Some things never change

This has been a whirlwind week!  A week ago today, my sister arrived in St. Louis to help me pack up my stuff and move home to DC for the summer.  5 days ago we started our cross-country road trip, and 4 days ago I slept in my own bed.  With one day of downtime, we then hosted the first (annual?) reunion of Cabell 104 + Sarah (aka Snuggles).

I have been so blessed to have these four girls (Jessica, Cathy, Steph, and Margaret Ann) for the past five years.  They have been a constant source of love, encouragement, advice, accountability, and community.  After spending four years at W&M together, we went our separate ways last fall.  Cathy moved to Philly to be a TFA teacher, Margaret Ann moved to Nashville to study Education at Vandy, Jess moved to Lexington to study International Relations at UK, Steph moved home to the DC area to pursue a career in government, and I moved out to St. Louis.  So this is the first time that I have seen any of these ladies in person (except Jessica, of course) in a year.  That's a very long time.

Things that Never Change:
Jessica's Facial Expressions.

Seeing them all again got me thinking about time and life, and this is probably about to make no sense and be very introspective.  But just a few things I've been thinking about...

Things that Never Change:
Snuggling.

It doesn't feel like it's been a year since I've graduated from W&M and seen these dear friends of mine.  It feels like we were all there completing the triathlon just yesterday.  But at the same time, it feels like I've made deep connections in St. Louis, and that part of my life feels very "normal" - like I've been there for awhile.  It is not uncommon for me to say that college feels like it was in another life.  It's kind of confusing experiencing time in both of these ways at the same time.  In a similar train of thought, do you ever feel like you live multiple different lives?  I'm not talking about the phenomenon where someone is a completely different person depending on the social situation, and does not have an integrated sense of self.  I feel like I am pretty much the same (with of course some minor adjustments depending on how comfortable I am) in each of my environments/"homes" (Ashburn, Williamsburg, St. Louis).  But each of these lives sometimes feels so disconnected from the others, so it's weird when they intersect.  For example, while I loved having Jessica come visit me in St. Louis, it was kind of an out of body experience, seeing her in an environment that I do not usually associate with her.  Does that make sense?  It was like worlds colliding.  This weekend was similar for me.  In the course of a week, I've transitioned in and out of 3 "homes:" St. Louis --> Ashburn --> Williamsburg (represented by the Cabell 104 girls) --> Ashburn.  And while this didn't necessarily feel unusual, it did dawn on me that I should be aware of when I make these transitions between "homes."  Anyways, just what I've been thinking about of late...

Lunch with Meghan Moore!

Back to this weekend.  It was so good to just sit and talk with these ladies for hours on end.  We could catch up on our lives, but also just experience each other in a way that you can't do over Skype.  I loved that we all could just pick up where we left off.  We still relate to each other in the same ways, and even though we are all grown up now living separate lives in separate states, we still have a strong connection grounded in love.

Some things never change.

So I've been on this baking kick...

Over the past few months, I've been compiling a list of recipes that I need to try.  I actually really enjoy baking, but the problem comes when I have a ton of food and no one to help me eat it.  Baking is a yummy hobby, but definitely not good for the waistline...

Anyways, here are a few things that I've tried recently:

1.  Pink Lemonade Cake

This is a Pillsbury cake mix that is out for the summer (usually available at Walmart, or some Targets).  I was a little skeptical, but ended up being very pleased with the results!  You can buy matching frosting (ew.), but I used Lemon Poke Cake frosting instead (lemon pudding mix, 1 cup of milk, and cool whip...mmmm!), which was a MUCH better decision.  Overall, I thought the taste of the cake was good - it's very light and not too lemony.  I'm pretty sure the oven in my apartment was acting up though, since the cake rose more on one side than the other....weird.

2.  Key Lime Cookies

Also a summer Pillsbury mix.  I sadly did not take a picture of them, but if you can get past the bright green color of these cookies, they are actually quite delicious!  Very limey, and they have crunchies on the inside!  I'm always partial to cookies with crunchies, since they remind me of the lemon crisp cookies I make at Christmas.

3.  French Toast Casserole

My sister and I have long been on a hunt for this recipe.  I ended up using this one:  http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/puffy-french-toast-casserole-90607.aspx.  My best friend's mom always made french toast casserole when we had sleepovers, and I have wanted to learn how to make it ever since!  The recipe I used wasn't quite as good as hers, so I'm still on the look out for the right one, but this was definitely a good start!

4.  Milky Way Salted Caramel Cookies

I just made these this past weekend with my dear friends from college (see next post about our reunion!).  You can find the recipe here:  http://www.instructables.com/id/Milky-Way-Salted-Caramel-Cookies/.  A few things about this recipe: (a) it takes longer to cook than you think - it's easy to take them out when the bottom isn't done cooking (b) the batter is DELICIOUS (c) eat when completely cooled.  It's a little too goupy if you eat them fresh out of the oven.  Plus, you don't really get to taste the sea salt until it's cooled.

I could have done with just using a caramel in the middle instead of a milky way...the chocolate of the milky way kinda got in the way.  But still, these were definitely a yummy choice!