Top:  Old Navy 

Shorts:  T.J. Maxx

Shoes:  Vans-  DSW

It's that time of the year!!!!  It is time to decide on graduate schools...TUN TUN TUNNN.  When I first moved to Austin, my heart was basically set on its graduate school but recent events have me confused.  I am basically torn between Houston, Austin, and San Marcos.  I guess at this point, I just have to roll the dice and see where I stand.  THEN I can worry about where I will be going once I know who will actually take me.

 Dress:  Old Navy ($5)

Shoes:  Sam Edelman- Thrifted ($5)

I wore this dress today around campus.  I had been wearing jeans all week like a sucker, hoping not to stick out by overdressing, but you know what?  I don't care.  I am twenty-five, and I will do what I want. *stamp food like a grown up*  Just kidding.

I actually wanted to take the time to let some of you guys in on some little secrets...well, national, not very advertised secrets.  Every once in a while, old navy has 50% off clearance items, so you can get items for dollars.  Obviously these aren't heirloom pieces but who doesn't need a basic t-shirt for $3 or an equally priced sweater?

In other news, anybody tune in for the Democratic National Convention today? ....don't lie.  You know you were watching the MTV Awards...

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!

On my last trip to the Round Rock outlets, I was convinced I was not going to purchase anything.  Clearly I have no will power because I found me some shoes...in Naturalizer.  Now, normally I don't think that any college student goes to the outlet and runs to Naturalizer, but I think that this is exactly why a lot of the younger-looking shoes were extremely marked down.  There were GORGEOUS pumps for $11!!  Made of leather, people!!!  I have a poor single-digit dwindling bank account, so I was forced to be rational and get the comfortable flat shoe that I could use to walk around to my heart's content, which was definitely the right way to go, but I wish I could have taken them home with me and given them a loving, nurturing place to call their own....If any of you are stopping by, you should definitely take a look.

Top:  Old Navy (old)

Pants:  Express (old, $15)

Belt:  J. Crew (thrifted, $2)

Shoes:  Naturalizer ($17)

In other news, everyone that goes to UT knows how difficult it is to find parking... and how expensive it can be!!  Today, I found the holy grail of parking....FREE.  PARKING.  Not just free, but right to the door step of the Communications building.  In other words, I found Parking Nirvana, courtesy of the Metro bus, which is clean and air conditioned in case anyone was wondering.

It was while I was waiting for the bus that the incident happened.  I was sitting there, minding my own business, wondering if by the time the bus got there I would have melted into dust, when I realized some man had just stopped his vehicle in the middle of the congested street and was taking pictures of me, who was standing alone at the bus stop.  Let me just be clear, there was no turning lane.  He just parked his vehicle in the middle of ongoing traffic and pulled out his camera.  

This is not the story of how I got discovered into some model agency.  Puhleassseee, my nickname to some people is "pigmy" or "forehead", and I hold no delusions of being the prettiest girl in any room.  This is the story of the creeper who freaked me out completely for no good reason.  Call me paranoid, but I saw Silence of the Lambs.  If anyone is going to wear my skin, I will not be going quietly.  I don't know what his intentions were, but I was doing mental stretches to prepare for what I believed be a run for survival, while screaming my head off, into the Walgreens, when the bus pulled up.  I saw his car drive away, from the safety of the bus window.

I think I will be finding a different, more populated bus stop from now on....

I hope everyone is having a lovely Labor day weekend!!

On Saturday, my sister asked me if I could make her a cake that she could take to school and share with her coworkers, so I decided to make my personal favorite red velvet cheesecake.  It has one layer of cheesecake sandwiched between two layers of red velvet cake covered in cheese cake frosting.  YUUMMMMMM!

Be warned that if you do not make sure to lock your electric mixer, it could just pop open and spray the whole kitchen with cheesecake frosting.  Instead of running for the mop, I ran for my camera and got back to this.

It doesn't make me a bad pet owner does it?  Nevermind.  Do not answer that.

Oh and if you look closely, you can see frosting on my poor Maya's face. 

I was also covered in frosting.  In fact, there was so much in my hair that I looked a little like this:

Without further ado, here's the cake:

Sorry guys, I did not take a picture of the sliced cake.  It is all gone now, so there's no going back.  You are just going to have to take my word for it.  It is amazing!!

For the Cheesecake:
32 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and then tightly wrap the outside with heavy duty foil. (I find that double-wrapping helps prevent leaks in a water bath.) Put a pot of water (or a tea kettle) on to boil.  Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or so after each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract, and beat until completely incorporated.  Pour the batter into the springform pan; place the springform pan into a larger pan, such as a roasting pan, and pour the boiling water into the larger pan until the water comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan.  Bake until the cheesecake edges are set but the middle still jiggles a bit, about 45 to 55 minutes. Turn the oven off, but leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed for 1 hour. At this point, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place the springform pan on a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator until well-chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

For the Cake:

3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
Creamy Vanilla Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.  In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.  In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overheat.  In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.  Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 cup butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Level the tops of the red velvet cake layers with a serrated knife or cake leveler so that the tops are level and not domed. Place one layer of the red velvet cake on your serving plate. Spread a very thin layer of the cream cheese frosting over it. Top that with the cheesecake, and again top with a very thin layer of frosting. Add the second red velvet layer.  Using the remaining frosting, cover the cake in frosting and decorate as desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve, and refrigerate any leftovers.