vegan chocolate chip cookies

Jun 27, 2012

I was craving chocolate chip cookies for a few days now. My craving finally made me do it and I baked some cookies. I may be good at cupcake making, but I am FAR from good at making cookies. It is in my top 3 of the least favorite things to bake (cake balls are #1, but taste great), but I had to do it and I am pleased with how it all came out.



Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of cinnamon (optional)
chocolate chips
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and the chips (put in as many as you like) in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar and oil until completely incorporated.

4. Add the vanilla and water to the sugar and oil mixture.

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix. Be careful to not over mix.

6. Spoon on to a cookie sheet (I put parchment paper on it) and bake for 8 to 12 minutes. The cookies are ready when they look a little bit softer than you want them to be.


**NOTE: The original recipe says to bake for 5 minutes, flip and rotate pan, then bake for 4 more minutes; I found that to be really annoying and not long enough to bake. So, I baked it for 9 minutes and let it go for 2 minutes at a time until I decided they were done. They don't really brown so it is hard to tell when they are completely done but they are really soft at firs then harden up after you take them out.**

Verdict:
This is a really easy recipe even if you aren't vegan and want something really quick. I craved cookies and made these in less than an hour, probably 10 minutes to make the cookies and than bake time. These are not the "best chocolate chip cookies ever" but they get the job done when you are in a hurry and most people have these ingredients at all times. My roommates enjoyed them too so this is a B+ recipe.

project life | week 25

Jun 26, 2012


one. Summer started & I could not be happier. My parents came home from Thailand and I was really excited to see them. I haven't seen my mom since early February and my dad since November so yay. They were happy to be home.



two. Date night with Steve to Ruby Tuesday's, we haven't been in a while so garden bar was a treat. I visited with my sorority twin Bella. I posted my favorite quotes from my favorite book Tuesday's with Morrie. Great inspirational type book about life and it's a true story!



three. Close up of our carnival trip and a few quotes from the book; RT date night; and my beach chair on my deck so I could tan while not being at the beach!



four. My first Pinterest project started, an EAT sign for my kitchen, painting it silver to look more like a metal :)



five. Title card. Trying to keep it simple lately because I'm always so behind on everything.


One more week aka this week until we are officially half way through the year and I can start my second book during Week 27. How is everyone's Project Life going?! Hope you enjoy! :)




Linking up with The Creative Mom!

weekend recap

I wish I took my DSLR out more often but sometimes it is just too annoying and big. I am usually afraid I am going to scratch the lens or break it. What I need is a fancy camera bag!

first: I have fallen in love and it is with Crate&Barrel. I have been tons of times and always love walking around but the more I look at items online the more I want to live in my own apartment. I probably would not be able to afford any furniture from there, plus rent but a girl can dream right? I love the kitchen accessories and I think that is where they get me. I love to be in the kitchen. I saw this pillow there that reminded me of Elise Blaha's pillow (now that I look at it she posted about C&B too!). I wanted it so bad but for $30? I think not. I will attempt to learn how to sew and see how it goes! My mom is pretty good at it so maybe she can teach me a lesson worth learning :) I bought some ringed cups and cute little bowls that were on sale. I love them!


second: We skipped the Formula Drift event because we were bickering (let's just say that I am extremely stubborn and he is an angel for putting up with me) but we spent Sunday afternoon together peacefully. Fifa makes the funniest faces ever and I can only image how many pictures of my children I will take because I take TONS of my dog. She has the perfect personality for Steve and I, cuddly at night and crazy during the day (it's easier when he's around = alpha male).


third: And to end this weekend recap, yesterday [which isn't a weekend but oh well] I spent an hour and a half waiting for an oil change. YES, hour and a half! Ridiculous. I was bored so this is my bored-omg-shootme-why-is-this-taking-so-long face. They discounted the oil change because it took so long but when they email me that survey I will be telling them how I feel.


Done and done!
I am looking forward to this upcoming weekend with my South Jersey boys!
And Project Life post tonight when I finish some journaling :)
I just ordered my new binder because the first one is so full! But now that we are officially half way through the year I can start the next half starting at Week 27!

