have i ever told you that my maiden name is Baker? it fits, because baking is the only thing i can sort of do in the kitchen. i can’t cook anything more complicated than a sandwich or a burrito, but i can usually do a pretty good job in the baking department, especially cookies.

so, since i don’t know a single girl scout, and it’s girl scout cookie season, i decided i needed to make samoas. samoas have always been my favorite gs cook’ and i wondered if i made them, if they would taste as good as the real thing. (spoiler: they did.)

i followed this recipe. they were a lot of work. lots of steps, and lots of hours. i think it took me over 4 hours to make them. but the batch was huge and i will definitely make them again with the intention of sharing or halfing. don’t you love what i bake in? a schwinn teeshirt, my friend’s older sister’s ex husband’s basketball shorts*, and some fake uggs.

guys, they were flipping delicious. i gave my bell’ an ache twice due to eating 3 or 4 at once. i really need to master the art of the 3 bite rule. i have the 3 bite rule mastered if you are talking about gorilla bite standards. something tells me they take massive bites.

tip: i originally planned to drizz’ with a spoon because i didn’t want to waste a plastic bag, but i gave in and it was the fastest thing ever. they turned out so much prettier than the spoon drizzed ones.

sam was a total weirdo and put them on his pizza. jake and sam love to do crazy stuff to their food. jake has eaten a banana/hotsauce burrito before.

after our late night of karaoke, the whole crew (jake, sam, **amanda blair and myself) went to kitchenette for brunch around noonish and then headed up to piper’s house. pippy had just awoken from a nap, and was very groggy. we snuggle for a little while, and i dozed off.
(the entire set of photos at pip’s house were taken by amanda blair and her iphone)

we tried everything to make her smile. jake put this foldable castle on his head. nothing. not even a smirk.

i put the foldable castle on my head. no reaction.

then jake put her on his shoulders and she immediately beamed.

we took her on a walk and she smiled a bunch. then amanda blair helped me give pip a bath, and get her ready for bed. it is a long process with all her trach care and all. it was nice having a friend there to see what we do. also, it is always a rare and special treat to be at blythedale at night. it’s quiet and cozy and pip is extra snuggly.
however, we definitely paid for it when we spent almost an hour looking for a parking spot when we got back into the city. parking is nearly impossible any time after 4 pm.

Sunday morning we ran the Coogan’s 5k. It was a fun little race even though it was pouring rain the whole time. i think i’ve only run 3 races in the rain..a 10k, a half marathon and now a 5k. it makes it kind of fun and memorable. ps, someone was holding up a sign at the last mile saying “run faster, Charlie Sheen is winning!”. Haha. Then we had brunch with Joe and Jen and Abby and relaxed all day long.

I had a great and very long visit with my little pipsqueak girl today. I have a few photos of her acting a fool. Soon to come.

*isn’t it so funny that i have these shorts? i was thinking about where i got them and who they used to belong to and i started cracking up like a crazy jackle…whatever a jackle is. i lived with my best friend’s older sister for like a month about 8 years ago, and that’s how i got the beautiful shorts. thanks dustin pearce. i’m sorry i stole your shorts from the laundry basket. i also stole a handful of quarters to buy a bean burrito from taco bell once.

**amanda blair and i have grown up sleep overs. it is the most genius thing ever. she lives far away in a neighborhood called Murray Hill, so if we are hanging out late at all it is likely we’ll talk her into a sleep over. we pull out the hida and chat all night to a nice, hot cup of tea. it is so fun, guys.