Surprise Saturday Morning Snow & Gilmore Girls

I woke up this morning to snow.

Slushy snow.

Being from Southern California and never expereincing snow (except for Santa's Village and a very unfortunate camping trip) I get very anxious when white fluffyish stuff falls from the sky. 

It is gorgeous and gives a sense of innocence to the world, but it also messes with my life. I am quite the fan of no one and nothing determining how I spend my time. Selfish? Yes. Immature? Yes. Unrealistic? Yes. There is nothing like the snow to remind me of how not in control I am. 

I can either stomp around with an attitude about it or embrace it.

Today, there has been a change of plans.

I chose to stop and smell the snow,

make a cup of coffee (or 2 or 3 or 4), 

AND

watch snow clips from Gilmore Girls. 

I will share them with you. 

The snow is gone now, but it was great incentive to watch Gilmore.
It isn't like I've seen them all five thousand times.
Actually, it's EXACTLY like that.

 This is how Melissa felt when she finished the last episode...
very very very very sad.

Turning 26

I feel a sort of kinship with the rain on February 18th. It always makes an appearance. My Little Mermaid pinata had to be hung in the garage, my backyard drive-in movie barely survived, my beach party was rained out, but ALWAYS the next morning I woke up stoked about my birthday. 

This year I just embraced the rain. 

I wore flip-flops. 

I opened my window to let the rain in.

I didn't take an umbrella to protect my hair. 

My hair just got a bit frizzy. 

I still had a blast. 

It might have been because I wore my cowboy boots.

(graffiti compliments of Seattle)

So, this is how the day went down...

Melissa took me to breakfast at Woodinville Cafe (best salsa!)

We shared food, drank a ton of coffee, and laughed & laughed.

Delish!

I went home & spent some much needed time organizing my room. 

This might sound horrible to some, but it is quite therapeutic for me.

(this picture was taken a bit later, but gives you an idea)

Note the birthday flowers from Whitney. 

Then Melissa Buchanan, Meg Voeller, Alison Currier, Jody Robbins & I went to Capitol Hill to hit up a ton of places. 

Here is Meg letting us know the plan...

(this was the plan. plans change)

We got all dolled up. 

Drank 5 hour energies.

Danced.

Laughed.

Sang to REALLY loud music...

(maybe Ke$ha & Katy Perry)

Played in photo booths.

We partied all night. 

The best night. 

The next morning I showed up to a brunch that had NOTHING to do with my birthday, 

but there were a few surprises...

a special seat covered in streamers 

with a certificate for thrifting with Jenica

flowers & essie nail polish (in colors a room needs to be decorated in)

Also, the awesome scarf I'm wearing came from Dyanna. There was a neon yellow clutch & watch & bracelet & "totally 80's" neon yellow nail polish.

I was also surprised with a card, pie, candles, and everyone singing happy birthday.

The entire day I was blessed with phone calls, texts, & facebook messages. 

I truly felt loved.

Best birthday yet!

Hearts Day

Here is the deal. I am single, but I LOVED Valentine's day this year. I spent it with the coolest chicks in the world (the actual world) and in TV world (current & past).

Alison Currier (who made crazy good brie, pear, carmelized onion bites), Colby Swicord (who brought pink champagne), and myself spent some time with (while doing our nails. of course!)...

Lorelei & Rory Gilmore

and

Jess (I don't know her last name)

This is embarrassing, but I have quite the attachment to the Gilmore Girls. I have only watched all 7 seasons in order about 5 times. When I'm having a bad day, I'd like to take a trip to Stars Hallow & grab a cup of coffee from Luke's over some witty banter. Because, just by going to Stars Hallow you get the super power of witty banter. I promise.

Then we have New Girl. It just makes me crack up. OUT LOUD. Even by myself. Every time. Just like FRIENDS (which is entirely a post in itself). Might I just suggest every household have a douchebag jar? You can call it whatever you want if that is a little too risque for you, but seriously it is the best idea ever. Unless you've never seen Gilmore Girls or New Girl. Then watching them is the best idea ever! Trust me!

