Summer of Love

Well. Today's the day. My Last official day of summer in Montana.

(it's technically over since it's past midnight now)

It's weird to think that I was dreading the move back home and away from friends.

And so I created this blog to consume my lifeless summer with.

But you know what? It was actually great.

I had a bunch of great jobs such as Old Navy, Nannying and Personal Assisting.

I have a wonderful, goofy, crazy, annoying family that I LOVE spending time with.

The Singles Ward is probably the most interestingly weird ward on the face of the planet.(in a good way)

I swam in a pool at least once every other week. (that's a record for me)

I got TAN!

I was able to paint my nails a new shade every couple days.

I was able to eat my hearts content of baked goods and mom's food.

And I wasted my life away on Netflix watching 30 Rock. Arrested Development. Psych. and some other shows I'm embarrassed to admit.

I read all of the Harry Potter series. For the first time.

And I attended 3 of 4 weddings of my dearest friends. And was able to see the joy in their happy married faces!

What a wonderful happy happy summer!

Nerdiness=Happiness.

Hello.
My name is Mallory.
And I'm a bona-fide nerd.
I love Harry Potter.
I love Glee.
I love watching the Disney Channel.
I like doing random stupid things for fun.

This weekend was one of those times for being a nerd. I hung out with my good high school pals Kailey and Emily. We had no idea what to do. There's not a lot to do in MT late at night so we brainstormed. And this is the best we came up with.

"Hey there's a new sonic in town. it's open late. let's drive all the way up there!"
"Ok, that sounds good!"

So we hit the town. AKA the upper heights of Billings MT. I got a cherry limeade and onion rings. yum.

Then our waiter came. And we made this preposterous lie that we heard sonic workers have to sing when they deliver your food. And our wonderful waiter sang this and I got it all on video.

Anywhoo it was awesome. It's a great song. He must be a Bruno Mars fan because the night before he sang "Just the Way You Are" for my cousin and my brother and I.

And then of course we had to head to Walmart. Because other than bars. It's the only thing open after midnight. And we found these beauties so of course we had to have a photo shoot.

        Them there is some sweet spirit shirts.

Then the next day Kailey and I went to The Glee Movie. In 3D. haha. It was the first showing of the day  and there were like 10 people there. And I'm pretty sure I annoyed every single person there. I sang along to some of the songs and when the songs got intense I pumped my fists with them! haha. It was wonderful. We even got the kids trays which come with popcorn, a drink, and fruit snacks!

Anyways. I'm 20 years old.

Almost 21 but I love being a nerd. And I think life is more fun when you are one.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

Once upon a time, I caught a mouse.

Well not me actually. But my brothers.

And I managed to catch it all on video. Enjoy : )

And please forgive me and all my screaming...

Baking.

So at the start of the summer I baked a lot. So much so that I didn't have time to blog about it. But now as I am running through my iphoto library I'm looking at all the beautiful concoctions I haven't shared with you. Most of these can be found at miss lizzy's blog and some of them are my own found recipes. 

Bon Appetit!

 Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

 Vanilla Cupcakes with Classic Vanilla Buttercream

Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and crushed Butterfingers

Jr. Mint Cupcakes (probably my absolute favorite!)

 Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.

Now these next pictures are probably the most fun new recipe I've come across. And definitely the most addicting to eat! They are called cake bites. If you google them they are becoming a huge hit. I even saw a book at Borders about them. They have many different names cake pops, cake balls, cake bits, but I like Cake Bites. They are really a piece of cake in a bite. I decided to take on the challenge for my brother's graduation party. (I made some cupcakes too of course :) My advice is don't plan on showcasing your first batch. The more you do em they easier they become but my first couple bites looked terrible. But here is how you make em. 

1. Make a Cake. Any flavor. Boxed or homemade. Put it into square pan.

2. After it has cooled. Cut around the edges.

3. Put edgeless cake into mixing bowl. Add half a can of frosting. 

Or some of your own homemade stuff.

