25...

       It is now my first full day as a 25 year old, and as usual I feel no older than I did the day before.  However, I feel much more than a year older than I did at this point in time last year. Time is gradual, but it definitely takes its toll.  I think that my relative position to those I spend the majority of my time with, still being an undergrad at 25, is what helps me to recognize the substantial leaps in perception that I have made in the past few years. I am a thoroughly different person compared to a few years ago.  The core of my being hasn’t necessarily changed, although I feel that I have shifted a bit even in that, but these changes in my life have led me to ponder time and its relationship to me as well as its impact on how I live my life.  If I can gauge how time has interacted with me in my life, taking out all the extraneous variables, then maybe I can come to a more full understanding of how to live.

-Chase

Adventures in veggieland

So, Chase and I are giving partial vegetarianism a try (HIS idea, believe it or not!). We still eat eggs and fish, but we've given up red meat, poultry, etc. at home. (When we're eating out or at other people's homes, it's still okay.) We're trying it 1) to reduce our negative environmental impact, 2) health reasons, and 3) animal treatment (some places treat their animals well; others are a cruelty factory). After a rocky start, it's actually going really well. It's encouraged us to incorporate a lot more fruits, vegetables, and other healthy things into our diet. Instead of a rely-on-spaghetti backup, we're really expanding what we eat and getting a lot more good stuff into our diet. (FYI, pasta is pretty much the best thing ever, but eating it night after night really makes you feel pretty crappy - carb overload!)

Anyways, Saturday night we made provencal stuffed peppers and stir-fried veggies with couscous. De-lic-ious. The peppers were out of a vegetarian cookbook my boss lent me, and the veggie recipe is something I created the other night (see below).

Chop up some red pepper, onion, carrots, and zucchini.
Toss in a little bit of Worcestershire sauce.
Place in skillet with a little olive oil and start to cook.
Toss in a little bit of lemon juice, Tabasco, and a tablespoon or two of brown sugar (depending on how many veggies you have in there).
Once cooked to taste, mix in with some couscous and crumbled goat cheese.
Enjoy!

Cupcake recipe!

A few folks have asked me for my new pumpkin cupcake/chai frosting recipe, so I thought I'd post it for anyone who wants to give it a whirl! The cupcakes turned out very well….the frosting was a little too soupy, so I'd recommend reducing the liquid amounts a bit, but it still worked as I have it written currently; it's just more of a glaze than a thick frosting.

Cupcakes (makes 8):
Mix 1 cup flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix 8 oz. pumpkin (i.e. half of a small pumpkin pie can), 2 eggs, 1/4 cup oil.
Combine; bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.

Frosting:
Combine 4 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 stick of butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1/16 cup of milk, and 1/4 cup chai solution* in a large bowl.
*Chai - steep chai tea in a minimal amount of very hot water until the water is lukewarm for maximum flair.
Mix (handheld or stand mixer works better than doing it by hand).
After cupcakes have cooled a little, but are still warm, glaze on (those little rubbery brushes work well).

Enjoy!

Places and times

Last week, I was walking through the Beamer Center at Wheaton. I was suddenly struck with a very odd feeling/thought: "I have so much history here." Not just a flighty thought - a very heavy phrase in my mind. It was such a strange feeling. I spent four years of my life within half a mile of that spot. I passed through it nearly every day. I've never been so grounded in one place - usually, your home, work, school, friends, etc. are all in different places. Not at a residential college. Plus, I changed so much in those four years - I grew up. I matured - emotionally, socially, even physically (I looked a lot older at 22 than 18! even if still unnaturally young). I have so much history here. It was so odd to think of how many different mes passed through that spot - and that I was none of them. I almost felt like a stranger to myself. You know how your mind can grasp for some old familiar mode when you find yourself revisiting an old haunt or situation, like you can temporarily revert to the character you were? I couldn't even do that. I was a total foreigner in my own head.

This was probably a horrible explanation of what I was feeling, but if anyone has any similar experiences to share, thoughts to give, etc. on a sense of place, the idea of home, memory, etc., I always love a good discussion! : )

Shannon

P.S. On our way to visit Chris, Emma, and Will over in Nebraska tomorrow! So excited! : )

Homecoming!

Seriously, this blog will be easier to update more frequently when we have Internet in our apartment! : )

Wheaton College's homecoming was this last weekend - my first as an alumna (the only way I keep alumni/alumna/alumnae/etc. straight is my alumna mug from graduation I use almost daily). It was a lovely weekend, for so many reasons.

