Thankful for Dessert!!

Well, Thanksgiving has come, and gone. (And may I just say, the turkey was goooood). My pants are a little tighter, and my heart is a little happier.

I was in charge of one of the desserts this year and it was a hit! (If I do say so myself!). So I thought I would share the recipe with you! It's a yummy apple crisp that is super easy to do!

Rachel's Amazing, Delicious Garaunteed to Make You Go Up a Pant Size But You Don't Care Cuz It's So Devine Apple Crisp.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar (oh, you use this for more than just your face?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cold
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)
3 pounds apples-such as empire or gala, peeled, cored and cut into bite size chunks
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preaheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, salt, and 2 table spoons granulated sugar. Cut butter into flour, using a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is the texture of coarse meal. Add oats and use your hands to toss and squeeze mixture until large moist clumps form. Transfer to freezer while you prepare apples.

2. In another large bowl toss apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Transfer to a shallow 2 quart baking dish and sprinkle with topping mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly (55-65 min). Let cool 10 min before serving. Add some vanilla ice cream if desired. And CHOW DOWN!

There it is! Super yummy. Super easy! What are some of your favorite easy recepies?

My Nemesis...Chicken.

As many of you know, I have been on a journey for the past few months toward vegetarianism.

At first it was bliss...spinach, beans, rice, cottage cheese, veggie burgers. I was feeling great! Me and veggies were gonna take on the world together, one carrot stick at a time.

Then, the cravings came. It started with an old friend turned enemy, the corn dog. It all happened at Disneyland. Disneyland and corn dogs go together! They are the ideal Disneyland meal. They can be eaten while walking, and their deliciousness adds to the whole Disneyland experience, turning the evening into an eating, riding, walking, TRON filled experience!
I was strong.
Then a few weeks ago, I realized that at Thanksgiving, you eat turkey.
And at Christmas, you eat Ham
And the day after Christmas you put ham in your omelet, and the next day you eat a ham sandwich, and the next day, and the next day.
I cracked.
I realized that not only were these things symbols of the holidays, they were symbols of my youth! My childhood!!! And then I thought...I haven't eaten meat in months! If I crack and pig out on Thanksgiving without preparation I'm gonna get sick on my favorite holidays of the year!!

I. Just. Couldn't. Help. Myself.
Ok Ok Ok... So I have loved being a vegetarian for the past few months. However...meat has been calling to me! I learned a lot on my little journey. My diet will never be the same again. I will still have a very vegetarian based diet, but with a little meat in there every once in while cuz...I can't take it anymore!
I'm weak.

Thank God for Grace!!

So the college group I go to at Rocky Peak Church, Soma, is going through a series called "Movement." Last night's sermon focused on spiritual discipline and how that relates to our spiritual growth. It was a very eye opening and exciting evening for me.
One of the students was mentioning how he first started out with lot's of discipline when it came to his Bible reading. Even mornings when he didn't want to read he would do it, and pretty soon that discipline...turned to desire and hunger and a want to read the word. The speaker asked the audience, how many of you are there?
I felt my hand raise.
What?
Now part of this was due to the fact that I zoned out for 1.5 seconds and was thinking "Yes I want to read" not "Yes I have this every day super thirst to get into the word." And part of it was because the speaker looked over my way and I just immidiately wanted to participate and look like a "good Christian" by saying "Yes I LOVE reading the Bible!!"

It took me a few minutes of thought to realize that was what it really was about. It's amazing how much motivation can go behind something that takes you a half a second to do.
So then I started thinking, where did that come from? I mean I have gone through times when I felt like that thirst, but right now I am actually going through a pretty "dry" spell when it comes to reading. Why do I feel so afraid to fess up to that? And why do I feel this need to pretend everything is together?

And I remembered something my boyfriend said. It's. A. Heart. Issue.
So many times as Christians (especially as women, I feel) have this need to perform or be the "Perfect Christian." (Whatever that is)And I realized that the reason the way I was reading the Bible wasn't working before is becasue I was approaching it like this quota that I had to reach for the day.
If I check reading the Bible off the list I will feel better. And if anyone asks I can say "Why yes I have been reading every day." And God will be pleased.

WOAH. Ok first off...what's up the the order of priority of those things? And second, as if me reading the Bible today is going to make God love me anymore. He already loves me daily the maximum amount available!! His GRACE is the only thing we need!!
So I decided to pray, and approach my reading in a different way. Instead of having a set amount of reading that I HAVE to get through every day...why not read and meditate on a few verses that pop out to me in the sermon? I feel like that leaves more time for reflection and learning than zooming through the books so I can check them off of my reading list.

