last weekend, i baked a bunch of brownies, cookies, and cupcakes and sold them at the farmer's market with my fellow members of riverside democrats (our school's democrat club) to raise money for planned parenthood. we didn't expect to make much money, but we ended up raising over $250! after spending most of my time in high [...]
if i'm making something like cookie dough stuffed brownies or chocolate layer cake — desserts i've made once a week for the past few years — i can bake for hours without actually thinking about the baking itself. it's nice, because i can watch netflix, listen to music, or just let my mind wander while my muscle [...]
the world turned upside down last week at starbucks' introduction of the limited edition unicorn frappuccino. the drink is described as "a sweet dusting of pink powder blended into a crème frappuccino with mango syrup, and layered with a pleasantly sour blue powder topping." so basically blue kool-aid and mango juice blended into a vanilla [...]
i like some artificial fruit flavorings - banana laffy taffys, sour apple lollipops, and blue raspberry slushies are all delicious - but i have a strong aversion to anything made to taste like strawberry. that goes for strawberry milk, strawberry jelly beans, and store-bought strawberry ice cream. the quarts of neopolitan ice cream with chocolate, vanilla, [...]
i'm so excited for the olympics. do you remember the insane opening ceremony in london four years ago? it involved the queen of england jumping out of a helicopter with daniel craig (non-believers say it was a stunt double. it was definitely her). these spiced, iced gingerbread cookies would be just lovely with a steaming hot cup of tea. [...]
the cheesecake factory has a massive tome of a menu, filled with a huge number of appetizers, entrées, and desserts. "over 250 dishes," it reads, "made fresh every day." WHAT? HOW? OVER 250? WHAT DOES "FRESH" MEAN THEN? you can walk into any of the restaurant's 185 locations and order filet mignon, or an egg roll, or a mac n [...]
i don't mean to brag, but i think it's safe to say that i was the tooth fairy's favorite little kid. our relationship went waaaay past the conventional money-for-tooth exchange. she left notes under my pillow every night, regardless of whether i'd lost a tooth. sometimes the notes were even accompanied by small gifts: a thimble, [...]
soil profiles! wow, talk about something i don't give a fuck about! i'd rather pass an entire slim jim through my sinus cavity than have to learn about loam and bedrock again. APES was such a bullshit class. that might've had something to do with my teacher not believing in climate change, but who knows. so WHY [...]
everyone always laughs when i say i want to be a firefighter. i do, though! i know it's a super strenuous job (both physically and mentally), but i think it'd be incredibly rewarding. also it would be cool to live with all my firefighter friends and slide down poles and shout "mayday!mayday!" when there's an emergency. segue >>>>> today [...]
edinburgh castle sits swathed in a shroud of cold fog, perched atop a craggy bluff overlooking the scottish capital. while visiting the city in november, my parents and i trekked up edinburgh's cobbled streets to take a self-led tour of the castle. unfortunately, after five minutes of standing in the wind, my appendages were purple and [...]
LENA'S LUNCHBOX 