Landmark Music Festival

What a whirlwind weekend! My head is still buzzing from all the amazing music at Landmark. ALT-J, Drake, the Strokes, Miguel, Chromeo, Band of Horses, CHVRCHES, so many bands killed it. It was definitely one of the more chiller music festivals I've been to, it wasn't completely packed and people tended to respect personal space. Day one I of course had to wear my YOLO polo (featured here), since Drake was headlining. The best part about music festivals later in the year is that it isn't blazing hot. I was able to wear a hat and this shearling denim jacket I picked up from target that I am obsessed with. Day two we went all-out in matching American flag leggings, talk about SQUAD GOALS. Those leggings have seem to become a music festival staple. People tended to aggressively compliment our patriotism, which we were on board with. Though festival season is done for me, I'm so happy with all the ones I've been to this year. I can't wait for next year.

Adirondacks

I am in the process of hiking all 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks. It's a goal that has been on-going for some time, and will probably take the next few years to complete. A couple weeks ago my boyfriend and I took a few days to go and get some peaks under our belts (well my belt, he finished all 46 at the age of 10 or something). It was a fun and arduous trip with lots of ups and downs. Highlights included getting into double-digits for hiked peaks, summiting my first mountain with a full pack, successfully opening a can of ravioli without a can opener while car camping, setting up our tent near a lake, drinking whiskey, listening to podcasts and going to bed as soon as it got dark. One of my favorite moments was after a 10 mile hike, stripping down and going for a swim in Heart Lake. The feeling of floating weightless after a day of trekking up and down mountains is the most freeing feeling. The low points included have to descend 2,000 feet in one mile with a full pack (resulting in lots of tears), losing our tent poles, and having to hike out early. Even though my boyfriend is a very experienced outdoorsman, trips like this show that anything can happen. It's always a great lesson in strength to push through the tough times and accept that out in nature, you relinquish a lot of control about your surroundings. Though we had to leave the woods sooner than we wanted, it meant chowing down on cheeseburgers and blueberry pie at our favorite diner.

Up next? I'm headed down to Washington, D.C. for Landmark music festival. I can't wait to boogie down to Alt-j, Drake, the Strokes, and so many more. Make sure to follow me on instagram for updates @foxtrailsblog

Chocolate Chip Brown Butter Nutella-Stuffed Cookies with Sea Salt

Recipe for these cookies is from Ambitious Kitchen, with a few minor changes.

Ok, so let's talk about these cookies. They have all the right buzzwords. Chocolate chip? Check. Brown butter? Check. Nutella? Check check check. Sea salt? Too late I've eaten 1,000 of them and am now in a food coma. 

Full disclosure, these cookies require more work than I previously thought, but are SO WORTH IT. Just like you probably shouldn't eat more than one, but you do and again...worth it! So what are you waiting for? Let's get started!

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1 jar of Nutella, chilled in refrigerator

Coarse sea salt for sprinkling

*the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips and 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips. To cut a little bit of the sweetness and cost I eliminated the milk chocolate chips and upped the semi-sweet and the dark.

First thing's first - put that nutella in the fridge to chill. I forgot this step and ended up having to wait to make these. 

Next get your dry ingredients together - in a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.

Place the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat, whisking constantly. (This is the part that I was kind of nervous about. I wasn't sure if I would know when 'brown butter' happened and I would just end up burning it.) If you keep your eye on it, you'll know when it turns brown and smells like caramel. It's a very clear transformation that takes place. Take it off the heat and immediately transfer to your mixing bowl. Wait for it to cool, about 10-15 minutes for me. Do yourself a favor, if you transfer the butter into a metal mixing bowl, maybe don't touch the bottom to see if it's hot? The answer is, it is still scalding hot and now you no longer have fingerprints. 

Once the butter cools, add the sugars and mix until combined. It will look like a bit like wet sand. Scrape down the sides and add the egg yolk, vanilla, and greek yogurt. Mixture will come out looking smooth and silky.

The next step is to slowly at the dry ingredients. With your mixer on low, add the flour, baking soda and salt a little at a time. You may want to switch to your dough hook for the step, I didn't because I'm lazy. When all the dry ingredients are incorporated, you'll be left with a thick dough. Fold in the chocolate chips (i used my hands for this - my favorite cooking tools). Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take the dough out and nutella of the refrigerator. Spoiler: this is the tricky part. It took me a while to get the hang of it. Roll about 1.5 tablespoons of dough into a ball. Flatten it down in your hands. Add a teaspoon of the chilled nutella to the center and fold the dough over. You want to make sure none of the nutella is peaking out. You can grab more dough to fill up any gaps. Then roll the dough back into a ball and place it on your baking sheet. 

Gently tamp down the dough with your fingers. I made my cookies a little bigger, so I fit 9 to a sheet pan. Place in the oven for 9-11 minutes (or 15-18 if you made gigantic ones like me), until the cookies turn golden.

