This past weekend was one of my favorite. I got to relax, spend time with friends, see my family, do some baking, fit in 3 runs, and work on my food photography with a couple of different cooking projects. I even went a full 24 hours (Friday morning – Saturday afternoon) without opening my laptop!
Let’s start with Friday. I did a morning run around campus before a group of us headed to Eno River State Park in Durham, NC, for a hike. My roommate, Shannon, and I had been wanting to go hiking together for the longest time, and Friday was a beautiful day, so it was the perfect way to unwind from the week.
Afterwards, we headed to a friend’s house for the night. We stopped at a Harris Teeter along the way to pick up ingredients for homemade pizza, and we made dinner when we got to his house.
We spent the night playing soccer & ultimate frisbee and sitting around the bonfire making s’mores. Then, the three of us squeezed into the same bed and ended up talking until 3 am. I love sleepovers with friends!
The morning after- laughing because my face had just been licked by someone in this picture
I made a last-minute decision to come home for Easter since we weren’t too far from my house, so I got home on Saturday afternoon. My dad and brother were out of town and my sister was still at school, so I got to spend some quality time with just my mom and do some cooking.
I made a batch of homemade Larabars, and then I made a special Easter dessert for Sunday, plus dinner for Saturday night. My mom had just made some of her incredible spaghetti sauce, so I used the sauce to make baked spaghetti with whole wheat angel hair pasta, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
My mom stocks the freezer when she knows I’m coming home, so she had some of my favorite Ben & Jerry’s waiting for me!
On Sunday morning, I went for a run before church, and then I got to open my Easter basket.
My mom knows I’m not a huge fan of Easter candy, so she put together an awesome basket with lots of other goodies, including:
- Ghiradelli Sea Salt Caramel Dark Chocolates
- Godiva Chocolate Lava Cake Truffles (can’t wait to try these!)
- A few different kinds of Larabars
- Mascara
- A cute new notepad (since I love making lists!)
- A Chipotle gift card
After Sunday lunch, we dug into our Easter dessert– chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake! It was my first time making cheesecake and it’s been on my baking bucket list for a while since it’s always intimidated me, so I decided to give it a shot. I recreated the Cheesecake Factory cookie dough cheesecake that I had last weekend, and I was really happy with how it turned out. No cracks on top!
And of course, I had to take advantage of my short time at home to play with my puppy.
I bribed her to take a quick picture by giving her some of her favorite food– broccoli. Yep, she’s my dog alright.
I hitched a ride to campus with a friend on Sunday night, so now I’m back at school. It was the perfect 3 day weekend!
Questions for you:
How was your weekend?
What are your favorite homemade pizza toppings?
Did you make or eat a special Easter dessert? Do you like Easter candy?
That sounds like a fabulous weekend! Nothing better than quality time with your dog….and mom, I suppose 😉
It was so great! Hope you have a wonderful week, Emily!
I love goat cheese and butternut squash on my homemade pizza (: One of my favorite things to have homemade!
Mmm, that combo sounds yummy! Hope you have a great week, Hayley!
Haha I love that your dog is a broccoli-lover. That’s too cute! Baked spaghetti and homemade pizza both sound awesome — you really can’t go wrong with sauce, cheese, and carbs. I’ve been on a huge Ben and Jerry’s kick and I’m always looking for my next favorite flavor. How have I missed that one? Toffee in anything is delicious!
Cheese and carbs describes my weekend pretty well- haha! And Ben & Jerry’s coffee toffee favor is so good! There are HUGE pieces of toffee in it 🙂
Okay, going a full 24 hours without pulling out the laptop totally impressed me! Before you said that, I hadn’t even realized that was something that would be difficult for me to do, but I know I would struggle. You look STUNNING in that picture with your roommate. You have this natural beauty about you that is so refreshing.
You know, I didn’t intentionally unplug for so long, but it just kind of happened since I was doing other things, and it was so refreshing. And thanks, Julia!! You’re so sweet! <3
You have been absolutely SLAYING your runs lately! Love all the activeness in terms of hiking/soccer/frisbee as well. I definitely need more of that in my life since I find myself constantly hovering over my laptop most days. And GIRL. That cheesecake photo!!! Did you take that? It’s stunning!
