Wanna hear Michelle and I sing?

Michelle and I got together this Holiday season and recorded a few songs. They are very rough because they were on a Mac, but I think it sounds pretty good. The whole reasoning behind it was because I wanted to give my grandma a CD of me singing for Christmas....last year. Lol. Only now am I getting it done (Its more complicated than you think!) Anyways, I uploaded this one to YouTube so others could hear it, and I put pictures from Master's Commission (my first year) up. Enjoy!!

Urban Outfitters madness

Self-Inflating Sumo suit, Originally $50.00

If any of you know me at all, you know that I'm an Urban Outfitter fanatic. I often browse through their internet site and dreamily imagine a whole new wardrobe or new bedroom look. Today, as I browsed through their sale items I realized something. Urban Outfitters is RIDICULOUS! I still love them, but some of the things they sell and make a profit over! I was looking at some of their sales items...and scoffed.
Enjoy!

Action food toppers, Originally $12.00

Munchstaches cookie cutters, Originally $12.00

 

 

 

Bumblin' brawlers, Originally $6.00

High Heel Speakers, Originally $38.00

And yet again, they always get me with something! I came across this, and I wants it!

Night Owl Teapot, Originally $24.00

 

 

 

 

                                               Merry Christmas!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chill out!

Do you ever wonder if we take this life too seriously? I often catch my self freaking out or making a big fuss if something doesn't go my way or go just right. Like, if I'm planning on going somewhere and its changed last minute on me, or even something big changes in my life. I think I need to tell myself, "What's the big deal?" The circumstance might actually open up a different opportunity up that wouldn't have been open to me previously.
Maybe that's why I like "The Office" so much.

Jim and Pam, (And especially Jim) make a fun time out of a stinky situation with a stinky manager. He makes up jokes and pranks to pass the time and make the day fun. I'm so down for that. Just like how Jim looks at the camera when something ridiculous happens as if to say "Yup, that just happened." I look up to the skies and say the same to God. It's so awesome because He gets it, He gets me, and He has a sense of humor. Just make light of the situation. Don't take life and its circumstances so seriously, brush stuff off quickly. What use is it to be offended all the time.
Laugh often. Life life to the fullest. As much as you can live at peace with people around you...don't argue. Even if you are right, if the person won't listen, what use is it to argue with them, other than to make yourself upset. Just shut your mouth and be satisfied to know that you are right.
Love others. Live selflessly. Put others before you. You really can't go wrong with these things. You feel better, and make others feel better. Killing with kindness really does work.

So, today is the first day of Autumn. The season of change and chill. I say it marks the same for me. No longer letting life or other people get me down. Relaxing and moving my life along at the same time. Why get upset? When I die, I want people to say about me, "I never heard a negative thing come out of that woman's mouth." Thats something to live up to.
I'm so ready to relax this Fall, take in nature. The leaves change so fast. The colors are here and they're gone in the blink of an eye. I'm going to go on a walk, and come back in for a warm cup of cocoa. See ya.

Fail cake

So, I obtained a cookbook awhile back called "Chicken and Egg." Pretty much every recipe i've made from it has been a success. I recently got another cook book from Anthropologie. Its called "Seasons:The best of Donna Hay magazine." It has a lot more recipes but the only thing i've made so far from it was an epic fail. A cake, called the "Honey-cream sponge cake." I made it for Jarod, and even he said it was pretty terrible, the first I've ever heard badly from him. He said it tasted like "cornbread soaked with honey." Stink.

  

 The Cake of Infamy

 My failed attempt at the cake of infamy

And here is the cook, along with her new apron. Also from anthropologie. The cook happens to like that store!

So although I hope to get better at cooking, I think its a good thing to post my mistakes, as well as my victories. It this way, you all may know that I am still human, and not a goddess, though I know that it is very hard to believe. ;)

Happy Cooking this fall season! Stab a pumpkin!!

Summer

"It's funny how one summer can change everything. It must be something about the heat and the smell of chlorine, fresh cut grass and honeysuckle, asphalt sizzling after late-day thunderstorms, the steam rising while everything drips around it. Something about long, lazy days and whirring air conditioners and bright plastic flip flops from the drugstore thwacking down the street. Something about fall being so close, another year, another Christmas, another beginning. So much in one summer, stirring up like the storms that crest at the end of the day, blowing out all the heat and dirt to leave everything gasping and cool. Everyone can reach back to one summer and lay a finger to it, finding that exact point when everything changed."

