just maybe...

Just maybe the bananas I had were going bad (which is no surprise, I usually always end up throwing out the last 2-3 bananas of the bunch, oops) so I made banana-chocolate chip muffins. Just maybe I had been a stressed out/emotional/mess last week and surely drove Cody crazy, so I tried to make up for it with a cheesy note along with my surprise treats.

just maybe I'm stressing out about this semester/passing tests/finishing my resume/getting an interview/getting a JOB/graduating and think that I can't simply do it all. 

                               and then I read this, "Sometimes we are told to quietly lean on our 

                                        Savior and rest. At other times God calls us to actively wait. but we are                  always to stay close to our Redeemer" -"Ruth" by Kelly Minter

I've been reminded multiple times this week to give it all to God, leave it all in His hands, 

not my own human hands. What.a.relief. 

just maybe my planner is so full of everything to do hour-by-hour and it looks like a group of highlighters threw up all over it.

and just maybe, it's hit me that i'm graduating in four short months. all of the business... homework, studying, bible study, chapter...all the college "stuff" is coming to a hault.

a 22nd birthday

my roommate/best friend Morgan's 22nd birthday was this past weekend! I was so excited when she gave me the opportunity to help so I took the job to make hats/decorations and bake the cake. 

first, i made a table runner with a paper bag I got at the store that day. (might i add, sweet boyfriend thought about me when he bought his groceries and asked for paper so i could have more craft supplies). I cut the bag open at the vertical seam so it would be as wide as the bag stands tall. get it?

then, i borrowed some white paint from morgan and happened to find a big tack to use as a polka dot stamp.

 and wah-lah, a polka dot table runner was born. excuse this picture for being so blurry/still bent from the bag shape. i promise it looked better later in the day.

next, i made some party hats. i had some leftover scrapbook paper from a poster i made last semester and just started folding them into cones and gluing; then (after trial-and-error) i realized the hats needed a bottom, so i cut a circle of paper and glued it to the bottom; then i glued them onto some old headbands i never wore anymore; lastly, i glued some frilly boa's to the bottom.

and the cake i baked, i did a reverse "22" on the cake so it appeared through the sprinkles on top. 

favorite things

1. NYC lip stain in "berry much": first off, i'm a much bigger fan of lip stains than lipstick because they... well, stain. once it's on your lips, it stays for hours. secondly, lately I've been all about dark lip stains. it must be because this is the first year i'm truly embracing my winter paleness by not tanning and so dark lip color brings out the paleness all the more.
2. starbucks blonde roast. i have to admit, i was drawn to this new coffee flavor by the name. I'm a big fan of white chocolate candy and so the "blonde brownie" is a thumbs up in my book. So, blonde coffee? why not. really, all i think it is is a lighter roast but it sure is good!
3. oxford heels. i have these exact ones from payless (they're actually american eagle brand) and i love them! i just think they're the cutest shoes with tights and a dress or skinny jeans!
4. this color pallette. between the color lip stain, my mint color skinny jeans i'm wearing out, and even the colors of the numbered dots on this post, it's pretty obvious i'm obsessed with this color scheme. how brights yet cold for winter.
5. multiply by franis chan. unfortunately, i haven't had time to get too far in this book yet, but i did get it for Christmas. hopefully by this summer i'll have some time to enjoy all the books i've gained! this book is about discipleship and the importance of it; it's also designed in a way for someone to disciple someone else (includes questions for topics of conversations, etc.). i'm so excited to get started!...someday


this past week I had my first day of school....and nothing since! which is great... but i have been busy, trying to get everything ready for the semester and morgan's birthday was yesterday (see upcoming post). unfortunately, our heater broke on the coldest day last week so our apartment was like 60 something and i.was.miserable. our apartment is looking quite wintery though with the decor :)

^^^^ one night i got bored and decided to give this artsy-chalboard-writing thing a go

back into the swing of things

 school is still a few days away but i've been spending time studying (who gives a test the FIRST day back to school!? nursing school does.), hanging out with this girl <<<, and enjoying the dreary lubbock weather. i've been trying to incorporate my shop-only-for-complete-meals-and-actually-cook-them plan and so far, so good! except, amidst the chaos in the store i failed to grab barbecue sauce, so i concocted my own! i was pretty impressed with my improvisation in times of dire need (for the chicken drumstick's sake).

