Grateful with Goals

I am so grateful for spring break. I feel so renewed, and like I just had an amazing week. I took photos, went camping and adventuring, baked a ton of food, celebrated Easter, and executed a tea party. And slept. Oh, it was wonderful to sleep.

The big thing I did this week was a camping trip with my family- we stayed in a camper cabin (which is just a cabin with a wood fireplace, beds, and a table iside it in the middle of the woods), and hiked all around Lake Maria State Park. It was beautiful, albeit chilly. On Friday, I was definitely wearing 5 layers the majority of the time.

Also, I had a tea party! Having a tea party has always been a dream of mine. Either that, or just move to England, where tea is a regular thing. Or at least I think it is. . . I haven't ever been there. That's another dream! But I baked FRENCH MACARONS and just about DIED! I started them at 8:00pm, and didn't get to bed 'til midnight! I also baked cranberry orange scones that turned out amazing, and made tiny cucumber sandwiches, with lemony-dill cream cheese. It was so fun!

Easter was amazing. I really loved seeing all of the different posts on instagram, crazy as that is, from friends and organizations alike. And they're still popping up in my feed- I was just reminded of how amazing our Lord is, and how free we are. Like wow. There's someone who loves me so much they died for me, but so powerful He then come back to life, so that death isn't the end. What?! One of my favorite posts read "resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing". I feel so filled with hope, and excited about life.

Today was my first day back from break. Last night, I couldn't even imagine going to school this morning. Props to me, because here I am, finished with a whole day. I don't plan on completely sliding through the last two months of school, but it's certainly becoming harder and harder to stay motivated-- all I want to do is create, sew, bake, have fun with friends (pinterest scroll, eat chocolate). . . So I've created some goals for myself, to get through the end of the school year.

1. In general, improve my health. I'm going to try to eat better and exercise more, because I focus better, sleep better, and in general feel better when I'm making good health choices.

2. Do one creative thing a week. Creating is fun! I'm going to sew, bake, paint, draw, decorate my room, take pictures, and write! I have this love for imaging and writing stories that's gotten buried beneath all of the essay-writing skills I've been taught, and I'm just now starting to dig it back up again! Fun!

3. Keep my room clean. Self explanatory.

4. Bump my grades up.  I know I can do it. If I could just find where I put my motivation . . .

5. Worry less, trust more! I tend to worry about everything- my grades, my social life, my schedule, and it's really counter-productive, and just leaves me tired and tense. I need to remember that I can't be a lazy bum, but God's got a plan; I don't need to figure everything out.

6. Make space in my life. I need to stop rushing through everything, worrying about where the time's going, and slow down.

7. Go to bed earlier! What if I went to bed at 9:30 every night. What a dream.

Haha well now that you've read about all my problems. . . thanks for stopping by! Have some more pictures!

 Camping is the best.

 Sister selfie!

 My bread didn't rise. It tasted good though!

 Go google food puns. Just do it. And maybe put on the child safety filter, just in case.

Adorable! Take note future husband/boyfriend/person trying to ask me out

 TEA PARTY!

Bye!

Magic Hour

You know that time of day when everything seems to have a golden tint, and you can practically hear the sun as it begins to sink into the horizon? That time of day that is so often used as the setting for the last scene of that family-friendly movie you just watched that had you teary and smiling all at the same time? Well, that time of day, the hour or so just before to just after the sun sets or rises, is called magic hour (or golden hour), most likely because the lighting is truly magical for taking photos.

I just downloaded an app that tells you when magic hour is (called magic hour- go figure), and being on spring break this week, I just had to test it out. I walked to Theodore Wirth parkway, right by my house, to capture some of the nature over there. Everything's still sort of dead, but somehow all ended up looking pretty in the sunlight anyways. I was also sort of looking for an opportunity to flaunt my new boots (thrifted, but they were barely used) to everyone driving around at 7:00pm, I suppose.

Here are a few of my favorites! I didn't even edit them- the lighting/color was a bit tricky when I was shooting as it was constantly changing with the sun setting, you can see the progression/change in amount of sunlight from the first photo to the last one. But I can't wait to try taking some morning magic hour photos, and some with an actual subject too! There are so many possibilities!

Nifty boots, right?

Cute French T-shirt DIY

The lovely weather we've been having has made me feel the need for cute short sleeved shirts, but unfortunately my bank account hasn't been very agreeable lately.

