I'm 22. That's strange.

I started Sunday, my birthday, at church. I came home ate breakfast and then went to Target. I had some me time and thrifted a little bit. When I got home I spent time with Courtney, Ben, and Lola and ate fish tacos for dinner. Then Rachel and my nephews came over to sing Happy Birthday, Mom made cupcakes, and I played with my nephews. Then I got to talk with Mr. Scottie B. via skype (thanks to a new webcam from my parents :). It was an awesome day.

The start of a long distance relationship

Friday was Mr. Scottie B.'s last day in Chicago and then he headed home to California. Mom and I drove to base on Friday morning to watch him graduate. I'm not sure if I told him this, but I felt so proud. After we watched him graduate, we all went to Lake Forest to have brunch. Mom wasn't too embarrassing and it was fun. Then mom drove us to the airport. Mr. SB checked his bags and because he is military, they let me through security to see him off (this was very cool). So we spent the day at the airport just spending time together. 

Mr. Scottie B. and I drank wine at the airport bar and he gave me my birthday present. It is a gorgeous diamond owl necklace (first jewelery a boyfriend ever gave me). It is perfect, I'm in love with it. And after we had dinner at Macaroni Grill. About an hour before his plane was to board, I finally got upset. I cried a lot and probably looked like a crazy person. It was super tough to say goodbye. I had spent the whole week before feeling strong and positive, but when the time finally came for him to leave I feel like I finally broke.

So now I'm here in Madison and Mr. Scottie B. is back livin' in California. Originally the plan was I would visit at the end of December...but the tickets are so expensive. So, it looks like my first visit won't be till January (around Mr. SB's birthday). Two months and counting till I get to kiss that dude's face.

On a Sunday Afternoon

Happy Birthday to me

Last Weekend

This past weekend was Mr. Scottie B.'s last weekend before he leaves to go home. He'll get his information about flying home Friday morning and then his flight will either be Friday or Saturday.

I should probably post all about how awesome this weekend was. And how we spent time together talking, cuddling, walking around Chicago, and telling each other how much we love each other. I should probably tell you that we re-visited some of the places that we hold so special and dear to our hearts. But I'm tired. So here are photos from this weekend. I'm sorry this post is so lame, forgive me?

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

Today is National Vanilla Cupcake Day. The very first cupcake I ever baked from scratch was vanilla...and it was terrible. But it jump started my love of baking and so I decided to make some cupcakes today. I happened upon this recipe on the blog Simple Girls.

I did have to run to the store for butter and applesauce. I, of course, grabbed cinnamon applesauce (instead of regular that the recipe calls for). So I halved the amount of cinnamon I put in.

The cupcakes themselves were delicious. They were (I hate to say it) moist. The cream cheese frosting complimented the spice of the cupcakes perfectly. Make these cupcakes!!!

I chopped up some apples, mixed them with cinnamon-sugar, and used them topped some of the cupcakes. Now that the cupcakes are done, I'm gonna start gettin' ready for my weekend with Mr. Scottie B. I've got to switch over my laundry, paint my nails, and pack. Happy Baking!

Applesauce-Spice Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1/2 cup canola oil

4 large eggs, room temperature

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups white, whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

2. With an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar and oil.

3. Add dry ingredients and continue mixing.

4. Mix in applesauce.

5. Divide batter among 18 - 20 lined cups.

6. Bake for 16 - 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Cool completely and then frost.

Brown-Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat ingredients until smooth. Use immediately, or refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth.

I came home and it was 60 degrees in the house. Holy cow, it was freeezing. We got our first snow here in Madison today. I assume it will melt within a few days, if not by tomorrow. This year I'm not quite sure if I'm looking forward to the snow or not. But I don't have choice since I live in the midwest.

Also, I'm going to cut my hair. I can't remember what prompted me to decide to donate my hair, but I've been planning to for awhile. I did some research on Locks of Love and the minimum you can donate is 10 inches. I have that plus some. I've been holding off on cutting my hair for mostly selfish reasons. As much work as my hair is now, when I take the time to do it I love it. But if I'm honest with myself I really only do it on the weekends when I see Mr. SB. Speaking of Mr. Scottie B., he also loves long hair.

What finally pushed me to say I'm doing it is when I was on Locks of Love's website and saw this "It is estimated that 80% of all donations come from children who wish to help other children". Woah, for whatever reason that just blew me away. Mr. SB asked me to wait till after he leaves, which I'm good with. So the week after he leaves I'm cutting it!

This isn't a great photo, but this is how long it is now. And since it's been on my mind, I found old pictures of me with short hair. I'm looking forward to the change. Ignore how silly these pictures are, just look at how cute my short hair is (haha).

This past weekend was super awesome. Mr. Scottie B. and I finally did pretty much all the Milwaukee things we always talked about. It's good we finally did because Mr. SB moves back to California in a week and a half! Crazy!

First we went to Milwaukee Art Museum. We got there in time to see the incredible building, walk around, and take part of a drop in tour. We ducked out early because we had booked a tour at the Lakefront Brewery.

So we headed to Lakefront Brewery. It was AWESOME. You get four free glasses of beer, the tour, and a pint glass (all for $7). I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good time...and a good beer.

Our final destination in Milwaukee (after some pizza) was the spy restaurant. We heard about it from a few people and knew you had to have a passcode to get in. I don't want to give out too much info, but I will tell you...sooo great. Look it up, get in, and have fun :)

Sunday was a little more low key. Church, BWW to watch football, get together with Mr. SB's class, and laid back evening watching Pan Am. It was hard to say goodbye Monday morning but I made it to work close to on time.

I didn't take a whole lot of photos and some didn't turn out super great, but here's what I got.

As for today, it was a gloomy here in Madison and I was actually kind of liking it. You'd think it'd make for a sad mood, but I was strangely optimistic. Like I said, Mr. SB leaves in a week and a half, but today I felt good about it. I had lots of positive thoughts about the new chapter starting for both of us (individually and together).


After Mr. Scottie B. leaves I'm planning on filling my weekends with a part time job. I think it'll give me the opportunity to save more money and maybe make a few more friends. I've got a list together of places I'm going to apply and I'm updating my resume. I'm telling you, I had a good day.

I'm gonna go make an egg sandwich for dinner and watch The Biggest Loser :) exciting stuff, I know! Hope everyone is having a good week.