christmas tree tutorial

This tutorial may be a little belated for this Christmas season but is it ever too early to get some inspiration for next year? 

The husband and I moved into a smaller loft apartment in September and as Christmas approached we faced the reality that we had no space for a real Christmas tree. Don't get me wrong, I adore the smell of fresh pine but it just wasn't practical for us this year. As we debated and considered our options, we finally let go of our losses and got creative with our small space. 

As much as I love real Christmas trees, I absolutely fell in love with our wall tree. It's still up and I don't want to take it down...like ever. It lights up our home. It's cozy. It's pretty. It adds sparkle. I just love it. I don't know how I'm going to part with it. Our wall will be so bare and lonely without it. Who knew I'd get so attached? Our little wall Christmas tree might just be a yearly tradition even if that means two trees - one real and one wall. That is, once we have the space for both!

Most supplies you should have laying around the house. If you don't have scrap wood, do like I do, scavenge the scrap wood section at Home Depot. I liked the knots in the wood so I picked extra knotty pieces. The husband probably didn't love that decision because it made drilling harder. He's a champ!

Use painter's tape to approximate the size of each wood piece and the spacing you'd like. This isn't an exact science. You can visually approximate, or if you're type A like me and the husband, you can measure each piece exactly. The fallen piece of tape on the ground, the huge gaping space, and the sloping line do not properly indicate our perfectionist tendencies but I guess we all fall short.

We didn't have the tools necessary to do the cutting ourselves so the nice gentleman at Home Depot helped us cut our pieces to the measurements we wanted.

The husband tackled the drilling which turned out to be a bigger task than expected. Each piece of wood gets drilled four times -- two holes on each side. The picture below will give you a better visual. The holes on the wood pieces need to be lined up with the wood piece directly above and below to guarantee level hanging. While the husband drilled, I cut pieces of twine (and took pictures). I know, I had it easy on this project!

Just because all the pictures are of the husband does not mean I didn't participate... I swear! I worked hard... he just worked harder. 

Most of our walls are concrete and therefore almost impossible to drill into so our sweet little tree is balanced on one screw.

Aww, yay. Pretty lights! My favorite part. 

Once the tree was up, it was finally time to decorate it. After nailing in a ton of little nails to each wood piece, we hung the ornaments and stockings. Our normal tree topper is a beautiful gold angel but there was no way we could get that to work so I used the resources of our front lawn. A few twigs later, I had a glorious star to finish off our tree. So there you have it, ten steps to a creative Christmas tree. Hope this gets you inspired for next year and Merry Belated Christmas. 

story time

Six years ago, to this day, a girl met a boy.

Spoiler Alert: this is a love story.

The day before the girl meets the boy, the girl notices the boy. She admires him from afar - his good looks, his talented guitar playing, musical voice, and his confidence. Before the girl knows it, she has spoken her thoughts out loud.. "he's cute" - only to be heard by a nearby friend. Slightly embarrassed and ashamed, the girl tries to brush it off but the friend knows who "he" is and the girl can't hide from her confession. With some slight prodding, the friend invites the girl to meet the boy the next day at a neighboring coffee shop. The friend and the boy will be there all day studying and could use some "study snacks" - a sly little hint given by the friend. Fortunately, the girl had just completed her first quarter of college and was already planning on baking cookies for a Christmas party she planned to attend.

The next day rolls around. It was Wednesday of finals week but the girl was already done with finals. She was excited and energized by the thought of being done. She bakes cookies for her party, gets dressed into her awkwardly festive attire (i.e. ugly Christmas sweater) and bravely decides to venture to the neighboring coffee shop. Despite her boldness, she still needed the comfort of a friend to come along for the potentially awkward introduction. Before she knows it, she's at the coffee shop doors and her body is full of excitement and jitters. Imagine someone who drank a few too many cups of coffee... but she hadn't, that was just her. So in she walks, and before she knows it she is face to face with Mr. "he's cute". Her reaction? "Blah....blah....blah....blah....blah...blah....blah...blah...blah". She talked and talked and talked. Not only did she talk but she was animated and hyper. Basically, overwhelming. When she finally leaves, the friend asks the boy, "so what did you think?"and the boy's response was "really cute... but a little hyper". Despite the overly animated first impression, the boy and the girl began hanging out.

The story doesn't end there. The boy and the girl eventually got married despite many bumps and turns in the road. Now, six years later, the boy and the girl live happily in Denver, CO together. They never would have guessed that a silly coffee shop introduction would lead them to the place they are now but they are beyond thankful and blessed.

Do you remember the first time you spoke to your spouse? Or met your significant other? How long ago was it?

Blogger Birthdays

Okay, I love birthdays so I love this idea. This blog is committed to tracking bloggers' birthdays so people can get a little birthday love. I'm somewhat new to this whole blogging community but what I can tell you is that sometimes blogging feels a little invisible. We share a lot of ourselves through the work of our blog, but the person behind the blog is still such a mystery. Maybe this birthday connection thing will make us all feel just a wee bit more visible - like real people instead of a website. 
Anyway, YOU can do this too. Just simply go to the birthday blog, fill out your info and keep spreading the word! Who doesn't want a little birthday love from friends of all kinds (including your blogger friends!)?

the thrifty style

Now that I’m back on a college campus, I’m quickly absorbed into the world of style again. It’s easy to turn off the “need” to have new clothes when you’re not seeing the new styles all around you. However, it’s not so easy now that I’m immersed in that culture again.

As I walk around campus, these are the thoughts passing through my brain…

“Ohhhh, that’s cute. I want that!”

“That’s funky…but I think I can pull it off.”

“I totally NEED that!”

“I wonder how much that costs??”

Welcome to the world inside my head. It’s ugly and embarrassing to admit that I fall victim to being “such a girl” every once in awhile.