I've seen cute DIY t-shirts like this one all over Pinterest, calling for everything from sharpies to iron-on fabric to complete cutesy french phrases. Since a trip to Michael's would kind of defeat the frugal point of this DIY, I found some sparkly silver fabric paint in my cupboard which worked really nicely- I love sparkles, so  I'm excited to wear this!

What you need:

• A white t-shirt to decorate
• Fabric paint in a color that makes you happy, and a paintbrush
• Cardboard or a notebook
• A short french phrase, or phrase in another foreign language that you like

Put your cardboard inside of your shirt so that it lays flat underneath the area you are going to paint. You might have to pull it tight around the back of the cardboard, so that the part of the shirt you are painting on is stretched taught.

Like so.

Then paint!

I just free-handed "Ciao Bella" (Hey Beautiful), but if sketching it out in pencil first works better for you, go for it. Wait a few minutes after you're done before applying a second coat.

Once you're finished painting, let your shirt dry flat for 4+ hours, and wait a total of 72 hours before washing it, with cold water and inside-out.

Then go find a cute skirt to pair it with and hope for spring (and regret all of the money that you spent on coffee a little less) !

Ciao, Bella!

Earl Grey Tea Granola

Tea is so good. And so is granola. So obviously, tea flavored granola pretty much beats everything else.

This tastes like a cup of lemon earl grey tea, and blueberry white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies mixed together; the flavors are all subtle, but really good. I adapted this recipe from Baking Magique, but feel free to switch it up however you would like to. Part of the beauty of granola is you can add or take away whatever you want!

This granola isn't super sweet, because I wanted to be able to make it a part of my daily routine and wasn't looking for a bowl full of sugar first thing in the morning, but if that's your thing, or you like things sweeter you can add more sugar, honey, both, or whatever floats your boat :)

This is kind of a large recipe for granola, so if you don't plan on sharing it with at least a couple other people I would recommend halving it. And be careful not to burn it! I did- and cried because of the copious amount of burned granola sitting in my cupboard, so make sure you're checking it often, and take it out of the oven as soon as it's a beautiful golden color.

My measurements for this recipe, and all granola I make really, are pretty approximate- basically, as long as your granola isn't doughy and wet before baking and you don't put your chocolate in the oven, you're set :)

 Earl Grey Tea Granola:

2/3 cup water
2 earl grey tea bags
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup chia seeds
2/3 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sugar
roughly 3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
heaping 1/2 tsp cardomon
scant 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Boil your water, and once it's stopped boiling (if you make tea with water that's still boiling your tea will be bitter) pour it over both your tea bags. Let them steep while you prep the rest of your ingredients, or about 15 minutes.

Combine your oats, chia seeds (don't spill them- they make an awful mess!), spices and salt in a big bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Zest your lemon, and mix the lemon zest and 1 tbsp sugar together with your fingers to release the oils in the zest. Add the zest mixture, lemon juice, honey, and vanilla to the hot tea. Pour the tea mixture and melted coconut oil over your dry ingredients and combine well.

Pour granola onto a large parchment-paper lined baking sheet or pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every ten minutes. After about 20 minutes in the oven, stir in the walnuts and pecans. Be sure to watch for your granola to turn golden, and take it out as soon as it does. The granola should still be soft when you remove it from the oven, but will become crunchy a it cools.

After letting the granola cool completely, for 15-30 minutes, stir in the dried blueberries and chopped chocolate. Store in an airtight container cute mason jar in a cool dry place for as long as it takes to get eaten!

Enjoy!

Friday Chai and Thoughts

Do you remember long quiet winter days, when there was nothing to do but sit in front of a fire with a steaming mug and a worn book? Or hours spent outside building snowmen and snow forts, only going back inside once your nose had lost all feeling, drinking hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows to ward of the lingering cold. 

Those were always the best days, tucked away like diamonds in a coal mine between homework and social obligations, and the days I remember best from my elementary school years (mainly the snow fun days), and even the days, few and far between, that I long for from just last year. 

Life's been hard and messy lately. Everything from my grades to my family life seems to be crumbling apart, and I don't know how to stop it. I have been trying to see this rough patch as an opportunity to grow, but that doesn't make pushing through the days that seem to last much more than twenty four hours any easier. There are times when I find myself full of worry and dread as soon as I wake up in the morning, and by Tuesday already longing for Friday. 

