on dorm rooms

I, personally, cannot wait to FINALLY move into my apartment (which I will be sharing with three great friends) for many many many many reasons.

Some people may not agree with me (like my boyfriend who plans on living on campus all four years), but many of you lovely ladies may agree with me.

Here are my reasons:

1. I won't have a roommate I know. I got really lucky when I got such a great roommate (Thanks Bailey), but she will be living off campus next year and I don't have anyone that would be available to live with me in my dorm. I don't want to got pot luck and get a bad roommate. Like I said before, I got really really lucky with my roommate.

2. My closet is minuscule. I don't even have enough drawer space for my clothes, let alone hanging space. And that also leaves me with little-to-no space for my shoes. I'm a girl. I have a lot of clothes and shoes. I can't help that I want and need more space.

3. With that said, my room isn't big enough either. I believe the dimensions of my room are somewhere around 11 x 14 ft. And that includes both my roommate and my beds, along with our desks, our sink and cabinets, and our closets. It can be pretty cramped. We don't even have space for our TV without giving up one of our desks.

4. I have to walk up and down four flights of stairs to do laundry. Need I say more?

In my apartment, not only do I have my own room and bathroom, but I have a large closet, a laundry room AND MY OWN KITCHEN. 

Oh, I know that that sounds like a stereotypical woman thing to say but I love to cook and bake. And, yes, my dorm has one but it's tiny and the appliances are ancient and it's diiiiirty. I would rather have a kitchen that has my own appliances and I don't have to lug my supplies up and down all the stairs that I mentioned before, let alone risk them getting stolen because I leave them in storage in the kitchen.

***DISCLAIMER***: Living on campus you're first year is a great idea. You get to be on campus and close, and you also don't have to worry about going out getting groceries, etc. if you don't like to cook. Also, living on campus can make you appreciate your personal space more, and that can lead to being more responsible once you do sign a lease on an apartment/house later.

Of course, that's my two cents.

on baking

I have become quite the adventurous baker in the last few weeks. I began with cookies that weren't so adventurous, but they were a hit with the guys that live in my boyfriends dorm. :)
I've worked my way up through brownies and what-not, then last weekend I baked meringue cookies for the first time. They're a little tough to make because they require a lot of time to set and rise, and tampering with them can make the fluffy meringue fall in on itself. But these were a hit too.
I spent most of the day today checking out recipes for my Thanksgiving contributions and I've narrowed it down to a couple. I have to make quite a bit because I'm baking for my family Thanksgiving and Austin (my boyfriend whom you will hear quite a bit about).

1. Pillow Cookies

2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

3. Brookies

4. Cupcake Stuffed Cupcakes

5. Homemade Thin Mints


All of which look delicious... if I have the time between driving home to Katy from College Station and if I can somehow convince my mother to buy me what I need before I get home will depend on if I manage to make all of these things for my favorite two families... I will be reporting back with pictures sometime after next Thursday. :-)