Fairytale crafts

Look at these adorable silhouette fairytale pictures!  I'm in loveee with these!  I wish I had a little girl so I could decorate her room because these would be in it!  And they're so easy!  Find the silhouettes on the internet, print them out on a colored paper of your choice, cut the shape out and frame it! 

So cute!

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And another freaking adorable craft is this lamp!  I love fairytales and I'm absolutely crazy about the show Once Upon a Time on ABC.  If you haven't seen it, you have GOT to.  There's no way around it.  This lamp is so easy too!  Find your word or phrase, print it out on black card-stock, cut, apply adhesive and stick to the lampshade!   

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You can bet tht I will do these crafts one day when I have a little girl!  Or if one of you guys have a little girl fisrt and would like me to help, all you gotta do is ask, because I will be at your house asap! :)

Burn brighter than the sun

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I LOVE this picture.  I love this song, which is probably why I love this picture. It just reminds me that I'm young and I have all the potential in the world.  It reminds me to celebrate life and have fun.

Live!

The most gorgeous wedding hair I've ever seen

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This hairstyle is dreamy!  It's whimsical and lovely!  I love the texture, the bangs, the flower . . . all of it!  I also love her eyelashes, her cheek color, and her lip color.  Like seriously, if I had to choose today how I would look on my wedding day 5 years from now THIS would be my choice and I would never regret it!  Sometimes I feel like a certain item is the epitome of my soul, and this whole look is definitely me all the way around.

Pasta with chicken and roasted brussel sprouts

So I saw this recipe on Pinterest and I fell in love with it, except for the pesto part and the sausage part.  Now you're probably thinking "Those are kinda big parts of this recipe".  Yes that's true, but I can't stomach pesto and my mind can honestly not wrap itself around the idea of chicken sausage.  So when I make this, I will instead have a garlicky buttery  sauce and just use chicken breast cooked lightly in a bit of olive oil.  (I just said I'd cook the chicken "lightly".  Rest assured I will cook the chicken thoroughly!)  I've included the original recipe from Gimme Some Oven so you can try it that way, or add your own spin on it!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and any yellowed/browned outer leaves removed, then sliced in half
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
• 1 lb (16 oz.) orecchiette (or any pasta)
• 4 chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian), sliced into 1/4″ thick coins
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pesto
• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a large bowl, mix together brussels sprouts, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well-combined.

Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spread the brussels sprouts on it evenly.  Roast for about 20-30 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside.  (My batch of tiny sprouts only took about 12 minutes to cook.)  Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until nearly-browned, about 6-8 minutes.  Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  (I begin heating my water while preparing the brussel sprouts, and added the pasta to the boiling water just after beginning to cook the sausage.)  Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts.  Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture.

Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Chic and comfy

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This outfit is so chic yet comfortable!  And I'm completely loving the color combo going on here.

And you know, I think this shirt is totally something you could DIY.  Sew two shirts together and BAM!  you'll get this look!  It's super adorable.

Stay hydrated

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I saw this neat little trick on Pinterest the other day.  I absolutely love it because I find staying hydrated to be so hard.  I hardly remember to drink enough water.  My dad brought me home this nifty water bottle he got at work.  It has this gel insert that you can freeze so it'll keep your water cold AND it has a filter, so no matter what water I put inside it will get filtered before I drink it!  I fell in love with this bottle!  It's freaking amazing!  I just have to set it up so I can use it :)

The exciting way I'm changing my life!

     So I have some really exciting news!  You know how I'm always talking about wanting to study something fun, artsy, something that really follows my personality?
     Well I'm changing schools so that I can study interior design!  My old school, Brigham Young University, doesn't offer an interior design program.  And so for 3 years I've been trying out a couple other ideas like economics and art history and none of these things were working out for me.  Then one day in late February the thought popped into my head that I could always switch schools.  I've had this thought for the entire time I've been in college, but each time I considered it I got too scared to actually go through with it.  I always thought I'd be too chicken to actually attend a new school - learn a new campus, a new town, new people.  But for some reason, in February I threw caution to the wind and said "I can do this!".  Now in all actuality, I never even thought another school would accept me, but I applied to one school - Brenau University - and I got accepted!  I was seriously shocked and amazed!
     So, I'm completely changing my life, and moving to a new school this fall!  I'm really excited to be studying what I love!  I think it will be a really good thing for me!

A little piece of campus.  It's pretty cute!

I will definitely put updates on my blog about moving from BYU (a very religious and co-ed campus) to Brenau (an all womens school).  It should be an adventure!

Guy crush

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Chris and Liam Hemsworth.  Yum.

They look so much alike, yet different.

I think I prefer Chris.  Which do you prefer?

All day I dream

I dream about being in these places.  Wearing a cute dress, with the sun warming my face and 

tanning my legs.  Europe is pure happiness in my book.

This is me to a T:

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All I want in life is to travel.  I've got to figure out a way to see the world.  Sometimes I feel like it's so much harder being a female and wanting to travel.  You really shouldn't go by yourself, and even while being in pairs is safer it doesn't guarantee safety.  I wish I could simply pick up and go when I felt the world calling to me, but let's be real.  If I can't travel by myself, it's near impossible to spontaneously travel with someone else.

The best broccoli of your life

I saw this pin on Pinterest the other day and I knew I had to try it! I love broccoli already and I wanted to know what the best broccoli of my life would taste like.

