Gluten Free Butter Pecan Cheesecake Truffles

As I said in my last post, I made two desserts for the wedding. I immediately settled on sugar cookies for the first dessert, but the second dessert took a lot of brainstorming. I wanted something that would travel well, be spectacular, unique and gluten-free. I wanted something in small servings, but we already had cookies and tarts. 

After a couple weeks of thinking and searching, I put it off for awhile. Then one of my favourite blogs, EZ Gluten Free, posted a recipe that I thought sounded pretty perfect. The best thing was that I could make it several days ahead. Since I had a lot of things to do the week before the wedding, I made it as early as I could.

The recipe does include a lot of chilling time, and one ingredient did require some hunting down, but the actual work didn't take all that long and I managed to get some other things done will the ingredients were chilling.

Also, seriously, does it get better than Butter Pecan Cheesecake Truffles?

So you really need to click through and read that recipe, but to sum it up for you... You brown some butter and brown sugar on the stove, then mix it with some cream cheese and vanilla. The cream cheese mixture goes in the fridge to chill, and you mix some chopped pecans with some crushed cookies. The very specific gluten-free pecan shortbread cookies were the hardest thing to find, but I did find a pack at the health food store. Also, it's the only ingredient that is explicitly gluten-free. If you don't care about gluten content, just use regular pecan shortbread cookies.

Once the cream cheese stuff is chilled, you scoop up little balls of cream cheese and roll it in the pecan mixture. Once every little ball was rolled, I put them into containers between layers of plastic wrap and froze them for several days. I kept the containers frozen until it was time to leave for the rehearsal dinner. The wedding (and rehearsal dinner) was all in a town two hours from home, so I put the truffles in a cooler until we got there, and then they went back in a freezer. A few minutes before the reception, I pulled out some mini cupcake liners and plopped each truffle in a liner on a table. It took maybe five minutes. Right away, they were frozen solid, but they warmed up pretty quick, and by the time the last one was devoured they were still a little cold.

Overall, these worked perfectly for what I wanted. They didn't take long to make, they kept well, and they travelled just as well. Oh, and they delicious. Everyone who had one told me they were amazing.

Except my sister (the bride). Apparently, she doesn't like cheesecake. I knew that, I guess, and she didn't mind, because there were plenty of other sweets. The groom, on the other hand, told me that I'm going to go visit them and make these. I don't think he even cares if I visit, as long as he gets more of these.

Wedding Sugar Cookies

My sister wanted a few dessert options for her wedding, and she wanted at least one of them to be gluten-free. I volunteered to make two desserts, because the more I make, the more I can eat. I knew right away that I wanted to make sugar cookies.

When I made sugar cookies for Christmas, I used a mix from Kinnikinnick. I loved the mix, so I decided I'd try it again. To give the bride a taste before the wedding, I made them again for my birthday. So this makes the third time I have used Kinnikinnick's Sugar Cookie Mix, and I can not say enough good about it. It's easy to make, quick and simple to put together, rolls well, and re-rolls just as well. The cookies are easy to bake (there's a two or three minutes of flex room where the cookies are neither under-cooked nor burned) and every time I've made them, people keep exclaiming that they don't taste gluten-free!

 For the wedding, I made two boxes, just to make sure there would be enough. I made them shaped like little brides, little grooms, cakes, churches (even though they weren't getting married in a church) and hearts. I made all the cookies in one night, along with doing multiple other things for the wedding, and then I stacked them on a couple plates and wrapped them up for a few days.

When I had time again, I iced and decorated them with some royal icing and sugar crystals. For the royal icing I used:

1 cup gluten-free icing sugar (I used El Peto brand)
1 - 2 tbsp milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla

I only made this much at a time, but I had to make four batches to decorate all of the cookies.

I wanted to decorate them with coloured sugar crystals. I found all sorts of colours of sugar at Bulk Barn, but I couldn't find black, so I bought some extra white and some black Wilton Icing Color. I mixed the white sugar with some black color until the crystals were evenly black, and then I spread them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and put them in my oven on the lowest temp (180F, I believe) for ten minutes at a time until they seemed dry.

After icing a few cookies, I let them dry for a minute or so, but before they were completely dry, I sprinkled some sugar on top.

My sister's wedding dress was cherry red, so I made red brides, black grooms, white cakes and churches (each topped with a tiny silver ball) and red hearts.

