But this year I have not had any excitement about it. I cannot fathom why. My excitement has yet to really show up. Until today. Today I was swooning over the tulips and roses at the store, the candies, the fun sprinkles I put on my cupcake....
6.2.14
Valentine's Day
Valentine's day could easily be my favorite holiday. I have always loved the happiness it brings. I didn't care if I was single or in grade school. I love it. I love that it is in February. I have always found February to be difficult month- still winter, but always dragging on. But Valentine's day sneaks right in there with it's beautiful colors and makes the transition to Spring much smoother! The colors are always happy- how can you not love all the reds and pinks? I love the fun decorations, the flowers and the candy. I love it.
But this year I have not had any excitement about it. I cannot fathom why. My excitement has yet to really show up. Until today. Today I was swooning over the tulips and roses at the store, the candies, the fun sprinkles I put on my cupcake....
But this year I have not had any excitement about it. I cannot fathom why. My excitement has yet to really show up. Until today. Today I was swooning over the tulips and roses at the store, the candies, the fun sprinkles I put on my cupcake....
4.2.14
Inspired By:
Part of my New Year's Resolution was to focus on creativity more. So far it's going great! This month I have some things up my sleeve for sure! Pinterest to me is both fantastic and also de-motivating at the same time. Sometimes I get carried away pinning and less doing. But right now, here are a few things I'm particularly inspired right now and hope to create something of sorts for myself.
To see where these are from, or more of my inspiration... visit my Pinterest page.
1. This image is actually for alphabet necklace, but the comment was about getting alphabet magnets and spray painting them gold. Seriously. Why didn't I think of that?
2. I love these bottles and own several! I've been working on a little bar area in our house, and adding a cute label on it is just the right idea!
3. I am wanting to make a happy garland to celebrate Valentine's day.
4. I am in the process of making a little office/craft area for myself. And this picture inspires me.
5. If you know me or have been to my house you know I am obsessed with globes and maps. My next ambition to to find an ugly globe (because I don't have the heart to do this to a lovely one) and paint it with chalkboard paint. It will add to my collection nicely.
12.1.14
French Macarons
These trendy, tasty little desserts aren't the easiest to make. They're sensitive and delicate but really are so worth it! My friend, Ashley, and I have both made them before. Both with successes and failures. This go round we had some luck and some failures! We've compiled a list of things we thought would be helpful.
It's really important you set your eggs out way earlier. Hours at least, but a full day is fantastic! This will really help your egg whites whip easily.
Our best recipe that we have found was actually from a book I purchased years ago for only $3 at TJ Maxx in a clearance bin! It is called "Macaroons 30 recipes for perfect bite-size treats". I like their basic recipe. But really, almost all macaron recipes are the same. Their differences are small. We liked how small of a batch it made. Just one baking sheet worth, this makes it more manageable. And if you mess it up- it's only a small amount!
Use parchment paper to line your baking sheet. That's what we found works best. If you are really uneasy about your piping skills, you can purchase a Silpat that is already marked with sizes. Or find something that is macaron-sized and trace on the parchment paper yourself. We chose to freehand it. If your sizes vary, you can always find a match.
If your freshly piped macarons have air bubbles, gently tap the entire baking sheet on your counter top. That should release the bubbles. Although this usually can be avoided if you pour the batter in the piping bag without air in it.
Once you have piped your macarons, it is so important for you to let them sit and rest. Let them rest for about 20 minutes. When you touch them, they should not be dried out, but dry enough that your finger doesn't stick to them.
We are working with a standard electric oven that keeps temperature well. If you are unsure about your oven, an oven thermometer is always great! Throughout our experience, and all the tutorials that people have written it is common that you may want to add moisture to your baking environment- but we didn't have to worry about anything like that!
See how these pictured above have little lumps? Hard to avoid, but this is why putting so much effort into grinding and sifting the almond flour is so important. If you don't, it's not the end of the world, but this is what they will look like.
When baking these bad boys, be so careful not to overcook them. Not even by a few seconds. They turn brown and lose their gorgeous color. They will also crack quite easily. Not pretty.
We are working with a standard electric oven that keeps temperature well. If you are unsure about your oven, an oven thermometer is always great! Throughout our experience, and all the tutorials that people have written it is common that you may want to add moisture to your baking environment- but we didn't have to worry about anything like that!
It's really important you set your eggs out way earlier. Hours at least, but a full day is fantastic! This will really help your egg whites whip easily.
