concert scene.

To reminisce on summer 2010:

All in all, a great concert season with great memories and some good laughs the next morning.  In total we went to: Sugarland (to kick off the season), Maroon 5, REO Speedwagon, Goo Goo Dolls, Tom Petty and i might be missing out but I think thats it!

This summer?  We have already booked tickets for Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block, a great kick off concert and possibly Journey?

Scoop 2011

One of my favorite things about Summer, as of last year of course, is my Abbotts Family.  Since the season is quickly approaching I thought I would dedicate a post to my lovely girls that I scoop with all summer long.  I absolutely cannot wait to get back--surprising because I usually HATE, or LOATH summer jobs.  However, after being persuaded by Mandy to join the Abbotts Team I found summer employment to be quite fun and enjoyable.  

I love our family, and our "parents" being Jim and Ann.  If you have ever gone to the Abbotts   in Canandaigua (NO, NOT the one at Tom Wahls, the real one), you will know who I am talking about.  The sweetest little couple that own the ice cream store.

What am I looking forward to most?  I want to create a Facebook page and twitter to advertise for Abbotts (idk if corporate is okay with this?) and also have pictures of all the girls on a bulletin board of us serving and having fun!   I am also looking forward to reteaching myself how to scoop the custardy goodness and make some masterpiece cakes!

If you have never been to Abbotts, do yourself a favor and try some.  It is amazing.  My favorite being Vanilla Almond (most commonly made with the yogurt for me), or mint chocolate chip...mhhhh and the cookie dough bites mixed with sprinkles!  There is just too much to say about Abbotts that leads me to one word: AMAZING!

Sushi & Roses.

This post is dedicated to all the Sushi lovers who are continually trilled when someone else decides that Sushi is their main squeeze (yes I have been listening to Shwayze today).  Last night a few of us girls got together and went to Sakura, a Hibachi restaurant in Canandaigua, NY.  Though the drive there and back was wickedly windy/snowy and not to mention freezing cold, it was most definitely worth it.

I decided that I am going to be thrifty up until my trip to London so I opted for Salad, Soup & Sushi instead of my usual Hibachi Vegetable (which comes with TOFU!).  After probing the waitress many times on the different types of COOKED sushi, I chose the Boston Roll which consists of Poached Shrimp, Avocado, lettuce and Cucumber...  To my surprise it was amazing and I can now say that I love sushi. At the end of the dinner they gave us all Roses for Valentines Day, corny but cute.  I love local restaurants :)

I guess trying new things can really work to your benefit sometimes?

Reunited.

Next weekend will be filled with epic moments and memories with two of my best friends Kristen and Mandy (sadly we are missing Cara).  Kristen is currently sick with the flu but I will make sure, by some act of Jesus Christ himself, she is better to celebrate my arrival.  Since I live a mere 40 minutes from both of these beautiful girls we should probably make this happen more often but this is actually our first time all together in Rochester (again not to say we don't miss our beloved Carolyn!).  Love you guys, can't wait!

We will miss you Cara!