Of course, I didn't get a picture of the table before several of the cookies were devoured. Along the back of the table are the leftover favours - little bags with Hershey Kisses and mini peanut butter cups, and the far edge of the table has some truffles that I also made, and will tell you about later!

At the end of the night, there were maybe ten cookies left behind, and probably eight of them were grooms. I'm not sure why the little guys were so much less popular. Possibly because it left a few people with coloured lips. After baking the sugar, there was a lot less colour transfer, but before I put the sugar in the oven, my hubby ate a spoonful and his lips, tongue and mouth all turned bluey-purple.

Nonetheless, I would highly recommend Kinnikinnick's sugar cookie mix, and if you want them to look spectacular without a lot of work, a bit of royal icing and a spoonful of sugar goes a long way.

My Brother's Wedding

My older brother and my older sister are twins. They spent most of their life sharing things. They haven't shared clothes much, but they shared photos, attention, friends, and every single birthday. They also decided they would share the summer they both got married! My brother was married six weeks ago, and my sister was married just this past Saturday. I've been meaning to share photos from my brother's wedding, but I've been putting it off. Before I have photos of my sister's wedding, I guess I'll show you photos of my brother's.

Celiacs at Weddings, the second

My eldest sister married the man of her dreams this weekend!

Yes, my brother got married a mere six weeks ago, but hey, now my family is done with weddings for a few years!

If you remember the last wedding, my sister-in-law made sure the cake was gluten-free for me (she served cupcakes for everyone else), and one of the teenage boys there turned out to also be a celiac and he was really happy about it.

Well, if my sister-in-law is thinking of me, I can promise you that my own sister is thinking of me! Most of the meal was gluten-free as well (except for the buns!). As for the cake, it had four layers, and each layer was a different flavour. The smallest layer was a gluten-free white cake.

When it was time to serve the cake, my mother, two of the bridesmaids, and I each grabbed a layer, a knife and a cookie lifter and we each served out the different flavours.

I, of course, grabbed the gluten-free layer. As everyone lined up, they'd ask me what each flavour was, and I'd recite "Gluten-free white cake, lemon cake, carrot cake, orange-chocolate marble" and everyone would immediately file past me. A few moms of kids took the white cake because their kids wouldn't like the complicated flavours, but most people turned their nose up at gluten-free.

Except for one woman who got in line and asked "Which one was gluten-free?" And I recognized that face. It's the "Wait, I can have cake?!" face. I handed her a slice and asked if she was a celiac. She was. So I also pointed out the table of sugar cookies that I made, and told her they were safe as well. I didn't talk to her again after that, but I met her son who was a bit younger than I, and he expressed how happy, grateful and excited she was that she could have some cake. He passed on: "I would never wish this on anybody, but I am so happy the bride's sister has celiac, too!"

I think that sums up how I feel too. I would never wish this on anyone, but it makes me glad when I have more options, or when I have someone who really understands how I feel.

Fifties Housewife Bridal Shower

Well, I'm still here. I survived the weekend, and I still have all my hair! I will admit that I am exhausted and I was late for work this morning because I'm just so exhausted.

However, the bridal shower went off perfectly, everything was amazing, and my sister was super happy with everything. I did manage to finish cleaning, and make and do everything before people showed up, and everyone was completely impressed with everything I did.

Every time someone walked in, they apologized for not dressing up. I was dressed to the nines, with an original 1950's housedress, my hair curled and my makeup done. Although I wasn't actually the only one dressed up. I have a friend who loves vintage as much as I do, and although she's never met my sister, I invited her, and she was thrilled to dress up and come! So the two of us were very housewife-y, as was the house and party.

I spent awhile collecting vintage melamine dishes, real napkins, napkin rings, vintage flatware, and some old wooden spoons, which you can see here. I had a million napkins, which went hardly used, although I loved having the old dishes and flatware, because I wasn't worried if anything broke, or even worried about washing it after. I planned to throw most of it out right after the party. You can also see some of my World War II era posters above the table, and a couple of dishes, because a few people had shown up before I got these photos in.

The doorway between my dining room and living room had some lovely bunting that spelled out my sister's name.

The only thing I didn't spend a ton of time on - my little bride and groom clothespins which I reused my sister-in-law's shower a month ago. (Also, funny timing on this one, but on Saturday, that post was featured on another blog, Pinstrosity.) I had these on a small vintage table and doily right by the door.

