I never thought I would be a blogger.  I love to write, but didn’t think I could come up with something to say and share each week without boring anyone who stumbled across my blog.  My biggest challenge was coming up with ways to tie class topics to my blog theme of baking.  But somewhere along the way I realized that I didn’t need to be so literal.  Blogging doesn’t have to be something strict and forced – it should be something I enjoy doing.  Once I relaxed a little bit and stopped taking it so seriously I found it easier to choose blog topics.  I even found myself thinking “I should blog about this…” at random points during the day.

Image from Flickr user Lady Madonna

So, wait? Am I a “blogger?”  Not so fast…all of my favorite blogs (baking or others) are extremely dedicated to regularly updating their blogs with new and interesting content.  Working full time and going to grad school doesn’t leave me with tons of free time.  That being said, I don’t think I could just give up abbybakes.  There’s no way I’ll stop baking, or writing, so why stop writing about baking? I may take a brief hiatus, but I’ll be bake…I mean back! 🙂

Image from Flickr user Clare & Dave

So I know this post has nothing to do with baking, but when I saw Damaris’s blog post on Rent the Runway (RTR), I had to register for an account and take a look.  I’m not a very fashionable person; I like the occasional opportunity to get dressed up, but most days I would much rather choose sweatpants and a t-shirt.  Picking out what to wear is always stressful for me – I have no idea what looks good, what’s in style or how to put pieces together. What’s worse for special events like weddings is that I search for weeks, try on countless dresses, only to wear it once and retire it to the back of my closet and see the price get slashed in half just after the event.  I’ve tried dress swaps with friends, but then you run into fit issues and feeling terrible when you inevitably spill red wine on your friend’s favorite light blue dress and it won’t come out.  Or those panic-inducing zipper fiascos. Not so much fun.

RTR solves all of those problems – it gives you the option to order multiple sizes, chat with a fit specialist, purchase damage insurance, rent back-up styles, and constantly update your wardrobe. Not to mention giving you the chance to wear an amazing dress without the not-so-amazing buyer’s guilt that would come with buying it.

One of the many dresses that caught my eye, from RenttheRunway.com

The occasion grouping and styling suggestions are great for people like me (without any fashion sense) and help to take some of the stress out of picking the perfect outfit.   And ordering from the comfy couch is much more appealing than maneuvering through crowds of fellow dress-seekers at the mall 🙂

My birthday is coming up, which could be the perfect chance to try RTR!  Thanks for sharing the site, Damaris!

I was reading a classmate’s blog on how using sick days when you’re actually sick feels like a waste.  I completely agree and must admit that I am a sick day hoarder.  I hate using those precious hours on their intended purpose.  Instead, I like to save them and splurge or use them on a last-minute day off…I hope my boss doesn’t read this 🙂

It’s a little obsessive the way I watch the hours pile up, divide by 8 and celebrate how many days I’ve saved up! I’ve already listed ways I plan to spend some of those days in my post about summer, but with the weather getting warmer I’m coming up with more and more plans.  I can’t wait to spend those hours at the beach, catching up on much-needed sleep, or even just sitting on the porch enjoying the warm weather.

Depending on how you look at it, I am pretty (un)lucky and usually get sick on the weekends. The last time I actually felt sick at work, I raced to the walk-in clinic and then back home to work from bed as I fought the urge to fall asleep.  I refused to let a sinus infection ruin my vacation plans!!

But I’ve convinced myself that these pseudo sick days can still count as sick days….I like to call them mental health days.  Sounds completely legitimate to me!

Danielle – I hope you feel better so you can use those sick days for a fun day off!

This week and this past weekend, my kitchen looked pretty disastrous.  That’s because it’s Passover – and Monday night was the first Seder. While I don’t keep Passover religiously (pun intended), I do enjoy Seders and many of the traditions.  The first Seder “contains the observance of many Biblical and Rabbinic mitzvot, including: eating matzah, eating maror (bitter herbs), drinking four cups of wine….” Ok, no problem chabad.org – I absolutely can did handle that last “observance”! ; )

With holidays come traditions, and for my family, forcing me to make dessert has become a tradition.  This year we were invited to a family friend’s house for the Seder, and surprise – I was tasked with bringing dessert! But no complaints from me. The only problem was figuring out what to make.  In class we’ve been talking about crowdsourcing as a way to gather ideas, insights and opinions from your audience.  The concept makes complete sense to me – who better knows what your audience wants than your audience?  I borrowed this idea to help determine what to bake for Monday’s Seder.  I decided to ask each person what types of dessert they prefer and what they would like to have on Monday night.  This plan sounded perfect, until the responses started coming in.  I love chocolate, I hate chocolate, something fruity, nothing with fruit, not overly sweet, maybe something tart, I hate dry baked goods, no nuts, nuts please…and on and on.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am the most indecisive person, and I didn’t want to leave anyone out of the dessert-enjoying experience. So my solution was to make a little something for everyone!

