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Amy Chen

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Schooley's Mountain

October 9, 2014

This place has been begging for a blog entry since before I even started blogging. I discovered Schooley’s Mountain Park this summer, about a month ago – when I was researching new local places to explore. My parents / younger brother aren’t as adventuresome as I am … (I’m basically the alien of the family), so this place (among many other nearby places) have never been explored despite living here all my life. Spending 4 years at school in NYC had me conditioned (aka spoiled) to go out and do things every chance I had because the city always had something going on. After graduating and coming back home, I missed that thrill – and was determined to find “hidden gems” of suburban NJ. This is by far the best gem I found this summer, and I think it currently holds the spot of “favorite happy place” in my heart. I often come here now on the weekends with my mom, but I’ve only taken two solo trips to the park: September 2 and yesterday (October 8). Those 2 solo trips were by far the best – and take the cake.

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In wanderlust Tags hiking, Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey, overlook, waterfall

Apple Bread

September 29, 2014

Last Friday I baked apple bread for the first time ever. I’ve made many variations of banana bread before, but I’ve never even heard of apple bread until I started researching quick/easy apple recipes last week. I went apple-picking recently, and I have been wanting to bake something with the apples since bringing them home from the farm. They basically have been sitting in a box in the kitchen begging for me to bake something yummy with them. My first thoughts involved attempting a salted caramel apple pie because I’ve also never baked an apple pie before… but my lazy ass didn’t feel like it. I feel like you really have to be in the mood to commit time into making the perfect pie, and I guess I wasn’t feelin’ it last Friday. I made my first pie ever this summer (a blueberry pie), and it was fun and delicious and everything, but it took me the span of 3 days to make it between getting all the ingredients, making the dough from scratch, letting the dough set in the fridge, prepping the filling, cutting / weaving the lattices, and then FINALLY putting it in the oven. It was a lot of work – work that my lazy ass didn’t feel like doing at the end of last week. I do want to attempt an apple pie some day, but last Friday was not that day. Let’s be real – we all have our lazy days. Maybe I’ll feel more motivated for a special occasion … (Thanksgiving, mayhaps?)

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In food Tags apples, apple picking, baking, fall, autumn, recipe, apple bread, food styling, prop styling
amy_chen_design_alstede_farms_1

An Afternoon at Alstede

September 22, 2014

Yesterday, I spent an afternoon at Alstede Farms (Chester, NJ) – and it was seriously the best day. It was the perfect mix of food and adventure, so it was right up my alley. ;)

The leaves in New Jersey are starting to change colors, and the air is finally getting crisper and cooler. Fall is my favorite season, and it’s finally arrived! I’ve never been to Alstede before, and can’t believe my family has never gone since we only live about 20 minutes away. While I was there, I overheard people talking about how they had come from hours and hours away. After spending the afternoon there, I totally don’t blame them for coming from so far away. It’s absolutely worth it.

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In food, wanderlust Tags fall, apple picking, pick your own, PYO, CSA, organic, farming, eat local, clean eating, New Jersey, Chester, agriculture, jersey fresh, corn, harvest, farm, Alstede Farms, eat clean, butterfly, monarch butterfly, donkey, healthy eating, pumpkin picking, pumpkins, pumpkin patch, fruits, veggies, farmland, sunflower, ice cream, doughnut, peacock, pig
amy_chen_design_guacamole.JPG

MY GO-TO GUACAMOLE RECIPE

September 16, 2014

I wasn’t planning to write my second blog entry so soon, but today is a very special and important day: National Guacamole Day – so I made an exception! 

Guac is one of my favorite things to both make and eat. It’s easy to make and also healthy for you – what more could ya ask for? It’s something I taught myself how to make through experimenting and made often while I was away at college. I've made it on my desk multiple times when other people were in the kitchen LOL - no need for fancy facilities or tools! ;)

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In food Tags food, guacamole, national guacamole day, guac, noms
A fortune I opened the day after starting this blog; I shit you not. 

A fortune I opened the day after starting this blog; I shit you not. 

What are YOU waiting for?

September 15, 2014

Today’s the day. I’ve decided I FINALLY, actually, seriously, really am going to start a blog. It is something I have contemplated for months and months… and I am finally taking the damn plunge. I’ve thought about it so many times before, and I constantly made excuses and put it off. What is the “theme” of my blog going to be? What will I name it? Will anyone really read it? Will anyone care? Am I a good enough writer? The whole world is going to judge the shit out of me. I’m going to wait until I have a full-time steady job. I’m going to wait until I have my own apartment so I have a prettier interior to photograph. I’m going to wait until I have things to blog about. I’m going to wait until people know who I am. No more waiting.