I hope all of your weekends were enjoyable.

project life | week 23 & 24

Jun 20, 2012

Week 23.
Our "official" anniversary date and we spent it with his family out to eat and getting desserts, my favorite part of eating. I got my new TOMS shoes and I love them. I want to order more, they are the perfect summer shoe. FUN. "concert" aka watching it live via YouTube - still awesome!


I love this title page, it's so simple!


Week 24.
Beach day with my babe and my baby. Fifa was a handful and I doubt we will ever take her to the beach again. She was just too much to handle when it comes to other dogs walking by. She is feisty but she did love the water and being chased by waves.


Father's Day was this past Sunday and even though my dad wasn't here for it I picked up a card for him when he came back on Monday (which I ended up forgetting at home). We made fun golf themed cupcakes. While I was in South Jersey I found my tickets to the Formula Drift event where me and Steve made our relationship "official." We will be going again for the third year in a row this Saturday :) Also when we were in SJ we went to one of my favorite vegan Chinese food places.. it is AWESOME. Anyone vegan/vegetarian in the Philly area should visit here.


I am all caught up and am very pleased with myself. I need to purchase a new binder, after week 26 I want to put the second half of the year into a new book. I can't believe I have kept up with this for so long. I love it and I really can not wait until I can look back on this in years and laugh. I will be bringing my book with me to work tomorrow so that one of my co-workers can look at it, she has 4 years of pictures she wants to put into albums. I told her either an online photo book or something like Project Life. I would love to help anyone get started in Project Life because it is pretty amazing at memory keeping.

Linking up with The Creative Mom!

the list

I am slowly getting to my 25 things list.

I did indeed bake a cake and decorate it, it was not as decorated as I would have liked but it was layered and stuffed with strawberries. Something I have not done. I made the Father's Day cupcakes that were decorated quite nicely so if you put those two together, that is completed ha.

I finished one of my New Years Resolution - read 7 books.
  1. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
  3. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
  4. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
  5. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
  6. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
  7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Now on my 25 list, I want to read an additional 10 books. So far I have finished one: The Last Lecture by Randy Paush. I would like to reread Tuesday's with Morrie by Mitch Albom, it is by far my favorite book and I love the message it sends to people. I love inspirational books that will make me see life in a different light; more importantly a more positive light. As of right now, I am reading my new copy of VegNews and I love it. I have been to tons of the places that they mention in some of the articles, from Philly to Los Angeles.

I plan on sitting outside on my deck in the sun on this fine first day of summer in high 90 degree weather sipping on a lovely cold fruity drink. Enjoy the day! :

weekend recap.

Jun 18, 2012


After an extremely boring week my weekend turned out to be pretty eventful. We drove down to South Jersey to clean up the yard for my parents, after four weeks of not mowing a lawn it is terrible to try and cut. Or at least that is what Steve told me! He had to mow it twice and while he mowed I did some weeding. My thighs could feel it a day later from the squating. Saturday morning we went to the beach (if you could not already tell). The state park/beach allows dogs on it at the less crowded beaches, by Steve's suggestion we took Fifa with us. Now the pictures look like a blast and she is so cute but do not let that face deceive you because she was a handful on the beach. Barking at every other dog, growling at people walking by, getting sand everywhere. I got a tad frustrated with her but we did have fun. She played in the water and ran away from the waves (which we loved). It was adorable seeing her run around.


And today.. Happy Father's Day!
My parents are on their way home today so I was not with my family on Father's Day so I spent it with the Prew family.



Saturday night, Steve and I made cupcakes for his dad. Golf themed cupcakes! Because he loves golf. It was my first time working with marzipan and the grass tip (#233) and it looked pretty decent!! I was very pleased with our work. Steve made the decorations, he enjoys it. That is his golf cart.

