Nine/peppermint bark

Christmas is only nine days away. Nine!!! I completely missed the boat if I wanted to do any kind of 10 day countdown. Speaking of Nine, I am SO excited to see that movie! It looks like it will be uber-dope, because with all those Oscar winners and singing and dancing, how can you go wrong?? Plus, I hope to see it with people I love. Plop me down in a theater with some peanut M&M's and Daniel Day Lewis, and I'm a happy girl.

In the spirit of the holidays, I chose to make peppermint bark today. I've been craving it for a while, and haven't had any for two years. I found a pretty simple recipe for it here, and made it even more simple and cheap by using chocolate chips instead of chocolate bars. I put on Love Actually in the background and spent my afternoon cooking.

And if you think I didn't make this a big part of my dinner, you are sorely mistaken. SOOO good!

updates on my life

A lot of things have gone on since my last serious post (before Thanksgiving), so here's a little catch up.

Thanksgiving was everything I was hoping it would be, and since I had been looking forward to it since FOREVER, it had a lot to live up to. I got a chance to see my family and friends, relax, and eat some amazing food. Some of the highlights:

My uncle burnt the sweet potatoes, which resulted in a hilarious two minutes of everyone panicking in the kitchen.

My dad and I made this killer chocolate pie.

I kicked everyone's butt at Apples to Apples (what what?!).

Plus, it gave me the chance to bake a pumpkin pie for the first time in my life, which I've been dreaming of for a while. It was without a doubt the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted. This is not a joke. What made it so good? Toasted walnuts on the bottom layer, cream cheese mixed with the pumpkin, and cute leaves that I designed myself, with my dad's help. Take that Martha Stewart! Here's the recipe if you want to try it out.

And a couple of weeks ago, I got to go to San Diego to see my lovely friend Amanda who I haven't seen since Spain.



And here I am, almost done with the semester and taking care of some holiday business before I go home. It's flown by, as usual, and I can only thank God that I've gotten through it. On to make some Christmas goodies (coming soon)!

really quick...

Finals are coming up, so of course I've been doing everything I can to put off studying. Currently looking at WeHeartIt, and here's what I've decided...

In my dream life, I'd live here:


and my boyfriend would be this guy:


and I'd be this cute all the time:


and I would be able to incorporate this into every meal:

too much fashion and oreos

I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell everyone that I've wasted a HUGE portion of my last two days messing with Polyvore. Although it's not new to the internet, it's new to me, and it's become my new favorite way to waste time! (What? How did you guess that I've got a couple of big school projects looming in my near future?)

For anyone who doesn't know, Polyvore is a website that allows you to create outfits creatively. I would explain better but it's 3 am, and I don't want to. Just go look at the website.

Whenever I find something I like, I tend to exhaust myself with it to the point of obsession. Case in point, when I ate an entire package of Mint Double Stuff Oreos (but frozen, because they taste even better that way) last weekend...by myself. Is this behavior healthy? No. Will I do it again if I get another craving for those little cookies? Quite possibly. So I guess Polyvore has become my new Oreo.

Since I've been dreaming of cold weather, here's my cold (but stylish!) winter outfit:

Items in this set:
KAIN t shirt, $95
Net-a-porter.com jacket, $1,295
Seven For All Mankind jeans, $198
Chloé boots, 490 GBP
Chloé shoulder bag, $1,720

And there's a lot more where that came from, so blog, I hope you're ready for some cute outfits.

bring on that cold weather

It's hard to believe that it's November already...I wore shorts today, for crying out loud! How are we supposed to get excited about Thanksgiving if the weather feels more appropriate for bbq-ing the turkey than roasting it?

This afternoon, as a way of tricking my brain into thinking it's scarf-weather outside, I made steel-cut oats for the first time. My mom suggested them to me a while back, and I've wanted to try them ever since. So I picked up some oats at Trader Joe's and got to cookin'.

(Bytheway, how cute is this can of oats?! It looks like it jumped right out of a 1930s' Irish cupboard...you know...because I'm so familiar with 1930s' Ireland.)

Let me tell you, these are not your normal oats. They took a good half an hour to cook fully, and that's not including the time it took me to clean up the messy aftermath of the pot boiling over. But, I cooked a big batch which should last me for a while, and from the little I tried this afternoon, I think I'm going to like them. It's grainier and harder than the oatmeal that I'm used to, and they're gonna taste amazing with some brown sugar and dried cranberries on a cold day...

So come on, weather. Just cool down a little so I can fully appreciate these oats!

Grizzly Bear follow-up

They were haunting, stunning, and a little creepy. Simply put, they were amazing. Despite the fact that there was a couple making out right next to my butt for a good portion of the night, it was one of the best (early) birthday gifts I've ever received...thanks Sara!

Plus, eating breakfast food at midnight with good friends was a pretty good way to end the night.

sister

I miss this girl A LOT. She's starring in a play and applying for colleges and taking a million classes all at once, and I have no idea how she does it. She's amazing, and I can't wait to see her this weekend!

Less than a week!

That's right. Six days from now, I will be hanging out with three of my favorite people in the world (I'm talking to you Sara, Phil, and Noah), AND I'll be watching Grizzly Bear perform. How did I get so lucky??

