Travel Tuesday: Football in the cold followed by cozy cooking

November 4, 2014
by Emily

Over the weekend I had so much fun going to the Penn State game with my friend Betsy and getting to meet two new people, Dan and Andrew!  We had so much fun bleeding blue and white and cheering on the Nittany lions.  (Don’t you love how bundled up we were?  You can’t even see our blankets in that “ussie!”)  Best part of the day Saturday?  It’s a tie!

1. Our tailgate where we huddled around our portable grill to keep warm while nibbling on our charcuterie tray and drinking our Game of Thrones beer and Sam Adams pumpkin ale aaaaand

2. Playing a 2 hour long game of 20 questions (celebrities/notable people) on the car ride home.  The only person we couldn’t get was William the Conqueror who I now know accomplished something in 1066.  (Thanks for that one, Dan.  Andrew even managed to get my fav pick, Jared from Subway.)

We followed up our cold day on Saturday with a cozy Sunday spent indoors in Hershey.  We lounged quite a bit and tried some new fall/winter recipes – Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup and Gruyere Bacon Mac & Cheese.  Both were so easy and we loved them!  (We did substitute cream cheese for heavy cream in the mac & cheese which worked out perfectly.)

Betsy’s mom has these great soup and sandwich platters, perfect for our orzo and mac & cheese.  It’s not the first time I’ve admired them!
Nobody knows how to decorate a house or tables cape for a holiday like Mrs. Curry.  She always has the perfect seasonal decorations!

To prove that I actually helped!

Betsy – master chef!

Basic Girl Gone Apple Picking

October 26, 2014
by Emily

I’m not really into pumpkin spice lattes (I much prefer a hot cocoa), I didn’t rush out to get an iPhone 6, and I definitely don’t plan on doing any Black Friday shopping (hello, Cyber Monday!).

However, I did go to a local orchard (Milburn Orchards in Elkton, MD) this weekend and go apple picking.  I also snagged some fresh apple cider, apple cider donuts and a gorgeous white pumpkin that I may decorate later in the week.

I went a little overboard and ended up getting about 35 lb. of apples.  Luckily I was splitting them with my friend, Dave, so I wasn’t left with more than would feed a family of about 12 for a few days.  We also got to pick Fuji, so delicious for eating and applesauce, and Granny Smith, which meant we had to have pie!  I just use the basic Betty Crocker recipe.  Sometimes there’s a reason something’s a classic!

As for my attire, I definitely wore the basic girl fall outfit, often chosen for outings like apple picking.  I’m not going to lie though, I spent a lot of time debating between a chambray shirt and the plaid I ended up wearing.  Ah, the life of a basic girl in the fall, so many choices.

As for Dave, he opted he opted for a lumberjack look, jeans with a plaid shirt and a mountain man beard.  Although maybe he should have been dressed more like a Tibetan sherpa since he ended up carrying all my apples…

After finding out what it’s like to see a blogger in the wild he decided that he wanted to do a “fashion pose.”

Have you been apple picking this fall?  Did you opt for a “basic girl” outfit or did you choose something else?  And, the thing I want to know: Does Dave have what it takes to be America’s Next Top Model?

Shop my outfit (or similar – sunglasses, vest, leggings, purse):

My sunglasses were a BR factory purchase over the summer, the vest and leggings are many years old and the purse was an end of summer sale purchase from Express, so these are no longer available.

Fav photo of the day, my 77 count of apples!


Learning to Paint

July 23, 2014
by Emily
For anyone who knows me, you know I am not an artist.  Sure, I did a ton of crafting while in a sorority, but all of that was dependent on stencils and following directions.  Nothing I ever crafted will make it to the Met or the Louvre.  Hell, it probably couldn’t even make it into a third grade art fair.

Regardless, when my girlfriend invited me to a learn-to-paint class while I was at her Eastern Shore cottage, I figured I’d give it a shot.  The worst that could happen is I’d eat cheese and charcuterie

while dabbing paint on a canvas.  Sounds like a pretty great night to me!

Nicci opened Creative Canvases Easton several months ago and has already hosted a few painting parties like ours.  She did an excellent job of keeping us focused and helping us along with our paintings.  Check out the business’s website here and FB page here.
My friend Betsy and I about to start painting.  We have on our smocks and are ready to begin!
I was incredibly surprised to find out that not only could I turn out something half decent, but I could probably even do some companion paintings on my own.
My painting, “Best Friend Birds,” used a paper towel/dab methodology.  Only the tree branches and the birds required a more focused and detailed approach.  These pieces were so simple, even I managed to paint them.

Also below, the rest of the group’s paintings.  There were five of us and only one duo chose to do the same painting.  Even though they were the “same” they ended up literally being as different as night and day.
(I’m also taking a paste paper class next week with another girlfriend.  Stay tuned for updates!)

Have you ever taken a “learn-to-art” class?  Were you surprised by your success?