Today was time for cooking out and spending time with Brian and Rachel and his parents. I got a cute shot of the three of them playing with their childhood RC cars. His dad has been fixing them up in the garage and they had a blast zooming them around the driveway.. with Fifa chasing them and trying to bite the tires. I thought it was cute that all of them are wearing khaki shorts :)

It was a great weekend. And a half day of work tomorrow so I can pick up my parents (who I haven't seen since November [dad] and February [mom]). YAY!

picture life.

Jun 14, 2012





The week so far has been pretty boring. One of the most uneventful so far this year. I have no idea what I am going to put into my project life for Week 24?!

I took a few pictures from my iPhone and decided they would be something fun to look at. Fifa, my child, is always ready to play. She looks cute with her new haircut and her new toy. It will probably only last a week and then be completely destroyed but since this one squeaks and is a ball all in one it is perfect!

I love love love my new Nook Glow Light! It is amazing. I love that it has ink paper AND is back lit for when I want to read in bed. Thank you Barnes&Noble for finally making this one. I am almost finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird, which means my 7 books for this year are done. It does not seem like a lot, because it isn't but Steve picked that number and that is what I went with. For my 25 things in the year 25 , I added another 10. I don't think that will be too hard either.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get a doctors appointment for my stomach. I have been having stomach/hunger pains for no reason, after I ate something then it feels a little bit better. It has been like this since Sunday so hopefully it is nothing too serious. Followed by a visit to South Jersey with my love.

weekend recap.

Jun 11, 2012





Good weather and spending time with a fantastic boyfriend. Since summer kicked off, Somerville has their Friday night car shows, mostly classics and we like to take his car down (even if it isn't a classic) to see these classics. I was amused by this truck that was dressed up to look like Mater from CARS. We spent most of the weekend at his house, his mom took Fifa for a walk in the hot weather and this was her afterwards, she usually handles better but I guess she was exhausted. She also got a haircut later that night. She always looks like such a puppy; everyone mistakes her for a puppy and a boy (pink collars do not help).

Boo to the fact that it is Monday and I am back at work.

project life | week 18-22.

Jun 10, 2012

I finally took pictures and caught up for the most part. Week 23 is still under construction but at least I finally got these up!

The past few weeks that I have missed have been great. This is basically the month of May. Both Steve and mine's birthday, he turned 28 and I turned the big 2-5! Another milestone for me haha. Although I still look 15, one day that will change. My brother turned 27 right after me (our birthdays are a day apart) and my coworker John celebrated his birthday with me! Birthday twins. Steve and I celebrated our birthdays together and our two year anniversary, which was amazing. We went to see RENT in NYC, walked around Central Park, ate at our favorite vegan restaurant. It was the best gift ever.

I also got into my graduate program. I start my summer classes in July and I took 9 credits so far, only 30 more credits and two years to go! Spent double date time with Priscilla and John, got another tint ticket because I don't want to take it off. Ten mile bike ride was amazing. Last week was Memorial Day weekend and BEACH!! I can not wait to go again next weekend, I still haven't written any journal cards, I will soon.

Week 18.



Week 19.

He knows how much I love to scrapbook so as part of my gift he scrapbooked a page in my book to tell me what we were going to be doing for our anniversary.

I scrapbooked the actual day on the back



Week 20.



Week 21.



Week 22.

on a serious note.

Jun 8, 2012

I think I have a new appreciation for blogging.
I used to have a blog when I was younger, all we ever wrote about were stupid boys and girls we hated, we vented, caused problems, and then all made up again. We had our moments that we wanted other people to really care about our life and read what we had to say. I finally realize that it doesn't matter if other people read it, so long as you feel like what you wrote is good enough for you. I started this blog because I wanted it for my Project Life pictures, if you haven't noticed- I'm behind, and it became my place to talk about me, my life, my feelings.. and I like it so much more. Every morning I wake up, get ready for work, and read blogs. Blogs about people I have never met and probably never will meet, but I love to read what they write. I love to see what it's like to be in a different place or even state of mind. I think I'm young compared to the people I read or I feel young. Reading these blogs make me excited for the future and what it will be like to be married or even have children, if I decide to.

