lemons into lemonade (metaphorically-speaking)

I'm not much of a cook, I'll admit, but for some reason I seem to be a pretty decent baker.

Last summer I started searching for recipes online of some of my favorite cookies, etc. and baking just for fun. I guess it was probably a combination of boredom and my near-constant-need to create. Anyway, it's not like I've tried anything fancy...just your standarad chocolate chip/oatmeal raisin/snickerdoodle cookies kind of thing. But damn, they were good. I've been pretty proud of myself.

All that to say that yesterday I attempted peanut butter chocolate chip cookies to bring with me to Nac this weekend. I've made Mitch and his roommates cookies a couple times already this semester and they keep asking for more, so I was prepared to provide. I thought.

Presenting to you my very first (to date) baking disaster.

Wtf?
I honestly have no idea what happened. I followed the recipe exactly; no ingredients were left out, the right amounts were added in, the oven wasn't too hot...and yet...this was the result? I was pretty disappointed. And annoyed for wasting my own time. I don't even know why I bothered making more because, surprise surprise, they continued to look like the picture above. I'm dumb, obviously.

Just as I was getting ready to scrap the whole mess and put it out of my mind, my mom suggested I break it all up into small pieces and use as an ice cream topping. Genius! So that's what I did. :)


Ta-da!
Luckily boys'll eat anything that's half-way decent and free, so when I called Mitch and told him about the change, he was just as excited. Ha. On my way to their house tonight, I think I'll stop off and buy them some vanilla ice cream so we can all try it out. Fingers crossed it's wonderful! :)

can't stop, won't stop: october

It's (the end of) October and I'm crushing on this playlist so hard and I can't stop/won't stop listening to it on repeat (hooray for run-on sentences!):

• Something in Common by Free Energy
• Like a G6 by Far East Movement (this song gets me pumped the hell up every.single.time)
• Give A Little More by Maroon 5
• Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift
• The Dan in Real Life official soundtrack by Sondre Lerche (in particular, To Be Surprised...it's excellent)

(photo credit)
...
when i wrap my arms around you,
every mistake we've made crumbles
- sondre lerche
PS: If you've never seen Dan in Real Life, please do so immediately. It's a great movie. Just sayin'.

twitterpated

Well, 'ello, Monday!

This weekend turned out to be muchhh better than I expected. Many thanks to sweetboyfriendpants Mitchell for coming into town and going on a super fun Friday night date with me. :) We grabbed delicious pizza at Grapevine's own Palio's Pizza Cafe (yum) followed by Chill Sports Bar on Main St. for beers and watching the Rangers win their spot in the WORLD SERIES. Perfection? Yes.

Saturday we worked out together at the Grapevine rec (oh, small-ish town, you are adorable) and then vegged out on the couches during the impromptu and very scary thunderstorms that took over the afternoon (there was even a tornado about six miles from my house!). In the evening, we ventured back to Mitch's mom's in Forney, spent time with his besties watching Inglorious Basterds, and crashed early in preparation for church in the morning. I was able to (accidentally) bond with Morgan, Mitch's little sister (well, she's a senior in high school, so not THAT little), on Sunday afternoon when we took the dogs for a walk and ended up having some heavy heart-to-hearts. I'll never say it to her face, but I love her to death and am really happy we've been growing close as of late.

I'm already excited for Friday when I'll head down to Nacogdoches for Stephen F. Austin's homecoming weekend! Last year's was so fun (Mitch and his roommates had a huge party at their place, complete with bounce house!) and I can't wait for the good times that are sure to be had this year.

All that stands in the way is this very lazy week, but I think I can handle that. First up? Heading to a middle school nearby to shoot their football team pictures! Cute. And, yikes, I have to leave in twenty minutes. Happy Monday, everyone!

mismash: october

I have been having a very terrible, no-good, oh-poor-me two weeks.

People have turned out to be selfish, inconsiderate, and flat-out rude, and I don't take too kindly to being treated so poorly. Rejection sucks, yes, and I've been throwing myself plenty of pity parties, but I need to be a big girl and move the hell on. I'm not great at endings. I guess I'll just have to get better.

Work has slowed down considerably since picture day season is officially over (boo), and I'm quite bored (not to mention purposeless-feeling). I'm already fighting off the wintertime blues, and it's only October (and lately the weather has been so bi-polar and consequently so have i rings too true).

Sooooo today I ordered these earrings from this super adorable Etsy shop to cheer myself up.


Seeing as how I've had all this free time, I've finally been able to finish up a few books I'd been working my way through. For the record, Nabokov's Lolita is a. slow, b. longgg, and c. one of the creepiest, most uncomfortable books ever. I'd heard people and my professors make references to this novel for years, so I finally bought it and thought I'd give it a go. In a nutshell, it's the story of (and narrated by) an imprisoned child molester who had fallen in love with his landlady's twelve-year old daughter, etc. It's so awkward and I keep accidentally bringing it with me to middle school sports shoots. That's not okay.

I did, however, recently finish an incredible book called Thin is the New Happy by Valerie Frankel.

Amazing.

I know it sounds silly and cliche, but this memoir has literally changed my life. Val had spent her entire life (since she was 11!) as a chronic-dieter, completely obsessed with her weight and suffering from bad body image issues (story of my life). Anyway, she decides to give up dieting and decides to deal with her emotional baggage, confront the demons in her past, eat when hungry, stop when full, and simply work out to remain healthy instead of focusing on dropping a dress size. Ummm...totally inspiring. And, okay, those may seem like the most obvious things in the world to do, but something about this book and her words clicked with me and changed the way I look at myself. I'm psyched to be on day 4 in a row of working out simply because of the good I know it'll bring to the one body (and mind!) I'm ever going to get. Val, I repeat, you're an inspiration.