4. Mix cake on low till it crumbles finely.

4. Form into little balls.  Put into freezer. Freeze overnight. 

5. When ready to dip the bites, Melt Chocolate. Dark, Milk, White, whatever you want to go with your cake and dip balls into chocolate and put onto wax paper. Don't use chocolate chips. They are too thick.

 I highly recommend using chocolate bark. 

It is found in the baking aisle at the grocery store. Or CandiQuick.

These are my funfetti cake balls. Funfetti cake dipped in white chocolate and covered with sprinkles. These were the first ones I made. They look a little goopy and aren't very consistent in shape. 

Trust me they taste much better than they look.

They are soo yummy! Super rich and you want to eat a billion of them. They definitely are time consuming though. I've made them for two different parties this summer and they were a huge hit!

Happy Baking!

Summer Days

Remember what summer was like when you were little?

Running around in your swimsuit. All day.
Playing with your friends.
Eating ice cream.
Going to the pool.
Watching the Disney Channel.
Jumping on the tramp.
Riding Bikes.
Playing in the sprinklers
Lighting Fireworks.
But mostly playing and swimming!

Well this week I had the chance to be a kid again. I got to play with Hailey Johnson all week long while her mom and sisters were at Girls Camp and her dad was at work. She has the most amazing swimming pool. And imagination and sense of humor. She would wake up and play hungry hungry hippos. Then we'd watch a couple episodes of Phineas and Ferb. Then we'd put on our swimsuits and play in the pool.  We'd play sharks and minnows. Then we'd float on the pool mattresses. Then we'd do our best jumps and belly flops off the diving board. Then we'd do underwater summersaults. Then we'd take a break for lunch and eat chicken nuggets and grapes. After lunch we would perfect our handstands. Then we'd dry off and go watch more disney channel! (isn't MT/the yard beautiful!)

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to swim in the pool. And play sharks and minnows. I'd forgotten how to do a handstand and an underwater summersault. Hailey had to teach me! Remember doing that? You could just run all day in your swimsuit and no one cared. Then the day came when your one piece bathing suit wasn't cool and all your friends wore bikinis. No one did underwater summersaults or handstands. They just sat by the pool and tanned. Then you became really self conscious about your swimming suit and had to sit in the perfect position so you didn't have belly rolls.

I vote that every summer should be like the summers of our youth. I plan on doing something childish at least once a week for the rest of the summer. And I definitely have the tan (burn) lines to prove it.

Confessions...

I have a serious confession to make....

I have not read HARRY POTTER!

Well not until recently that is.

Once upon a time I went to a Harry Potter themed dance my freshman year. And I felt like a loser. An impostor. One who knows who Daniel Radcliffe, but does not know the true Harry.

So I decided to change that. I started reading. And I'm hooked.

I just put down the 5th book. And let me tell you. It was a whirlwind of emotions. From Sirius Black's death. To the amazingness of Dumbledore. To Umbridge and her biotchiness. It's ridonkulous. I freaking love Harry. So much so I wanted to cry.

Then tonight I was watching The Voice and the trailer for part dos of the Deathly Hollows came on. I wanted to poop my pants. I've got until July 14th at midnight to finish all of book 6 and 7.

Bring it on.

It's Official.

Being from Montana is a wonderful thing.
I love the "Big Sky State"
I take pride in it.
I enjoy it's many wonders.
As well as it's lack of many other wonders.
But for a while I've felt like a fake Montanan...

Whenever anyone asks...
"Do you live on a farm?"
"Do you ride a horse to school?"
"Do you own cows and sheep?"
I have to answer NO to all these questions.

But now I can say YES to this one. "Do you own real cowboy boots?"

Look at these beauties.

Oh yeah. They're bona fide real leather boots from Wayne's Boot Barn. Be jealous and prepare to see me rockin' those on campus, at the grocery store, at the movies, etc. Trust me their cute. Plus I can be all Taylor Swift and wear em with a dress! haha. I'M A REAL MONTANAN.