New to Etsy

Despite being so busy, I added quite a few items to my Etsy shop during my blogging break. I added new hairpin colors, a new necklace design, and shoeclips!

I love all of the colors!

Are there any other colors you would like to see?



Blueberry Pie

I made this blueberry pie while Daniel and I were at the beach, and it was a huge success!

Homemade Blueberry Pie

2 pie crusts

2 pints blueberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar (or splenda)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces

Egg wash:

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

Prepare the bottom crust. Combine washed blueberries, flour, and lemon juice. Add sugar and cinnamon. Put into pie crust. Top with butter pieces. Brush rim of crust with egg wash and place other pie crust on top. Trim and crimp edges. Decorate if desired. Brush top with egg wash. Cut slits on top. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce to 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Let cool.

Enjoy!



Ocean Isle Beach

The week after graduation, Daniel and I headed with his aunt and uncle to their beach house in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. It was an absolutely glorious week of swimming, reading, eating, and being completely lazy.

The view from the beach house was amazing.

Daniel's aunt and uncle brought along their two dogs, Chap and Toto.

We ate extremely well at the beach. Daniel often likes to play with his food and was creepin' me out a bit one morning with his talking grapefruit.

One night we had burgers, grilled corn, hand-battered shrimp, and homemade blueberry pie for dinner! During the week, we also made coffee cake, strawberry shortcakes, pasta, poppyseed chicken, and a chocolate pie.

We went putt-putting, and we both got several hole in ones.

I was also introduced to crabbing. I was skeptical. I told Daniel that he was getting punched if I got pinched by a crab. Alas, we caught nothing. But I did stand in the water with a chunk of meat hanging from my string.

After crabbing, we went over to Sunset Beach to visit my great aunt, where we had a yummy low country boil. I was also basically hazed during this visit. I was forced to dump a live crab into boiling water. And the poor bugger fought back.

This was the view for dinner.

It was a fantastic week! I got to unwind from the stress of the semester, and of course I loved spending a whole week with Daniel!

News: Daniel is moving to Columbia, South Carolina in July! That's only an hour and a half away! Yay!

A Little About Me

Since I have some new readers I thought I would share a bit about me. I found these questions on the back of a bookmark in a book I borrowed from my mom.

Author you love? Jane Austen

Best friend? Daniel

Can't live without? Chocolate

Dream destination? Santorini, Greece

Embarrassing moment? Forgetting to tune the orchestra

Favorite food? Chocolate

Greatest achievement? Masters degree

Hometown? Greenville, South Carolina

Innermost fear? Disappointing others, failure

Just finished reading? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Kindle? Yes

Love to read? Yes, very much

Makes you laugh? My friends

Number one movie? Pride and Prejudice

One wish? A cure for cancer

Pizza topping? Pepperoni

Quote that describes you? It is your duty and also your entitlement as a human being to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight.

Reading now? The Postmistress

Siblings? Elizabeth

Texted last? Daniel

Understands you the best? Daniel, Elizabeth

Vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate

Worst habit? Procrastinating

X-rays you've had? Teeth, Spine

Your favorite song? On A Night Like This, Dave Barnes

Zodiac sign? Capricorn

:)

Greenville Is Awesome

After graduation my mom and I headed to downtown Greenville for Artisphere, an annual art and music festival. It was so fun to walk down Main Street, gazing at different booths and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Afterwards, we headed up to Coffee Underground for some iced coffees.

I know in this picture it looks like I chopped off my hair, but it's just behind my shoulders. Part of me wants to cut it, but part of me loves my long hair.

What do you think?

I'm Back!

I'll just go ahead and apologize now for my extremely prolonged absence.

I've missed you guys!

The last month and a half has consisted of pull-out-your-hair-and-cry-all-the-time craziness, including written comprehensive exams in music history and music theory, lessons, homework, teaching, my graduate recital, an oral exam in violin history, a jury, projects, and finals.

And graduation. Thank goodness.

Whew. And then it was all over.

Our masters' robes had this weird extra material hanging from the arms, which we decided to turn into puppets. We even considered shaking the president's hand like this. The thought sent the three of us into inappropriate, unstoppable giggles during the extremely long ceremony.

I'm showing off my hood in this picture. Pink is the academic regalia color for music. How awesome is that?

Dexter Edgar Converse, who founded Converse College (and whose parents obviously had great fun in naming their child), loved strawberries and cream. Therefore, generations of Converse students have reaped the benefits of his favorite food. Thanks Dexter Edgar.

Hangin' out in the hood.

(Haha, get it? ...Don't ever ask me to tell a joke.)

{Dress: Target} {Shoes: Target} {Watch: Fossil} {Pearls: From my Mama - the real deal, ya'll}

{Nail polish: OPI Lucky Lavender}

Here I'm modeling my manicure from my day at the spa! And I'm still sportin' my hood. I definitely wore it all day. To Chilis. And Verizon. And all the way home.

You may call me Master Emily.

;)

What did I miss while I was gone?

Your Favorite Color {A Winner}

Just popping in to announce the winner of the giveaway!

The winner of the necklace and hairpins and items from Mandipidy and Moonbeamwishes is...

...comment number 32, Gina from Hiya Luv!

Congrats Gina!

Disappointed you didn't win? Use the code BLOGFRIENDS30 for 30% off your purchase from Emerging Em until Wednesday, April 20th! Don't forget that I'm participating in Handmade With Purpose, and 50% of proceeds this month go to the American Diabetes Association. Please consider shopping for a worthy cause!

:)