m+n=love

As the final post for PA (because I kind of dragged it on) I am now at the most exciting part of it all!

Here's a photo tribute to my beautiful friend Maryn and her wonderful new husband Nate:

First, we became "Happy Valley"ians just for you..."We Are...Penn State"

Such a beautiful location and a beautiful day for a rehearsal.

The "hu" part of "wuhu" is so handsome...they're just missing one in this photo...

Gorgeous.

Only Becca was looking in the correct direction...figures...

How precious are they?!

Beautiful. Just Beautiful.

Such a wonderful couple. I'm so excited for you two!

You may now kiss the bride!

Hottest bridesmaids ever...

I think this might have been "shout"...who knows...

WU!!!!

PA#3: Are you a Pat's or a Geno's?

To become a true Philadelphian (or whatever they say) you must first know how to order your cheesesteak and then you must choose...Pat's or Geno's...

After much thought during our cheesesteak challenge, I am by far a Pat's fan....so sic 'em...


While we are talking about food, we also ate at an amazing little restaurant on Rittenhouse Square - Devon Seafood Grill. We had a little table on the sidewalk and our food was absolutely delicious. They have fresh Hawaiian fish and my most favorite side dish ever - lobster mac 'n' cheese.


Here's the picture I took, which is awful, but at least you can see our cute table.


And now here are our the pictures from their website by a professional (maybe someday I'll be a pro...)

I feel like baking...

I don't know what it is, but I have been in a baking mood. Actually, I know exactly what it is - it's the clock inside me that is telling me there should be aspen trees outside changing colors and there could be a chance of snow anytime now (which it did today in Colorado). It's the anxiety telling me it shouldn't be summer anymore. So, to help with the innate desire for it to be fall again, I have started baking. Laura came over last weekend and we made the best pumpkin cookies in the entire world...
(I have included the secret recipe at the end of the post)


and then we made chocolate molten cake for Top Chef Wednesday...
(This actually came out of a box from Williams-Sonoma. I wish I could take the credit)


and then as Greg and I were walking through the grocery store with decorative pumpkins galore, we decided that we HAD to change all plans for the afternoon and make a pumpkin pie...
(We made the crust from scratch and it's half whole wheat flour, so you can pretend it's good for you. And, sorry about the fuzzy photo. My camera was dying so I just took a quick little snapshot.)



Here's the pumpkin cookie recipe. My sister gave it to me and I have absolutely no idea where she got it, but it's delicious...

PUMPKIN COOKIES

2 cups of butter (room temperature)

2 cups of sugar

1 16-ounce can of pumpkin

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon of salt

2 cups (or more) white chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla; beat well. In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Add to batter and mix well. Stir in white chocolate chips. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 7 dozen.

It's a SPORK!

Actually, I think it should be called a sporfe or a sporife...come on, you can't leave out the knife! Well, whatever it is, my wonderful sister sent me some in the mail yesterday! I got the cute pink one and she also sent a red one for Laura and a green one for Greg. These cute little things from Light My Fire even come in titanium or as little baby ones without the knife. You have to check out their other items too. I think I want the meal kit as a stocking stuffer this year.

Can't wait to use my new sporfe with lunch today!

PA #2: Independence Hall

Just call me your Philadelphia tour guide. I'll walk you through the tour of Independence Hall...

Here's the room that used to be the British court room (I have no idea what the room is actually called, because Katie was making the floorboards squeak and I was a little distracted.)

Across the hall is the Assembly Room where the Declaration of Independence was signed. I was highly intrigued by the green curtains...

And here's George...and my husband who likes to think he is George...

and that's it. Just a really long line, two rooms and a couple of statues.
It was actually really cool though. So many courageous acts happened in and around this one building - acts that we completely take for granted.

A little snippet about Independence Hall from wikipedia:

"From 1775 to 1783, Independence Hall served as the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress, a body of representatives from each of the thirteen British North American colonies. The United States Declaration of Independence was approved there on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration was read aloud to the public in the area now known as Independence Square. "

It smells like fall...

I know every good blogger out there has already commented about fall and how they are so excited about it, but for me, today really does feel and smell like fall. We had a giant rainstorm last night and it's completely overcast this morning. All I want right now is a pumpkin cookie, a cup of coffee, a good book and a cozy blanket. I guess I'll settle for a cup of coffee at my desk...I wish I had worn a scarf today.

I'm working on an ad that will run in November and it's so hard not to crave fall even more when I've been perusing photos like these this morning...

PA #1: The Liberty Bell

This weekend Greg and I got a chance to fly to Pennsylvania for a dear friend's wedding. Since you pretty much have to either pay a ton to fly into State College or drive hours from any other airport, we decided to fly into Philadelphia and see a little bit of American history. Neither of us had ever been to the great PA, so as you can imagine, we were stoked...

We also took lots of pictures for you...which explains why there will be multiple posts. Each on a great little treasure we found...

#1: The Liberty Bell

It took us awhile to get the perfect shot with the bell and Independence Hall in the background. Especially while having to fight for the front with all of the other tourists. It was much smaller than I had envisioned...

Katie and me while we waited in the "security" line...doesn't Independence Hall look like we did a little photoshop work and pasted it in? I swear we didn't...My great husband and me on the grassy knoll outside of the Liberty Bell Center.

And, in case you were wondering, here are a few facts about the glorious bell from the National Park Service's website: (sometimes I like to read all about a place beforehand so I can skip all of the readings and the videos and get to the good stuff...in this case the beautiful bell...I am such a bad tourist)

Liberty Bell Fact #1

"In 1751, the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly ordered a new bell for the State House. He asked that a Bible verse to be placed on the bell - 'Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof' (Leviticus 25:10)"

Liberty Bell Fact #2

"A bell for the Pennsylvania State House was cast in London, England, however, it cracked soon after it arrived in Philadelphia. Local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow cast a new bell in 1753, using metal from the English bell. Their names appear on the front of the bell, along with the city and the date. By 1846 a thin crack began to affect the sound of the bell. The bell was repaired in 1846 and rang for a George Washington birthday celebration, but the bell cracked again and has not been rung since. No one knows why the bell cracked either time."

Liberty Bell Fact #3

"The bell weighs about 2000 pounds. It is made of 70% copper, 25% tin, and small amounts of lead, zinc, arsenic, gold, and silver. It hangs from what is believed to be its original yoke, made from American elm, also known as slippery elm."