IN & OUT: PART 2

IN

Chocolate-covered Bananas with Almonds

I had a sweet tooth the other night but didn't feel like baking or eating unhealthy food. Logical answer: bananas with dark chocolate and almonds! I used this recipe, even though it doesn't require much precision. Simply melt the chocolate, dip the bananas, sprinkle with almonds, and freeze until the chocolate hardens.

OUT

Sandwiches at Mudgie's Deli

One of Corktown's finest, the little deli packs a powerful punch. They claim to serve "only the freshest, highest-quality food. We use local products whenever possible, and roast our own meats in house. Our soups are always fresh, our coffee is outstanding and WiFi is free." And I believe they really do! For my order I like to switch up from time to time but typically stick to their iced tea of the day and Toney's Caesar Wrap. Also, if you're the dessert type, definitely snag the Fudgie Mudgie at the end of your meal! A brownie waffle topped with Calder Dairy ice cream . . . Three words: TO. DIE. FOR. 

Love this candid of my dad! :)

1. image via na krachyn spodzie (even though I'm Polish, don't ask me what that means.) 2. The Madill sandwich (house roasted turkey, Neuske's nitrate free cherrywood smoked bacon, avocado, tomato, romaine lettuce, Mudgie- made garlic mayo and melted pepper Jack cheese on an 8 “ served warm) and one of their fresh pickles, taken (and eaten) by me. 3. My dad enjoying the tea of the day, ginger lemon. Taken by me.

IN & OUT: PART 1

Thought I'd share a few tasty dishes and snacks that I've enjoyed recently- both at home and at some of my favorite restaurants!

IN

Avocado Toast

Ok, new favorite snack alert! I've had about two a day since I found this on pinterest last week. The how-to is extremely simple: make some toast (I use Ezekiel bread), shmear half an avocado on it, then season with salt, pepper, and turmeric to taste. And I like to jazz it up a bit with a little hot sauce, too! Healthy and tasty? This snack has it all.

OUT

Crepes at Le Petit Zinc

We've tried other crepe restaurants in the area and this is definitely our favorite place. It has a very authentic european feel and a lovely patio! Of course sweet and savory choices are offered, but they also provide classic french dishes along with a selection of salads and sandwiches. My current favorite is the Fromage De Chevre Et Epinards, a savory crepe filled with goat cheese (marinated in olive oil and rosemary), spinach, and pine nuts.

My dad enjoying one of the specials of the day!

I'm officially an unsweetened tea convert!

Come back tomorrow to see some more of my favorites!

1. via sacramento street 2.-5. by me.

HOW TO USE FUROSHIKI

Have you ever used/seen someone use a furoshiki? Perhaps you've spotted one in a Studio Ghibli film. I stumbled across these neat instructions while surfing Uniqlo's site (BTW, they have a ton of sales going on right now!). I'll admit, I own a stash of bandanas and kerchiefs that really do deserve to be worn regularly, but I feel like I'm wearing it wrong every time I try. So when this popped up, I finally saw a use for those things! I can see myself toting two bottles of soda bin tsutsumi style or giving a gift à la yotsu musubi. Just looking at the hon tsutumi really confused me, but it was actually pretty simple! Going to the library will be so much more interesting. Hope the videos help!

Directions by Uniqlo. Vines by me.

LITTLE WILL

Somehow I ended up staying awake until 2 am just catching up on The Little Couple on TLC last week. They're adopting a little boy from China that's about three years old with dwarfism. And apparently they've already adopted a second child (a little girl from India, how precious)! As a huge advocate of adoption, I can't help but share their excitement! It was heart-wrenching to watch their difficult journey of starting a family. They literally tried everything. From in vitro fertilization to surrogacy, so much loss and pain has accompanied them through this process. However, I'm sure they'll look back and realize (if they haven't already) that without all of those difficulties, they would've never been matched with their son Will. Tonight at 10:30 the new episode is on and we will finally see Bill and Jen be united with their child! So in honor of this family finally coming together, enjoy some pics of the most adorable asian kids, like, ever (if you know me well, you know I think asian kids are the cutest. I don't know why, I just think they are, So let me indulge a little!).

