Belated Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  Wait, it's November already?  Oops.

My grandma spoils me.  Look at this amazing care package she gave me.  She even included a pumpkin, and a kit to decorate it!

And basically all of my favorite things - homemade sour cream cookies (so.good.), Reese's, peanut butter crackers, Milky Way bars, a HUGE Hershey's bar, hot chocolate, Goldfish, a super cute owl card, awesome socks, and some festive napkins!  So amazing.

I had some friends over in early October, so of course it was the perfect excuse to get some of my favorite Halloween candy.  Luckily not much was left at the end of the night, because I just can't resist it!

I love decorating for any holiday.

Ooh, scary!

I made this when I was really little, and my mom sent it to me in a care package when I was in undergrad.  He manages to still make an appearance once in awhile.

After not dressing up the past 2 years, last weekend I got to dress up in a couple of different costumes.  On Friday I was a "Southern belle" - I wore a dress that my mom wore as a bridesmaid in the 70s :)  I didn't wear the huge crinoline petticoat that would make it even poofier, though.

My friend Josh was a super scary vampire.  Seriously, he was creeping me out!  Pardon my red eyes - I tried to get rid of them in Photoshop but, 1) I don't know how to use Photoshop, and 2) I have perpetual red eyes that seem to just turn gray when they're "corrected."  Josh's glowing eyes work well with his costume, though!

Saturday I went down to Columbus with a group of friends.  I dressed up as "Bad Sandy" from Grease, and my friend Chris was Danny Zuko.  I stayed up pretty late after the party on Friday night to put curlers in my hair in an attempt to make it super curly for an authentic Bad Sandy look.

And I got to sleep in them.  Lucky me!

Buuuut my hair didn't dry by the time I had to take the curlers out the next day, so I was a less authentic Sandy.  Ohhh well.  (Check out my super cool "Academic" high school letter pinned on "Danny's" sweater, haha.)

I'm terrible at taking pictures - this is my attempt at capturing High Ball (a street festival we went to).

I snapped a picture of this scary monster thing.  And that was the extent of my picture-taking!

I also got to eat at one of my favorite places while we were down in Columbus - Northstar Cafe!  I got the Buddha Bowl with roasted chicken, brown rice, peanut sauce, and veggies.  It was really, really delicious.  I failed at using my chopsticks, though :/  Maybe I should try to develop that skill...

Although this pumpkin made a cute decoration, it was even better after it was roasted :)  Stay tuned for my next post, which will be totally pumpkin themed!  (Very original, I know.)

Song of the day:

"Tightrope" by Walk the Moon.  Very upbeat and fun!

Is That a Cookie on Your Salad?

When I got my first CSA haul a few weeks ago, it included some beets.  I've actually never cooked with beets before, so I was unsure of what to do with them.

Luckily, I had already bookmarked a few recipes that call for beets, including the Fitnessista's carrot beet and bean burgers.   And as luck would have it, the CSA share also came with carrots, and I had some cannellini beans in the cupboard.  It's pretty much magical when I already have all of the ingredients for a recipe on hand.  Is this what it feels like to be Martha Stewart?!

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I used ground oats instead of chickpea flour, and I omitted the mustard powder because I didn't have any.  Okay, so I guess I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.  There go my illusions of being like Martha Stewart.

But that's okay, they turned out really, really well.  I was actually surprised by how much I liked them.  I wasn't sure if I'd be a huge fan of the beet flavor, but they were delicious.  However, I cannot recommend trying to dehydrate beets.  I thought I could make some veggie "chips" with some of the leftover beets - BAD idea.  Ick, I still shudder to think of that raw beet taste.  Blech.

I actually ate one of the beet burgers on top of a bed of acorn squash.

Pretty darn tasty.  And colorful!  Just think of all the antioxidants.

I also put one of the beet burgers on top of my salad and took it to school one day.  When I got my lunch out, one of my friends asked if I had a cookie on my salad, haha.  Not quite... :)

Are you guys getting ready for Halloween?  I didn't dress up the past two years (tragic, I know) but this year I've got two costumes planned out - a southern belle and "bad" Sandy from Grease.  I've actually worn both of these costumes before, but I think it was 8th grade when I was the southern belle, so that barely counts, right?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Song of the day:

"If I Didn't Know Better" by Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen.  This song if from the new show Nashville - has anyone been watching it?  I'm a big fan of Connie Britton (from Friday Night Lights - pretty much the best show ever), and so far I'm liking Nashville a lot.  I pretty much can't resist a show that incorporates a lot of great music!  This song is so pretty, and how about that crazy chemistry between the actors??  Sigh.

Come Into My Living Room

So back in April (was it really that long ago?!) I shared pictures from the kitchen of my apartment.  I've made a few updates recently, so I've added new pictures to that post.  Here's one of them:

I've got two amazing new paintings that my sister made for me, and a newly-painted black table (it used to be blue and pink).  I'll share the pictures of the (long!) painting process soon, too.