My main dining table, which didn't come close to seating everybody, but was set with 12 tea cups, each with a Werther's and Riesen candy inside.

I had this cute little game set up - there were six little bowls with a different spice in each one, and people had to smell them and guess what each spice was.

I made up a bunch of little printables for the games. There was, of course, a little square with six number and some picture of spices for the spice game, and another little square to fill in advice for the bride (the guests don't write their name, and the bride has to guess who said what) and then some blank bridal bingo cards. Before opening presents, each guest fills in what they think the bride will receive, and then as she opens presents, they mark off and compete to get a bingo. I like this game because it keeps the guests entertained while the bride is opening presents.

As for the potluck aspect, there was quite a bit of food that people brought, and it all looked delicious. A few people specifically cooked with me in mind - there was a gluten-free soup, and a cheese ball with gluten-free crackers - and then a couple other dishes I could eat like devilled eggs, fruit, veggies, taco salad and my chocolate covered strawberries & raspberries.

For the prizes for the games, I found some pink and blue oven mitts and some wooden spoons at the dollar store. I put three wooden spoons of different sizes in each set of oven mitts, and then tied a bow around it (I had blue bows on pink oven mitts and pink bows on blue oven mitts). It had a vintage feel, while still being unused items, and in a very cute presentation.

Overall, everything look spectacular. A couple of details that you probably can't see... I put candies in each cup so that people would know which cup had not been used, and everyone got a little candy. I also designed and printed little place cards for each dish so everyone would know what was what and who made what. I had a binder with page protectors on hand, and as everyone handed me their recipe, I slid it into a page protector.

It went off amazingly, everyone had fun, and everyone had lots to eat. I love bridal showers, and I'm excited to go to the next couple that I don't have to host. Yay!

Pre-Potluck Nerves

Growing up, potlucks were one of my favourite things. I even bought a cookbook filled with "Potluck Pleasers". I loved cooking and baking, and I loved sharing. I loved both sharing my things, and sharing other people's things. So if you ask me to whip up one dish and then go to a big meal with a bunch of different foods and try a little of everything, while everyone enjoys whatever magic I brought? Oh my goodness. It was heaven. Whoever thought of potlucks was seriously the smartest person ever.


Untilllll you introduce celiac disease. Now, you're asking me to make a dish that people will enjoy (Okay! Still love that part!) and then go to a big meal where all the food is next to eachother, there is no control over who brings what, and what ingredients are in what, nobody considers that the buns shouldn't be right next to the veggie tray. Even if there is something that seems to be GF, it was made in someone's kitchen, and I don't trust other people's kitchens. So really you're asking me to make some food and then carefully eat that one dish that I brought, along with some crackers I smuggled in my purse? No thanks...

I went to one shortly after I was diagnosed, only because I'd signed up for it before diagnosis. It made me sad, made me realize how much I love potlucks, and that that would probably be my last one.

Well, it won't be. I'm hosting my sister's bridal shower, and when I offered her about twenty different themes and told her to pick her favourites, she selected "Fifties Housewife" and "Potluck". So I've asked everyone to bring their favourite dish along with the recipe and dress like a fifties housewife. (Don't worry, I'm completely aware that I might be the only one dressed up, and that's okay. I'm also decorating vintage, and playing some old school games. I would also make some mid-century favourites for food, except that everyone is making food, not me.)

At one point, my husband asked what I'm supposed to eat, and I realized how terrifying a potluck was.

A potluck in my own home. People will be bringing food they made into my house, my kitchen. My safe place, my gluten-free sanctuary will be filled with food I can't eat. I'll eat ahead of time, and have some snacks out that I can eat, and I'll be fine, but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified.

And then, the other day, one of my friends asked if anyone else had any food allergies, or if it was just me. I told her not to worry about me, and she says she's been eating gluten-free, so it's not a big deal. And a couple more people messaged me to ask for gluten-free ideas.

I was actually trying to avoid this, because it's not my bridal shower. It's for my sister, who eats and loves her gluten. And they're supposed to bring recipes so she enters married life with a cookbook full of tried-and-true favourites, not gluten-free alternatives her sister can eat.

However, I'm still touched that people are thinking about me.

So the bridal shower is tomorrow, and I'm a mix of nerves, stress, and excitement. I'm psyched for my sister, I'm so happy she's getting married. I'm nervous about eating, and all that food... And I'm super stressed about all the tiny details. My house is still a mess, and I only have tonight to clean it.

