Blog Archives
What happened to September?
Remember when weekends meant being able to sleep in and have some time to actually relax?
Good times. :)
My “free time” is currently combined with the 45 minutes to an hour I use to get in a workout or go for a run each day….but I shouldn’t complain because I am greeted with views as beautiful as this:
Is that not the most gorgeous center-divider you’ve ever seen? I swear those leaves are that saturated in real life. That totally set the mood for my long run Sunday that I tackled by myself in the afternoon with yet another SOLID playlist. Specifically:
{Daughtry’s new single Utopia; Famous by Kelleigh Bannen; Running with the Boys by LIGHTS; How to be a Heartbreaker by Marina and the Diamonds; Superheroes by The Script; Fire by Gavin DeGraw and Surrender by Cash Cash}
It finally feels like fall. Full on chilly air, chai tea, scarves and boots, football games, tailgate parties, roasted acorn squash and yellow leaves FALL. My roommate even brought home a carved pumpkin this past weekend that is currently residing on our kitchen counter. Some people say it’s a bit premature but I say WHO MADE THE RULES.
Now I have a week of autumnal life to catch up on. I definitely won’t admit to the fact that I’m blogging instead of editing the research assignment due tomorrow…… ;)
Remember last semester when I couldn’t stop going to Sedona for solo getaways? It happened again. I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it because I’ve found a few cute and more importantly local places to bring my homework. One of which conveniently includes my dining room. Go figure.
But it was a glorious, sunshine-y, short little reminder that I live in a pretty spectacular place.
I was able to concentrate on GRE and “quantitative reasoning” for about 3 hours before the sunshine and my growling stomach told me it was time to pack it up. I made it home before a massive thunderous storm rolled in for the weekend, which I whole-heartedly welcomed because I think the dark skies and the sound of rain are so comfy and cozy.
Fortunately our second home football game of the season took place in an INDOOR stadium, so our fans and players didn’t get soaked during their epic WIN in the last quarter. In the last 2 minutes! It was a thrilling game, partly because I got one of the best seats in the house:
Yep, I was feeling pretty fly sitting up in the media box. Next to me was the Director of Marketing, the Announcer, the Camera/Video Director, and the Digital Media Designer. I got a ton of hands on experience working with the video and advertisement screens. Another day in the life of a new sports marketing intern :)
Tangent –> Anyone else done the new iOS update? I was super excited when I saw the new “HEALTH” app put on the front screen on my phone. But I can’t figure out what to do with it! Am I completely missing something? It seems like it could be a great tool…..help me! :)
I’ll wrap up this hodge podge of a recap now as I pour some coffee and join my roommate in our GRE study session. T-17 days til test day! Welcome, October :)
Mini Football Snackies!
I’m actually thankful that today is Monday. New week = fresh start.
Which football games did you watch this weekend? Even the unsporty-est of the people can find something they enjoy about football season. You get to plan team-colored outfits, prepare fan-friendly appetizers, maybe some drinks or cocktails, tailgate parties, house parties, sports bar parties, trash-talking the opposing team. I don’t want to hear about Ray Rice anymore, let’s talk about the actual players and games! Or food. That’s cool too.
My weekend was spent working at our home-opener football game. (I’m a sports marketing intern for our athletics department). After working 2.5 hours at a volleyball tournament, I spent 7 hours on the football field. Our boys stepped out in brand new uniform designs and we kicked off brand new game-day traditions. I’m sad to report that I didn’t have any glamorous or “wow” jobs during the game. Typical intern grunt work. But the boys kept me entertained with touchdown after touchdown, killing the opposing team. Brought home a W and that’s all a fan can ask for, right?!
Okay moving on….It’s not really a secret that I like to make things pretty. Why have pretzels when you can turn them into adorable football pretzels? For some reason, I will use any excuse to make DIY crafts and recipes that have a theme. Just appease me.
Peanut-butter filled pretzels + chocolate = BOOM. 2 ingredient recipe. (Not to mention the best flavor combo EVER.)
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt your milk/dark chocolate, and dunk the tops of the pretzels into it.
- Set them, pretzel-side down onto the paper-lined baking sheet.
- Place the sheet into the freezer for ten minutes while you melt your white chocolate
- If you don’t have a piping tool that is thin enough to outline the laces onto the pretzels, you can just use a ziplock bag. Push a toothpick through the corner to create a tiny whole, and fill the bag with your melted white chocolate.
- Pipe the laces onto the pretzels and place them back into the freezer. Store in the freezer until you’re ready to place in a dish for your party, because if you leave them out they will be G-O-N-E. ;)
They were a hit! And yes, they do taste better than regular chocolate peanut butter pretzels because they are made with love. Football love.
That’s just the start of weekend football festivities, we have a long season to go. More snacks and recipes to come!
I leave you with his football-themed single by Chase Rice, who has replaced Hunter Hayes as my country crush btw ;)
Cinnamon and Spice Roasted Nut Medley
I’m munching on a batch of these heavenly-smelling cinnamony-roasted nuts as we speak. When my mom came with a full grocery bag of goodies for my dorm, she brought a bag of mixed nuts from our favorite Sprouts store and a blend of spices. After a long walk through some trails and a detour to Starbucks, we got to roasting.
These are really simple to make and they smell so delicious in your oven :)
You will need:
3 Cups of mixed nuts (we used a medley of almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, and brazil nuts.)
1 egg white
1 Tbs Vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamon
3/4 tsp allspice
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together egg white and vanilla until foamy. Add in nuts and coat with the egg mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, allspice and cardamom.
4. Add the spice mixture to the nuts, blend together.
5. Spread out onto the parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove from oven, and break apart any pieces that stuck together. Turn off the oven, but place the tray back inside for another 5 minutes.
Before…
After!
OMG the kitchen smelled so GOOD. I love cinnamon :) These filled two mason jars, one for me and one for my roomie!
If only I could contain myself from eating the whole thing at once!