And here are the pictures of my living room - furnished and decorated on a student's budget, with a lot of help from family and friends.  If you've read my blog before, you've probably seen quite a few sunset pictures - this is the biggest window in my apartment, and I also have large windows in my kitchen and bedroom.  They all face the same direction, so during the summer and early fall I can see the sunsets from them, and I can also see Lake Erie in the distance.

My rug is from TJ Maxx - I really love it, and it was such a great deal.  The curtain rod and curtains are from JC Penney.  The chair and ottoman are hand-me-downs from my great aunt.

My couch was my first real "grown-up" furniture purchase.  The accent pillows came with it - they're not something I would have picked out myself, but I haven't really looked for replacements.  The table to the right of my couch is a family hand-me-down, and it's pretty scratched up, so I covered it with a table cloth that I got on Etsy.  It'd be really fun to refurbish the table some day, though, because it has a lot of character.  The lamp on the table is also a hand-me-down from my parents.  I've been considering spray-painting the base and either recovering or replacing the lamp shade. but I'm still thinking it through.

That's my front door and entrance hall in the back left corner of the picture.  My coffee table was another hand-me-down from my parents - we had it in the family room of our first house, and in the basement of my parents' current house.  Lots of memories!  And a few scratches for good measure.

This is the view from the window side of the room.  Notice my party lights?  Haha.  The tenant before me told me that the previous tenant put them up, and I thought they were fun, so I decided to keep them.  A girl I baby-sit really likes them, and she was just shocked that someone could leave them behind :)

You can see my "work station" in the back left corner of this picture - I've got a bookcase, bulletin board, desk (another hand-me-down from my great aunt), and floor lamp.  I actually use this area more for just storing things, though, and usually do my work at the kitchen table.  I need to spread out!  And generally make quite a mess.

Please ignore the terribly ugly cords under my TV.  I've been wanting to get some big wicker storage baskets to put under there, but I haven't found any that I love yet.

My parents gave me that papasan chair as a birthday present when I turned 16 - I still love it!  Although I pretty much instantly fall asleep when I sit in it...

And here are some close-ups of my "decor," if you will.  I really love fireplaces, and although this isn't a working fireplace, I still think it's pretty fun.  My mom got me the candle holder as a gift, and I bought candles that have wooden wicks - when you light them, they crackle like a fire!  My cousin gave me that brilliant idea - I love it.  I used an old vase I had from delivered flowers and put some decorative glass pebbles (yeah, not sure if that's what they're really called, but that's what they look like) and a few fake calla lilies from Hobby Lobby in there.  I put some little knick knacks and votives on the mantle.

My best friend gave me these awesome pictures which she took at concerts we'd been to together, and I love seeing them every day!  I think personalized artwork is such a special, amazing gift.

I got those three little frames from the dollar spot at Target when I was in undergrad, and I printed out some pictures in black and white to put in them.  The glass bud vases are from CB2, and the fake gerbera daisies are from Hobby Lobby.  I found that black and white print on Etsy, and got the mat and frame from... wait for it... Hobby Lobby.

I got that floor lamp from Ikea recently, and now I can see to read on my couch!  Only took me two years...  That wall-mounted candle holder is from CB2, and the picture is a vintage-y map of Paris that is actually wrapping paper from Paper Source, which I put in a poster frame from Target.

Upon my suggestion, my mom ordered those flowers for my parents' kitchen after they re-painted it, but they weren't working there.  So I got them instead!  Works for me.  

So there you have it - another peek into my apartment.  And I still need to share some pictures of my hall, bathroom, and bedroom, too.  I promise it won't take me another six months to share them this time.  

And just for fun, here's a picture from two years ago, before I got around to unpacking.  Yikes!

Oh, and happy fall!

Song of the day:

"Live It Out" by Metric.

And That's a Very Good Thing

I tried out a new recipe the other night and just have to share the results.  I present to you:  dark chocolate avocado mousse, created by the very ingenious Julie of Peanut Butter Fingers.

Feast your eyes on what happened when I combined 3 simple ingredients in my food processor:

Come a little closer...

Just a little bit closer...

Judging by the name of the recipe, you probably guessed the "secret" ingredient - avocado.  The other 2 ingredients are honey and cocoa powder.  That's it!  Magical.  Truly magical.  I could not believe how light and fluffy it was - just like you would expect of mousse!  I even used an avocado which I had frozen, and it still turned out this light and fluffy.  I ate half of the recipe one night and stuck the other half in the fridge for later - I wasn't sure how it would keep with the avocado in it, but it tasted just as good the next night!

So chocolate mousse is good.  You know what else is good?  Yoga.  Awhile back I bought a Groupon for a 10-class pass to a studio called Anytime Nirvana Yoga.  

Yesterday morning I finally redeemed my Groupon and went to a Power Yoga Basics class.  I was a little nervous at first because I was one of only two students in the entire class, but that actually turned out to be amazing; it was practically like a private lesson.  I've only ever taken yoga at fitness centers and gyms before,  so I'm used to having mirrors lining the walls.  It was kind of nice to focus on how my body felt in a pose rather than how it looked in a pose.  And it was really nice that the teacher could help me to adjust and get deeper into the poses.  Great start to the weekend!  I even feel a little sore this morning, especially in my shoulders and upper back - lots of low planks/ chaturanga dandasana.