Our best recipe that we have found was actually from a book I purchased years ago for only $3 at TJ Maxx in a clearance bin! It is called "Macaroons 30 recipes for perfect bite-size treats". I like their basic recipe. But really, almost all macaron recipes are the same. Their differences are small. We liked how small of a batch it made. Just one baking sheet worth, this makes it more manageable. And if you mess it up- it's only a small amount!
Use parchment paper to line your baking sheet. That's what we found works best. If you are really uneasy about your piping skills, you can purchase a Silpat that is already marked with sizes. Or find something that is macaron-sized and trace on the parchment paper yourself. We chose to freehand it. If your sizes vary, you can always find a match.
If your freshly piped macarons have air bubbles, gently tap the entire baking sheet on your counter top. That should release the bubbles. Although this usually can be avoided if you pour the batter in the piping bag without air in it.
Once you have piped your macarons, it is so important for you to let them sit and rest. Let them rest for about 20 minutes. When you touch them, they should not be dried out, but dry enough that your finger doesn't stick to them.
We are working with a standard electric oven that keeps temperature well. If you are unsure about your oven, an oven thermometer is always great! Throughout our experience, and all the tutorials that people have written it is common that you may want to add moisture to your baking environment- but we didn't have to worry about anything like that!
See how these pictured above have little lumps? Hard to avoid, but this is why putting so much effort into grinding and sifting the almond flour is so important. If you don't, it's not the end of the world, but this is what they will look like.
When baking these bad boys, be so careful not to overcook them. Not even by a few seconds. They turn brown and lose their gorgeous color. They will also crack quite easily. Not pretty.
What have been the best things you've learned about Macaron making? Have you ever tried? We'd love to hear! Soon I'll be adding a post about what NOT to do when making Macarons... including pictures! ;)
5.1.14
Stay Away, Sickness!
I swore I wouldn't get sick this winter. I suppose, though, that being surrounded by 5 sick coworkers, a trip to Washington, 4 airplane rides and 2 airports kind of got in the way of my goal.
Here's to tea, smoothies, local honey, lemon water and a lot of baby oranges.
1.1.14
Happiest New Year!
It sounds so cheesy to say, but I can't believe it's 2014. Two-thousand fourteen. What? I'll spare you the "I remember when it was just turning 2000," and the "I still think 1990 is ten years ago." But really, the last year has flown by. Maybe it's becoming true to me, too, what they all say about time going faster as you get older.
To recap 2013: It was our first full year of being married. It was truly nothing short of wonderful. We're so blessed and thankful that this has been such an amazing year. We are not ignorant that many people do not get to experience so much joy for their first year of marriage. For this we are thankful. I started an amazing new job that provides flexibility and opportunity to travel. While it's not what I ever pictured doing, it's a great opportunity for me while we're here. We spent most of the year sharing a car. Not fun considering he leaves for work around 5 am daily, and I'm a terrible morning person. We just purchased another car and we're thrilled! It has made life so much easier. Not to mention heated leather seats in the negative degree temperatures is pretty fantastic. We added our little dog, Jameson, to the family. We love him. I've been able to be back home twice, travel to Chicago and Louisville and to Indiana to see my sister. In November we took a belated honeymoon to Hawaii. It was blissful. We've been on plenty of adventures and have learned a lot.
We've done so much in the past year. This year, Kjirk is going to be getting out of the military. This is just as terrifying as it is exciting for us. So to be sure, this upcoming year is to be full of adventures.
I've never really done new year resolutions. If I have, they were things that I didn't put much thought into or thought through how I was actually going to attain them... they were just wishful thoughts. But this year I really made a lot of effort and put a lot of thought into what I wanted 2014 to look like for me. I came up with these:
1. I want 2014 to be the year of creativity. I'm always about being creative, but haven't really done a lot about it this year. I want to create and finish real projects, not just little half-ass projects. I want to finish reupholstering the chairs I started tearing apart last year. I want to paint and decorate our bedroom. That room definitely gets put to the back burner. 2014 is about pushing myself in ever form of creativity- to learn more about photography, to have some real sewing projects, to have a bit of accountability with it with my friend and my blog.
2. Read more. I love to read, but don't do it much. I'm just trying to make some conscience effort into choosing to waste less time on mindless games (like Candy Crush) and reading instead.