And then tomorrow, I need to finish cleaning (God knows I won't finish tonight), decorate, get dressed, do my hair, fix my nails, make some chocolate-dipped strawberries, finish washing the vintage dishes I got for the party, and make sure everyone remembers what time it starts. Oh, and take pictures before anyone shows up, because we all know it's going to look amazing.

I need to stop stressing. I barely slept last night or the night before because I'm just a ball of nerves. I just need to keep breathing and get through it and focus on the highlights. Everything will be perfect.

Celiacs at Weddings

My big brother got married on Sunday.

I honestly never thought I would gain another sister-in-law, but I was more than thrilled to stand up for them and watch my brother gain a wife.

I will share some photos and talk more about other wedding things later, I'm sure, but for now, I wanted to tell you about a really big moment for me.

The bride (my new sister-in-law) is very sweet and caring, and she was very concerned about my dietary needs. She asked the caterer if they had gluten-free options, and actually paid a little more so there would be a gluten-free serving for me (although there wasn't, and I had potatoes, corn and salad. Not sure what happened there). And my mom made the cake, so of course they made sure I could eat some of it. They had cupcakes which were all gluten-filled and one small cake which was gluten-free.

I knew that it would be, and I ensured the knife wouldn't touch any of the cupcakes, etc. The MC announced that there were two different flavours of cupcakes and a gluten-free cake. I went up and cut a slice for myself, and one of the girls who had been at the shower asked me if I knew if it was gluten-free. I said it was, and she asked "how gluten-free," and as if I thought that would be a weird question, she told me her son had celiac disease. I looked at the twelve-year-old kid standing beside her and asked if he was a celiac. He nodded and I said "Awesome!" and high-fived him. I said I was a celiac too, and that the cake was made very conscientiously towards contamination. The boy grabbed a slice and ran off with his cake and his mom and I stood and talked for awhile about it.

I've always thought that I am so glad I was diagnosed after highschool. I can not imagine trying to get through school, especially elementary without eating gluten, or being contaminated. We talked about a lot of the challenges she faces as a celiac parent, without celiac disease, and the challenges he faces towards sleepovers, parties and school lunches. We also talked about the things he hasn't even come near yet, like drinking parties, alcohol, and work situations.

I was excited to meet another celiac (although it's becoming more and more common) and he was thrilled to have cake. Like, actually. When the MC said the cake was gluten-free, he said "Mom! I can have cake?!?!" He acted all cool about it to me, but I know how excited he was. I've been there.

Car Cake

This weekend I'm hosting a bridal shower for my brother's fiance and then next weekend is their wedding, at which I will be a bridesmaid. I have a ton of shower- and wedding-related stuff between now and then, so I'm sure you can imagine that I'm busy, stressed out and tired. And I will be for a little while longer.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my sister is getting married in June, so once all this is done, I get to start it all over a month later. Yaaaay.

However, I somehow found time and energy to make a cake! 

And I can actually take credit for this cake!

I bought boxed mixes (I know, but I don't like to risk gluten-free going wrong when it's important), I put together and baked the cakes, and then took them to my mom's house, where she made me decorate probably 50% of it. Naturally, she helped, and it was really her supplies that pulled it all together, but I put in a lot more effort than I usually do. 

I'm really proud of it. 

So before I disappear into the nethers that is wedding planning, enjoy this beautiful car cake that I made.

Clothespin Crafting

Guys, I made the coolest thing. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. It's so cool. And look at how cute it is!!

My brother is getting married in seven weeks, and I'm planning the bridal shower (six weeks from now). I happened upon this super cute idea on Pinterest, at the blog A Law Student's Journey, and at first I thought "No way. That's way too much work for one little clothespin."

And then I went home and I noticed a giant pack of cheap clothespins leftover from one of hubby's projects. Then I looked, and I found we had cheep black, white and red paint. As well as cheap thin paint brushes and a little paint dish.

Okay. At this point, what's stopping me??

Ironic Foreshadowing

I was just looking through my wedding photos today. (To explain, I decided that we would take photos every year on or near our anniversary, and our anniversary was a week ago, but we haven't gotten to taking any photos. I really want to get on that, I just need some inspiration. As such, I was looking through our wedding photos.)

I live in the middle of Saskatchewan, so we had decided to do a farm photo shoot. It's really pretty, and they turned out stunning. Ironic, though, isn't it?

