There's No Place Like Barter

I spent my summer in Abingdon, Virginia working at the Barter Theatre as a summer player. I discovered that having no time in your day gives you a lot of time to do things except on the internet, which is why I was behind on everything until I moved. I had two-three shows each day along with rehearsals, gym time, and private improv coaching, but I was able to go out into town and even out of state to do things. Abingdon is a cute town with an abundance of small shops and 19th century history. The best way to sum up my non-theatre related experience in the south is through pictures!

Small businesses from the tri-state area congregate in Abingdon for Plumb Alley Day.

Pop Ellis offered an Oz Sunday in honor of Barter's production and the 75th anniversary.

Here are some shots from the Oz opening party!

Natalie and I. Swingin.

The gazebo at The Martha Washington: the fanciest/most historical place in town.

Look at this creek.

Some stores are closed Sundays for church. Others are closed monday because the theatre is closed.

Virginia is for lovers.

My friend Michael biked across the country to support cancer research. Abingdon was on his 4K4Cancer route! Hi, Michael. 

Baby Cakes sold ruby red slipper cupcakes. Their flavor options change day by day! 

Bartering for tickets is a tradition here!

Look at these Virginia Creepers.

One of the first friends while hiking the Appalachian Trail 

Virginia Creepers

The only kind of food I cooked all summer

We spent 4th of July at the Lands' house on the lake!

I ate a Clif Bar on this cliff. 

My first southern broil!

I had to 

Zacchaeus, Barrett, and I went to Greenville, South Carolina to see Sam's dress rehearsal and we got gelato and bagels.

Go here everything is great and they're open late!

Some shots from the Virginia Highlands Festival!

Home.

Check out Sullivan's Doll Furniture. They make triple decker bunkbeds for American Girl Doll sleepovers.

I thought olive oil was just olive oil but then I learned.

This was my room this summer. It was the first time I was living somewhere I couldn't have all of my decorations and things, but I managed. 

In the whirlwind of the summer rep I also experienced new things like pimento cheese, which seems to be a huge thing in the south, cheer wine, the magic of southern fireflies, weekly toasts of Jameson, and running to the fear. This was the best summer of my life, and I love and miss my new family at Barter every day. I'll be back soon! 

Freshman Year of Real Life: Semester Two

It's a new year so I'm making new recipes. My parents sent me to Auburn with two jars or Prego and pasta. I was missing home one night and decided it was time to make some chili and pretend it was my dad's. I don't know how my dad does what he does with chili but he's won three trophies for it in blind taste tests so everyone in my neighborhood is a fan. After borrowing some chili powder from my friend Tommy I made this chili and a mess using: Prego, kidney beans, pinto beans, ground turkey, chili powder, and pepper. 

One night my dad emailed me the family biscotti recipe. I was surprised because I didn't think I would see this until I had a house and kids of my own. I can't share the recipe but I can tell you that it wasn't until after I put the two loafs of cookie into the oven for the first bake that I realized I didn't put baking powder into the cookies, so I took them out and worked it into the dough. The chocolate chips were already slightly melted at this point which resulted in the cookies having a marble look to them. This also made the cookies a bit chewier than usual, so it was a very happy accident. My dad never drizzles white chocolate on them, but I like white chocolate so. 

This batch of biscotti was served at a Superbowl viewing along with a home made pizza! The pie was in no way symmetrical, but it tasted great! I got the dough recipe from Cody's Blog, and I topped the pizza with Prego (I love Prego,) mozzarella, black olives, peppers, and spinach artichoke dip from Wegmans. 

I don't remember why I made this crumb cake, but it happened and people ate it. For some reason I bought this thirteen inch cheesecake pan in 2011 and I keep using it for cakes even though it's too big and it takes and extra twenty-five minutes of baking on low heat to cook the center. I love those crumbles. 

Instead of taking down my Christmas wreath I cut up toilet paper tubes and folded them to look like small hearts then put them on the wreath.

To celebrate the Olympics we had a grilled cheese olympics. Everyone was to bring a sampling of their own bread and cheese and whatever else to make grilled cheese. I used a simple pita recipe, sliced apples, and brie to make some bougie grilled cheese. Just slap it on the George Foreman for a fancy time. 

I found this ginger pear cake recipe on Pinterest some time ago and I decided it was time to make it. This was served at our Oscars party; I figured the gold color of the caramel glaze is kind of like the rich colors you see in the theatre? Also pears are so fancy. I used the thirteen inch pan again (don't) and I didn't have an electric mixer when I started to make the whipped topping, so it took a little while. If you don't have an electric mixer or patience buy Cool Whip because it's the same thing. Also, cover surfaces/wipe up any spilled caramel immediately. I left it on my stove for months and didn't scrape it off until the last day and I didn't think I was that kind of person but I shouldn't let things like that define me. 

