salted chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches

there is no better smell to fill your home than freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. 

last night, i baked some large chocolate chip cookies to bring to jill's bbq tonight. i also bought vanilla ice cream to sandwich between the cookies. i've been craving ice cream sandwiches like crazy lately. 

but these are not just any chocolate chip cookies. right before baking, i gave them a generous sprinkle of pink himalayan sea salt. i followed a recipe, but as usual, subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the white flour. unfortunately, this altered the consistency of the dough + it was a bit dry. but not to worry, drew's mom (a chef!), helped me by suggesting we add a second egg + about a 1/4 cup of milk. crisis averted. 

after impatiently waiting for the cookies to cool, i made a test sandwich for quality control purposes. these are incredible! the salty, sweet, chewy, gooey, creamy. everything just goes together perfectly. i can't wait to eat another one at the bbq tonight.

 

salted chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches adapted from real simple 

2 sticks unsalted butter 

1 cup turbinado sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 eggs 

2 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips 

1/4 cup almond milk 

pink himalayan sea salt (for sprinkling) 

1 qt vanilla ice cream

preheat oven to 375 degrees f. mix butter, sugars, milk and vanilla until smooth. add eggs + mix. in a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and the baking soda. slowly add the dry mixture into the wet + combine. gently fold chocolate chips into the batter. flatten balls of cookie dough into discs about two inches in diameter + place on a lined baking sheet. sprinkle with pink himalayan sea salt + bake for 11-12 minutes. let cool (torturous) and place a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream in between two cookies. enjoy.

handkerchiefs

yesterday's walk home from work was perfect. what had started out as a drizzly + chilly morning turned into a warm + sunny late afternoon. i tucked my raincoat into my bag, rolled up my pant legs + walked with a big smile across my face. every day, i've been in the habit of listening to the beirut station on pandora. all of the songs make me feel like i'm walking to some incredible destination. like i'm on an exciting adventure. when really, i'm walking somewhere quite boring like my apartment. or in yesterday's case, the local hardware store.

i picked up some supplies for a little project that i had in mind. i also stopped by the farm stand near my apartment to purchase some veggies for dinner. it's sad that i forget that this place exists until i literally walk right by it. every time i do go in and see the beautiful produce, i kick myself for not visiting more often. 

but, back to my project. remember these lovely handkerchiefs? i had a vision of what i wanted to do with them since my grandmother gave them to me, and i finally got around to it last night. as always, it sounded like an easy idea in my head, but i struggled a little with the execution of it. after a few frustrating attempts to measure the string (difficult with a playful cat around) + accidentally hammering my thumb instead of the nail, i got this:

it's hanging over our kitchen table. i'm not sure my two male roommates dig the girly floral patterns as much as i do, but it certainly brightens up the room a bit.

in just a few minutes, drew's mom will be here! visitors are fun because we get to act like tourists all over again, rediscovering things we love + discovering new things to love.

highs and lows

since returning to portland, i've experienced some highs and lows. mostly highs. but, let's get the lows out of the way first:

• apparently, i have terrible allergies here at this particular time of the year. i have my very own pharmacy in my room right now complete with an inhaler.

• apparently, the month of july does not actually mean summer here. it's still cloudy, chilly + pouring rain.
• apparently, i get really grumpy when i can't go to the gym. i miss having the space to go and burn off energy + relish in my "lauren time". i'm definitely caving and buying the monthly pass in august.

now for the highs:

• not having a gym membership has forced me to appreciate other kinds of movement. mainly, yoga + walking. with my two legs being my main mode of transportation this summer, i had to invest in a new pair of shoes. i'm not talking about the frye boots i've been coveting, or these beautiful pale blue jack rogers from anthropologie. i had to put fashion aside when buying these and focus on functionality. i hate to admit it, but i actually love them. they are so comfortable! drew bought a new pair too, so we've been cruising around together in our ugly matching shoes.