In one picture, I'm actually laying on wheat (*Okay, maybe it's not wheat, but it is dried farm grass). Oh my god. Just looking at that makes my skin shiver.

I obviously didn't know I was allergic then, if I even was (I know I had celiac disease, I don't think it started effecting me until some time after marriage).

But looking at them now, it just seems a little ironic.

And maybe a bit like foreshadowing.

And yes, I am shamelessly posting several gorgeous photos from my wedding over two years ago. I'll never stop loving looking at myself in such a pretty dress.

Our Anniversary

Today is my second anniversary. Two years ago today, I made the biggest promise I've ever made. I promised to love, to cherish, to obey, and to honour a man. That's not always easy, and the last two years have had their ups and their downs, but I can honestly say I have never loved him as much as I do now.

I can hardly believe we've been married for two whole years. Time just flies by with him. The first year was quite an adventure, as we moved twice, and adopted two fur-babies. The second year was a little more settled, we're still living in the same house, and we only adopted one more fur-baby, but we did spend two months apart, and we spent half of the year dealing with Celiac disease. The last two years have felt non-stop, but I love being busy. We've figured a lot of things out, and it's starting to feel like life will be just like this for the rest of forever. I know more things are certainly going to change, but it'll always just be me and him, at the core.

Since our anniversary fell on a Monday, M insisted we both take the day off work. I reluctantly agreed, and it's a good thing I did. I ended up getting scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday at the store, so I wouldn't have had a day off normally. Thankfully, we took this one day to just be together, all day. It was splendid, and I had the best time.

We spent the morning getting pampered. Well, I got pampered. I had a massage, a facial, and a pedicure. M had a massage. He then spent an hour sitting around the spa, waiting for me to be done, which he was totally okay with, but I felt a little bad. Ah, well.

Afterwards, we went out for lunch. We just decided to go to Boston Pizza, and both had meals we've had before. After lunch, we opened the presents we got each other, and then did some running around. I know it's totally lame to do errands on our anniversary, but we both work office hours, so we never get a chance to do errands.

We planned to go to Rock Creek for dinner, because it recently opened here, and neither of us have been, but I had an alfredo dish for lunch (Boston Pizza got GF alfredo!!), and I didn't feel so good. I keep forgetting that I'm lactose-intolerant too. I like to pretend I'm not.

We spent most of the rest of the night laying around at home, me nursing my tummy, and then we went to the midnight launch of Grand Theft Auto 5. I know, I know. I can't believe we went, either.

I went because I wanted Sims. It's the only video game that I play a lot, and really enjoy, and I went to play it yesterday, but I lost the most recent disk, and the lovely thing about PC Sims is that you only need the most recent expansion pack to play. So if we just go out and buy a newer expansion pack, I can keep playing. The video game store was closed by the time I decided to do this, so we waited until 10pm, when they opened for the GTA5 launch, so I could buy Sims. M's one condition to this hair-brained scheme was that he was allowed to buy GTA. I'm kind of against the game series in general, but he convinced me he's a responsible adult, who can make his own decisions, and isn't going to drive around killing hookers in real life. So I caved, and we each bought a lame video game.

Fantastic anniversary, huh? I wish I wasn't sick so much, we could have had a lot more fun. Ah well, he still loves me, and I still love him.

A Summary of my Summer

Hey, remember how I didn't blog for a month and a half? I didn't post once in July, and I missed most of June and August. Well, I said I didn't really do anything, and I didn't make anything, but that's not entirely true. Well, I didn't really make anything. But I did a lot of things. There was a lot going on in my life, though, and I just couldn't bring myself to blog about stuff. I was better, stomach-wise, but worse time-wise. One of the main problems is that I left my one-year-term-job. I had a routine, and it became simple to fit blogging into that routine. I also had a little reminder at work to jot down what I'd done, or what I was planning, and could blog about it later. When I stopped having an office, and a desk, and even a computer I logged onto every day, blogging slipped too. I did post several times after the job, but it all started slipping. I couldn't find a routine, I didn't have a pattern, and then when I did, it was a pattern of constant work. Starting the new reception job puts me at a computer, and better, gives me several hours a day where there is nothing for me to do but read blogs. So eventually, I get around to writing my own blog. It's been good.

Well, I'm sure you're wondering about my summer, which I neglected to tell you anything about.