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In real talk Tags Austin Kleon, Show Your Work!, blog, motivation
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AMYVENTURES

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The Summer It Turned Yummy
The Summer It Turned Yummy
about 3 weeks ago
Recess in Cape May
Recess in Cape May
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Strawberry Picking, Peony Peeping, Park Frolicking
Strawberry Picking, Peony Peeping, Park Frolicking
about 4 months ago
Spring Things
Spring Things
about 5 months ago
Cemetery Season: Poetry Month + The Grief of April
Cemetery Season: Poetry Month + The Grief of April
about 6 months ago
Solo Day Trip to Seaside Heights
Solo Day Trip to Seaside Heights
about 6 months ago
Reframing a "Mundane Chore" as an Adventure: Visiting a New Grocery Store
Reframing a "Mundane Chore" as an Adventure: Visiting a New Grocery Store
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Creating In Community
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A Sunny Sunday for the Soul in NYC
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Christmas Cookies 2024
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INSTAGRAM

@AMYVENTURES
the life of a tomato girl ✨🍅👩🏻‍🌾✨

made the executive decision to harvest the rest of my tomatoes last week when we got our first fall freeze warning 🥶 went out there at 9 pm in the dark and filled up all 3 of my larger sheet pans 😂 (they&r
one last dose of summer this weekend in one of our favorite places 🌞 new @taylorswift music blaring from my car’s speakers down the parkway ❤️‍🔥 ocean beaches back open for the dogs 🐾 the clearest and bluest skies, water warm enough to s
so long september 🍂

the last days of summer and first glimpses of fall ✨ savoring every last tomato and flower in the garden (and collecting seeds for next year) 👩🏻‍🌾 celebrated stewie’s 6th adoptiversary too… how quickly 6 year
first fall bake of the season ✔️🤭🍎 an apple galette where I measured nothing 😅 baked on a very foggy night 🍂

- 3 apples, thinly sliced
- lemon juice, cinnamon, ground ginger, brown sugar, corn starch, salt (tossed the apples in all of this)
- 1
rounded up all the yummy things I made this summer on substack (link in bio) 🌞

🍑 peach wineberry chia seed jam
🍄 chicken of the woods mushrooms (various ways)
🍕 peach pizza
🌶️ jalapeño garlic basil pesto 
🍅 cutting board salsa
🫐 bluebe
we’ll always have summer 🌼

#summer #endofsummer #summerdump #jerseycollective #rescueismyfavoritebreed #summergarden #summergardening
doing @sangennaronewjersey with your brother, boyfriend, dad, and cousin is the only proper way 😏

🍕 pizza from @coneyislandpizza (included some photos from last year too)
🇮🇹 arancini (rice balls) from @thelittlesicilian
🥔 tornado potato from @s
fall is in the air and chilly nights are here - which means tis the season for warm and cozy dinners again 😋🍂🍁

I’ve been making this curry noodle recipe on repeat using veggies & herbs from the garden (eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucch
the summer I turned (half the backyard) pretty 😆(and into a sunflower field) 🥹🌻☀️

why re-plant grass when you can have flowers instead? 🙃 I’ve loved studying the way the sun hits them throughout different times of the day and seeing all th
mid august abundance from the garden 🥹 I always love taking an annual bounty photo when the biggest variety of things are growing and that time is now ✨👩🏻‍🌾🍅🍆🥒🌻🌶️

extra grateful for it all this year because flashback to this spring I wa
been wanting to bake blueberry cornbread muffins for what feels like weeks and finally did yesterday 😋🫐🌽 used @thefullhelping’s vegan recipe & topped with leftover crumb topping I had from a fruit crisp ✨ some things are worth turning th
hammered some of the flowers in my garden onto watercolor paper for fun 😍 new favorite way to preserve the season unlocked 🌼

#flowerpounding #flowerhammering #tatakizome #hapazome #ecoprinting #gardening #flowerprint #plantdye #naturaldye #summer
the most fun day 🥹 started off with the special TSOU blueberry matchas from @theelknyc and a couple treats from @libraebakery 🫐🥐🍵 (fuel for a crafternoon spent making our shirts for the night ✂️) we finished them just in time 😅 grabbed a couple
happy #nationalicecreamday 😚🍦🍓✨

#icecream #summer #jerseycollective #strawberryicecream #icecreamshop
summer arrivals @shopamyventures 🌞🐚⛵️🍍✨