Most of the time I don't  want to face all the hard things I am confronted with and know that I have to do. But I also know that there is always hope; as C.S. Lewis stated, "There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind". This afternoon driving in the car with my Mom, a Christmas song about a candle in the window came on. After I commented on how gorgeous the melody was, my Mom, wise as she is, went even further, talking about how she loved it because of what the candle represented; in the middle of winter, of the dead season when you feel stuck and tired, the little candle is there burning to remind you of the light that is to come. 

So I will continue to push through, and know that God's plan is beautiful, I just need to trust Him. This hard time will eventually end, but until then I will savor the peaceful Friday afternoons and mugs full of chai tea, sunset photos and chiming Christmas music, and I won't give up hope. 

Candid on a Stick

The Minnesota State Fair. Home of food on a stick. Although, it seems that, over the years, the food on a stick has had to learn to share it's beautiful (is that the right word?) fair with about a couple thousand visitors. Sometimes more. Because man was this place crowded!

I've gone to the fair with my Dad just about every year, ever since I can remember. 

This year, we started our day (actually, mid-afternoon) out with the sky ride. Not to be confused with the skyway, the sky ride was imported to our state fair from Switzerland somewhere around fifty years ago.

It would also apparently cost somewhere around a billion dollars to get one of these babies installed between your house and your high school

Might be worth it, though, at least when the district decides not to give you a bus even though you have bled sweated and cried because of everything that school has put you through, stayed up way past your bedtime finishing homework, been involved in all of those time-sucking albeit fun activities, and this is how they repay you?

Anyways.

Onto the real reason I go; the food.

We always get the staples, of course. 

Mmmm. Cheese curds.

This is a deep fried twinkie. Absolutely ridiculous. Who even comes up with these things. (The bite my sister gave me was delicious though, so I'll let the ridiculousness fly).

It looked like it was going to storm almost all day. Thankfully for my paper hat, we were only hit with a few light sprinkles.

Um, is this real? And can I have it pretty please?

(I don't think it was, but we did get tiny waffle and nutella free samples. So cute!)

I think that the state fair is probably the best place next to New York to people watch. I was truly not trying to be creepy, I just found myself taking pictures of people, because, well, it was like they were begging for it. Perfect candid shots, ya know? 

Too cool for school.

Which starts at 6:30 tomorrow morning.

I don't know what those guys were doing; please ignore them and focus on the subject of this photo (the girl eating corn who definitely looks too cool to go back to school tomorrow, maybe she dropped out our something) thank you very much.

Somehow, maybe because I have a ten-year-old sister, we ended up in the Midway.

For those of you who don't know, that's the part of the fair where all the rickety "adult" rides, with pictures of scantily clad ladies (ew), and a lot of those carnival games that are impossible to win at are located.

I'm not sure I fully understand the appeal of a stuffed donut as a prize, but they seemed to be pretty popular. 

Sisters?

We all went on the ferris wheel together. It was actually pretty fun, and felt wonderful to sit for a while.

The clouds had finally blown over, and the drizzle was gone by the time we reached the ferris wheel. The view of the fair skyline was gorgeous from the top.

Also, I couldn't stop photographing the couple behind us. They were adorable.

Horses are so cool. Except for maybe when they poop, and it ends up literally everywhere, just waiting for you to step in it with your new-to-you (meaning six dollars at the thrift store) combat boots.

Thanks a lot, bud.

What if policemen always rode horses!?

YES made it to the dairy building!!! (Pardon the weird greenish-yellowish color, in hindsight, the glow from of the butter sculpture may not have been my best lighting option).

Aaand I decided it was time for some real food. Mmmmmm.

Time for some more not-creepy candids.

Can you tell I love couples?

The hardest part of this whole candid-shot thing was taking photographs of people without them noticing.

I kinda failed at this one.

The fair is so cool when it gets dark out,

I love all of the lights. (I didn't actually get any donuts, I just got a good shot of the sign.)

Wait, what's that I see in the distance?

Could it be?

Could they possibly have the one thing I have been after ALL DAY?

They could be RIGHT THERE!

Just WAITING for me. . .

I'm getting CLOSER. . .

I can practically taste them. . . 

YES!

DEEP FRIED OREOS.

Oh man.

Finally. 

Soft, steamy, sugary.

Yum. It was a good day at the fair.