- Sarah Dessen

Do I really have to put a title on this?

Several things. First: why o why when you see a shoe on the side of the road, there is only one?

Also, I have another wishlist.

1. I wish I had the movie 500 days of summer in my possession

2. I wish I had this awesome plush headboard from Urban Outfitters

3. Aaaaand I wish that I had a sweet gun so I could be as hot as these BA women! Yes.

Cooking noobness

 Due to the overwhelming demand of my...reader... :) I am going to post another blog on... Da da da daaaaa!! Cooking. I realize that I am such a cooking noob. I really don't know what i'm doing, and I'm afraid to risk. It's probably because I'm afraid that all the money I spent on the cooking items will go to waste if I screw up. And If I'm under pressure, like if I am cooking for someone else, I feel like they will think I suck. So there are doubts all around. BUT I finally decided to buy my first cookbook at Anthropologie on Wednesday. Look at its glory:

I finally feel a touch of confidence. This book focuses mainly on chicken and egg recipes, but they are tasty. I figured that eggs are cheap, and chicken is healthy for you, so how could i go wrong? They also incorporate a variety of fresh herbs in their recipes, which I love. I've been cooking up a storm. My main problem though, is that the recipes are family size, and though I try to cut them in half...I still make too much for just me. My roommate doesn't eat much that I make, so my friend Jarod has been graciously taste-testing for me. Lol. Such a chore I know. Check out this amazing recipe I just made for brunch yesterday:

Greenmarket Scrambled Eggs in Ciabatta

Ingredients:

One 14 ounce loaf ciabatta bread, halved horizontally (I substituted a wheat loaf)

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

I medium onion , chopped

I small zucchini, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon

1/8 freshly ground pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon

8 eggs

1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled (my favorite part)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or chives

Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the bread from the inside of half of the ciabatta, making a shell for the eggs. Place the halves side by side on a baking sheet. Brush the inside of the loaf with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil.

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes or until it begins to soften. Stir in the zucchini and the red bell pepper and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables to a plate.

Beat the eggs with the 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl or until frothy. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil to the same skillet and cook the eggs over medium heat, stirring consistently until until curds have formed but the eggs are still moist. Remove from heat and stir in the vegetables, cheese and basil.

Spoon the egg mixture into the bread shells and bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the bread and vegetables are hot. To serve, cut each bread shell crosswise into thirds, for a total of six pieces.

So there you have it! Its pretty easy, and the goat cheese made it delicious. Jarod couldn't even tell it was in there. (For those of you who unfashionably dislike goat cheese. lol ) Try it yourself!

Terrariums

Now I know that not everyone gets excited when they see greenery in the plant section of Cashwise...but I do. I like plants! Not ashamed. I especially enjoy putting plants together and making a "landscape" of sorts. I got a bonsai tree and put fake moss around it. I then put a toy dinosaur at the base of the tree. Just something random. I also put a ninja in one of my succulent terrariums. The best thing is that you can't do wrong! Its your house, you can do anything you want with it. And how can you mess up what you do with a plant? You can shove it in a pot and call it good, or you can get a little more creative with it.

 Tillandsia is a lot of fun. It only needs some light, no soil, and brief mistings. You can even glue it on wood!

              




Check out this Link to see some cool things you can do with plants. I enjoyed it, you probably will

Also, to find out how to make your own tillandsia terrarium in a light bulb follow this to the Hipster Home

Amelie - La Valse D'Amelie (Piano)

An absolutely beautiful instrumental piece, from the French movie "Amelie". Give it a listen!

Abominable snowman and sushi

I count myself as a pretty positive person, or I at least bounce back out of the negative pretty quickly. But I couldn't figure out what frustrated me more about these past few days:

1. Driving on Wednesday morning at 6:00am to a new job an hour away, braving a crazy, icy snowstorm that reminded me greatly of an abominable snowman that looks like this:












2. Being stuck in terrible traffic on Division in my car, at rush hour. The lights on 15 and Division are out, I'm late to my Chiropractor appointment and I have to pee like a mother.