#shopsmall #vintagehome #etsyvintage #summer
the life of a tomato girl ✨🍅👩🏻‍🌾✨

made the executive decision to harvest the rest of my tomatoes last week when we got our first fall freeze warning 🥶 went out there at 9 pm in the dark and filled up all 3 of my larger sheet pans 😂 (they&r one last dose of summer this weekend in one of our favorite places 🌞 new @taylorswift music blaring from my car’s speakers down the parkway ❤️‍🔥 ocean beaches back open for the dogs 🐾 the clearest and bluest skies, water warm enough to s so long september 🍂

the last days of summer and first glimpses of fall ✨ savoring every last tomato and flower in the garden (and collecting seeds for next year) 👩🏻‍🌾 celebrated stewie’s 6th adoptiversary too… how quickly 6 year first fall bake of the season ✔️🤭🍎 an apple galette where I measured nothing 😅 baked on a very foggy night 🍂

- 3 apples, thinly sliced
- lemon juice, cinnamon, ground ginger, brown sugar, corn starch, salt (tossed the apples in all of this)
- 1 rounded up all the yummy things I made this summer on substack (link in bio) 🌞

🍑 peach wineberry chia seed jam
🍄 chicken of the woods mushrooms (various ways)
🍕 peach pizza
🌶️ jalapeño garlic basil pesto 
🍅 cutting board salsa
🫐 bluebe we’ll always have summer 🌼

#summer #endofsummer #summerdump #jerseycollective #rescueismyfavoritebreed #summergarden #summergardening doing @sangennaronewjersey with your brother, boyfriend, dad, and cousin is the only proper way 😏

🍕 pizza from @coneyislandpizza (included some photos from last year too)
🇮🇹 arancini (rice balls) from @thelittlesicilian
🥔 tornado potato from @s fall is in the air and chilly nights are here - which means tis the season for warm and cozy dinners again 😋🍂🍁

I’ve been making this curry noodle recipe on repeat using veggies & herbs from the garden (eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, zucch
a beautiful night enjoying golden hour at @riamedefarm earlier this week 😍🍎☀️ 

founded in 1952, Riamede is the oldest PYO apple orchard in NJ with 54 varieties growing on the historic property (owner Ashley & her team work hard to preserve its
the summer I turned (half the backyard) pretty 😆(and into a sunflower field) 🥹🌻☀️

why re-plant grass when you can have flowers instead? 🙃 I’ve loved studying the way the sun hits them throughout different times of the day and seeing all th
some scenes from my favorite place to be in august… home in the garden with the dogs 🥹🏡🌱🍅🌻👩🏻‍🌾🐾✨

#summer #august #garden #njgardening #njinbloom #jerseycollective #njisallgood #homegarden #home
ending summer the same way I started it (with @takearecess) 🌞🍹🌻💦✨

my code “amyventures” gets you 20% off through 9/2 for labor day weekend 🫶

https://app.devotion.club/brand/recess/amyventures

#takearecess #nonalcoholic #mocktail #
mid august abundance from the garden 🥹 I always love taking an annual bounty photo when the biggest variety of things are growing and that time is now ✨👩🏻‍🌾🍅🍆🥒🌻🌶️

extra grateful for it all this year because flashback to this spring I wa been wanting to bake blueberry cornbread muffins for what feels like weeks and finally did yesterday 😋🫐🌽 used @thefullhelping’s vegan recipe & topped with leftover crumb topping I had from a fruit crisp ✨ some things are worth turning th
the most magical moment with a monarch butterfly this morning 😭🦋🧡✨ can’t believe it didn’t fly away and we got to hang out for a bit 🥹

#jerseycollective #monarch #monarchbutterfly #summer #njisallgood #njisntboring #glimmer
hammered some of the flowers in my garden onto watercolor paper for fun 😍 new favorite way to preserve the season unlocked 🌼

#flowerpounding #flowerhammering #tatakizome #hapazome #ecoprinting #gardening #flowerprint #plantdye #naturaldye #summer the most fun day 🥹 started off with the special TSOU blueberry matchas from @theelknyc and a couple treats from @libraebakery 🫐🥐🍵 (fuel for a crafternoon spent making our shirts for the night ✂️) we finished them just in time 😅 grabbed a couple happy #nationalicecreamday 😚🍦🍓✨

#icecream #summer #jerseycollective #strawberryicecream #icecreamshop
take me back 🥲

#capemay #capemaynj #capemaypoint #capemaybeach #jerseycollective #southjerseyadventures #summer
summer arrivals @shopamyventures 🌞🐚⛵️🍍✨

#shopsmall #vintagehome #etsyvintage #summer

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Amy Chen (unless otherwise stated). If you decide to reference anything from my blog / website, please give proper credit. Thank you! :)


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