Chocolate torte and mandel bread

Brownies, macaroons, and Passover wine (of course)

• The final menu: Mandel bread, apple cake, chocolate espresso torte, Passover brownies (with and without walnuts), and macaroons

Ok, so the menu did turn out a little chocolate-heavy. I guess that’s just what happens when I’m forced to decide.

What I learned through doing this is that maybe crowdsourcing isn’t the best tool for a group of 10 Seder-goers, but it is a great way to get to know what your audience is thinking instead of simply assuming.  (I also learned that nobody liked the one non-chocolate dessert!)

This week I decided to make a little treat for my grandma.  We share a love of chocolate so I settled on brownies and decided to add chocolate chips and walnuts.

Here’s the recipe (modified from Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Nestle’s Very Best Baking):

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.  In a large, microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, butter and water.  Microwave on full power for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture bubbles, stirring once.  Add cocoa powder and stir until combined.

Stir eggs, one at a time, into the large bowl. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and stir well. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Pour into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. (Aim for 15 if you like them extra gooey like me.)

My sister wouldn’t taste one because she complained that adding walnuts ruins brownies and they were too fudgy.  Crazy talk!  So that got me wondering what others think when it comes to brownies…

These pair well with a nice white....milk, that is

A closer look at the gooey brownies

I think my grandma was more excited that I baked her something than she was about the actual brownies (she’s “watching her figure”), but she loved the one she tasted and promised that all the visitors she gave one to had nothing but good things to say.  I believe her too – since they were all eaten in a matter of days.  Good thing I enjoyed the brownies that made it into the photo shoot.

In a baking mood? Here are some more yummy recipes from foodbuzz

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I just got finished reading Brittany’s post on word-of-mouth advertising and a new restaurant, Standard. She mentioned that she uses foursquare to learn about places in the area and read reviews and tips from other foursquare users.  Although I haven’t yet tried the tool (I can barely figure out how to use Facebook Places on my phone), her reasons for using it were really convincing and led me to think about the idea of recommendations. Before trying out a new restaurant, hair salon, dentist, or book people are inclined to ask others what they think. I guess part of this is human nature – we want others to weigh in – but it also gives us the chance to hear honest feedback from someone who has nothing to gain based on our choice (besides the satisfaction of a happy friend).

Standard's Yelp Page - already 13 reviews

If I’m trying out a new place, I usually check out Yelp first.  With the Internet we have millions of sources just a Google (or Bing) search away, yet there’s something more credible and real about reading a review posted by Christy R. from Bethesda, Md (a complete stranger) than a company’s website or a formal review.  The same goes with Facebook and Twitter; reading comments from “someone like me” has a much stronger impact than an ad. So sticking with the word-of-mouth mentality, I think I’ll check out Standard, since it comes highly recommended. : )

This week in our blogs we’ve been asked to write about the social media platforms and tools we use most. For me that’s easy: Facebook.  Since I first discovered it in my freshman dorm room I don’t think I’ve gone more than a few days without visiting the site.  Facebook has changed drastically (remember that one single wall that anyone could go in an edit?), and along the way I’ve picked up a lot of other tools. BBM used to give Facebook a run for its money…until the iPhone came to Verizon and stole all of my BBM friends.  I’ve also recently created a Twitter account, but Facebook still remains the winner.

 

I'm not the only one....

With social media, I stick to what I know and love.  The same is true with baking.  So far, with the exception of the original banana bread post, all of my recipes have been chocolaty desserts.  I don’t exactly see anything wrong with that, but I thought it would be a good idea to switch things up a bit.  The solution: blueberry scones.  Quite a leap! I can’t say the idea was entirely my own.  I was talking up these delicious cranberry white chocolate scones I made a few months ago to my taste tester (who just celebrated a birthday) and I got a not-so-subtle hint that breakfast pastries featuring fruit would be a much appreciated birthday treat.  With a sigh, I figured I would take a break from the world of gooey, moist, chocolaty baked goods (mmm…just typing that makes me second guess my decision) and try something new.