Don't you want one????

Well, I just wanted to share that I was not sobbing into my pillow & stuffing my face with chocolate and feeling sorry for myself on, what some have come to call it, Single Awareness Day. I was pretty happy with my life Tuesday night. Thanks ladies!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Reflection Three. 2 Kings 5:1-15

2 Kings 5:1-15

Well, I am not convicted AT all by this story (insert sarcasm here). So, it's about this man Naaman who has leprosy and goes to Elisha the prophet for healing. Elisha sends a messanger out & tells him to dip into the river (a certain river) 7 times & he will be healed. Naaman thinks this is ridiculous & pretty much that he knows better. He is absolutely set on not following God's direction given to him through Elisha.

But his officers tried to reason with him & said, "Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'God and wash and be cured!'" 2 Kings 5:2-3

Naaman cannot argue with this. He goes and dips into the river 7 times, "and his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child's, and he was healed!" 2 Kings 5: 14

Here is a little insight into my world 6 years ago. I was getting ready to move up here to wonderful Seattle and I asked God what I needed to do. I got an answer. It wasn't jump into Lake Washington 7 times, but it was simply to simlify my life. My reaction was much like Naaman's. "That's it? You want me to simplify my life? That's crazy! It's too simple." God must have repeated this a thousand times over the last 6 years. I ignored it for quite awhile. I became depressed, and really lost out on my college expereince. I kept piling more things onto my life to hide the sadness I felt while God just wanted me to peel the layers away & let him restore me. After about 3 to 4 years of fighting I gave in. Slowly. I let little things go first. So little that I can't really recall them. I gradually work my way up. I have a lot farther to go. Let's be serious, I have marathons to go, but I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Don't think this means my life is perfect. I still have terribly hard days. No one's life is perfect...that is kind of what this process is all about. Being OK not being perfect.

All I had to do was let go and let God. Cliche? Absolutely. But it has proven to be true.

The more I simplify the more I feel at peace with myself. God is restoring me to the daughter he intended me to be. EXACTLY how he restored Naaman.

God was telling me how he was going to heal & restore me. I just had to choose to listen.

Photo compliments of Giselle's feet...Thank you Gelle for bringing so much joy to my life!

My Grandmother's Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My favorite Uncle's birthday was this past week. I offered to make his birthday cake. I will be honest, this was a bit of a selfish act, because I just wanted an excuse to use my new cake stand. I planned on making a chocolate chocolate chocolate cake for him which he would have loved, but my Aunt called and told me that he had said his favorite cake was the pineapple upside down cake his mom made him. 

I have never made a pineapple upside down cake, but I immediately looked up some recipes. I was at a loss. They were all different with one thing in common: you turn them upside down at some point. I knew he didn't just want ANY pineapple upside down cake. He wanted his mom's. 

I took a chance and called my dad for anything he remembered about it. Holy moly! He remembered EXACTLY how she made it. The main ingredient was a cast-iron skillet. Thank you Value Village...I'm just saying that buying a brand new one was not an option. They are pricey and not "seasoned" when they're new. Anyway, I found one and grabbed the other ingredients (boxed yellow cake, brown sugar, butter, canned pineapple rings, and jarred cherries) from the store. 

  I told my dad, "We'll see if I have grandma's pineapple upside down cake in me." He was pretty confident I did. It's not like I hate cooking or anything and boxed cake mix is not rocket science. The selfish act of wanting to use my cake stand turned into wanting to make my uncle something from his childhood. Something his mom made with love. A lot of it.

 1. melt butter (3/4 stick) on stove top

2. stir in brown sugar (3/4 cup) for about 4 minutes. remove from heat.

 3. place pineapples & cherries.

4. pour in cake mix (make according to box, but replace water with pineapple juice)

5. bake at 350 degrees until cooked through (about 45 minutes)

6. let stand 5 minutes before turning upside down onto plate

The vintage look of it doesn't hurt my like of it.

