i promise not to do this again.

i am going to brag about my grades for a second.

i am very proud of myself. last week, i had four exams. to celebrate them being over, i made zucchini bread with zucchinis from the nc state campus farmers market. it was delicious and you can find the super easy recipe here.

zucchini bread. you can never really go wrong with a paula dean recipe.

this week, i got my grades. I GOT ALL As!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to celebrate that, i made pumpkin bread! i added chocolate chips and pecans to the downeast maine pumpkin bread recipe that i found on allrecipes.com.

is it time for pumpkin pie yet?

both were really successful, and it felt good to be baking some things again; it had been a while, you know, with all the studying i was doing. i want to break out of the quick-bread rut, but they are just so good. i accept any easy cookie recipe suggestions. or pie would be good. or some cookie bars. holy moses. i might have to cut this short. i'm suddenly having a strange craving for the molasses cookies in the kitchen.

i love the campus farmer's market.

it might have been hot out. and there may have been only 8 or 9 booths. and i may not have had much cash or ability to carry anything more than the 45 pounds of bookbag i already had. but. the farmer's market opened in the brickyard on campus yesterday and i was super pumped about going.

there was a peanut farm stand, fruits and vegetables, fresh homemade salsa & pepper jelly, COOKIES, jewelry, apples, and homemade soaps and lotions. i loved it. you could smell the soap from 100 feet away, and students were walking around campus with huge slices of watermelon. i knew i wanted to buy soap, so i visited there first. moondance soaps is right outta raleigh, and they offer homemade soaps, lotions, lip balms, and more. everything smells wonderful, and they get their herbs and goat's milk from farmers in north carolina. i purchased a lemon verbena soap and a lavender, milk & honey soap. andrew smelled them and approved.

i had about 5 dollars left, so i found it necessary to prioritize my next item to purchase. obviously, i got cookies. the cookie people had clear glass displays of humongous and buttery-looking cookies, so i naturally gravitated like a raccoon to a piece of aluminum foil. i was extremely proud of my ability to ignore the 4 for $5 deal (because we all know i would have eaten them all before i got home) and i only purchased two (AND i brought some home to share): sugar with icing and sprinkles, and a chocolate chip cookie. THEY WERE THE BOMB. i will be back.

the campus farmers market is such a neat thing that happens at state, and i look forward to stopping by every wednesday. next week, i'll be a bit more prepared. bit more cash, maybe an extra bag. a camera to document. it's great to note, though, that some of the vendors do take cards!

to read some more, the technician (nc state's newspaper) wrote an article and took some pictures.

i started school and hosted a party. no big deal.

somehow, several years ago, i was able to take a full course-load, maintain a B average, go to parties, date a boy, sleep, eat, dress in cute clothes and successfully graduate with a degree.  i am going to pat myself on the back now. that took a lot of good time management, as i am now being reminded of since i decided it would be a good idea to try it all over again. only this time with a dog, a cat and a boyfriend, all in the same house.

i am taking two traditionally freshman courses, biology and pre-calculus, as well as principles of horticulture and landscape graphics. there's also a 1-hour lecture specifically designed for transfer students to prepare us to enter the professional world. we have to create a resume and a linkedin profile, as well as sit for a mock job interview. awesome. i can do this.

it's overwhelming. there are so many people. i have lots of homework. i am paying lots of money. i quit my job for this, and the pressure to succeed is heavy. i have turned into the brown-noser, the girl in the front row, the shouter-outer of answers, the person who does their assignments ahead of time and gets the answers right. i will join the horticulture club. (it meets monday nights. first meeting is august 30th. you know i wrote it down in the calender and highlighted that junk, along with the horticulture career expo, which is in october.) i want to be a better and more engaged student than i was the first time around, and it's not easy. the reassuring part is that i know that i made the right decision. i find myself hanging onto every word that comes of my professor's mouth in the principles of horticulture lecture. i caught myself looking at the course catalog today for what horticulture classes i can take next semester. i am still nervous and excited, and i'll be sure to keep you posted.

in other news, we entertained our first gathering of people at the house this weekend! heather's bridal shower/party was saturday night, and i think it was a successful event. unfortunately, andrew and i were busy getting ready up until the very last second, so i wasn't able to take as many food pictures as i'd hoped - by the time i had a chance to get my camera out, most of it was eaten - but below are a few i managed to catch. after the shower, we met up downtown with the groom and some of his friends for a few drinks at natty greene's. it was a very pleasant evening.. and we are all eagerly anticipating their sure-to-be beautiful wedding this december!

heather & jason, the happy couple!

mmm.. empty plates & cherry cupcakes.

almost-drained pitcher of the crucial sangria.

update: chairs and avocados and bridal showers

chairs!
andrew continues to work hard on our vintage patio chairs! we are several layers of primer into our first chair, and will be ready to add the color soon. the chairs sat in the backyard over night one night last week, and we woke up to a couple wet and dirty chair pieces. before we could paint the next coat of primer, we had to clean them. i set the pieces in the shower with the intention of getting to them later in the day.. but looks like a couple of other goobers got to them first.

avocados!
less than thrilling news. it is still a brown pit on two toothpicks in a yellow glass. however, i must admit we had a slight mishap. let's just say the present pit is not the same pit as the one i photographed several weeks ago. a less than perfect tooth-picking job, mixed with a high-cat-traffic area, caused the pit to fall and sit submerged in the water for a while. the pit eventually split, and so i went on the search for a new pit. we found one, and it's doing quite fine so far. no roots. will photograph as soon as some excitement hapens.

bridal shower!
it's happening this saturday. it will not be outside in the backyard. awful mosquitoes (what is a cheap way to get rid of those jerks?!), deconstructed metal chairs with gray primer, HOT, mosquitoes, and a landscape-work-in-progress. however, the inside of the house is shaping up nicely, so i'm looking forward to having people over. we'll have some quesadillas, spinach and artichoke dip, chips and salsa, cupcakes, sangria and more. i am pretty pumped, but busy getting it all together. i'll post some pictures after it all goes down.

oh, and once again, SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW! my backpack is packed, my clothes are picked out, and the coffee maker is ready to go. let's gooooooo.

another avocado activity.

if you need a break from guacamole, and you have an intense sweet tooth like myself, give this a try: avocado quick bread.

ingredients! see green squishy stuff, to the left.

two pans of more squishy green stuff!

finished bread. cozy cinnamon spice, moist cake-y inside.

andrew says: "it's delicious! and it's kinda green."

inspiration: literature!

last night andrew brought me two new books! it was such a thoughtful surprise. i am going to the beach with some girlfriends next week, and he wanted me to have some new things to read. i am very excited about both books.

the first is farm city by novella carpenter. ms carpenter moved to oakland and started a farm - in the abandoned lot right next to her house! the book has received great reviews and is full of anecdotes and advice, which i'm really looking forward to reading.

i also got chlorophyll in his veins by bobby j. ward, which is about nc state horticultural legend, j.c. raulston. the j.c. raulston aboretum is right around the corner it seems like, but i have yet to go. i'll make it my reward once i complete the book, perhaps..!

visit author bobby j. ward's website!

once i complete the books, i'll let you know how they were. time's runnin out 'fore all i'll be readin are dense textbooks!