Great Article From the Resurgence

Just wanted to send you guys an awesome article I read on the resurgence website about growth...and grace! It's great read to start off your day. I hope you enjoy it!

CLICK HERE!

Snowman Genocide

Like I've said before, Pintrest has become a huge part of my life. =) So I thought that I would share one of the many recipe ideas I've come across on this oh so amazing website.


Painfully cute? I know. =)

So these guys just started out as lowly sugar cookies...from a box. (Gasp!) Yes it was a box mix, and it was delicious. The brand we used was Krusteaz. Super easy, and not having to let your dough sit in the fridge for hours. I love that!


Just roll out your dough and cut them into "melty" shapes. =)

Then...FROST! We used Betty Crocker cookie frosting. It sets in just a few minutes.

Pop some jumbo marshmallows in the microwave, and watch em close! About fifteen seconds was enough, but a couple needed a little bit longer to look sufficiently melted. Put some flour or oil on your fingers when its time to pick them up, cuz those things stick! And depending on what size the cookie portion is, you may have to split the marshmallow in half.

Now the decorating part would have been a lot easier with some piping, but I made due with sprinkles...which took, forever, but so worth it!! I love these little guys. You can even give them some personality!


My new delicious Christmas friends! Hope you enjoy!! Try out some new Christmas creations yourself...it's so fun to change it up and try new things!

Season of Saving

Cha ching!

Yeah, that's a sound I don't hear too often.
And that's OK. As long as I'm super responsible with the little money I make. Right. I'm graduating in February, so I thought it was high time to get some savings going. What I'm realizing is...every. penny. counts. No really. Even pennies. I just had to change my mind set...it's one more penny than I had before. So pick up those pennies you see on the ground! Than put it in the jar and don't think about it till it's a jar full of pennies. I have a piggy bank just for silver change.


No, your eyes don't lie...that is, in fact a TRON piggy: ready for a light cycle battle at any second. My amazing boyfriend, Apollo mad it for me for our five month anniversary. I love TRON, I love pigs, and I needed to save money. It was the perfect gift.

I also have another bowl thats just for pennies. Ok so I know with all the plastic we use today, there is very little change in circulation. But the little change I do have...goes in the jar and starts to multiply!

Here are some other ways to save/make money that I collected...

1. Make your own coffee. (Check! Some hazelnut creamer, and I'm in homemade Starbucks heaven!)
2. Brown bag it! (Most likely a healthier choice, too!
3. Hang on to that car! Take care of your vehicle to avoid nasty repair fees. (I'm working on this one...I recently went about 8,000 miles before an oil change, no bueno.
4. Recycle! (This is especially good if you drink a lot of canned soda in the house!
5. Bottle your own water. (A dollar, sometimes two for WATER? No thank you.)
6. If you are in Simi Valley, I know we have a $3 theatre. You only have to wait a little longer than normal to see the latest movies.
7. Get rid of that land line. Who wants telemarketers, anyway?
8. Grow a garden. (Ok how cute would that be? And not paying for your veggies? OK!) This site is a great guide!
1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=751
9. Oatmeal...cheaper, and healthier than cereal.
10. Cut the cable. ( I know, I know..but come on, Hulu? Netflix? Movies? Board games..CONVERSATION?? The possibilities are endless.
11. CLIP Coupons! ( We've all heard of the show.)
12. Pass out fliers in your neighborhood and offer to walk dogs. (Not just for teens anymore. Exercise+cash!)
13. Do you take good pictures? There is a website called shutterstock.com (Sorry for no hyperlink, they aren't working for some reason) where if accepted, they will post your picture, any time someone downloads it, you get 25 cents!
14. Sell your crafts! Knitting, paper crafts, jewelry, it can call be found on Etsy.com
15. Take surveys online! Another website called surveyspaid.com pays members to test products, and the answer questions about them.

Alright so those are just a few...but I thought I would get the ball rolling. How do you save money?