 Happy 62nd Uncle Tim!

 Yum, Yum, Yum

I love you!

The whole process was the coolest. I just kept thinking about how I was doing something my grandma used to do. I was carrying on her legacy (if I succeeded and it was edible). I don't remember much of my grandma, but when I think of her it is with admiration and love. She HAD to have had the biggest heart ever! I lived with her for a few years of my young life. I remember eating raw onions when she made chili, dressing up her cat Samantha in doll clothes and her telling me I was the only one Sam liked, watching Murder She Wrote with her, dusting the cabinet that held her beloved Scarlett (from Gone with the Wind) porcelain doll, her hair in curlers, playing war countless times, and her buying me the heart covered bedspread I wanted so bad (sheets & canopy cover included. Yep, I was the lucky little girl with a canopy bed). She loved me and her hugs and smiles said it.

This recipe is something I can add to my few memories. It is something I can pass down.

It was so much better than making chocolate cake AND my uncle said it was perfect.

Who knew making a cake could be so profound and thought provoking. 

Thank you grandma for your pineapple upside down cake. 

Life on a budget

Living on my own, financial peace university, student loan payments kicking in, and my Value Village habit have encouraged me to live on a BUDGET. Especially when it comes to grocery shopping. I hate being blindsided at the checkout because of poor planning on my part. I also hate throwing food away. Let's be serious, I feel enough guilt around food (am I eating too much, what is that other person eating?, I shouldn't have eaten that!...) that I don't need to feel guilty about how much I spend on something I have to buy.

Anyway, I wanted to share a victory with you. I accomplished healthy, cheap, AND convenient grocery shopping.

Here is what I bought from Trader Joe's:

Organic Quinoa... 39 cents a serving

Organic Red Pepper & Tomato Soup... 69 cents a serving

Organic Multigrain Oatmeal... 22 cents a serving

Peppermint Herbal Tea... 8 cents a serving

Instant Miso Soup... 82 cents a serving

Organic Baby Carrots... 24 cents a serving

Organic Firm Tofu... 25 cents a serving

Organic Baby Spinach... 39 cents a serving

Peanut Butter with Flax... 21 cents a serving

Organic Apples... 59 cents a serving

Instant Coffee... 40 cents a serving

Here is my menu:

Breakfast

Oatmeal with peanut butter

apple

coffee

Lunch

Tomato soup with quinoa & veggies

Dinner

Miso soup with tofu & veggies

Anytime

Tea

TOTAL SPENT FOR ONE DAY OF FOOD

$4.28

Three meals for the price of ONE fancy coffee drink kind of puts things in perspective.

I will still have fancy coffee drinks.

But maybe I will save some money too.

I'm pretty excited about challenging myself in this area.

Here is to guilt free shopping.

Making crayons

So here is the truth. I steal lots of ideas from Pinterest. It isn't that I can't come up with my own (note the valentine made from a hanger) it's just a lot of people are full of lots of great ideas. Thanks for letting me use them!

Caleb (the boy I nanny) and I made heart shaped crayons from all of his broken crayons. Go us for reusing, repurposing, recycling or whatever you want to call it AND being February festive. 

I bought the heart mold from goodwill for TEN CENTS. Spending ALMOST nothing is a good thing because I came to find out that it isn't meant for the oven at all. It melted. I had to throw it away. Lesson learned. 

First we peeled all the crayons

then Caleb smashed them. he liked this part quite a bit

we placed them in the mold. let them melt for 10 minutes in the oven at 250 degrees. 

then we put them in the freezer to cool. we didn't have a lot of patience. this worked great

here are our festive heart crayons. with every stroke you get a surprise. 

you just don't know what color you're going to get

Running

Confession:

I want to be a runner. I actually like running...when I do it. I usually talk myself out of going for a run because

a.) it has been too long and

b.) I cannot run that far or that fast.

Here is some inspiration or should I say "pinspiration"?

