Hips, we have a problem.

I discovered the wonderful world of baked goods in a mug last night.  Namely I discovered that you can make a CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE in a MUG.  Uhm, anyone else just have an OMG moment?

To be truthful, I didn't discover this last night but the first time I tried it the cookie didn't come out very good. So I tried a new recipe last night and it was so good.  This delicious cookie-in-a-mug came from Art of Dessert which I found while on a googling spree. (Occassionally I like to go on random googling sprees.  What? Everyone doesn't do that??) This is so not healthy and I soooo don't care. It was DELICIOUS.  See below.

Flowers & Fowl

Yesterday, I went to the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  It is a really fun country fair.  There are all sorts of animals to pet, a multitude of food stands, lots of pretty flowers to look at, a giant pumpkin, and a carnival area.  I only took a couple pictures of the flowers because they were so pretty. (The first one is my new background at work. I'm so obsessed I might frame it!) I also took pictures of some of the birds because for some reason I'm obsessed.  Every year I insist on going into that section and looking at all the different animals.  Also, you can feed them.  And I did. And it was awesome. Yes, I'm 27 not 5. I can't help it. :)

I'm Making Myself Hungry Writing This Post...

Since moving out of my house I've discovered something kind of funny, I'm a pretty decent cook.  You may ask, now why is this funny? Being a good cook isn't really a generally funny thing.

I am Italian.  I am approximately 66% Italian (the rest is mostly Irish.  Which explains my impressive alcohol tolerance, and maybe extreme love of potatoes? No, potatoes are just delicious.)  I grew up in a household where my mom cooked every single night and she cooked damn good.  I actually used to tell her that if she kept it up, I would never move out.  She kept cooking like that.  I moved out eventually anyway.

So when I moved out, I knew I would have to cook for myself and I always figured it would just be one of those things that I did because I had to, not because I enjoyed it. (Like laundry. I really truly hate doing my laundry.)  Turns out, I like cooking and I'm pretty good at it.

So now... my mom gets text messages like these.

Insanity & A Blog

What do you get when you take a 27 year old, have her purchase a house for the first time and therefore also move out of her parents house for the first time while trying to simultaneously hold down a full time job, lose weight and have a social life?

Insanity... and a blog.

Moving out of your parents house for the first time is traumatic enough as is but add in being a first time homeowner and you've got yourself a doozy.  Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely in love with home ownership. As much as it kills my cheapo-heart to write that mortgage check each month, there is something so incredibly satisfying about walking up the steps to my place and knowing it's mine. (Also, I have a perfectly legitimate excuse to walk around singing Destiny's Child - Independent Woman now. "The house I live in? I bought it!")

It is also an invitation for lots of change and self discovery. I'm discovering new things about myself every day and I love that about this experience.  I love knowing that this is something that is affecting me not only financially but as a person.

I am also on that life-long journey they call "weight loss."  It has certainly been a life-long struggle for me and I am still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing.  Additionally I work full time and have the most amazingly supportive and funny friends ever.  I also have a serious travel bug which I will start satisfying again as soon as my wallet recovers from that whole buying a house thing. :)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hope to make this blog about me and the evolution I'm going through. It will be sort of like a "See Spot Run" thing. "See Steph Cook." "See Steph Paint." "See Steph Cook." Maybe one day I will post about my struggles with my weight and the next about painting my dresser. Maybe I'll completely lose my marbles and post about random things. (This is highly likely.) I guess you'll just have to stick around a see... (ooh suspense!)


ps. Sherry of Young House Love totally told me to start a blog so really, I had to. :)