• i scheduled my work weeks to end on thursdays, so i have fridays off!
• i discovered that my old high school friend, mary, is living in oregon too. we met on thursday for drinks + it was wonderful to catch up with her. she also has a lovely blog.
• since it was my first official weekend back, i completely blacked out the fact that i need to watch my spending + let myself fully enjoy it (tacos at porque no?, macarons at pix patisserie, live music at the doug fir, shopping, and a girls' night bar crawl). 
• i'm back in my own kitchen where i know where all of the utensils + ingredients are. there's no better way to end a week than with a delicious, comforting home-cooked meal. 

spaghetti with scallops, blistered tomatoes + saffron "cream" sauce 

cook up pasta of your choice (whole wheat spaghetti for me) + set aside. for the tomatoes: toss cherry tomatoes with a little saffron, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper + rosemary. roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. for the scallops: sear scallops in a little olive oil in a pan on high heat. after about 3 or 4 minutes (or when you see the scallop is a caramel color), flip + let sear on other side. plate spaghetti, add the tomatoes + a bit of soft goat cheese to create a creamy sauce + top with the scallops and some fresh basil.

true love means...

never having to share a box of macaroni + cheese for dinner. true love means not judging your partner for wanting to eat an entire box all by himself (of herself for that matter).

his + hers.

a summer love letter

dear, portland -

i love you in the summertime.

i love you for warm, sunny days with no humidity. days where we can hang out on our lawn with our neighbors.

i love you for the beautiful berries you produce, which jill picked, and made into a smitten kitchen cake for us to devour (i love jill for this as well).

i love you for the delicious reisling that i sipped while eating said cake.

i love you for being such a walkable city. i'm not eligible for a student bus pass or a gym membership this summer because i'm not enrolled in any classes, so i'm walking the 2.5 miles (free + exercise) to work every day. it doesn't hurt that this is my view.

i love you for outdoor dinners made on our tiny little grill. dinners like homemade black bean burgers.

served on a bed of cabbage with salsa verde + guacamole.

love, lauren

ps - penny loves you too. she especially loves you for making us open the windows, letting her see the great big world outside.

home again, home again

it's hard to believe that almost a month at home has gone by already. 

are you seriously putting me on a plane again?

it was a wonderful vacation filled with friends, family, reading on the deck, lounging at the beach, sushi dates and numerous shopping excursions. sadly enough, it actually felt like a luxury trip compared to my normal life. i had a car, a washer + dryer (no more hoarding quarters!) and television. 

but, there is a handsome man, a job, and a beautiful city experiencing prime weather right now waiting for me. plus, this blog is titled 'lnk in pdx', so i should probably get back to pdx, right? i'm really excited to get to work on my summer goals. we also have a few visitors in the upcoming months that i can't wait to see.

the hardest part of leaving home is saying goodbye to these people:

 

i'm just a little bit obsessed with my family + how much fun we have together. because my dad sheltered me was overprotective, the first time i ever spent any significant time away from home (read: more than a weekend) was the summer before my freshman year of high school. then, i went to college at uconn. then, i moved across the country + locked myself into three years there. one of these things is not like the rest. perhaps this is why i struggle so much with bouts of homesickness. or maybe i'm just a big baby who needs her mommy + daddy. regardless, i love them more than words can say.

see you on the west coast!

four things friday

i thought five things friday was going to have to be canceled earlier today, when i woke up at the crack of dawn feeling feverish and nauseous. it's unfortunate that i felt so awful on my last full day home, but i'm grateful it happened today and not tomorrow (flying with a stomach bug = no bueno).

here are five four (hey, i'm sick) things that are cheering me up right now...

toile. it's my absolute favorite fabric, and one day, i hope to fill my home with toile everything. toile wallpaper, toile linens, toile chairs, toile couches! drew's stepmom, donna, brought me one step closer to achieving my toile dreams by giving me this shower curtain.

treasures from my grandmother's store. i'd say the style i'm attracted to most is somewhere in between bold southwestern patterns + dainty vintage florals. does my grammie know me well or what? i have plans for a fun project with the handkerchiefs when i get back to portland.

moving right along with the vintage floral theme, check out this adorable shirt i got from urban outfitters yesterday on sale. allie thought it was an extremely weird shirt, and that only i would think it was perfect. i love it!

manicures. i used to scoff at the idea of wasting money on a manicure when i could just give one to myself. so i gave one to myself, and turns out, it looks like a toddler did it for me. my sister and i have been going once a week to get manicures, and i've become slightly addicted to trying a different color each week. i also find the whole experience relaxing. this week's color of choice: absolutely shore. "a soft sea foam green".