I gave up bread, dessert, and alcohol for Lent, but then I realized I was denying myself many cultural experiences, and I didn't eat these things very often any way so this kind of diet wouldn't bring me any closer to God so I gave up on that goal on St. Patrick's Day. My mom sent me this Irish Soda Bread recipe that uses yogurt! Everyone was pleased with the results. 

My first car bomb!

After a sensible wine tour for Courtney's birthday we came back to the house for a fiesta. Courtney turned twenty-six and used healthcare.gov to get her new insurance so fixed up this piñata! Courtney has very nice wing tipped eyeliner so I added some lashes to the llama.

We were all together for Passover and Easter so we all celebrated both Passover and Easter. During the seder I drank a bottle of Black Cherry from Knapp Wine that I bought for the occasion a few weeks prior. Rebeccah handed out scripts of a Passover skit she found online and we read it as we ate. It was wonderful, as was the matzo ball soup and screening of Prince of Egypt.

I made biscotti for Easter as well as a pistachio pudding pie that Chelsea introduced me to on St. Patrick's Day. This pie is the best thing. It just takes two packets of pistachio jello pudding, 2 3/4 cups of whole milk, and an Oreo pie crust. I had a box of thin mints, so I filled the bottom with crushed cookies and topped it with Cool Whip and various sized chocolate chips. Scott, Katie, and I dyed eggs for Easter. I bought these artificial eggs from Michaels, but the dye didn't take to them too well. If you want to have pastel colored eggs you can use over and over again, or if you are covering your eggs in glitter, I would recommend using the artificial eggs!

Eggs, biscotti, and a bunny card made by my mom

Glorious

I bought these cups sophomore year. My mom pointed them out in Target and at first we laughed about me getting them and then it got very serious and they ended up in my cart. 

Sticks for all seasons

My mom's birthday was on Easter this year so I made her this card with stationary, acrylic paint, hemp, and thread. 

And finally here's my room! It's the first time I had my own space, and I was lucky that the walls were a nice blue color. They're very similar to the walls in my room at home!

Fine art

Notes from friends and family served as a valance. 

Props and momentos

Duchess couch

Made from sticks found outside, gently bent and woven together, and strategically tied with twine

More Central NY Finds!

Scott, Katie, and I had an hour between schools, and as we were driving around we found Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters. The café was littered with personal photos and name tag crafts made by the employees. And they have their best flavored coffees in decaf. I tried the Rainforest Crunch blend. Yes.
Also the man who sold me my two coffees was curious about what Scott, Katie, and I did. And the tip jar had a sense of humor.

My favorite part about going down to Olean schools is Coffee Culture. Last time I went I had a bite of the pistachio muffin and it started my current pistachio obsession. I had this red pepper bisque which warmed me up from the endless winter of 2014. And they have a fire pit outside that you can go to if it's not arctic outside.

The Linger Longer Café had a map hanging on the wall next to the original (and slightly creepy) abstract artwork. On the map were pins marking the home towns of the customers. Someone took care of Philadelphia already, but it was cool to see the number of people from Europe/Asia/New Zealand?? who stopped by. The Grilled Veggies & Cheese Flat Wrap was fantastic. And they now serve wine and beer! Unfortunately I could not partake in this because I was between shows.

We went to the Art Center Coffee House in Wellsville on our overnight, and it was unlike any play I'd seen. Like look. They feature children's artwork and have a space for bands to play and the mugs are cool. And then I went downstairs to look at the pottery studio. One of the women asked where I was from, and we got to talking about Philadelphia and the historic district yeah yeah yeah and then she asked if I'd been to the Magic Gardens. And I told her I lived a few blocks away from it, and she said she had to show me something, so I followed her into the back of the studio and she showed me the Magic Gardens inspired bathroom. She said that a number of the students took a trip to Philadelphia and had a workshop with Isaiah Zagar and were inspired.
Also here's the library.

And everyone on the streets and in the shops seemed to know each other?
The thing about Wellsville is that it's cute, but it's not trying to be cute like those bougie towns that live off of the title of "quaint destination town."

One day we were taking some road in the middle of no where to get to a school somewhere and we found the J T Trading Post & Cafe.
We were presented with samples of mac and cheese and the best coleslaw I will ever eat. I want it at my wedding, take notes. And Katie ordered an iced brownie and I got sad when it was over. Go here.

This isn't food but it's soap and sometimes I pretend soap is food because it smells so good. Lucky Goat  in Skaneateles carries shelves of hand made seasonal soaps. I bought a lavender goatmeal pygmy bar (#67) face soap for my mom, and I was told that they key to this soap is to scrub it on, brush your teeth or sing national anthem, then wash it off. It smelled like home.

A Month in Food I Paid For

Over the last thirty days I've traveled around Central New York, to Memphis, Manhattan, and back to Philadelphia for a very short/surprise visit. In addition to visiting favorite people and places, I also discovered new ones! People and places.

