August 21, 2011

First Day of School Dress


If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you may have heard me mention a little something about my very first sewing project (with a machine, that is). I’m still pretty excited about it and can’t believe I made it (well, my mom helped… a lot!) with my own hands! It was also such a great experience to learn how to use the sewing machine and share that time with my mom, doing something that she has a passion for as well. I wore the dress for the first time last week on my first day of school. I have decided that I now need 6 more, in various colors of course, so that I can wear one each day of the week. It is just that fantastic.


1. Patterns, 2. Fabric, 3. Sewing, 4. Deciding the hem length, 5. Final touches, 6. The first day of school!
I'm already looking forward to my next sewing project!

-K

August 18, 2011

It's been good

Summer break is officially over and school is now back in session. The last few weeks have been some of the best. I spent a couple weeks in Indiana with my family, went to the State Fair, learned to sew, visited friends, baked, and ate the most delicious food.
 

I cannot believe summer is over! It has been one of the best ones yet. I won’t lie – I’m pretty darn excited about this school year though. It’s already off to a wonderful and fresh start. I’m looking forward to all that’s in store!

-K

August 05, 2011

A quick "hello!"

Hello from the great Midwest!


I've been visiting my family in Indiana for the past few days and it has been so nice! Especially now that summer classes are over, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted and I now have all this free time that I just don't know what to do with myself! I have quite a lengthy (and growing by the hour!) list of things I want to learn, make, do, try, go, eat, see, read, etc. within the next week or so.

I began reading Emily Giffin's book, "Something Borrowed" the night I arrived in town and so far it's pretty good! I've been looking forward to reading her books for awhile now, so I'm excited to finally have one almost finished. I also purchased my very first (or 4) dress patterns yesterday! Today my mom and I picked out the perfect fabrics for a couple of them. Tomorrow I'll get started on the sewing! I'm so excited to make my very own first-day-of-school dress!

-K

July 27, 2011

Busy busy!

[1] Beau, [2] Sugar, [3] Grandparent's field, [4] Beau and I early in the morning
[1] Harry Potter with Matthew, [2] Hello!, [3] Pretty new Pyrex bowl, [4] Mochi, walnuts, blackberries, and raspberries
[1] View from the house my dad and brother stayed, [2] Matthew and Dad, [3] Dad and I, [4] Blueberry pie

These past couple of weeks have flown by. It's too bad, because they were so wonderful. I would have liked for them to have lasted so much longer! My dad was asked to play in a three-day-long golf tournament (he came in second place!) in Asheville, so I soaked up as much time as I possibly could with him and my little brother. A few days later I went to Georgia to spend a little bit of time with G. It had been over a month since we last saw each other! It goes without saying that it was definitely great to see him. I was also able to finally meet his band-mates and Vanessa. It was a little funny feeling at first, because we all knew of each other, but had not truly met before. But, everyone was very sweet and it was a good time! After the guys' show I drove a little further south to spend the weekend with my grandparents. They live out in the country and have the most beautiful dogs who kept me company during the morning-time while my grandparents were out and about. It was quite a wonderful few days!

See- these past two weeks have been busy(-ish)! This is the last week of summer classes and then I will be spending the rest of my summer break in Indiana with my family! More on that later.

-K

July 13, 2011

The Blueberry Festival



This past weekend, there was word of a blueberry festival at the Roper Mountain Science Center. Blueberries AND science? Count me in! My friend Aaron and I met up bright and early for what was sure to be a delicious learning experience. And learn we did. Who knew that the pre-historic ground sloths were three times as tall as Aaron? I sure didn’t. 
It was hotter than blue blazes (I learned that phrase this past week. Thanks Grandma!) and ever so humid. Oh, sweet South Carolina in the summer. The science center is in an old school building with exhibits in all of the classrooms and on the surrounding land, there is a mock colonial settlement. There were demonstrations, samples of blueberry concoctions, pilgrims playing music, etc. in and around the entire “settlement”. You know, like any other blueberry shindig. It was a blueberry festival success.

-K

June 30, 2011

Summertime iPhone photos [image heavy]

We've had so many wonderful times and adventures over the past two months and there is still more fun to be had over the next month and a half before school begins. I'm so excited!