And that brings me to another part.. children. My roommate and I were having a conversation about our boyfriends and being at a different point in our lives. She does not want children, I can not be sure if she wants marriage, but she said she is not sure if that will ever change. She asked me how I dealt with it when I told Steve I didn't want to get married or have children, but I think I'm a different person now. I met someone who has changed everything for me, someone who I can spend the rest of my life with, someone I want to have children with one day. Someone that I want to grow old with and still look 10 years younger than. He makes me excited for the future and what we will have one day. I love thinking about my scrapbook and showing it to my children one day.. then saying "see, mom and dad used to have tons of fun and we were cool."

Sometimes I was nervous about writing more "serious" or less happy topics on here, but than I think about it and it's mine. I can do what I want with it. My life has never always been happy and smiles, I appear that way a lot of the time because I usually am, but my past has not always been sunshine. There were points in my life that I thought I would never see "the light at the end of the tunnel" because I was in such a horrible relationship. It consumed my life and I was nothing more than a girl trying to be good enough for someone who had no intentions of treating me the way I should. I used to blog about it secretly and after it was over I erased all of it and in a way I wish I had not done that because it was apart of me, a place that I will never be at again because I have someone who can appreciate me. As terrible and horrible as that person was, I forgave what happened, I forgave him and I forgave myself for how bad I was as well, but I could not forget.

*I will never forget the moments I sat in my room sobbing and hoping that it would just end, that my life would suddenly stop so that I would not have to deal with such hurt.
*I will never forget the moment I walked away and said no, this isn't going to happen to me anymore.
*I will never forget the moment that Steve came into my life and my light was at the end of the tunnel.
*I will never forget the moment he told me loved me and how I knew only after a month of knowing each other that he was going to be the person I would one day marry.

He makes it all better. He makes the hurt all disappear. And he loves us, by us I mean myself and my furry little dog.

And with that, I leave you this.


She think she can sit like her dad, so unladylike.


Enjoy the weekend, I know I will be :)

barely project life

Jun 7, 2012

It has been since week 17 that I have updated my Project Life on my blog, but that does not mean I have forgotten about it! I have been so busy catching up with it, cleaning, work, school, life that I haven't taken any pictures of it. By the time I am ready to sit down and do it, it's dark and I would rather not take them at night, lighting is poor, you know the deal.

But to prove I am not a liar I took some pictures with my iPhone and touched them up with some Instagram. I have grown to like it more than I thought before, I actually love it. Now I understand the hype with it all and following people, I am starting to out grow Facebook. I think the status updates that are usually so dramatic have made me sick of it. Or maybe it's me and I am the crazy one.. either way- woo Instagram!

Week 22 is almost finished, all I have to do is type up a journaling card for the two important events that happened last week.. Memorial Day Weekend and 'Priscilla & Sammy roommate time.' The inspiration for the title week was from Pink Ronnie's Project Life pages, I think it was such a good idea and after being so behind on everything I didn't want to think too much on what to design it. I kept these pages simple, all pictures and explanation of what those two events were.

Left side:

Right side:

Sneak peek at this past week! I am really going to try to take photos of weeks 18-21. I want to be updated! But for now this is what will have to do :)

drifting.

Jun 5, 2012

And when I say drifting, I don't mean us, I mean the moment where we started our relationship and started falling in love. I had never been to a car drifting event and I had such a great time learning about it all with him. We laughed and it was the start of my interest in cars (and him). I remember him picking on me and I casually said "well, you're the one dating me" and that's when he said "oh so we're dating now?" The term dating is so vague that it's hard to determine what he meant and what I meant. I was at a loss for words and just said "if you want to," and he said yes :)

That's where it all began and this is where we are now, two years later and still in love. I knew the moment we spent our first weekend together that he was going to be the person I would spend the rest of my life with. It felt so crazy to me that I could feel that "movie cliche soulmate" stuff but when you know, you know.. and I knew.