The first thing that happened was a roadtrip to Edmonton on June 26. Banana and I bought tickets to Taylor Swift, a mere 8-hour drive from here. We spent two nights in a hostel, a half day at the West Ed Mall, a night enjoying the best concert I have ever been to, a dinner at the most hipster restaurant I've ever been to, and the day back enjoying cliche roadtrip things. We went to Ikea, we took a picture with the world's largest Ukranian Easter egg, and we visited a Ukranian heritage village. It was a grand adventure. Of course, I had all sorts of gluten-related anxiety, but everything worked out so well. I also had a lot of "firsts" (prairie girl over here - Ikea is exciting!), but it'd be hard to blog about that now.

Oh, and of course, my birthday was on June 22. I turned 21. Whoo. Now I can drink gluten free alcohol anywhere in the world. Big whoop-de-ding. I had a little bonfire, and had hot dogs and marshmallows. People kept complaining there weren't graham crackers. I wasn't gonna buy them if I couldn't eat them. I was really concerned about my first GF birthday, in terms of cake, but my lovely mother took care of that. She bought a Betty Crocker mix, and made me an amazing pinata cake. The mix was actually spectacular, and tasted totally normal. Everyone kept saying they couldn't tell it was GF. I would highly recommend it.

Oh, and my in-laws took hubby and I out for a birthday dinner, and the lovely waitress at Boston Pizza overheard that it was my birthday, so this happened at the end of the meal. I looooove Boston Pizza birthdays, with the singing and the clapping, and the attention. Halfway through the song, something clicked in my brain and I realized that they had just brought me a cupcake. Probably the most depressing birthday moment I've ever had. When the song ended, Hubby pointed it out, and I started laughing. I took a picture, and then passed the cupcake around and everyone else had some. It was really just a funny moment.

The first week of July, I started my favourite job ever. It's a summer program that runs every year for six weeks, and this was my third year working at it. Essentially it's a drop-in, free, city-funded kid's program. We ran games, crafts, and activities for kids aged 6-12 at a park. My park had a pool, but not every one does. They all have playgrounds and shacks, though. Once a week, we take the kids on a field trip. I wanted to blog about this job every day. We did so many amazing things, had so many adventures, and had so many crazy things happen. But to protect the kids' privacy, I hesitated. Also, this is a gluten-free blog, nobody comes here looking for cool egg carton crafts, or ideas for field trips.

Two weeks into that job, on July 13, I got a tattoo! So that's fun. I've been thinking about getting a tattoo ever since my husband got one done, in February, 2012. He had a celtic rope tattooed on his left ring finger, as a wedding ring. I thought about what I could get for him, and decided to get an M on my right thigh. I wanted it to be easily hidden, but I also wanted to show it off. If I wear short shorts, or a swim suit, you can see it, but that's about it. It's just black, and has filigree all around it. It's probably about two inches by two inches, and it took about forty minutes to get done. PS, that hurt like hell. I almost threw up. I don't handle pain well. But I totally want another one! Someday.

Fresh Ink

Healed Tattoo

We also went to the wedding of two friends of ours. I love weddings. They remind me of my own, and the pure, unadulterated love the newlyweds have for each other reminds me of when I felt that way about my own husband. Not that I don't still feel that way, but let's be honest. Everything slows down eventually. I love the emotion of weddings. The happiness, the joy, the excitement. I also love helping. Most of the recent weddings we've been to, we end up being wedding monkeys, and that is where we are happiest. Both my husband and I rely on being needed, and love helping whenever asked. I'm more like that than he is, in truth.

Crappy cellphone pic of us. And yes, I let him grow that stache.

I got over a couple of things, over the summer. I finally had some alcohol. Not like I was dying without it. I just finally got frustrated enough to start googling, and figure out what I can drink. Now I'm that obnoxious person at bars, who requests mojitos made with bacardi. Oh well. I still don't drink a lot, so it doesn't make a difference to my life.

I also ordered my first real burger, no bun. I got it at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, because they don't make any crap, so it's a lot safer than other places. Also, they were my all-time favourite burgers before. I ordered a cheese burger, with ketchup and mustard, hoping to make it a little less pathetic. It didn't help.

Cheese burger, no bun.

And I discovered my new favourite treat. A dipped cone, in a cup. I know it's not truly safe, because they could get bits of cone in the dip chocolate when they dip other cones, but it's fantastic for the every once in awhile treat.

And I think that's about it for my summer. I'm so sorry for my absence, but I hope this all makes up for it!