goals

I'm going to make myself a fancy list of goals for this blog so that I don't keep posting random stuff every few weeks. Since it's that time of year and I'm finally making some money, crafts should be happening (:

No excuses.

{ I'll Do It Myself }

I'm going to make myself some decorative Christmas cones. Big ones! But first I need to go out and find some pretty fabric & other supplies.

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Then, in these little guys:

Sugar Scrub with Coconut Oil

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I'm going to make hand made Christmas cards this year. 

With fun fabrics, paper, glue, sparkles, tea, & no patience. I might post some tutorials if they turn out well. 

Don't get your hopes up. 

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Also, this guy is pretty darn cute. I got him for super free at World Market. I might try my hand at ornaments. 

doh (:

{ Looks }

Since short hair is in & growing it out is a pain, I've found a do that I've been wearing almost every day now, so I'll post a tutorial for that.

I've been trying to get pictures of my red lipstick and winged eyeliner that has become a part of my everyday makeup. You can kind of see it in the picture above, but I really haven't had the best of luck with pictures of that or of my outfits that I've been a little bit proud of. I need a partner or a tripod that actually holds my camera.

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Since I've stopped dancing, I've gotten a little -cough- out of shape. I found this workout a while back on pinterest that I loved a lot, so I'm going to take a spin off that and post it so you can print it out and take a stab at it with me, if you'd like.

{ Projects }

From my last post [on my room] : my wardrobe & both desks need some help, also cleaning up apple crates, finding burlap for my cheapo trashcan, find/fix up old lamps, make little mismatched pillows, find the rest of my knick-knacks & books and then probably clean them up. I also have some little wooden chairs that Joshua has kidnapped that we'll get to eventually. Most of this will probably be done in the spring when the weather is lovely.

{ Tasty }

mint layered fudge! 

marshmallow wreaths!

& so many other of my very holiday favorites.

{ Photography }

Someday someone will ask me to take their picture. Until then, vous avez moi. So, I'll take this time to work on photoshop. & no, that isn't going as well as planned.

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So, I have a few ideas. I'll probably come up with a lot more as I go along as well. But honestly, there's no reason I shouldn't be posting more than I do.

new room

Earlier this year (Friday the 13th of April) we had a chimney fire which decided to mostly hug my room. So, while I was away in Germany, my parents lived in a wee house & planned for months while our home was being repaired. Well, they finally moved back into our lovely home just a few weeks before I got home, and I've slowly been working on my room ever since. There are still many projects I need to work on, so I will add those to my to do list.

My desk is my very favorite place in this whole wide world. I'm always here. I use a little ottoman and tuck myself away in the corner of my wardrobe. It's probably the coziest.

I had no idea what to do with my earrings until I could afford a cute stand, so I had been keeping it all lying on my book shelves, but Mum suggested I hang them on my bulletin board! So I did that (: and I think I may even prefer that to a pretty little stand. We shall see.

When the ceiling fell on my desk it left a lot of white marks all over it, so I want to do something to fix it up. Suggestions would be lovely! I'm also going to find a prettier frame for my mirror & those apple crates will be everywhere (:

Tibby!

I covered my walls with the white lights (: I love running away to my room, especially now that I have some surround sound and my computer in here, so the lights make it even more relaxing. And awesome.

This wardrobe is going to be my big project (: I want to completely fix it up. It has a little mirror inside that I want to replace, then I may paint it some fun color & make it marvelous once more.

My desk is another little project that I just need to touch up, & I'll replace the plastic bins with apple crates!

The little basket to the left was only a few dollars & I had no trashcan, so I'm going to find myself some burlap to line it & make it the prettiest trashcan in the world.

I had nowhere to keep my shoes, so I shoved all the ones I rarely used into my closet & had my favorites under the wardrobe, but they kept slipping back & would get all dusty... and sad. So! I put all of my shoes on a little rug that's easy to pull out, that way none of them slip back & my closet is free & I can have more variety to my wardrobe (:

this too shall pass

It's getting close to the end of my work year.. might even be done by the end of this week. After that I'm taking some time away without my phone & facebook. Life is weighing down a little.

This too shall pass.

new lens!

nikon 50mm f/1.8

Not quite used to the manual focus and fixed 50mm, so the crops are weird and not so crisp.

apologies..

except not, because I'm so excited (: (:

a little more creativity with the look

This is me getting a little creative with outfits. I know, the picture is a little lame. I'll go out as soon as I have the time (right now I leave pretty early in the morning for work and get back when it's dark) and I shall take some more creative photos with my outfits and where I got each piece for how much (:

Also - colored tights are my new favorite. You might be seeing a lot of these.

christmas time!

chocolate pumpkin pie

Crust

2 cups of graham-cracker crumbs (I used chocolate Teddy Grahams which was about 2 3/4 cup before I smashed them up)

6 tablespoons - butter, melted

1 tablespoon - granulated sugar

2 tablespoons - brown sugar

half teaspoon - salt

half teaspoon - cinnamon

3 ounces - bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used semisweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugars, salt, + cinnamon in bowl. Firmly press mixture into bottom & up the sides of a deep, 9 1/2 inch pie dish. Bake until firm (8-10 minutes) 

Remove from oven to spread chocolate over the crust. Return to the oven for another minute, then spread chocolate over the bottom & up the sides - let cool & reduce oven to 325 degrees.

Filling

4 tablespoons - unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 can (15 ounces) - pumpkin

1 can (12 ounces) - evaporated milk

3/4 cup - brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon - cornstarch

1 teaspoon - vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons - salt

3/4 teaspoon - ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon - ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon - nutmeg

ground cloves

1 ounce - semisweet chocolate (finely chopped)

Mix pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, a pinch of cloves + finely chopped semisweet chocolate bits in a medium bowl. Place pie dish on a rimmed baking sheet, pour pumpkin mixture into crust, bake until center is set but still a bit wobbly (which should only take 55 - 60 minutes, but sometimes people turn ovens off halfway through the baking process. Watch out for that.), refrigerate until well chilled (8 hours), then eat that tasty thing.