Pumpkin Pie Bars (and Hello from Yellowstone!)

I consider myself a fairly open-minded kind of gal.

Okay, sure–there are a few things that I tend to stereotype about. Whenever somebody says that word “Texas,” I immediately imagine a plump southern lady carrying a homemade batch of hush puppies and telling “y’all” to try a bite.

Anyone who seriously uses Twitter to update more than once a day is uncool. Anyone who still has an active Neopets account, on the other hand, is quite awesome.

And people from Idaho?

Tater farmers.

All 1,584,985 of them.

Okay, maybe 1,584,984 of them. I’m sure there’s got to be at least … Read more

Gooey Cookie Butter Funfetti Mash-Up Bars

I love sprinkles. Sometimes I love sprinkles so darn much, I think it might be an addiction. You know, like something might be wrong with me that can be actually diagnosed by one of those white-coated people carrying around apples and their (too-)high-minded(-for-Ala) intelligence who look at you through their sleek prescription lenses. One of my med student friends told me that half or more in the profession wear fake glasses because it makes you look like you know what you’re doing even when you don’t–and apparently, the “don’t” part is a pretty frequent thing, especially for new residents. My … Read more

White Chocolate Cranberry Coconut Granola Bars and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Cookies

To me, hiking was always something that people did when they didn’t feel like doing real sports. You know, sort of like ping pong, or chess. Not to say that any of these are illegitimate pastimes, but something about the idea of meandering up a hill at a glacial pace over a stretch of several hours seemed, well, anti-climactic.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I went “real hiking” for the first time this summer back home with a friend. By the end of the first quarter mile up what I had previously dubbed a “little hill,” my legs were screaming … Read more