And it just so happens that they are the perfect music to fit this rainy, gray weather.

What's that you ask?

What else have I been listening to lately?

Great question!

(Gloomy)* Rainy Day Playlist:

Deep Blue Sea (Grizzly Bear)

Fake Empire (The National)

Cello Song (Nick Drake)

Jesus, Etc. (Wilco)

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths)

These Days (Nico)

Brackett, WI (Bon Iver)

The Dress Looks Nice On You (Sufjan Stevens)

Say Yes (Elliott Smith)

Girl From The North Country (Bob Dylan)

*Sometimes, it's fun to have music fit the mood of the weather outside. But other times, I like listening to something to contrast it. In the near future, I might be making an upbeat rainy day mix....hold on to your butts.

changes

I’m sick and tired of being a Christian in name only.

For a while, I’ve been afraid to follow God - to really and truly follow Him. Observing the world for the first time has made me very aware of the way Christians are viewed, and I’ve been oh-so-careful not to slip into that mold that others have created. For a long time, I was so vigilant about being the “right kind of Christian” that I forgot what I really believed in. I became this watered-down and lukewarm believer that I would have been disgusted with, not long ago.

Tonight, I came across Galatians 1:10, where Paul says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?...If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

As God tends to do, He used those words to get into my little brain and and reinforce the message that I've needed to hear for a long time: you are not living for the world!

If I'm going to be a follower of Jesus, as I say I am, I want to follow Him body, mind, and soul. There are things in my life that need to change, and it’s time I not only listen to God, but time I actually start obeying. It's a scary thought. I have no idea what this could entail, but I've selfishly lived for myself long enough to know that I'm nothing without God.

What I'm trying to say is that I can no longer be afraid to live openly for Christ. If that means being viewed as a religious nut, so be it. I just pray the Lord starts working in me as only He can, and that I may be an honest example of His love.

colors and flow...

I'm still in love with this spread from V magazine I saw months and months ago.

There's just something about flowy colorful fabric that makes me want to be 8 years old again, if only to spin around my living room singing Disney princess songs.

My New Kitchen Life

Hello hello, cyber world. How long it's been!

Maybe it's because of my abundance of time, or maybe it's just because I'm just a huge fan of food, but I've taken an interest in cooking and baking as of late. I know, I know - we all thought the day would never come. It's that housewife in me that's finally trying to establish her place, I guess.

Here's some things I've whipped up in the last few months:


Fantastic ravioli I found on 101 Cookbooks.

The New York Times' 36-hour chocolate chip cookie...well worth the wait.

Simply delicious brownie/chocolate chip cookie mix that Bakerella inspired me to make. Seriously, people, AMAZING.

And lentils (first time making 'em) with mustard and bacon from Amateur Gourmet. You have to trust that they tasted way better than they looked!


So is this going to be a new chapter of my life? A food-filled, calorie-heavy, and extremely-satisfied-stomach chapter? We'll see. All I know is somebody better have some holiday parties pretty soon, because I've never made pumpkin pie before, and I'm feeling adventurous.

A girl can dream, right?

Well, dear blog, it looks like I didn't abandon you after all. I have to apologize for my absence. I really have no good excuse other than my busy schedule and the lack of interesting occurrences in my life lately. But tonight I found something I can safely say is blog-worthy.

Because of the state of my current funds, I really haven't bought anything but food and gas lately. I thought the lack of new clothes would get to me, but truly, I've been doing fine. I had found that as long as I didn't tempt myself, I didn't have any desire to go shopping. I was becoming satisfied with what I have, which is something I've been striving for.

But then I HAD to look at Anthropologie's spring stuff.

As I looked through these dresses, I began to have fantasies of living the life of an Anthropologie Girl. Is it so wrong to want that kind of sickeningly sweet lifestyle?

I could sip lemonade on the porch, wear this cute dress, and love life. For Easter, I'd show up for church in this adorable thing. In the summer, I would ride my bike, with an incredibly chic hairstyle, might I add, while wearing this. For those times I happen to be in Brazil, and I need something to go dancing in with my gorgeous foreign boyfriend, I would whip out this little number. When I go to New York City for a fun and spontaneous week with my girlfriends, I'd wear this dress when we go out to eat after walking through Central Park. I would lounge by the pool at my country home, making martinis while my hot, Jon Hamm-looking husband barbeques, in this.

Can't I do that? Can't my bank account somehow make room for that kind of life? Won't the universe give me that???

It's not safe to digitally window shop when I have so little money. It wreaks havoc on my sanity.

a tribute

Yesterday it finally happened. I knew it was coming for about 2 months now, but the truth finally reared its head yesterday. On Friday, January 23rd, 2009, at 11:01 am, while speed-walking to class, my faithful watch fell off of my wrist. It was a long time coming, seeing as it only cost $10, and I really got my money's worth (maybe more). We had a good run; I showed her the world, and she consistently showed me the time. I'll miss that good little watch, and for her faithfulness, I owe her a lot. Or at least this flattering picture.

the beginning

Do I have what it takes to survive in this insane blogging world?  

We shall see.