happy birthday ben!

 Today is Ben's birthday. Yay!

He decided he wanted a giant cookie instead of a cake, so I used this recipe to create the COOKIE MONSTER

 It's hard to tell the size of this thing, but it is sitting on a striped placemat. So, the entire recipe makes a giant cookie about the size of a large dinner plate. 

(Don't tell me I'm the only one who has ever wanted to make one giant cookie out of an entire batch of dough.)

 Let me tell you that cake decorating is HARDER than it looks!!!

 The birthday boy requested ham for his special dinner (sick of all the veg meals I have been feeding him) so I baked a ham for the first time ever. Seriously, I have never cooked meat other than fish or chicken.

And oh my goodness it was so easy! I felt like Betty Crocker and it was awesome. I modified this recipe for sugarcane baked ham with spiced apples (downsizing to a small ham, omitting the sugarcane sticks) and the glaze was faaabulous. Kind of like a sweet caramelized ginger snap. If you ever have to bake a ham, this is the recipe to use, seriously.

I mean, look how excited it makes people:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

i loooove you :)

wouldn't you think i'm the girl

Happy November!

and Election Day--did you vote?? 

Fall is officially dying. The trees are pretty much bare and there is frost on the ground in the morning.

I feel almost desperately sad, like I didn't spend enough time outside while the trees were in full blast and the weather was gorgeous, and now it's too late. 

But I am also super excited for the holidays, and going home for vacation! Thanksgiving! Christmas! New Years! My favorites!

At the same time, I'm kind of freaking out because since when is it time for the holidays??!! Gah!

 Maybe all these conflicting emotions are the reason why I have been struggling to get out of bed in the mornings this week...

Or maybe it is post-festivity letdown from a great Halloween weekend. 

Some years I am all gung-ho for Halloween, and some years I let it slip by.

This year might have been low key, but when I decided to be "Ariel with legs" (washed up on the beach version--yes I always work the red hair thing), Ben decided to be "Ariel without legs."  And I couldn't let the opportunity pass:

All I can say is that there is a true Disney Princess inside every little girl AND boy.

(And with long hair, my boyfriend may be prettier than me.)

gettin crafty

For the past several years, I've put myself on a ridiculous craft moratorium with the lame excuse of "I'm too busy with school to have extra hobbies" (besides the ones essential to life: cooking, baking, running).

Well, I have decided that is a bullshit idea and have set my creative instincts free, because (unfortunately) life is not going to be less crazy once I'm done with school. 

So-- I am obsessed with scarves, and decided to start making my own since I am, after all, still a poor grad student and would rather not shell out $15 a pop to expand my accessory collection.  

It turns out that one yard of fabric from the fabric store is WAY more than an actual square yard, and provides you with plenty of material to chop and hem into a scarf.

It also turns out that JoAnn Fabrics has fabulous sales on material ALL THE TIME and basically rocks. This magical place also sucks away my money into spur of the inspirational moment impulse buys- yikes!

I picked out a few silky prints that were around $5/yard.

This one is my favorite. I kind of want to go back and buy the whole bolt, and make a dress out of it. Or...futon cover??

Let's not get overambitious too soon, Anna.

I dragged my fun little sewing machine out of its hiding place where it has been hanging out ever since I moved into this apartment and started playing.  

The first attempt:

 

I accidentally cut it a little too small (oops!) but I was so impressed with what I could do with the different kinds of stitches on my sewing machine that I don't really care. 

[Please note that I feel SUPER AWKWARD and dorky taking pictures of myself to post on my blog. I don't know how everybody does it!!!]

 Attempt numero dos. For this one I didn't even try to cut the fabric, I just hemmed two of the long edges and left the finished edges as is.

Yes, you have to wear cupcake boxers to complete the look.

Aaaand I am really pushing myself to finish the last scarf, since I have a horrible habit of letting little projects drag on. and on. (What's this under my bed, an unfinished cross stitch from 2000?? A box of scrapbook guts from my trip to Germany sophomore year of high school?)

Well, my inner Project Runway self is officially unleashed. I am kind of scared to see where it goes from here (!) but also feel like I have returned a part of me to myself-- I definitely need to have creative outlet to feel complete. 

p.s. completely unrelated but...since when is Hilary Duff married ?!?!?!???!!