Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. lately. I’m back in New York now! I’m all moved in and settled. I’ve just been getting settled and catching up with friends. I’m living with 4 of my friends this year and it’s been a blast to be with them all the time. This weekend we went shopping to decorate the apartment and went out to a few parties. It’s been really fun.
Did any of you get a chance to go to the meeting in Central Park on Friday? I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!
Good news! My interview went really well, and I have the job as long as I pass the secret service background checks. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I’ll pass. I’ve never been arrested or been involved with terrorist organizations, so I’m not too worried.
Other then that I’ve just been saying goodbye to friends and getting ready to go back to New York. My friends from High School that were a year younger are all leaving for college this week. I went out with a group of them two nights ago and just talked about all the fun times we had together. In addition to saying goodbye to people, I’ve started packing. I’m going back to New York a week from today, and I couldn’t be more excited. However, I have A TON of stuff to bring back with me. I’m trying to cut back on the amount of stuff I’m bringing, but I have such a hard time leaving clothes behind. It’s also challenging, because I’m not coming home after this. I’m just going to be moving back and fourth between school and an apartment in the city. So I don’t want to leave stuff behind, but I don’t want to over pack. I will probably end up over packing anyway and regretting it later.
I recently bought some new stuff for my room, and I can’t wait to decorate it! I got a new rug from Urban Outfitters. It’s a chocolate area rug, and it’s really soft! I also got the original cast recording (on record!) of Hair. It’s the album sleeve and the record, and it’s framed. It looks really cool and I can’t wait to hang it in my room! In addition to that I have this huge piece of fabric that I don’t know what to do with. It was used as a curtain in the set of “Barefoot in the Park”, and after the show the director gave it to me telling me to do something with it to use in my dorm. So now I have this large piece of gorgeous vintage fabric from the 70’s and I can’t figure out what to do with it. I’m thinking of just using it as a tapestry on my wall, but I’d like to do something a little more original. Ideas would be greatly appreciated!
I have really exciting news! As many of you know the G20 is being hosted in Pittsburgh (my hometown) this September. I have Monday classes off that weekend anyway so I decided to fly home for a long weekend to see my family and check out what’s going on around Pittsburgh. A few days I was told about an opportunity to be a server at different events during the G20, meaning I would get access to the events and be able to see everyone there! I have an interview for it tonight. I really hope I get it!
Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!
If you have ever been to Magnolia Bakery in NYC then you know that they have THE BEST cupcakes in the world! If you haven’t been….GO! There are three different locations; downtown on Bleeker St, Midtown at Rockefeller Center, and Uptown on Columbus Ave & 69th St. Yesterday I was in the mood to bake so I decided to try to find Magnolia’s recipe and make cupcakes. They turned out surprisingly well, especially because I don’t bake that often, and actually taste like Magnolia cupcakes!
Here’s the recipe:
Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes
(Makes 2 dozen)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.
Magnolia’s Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Next time you want to bake something, defiantly try out this recipe! It’s quick, easy and, obvs, delicious!
Hey everyone! So due to epic boredom this summer I started reading blogs sporadically and have decided to start one. I don’t really know how this works, but it seems like a good way to keep up with friends. And what better time then in the summer when I have nothing else to do? So here’s a little bit about me.
-I’m 19 years old
-I live in New York
-I grew up in Pittsburgh
-I’m trying to be an actor
-I love shopping and fashion
-I have a black lab named Gracie
-I love music
-My parents are hippies
-I’m trapped in Pittsburgh for the next three weeks
That’s the basics about me, here’s what I’ve been up to lately:
Right now I’m working “Barefoot in the Park” at a theater here in Pittsburgh. I would say come see it, but it’s closing tomorrow night. I’m on the run crew so it’s not very exciting, but it’s something to do until I go back to New York. One of the girls in the show got us all flowers tonight. She’s super cute.
Steph gave me the new Regina Spektor CD today. I’m already obsessed with it. Right now my two favorite songs are “The Calculation” and “Dance Anthem of the 80’s”, but that’ll probably change in 2 days. I’m so ADD with music.
Sephora has started to do a new form of gift cards called e-cards. I got one for my birthday last week, and as much as I love make up these e-cards are just a pain in the ass. You can only use them online as opposed to a regular gift card which you can use in the store or online. Why would you make another form of gift cards when you already have a more versatile one?
I took this e-card into a Sephora store last week and was told I could only use itonline, so I went home and ordered my make up online. It finally got here today. I got a refill on my BareMinerals. I don’t usually wear a lot of make up, but when I do, BareMInerals works really well. I also got DiorShow mascara. It’s one of my guilty pleasures.Usually I wouldn’t spend $24 on a tube of mascara so I save up my Sephora gift cards, e-cards, and spends them on DiorShow. I never used to wear mascara, but I used DiorShow in a show one time and now I’m addicted. Also, when it’s your birthday they send you cute little gifts. I got a 3 pack of lip gloss!
Right now I’m reading, “Snuff” by Chuck Palahniuk. I started it yesterday and I’m already more then halfway through it. It’s about a porn star who’s retiring and for her last film she’s going to bang 600 guys in one movie, but one of them wants to kill her. It’s super cute, I know. I’ve been reading it backstage for the past two nights. I’ve recently become hooked on his writing. I read Lullaby at the beach last month and loved it. His writing is very stylized and satirical. It can be both graphic to the point of disgusting and hilarious. All of his books are fun to read, but also have undertones of social commentary, which makes them, in my opinion, better then most books I read for fun. And to completely contradict myself I just finished “Ransom” by Julie Garwood. Her books are another one of my guilty pleasures. Although she’s a New York Times Best Selling Author, I don’t think any of her books are very well written. They’re fluffy romance fiction that you can easily get sucked into, but some of her language is so bad it’s distracting. They’re not my favorite books, but if you want something mindless to read, they’re pretty entertaining.