DIY Christmas

So, as many of you know, I'm going to school FULL time, and that leaves very little time to make extra income. So with the little jobs I do have, I've been saving my pennies (no literally) and I've been Pinning away like a madwomen.
For those of you who who don't know what I mean when I say "pinning" first, roll out from underneath that rock, and second...It's the most amazing thing that will ever happen to you.
pintrest.com is a website that is dedicated to addicting teen girls, young moms, old moms, basically any woman to scrolling through thousands, if not millions of pictures to then "pin" on your virtual bulliten board to then later go back to a tackle as your next project. This Christmas, that website has been my saving grace! There are countless inexpensive, homemade gift ideas. Tonight, I'l show you two. I'm working on a third as we speak, I'll show you those next blog. (They happen to be my favorite project yet!)

So first, I wanted to make something fun for my niece, Sophie. She's two.

And the most adorable thing you will ever see on the planet. Don't argue...you know it's true =)
I was looking at her toys and noticed that she didn't have any sort of matching game. And she is getting to the age and ability that I think one would be perfect for! So, I thought why don't I make one? I went on the gem of a website, pintrest, and a couple clicks into it I found the perfect one.
Popsicle matching game. Can you get any cuter?
So here were my supplies...


Glue gun, pencil, scissors, popsicle sticks, and cute scrapbook paper. I picked colors/patterns that I thought Sophie would get most excited about.

So all I did was draw my best popsicle shape, and once I got one that I liked, I traced it out and used it as my stencil to cut the rest of them out. Best if you use this one simply for that, that way it doesn't matter that the edges get all pencil-y. I did five pairs, so I had ten of my solid color, and two of each remaining pattern.




Then I glued on either side of the popsicle stick one solid, and one patterned paper!


And voila!!


Fin! I just cut off the excess on the sides to make sure they were perfectly even, and then I was done. The cutest matching game I've ever seen! Oh and It's completely functional. I played a game after they were all done just to check. =)

The next thing I thought I would try was a homemade sugar scrub. This was SERIOUSLY easy as well. For the sugar scrub all you need is some sugar, (any old sugar will do) olive oil (or even veggie oil) scented oil (found flavors like lavender and cucumber melon at Michaels for only a couple dollars each), and if you wanna get fancy, some special coloring (found in the soap making section along with all the flavors). This special color won't dye the skin.

The mix is super easy, I did it all by eye. I just kept adding more oil until it got to the consistency I wanted. It's a little bit dryer than I expected, but perfectly spreadable and makes your hands oh so soft! The purple dye I needed a lot, but the green only took a couple of drops. So just go slowly and keep adding as you mix for those. And for each scent, I only used a couple of drops and it was smellin sweet!

I found these adorable jars at the dollar store, three for a dollar. How could I resist? I bought four sets. I wish I had bought ten.

Then I cut some cute paper to decorate them .


Then I made a little label, and spooned in my mixture!

Now that I'm done, I would have done the labels completely differently. I would use the computer, and may be some mod podge (my new favorite thing) But oh well, first time is for learning. I'm super happy with the way they turned out! What do you guys think?

More Christmas crafts to come!!

Miracle on Burnside St.

As we come together for this wonderful time of year, we look far and wide for the first Christmas Miracle.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, look no further.



Fox went into Linus's "bedroom" and woke him up for a midnight "hello."

My boyfriend, Apollo recently got a kitty. Who I love =) I have a crazy dog that wants to kill everything moving that he doesn't recognize. Who I love. We wondered... how will these two ever come together?!
Naturally Apollo didn't want to leave the kitty all by himself for the long periods of time when he was hanging at my house or we were going out somewhere. So he brought the kitty, Fox, to my place. We had long thought out extensive plans and strategies to keep the two animals apart. When one was out, the other was in and vice versa. But one day we just thought, "I wonder..." And what do you know. They love each other. They even touch noses. It's too cute to even handle!

So there you have it. The first Christmas Miracle of 2012.

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.