the never-ending//holiday season

Good morning to you all!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season filled with lots of family, friends, and even more food!

Just quickly checking in before I leave for yet another family event.  It's been a busy couple of days with Christmas shenanigans, thrifting (duh), hanging out with the sisters, attending a very Victorian Christmas (it's Lady Melissa Grace to you, thank you very much), and now heading off to one of many bridal showers for my older sister.

Even though this is a bustling time of the year, I'm still just drinking it (coffee) all in and enjoying every minute of it! CHEERS!

merry christmas//You're Here

#madewithstudio

Merry Christmas to you all!

Hope your holiday was filled with family, fun, food, and celebrating the birth of our Glorious Savior!

Don't know how long I'm gonna have You for
But I'll be watching when You change the world
Look at Your hands, they're still so small
Someday You're gonna stretch them out and save us all
Noel, Noel, God with us Emmanuel

You're here, I'm holding You so near
I'm staring into the face of my Savior, King and Creator
You could've left us on our own, but you're here… you're here

high five for friday//dec 20

Decided to link up today with one of my favorite blogs, The Lauren Elizabeth and try out the weekly High Five for Friday!

1.  Got the gold, baby. Got the gold. Anddddd it was on sale for $124.99 at Best Buy! So, if you're looking to upgrade your phone soon, I HIGHLY recommend doing so...now!

2.  And who's the first to try out the new camera on my phone? Nick. Of course.  Always such a camera hog.  (Yes, it's Nick for Nick Jonas...no judging people.)

3.  Made some baked oatmeal this week...I'm sorry to say that most of it has ended up in the garbage now...It went from "baked" to "pretty soggy" in a matter of hours.  Maybe I will just stick to my regular quick oats...

4.  This guy FINALLY got to come home this week! So, naturally we treated ourselves to a little date night.  Drove around looking at Christmas lights and stopping at a gas station for hot chocolate, cookies, and Doritos.  High dining, folks. High dining.  We then proceeded to watch the most awful movie on Netflix.  Sharknado.  Its a tornado filled with sharks...Need I say more?

 

5.  Got all my Christmas shopping done on record time this year.  Now, I just sit and chuckle to everyone else scrambling around  still trying to find all their presen....crap.  I forgot one.

thrifty thursday//puffy puff vest

It's been a long time coming ...but here is another Thrifty Thursday!

Got this stylish vest at a random antique store in small-town MN.
Stood behind a smelly guy for 15 min, changed in the tiniest dressing room, and then had my debit card turned down, which in turn had me awkwardly call my mom to write out a six dollar check...

But alas! I was the real winner in the end!
Because this baby was only $1.50 ;)

p.s. don't mind the awkward mugshot photos style today. it was just the tripod and I, all alone on a cold winter's day.
..Didn't think outfit posts could get more awkward than your dorm janitor wheeling by during the photo session.
Nope.  Smiling for a camera balancing on a tripod while your dog silently judges you from the corner is a bit more humiliating....

...obvi been a while since I smiled for a camera.... #saycheeeeeeese

VS ain't got nothing on me!

vest//thrifted

long-sleeve//target

jeans//thrifted

belt//thrifted

baked oatmeal//breakfast

Oatmeal is the best.
Warm, delicious, cozy, heats-my-belly-right-up oatmeal.

But what's even better...? Baked oatmeal.
BAM! Breakfast for the week!
Without further ado, I present to you...

Mixed-Berry Baked Oatmeal Goodness

quite a mouthful...of delciousness!

consider yourself instagramed, my oatmeal friend.

Ingredients

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. cinammon

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup milk

1 large egg

2 tbsp. melted unsalted butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas

1 cup mixed berries (frozen or fresh)

Directions

original from here

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Take a 2 quart baking dish (I used a stone pan).

3.  In a medium bowl, mix the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir them all together. Mix it. Mix it real goooood.

