.mikee💕 cookies - dark chocolate & mint.

happy birthday, mike!
(his birthday is really on the 27th, so prepare your bday wishes now.)

I made up this cookie recipe based off of your standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and then tweaked the heck out of it to create this masterpiece:

mikee💕 cookies.

a rich, 

dark chocolate, 

mint cookie

now, I know how this usually goes:

you find a recipe title that sounds really good, you click into it to find out it's a blog, and then the author writes foooooorever about all sorts of stories until it leaves you saying:

please just

give me 

the recipe!!!

fear not: I got you.
the only thing I want to say is that this recipe was inspired into existence because mike had mentioned how much he loved dark chocolate and then another time he mentioned how andes mints are one of his favorite candies so I wanted to surprise him with his own cookie to celebrate our first six months of dating. (aw, we're so precious.)

boom. done. now here are the ingredients, mix, and bake instructions.

---

MIKEE💕 COOKIES

::ingredients::
dry
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder, sifted

wet
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/5 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

garnish
2 cups chopped andes mints (about 2.5 boxes)
1/2 cup crushed walnuts (optional)

::mix::

• first step: cut up those andes mints and place them off to the side. have them ready early!
• chop tips - I usually: 
• line up about five of these mints at a time on a cutting board 
• for about 3/4 of all mints - slice across four cuts (the end result will leave you with nice small squares)
• for about 1/4 of all mints - slice across three cuts (the end result will leave you with larger chunks)
• then, chop these slices each in half

• take those ingredients in the dry section and sift them together in a smaller bowl. gently stir (flour and powder will fly otherwise; please just trust me on this)

• beat the ingredients in the wet section until creamy smooth in a large bowl (the largest bowl you have, the better)

• gently stir in dry mix to the wet mix (again, if you do not follow this: it will fly around your whole kitchen, landing on the counter, your floor, the cabinets, you, the pets, the children -- everywhere. you've been warned.)
• mix tips - I usually:
• scoop in 1/4-1/2 cups of flour at a time
• start mixing with a wooden spoon and then once it gets thick, switch to mixing with hands (one hand on the bowl, one hand in the dough)

• fold in ingredients from the garnish section
• fold tips - I usually:
• dump half the amount of garnish into the dough and fold in
• add the rest of the pieces slowly. this is to ensure that the dough isn't stretched to thin to the point of your mints and/or walnuts falling out of your cookie (this might have happened to me before, okay?)

• scoop out dough and place on cookie sheet. roll with hands to create a smooth lump of cookie dough. (move on to bake instructions, or begin eating now*)

just scooped

hand rolled

(*PSA: it's not recommended to eat cookie dough because of both the raw egg & raw flour.)

::bake::
set oven to bake, 375° F
leave cookies in for ~9 minutes
cool on wire rack

fresh baked

---

viola! done.

enjoy your delicious cookies. share with your friends, family, coworkers. (or don't. let them perish in jealousy.)

let me know if you tried making these, if you ended up adjusting the recipe, and how they turned out!

more about the background to this cookie:
I decided to create this recipe early on (like a couple months prior to our six months), so I decided to lay some groundwork. I told mike about all the failed baking attempts I've had in the past (there are a number), but especially when it comes to basic chocolate chip cookies. I would mentioned this every couple of weeks, so it would really set in how I cannot bake.

a bit before our 6 months
st. augustine, fl

then when we were opening our care packages over facetime, he was surprised with a couple pounds of rich dark chocolate mint cookies. it was so much fun and then we've been adjusting the recipe ever since to make it the best it can be.

happy birthday again to the love of my life. 💕 muah.

until next time,
emily renee

.ldr.

being in a long-distance relationship was never in my plan.

I've considered the concept of ldr's in passing before, but not with any need to commit to one or taking it into serious consideration.

we entered into one without even meaning to.

our first date was supposed to be a one-time thing, just an easy hangout, especially since I wasn't looking to date anyone seriously with my impending washington move and he was recently out of a serious relationship and about to head back to the east coast. all it was supposed to be was fun conversation and a game of pool.

then we met.
then we talked.
then we clicked.
then we met up for dinner the next night. and the next.
...then he left california.

it wasn't supposed to turn into anything, but as I left the second date, I stopped myself from saying:

"bye, love you!"