Instructions taken from The Amateur Gourmet

"You preheat the oven to 425.

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.

Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”

I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too."

So I tried this recipe on a whim while at my sisters.  It was a Sunday and we didn't have all the supplies, we were missing lemon juice and garlic (plus like the amateur gourmet did, we left out pine nuts and basil) and my sister's oven is really old and doesn't really cook well . . . BUT it still turned out pretty good!  I really liked it!  I'm going to try it again soon, but actually add the garlic and lemon juice because I know that will make it amazing!


Please try it and tell me what you think!

Summer Breeze

I would just love to be in a sea-side town, walking down the boardwalk in this outfit, sipping on drink, feeling the ocean breeze ruffle my hair.  Summer....

I saw the CUTEST hat at The Loft the other day, while shopping with my girls.  And it was so rare because hats never look good on me.  But this one, in the entire 21 years of my life, is the only one that has ever looked good!  So you think I bought it, right?  Nope.  It had a hole in the top so I said I'll buy it online.  Well I checked and it's not online anymore :'(  Just my luck.

Lovely things

These are some of the things I've found lately that I love.

Quickly becoming my favorite flower

Anything peach flavored is alright by me,

Gorgeous hair!  I swoon...

There is nothing better than a tulip skirt, I WISH I had one.

Hands down prettiest back splash I've ever seen.

Most gorgeous beading ever, I would love to have a phone cover like this

Don't ask why I'm crazy.

I love the way they used blue and orange in this room

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Oh heyyy blog...

I didn't forget about you! But now that summer is here I should be a better blogger. :) Anyways, the reason I posted today is because I saw this AHDORABLE video on Sydney's blog. I think everyone reads her blog, but in case you don't, here is the amazing video!


I could only dream that someone would do this for me one day!

Find Your Style Adjective

It's come to my attention that there are a lot of girls who think they can't wear certain items of fashion. I have a friend who thinks she can't wear patterns. She thinks they just aren't her thing. She feels her style is simple and elegant, and that most patterns just don't fall into that category.
And throughout my life, while shopping with friends I've heard the following too many times:

Friend: Oh my goodness, this top is cute!!!
Me: Try it on!
Friend: Nah, it's not my style.
Me: ?!?

I do not believe in something being "not my style." I like lots of different styles, and I can't imagine just sticking to one. I've been thinking about this and I think my ideas also show on the outside, because other people often say to me "Well I don't think I could wear this, but I can totally see you pulling it off!"
That's very sweet of them although I think they're crazy, because we can all pull it off, trust me!
The reason people think I can "pull something off" is because I act like I can. I'm not saying I'm fake or that I'm snobby, but I never think "Oh this isn't really me." I think "I'm going to make this me."

This is starting to get confusing, but stick with me!
Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't have a style of our own, a signature look, because that is important! Someone should be able to say "Oh your style is very elegant" or "You have a very sassy style" etc... But sassy could cover a lot of styles. Example: There are sassy elements of city chic, of edgy style, of bohemian, and of preppy style. Why not dress a different style everyday, but keep a cohesive theme of doing the style with a sassy flare?
Do you see what I mean? Have a signature, but explore many styles!

For a quick example I whipped these up:

They're not the best examples but can you see how it's likely that 2 different people would wear each group? But there's still something cohesive about it all.

Also, I don't mean to go ahead and wear that ill-fitting dress that makes you look pregnant simply because you think it's cute. I want you to dress to flatter your body. But sometimes, I do wear that dress that makes me look pregnant, because I think it's cute anyways. That was contradictory, wasn't it? Welcome to my thought process! Don't say no to that Dolman sleeved top because it gives you no shape, maybe you are attracted to it because it looks comfortable, and maybe you want to give off the idea that you are laid-back and casual. Decide what your style adjective should be and run with it! Yes, it's not good to wear ill-fitting clothes, taboo even. And you may think "I can't wear that cheetah print scarf! That's going against my style" (a taboo action according to you). But I would take that gorgeous cheetah scarf and wrap it around you and say "Wear it anyways!"

The most important part is having the right mindset. I think I can wear anything I want, and then I wear it. I make it me.
I think most of us need to try and branch out more, reinvent ourselves even! Figure out whether your adjective is sassy, casual, edgy, classy, etc... And work it!

Peach and mint

Remember way back when I did this post on a wedding color idea? Well it was pretty much just an on-the-whim idea. I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it the next week. But I still love that idea, with a twist: instead of fresh green, make it minty. And since then, it's sort of become a more popular color scheme, so there are better examples than my own.















I'm not the sort of girl who has dreamed about her wedding since she was 7 and had it all planned out. And when I tell people that, I think it surprises them. Especially if you know me, I think it would be surprising. I know exactly what sort of ring I'd want ;) But that's jewelry, it's easy to have a good idea of what you'd want. But I don't really have any ideas for everything else. I figure I probably have a good bit of time before I'll ever need to think about that, so why go planning? When the time comes around all my ideas could be out of date and ugly.

But I will tell you, if I got married right now, I'm certain that my colors would be peach and mint. I think they are so gorgeous, like a dream. And your wedding is your dream. Something you dream about for years, to someone you've dreamt of your whole life. Why shouldn't your wedding look like a dream too?