3. Really wanting go buy Sushi from Coburn's for dinner, but not having money. :(

So what do you guys think? Whats the worst?

The Duchess of Devonshire

Yesterday evening I watched a movie called, "The Duchess" I literally felt depressed afterwards. Basically it's about the duchess of Devonshire, Georgiana Cavendish. She marries the Duke of Devonshire and he's not loving to her. He takes her best friend for his lover and she lives with them as a sort of "second wife" for 25 years of their marriage until Georgiana passes away. Georgiana tries to take a  lover and has an illegitimate child, but the duke had her give it away and kept her from him.
The movie really did nothing for me except open my eyes a bit as to what life was like back then. Often you were placed in a marriage that had no love in it. The woman was mistreated, and her only purpose in life was to birth children (sons were preferred) and be a faithful wife. All well and good, but my heart goes out to them when the husband fails to be faithful to the wife and its socially acceptable.

Can you imagine having this on your head? Pretty sure there are sublaxations galore!

It makes me realize once again how lost people are. Back then many had no hope. I look at society now, and what is different? People still are run by their passions. Yes, there are less restrictions for women. For this, I am glad. But we are often held captive still to what other people think of us. We are what society think of us. In short, we are never good enough. 

Women, realize that you are special. You have beauty and a personality that no one else has. You are worth it, and worth waiting for. Don't sell yourselves short to the first "Duke" that comes along. Even if he does have money and power and position. You may end up in a marriage of misery. Just remember that there is a God who loves you just the way you are. As my wonderful friend Michelle told me today:

You are lovely

His Beloved

Bold

Sassy

Kind

Full of goodness and good fruit

Gracious

Growing

And this is what you are too. Believe it.

Anthropologie Obsession

I stopped by the store Anthropologie today. It's so strange, but I felt instantly happy when I stepped in the door. I was greeted with soft, Indie music and distractingly good-smelling candles. I love that the candles are placed on top of sand in a hurricane jar. I then proceeded to buy sand and do it myself! If it was summer I would just go get some from a beach and use that.

I love the vintage looks at Anthropologie, but I believe that my favorite part about my visit was the plethora of plants all around! Succulents and ferns everywhere, planted in all sorts of different pots. Then I went farther back into the store and was assaulted with terrarium upon terrarium. I thought I was in heaven, and I didn't want to leave! I looked at the prices that they were selling them at, and scoffed. Some were $100!! So I went out and bought a rose bowl and made my own tonight. Wish i had a camera to take a picture. :( Its so cute, and it has an owl in it. Its in the middle of my kitchen table right now.

  

I noticed that Anthro does some fun things with their plain pots too. I will be trying that out, wielding my trusty glue gun! Check it out on "The Inspired Room" Blog. Its really fun and easy.

Sooooo yeah. I now have an Anthropologie wish list. 

1. Blue pot- $8.00

2. Sweet little dress-$168.00 (Tried it on too. I liked it because it reminded me of Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer)

3. Amazingly cute perfume- $68.00 (Smelled so good, and comes with an adorable bottle and pins!)

4. Awesome floral bedding-$58.00-$228.00

Home Depot Amazement

One of my friends suggested checking out Home Depot on account of some discounted house plants. Today I got a little money and decided to reward myself a little, so I checked it out. I was astounded at its selection and variety. And it was so cheap! A four ft tropic tree-type plant was $9.99! Couldn't believe it. Who would have thought that my dad's favorite tool store could have something I love? I've also found a new favorite type of house plant. The Bromeliad:

It's unique yet beautiful both at the same time. It was more than five dollars though so I bought a little Ivy and a snake plant. I heard those are hardy, so it may survive in my sunlight-deficient apartment.

I also planted some chives under a cloche. I sure hope they grow!

I find when I buy something new, I like to clean and reorganize. I must have moved my living around three times now. Still not satisfied with it. I suppose I never will be until I have a house I can paint, instead of an apartment I can't. Its hard to find ways to fill all that empty space though!

Thanks Jesus, for a beautiful, sun-shiney day. You rock my socks AND shoes off!