At the end of January my cast went to Courtland and went to one of their favorite places: Pita Gourmet. It's perfect for crisp, fresh, healthy Middle Eastern food. Here I tried something called maple candy. The texture was almost like fine wet sand. I hate to describe it that way, I promise it was delicious. With each bite I kept asking "What is this?" to no one in particular.

We then walked down the block to Indulge. I got a latte, but Scott and Katie bought a magic bar. I had a piece of it and oh my God you need to somehow get your hands on this. It's brownie, gram crackers, chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, and coconut and I was actually upset when it was over.

When we took our tour to schools around Hamilton we went to 22 Utica Street Cafe. They have a seemingly endless list of paninis and salads, and a shelf of desserts that will kill you. They also have a large variety of syrups for your coffee. When we went the cafe was decked out with red and silver balls hanging from the ceiling for Valentine's Day.

feeling 22

This was across the street and I like it so here.

There has never been a time where I said, "Wow I really enjoyed that carrot cake I wish there was more," until I went to Barado's Cafe in Brewerton. This. Carrot cake. Like. I'm going to have it at my wedding or belated half-birthday. And I had their eggplant parm and veggie salad with chickpeas, courgettes, and carrots, and that was also good, but I can't stop thinking about the carrot cake. Also you can write on their chalkboard bathroom walls.

A week later my friends and I went to Memphis for a theatre conference, and that Saturday night/Sunday morning after callbacks we were all starving, but it was 1AM and we needed to find something substantial. Thank God for Westy's. When I went to the conference last year I snuck away and went here by myself for cheesecake and free wifi, but it was nice to go with a large group of friends and people I had just met that day. If you're ever in Memphis for some reason and you plan on going here I suggest you look at the menu in advance because there is so much to choose from. The wild rice dishes are always a good choice. If you have room, you can order "the Ultimate Hot Fudge Pie," which is an ice cream/brownie dessert bigger than your face. Do not attempt to eat this alone. I ordered cheese cake and ate other people's ice cream.

After returning from Memphis my tour was traveling through Cicero and we found Murphy's All Fed Up. Here is their menu. If you're wondering through Central New York and you love bacon you must go here. I don't really eat ham anymore because one time my family thought about getting a pet pig, but Scott had a pumpkin bacon soup with pumpkin sour cream and I tried some and it was so good that I didn't even feel bad. The staff is the most chill and super conversational. Also, all of the decorations in the deli are for sale.

I had a week off in the middle of the month, so I went to Manhattan to visit some friends and to go to some open calls. On my first night there my friend Devin and I went to Thai Market right around the Columbia campus. I hadn't had Thai food since that time I went on this extra credit field trip to Penn's campus to discuss architecture for AP Human Geography in 2009, so I didn't really know what to expect, but the Green Curry with chicken looked good so I got it. I don't know which part of it was the bamboo shoot or the eggplant, and there was coconut milk in there somewhere but it all just tasted amazing so I'll probably get anything with those ingredients next time I get Thai food.

I went back to Philly to surprise my parents and see a few friends from school. Michael and I met at Parc in Rittenhouse, which I guess some people would say is basic because it's a Stephen Starr restaurant and I need to support small businesses, but it's always good food and the last time I was there I was incredibly hungover from my 21st birthday so I was just trying not to throw up on the streets of the nice part of town and also his name is Stephen with a "ph" so he has points. So I got the chicken salad and contemplated dessert but remembered that I was meeting my "One of the Guys" cast later and probably getting froyo so I refrained. But everything on their menu is great, they have pinup ladies over the urinals, and we had a seat looking out onto the square and it made me feel really fancy and that's what's most important.

And yesterday we said goodbye to February by traveling to Geneva. We went to the Water St. Cafe for sandwiches and coffee, and it was more of a diner atmosphere, but the muffins and cakes were backed fresh daily so we can pretend it's a cafe. The owner told us that the pies were bought at Wegmans because she's not good with pies, and it was very honest that she was upfront about not making the pies, and everybody loves Wegmans so no one is going to point fingers of nastiness. I honestly don't know how to word what I'm trying to say.
After this we went to (whisper) chocolate. I bought an ounce of white chocolate cranberry pecan bark and ate sometime between when we got back to the van and when Scott started up the engine. I asked Eliza, the chocolatier, how the name of their store came about, and she said the mother/daughter team was thinking along the lines of "whisper sweet nothings" which turned into (whisper) chocolate. Aside from all the assortments of bark, truffles, and chocolate covered things, (whisper) chocolate sells custom handcrafted sipping chocolate cups. Lent is coming up so I didn't buy one.

Outside of both of these shops is the view of Seneca Lake. Scott, Katie, and I have seen nothing but frozen lake water and snow for the last few months, but yesterday we saw blue peaks. Spring is coming.