I found a delicious-sounding recipe for Blueberry Streusel Scones from JoyOfBaking.com (the same site I found the Nanaimo Bars recipe).  The streusel toppings add just the right amount of sweetness.  But beware: scones can quickly go from yummy to heavy, tasteless rocks, so it’s really important not to over mix.  Just combine until the dough holds together – and be careful not to smash the blueberries.  Well, here they are! The non-chocolaty baked goods that got rave reviews (the picture doesn’t do them justice):

Blueberry Scones

Just like I tried something different, so many of the baking blogs I love pull in Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to reach readers in new and different ways.  Now that I’ve branched out in the baking world, I’ll try and focus on doing the same with my blog 🙂

Despite the ongoing warnings about upcoming snow, spring is definitely on its way…which means summer is close behind. I couldn’t be happier because I love warm weather, the beach, and all of the outdoor activities that summer brings with it. As I was reading through my classmates’ blogs, I came across a post on GoldRushed about taking the time to maintain your health and stay happy.  For me, summer is the perfect time for that. Even though that feeling of summer freedom has faded since entering the real world, it’s still a chance to relax and reward myself for the hard work throughout the year. But summer is still a few months away, so I decided to see if I was following some of the tips in the blog post.

Get quality sleep – This is one I need to work on; especially since I put off work/homework until the very end of the day

Don’t procrastinate – See above : )

Occasionally treat yourself – I definitely have that one covered (spoiler alert: chocolate chip walnut brownies coming up on the blog this week), but maybe I should work on the occasionally part.

Spend time outdoors – this is one of my favorite tips! To make sure we take advantage of the weather this summer, I recently got together with a few of my friends to plan fun summer activities (I know, it goes against the tip to not over plan, but we’re just a group of enthusiastic  planners :)).

Here are some of the things we have planned so far:

White water rafting in West Virginia (their slogan “Wild and Wonderful” is really true) with Cheat River Outfitters

 

Cooling off in the Cheat River, 2008

Getting super muddy at the Warrior Dash

Wine festival at Linganore Winecellars

Heading to the beach (hopefully more than once!)

Possibly going to the SweetLife Festival

Thanks for the tips, GoldRushed! Your post reminded me how excited I am for summer!

This week I decided to bake something in honor of my recent trip to Canada. In my Week 3 post, I wrote about my first visit to the beautiful village of Mont Tremblant – and my first trip to our neighbors to the north.  I came across an article about a beloved Canadian treat and knew I had to try them.

Nanaimo Bars, named after the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia, are cookie bars that actually don’t require any baking and are a popular dessert across Canada and North America.  I found the recipe using Bing and by searching for an easy, chocolaty recipe.  In class we’ve been talking a lot about Google and search engines, how they return results, their business models, etc.  Google has made everything so easy and all in one place (mail, calendar, news, alerts), that I don’t ever think of going anywhere else to search.  But for the sake of class, I wanted to try another search engine.  Ironically enough, I went to Google and typed in “Bing.” : )

I also tried searching with DuckDuckGo.  I ended up getting some irrelevant results, but I liked the simple design (and the duck was pretty cute).

The recipe I ended up using (with a few minor changes) is from JoyOfBaking.com and features a how-to video and a little background on the yummy bars.

(Video from JoyOfBaking.com)

The bars are three layers: a graham cracker crumb base, a custard butter cream, and chocolate. The site has a lot of great recipes, and instead of just listing the ingredients, the author details each step, which is really helpful for an amateur like me : ).

Well, here they are! A little taste of heaven from good ol’ Canada!

I am a dog person – without a doubt – so this week my blog is in response to Jenna’s blog post, on My Grey Obsession, about couch potatoes.  I know a good deal about couch potatoes.  Meet Benny:

Like Jenna’s dog, Benny was adopted. When I was 16 my parents finally gave in to the constant badgering about getting a new dog. We picked Benny up from the Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL), which is a great place to look for pets. They even have a quiz to help you find the perfect pet for you and your lifestyle. WARL found poor little Benny, a West Highland White Terrier, wandering around in West Virginia, all alone with no one to love him. That’s where my family came in! Now Benny is spoiled rotten and I can honestly say that the house revolves around him.

My sister, brother and I often joke that Benny is the favorite child, but a quick visit to my parent’s house would show that it isn’t really a joke. There are pictures everywhere, every room has at least one Westie-themed trinket, and at last count, there were 5 doggie beds.  Benny has always been a major couch potato and sleeps most of the day.  But recently we found out Benny was sick : (, so he has been even sleepier since getting treatment and recovering. Now he is feeling a little better and getting back to his old self, but the scare made us all realize how much we love him and how big of a role this little guy has is all of our lives.