new obsession: coconut oil. this brand, louana can be purchased at albertson's for like... $6! i had read about all that coconut oil can do on pinterest and then my dad  was also on the kick (which isn't new, he always has a new health fad he tries to convince me of). you can use this oil to substitute cooking oil for, use instead of lotion, makeup remover, make a body scrub, hair treatment, baking, etc. so many uses and it's healthy! it's solid at 76 degrees and below and oil at 77 and above. so, it melts in your hands to apply! so cool!

new years resolution update: my resolution to be thrifty applies to my clothing as well. i have a shopping addiction. while i have halted my frequency in the stores within the past few months, i still fall for a sale at the drop of a dime (see what i did there?). so, i've vowed to myself... my parents...my boyfriend.. that i would avoid shopping for at least a few months. i have plenty of clothes that i can make different outfits out of, plus i wear scrubs 3+ days out of the week anyways. this is tough however, and my own roommate told me i was setting myself up for failure but we'll see how it goes! so, why the backwards hangers? << by turning my hangers backwards (and putting them back in-once worn- the correct way) i can see what i've worn after x amount of time. therefore,     i can see what i don't wear/can get rid of.

back to lubbock

 I came back to Lubbock today to have a week to get prepared for my last semester of college! It's sad to think that the previous month was my last real Christmas break. Next year I'll be a working girl and my long vacations are long gone. 

I spent my last few days at home doing a few last minute crafts in between trying to pack everything.

I crocheted a few more scarves... a gold one for me...

 

..and a grey one for the boyfriend per his request. i made his a straight style (not infinity). i hadn't made one like this before, but i used the same directions but instead of looping it to start, I just made a row, knotted it, and went back and forth horizontally until I was satisfied with the number of rows.

then, i worked one some winter decor for the apartment since the Christmas stuff had to come down! 

I made a garland out of some pine cones that we had outside, leftover galvanized wire i had from hangers I made last summer, and hot glue. I twisted the wire around the center of the pine cone as tight as I could then glued it in place. careful though, these pine cones are painful when twisting the moving them!

reflect on 2012

What I listened to:

Matchbox twenty (particularly, “push”, “hand me down”, “3am”)

Dave Matthews band (“satellites”, “crash into me”)

Closing time-semisonic

Yeah, yeah, I went through a 90’s/early 2000’s  season for awhile. No shame.

The civil wars

Green river ordinance

Needtobreathe

Ben rector

Shane and Shane

What I read:

Passion and purity by Elisabeth Elliot

Safe haven by Nicholas Sparks

Ruth by Kelly Minter

Breaking Free by Beth Moore

What I made:

crochet scarf

coffee mugs

glass jars for gifts

canvas art

scratch off

pallet coffee table

wall decor and bookshelf re-do

What I did in 2012:

Finished the hardest (spring) semester of nursing school

Went to Florida

Made a weekend trip to lake LBJ with friends

Threw a fourth of july party

Moved into our new apartment

Turned 21

Went to collegiate week in glorieta, NM

Started dating my best friend

Foundation camp

Started my senior year of college

RSC festivities

Went to the Tech vs. TCU game

Thanksgiving break

Christmas festivities

What I’m looking forward to in 2013:

Finishing my last semester of college

Graduating

Cody and I’s future

Starting my “real adult life”

new years

For new years eve, I went to stay with Cody's family for the night and a few days following. We played games, watched movies, and hung out. It was a great start to the year to be with my love, and to start a new year together!

we worked on new years eve resolutions that night and I came up with:

the other day I baked new years cookies with this recipe. i really wanted to test out how to make make the words appear so i played around with some letter stamps I bought at hobby lobby (just for this purpose). by pressing down the stamp onto the dough pre-baking, the words did appear. however, it also showed a box around it. it was a good first attempt though!