It was so fun to finally have TIME to be active all weekend! I feel like I’m normally chained to my computer, too. And YES, I did take that picture 🙂 I’m constantly being inspired by your beautiful photography!
Hey! I found you through Julia’s blog and I loved your comments. So I came here and read your post. You are such an amazing girl! and…what a cheesecake! I must try to do it! 🙂
Carmen
Carmen, you’re so sweet! So glad you found my blog. I’ll be posting the cheesecake recipe sometime soon!
Really? I can’t wait. Anyway, in this next weeks I’ll check your blog, I think you are a sweet girl and nice person. Lots of love and wishes 😉
My mom always stocks the freezer with ice cream as well- they know us too well! Also so glad you included that great panoramic shot from dinner. 😉
I almost didn’t include that picture since it’s an awkward size and I wasn’t sure if everyone in the picture would be thrilled about it…but it was too funny not to include!
Our moms know the way to our hearts <3
Your weekend sounds incredible – friends and food and family, what could be better?!? I’m not huge on most Easter candy either (though I’m currently loving sweet & sour Starburst jelly beans), so your Easter basket looks pretty perfect to me! I’ve never made a full cheesecake before, though I’d love to (baking bucket list 🙂 ). Cookie dough cheesecake sounds wonderful though, and that picture of it is gorgeous. Have a great Monday!
Making a cheesecake was a lot simpler than I thought it would be! I think I thought it’d be complicated since you need a special pan, but it wasn’t bad at all :). Hope you have a great week, Ellen!
I love your easter basket! Mascara is the perfect gift 🙂
P.S. If you hop over to my blog today, you’ll see a nominated you for the Liebster Award!
Thanks so much for the nomination, Sam!
Sounds like an awesome weekend and an awesome Easter basket! How did I not know about Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Toffee Ice Cream!? I guess that will just have to replace my Blue Bell. 🙁 Can you believe that recall!? I was so sad when I found out! Your cheesecake looks like it turned out great! That’s amazing that you can do a re-creation like that. Sign of an excellent cook! My mom can recreate things like that without a recipe, but I have to have the exact measurements of everything or it most definitely will not turn out haha. One day maybe I’ll be able to be like you guys ;).
I was so surprised to hear about the recall! I’m glad that most of their ice cream wasn’t affected so a lot of it is still safe to buy…but I kind of don’t want to buy it as much at the moment haha. Since I’d never made cheesecake before, I combined a few different recipes to come up with the recipe I ended up using, so I didn’t create it all off the top of my head or anything like that 🙂
That sounds so lovely! What an awesome easter basket. Dog time is the best time.
Killer runs! Are you training for a race?
I was training for a race…but then some plans came up, so now, I’m back to running however I feel like again (which basically ends up being medium distance easy runs every day haha) 🙂
Mmmmm all the desserts in this post are making me crave something sweet…but even more so I’d love a slice of that homemade pizza! 🙂
I love that your mom made you a basket full of the things you like. I can think of no better Easter gift than a Chipotle giftcard!!! That’s way better than a chocolate bunny!
Seriously, a Chipotle gift card is the best possible gift! Sorry for making your crave something sweet 🙂
You take such beautiful pictures! My weekend was busy working and then going to my parent’s house for Easter. I had a couple Reeses eggs for candy, but I eat candy on a regular basis so Easter is like a normal thing. My favorite pizza topping is banana peppers. So tart, but delicious!
Thank you, Ellie! Even though I’m not a huge candy person, Reese’s eggs are definitely my favorite out of all the Easter candy 🙂
That sounds like a really fun weekend! I’m jealous you got to go hiking! And I wish 8:30 pace was relaxed for me…that’s faster than my 5K pace!
Hiking would be the ideal way to spend every single weekend! We should both start doing it more often 🙂
What a fun weekend! You can’t beat cheesecake. Ever!
I looks like you had a great Easter. I haven’t seen that Ben n Jerrys before, but it looks incredible. I need to find some.