4.  In another bowl, mix the syrup, milk, egg, vanilla, and butter all together.

4.  Peel and slice bananas. Can't even look at the word without hearing "Hollaback" in my head

...B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

5.  Layer the sliced bananas in a single layer over the bottom of the pan.  Then place half the berries on top of the...B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

6.  Place the dry oatmeal mix on top of the fruity layer.  Make sure to spread it out all nice and even!

7.  Then pour the liquid ingredients over the oat mixtures.  Again, evenly.

8.  Sprinkle the rest of the berries on top.

9.  Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes.  Go on Pinterest, read blogs, and drink coffee to kill some time.

10.  Top is brown and oats are set? Good! Take out baked oatmeal and let cool for 10 minutes...or just take some blog-worthy pics while you wait. I didddd!

*side of coffee optional. but encouraged.*

the prelude//a fictional storytime

Hey so remember that one time I was kinda, sorta freaking out over the wonderfulness of creative writing?
Welp, it's happening again.

I'm sure my professors could definitely sense my attention slowly drifting away from time to time these past few weeks...
But in all fairness, it 'twas a story idea.  (Just maybe not the hard news story they were discussing at the time...my bad.)

ANYWHO, here it is!

The prelude.
The set-up.
The beginning...(of something I hope)

Again, I excel in cheesiest of story lines.  So, if you're not a fan of cheddar, look away.
If cheese is your favorite food group? Read on.

the prelude

(title under construction)

pic via here

The video camera whirs to life and slowly focuses in on the front of the stage.  The cross reins over the chorus of children lined up on the steps and as they center their attention on the teacher kneeling before them.  The crowd hushes and quickly falls silent while the lights dim.  The choir teacher raises her arms and the music begins to play the familiar song on the loudspeakers.  The camera pans over the many cheeky faces of the squirmy bunch; some waving to their parents in their audience, some frozen like statues, and others aimlessly picking their noses.  All at once, the voices join together and begin to belt the tune they’ve been learning for weeks.

“Jesus loves me
This I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak, but He is strong

The instruments pick up and the spotlight turns to one little girl who steps forward from the front.  Her lace socks match her white dress and headband, which helps pulls back her dark bangs. She scans the crowd with her eyes and sees the camera pointed straight at her.  She smiles wide and gives a little wave to the lens.  She then rocks back and forth on her heels as her voice continues to sing the tune.

Jesus loves me—loves me still,


Though I'm very weak and ill;


From his shining throne on high,


Comes to watch me where I lie.

She steps back into her spot in the row and the beaming boy next to her trades spots at the microphone.  He takes his arms sleeve and wipes his nose with pure confidence before he continues the next verse.

Jesus loves me—he will stay,


Close beside me all the way.


Then his little child will take,


Up to heaven for his dear sake.

He falls back into place with the rest of the chorus and shares a quick smile with his fellow soloist and quickly grabs her hand as the applause from the crowd of parents and churchgoers fill the sanctuary.

…

Tables are filled as parents and extended families wait for the chorus of children to come back into the gym auditorium.  The back doors burst open and the kids come sprinting in towards their parents.  Half the group starts towards the table of lemonade and cookies while the other begins the marathon of picture-taking opportunities.

The video camera records the two soloists walk hand in hand back to their parents sitting at the same table.  Once in reachable distance, they break into a sprint and jump into their congratulating hugs and kisses.

After a few minutes the little boy steps back and looks right into the camera lens.
“Hey Pastor Tim!  Know what?”

The cameraman chuckles and focuses in on the rosy cheeks and excited eyes of the little boy.  “What’s that Riley?”

The boy breaks away from his parents and walks over to the young girl, who is currently chugging her entire glass of lemonade.
Riley throws his arm around her shoulders and locks eyes with the lens once again.

“Me and Samantha are gonna be sooo famous one day! We did great!  I thought my ears were gonna explode from how loud that applause was! ”

The cameraman laughs along with the rest of the parents sitting around the table.  “You never know, Riley. One day, if the Lord is willing, you could be singing for an even louder applause.”

