Puppy Mohawk

Mantra Mondays 

Last night I was looking around for a positive quotes when I came across this one:

“I can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. It’s all how you look at it.” J. Kenfield Morley

I like this quote because I think it embodies the idea that any situation when be viewed as positive depending on how you look at it 🙂

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I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend and a great Fourth of July!  I had a very busy weekend that was extremely productive…plus I had a little fun too!

This is what I woke up to this morning- Puppy Mohawk!

 

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This morning it was back to the grind!  I had a bowl of Oatmeal Squares topped with banana and cashews.  The Oatmeal Squares  are close enough to my usual oatmeal that it felt like a normal workday breakfast 😉

 

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As I said this weekend was filled with getting ready for NYC and packing up some boxes to ship back.

My Mom and I spent a good portion of the weekend looking at household appliances because there are somethings I need to pick up for the apartment.  One being a vacuum!  I’ve been using a dust buster in place of one all year and it just isn’t cutting it.

I also was looking for a mini food processor.

I couldn’t help but find some interest in a few other things… like the donut maker!!!

Or the alustrious KitchenAid mixer! I seriously think these make a kitchen look better! One day when I have a kitchen that can fit one of these things (and I can afford one) I will get one of my own!

And I love the Keurigs too!  I’m not even a coffee drinker and I love these machines!

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This past weekend was also filled with baking- my favorite!  I baked some of these brownies for the 4^th! And helped ice my pre-birthday cake, which we had yesterday as well!  (My birthday isn’t till later in the month but I will be back in NYC by then, so my Mom wanted to be sure to make me one befrore I left).  Recipes to come later today…

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How was your weekend?  Do anything special?

Does anyone have a recommendation for a mini food processor?

MIA

Sorry I have been MIA this weekend!  I have been doing some work to the blog that will allow me to have more creative control and make it prettier 🙂  It sounded easy at first but now that I am knee deep in blog/technical talk, I found out it is a little more difficult and timely than previously expected.  Oh well- I ‘ll figure it out eventually!

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Here’s a little recap form yesterday.  This past weekend my Mom and I have been busy doing errands in preparation for me to go back to NYC.  You wouldn’t believe how much stuff you can accumulate in two months!! I packed up 3 boxes of things to ship back! And yes, that is toilet paper.  I use it for cushioning in the box lol

We did some errands, stopping my Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up something’s I needed for the apartment.  Then made a stop at Kohl’s where I found this quote to put on the wall of my apartment.  Plus it only cost us 89 cents!!!  Originally $32!!!  Bargain! I’m excited to put this up when I get back, I have the perfect spot in mind!

 I’m off to relax and enjoy the 4^th!  Hope everyone is having a happy and safe 4^th of July!!!

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What did you do or what are your plans for the 4th of July?

Books and Chocolate Coconut Cheesecake

Yesterday day was a busy day and I got much accomplished that I needed to for my return to NYC that will happen later this week.

My Mom had received a gift card to Barnes and Noble as an end of the year teacher’s gift.  Being the generous person my Mom is, she wanted to share the amount with me. Yay!

We browsed around for about an hour.  I seriously could spend all day at Barnes and Noble, I absolutely love the atmosphere- the smell of coffee and the classical music.

I ended up picking out two books, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton and One Day by David Nicholls.  One Day is becoming a movie, so I want to read it before it hits theaters.

While out doing errands, my Mom and I stopped for smoothies at McDonalds.  I had a coupon for buy one, get one free– how can you turn down such a deal!

I love the Mixed Barry ones- so good!

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Last night for dinner, my parents and I went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner.   This is one of my favorite restaurants mainly because of the variety of the menu and the endless flavors of cheesecake!

After munching on their brown bread- which is oh so good; I ordered the Baja Chicken Tacos, which my typical choice.

 Of course, dessert was necessary!  We order two cheesecakes and split them.  I chose the Chocolate Coconut Crème Cheesecake while my parents chose the Reese Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.  Both were delicious but I think I favored my parent’s choice!

Even though our bellies were VERY full, we still end up with lots of leftovers!

3 bags, to be precise

 While at dinner, my parents and I discussed my soon-to-be return to the city.  They asked what I was looking forward to the most.  To be honest, what I am most looking forward to is taking Lucy for walks in Central Park.  I am quite spoiled in that I live one block from the park.  Around 5 o’clock each day, I leash Lucy up and she drags me through the park!  It will be nice to get back to our walks 🙂

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What is your favorite restaurant to go to?

What restaurant do you go to, knowing you will come home with bags and bags of leftovers?