October 31, 2018 by Nicole Collins TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!! It’s here. It’s finally here! The Yummy Muffin goes international TODAY! And today, we’re making something that will make us all feel like we’re strolling through the streets of Italy. 2 weekends ago, I had the opportunity to take a private pasta making class with an incredible woman named Laurie that I met through Instagram, of all places. She makes the most AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL homemade pastas. And she’s about to start teaching classes at one of the local spots where I love to take cooking classes. So, we connected, and the next thing you know, I’m in her kitchen learning some of her tips and tricks for making gorgeous pasta mys
October 29, 2018 by Nicole Collins Guys, I can’t believe I’m just 2 days away from my first international adventure! When we booked this trip back in March, it seemed like it would never get here. It was so distant! But, time is flying, fo sho! Before we know it, it’ll be Christmas! And, I am soooooooooo ready for Christmas. I’ve actually already decided that the day after I get home from my trip, I’m turning my house in to a winter wonderland and decorating for Christmas. For anyone doing the math, yes that means I’ll be decorating for Christmas during the first week of November. Don’t judge me. Because I’ve been so darn cold (at least that’s the excuse I’m going with), I have not been eati
October 27, 2018 by Nicole Collins OK, can we talk about cravings for a second? Are cravings the strangest things, or what? It’s crazy how our brains trick us in to thinking there’s a food or taste that we can’t live without. It takes us to a place where we obsess about it over and over until we can’t take it anymore, and we have to eat it immediately. Some cravings last longer than others, and some are definitely more intense than others. Someone told me once that if you can ignore a craving for 3 mins, it will go away. I’m guessing that’s for one of those more impromptu cravings like chocolate icecream at night than it is for the weeklong cravings for sushi. Then, sometimes we get cravings
October 23, 2018 by Nicole Collins Sometimes, if you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself. I’ve always had that mentality. Sometimes it works for me. Sometimes it gets me in to trouble. But, that’s always my go to instinct. The past few months, I’ve been on the hunt for some amazing shrimp and grits. Actually, pretty much since the spring, my friend Alison and I have scoured tons of menus looking for restaurants that had shrimp and grits on their brunch or dinner menu. The first time we found it on a menu, it was during Lent when I was on a seafood only diet. That version was made with andouille sausage, so I couldn’t have it. I considered cheating for it. But, I knew b
October 20, 2018 by Nicole Collins Do you guys ever pretend you're better at something than you really are? This doesn't necessarily need to apply to an activity. Maybe it's a skill set or a characteristic that you try your best to act like you have, even though you know you don't. Yeah, I'm not talking about one of those moments when you're blinded by your own awesomeness and can't see the truth. I'm talking about when you know you have that thing that you're blatantly no good at, but you keep telling yourself that if you keep ignoring that fact, maybe one day you'll magically not suck at that thing. For me, one of my biggest and most recent issues is my memory. I have an awful memory. AWFU
October 16, 2018 by Nicole Collins Guys, I'm totally older and wiser than I was the last time we chatted. Ok, maybe not wiser. But, definitely older! That's right...yesterday was my birthday! Cue every version of every happy birthday song ever written! You know, all of the grown ups are right...birthdays get a lot less exciting the older you get. Don't get me wrong, I still totally love my birthday. But, I did WAY too much adulting yesterday. Aren't you supposed to get a hall pass from responsibility on your birthday? Every year on my birthday, my mom and I both take the day off of work to spend the day shopping and eating together. But, I had to work yesterday since I'm hoarding all of my n
October 13, 2018 by Nicole Collins I told you guys we were going to live soup season to the fullest this fall! It's funny, because we've definitely been having some leftover summer weather for the past couple of weeks. And, you guys know I've been loving every single minute of it. But, yesterday marked the day that fall finally decided to show up. :-/ The 10 day forecast looks like nothing but doom and gloom with weather in the low 60's or high 50's. I knew this day would come eventually, but I am soooooo not ready for it. At least there's soup. So remember about two weeks ago I told you about these pretty soup mugs that I got at Renn fest, but I wasn't sure what to fill them with? Well, it
October 8, 2018 by Nicole Collins I have a really serious question for you guys today. Ok, here it goes. When you guys encounter a word that you don't know, whether it's don't know how to say it, spell it, or what it means; do you just smile and nod? Or, do you look up the word and teach yourself something new? What! That's a real question! Inquiring minds want to know!! I'm asking for a reason. When I was at Renn fest two weekends ago, my friend, Alison, and I encountered a word we didn't know. We were at this photo op where you stuck your head through the guillotine and put a sign around your neck with an adjective that described your crime. The word we saw was “lech”, and neither of us ha
October 6, 2018 by Nicole Collins Isn't it funny how we associate certain foods with certain months? We do this with colors too. But, not all of the months have a food or a color, yet some have both. Let's go through the list. January doesn't really have anything connected to it. February would be chocolate and pink. March is green. I associate April as blue because of the rain. I'm not sure you could call that official, though. May and June don't have anything. July would be red, white, and blue. Nothing for August. September is apples. October is pumpkin, orange, and pink. (Shout out to my bday month of October for have 3 things, btw! Even though two of those things are orange...yuck.) Nov
October 2, 2018 by Nicole Collins Soup season is upon us! I so love that I'm a soup eater now. I don't even know what I was thinking back in the day when I used to be a soup hater. I was at the local Renaissance festival this past weekend, and I totally got sucked in and bought these amazing stoneware soup mugs. If you've ever been to a Renaissance festival (Renn fest is what we call it in Maryland), you know there are tons of vendors selling amazingly gorgeous stuff that is not one bit practical. At least not practical for everyday 2018 Maryland life. There are flowers crowns, and costumes, and masks, and swords, and jewelry, and all kinds of one of a kind stuff that you can buy. The proble