I might actually go for a run (with some walking) during my break today instead of watching Gilmore Girls with the roommate. Whatever happens, a run is in my future.

I hope someone else can find this encouraging.



Reflection Two. Judges 16:1-31

This story about Samson is CRAZY! A woman asks him three different times what gives him his super natural strength. Three times he lies,  and three times she tries to turn him over to the Philistines. You would think that he would get the picture: this girl is trying to get him captured. He doesn't. The fourth time she asks him where his strength comes from he actually tells her that it is in his hair. What does she do? She cuts off his hair of course. The Philistines capture Samson, pay his lady friend for helping them, and he dies a blind slave (there was some torture that went on). 

I can't help but think he had some "blind" issues when it came to women even before the Philistines gouged his eyes out. Why else would he eventually give up his secret that took away the strength the Lord gave him? He succumbed to his flesh. To his sinful nature.

I can most definitely relate to this. I walk around "blind" all the time. My head fills itself with thoughts of what other people think of me, if society considers me successful, if that new fashion line would make me desirable. Talk about self-centeredness. What I forget is that my heart is full of what Christ thinks of me. He makes me worthy.

For today I want to help my heart along and not my head. That is why I'm here writing this now. Giving in to my flesh will lead to my death as well. If not physical then spiritual. I am powerless without the help of Christ. Thankfully I have him if I want him. I want him.

The Gum Wall, Post Alley, Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington

"As we learn to acknowledge our powerlessness over our addictive/compulsive tendencies daily, we will become more aware of behaviors that will likely lead us to destruction."

- Life Recovery Bible, NLT

Hung up on you Valentine

Ok, SO I came up with an original valentine's day card (art project) idea. At least I am saying it is original, because it came from my head and not from Pinterest. 

I'm So HUNG UP ON YOU...

You know who you are. 

You can hang them anywhere for the person getting your love to find

All you do is decorate a 12X12 piece of scrapbooking paper, fold it in half, and attach it to the hanger. You probably want to make sure you say something about being "hung up" on them or they might look at you funny. 

quinoa breakfast bars

I wanted to make something with quinoa for whit's birthday breakfast. 

I looked at a ton of different recipes but I didn't find one I liked. 

This is why I made my own.

I will share it with you since they were a hit. 

1. bring 1 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup molasses, 1 teaspoon ish of vanilla, and 1/2 cup pureed prunes to a boil

2. mix 1 cup whole wheat flour (or flour of your choice), 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, however much cinnamon you prefer, and 1 cup of shredded coconut

3. add nuts of your choice. I used whole raw almonds. I would suggest chopping them up. 

4. mix everything together along with 4 cups cooked quinoa

5. pour into a greased 13X9 pan

6. bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes

7. let cool and cut into the shapes you desire.

I chose hearts so Whit would know how much we love her.

Whit is a quater of a century

An opportunity to celebrate should never be overlooked. ESPECIALLY when you have the chance to celebrate the day of someone's birth...someone you love a lot.
Happy birthday Whitney!!!

Melissa, Kyle, and I surprised Whit & her family right when she woke up

This is what we did to celebrate...

 

drank coffee
trader joe's instant coffee (better than you would think), italian sweet cream creamer, chocolate covered espresso beans, and sugar, coffee bean, chocolate grinder sprinkles

 

ate heart shaped cinnamon rolls with teal frosting. white was just too boring

 

made bacon, eggs, and toast with heart shaped butter

and had chocolate quinoa breakfast bars
what would a day about Whit be without quinoa???
it wouldn't be

of course we used cloth napkins. they're the best thing ever
they make any moment fancy

hung bunting
a necessity for every celebration

made a birthday sash
lace and ribbon are just happy

 almost destroyed her cake with too many candles.
we almost had an avalanche.

sang happy birthday &

watched whit blow out her candles
all 25 of them

AND

went to the Home & Garden show at the Tacoma dome.
we spent most of our time in the vintage section.