DIY Christmas Gifts

So I found this blog today(thanks to pintrest) with a ton of FABULOUS homemade gift ideas!!  There are 25 gifts ideas.
Here are just a few of the cute things they have tutorials for....

Currently Reading and Drinking

Diana by Sarah Bradford

Peppermint White Mocha with half the chocolate
and an added shot

It's Cold Outside

Relaxation Defined in Pictures

Kitchen Love

Because I love to cook and bake, looking at kitchens is so much fun to me!  I am really good and imagining what it would be like to bake and cook in it.  Here are some dream kitchens of mine!  They make me want to cook for a family of my own  :)

I am studying... as much of a post as I can do.

In my world!

Lover of Starbucks and lover of health... Combined!

10 tips for running in the cold

It is getting cold outside!  I found this blog with some great tips on running in the cold.
10 Tips For Running In The Cold
Good Luck out there

Can't get enough Coffee!

I love coffee so much.  I am struggling right now with the fact that I am dehydrated but only want to drink coffee.  It has been getting a lot colder in Seattle and coffee just makes it better and more manageable :)
Coffee makes my life more comfortable

Dreaming of comfort...  Can you tell?

Citrus-glazed Pumpkin Carrot Cake

I was browsing Martha Stewart's website(one of my faves) and found this amazing recipe perfect for fall I could not resist sharing.  I want to make it hopefully next weekend for my friends!  I will let you know how it goes.

Citrus-glazed Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Can You Stay For Dinner?

I have started reading a blog from a girl named Andi.  I have never met her but she is amazing.  Her story has encouraged me in a problem that I struggle with of eating too much and using food to cover up and replace my emotions.  I wanted to share this with you because it is so helpful to me.  Can You Stay For Dinner?
Although I know my struggle with food and have been facing it and changing it for a while now, she has helped me see more into it.  Accepting myself for who I am and being okay with the person I was, am and the person I grow to become.

Comfort

Back in Seattle; Surprise!!

I know I haven't posted anything for a while but here I am!  I have been so busy with my crazy and unpredictable life.  So, I am back in Seattle after the summer months of thinking I was going to stay in California.  The transition has been difficult but also very good for me.  I am very close with my family and even though it is my junior year, I still have trouble with wanting to be home sometimes.  School is going good.  I am officially living in a house where I pay rent and utilities.  This is a first for me!  The past two years I lived in the dorms and I just paid it all to the school.  My landlord is actually a professor at my school and she is so sweet and there for us when we need anything.  I am living off campus but I am only a four minute walk away which is really nice.  I also have a job on campus.  I work at one of the coffee shops on campus.  I had a hard time when I first started because I didn't know how to work the register and didn't know where anything was.  The person who I had to ask questions to was not helpful and a bit rude so I felt lost.  Now that I know everything it is really fun!  I work at 645 in the morning which I really like because I get off but then have all day for class and studying.  This year is super busy also.  Pretty much when i am not in class or working, I am studying.  It has been good so far and I have been blessed in countless ways since the first day I got here.
A theme that is my focus for me this year is growth.  I have realized that I put too much pressure on myself to be at the finish line before running or even training for the race.  I have been trying to see and be intentional about making small steps of progress each day.  There is no need to wish I was somewhere else or in the future because then I miss out on what is happening right now.  I am blessed where I am at:  Seattle, in College, and currently sitting gin the Student Union Building drinking a delicious pumpkin spice latte and eating a bagel with pumpkin cream cheese.  I promise to update more often!  I haven't forgotten about you all!

Fall Time is my favorite time!

Accept, Respect, Love the Body you Have

Fabulous Reminder!!!
I am making the commitment beginning right now...  Accepting and loving the body I have  :)
Accept, Respect, Love the Body You Have

Scones, Biscotti & MORE Baking!

I have done some more baking these past to weeks and here are photos and recipes!