So I cracked open a devotional book I had set aside a while back because I had decided it has you read only a couple of verses a day and that wasn't enough. So now, my devotional time is going to be based more on topics, thoughts, people in the Bible I'd like to learn from, one verse I am wrestling with that I heard in church, and so on.
I realized that I was focusing on the amount of pages I was going through, rather than the ideas and lessons God was trying to teach me. This new outlook seriously encouraged me today, and I hope it will encourage your too.
Oh and the devotional book I opened up is called "Women of the Bible." You spend a week learning about one woman, starting with Eve. I'm super excited to start this. May be you guys wanna check it out!

DIY Microdermabrasion!

I'm always looking for the next thing to help my skin look amazing and radiant and just like those girls in the skin ads who have no wrinkles and their face is all one color. Right.

I know I will never have those kind of glorious airbrush results (*sigh) but tonight...I came close!
I hate wearing makeup. But when I was in 7th grade I snuck into my mom's makeup case and packed on every single form of makeup I could find. I've been wearing it ever since. So stepping out of the house without my usual mask can sometimes be a little scary. I wish I could just wake up in the morning and have the skin tone I do once a layer of clown makeup-er-foundation is put on.

I've been hearing a lot about microdermabrasion and what it can do for your skin. I've also heard a lot about the price tag that comes with it. So, I decided to DIY and actually DO something I pinned on Pintrest (Gasp!)

Two words. Brown Sugar. Yes my friends, brown sugar is more than yummy goodness, it is amazing for your skin! All I did was make a paste with some brown sugar and a little thing I like to call H2O. I just gently rubbed the paste on in a circular motion for about three minutes and viola!! Skin like a baby's behind! Now, it started to hurt a very, very tiny bit after two minutes or so...but I believed in the system! Also, lot's of sites say to stay away from the under eye area. However, I get small bumps and a lot of dryness under my eyes so I just swiped the paste there with as little pressure as I could, and only did it once or twice.

My. Skin. Feels. Amazing.
And it has a lovely glow because of all the layers of skin that I said goodbye to. You guys gotta try this. I'm gonna keep it up and do it a couple of times a week and see if I start to see any major long term results and report back!

What are some of your fun beauty secrets?

My Manly Musician =)

Wow. Two in one day? I'm on a roll. One step closer to the best blogger award.

So one awesome perk about having a blog is being able to shamelessly promote my boyfriend and his AWESOME music.
He has this great project called "Train Ticket Home" (now doesn't that sound like it should be announced on a radio somewhere?) with upbeat music that everyone can enjoy!

Come CHECK him out. You'll hear great music, meet some cool people and well...hang out with me...so there really isn't anything more to say about that.

Click Here

In The Words of Michelle Karim: "Whoops!"

Alright, alright, alright...







So this blog has taught me something very important about myself.


I'm not very good at finishing things. Like goal lists...or scarves turned blankets...or blogs.


But like they say when you fall off a horse...something something something. Right.



So a lot has happened since I last wrote. Let's see....




1. I started dating an AMAZING guy named Apollo. Eight months now =)
This is his facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/apollobukowski... Pretty cute, right? I know. =)

2. I'm graduating in, wait for it...3 1/2 months!! Woo hoo! I am so excited!! Thanks AMDA it's been real, it's been fun, but it hasn't been...well anyway. Ok really though, the teachers at AMDA are some of the most amazing, inspirational people I have ever met. Its just time to be a big girl and move on.

3. I never finished the scarf turned blanket. I started working on it again last week. DON'T judge me.

4. My credit card is paid off in FULL! (Do I hear angels singing?)

5. I am taking an entrepreneurship class which is totally helping me organize the right way and write up a business plan for my canvases. I even have a name already. hARTful designs. My good friend Charles is making a logo for me. Whata guy!

6. I have recently gotten over my fear of hospitals...by force. Apollo has had quite the battle with some nasty kidney stones. So it was either be a horrible girlfriend and say "Sorry babe, you're on you're own!" or suck it up and take care of my man! The things we do for love... But I am super happy. And super happy that he is now on the road to recovery.

7. I've been a vegetarian for the last 4-5 months now. But I ate a teeny bit of meat the past two nights so I can get my body used to it again because well, the Holidays are coming. I. Just. Can't. Help. Myself.

So, shall we call this take two? It's ok. I believe that all of us have the ability to commit to a project and focus in us somewhere...

1. Eggs
2. Milk
3. Dog food

Oh. Sorry. I was just writing my grocery list. Anyways. The latest upcoming fun thing? A Christmas dinner at my place! I'm so excited! I'm rolling up my sleeves once more and heading into the kitchen full of furver...and fear. =) So, I thought I would ask, what is your favorite food during the holidays?