I can't take it! Look how happy they are!

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Some may say 13 pics is too much, and then there's me. I like to spread the cuteness.

IT'S OFFICIAL!

I GRADUATED ON FRIDAY! I was so nervous that it was going to be some sort of emotional overload, but surprisingly enough most of my class made it through the ceremony without crying! For those of you who haven't graduated yet, you should look forward to it. The event is actually a lot of fun! And then you get to go to a bunch of parties for each other! I've really been enjoying it all so far.

Thursday started with an exam and then Emily, Laynie, and I went out and decorated everyone's cars! Then we finished our exams and did the classic obnoxious car horn extravaganza, and a bunch of us girls went and got our nails done. Friday morning was the awards assembly. Even though most of it was like 3 kids winning all the awards, the portions where my class was involved were really cool to see. At 7 the official graduation ceremony began. We'd practiced a number of times so everything went smoothly (Shout out to Laynie, Derek, and Trevor for the awesome testimonies! I'm sure that if I had allowed myself to cry, I would've been bawling.). This was followed by a reception in the gym, where we took pictures, ate cake, and threw our hats (like 3 times in the name of photo-op)! To end the night most of the class went to my house for a bonfire and snacks. The next day I went to 13 OPEN HOUSES. Thankfully, like 7 of those were at one place, so it wasn't too hard to manage. I'm so glad I've been able to spend so much time with these awesome people before it gets more difficult to get together so often. Class of 2013, you're the best!

When I say "finally" I'm talking about the fact that I locked my keys in the car the day before and ruined the fun of car decorating. On the bright side, I learned that no one's going to be able to break into my car by unlocking it with a hanger! It even took the tow truck guy a little while with all of his gear.

Becca and I putting my party poppers to good use!

^^this was probably one of the best things I've ever captured on camera. Kaitlin and Trev, you crack me up.

Laynie, Danielle, and I got pedicures!

Caleb, Me, Nathanael, and Carson

My youth pastor, Kit, and his wife, Heidi. I've been in their class for 4 years and I'm going to miss it terribly when I move up in 2 weeks! 

               ^^Photo by Lauren Roberts

Laynie's open house was at her church that a number of us hadn't been to before. So naturally, we took a tour and chilled in the nursery.

SAY HELLO!

My friend Laynie started a blog! WOO! Please stop by and welcome her to the blogging world! Over the past year we've become really great friends and I can't wait to see more of her posts. Give her some love over at passing through!

Emily, Laynie, and I on senior trip!

... and here we are as lovely as can be during study hall! Photobooth always cracks us up.

photos by me

PERSONAL NOTE #3

Thursday, man... what a day! I had my last two field trips in high school (T-14 days until graduation!). For the first half of the day we headed to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and after lunch we practiced our courtroom skills at the 24th District Court for Law Day. I love the DIA and was super excited to see the Van Gogh pieces they had on exhibit! Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (1888) was my favorite, although Bedroom in Arles was extremely cool to see. I've been to the DIA a couple times before with my family, but being able to experience it together with my friends, talking about our favorite pieces, was especially valuable to me. A big thanks to the DIA for putting up with our teen "let's take another weird picture with THIS sculpture" behavior ;) We continued our day out with a stop at Pizza Papalis for lunch and then the courthouse. The proceedings were definitely entertaining, but unfortunately the chips did not fall in our favor. Let's just say law school does not appeal to me in the least! However, it really was blast. Follow the field trips with play practice and homework and call me wiped out! These last days of high school are certainly keeping me busy.  

1. Emily, Laynie, and me in front of the DIA 2. Posing by a piece of modern art 3. Matisse! 4. Emily, Danielle, and I 5. Laynie and I 6. All the girls in my class! 7. The Great Hall

photos 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 by Laynie

photos 3 and 7 by me