What is great about it all, is that he feels the same way.

how old is your soul?

Jun 4, 2012

That is my week in a nutshell.

Memorial Day weekend was last week but since I didn't really get to see much of Steve this past weekend I thought a picture would still be good. He looks so handsome, but that really is nothing new to me or most people who see him. Those blue eyes make me melt.

As for the weekend, I headed to South Jersey with Priscilla late Saturday afternoon and it was nothing short of fun. We spent a roomies weekend together and I think it was much needed for the both of us. John is away for the next 3 weeks for Special Forces training and won't be able to talk to her for the time he is away and I know she needs to keep her mind occupied. That's where I come in! :) We spent the early afternoon saying good-bye to my brother who came to visit from Boston, he was headed to a wedding but spent some time with me Friday night! It's nice to see him every once in a while. Priscilla and I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and got to sit outside in the wonderful weather! It was awesome. We saw Snow White & the Huntsman, love love loved it. Yes, some people are biased against Kristen Stewart but I enjoyed the movie still! We hung out with my friends playing corn hole, drinking, and eating. We won a game! WOO HOO. I love spending time with my new friends and old friends, it makes me see how much we have all grown.. I can bring my past with my future. And even though Fifa looks absolutely adorable in this picture, she later proceeded to attack Milo very aggressively, that poor dog was screaming his head off. She is so bad sometimes, I had to grip her by the neck and leash her because she kept going after him.

Sunday morning = BEACH. Life's a beach and I'm just playing in the sand.
Yes. It was a beau-ti-ful day outside! So perfect. We didn't expect it to be that nice because the weatherman never seems to know what's going on. But the two of us enjoyed the sun, sand, and tanning. No sunblock, we both didn't have any, no burns. My face is a little rosy today but not nearly as bad as some people may get. I can't wait to go again. It was a fantastic roomie weekend. I am going to miss her so much when she leaves, I don't even want to think about it. She is my rock and I am going to be lost without her here.

And in other news, Steve is the most wonderful person to me. We have had our ups and downs the past week but he still sticks by me, even in my craziest of moments. Tears and sobbing, he knows how to tell me he loves me and make me understand that he won't go anywhere.. that no matter what, we are worth it. He makes my heart melt and makes me crazy all at the same time, but that's love. He is love. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else, he understands me so well, even if I say things I don't mean. He brings me back to reality and shows me we will make it through it.



I will have this song on repeat tonight because it's exactly how I am feeling and if I could pick a song that Steve embodies, it would be this song.. because he will never give up even if it gets rough and I won't either.

welcome june

Jun 1, 2012

Can you believe that it is already June?
We are half way through the year and it has gone by quicker than I would have expected. This also gives me hope that two years will fly by in graduate school, but one can only hope for such a thing.

I mean, look at my summer schedule.

Yes, your eyes are correct. Monday through Thursday 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm, what it doesn't show is the fact that I work a full-time job and have a dog to take care of. I am crazy. My parents will hopefully *fingers crossed* will watch Fifa for those 5 weeks. And yes, I have completed 169 credits. 160 in undergraduate and the extra 9 were from these past two semesters. I am an overachiever of sorts (not really).


So it's June. I need to start doing more outdoor activities and taking more pictures to better my skills. I also have two orders in June for cupcakes and hope that there will be more :) I am looking into more recipes and flavors when I have more time so we will see! I want to redo my blog differently, but I have to look into that, also when I have more time. Beaches. Tanning (at the beach not a box with lights). Nails. School. Photographs. Friends. It's all in June.


I am also so happy to have this blog, for myself, even if no one reads it. I enjoy waking up and reading other people's daily blogs and it makes me hope that I will write everyday or every few days, even if I am the only one who reads it. Two of my favorite blogs are Elise and Ann-Marie (I think because they both live in California and I am insanely jealous). They write what they feel and do what makes them happy, which is what I like! Especially the idea of moving to California and how amazing it is.. because one day I will be there, me and Steve, because it's what we both dream of.

California here I come, in about 2-3 years :)

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