We could start with Friday afternoon - work field trip! I, my boss, and my coworker went to downtown Naperville, which included stops at the Paper Source, Adagio Teas, the Apple store (where flowers and candles were stacked against the windows; RIP Steve Jobs), and Sur La Table (all immensely dangerous places to enter, I might add). It was a beautiful, sunny October afternoon, and a wonderful impromptu outing that got us away from the computers for a couple hours. I can't believe how great this place is. ; )

Friday night, Chase and I celebrated our fourth dating anniversary. I know some probably think that's overkill, but it's a nice excuse for a date. : ) We went to Praga, a European restaurant in quiet downtown Lombard. They had little wrought-iron tables outside (just like the ristorantes in Rome), and we had a leisurely dinner including crab cakes (quite possibly the best I've ever had), fromage, and goat cheese-stuffed chicken. Yum! Oh, and bread pudding as a follow-up - definitely the best I've ever had. Afterwards, we took a walk down the Prairie Path and visited our park - where our relationship started and the scene of so many late-night walks and talks in our first year. Such great memories. : )

Then Homecoming weekend!

Saturday morning - breakfast at the wonderful Egglectic with the even more wonderful Autumn and Erin.

Saturday afternoon - football game, where we crush Elmhurst (Erin and I left at half-time; we didn't think they'd make up 32 points in the second half).

Saturday evening - dinner with Sally and Erin at Panera, followed by Erin coming to our apartment (our first house-guest!) and staying the night.

Sunday morning - Rez.

Sunday afternoon - downtown Naperville with Erin; Einstein Bros. Bagels, Adagio Teas, Sur La Table (this store is fantastic).

It was such a wonderful weekend, reconnecting with friends. : ) It's nice to live so close to these ladies!

Last night, Chase and I finished out the weekend with a celebratory dinner, recognizing being fully moved-in to our apartment (defined as having it good enough to have a guest without embarrassment and with places to sit; we still have a couple boxes to go!). Pasta 'alla amatriciana and brie & chive biscuits, with some episodes of Big Bang Theory thrown in for entertainment. Woo! : )

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Shannon

P.S. I guess this post contains two Naperville finds-of-the-week - honor where honor is due. Sur La Table and Praga, you're up!

Cupcake win

So, I didn't get around to those cupcakes Sunday night....but I did last night! And I think we have some winners.

My two fall-inspired creations:

~ Carrot (Cup)cakes with Chai Vanilla Frosting

~ Pumpkin Cupcakes, also with Chai Vanilla Frosting

In true Shannon form, I forgot to take pictures, after telling myself all night to remember to do that. (In my defense, my concentration may have been imposed upon by a broken pipe spewing water behind the fridge.)

I did both of these entirely from scratch, and came up with the recipes myself (with inspiration from a variety of cookbooks and recipes). I'm really happy that they turned out well - that my guesstimations of how baking powder and flour and baking soda and all that interact turned out to be pretty spot-on (THIS time - no promises for the future!). The frosting was also thought up and created by me - yep, chai frosting. I wish all my Wheaton ladies were around to try this!

More cupcake adventures to come - my quest to become a master baker has officially commenced!

Shannon

Chai, work, chai, school, chai, unpack, chai...

Hey, everyone! I can't believe two weeks have flown by since the last post. Life has been pretty crazy. We're still making our way out of our final few boxes, but it finally feels like a home now - pictures on the walls and everything. And we're enjoying getting go know our area a little more....in fact, for our Naperville-find-of-the-week....

Blueberry Hill (technically in Aurora, but close enough!). We had breakfast there yesterday, and it was pretty superb. In honor of this most marvelous season of fall, they're serving various pumpkin products, including pumpkin french toast. De-licious. I still have a breakfast loyalty to Egglectic in Wheaton, tied into many wonderful college memories....but I do look forward to visiting this place as well, and it's only a few minutes away from us. It was about a half-hour wait at 11 AM on a Saturday morning, but well worth it.

It's been mostly all about work, classes, and unpacking for us lately, as well as all the little details of a new home (like registering vehicles, getting new drivers' licenses, and so on). But we've had fun, too - like our Blueberry Hill outing, a night of bowling and wonderfully greasy food (you have to do it every now and then), and visiting Rockford's IrishFest two weekends ago to hear my cousin Ted's band play (I also won a basket full of Irish tea products in their raffle - woo!). Last night I babysat for Dr. Black's daughter, Anna, who is just adorable and so much fun. I hadn't seen her since she was just over a year old. And at the age of three and a half, she's already having theological discussions at the dinner table - could never tell that she has Wheaton profs for parents! ; ) It was a lot of fun.

And, of course, there's been lots of chai drinking, in honor of the season; I have some great loose-leaf rooibos vanilla chai from the local Adagio Teas.

Work has been great - really a blessing. This last week was my first full week, though I did 20-25 hours a week the two weeks prior to that as well. I'm really enjoying it - the work, the people, the shorter commute! ; ) And Chase and I get to drive together, which is also lovely. : )

Well, I'm off to celebrate a free Sunday afternoon - going to bake cupcakes and watch Love Actually, which was kindly lent me by my coworker. Adieu!

Shannon

P.S. Here's a clip of Ted (at the mic) and DFS at IrishFest. Not Irish music, but my half-Gaelic, half-Garlic cousin is definitely Irish and also is a member of St. Bridget's Parish, so it works. : )