3. Make healthier choices. I was really trying to avoid any health related goals, because often I find they are not actually healthy or unattainable. I've done the "lose 20 pounds by ____" or the "work out every day." I'm being realistic here. Often I find myself being obsessed with trying to be fit, and then I get depressed because it's "not working" and then not working out at all, eating whatever I want and then feeling like crap. This is not a good cycle. So instead, I want to love my body more and just want to focus on making better choices daily, because it's about each individual choice I make. This also includes doing yoga & pilates more.
4. Save money! This is something we are not good at. But also, I think the first year of marriage (in a very expensive part of the world) and being 2,500 from home causes it to be difficult to save. We have good intentions and s strong plan to help accomplish this. I'm excited to see where we are headed for this!
5. Be kind & love Jesus more. I struggle with patience and love for people. Often, I just get frustrated. I want to be "one of those people" that just radiates kindness and love. And of course, I know I cannot do this without loving Jesus more. I know I want to love Jesus more, I'm just not sure what that is going to look like for me this year. Several years ago I left an extremely dysfunctional church and honestly haven't wanted to back to church since... and even worse, I haven't even wanted to be around Christians. I hope it looks like finding an amazing church like I found my last year in Spokane. A place of grace and hope. I'm excited to see what this looks like.
To recap 2013: It was our first full year of being married. It was truly nothing short of wonderful. We're so blessed and thankful that this has been such an amazing year. We are not ignorant that many people do not get to experience so much joy for their first year of marriage. For this we are thankful. I started an amazing new job that provides flexibility and opportunity to travel. While it's not what I ever pictured doing, it's a great opportunity for me while we're here. We spent most of the year sharing a car. Not fun considering he leaves for work around 5 am daily, and I'm a terrible morning person. We just purchased another car and we're thrilled! It has made life so much easier. Not to mention heated leather seats in the negative degree temperatures is pretty fantastic. We added our little dog, Jameson, to the family. We love him. I've been able to be back home twice, travel to Chicago and Louisville and to Indiana to see my sister. In November we took a belated honeymoon to Hawaii. It was blissful. We've been on plenty of adventures and have learned a lot.
We've done so much in the past year. This year, Kjirk is going to be getting out of the military. This is just as terrifying as it is exciting for us. So to be sure, this upcoming year is to be full of adventures.
I've never really done new year resolutions. If I have, they were things that I didn't put much thought into or thought through how I was actually going to attain them... they were just wishful thoughts. But this year I really made a lot of effort and put a lot of thought into what I wanted 2014 to look like for me. I came up with these:
1. I want 2014 to be the year of creativity. I'm always about being creative, but haven't really done a lot about it this year. I want to create and finish real projects, not just little half-ass projects. I want to finish reupholstering the chairs I started tearing apart last year. I want to paint and decorate our bedroom. That room definitely gets put to the back burner. 2014 is about pushing myself in ever form of creativity- to learn more about photography, to have some real sewing projects, to have a bit of accountability with it with my friend and my blog.
2. Read more. I love to read, but don't do it much. I'm just trying to make some conscience effort into choosing to waste less time on mindless games (like Candy Crush) and reading instead.
3. Make healthier choices. I was really trying to avoid any health related goals, because often I find they are not actually healthy or unattainable. I've done the "lose 20 pounds by ____" or the "work out every day." I'm being realistic here. Often I find myself being obsessed with trying to be fit, and then I get depressed because it's "not working" and then not working out at all, eating whatever I want and then feeling like crap. This is not a good cycle. So instead, I want to love my body more and just want to focus on making better choices daily, because it's about each individual choice I make. This also includes doing yoga & pilates more.
4. Save money! This is something we are not good at. But also, I think the first year of marriage (in a very expensive part of the world) and being 2,500 from home causes it to be difficult to save. We have good intentions and s strong plan to help accomplish this. I'm excited to see where we are headed for this!
5. Be kind & love Jesus more. I struggle with patience and love for people. Often, I just get frustrated. I want to be "one of those people" that just radiates kindness and love. And of course, I know I cannot do this without loving Jesus more. I know I want to love Jesus more, I'm just not sure what that is going to look like for me this year. Several years ago I left an extremely dysfunctional church and honestly haven't wanted to back to church since... and even worse, I haven't even wanted to be around Christians. I hope it looks like finding an amazing church like I found my last year in Spokane. A place of grace and hope. I'm excited to see what this looks like.
I'd love to hear your goals for 2014!
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