Honey and Bran Muffins

 With these muffins I substituted chopped walnuts for chopped almonds.  They turned out really good but they don't have very much flavor.  I put some butter on them when I ate them.  I took them to work and ate them on break.  Because I opened almost every day this week, they were a nice breakfast to eat on my break.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

 This bread is more like a cake than bread but it turned out delicious!  I followed the recipe exactly.  When I make it again, I will probably cut down the sugar.  It is definitely worth making for yourself!

Now for my baking that I did last night...  My parents were out of town so I had the whole house to myself and of coarse I chose to bake.  These are my creations!

Raspberry Chocolate Tea Scones

 These are AMAZING scones!  I used white chocolate instead of milk chocolate and they turned out so good!  These are must to make  :)

I burned myself on the oven which hurt really bad!

Dark Chocolate Chip and Currant Biscotti

 This was the first time I have ever made biscotti.  It turned out really good!  I didn't use currants, Only Dark Chocolate Chips.  I had to put them in the oven about 10 minutes more than the recipe says.  They turned out great!

These are definitely recipes to try!!
I also found this awesome website to use while baking... Ingredient Substitutions!

I am 100 pages away from being done with Spoken From The Heart!  I am loving every page of it  :)

Pottery Barn Beauties

Pottery Barn finds of the Day.  I am loving these items!

1.  Shayne Kitchen Table

2.  Emma Yellow Dinnerware

3.  Great White Coffee Condiment Set

1.  Shayne Kitchen Table

2.  Emma Dinnerware-Yellow

3.  Great White Coffee Condiment Set

Baking, Reading, and DIYs

Baking...

I made a coffee cake!  I used a basic coffee cake recipe and added about 1/2 cup of sour cream to make it more creamy.  It turned out very good and the good thing was that my dad liked it probably more than all of us.  That is surprising because my dad is not one to eat homemade food.  I know, completely opposite from me, but the fact that he liked it says something!

Mixing in the sour cream

Reading...

I am still reading Spoken From The Heart!

DIYs...

#1  I needed to still unpack all of my jewelry from moving back to California.  I had nowhere to put it and it was time to figure something out.  So I found an old cork board in my sister's old closet.  I covered it with some extra white fabric I had and just tacked on the back.  The fabric was actually left over from some curtains I cut from Ikea.  So the fabric on the board matches my curtains.  I used tacks and hung my jewelry throughout the board.  I added a fabric flower I made a couple weeks ago to the corner to add some flair!  THis project only took about 30 minutes.

#2  This next project was a little more involved.  So I wanted a bedside table that would fit in my room really well, was very practical and cheap!  The cheapest one I could find that I liked was from Ikea for $40.00.  I was opposed to spending that much money but I was hoping to find something else.  I went to Micheal's and got some ideas white I was there.  This is what I came up with.
The items...
- 1 sturdy basket which was on sale and was the perfect size to store books but not big enough to get cluttered
- 1 small square piece of wood
- 2 long wood decorative border pieces
- 1 small bottle of white paint
- 1 bottle of light yellow paint
- 1 large fake decorative flower
Here is the finished project with help from my dad!

Painting the square piece

Waiting for the paint to dry

Finished project!

The beautiful flower I couldn't pass up!

Other Fun Things...

#1  Adorable new Tea Pot and matching cup from Cost Plus World Market!  

#2  To go with my new tea pot I bought some tea which should be here in the next few days.  I bought the tea online at Teavana.  I bought Cacao Mint Black Tea and Cocoa Praline Tart Rooibos Tea.  They are both dessert teas which are perfect for me and my sweet tooth!  I will let you know how they are when I get them!

#3  My to dos for the weekend...

-  Get hangers to for the rest of my clothes!  I have no where to put them and my room is too messy.

-  Bake chocolate and pecan scones

-  Wash my car

-  Finish cleaning my room

- Read, exercise, and have fun!!

My mom is in Wisconsin until tuesday and boy do I miss her!  I love her so much  :)