Bad dog?

Cooper is such a sweet dog -- and so handsome! However.. he has a few behavioral problems. He's a rescue dog, and they told me that he used to have these problems, but for the most part he's doing a lot better.

Well, maybe not. He still is slightly aggressive towards other dogs he doesn't know (so most of them), but he doesn't initiate the barking now like he used to. He's friendlier in general towards strangers.. until they try to pet them. Then he gets really excited, and thinks they are playing with him. His playing is play-biting.. great. Obviously this is not good -- and can startle people who don't know him.

What to do? Well I've been doing some research, and I need to 1. Prevent, 2. Divert Attention, 3. Punish if necessary. Positive reinforcement is key.. and punishment as a last resort. It's going to be a lot of work, but critical. And if that doesn't work -- shelling out a lot of money for professional dog training for a 4-week extensive bootcamp. Here's hoping something works.

Any thoughts?

Vintage Style I love:

{the snail and the cyclops}

What I'm reading now

I was wandering the local used bookstore.. and came across this one. So far, I love it.

Blueberries!

I love fresh blueberries! Ever since I was a kid, my mom used to make blueberry muffins with fresh blueberries.. and I've been hooked ever since. I found this recipe from The Kitchn, and modified it slightly.

Blueberry Oat Bread

Materials:
2 large handfuls of fresh blueberries, washed and dried
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats -- this is the only kind you can use for the texture
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup 2% milk (they used buttermilk, but this is one ingredient I forgot.. but it worked this way too)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Grease one loaf pan.

Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of flour -- this will keep the berries from sinking in the batter.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. In separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir gently until you see no more dry flour. Fold the blueberries into the batter.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for about 60 minutes, rotating the pan partway through. The loaf is done when the top is puffed and dry, and when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding. Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

This recipe is super easy, and tastes delicious! It's even better in the morning with some peanut butter on it!

Chicken Tacos!

There's something about tacos that are always delicious -- chicken, steak, or eggs.. always good. And simple. At Trader Joe's yesterday I racked up with a ton of groceries, including a pack of pre-chipotle marinated chicken and corn. In ATL, I had the delicious chicken tacos with roasted corn and lime mayo. In the attempt at recreating this treat (with grilled chicken instead of fried), here's how it went:

Materials:
Raw Chicken strips -- marinated or not
Sweet corn on the cob (fresh from the farmers market!)
Spoonful of light mayo
Handful of mexican blend cheese (cojito is delicious, but expensive, so this will do)
Salsa (mild for wimps)
Tortillas


Method:
In between 2 plates (oven safe), put the tortillas in the oven at the lowest temp (usually 200 degrees F). This'll keep them soft and warm.

If the corn husks are still attached to the corn, begin grilling it with a grill pan (or the George Foreman works just as good). Mine were already removed, so I wrapped it in foil. Grill it until the kernels are bright yellow and the husks are brown.

On medium heat, begin grilling the chicken. I added some mexican spices to keep it tasty. Once the chicken is done, remove it from heat.

When the corn is fully cooked, take a knife and cut off the kernels. Add the dollop of mayo (if you have a lime, add some juice to it), and the cheese. Mix well.

Combine the chicken strips, corn mixture, and salsa to the tortillas, and voila! Off the chain.

Popcorn without microwaving?

After being friends with S$ for many, many years.. her personal policy of not using the microwave (she's a hippie in this way) has started to rub off on me. I love popcorn, and peanut butter even more. This recipe looks delicious, and I can't wait to try it. Plus, buying popcorn kernals by bulk is a great way to save a little bit of money! {Found on The Kitchn}

Materials:
1/4 cup popcorn kernels
Vegetable oil
Fine salt
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (should be free of added sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

Prepare a clean paper shopping bag or oversized mixing bowl. Heat a large heavy pan over medium heat and film the bottom with vegetable oil. Add the popcorn, shake to distribute, then put a lid on the pan. Leave a small crack for steam to escape. When the popcorn starts popping, shake vigorously to make sure the kernels pop evenly. When the popping slows, take the pan off the heat.

Pour the popcorn into the paper bag or bowl to cool, being careful to leave any unpopped kernels in the pan. Coated with peanut butter caramel, the unpopped kernels are a serious tooth hazard. Lightly salt the popcorn to taste.

Mix the honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for a couple minutes, then remove from the heat and add the peanut butter. Stir vigorously until all the peanut butter is melted, then mix in the vanilla.

Immediately pour the peanut butter caramel over the popcorn and stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until it's all coated. Once it's mixed you can put it in a serving bowl. Cover tightly after it's cooled.

Gourmet? Try again.

Chef Boyardee and wine. Taking it back to middle school. You can't cook every night -- and lately, I've either been too tired or have had nothing in the fridge to fix for dinner... and CB is just as good as any. They've also hid their veggies in the can, so you're getting your daily dose without knowing it... A company after my own heart.

Tomorrow is the farmer's market. If I get up early enough I hope to make it before the PBP brunch. I love seeing all the new things the local farmers are growing!

Real talk.

I'm not a particularly high fashion kind of girl, although I do have an appreciation for such things and rock my own style. With that said, some things are just not flattering, and quite simply are hideous. Light wash denim capris? Was this ever a good look..? I'm sure we all owned a pair (guilty) in the 4th grade from 5-7-9, however, this was her career wear.



And one thing I've noticed lately with the women nurses is the need to match everything. I love bold statements in clothing, but a bright pink scrub pant with a hot blue tshirt with matching pink polka dots inside the DUKE letters (not shown)..with matching pink laces on her tennis shoes and headphones.. With a pink ipod case no less. A bit extreme and juvenile.



One of my biggest pet peeves is someone who does not dress for their body type or age in a flattering way. Not everyone can pull of skinny jeans, and that's ok. The trends that were big in middle school probably aren't appropriate in the real world. Am I right?

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Welcome to My Neuroses.

As some of you may know, I'm in the process of applying to medical school. It's a year long debacle, and is beginning to stress me out to put it lightly.

Here's an update as far as my apps go:
Interview to Case Western in Sept.
Interview Invite to UNC, but no word yet as to when it will be.

..and according to my spreadsheet(s), stalking the application forums, and obsessively checking my statuses at least 3 times a day (joking? I wish.) here's what I've gathered:

The schools that I've applied to that have not opened "interview season":
Columbia
Emory
Medical College of Georgia (for regular applicants, a la me)
Meharry
Mount Sinai
New York Medical College
NYU
Rush
Tufts
University of Alabama
University of Vermont
University of Wisconsin

The schools that have opened interview season, but according to when everyone on the forums applications were complete, I shouldn't expect an interview/on hold notice just yet:
Albert Einstein
Eastern Virginia
Georgetown
Medical College of Wisconsin
Penn State
SUNY Downstate
Temple
Tulane
UVA
Wake Forest

And the schools that other people who have completed their app after me have received an interview invite:
Dartmouth
Duke
ECU
GW -- currently on hold for re-review for them
Ohio State
VCU

and yes, my spreadsheet is color-coded. enjoy this little tidbit into the anxiety that is becoming my year.

Vintage Latest

I can't help it, but I'm in love with all that Etsy has to offer with vintage finds. Here's the latest:

I love this cotton shirt-dress -- perfect for bike rides and work.


I was in desperate need of a extra-large cocktail ring, and I found the perfect one on etsy. Recently, I've learned a lot about "beach glass" which occurs when people throw glass away in the ocean, then the sand and waves smooth it down into something gorgeous and what some consider a collector's item. At the latest summer wedding I attended, LC made name tags out of the beach glass, and it was really cute. This ring is made out of beach glass, and I adore it.