This past week I also officially joined the gym associated with my school.  They had a "guest week" for non-members to try out the gym and the classes for free, and I went to about 5 group exercise classes that week (Caribbean cardio, an abs class, a spin class, and a couple of Zumba classes - so fun!) and absolutely loved them.  Even though my semester is really busy, I feel SO much better when I take time to exercise, and I absolutely love group exercise classes.  I can't wait to try out even more!

Some more good things:  these sunsets that I've seen from my window recently.   

And one last good thing: my very first CSA share!

I got kale, zucchini, a red bell pepper, beets, an onion, broccoli, a hot pepper, 2 tomatoes, carrots, an acorn squash, and 2 apples.  So good!  I made "cheesy" kale chips with the kale and red bell pepper, and I made a stir fry with the zucchini, broccoli, hot pepper, and one of the tomatoes.  Everything was really tasty!  I ordered another share which I get to pick up on Tuesday - can't wait!

So those are my good things recently.  Hope you've got some very good things of your own going on!

Song of the day:

"Stubborn Love" by The Lumineers.  Basically, I just love their entire self-titled album.  

DIY Personalized Coasters

Hello friends.  Well, this semester is crazy-busy and I don't see it getting calmer anytime soon, so my posts will be sporadic.  I still want to share fun things as I can, though, so I'm taking pictures and keeping notes for the rare moments when I can squeeze in a post!

In August, I went to visit my best friend right after she moved into a new (gorgeous!) apartment in DC.  I wanted to bring her a little housewarming gift, so I turned to my oft-admired and rarely-used Pinterest boards.  I decided to try making some custom coasters for her.  The link to the original website doesn't work anymore, but I was able to gather enough information from the picture and caption to get started.

Materials needed:  4 x 4 plain tiles from a home improvement store (I got mine at Lowe's super cheap, like $0.15 or something), pictures/ scrapbook paper/ whatever you want to use to decorate, a permanent marker, a straight edge (i.e. a ruler), a utility knife, Mod Podge, a paint brush, clear spray paint, scrap paper.

First, gather your supplies and lay out the scrap paper to protect your work surface.

I wanted to color the edges of the tiles to make them look more polished, and I initially tried painting them.  The paint wasn't going on well, so I switched to a permanent marker which worked much better.  Bonus - no drying time!  It really wore down the marker, though, so use an old one or mourn the loss of the nice, crisp tip of the marker.  (Or maybe that's just me... I have a strong attachment to Sharpies.)

I used a black marker to stick with my black and white theme, but you could color coordinate your edges with your pictures/ designs.

I previously chose some digital pictures that I wanted to use to decorate the coasters, made them black and white on my computer, cropped them so that they were square and slightly smaller than 4 x 4 inches, and printed them out on resume-type paper so that they were a little sturdier than regular office paper, but not so thick that they would be raised up on top of the coasters.

Then I used a ruler and utility knife to cut them out - you want your edges to be as straight and clean as possible.

I printed out a few extra pictures so that I could see what looked best on the tiles.

After you've chosen and cut out your pictures/ scrapbook paper, use a paint brush and Mod Podge to adhere the pictures to the tiles.  My ink bled a little bit when I did this, so I kept a rag nearby to wipe off any discoloration.

After the Mod Podge dries, you can put on a coat of clear spray paint.  This is important:  go outside!!!  I'm speaking from experience here... it's not pleasant to spray this in the house, and you might feel like you're going to die from the fumes for the rest of the night.  Oh, and your family/ roommates/ pets will really not appreciate it.  (My dad: "You care about everyone's environment except for mine!!"  Woops.)  Yeah, I know, who uses spray paint inside?  But it was clear...  clear = harmless, right?  Not quite.  Definitely a blonde moment.  Don't be like me!

After the spray paint has dried, stick four protectors on the bottom of each tile.

You could use felt protectors, or little plastic ones like I chose.  Or you could even use a hot glue gun and make little dots (but I tend to burn myself with hot glue guns so I didn't attempt that method).

And there you have it - personalized, homemade coasters.  They're not very expensive to make, and I think they make great housewarming gifts, or even gifts for birthdays and other holidays.  And it was really fun to choose pictures specifically for my best friend!

I wrapped them up with a pretty bow,

and added a container of homemade red velvet macaroons to go with them.

If any of you read The Fitnessista, you know that Gina has a famous and secret macaroon recipe.  She recently shared her red velvet variety, and I was so excited to try them out for myself!  My grandma let me borrow her old-school dehydrator - doesn't it look like a space ship?

They smelled gooooood.

Yummy.

And they're the perfect little sweet treat to go with a cup of tea!

By the way, my favorite tea right now is Lady Grey - like Earl Grey, but more refined :)  It's decaffeinated, and I think it has a lighter, smoother flavor than Earl Grey.

Even though I'm not usually a big fan of coconut, I did enjoy these a lot.

And they got good reviews from my best friend, a neighbor, and my grandma - so I think they were a success!

Okay, that's all for now - hopefully I'll be back soon with some more fun updates.

Song of the day:

"Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood.  Loving this song right now.