Blueberry cream cheese rolls

Tried out a new recipe tonight, from here. All I needed was Pillsbury Crescent rolls, cream cheese, and blueberries. 

I unrolled the Crescent rolls and spread them out on a baking sheet, adding a small spoonful of cream cheese to the center.

I placed a few blueberries on each mound of cream cheese (in an unnecessary, obsessive-compulsive pattern).

I rolled up the Crescent rolls and pinched shut the seams.

I baked them at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 9 minutes (until they were golden brown).

They weren't as sweet as I was expecting (the rolls were somewhat salty and the blueberries didn't do much to counteract that), but they would be perfect for a breakfast when I wouldn't be able to handle anything very sweet.

What a Tuesday!

Today was indescribably surreal! After my usual day of classes, I met up with my parents who had come up to Boulder for the evening. My Mama and I researched grad schools for me (I'm looking at pediatric NP/DNP options right now). I could barely concentrate though, because I knew I had such an exciting night ahead of me!

I hopped in a super long line to attend President Obama's speech here on campus, such a huge event! Thousands and thousands of students, faculty, staff, and community members were present and the police and the Secret Service were everywhere so campus was absolute madness. We waited in line for a few hours to enter the building (we had to go through airport-like security, but they didn't even check our tickets!), and then waited for a few hours inside. 

We were in the first part of the line to get into the building, and they had the nerve to seat us right behind the stage and the podium, where we only would have had a view of the back of the President's head or no view at all. We couldn't call ourselves college students however unless we stood up for what we believe in, so we revolted and ran through the stadium to better seats :)

I guess no one can tell the President exactly what to do, since he was an hour and a half late for his 30-minute speech. That was really frustrating (the event center was boiling hot with thousands of people inside and the doors shut tight for security), but it was well worth it to see him speak. He is such a talented orator! The entire crowd was engaged and cheering the whole time. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Immediately after I had an opposing but equally inspiring experience at the Michael Franti concert on campus. I cannot stress enough how incredible of a performer he was (so much better in person than on his recordings!), and I urge you to take any chance you get to see him live. He came alone (without his usual Spearhead band), and the event was an intimate evening of discussion and acoustic guitar performances. It was such a relaxing, uplifting experience that I won't ever forget. Unfortunately, the staff was very strict about preventing photography (I wasn't even allowed to bring my camera inside) so all I could get was this terrible phone picture, sorry!

Phew! Time to sleep!

Polka dot mani

I love all of the polka dot manis that I have been seeing lately! Thought I'd try one of my own. Inspiration came from cute creations like these:

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As much as I love these looks, I needed a more toned-down version so I just polka dot-ed my ring finger. 

 With a pure white base, a few pinks, and my homemade dotting tool (see instructions here!) I dotted away!

Weekend recap

Had such a long, sleep-deprived weekend but it was oh so worth it!

Friday afternoon started with a few calm hours of babysitting (biked down to the park with the kids) and volunteering at the hospital (slow day, so much chai drinking and reading!).

That night though, things got busy. I spent a few hours at the YMCA preparing for the next day's 9News Health Fair (many nonprofit health fairs are held across Colorado annually to provide healthcare to anyone, especially the impoverished). Boulder Valley's Health Fair is run by CU students and this year I was a coordinator-in-training (next year I'll be a coordinator!). 

I slept for about 4 hours that night, and then was back at the YMCA by 5 am to get ready for the fair. It was a fantastic event (with a few minor hiccups) that served over 400 people! By the time the fair was over at noon though, I was exhausted and ready to sleep. Didn't get the chance yet, because a few other committee members and I had to return 300 chairs and 50 tables to the church and rec center we borrowed them from. 

Made it home in time for a quick shower and 30-minute nap before date night. We went to Larkburger (YUM!) where I had a portobello burger and truffle-parmesan fries (an excessive amount of them) and he had a burger.

We saw a performance of Heaven on campus (he is in a theater class and had to attend and write a paper about it) which I enjoyed, but was too tired to really appreciate.

No rest for the weary however, went to bed early and woke up early to wait in line for tickets to see President Obama speak on campus on Tuesday!!! My roommate and I sat in line for three hours and were some of the first few to get tickets. Unfortunately, students hours later were just walking up and getting tickets so I guess I didn't have to wait in line, but oh well it was an experience.

 

Happy ticket-holders!

The golden ticket!

Had a yummy lunch and shopping extravaganza afterward, then spent the afternoon laying in the sun alternating between napping and chatting with friends. Finally an outdoor yoga class to re-align me for the week, and the weekend was over! As fun as it all was, I'm hoping the week is a little calmer :)

In the back of the tea shop

Found a new favorite place to study, or just pass the afternoon.

There is an open-air mall just a quick bus ride, bike, or walk away from campus with great shopping and restaurants. One of the latest editions is a little tea shop, the first two-thirds of which is full of every flavor tea and tea-related accessory imaginable, and the back third of it is a quiet little sanctuary.

Here is the row of low tables, the far right in the corner is the one I chose to study at.

This is the lovely fountain that, along with quiet classic Oriental music, perfectly accompanied my reading.

I sipped a yummy milk tea with bobas, and read The Frogs by Aristophanes (a comedy for a change in my Greek and Roman Tragedy class). I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially anyone with  prior knowledge of ancient Greek literature. It is very funny, it is especially interesting to see just how much of the humor we still appreciate today.

What a fantastic afternoon :)

White bean artichoke salad

I was inspired by this

delicious looking sandwich from Martha Stewart (recipe here) to try the combo of white beans and marinated artichokes. However, I wasn't quite feeling the sandwich thing, I decided to turn it into a salad. 

So here's my salad! 

Ingredients:

Great Northern beans

Marinated artichokes

Spinach

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

I rinsed the beans, chopped the artichokes a little smaller, washed and tore up the spinach, and topped it all with garlic, salt, and pepper.

Between the white beans and marinated artichokes, the flavor combination is perfect. It's a great light salad for this warmer weather, and it didn't even need a dressing (the marinade from the artichokes seems to be enough). So good, and it's for lunch tomorrow again! That's why it's in Tupperware :)

Bright tips

A bright mani for spring! I've seen brights and neutrals paired in everything from shoes to decor, especially nails!

The look was time-consuming to achieve, but I was in need of a bit of me time :)

I used a basecoat, then added two coats of my beige/tan color (which ended up much darker than I had expected/hoped), using my thumb nails to wipe off the tips (I tried taping off my tips, but it just got too complicated). When that was done, I simply added two coats of the colors to the tips and finished with a topcoat.