That sounds like such an awesome weekend! I didn’t know about that state park in Durham; I might have to check it out sometime when I go home because Durham isn’t that far away.
Also, homemade pizza is the best! The ones you and your friends made look great! And that cheesecake…the Cookie Dough one is the only cheesecake I’ve ever tried from the Cheesecake Factory because it’s my absolute favorite, haha.
Definitely check out Eno River Park! It’s a fun place for an adventure 🙂 YES, I’m so sad that the cheesecake’s gone now- both the homemade one and the one from CF were SO good!
I love your Easter basket, and that cheese cake look simply delicious! I had plans to get in 2 runs over the long weekend but unfortunately I ended up stuck inside with a cold.
Aww, having a cold and being cooped up inside is the worst! Hope you’re feeling better now, Andrea!
I’m so jealous of your easter basket! I wish my mom still did that haha. And your cheesecake looks amazing!
My weekend was amazing! I had some good workouts and fun times with family!
Must have pizza toppings: Mushrooms, basil, onions, and peppers!
I’m not a big dessert person, but my grandma makes a cake in the shape of a bunny for Easter! It’s a big hit with my family 🙂
I love your blog! Thanks!
Those are all of my favorite pizza toppings, too and your grandma’s bunny cake sounds so cute 🙂 Thanks for reading, Will!
I WANT TO SHOVEEEE that ice cream IN MY MOUTh.. And that slice of cheesecake! OH MY – my inner sugar lover is poking her head out! LOL!
I love homemade pizza! We sometimes have pizza nights with our friends where the host makes the dough and sauce and everyone brings their own toppings. We then make a bunch of little pizzas and everyone can feast on everything. It’s the best!! My favorite pizza to make is typical sauce/pepporoni/mozz but also with goat cheese crumblings and basil. It’s delicious!
Glad you had a great weekend 🙂
I am quite literally drooling over that cheesecake <3 Happy late Easter, Liv!
I can’t remember the last time I went 24 hours without opening my laptop. Is that sad? 🙁 I work via my laptop, so I guess that is how I justify it. Durham sounds really familiar. When my husband and I were in Greenville, SC we drove through a part of NC to get to the Biltmore. Is that near that region?
Have you tried the new Ben & Jerry’s flavor The Tonight Dough. Amazing. Looks like you had a wonderful Easter weekend and ate very well. 🙂
All of my work for school is on my laptop, too, so it’s almost impossible to escape it! If I can get ahead on work and take a shorter break every once in a while in the future, I’d be all for that 🙂 I’m not great at directions, but that does sound right– you definitely could’ve driven through Durham!
I haven’t tried the Tonight Dough since I haven’t seen it at the grocery store yet, but oh my goodness, it sounds incredible!
What an amazing weekend with friends! I’m old now and don’t have sleepovers, but I remember those days of staying up all night chatting away with my soccer team. That’s where the memories are made! And all that pizza? Yum!
Sounds like a perfect weekend to me! I can’t wait for it to warm up here enough to go hiking. I made homemade pizza over the weekend too. My favorite topping combo is fresh tomatoes, pineapple, and spinach, plus a heavy pinch of crushed red pepper – I love spicy foods!
In my family I am the “Easter bunny” and make a basket for everyone. I love trying to think of things that I know each person will like besides candy – although you can bet some Cadbury Mini Eggs and Starburst Jellybeans will find their way in there too!
Also, that baked spaghetti looks delicious. I’ve never had it before…recipe?!
YUM, your pizza topping combo sounds so delicious! And I love that you make each person in your family an Easter basket.
For the baked spaghetti, I didn’t use a recipe but I layered in a 13×9 baking dish:
Half of the homemade sauce, half of the pasta (~8 ounces), half of the ricotta (~8 ounces), half of the mozzarella, (~4 ounces), and then repeated the layers once more. I topped it all off with more sauce and then parmesan cheese and baked it uncovered for 45 minutes at 350!
This looks amazing!! What a fun Easter! Your basket looks delicious and so fun! 🙂 And you recreated the cheesecake! Sweet!
It was quite sweet- literally! 🙂