Riley looks at Samantha and she shyly smiles, displaying a set of dimples on each side of her face.

The little boy focuses back at the camera.   “Yea, but Samantha said she was a little scared up there.  So I may just be a solo act.  Maybe she could fly my private jet for me!”

The parents laugh again as the little boy continues to spill the rest of his detailed story of an unbeatable singer and his fellow pilot friend.
After a while, the little boy’s father ruffles his hair and gestures towards the refreshment table.   “Alright Riley, enough planning.  Now go fill up on sugar, why dontcha?”

Riley and Samantha both take a running start toward the mountain of fresh cookies being brought out from the kitchen.

The cameraman sighs off-screen and quietly whispers, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  He chuckles to himself as he zooms in just in time to see Riley stuff five cookies in his mouth at once and Samantha giggling at his side.
“Lord willing…”

To be continued... ;)

end of semester//hallelujah!

So I blinked. And November was over...

So with that...I am done with yet another semester of school!!
*fist pumps all around*

  alive, well, and THRILLED to be done!!...

and what I plan on doing for the next month...

It's crazy to think I only have 3 measly semesters left and then be entering full-time big-girl world.

As excited as I am for that next part of my life, I am learning to be content wherever I am at because dang!...does time fly by so quickly.

There were a few other vital lessons learned this past semester, which may be of importance to some of you out there
//It may even save your life. (doubt it..but it sounded pretty dramatic.)

1.  Don't buy textbooks. (unless absolutely necessary.)
This was my first semester buying textbooks for school. mis-TAKE.
Lemme tell ya.  Those puppies are just collecting dust on my desk.
So, unless your prof seriously recommends them, just don't.  Your wallet will thank you.

2.  LISTEN to your professors.
Cause they're awesome.  They have much more experience in the real world and often have connections on "the other side".  So, be nice.  Go to class. Ask questions.  And get to know them.
Plus you are paying them, sooo....

3.  Crockpots.
Da bomb.
"You want a hot meal? Oh, here it is, a steaming bowl of goodness just waiting for you to devour without even lifting a finger."  Go get one.  Now.

4.  Centipedes are really gross. For real.
And they move fast.  So kill 'em...while you can.

5.  Batty basements.
Be sure to stay out of cool cave-like bastments during the hot autum days.
Cause chances are there is bat down there already making himself at home.  And he doesn't want to be bothered...EVER.
p.s. We named him Bruce.

6.  Be ahead of the game.
Plan your assignments ahead of time.  Divide them up into parts and spread them over your week.
Nothing worse than panic-mode on a Sunday night as you try to finish a 20-hour long project into 4.
..Worse than the bat.

7.  Netflix is a time-sucker.
A good one at that.  So don't turn it on unless you got three free hours ahead of you.
Or else you'll be watching Haley and Nathan meet, get married, have a kid, and 6 seasons of OTH flashing before your very eyes.

8.  Get involved!
Even as a junior, I'm still pushing myself to attend events on-campus or get out of the house.
As much fun as doing hw and watching your iPad all alone is, going out and meeting with others is much more fufilling.  And totally worth your time.  Unlike OTH (darn that show...)

9.  Target Cartwheel.
Tar-jay Addicts, listen up!  If you own a smartphone, download the Cartwheel app.
Because you "Start saving on the things you already buy."
You win again, Target.  You win.

10.  Be content.
The Lord has been pressing this one pretty hard on my heart all semester.
Only transfer studetns will understand the pain of being caught between schools.
Constantly playing the "what-if" game and strategizing how to get the best of both worlds.
But I still believe that I am exactly where the Lord needs me to be right now.
And even if I can't see the full purpose yet, I know He's got it allllllll figured out up there.

Sooooo...
Eat.
Drink. (coffee)
And be Happy.

Cause we just finished another semester, y'all! :)