I won't lie. I think I've probably baked every chocolate chip cookie recipe claiming to be the "best." As a teenager I think I made the classic Nestle Tollhouse recipe so often I had it memorized for many years. Sadly as an adult you begin to realize the chocolate chip/dough ratio is so poor no matter how many chocolate chips you add in. More recently my go-to was the NY Times recipe which uses cake flour and bread flour rather than all-purpose flour. But it has a wait time which is often really hard to abide by when it comes to baking. Eating the dough is rather tempting when it's just sitting there for an extended period of time. Then I moved on to a sea salt chocolate chip recipe I adapted from somewhere else, and made it so much people grew tired of it.

I can't believe that there is less than a week until Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year despite the mountain of stress I put on myself. Yes, I cook an entire Thanksgiving meal (turkey, mashed potatoes, and even pies) all by myself. Everyone else just gets to enjoy their morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, eating well thought out light snacks, and, well, watching me like I'm some kind of Food Network cooking show. Then there's my dog who spends the entire afternoon tripping me in the kitchen when she gets tired of watching the post-parade airing of the dog show (okay fine, she's just sleeping).

One of my favorite deserts is a classic chocolate chip cookie. If it's warm even better. I think I've made every recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I have the Toll House recipe memorized. I've tried what the New York Times claims is the best recipe of all time. I've learned nearly every tip and trick to making the best cookies ever. I've even made up my own recipes. I guess I'm a little...obsessed; so naturally when the cookies from the Vanilla Bean Baking Book kept popping up on my Instagram feed I knew I had to give them a try.

Fourth of July is just a few days away. A time where everything to make a great American burger is on sale, so why not make the best at home burger possible? A few weeks back I received Shake Shack: Recipes & Stories as a gift (or bribe to make cheese sauce..either way). Pretty much everyone knows how much I love the Shack or just burgers in general so I was really excited to try to make one of my favorite burgers at home. Truth be told, I wasn't that great at making burgers at home...until now.

The Hotel Valley Ho has always been one of my favorite places in Scottsdale. It has been open since 1956 and designed by a Frank Lloyd Wright student, Edward L. Varney. It quickly became known as a fashionable hot spot of the valley and a favorite of celebrities and sports stars. In 1973 it was purchased by the Ramada hotel chain and its vintage design was deemed "out of date" and covered. In the early 2000's it was purchased again and restored to its chic, mid-century modern look where it has remained ever since. Throughout its years it has expanded to include a high-rise with new guest rooms and condos and the American restaurant, Cafe ZuZu. It has even been called one of the "best preserved mid-century modern hotels in the country."

Sharing what I usually buy at the grocery store and realizing how often I do eat like a bird got me thinking about cooking meals. I do love to cook, but the last recipe I really put a ton of effort into making went terribly so I've felt a bit uninspired. Not to mention I've accidentally cut my fingers on every knife and vegetable peeler I touch recently. Uninspired, accident prone, and terrible seem to be the adjectives that best define me lately.

Sharing what I buy at the grocery store feels a little strange, but I try to curate this blog as more of a magazine. There are tons of articles and pieces from celebrity nutritionists and dietitians sharing what they make sure they feed their famous clients. But alas I'm a normal person so what does anyone really care about what I purchase on a daily basis?