Being a regular adult is going to be a transition. A regular adult works 9-5. A regular adult can get back to doing things in the evening and going to bed early. It also means that I don’t have leisurely mornings for dog walking and yoga. It also means that I don’t have a lot of down time at work to write in a blog.

Being a regular adult, with regular adult is actually pretty awesome—and my shifts FLY by, as I am actually busy at work and get to work with seven people, not just one. Turns out I like social interaction with more than just one person. Crazy, I know.

Shifting to my new schedule also gave me a random three-day weekend this week. I didn’t even know what to do with myself. I think I may be slightly iron deficient, as I felt sloth like all weekend. This caused me to seek comfort over activity, and I ended up in a legging/tunic combo almost all weekend, seeking therapy and routine in the kitchen.

Before I dive into all the AWESOME-ness that I created in the kitchen, I forgot about the incredible Sound of Music sing-along I took part in on Saturday. Yep, all of those things are real.

My good friend won tickets to what I would compare to the Rocky Horror Picture Show except it was The Sound of Music, and instead of people dressed up at Frankenfurter, there was a whole family dressed up in white dresses with blue satin sashes. Basically, it was incredible. It was like a three-hour (that movie is LONG) ‘G’ rated karaoke party. Like I said, incredible.

After singing to Julie Andrews at the top of our lungs we had a lovely chat about self-love, feminism and how we may never find our bearded dream men. We hung out at the cutest little bar in Ballard, munching on roasted brussel sprouts and apple sauce while drinking IPA out of mason jars. Oh Seattle, you fit my cliché like a glove.

This weekend was also one of sunshine and t-shirt weather temperatures, which inspired me to weed for three hours. There is something so therapeutic about weeding, ripping down dead trees and sticker bushes is soul cleansing. I have battle wounds all over my legs and arms and my eyes were itchy for three days, but GOD it felt good. So much so that my roomie came out to see what I was doing, saw the look of joy on my face, and joined in the fun. It is so gratifying to see all your hard work result in something as magical as a cleared space of yard.

All of this fresh air brought me back to my comfort zone, AKA my kitchen, where I baked delicious sweet potato muffins, a giant batch of granola, homemade gluten-free/vegan cornbread, vegan chili AND the most amazing cookies of my life. If I were to tell you the details of all of these endeavors, it would get boring. So I’m just going to focus on those life changing cookies.

The recipe came from one of the food blogs I check incessantly—My New Roots. Not only is this recipe a mind-blowing taste explosion of awesome sauce (yes, they are that good) it also inspired me to make my own almond butter. Oh. My. God. Why oh WHY wasn’t I doing this before??!? Not only is it the easiest thing ever, it also is cheaper and makes you look awesome when you say you just whipped up some of your own almond butter. I have a feeling that it is going to make a nut butter fiend—making nut butters like you wouldn’t believe. I’m going to clear out the Trader Joe’s nut stock and go into a frenzy. It will be epic.

Anyhoo, for those of you interested in whipping up your own nut butter, the simplicity will rock your world. You can then use said nut butter to make the cookies that are so good (and kind of/sort of healthy) that you will probably be inspired to whip up two batches of them (like I did) and be a little bit bashful about how quickly they are making their way into your stomach.

Homemade Almond Butter

2 cups almonds (or any nut)

Roast almonds/nut of choice in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 375, or until golden brown and aromatic

Pop those bad boys in a food processor, blend for two minutes. Scrape the sides and get all that goodness back towards the blade and then blend for another two minutes, until the oils are released and the creamy goodness of awesomeness is created.

Put in an airtight container or use to make these mind-blowing cookies.