Take the cookies out and sprinkle them with a touch of sea salt. Move them to a cooling rack to completely cool down.

Lastly, eat and enjoy!

Sundaze

One of my favorite parts about living in Philadelphia is how easy it is to get out of the city and into nature. Wissahickon Park is only a 15 minute drive from my apartment, so that's where you'll find me on a Sunday morning. Yesterday my boyfriend, roommate and I went to the Wissahickon for a little hike. Jimmy needed to collect plant specimens for a class, so we spent a couple hours getting a botany lesson from him and learning how to press plants. The Wissahickon is such a cool place because you immediately forget that you're just beyond the city. Every time I go hiking, I find new places to explore. It's a place that's filled with cool little things, like this statue we stubbled upon. I'm always the one trying to get us to go down to the water, leading us down a treacherous path to take off our shoes (and shirts) to cool off our feet in the water. Spending a beautiful day in the woods is always my favorite way to round out a great weekend.

This weekend in particular was one of reflection and humility. It's easy to get caught up in being stressed out sometimes, I know that this one of the things I really struggle with. This weekend I was overwhelmed with the love and support of people around me. I often forget when I'm going though something, that I am never alone. Knowing I have so many people cheering me on from the sidelines is truly a wonderful thing. So thank you to everyone who has supported me, I can't wait for what the future has in store! 

Levis and Bikes

Shirt: Urban Outfitters//Levis: Thrifted//Platform sneakers: Forever 21

These pictures were taken this past weekend, riding around town with Chloe. I've been obsessed with these Levis since I spotted them at the thrift store. There snug in all the right places, but still feel relaxed. I don't know know why, but something about light denim with a flowy top screams weekend outfit to me. I picked up this crop from Urban Outfitters a couple weeks ago. It has quickly become a staple in my wardrobe. I love that it has the extra special detail of an  open back. Perfect for biking around town in the summer time.

I got a new bike immediately after moving to Philadelphia, having purposely left my old one in Brooklyn. I bought this hunter green Free Spirit on Craigslist and I think it suits me well. Philly is really accessible by bike, there are bike lanes on many of the major roads. With all of that being said, there are still huge dangers about biking in any city. I've found that drivers aren't automatically aware of bikers. I've had a couple close calls, despite my attempts to be overly wary. Unfortunately, there are just those nasty people that will always try to run you off the road or scream at you even though you're doing nothing wrong. Being a biker has made me extra cautious when it comes to being in vehicles, always checking my mirror before opening doors and always looking before I turn. What's biking in your cities like?

Disclaimer: I ALWAYS wear a helmet, and strongly believe everyone should. I took it off for these photos because FASHUN.

Visit Philly: Eastern State Penitentiary & Vetri Pizza

Where to go: Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave

Where to eat: Vetri Pizza, 1939 Callowhill St

So I'm starting a new section of the blog that I'm calling Visit Philly. I always love reading blogs that show the best places to go when visiting a city. There always the obvious must sees, but when it comes to visiting a new place it's great to have advice from the locals. No one likes ending up in a tourist trap where you pay $20 for a mediocre sandwich because you're so hungry. On this post I recap my day with my brother and roommate yesterday visiting Eastern State Penitentiary and then gorging ourselves on the pies at Vetri Pizza.

A couple years ago, before I moved to Philly, I was visiting my friend Katherine who has lived here for a couple years. We were eating at a place called Mugshots, across the street from the Penitentiary. I was asking her about it and she said that she had never been. We impulsively went across the street after eating and took a tour. Since then it has become one of my favorite places in Philly. 

I expected myself to be holed up doing work this whole weekend, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was done at a reasonable time on Sunday. Since the Penitentiary closes before I get out of work on the weekdays, I wanted to take advantage of my afternoon and share it with two Philly residents who have never been! First of all, the audio tour is narrated by Steve Buscemi - really what more do you need? The soothing voice of Steve Buscemi guiding you around one of the nation's oldest prisons is exactly the way I want to spend my Sunday. Once you're inside the high walls, it's easy to forget the bustling city just on the other side. It's a mix of beautiful and haunting, and with so much history! Definitely a great place to go to escape the city for a couple hours and learn a ton.

For dinner, one of the best places to go is Vetri Pizza. It's right next to the Barnes' Foundation, so the perfect place to go if you find yourself in that neighborhood. It is owned by the James Beard award winning chef, Marc Vetri so you know the food is on point. When I studied abroad in Italy, pizza was my diet. I ate it almost everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. My cravings for that thin crust, oven-baked personal pie never quite went away. There's nothing quite like sitting al fresco, drinking a beer and finishing an entire pizza by yourself. My recommendation: crudo pizza with prosciutto and ricotta or the quattro formaggi pizza!