I'm not even kidding, read this book.

Now that it's (already) Friday (afternoon), I'm (begrudgingly) off to tackle production and shipping (ie. the parts I don't enjoy about my job...I would much rather be out at shoots all day). But here's to a happy weekend?

the everglow

(photo source)

Here's a night & it shines
And it calls us on and on
So be here by my side and watch the stars
They're ours
Make a wish or just take charge
When the moment comes, get lost and go far

I think that we've got what it takes to get this heart start beating again
So take it all the way

Oh, now our hearts are on the everglow
So just let go and fall into it

We begin (breathe in)
Here's our chance to go for something
So this is where we win and take the game (no blame)
There's a neon light inside that shines
And it's tearing down the walls in the way

I think that we've got what it takes to get this heart start beating again
So take it all the way

Oh, now our hearts are on the everglow
Deep inside we both know it
Everything's hanging on this moment
Oh, and our hearts are on the everglow
So just let go & fall into it

Let's go inside and look deep in the night
The light is bright enough to save the weakest ones, and you're in the running
Oh, don't you give up or fade away

Oh, our hearts are on the everglow
Every action makes a reaction
We'll figure it out and make it happen
Oh, and our hearts are on the everglow
So just let go and fall into it

oh, sweet tattoo

On Thursday evening, I finally got my first tattoo. :)

I've been wanting one since my freshman year of college, but since my parents were/are so opposed to the idea (ie. threatened to cut me off financially if I got one), I held off. But damnit, I'm an adult now (although I assume it hardly looks that way, what with me living with and working for my parents...), so I sacked up and tatted up.

My tattoo artist, Lane, was fantastic. Admittedly, I was a little afraid he thought I was a total lame-o, but throughout the entire ordeal he was funny and really nice. My friend Kelsey tagged along for support and to take pictures. I'm so thankful she came, too, because she ended up being the one to pick the finals colors! Yay for sweet, creative friends! :)




For the record, tattoos hurt a lot more than people let on. Or at least tattoos on one's wrist. I had heard over the years that the pain is mostly "uncomfortable" and "annoying" than actually painful, but I'd say that's only true 60% of the time. The other 40%? Hurt like a bitch. I didn't even think about what a vulnerable area the wrist is, what with all the veins, tendons and bone. There were certain spots where I could tell Lane was having to go over and over and over because they were difficult to ink, and those were always the spots that were the tenderest. Ouchhhhhh. In the end, it was so worth the discomfort, but I'm definitely not looking forward to going back next week for touch-ups.

Oh, and no, I didn't cry. Props.




I chose the word dig from the Incubus lyric, if I turn into another, dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me. I wanted a reminder to always look for and bring out the good in others, even when it's not easy. Dig is about how we all fall to our human weakness, but we have each other to bring out the best in us. I know I personally need that so much from the relationships in my life, need my friends to remind me of the person I really am under it all, and I aim to do that for the people in my life as well.

It's so easy to get caught up in my own problems, my own stupid worries, that I forget to make the world a better place in my own small way. I wanted this tattoo as a visual cue to stop focusing on myself and dig up the good all around me.

I kind of can't believe I actually did it, but already I'm so glad that I did.

djohariah

(photo source)

...

go on, little sister
go on
for the world is yours, world is yours
all the wilderness of the world is yours to enjoy

go on, little sister, go on
for you're beautiful, [beautiful]
all the fullness of the world is yours

tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow

We all have a weakness
Some of ours are easier to identify
Look me in the eye and ask for forgiveness
We'll make a pact to never speak that word again
Yes, you are my friend

We all have something that digs at us
At least we dig each other

So when weakness turns my ego up,
I know you'll count on the me from yesterday

If I turn into another,
Dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me
Sing this song
Remind me that we'll always have each other when everything else is gone

We all have a sickness
That cleverly attaches and multiplies
No matter how we try

We all have someone that digs at us
Well, at least we dig each other

So when sickness turns my ego up,
I know you'll act as the clever medicine

If I turn into another, dig me up from under
What is covering the better part of me
Sing this song and remind me that we'll always
Have each other even when everything else is gone
...

Tomorrow I'm finally getting the tattoo I've wanted for the past four and a half years. And I'm ecstatic. :)

october ushers in fall favorites :)

With October comes the reemergence of some of my absolute fall favorites. I'm thrilled that we're regularly experiencing temperatures in the 70s (however, I am not thrilled by my bout with the flu), and that it's once again time for my third favorite season of the year (ahem, summer and spring will always have my heart).

(photo credit)

First and foremost, motherfucking CANDY CORN. Haters gon' hate, but candy corn is delicious and October-y and ahhhhhhhh I love it so much. :)

(photo credit)
The Cocomotion. Thanks, Mom, for buying this hot chocolate maker for me several Christmases ago. It has been one of the best presents I've ever received. Plus, it makes PERFECT hot chocolate. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right.

(photo credit)
These Fossil boots make me swoon. They are definitely on my Christmas list. Any takers?

(photo credit)
Also from Fossil, this birdie scarf. I want. ASAP.

(photo credit)
While we're on birds, I've been obsessed with this bird pillow from Urban Outfitters for months. In fact...I can't remember why I haven't just bought it yet...

(photo credit)
Urban Outfitter's Swedish Landscape patchwork quilt. I want to curl up under this and read a book.

(photo credit: me!)
Last but not least, Grapevine Lake. As much as I always love it, I think I love it most during fall. After the relentless heat of summer, the cool breezes and falling leaves on rocking docks refresh me in a way nothing else can. My dog, Clark Kent, and I take walks in the early evenings so I can sit on concrete picnic tables while she sniffs the surf and eats driftwood. It's absolute peace, and I have yet to find another place on earth quite like it.

Welcome, fall! I love you and thanks for finally coming around. :)