My longing for new clothes increases by the day but sadly the budget for new clothes doesn’t. Staying on top of the trends ain’t easy or cheap but want to know my trick?

Wait for it…

THE THRIFT STORE.

Seriously, this is my new favorite store. Just ask the husband.

My schedule hasn’t allowed me to get out of the house much, but fortunately we live only 3 blocks from the best thrift store in town. This has become my outing excursion as well as my primary shopping destination!

I love the search of finding something worthwhile. I love the prices. I love the uniqueness. I love the proximity to my house. I love it all and I can’t get enough.

The husband isn’t always the biggest fan of my findings but I’m usually quite proud of them. Take a look and decide for yourself….

jacket: thrifted // t-shirt: target // scarf: pitaya // skirt: thrifted (originally j.crew)

tanks: target // skirt: thrifted // flip-flops: pacsun // watch: macys

blazer: thrifted (originally j.crew) // t-shirt: nordstrom // necklace: unknown // jeans: abercrombie & fitch  flats: kmart // bag: kenneth cole

I've snagged a few other great pieces from the thrift store but they have yet to make their outfit appearances. I'll post more as I wear my other great finds. But what do you think? Am I fitting into the fashionable world of a college campus again?

thankful

Oh, how quickly time flies and the holidays are already here. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'm way behind on my "holiday spirit". Halloween came and went without me even touching a pumpkin or buying trick-or-treat candy. Thanksgiving is now here and I still haven't done anything festive. No decorating. No crafts. No baking (well, kind of). But still, my point is that the holidays seem to be passing me by all too quickly. There's a reason for it though. Although I love holidays and the opportunity to get into the holiday spirit, I have been a little more consumed with something else. This something else is the thing that I am beyond thankful for.

This something else is my graduate program for teaching. No words could explain how thankful I am for this opportunity. At this time a year ago, I was still floundering to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I had great family and friends, but most of which lived over 1,000 miles away. I had the most amazing husband who was living out and pursuing his dream. I lived in an exciting and beautiful place. Yet, I was still lost.

It took a lot of praying, crying, talking, and faith to finally come to the decision of going back to school. I felt like I was taking a huge leap of faith because I wasn't 100% sure that teaching was what I wanted to do. I wanted God to audibly speak to me and tell me what to do but that just wasn't seeming to happen. It took a lot of reflection to realize that God had been telling me quite subtly [and quietly] over MANY years that teaching was where I was supposed to be. 

Now, I am in the thick of school -- taking graduate courses that stretch my mind and heart in ways that I never imagined. School has required many sacrifices and some sacrifices that I don't particularly like, but ultimately, it has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. For the first time, I feel like I'm actually on a path that is my own perfectly designed by God and not one that I am forcing or controlling. 

So it sum it up, I am thankful for finally figuring out my passion and having the opportunity to pursue it.

A big thank you to Julie Ann Art, Yellow Heart Art, and Rouge + Whimsy for hosting this Blog Hop!

everything's better in 3's

The husband's birthday was a month ago [exactly] but I'm finally getting around to posting pictures. The celebration came in three parts. The first part was a date night dinner at the Crimson Canary - a restaurant within walking distance of our home. We devoured the delicious lemony calamari!

The husband is impossible to surprise but I was determined to give him at least a little surprise for his birthday. I made scrumptious Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cupcakes and invited just a few friends over to meet us back at our place for a nightcap of "Happy Birthday", cupcakes, and spiked apple cider. 

A week later, we were finally able to rally some friends for a birthday celebration. We ventured to a sketchy bowling alley, ate questionable pizza, and later watched the Huskies play. I'd say three part celebrations aren't so bad! Happy Birthday Jon!

p.s. I just had the most amazing weekend -- I can't wait to post about it soon!

p.p.s. Remember how I said the husband is impossible to surprise...? Well, I've got a story to tell you. You'll have to wait for it though - this gets to be your surprise!

avocado chicken egg salad

For some reason, a turkey sandwich makes me want to puke. I don’t know when I got so tired of them. I wasn’t even a sack lunch kid. It’s funny because you always envy what you don’t have. I envied my classmates and friends that had homemade lunches. And they probably envied me – they probably thought I was the rich kid that bought lunch every day. The reality though is that my parents just didn’t really do sack lunches. I guess it was easier for them to reload the lunch card than creatively make and pack a lunch.

I get it now. I don’t even like having to pack my own lunch.

But I do because I just don’t understand how someone spends [on average] $7-$9 for lunch everyday.

Leftovers use to be my “go-to” lunch but that was back when I was making dinner most nights and had a microwave at work to reheat it. My days don’t look like that anymore. I rarely have time to make dinner on any night of the week, let alone most nights. This results in minimal leftovers. Not to mention my school campus lacks a microwave. Hence, the turkey sandwich dilemma!

To avoid the turkey sandwich, I desperately search around for other types of cold sandwiches, wraps, salads, etc. The husband and I have established quite a repertoire, but my taste buds can’t handle too much repetition. I needed something new so here’s the arrival of the Avocado Chicken Egg Salad. It’s delightfully good! If you need a new lunch idea, try this!

RECIPE:

Ingredients

• 1 avocado, chopped (almost mashed)
• 5 hard boiled eggs, chopped (I used mostly only the whites)
• 2 tsp. coarse ground dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. dill weed
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• dash of pepper
• 1/4 tsp. parsley
• 1 Tbsp. greek nonfat yogurt
• 1 can white chicken
• 1 stalk celery, chopped thinly
• sun-dried tomato wraps, bread, or bowl - up to you!

Combine all ingredients and enjoy! This recipe probably provided 4 sandwiches worth for the husband and me so feel free to double or halve as necessary.