🙈

I had no idea what to expect. 

we continued talking, texting, facetiming. became linked on facebook and instagram. 

two weeks after we'd met, we both realized on our own: we were in trouble. we liked the other person so much.

he came back to california in march, a little over a month since we'd gone on our first date. he was back for about three weeks. I wasn't sure if this is where things would end. 

things continued progressing and we discussed staying together and trying the long-distance thing for real. 

we've taken trips across the country over the summer to see each other. a week in florida. a weekend in florida. a weekend and a couple days in california. a trip to hawaii together. an upcoming trip to califonia in december. 

at the time of this post, we've been together eight and half months. I make the cross-country move two and half months. I've never been happier. 

michael is my best friend. he's my biggest supporter and comforter. he's got the kind of weird that melds with mine. his heart is so genuine. he knows how to make me smile and laugh (like, ugly laugh so hard). he's my life partner. he's the brightness in my life and encourages me to be the best version of myself just by being himself. he's the best thing that ever happened to me, the best gift from God that I've been blessed with.

(which is saying quite a lot, 

since I've been blessed enormously with 

long-time best friends, a great family, an amazing niece.)

long-distance isn't easy. 

every day, I wish I could hold his hand, have a hug, just look at him in-person. 

facetime and phone calls glitch often, freezing on funny faces, cutting out words or whole sentences, which can be frustrating, especially at the end of a long day. 

photos together help a little, until they don't, because all you want is to be next to your person again. 

time apart feels like years, dragging along.

it does make the time together sweeter. 

cherishing every moment together. 

a weekend can feel like two weeks with all the fun-packed days. 

reminding us why we choose each other, how we work well - even with almost 3,000 miles in between.

it makes the future feel so much brighter.

when we'll actually be together consistently. 

living life near each other and seeing how we are as actual people in our every day lives. 

planning for all the adventures we'll have, all the meals we'll make. 

a long-distance relationship wasn't in my plan, but the person on the other end makes it all so worth it. I'd choose this every time. I'd go through everything I've gone through before just to get to him again. I want to go anywhere, everywhere with him.

here's a couple tips to surviving an ldr:

• intentional conversations (what you looking for; what are you feeling now; how do you want to go about making this work; what do you want from this)
• scheduling time together (phone calls, facetime: dates, watching movies and shows, streaming and playing video games, and sleepovers)

mike & emily, est. february 3, 2019

only a few months until forever.

well, if that's enough mush for you, congratulations! you've made it to the end of the post. 

until next time, 

emily renee

.road trip across the country.

I'm moving!

this plan for moving has been slowly in motion for years. I set a deadline for myself last summer since I don't want to be stuck in my hometown forever. I enjoy my hometown and think it's great, but I need a change.

the original plan was to move up north on the west coast, only a short flight from home. deadline was summer 2020. (I apparently have a deep fear of born-living-dying all in one place. my therapist said to use it as a motivator instead of being frozen by anxiety.)

the plan shifted earlier this year. first the location changed from northwest to southeast. then the timeline was bumped up from summer 2020 to the beginning of the new year.

that's right folks: I'm moving to the east coast in january 2020!

why? you might ask. 

(if you're really asking, we really need to catch up.)

because I would like to date my partner in the same state.


for the whole of 2019, our relationship has been long-distance.

my favorite picture of us
san francisco, ca

facetime dates

the situation has had some silver linings, like we both get to be closer to our families, we get to know each other a bit better before one of us uproots our entire life, there's more time to evaluate a situation vs. having an immediate reaction, and we each have gotten a fair amount of travel time to see each other.

yosemite, ca

orlando, fl

monterey, ca

pahoa, hi

but I'm really looking forward to being in the same general area with my partner for a long-term time, versus only sharing the same space for a few days to perhaps a few weeks at a time.

I plan to track the move across the country here, so if you'd like to stay tuned, stick around.

this is the first time I'm moving since I was six (and that move was across town). if you're thinking about moving soon, or getting ready to move out to somewhere brand new, I might be able to share some insight to prepare you.

current route

if you've moved lots before, let me know! if you've done a cross-country roadtrip before, let me know! share your wisdom.

until next time,
emily renee

.greetings from hawaii.

flew in to the big island yesterday!

settled into our first airbnb mid afternoon & got out a bit to see some lava rocks & black sand beach.

going to keep this short since we're going to focus on our time here together. we decided to do this as a fun trip together before spending the next couple months apart before the ~big move~ (more details in next weekend's post!) and a sort-of birthday trip for the both of us (yay october babies).

speaking of october babies - happy birthday to my little brother! this trip fell right on his birthday, so unfortunately we couldn't be there on his day. here's to having a great day, ben, and we'll see you once we're back. ♡

goals for this trip is relaxation and adventure! top three items - massage, explore the volcano national park, and see a luau. otherwise, we're looking at eating well, enjoying the beach, making up our daily schedule.

until next time,
emily renee