-K

June 27, 2011

Vegetables in bread?

A couple of weeks ago I figured I would attempt making zucchini bread for Garrett when he came to visit. I had never tasted this strange vegetable bread before, so I approached it with great hesitancy. On my first attempt, I split the recipe in half and baked two small loaves; one loaf for Garrett and one for my friends and I. As soon as I took the loaves out of the oven, I dropped the majority of one loaf on the floor, so I was left with a small taste of what hadn't fallen on the floor and I hoped that the other loaf tasted alright. 
Fast forward a week and I decided it was time to attempt this strange yet tasty bread again. Well, I believe that zucchini bread is my new favorite thing. On top of the deliciousness of this bread, it has 1-2 whole zucchini in it, so it must be healthy, right?!



 I used this recipe with a few modifications, which I've noted below.


Zucchini Bread

2 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup water
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil  
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking soda 
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Mix wet ingredients into dry and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.


 Yum.


-K

June 18, 2011

A wonderful visit

Thursday morning Garrett drove up to Greenville from Savannah (and then back to the SC coast that night!), so that we could spend the day together before he leaves for tour in a couple of weeks. It was such a great day!
Twelve Bones bbq for lunch in Asheville, NC
left: Chipotle for dinner in Greenville, SC. right: my book purchase from the bookstore
*I may have stolen a couple of these photos from Garrett. Shh!
- K

June 11, 2011

Cinnamon Toast

I've spent my whole life eating cinnamon toast the WRONG way. I had no idea until this woman brought it to my attention and I'm thankful she did. So, the following morning I tried cinnamon toast the RIGHT way (according to her, soon to be me, and probably you too). Oh my goodness! Who knew such a nice and simple treat could have such potential?!

You need to try this, seriously.


Cinnamon Toast - The Right Way (adapted from The Pioneer Woman, you can find the original recipe here)
*I altered the recipe to a single serving, replaced and omitted a couple items.
 
2 slices of whole wheat bread
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance, Softened
1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir to completely combine the Earth Balance with a sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Spread onto slices of bread, covering the entire surface, all the way to the edges.
Place the bread on a cookie sheet and bake for 3 or so minutes (I honestly didn't pay much attention to the time, but it was much less than her suggestion of 10 minutes).

Turn the broiler on and broil until golden brown and bubbling (be careful not to let it burn!).

Remove from oven and enjoy!

How simple is that?

June 08, 2011

Ooops

How did I forget about the photos from the end of the year picnic?! It's so strange that the school year ended two months ago and now we (amongst the group of us in the photos) are spread all across the country for the summer. Matt and Beth are married now (!!!) and living in Virginia, Blair and I are in South Carolina, Raul is in New Mexico, and Betsy is splitting her summer between Honduras and Washington. Here are photos from our picnic, before I forget about them again.

Fall's Park
Raul and Betsy
Bethany and Matt. Matt had just returned from an internship where he spent the entire semester away in Virginia. We were all  pretty happy see him (especially Bethany)!
Don't be fooled. Blair was having the time of her life.

Betsy, myself, Bethany, and Blair.



Another picnic is coming up this weekend. I just love summer picnics. If it were up to me, we would have picnics each and every day.

-K

June 07, 2011

In preparations to swim

Today I begrudgingly accompanied Blair in search of a swimsuit. Swimsuit shopping is my least favorite summer activity. I've never been a big fan of getting into any body of water larger than my bathtub. This coming weekend we are going to Rainbow Falls in North Carolina, therefore a swimsuit is necessary. It ended up being not as terrible as I had thought it would be. Blair and I both found nice suits and I got a couple of dresses as well and enjoyed a nice Italian meal afterward in celebration. It only made sense.

Dress no. 1

Dress no. 2 over the new swimming attire
- K

May 26, 2011

Exploration of Meal Planning



The house is feeling much more settled in and feeling a little more like home (as much as living on the university campus can feel like home) for the summer. Over the summer we do not have a meal plan, (but we do have a huge kitchen!) so my friends and housemates, Blair and Hanna and I have been making meal plans for the week so that we are sure to have food in our bellies and money left in our pockets throughout the summer.
I want to continue to be mindful of what I am putting into my body. Personally, I need to make sure that I am incorporating enough protein and iron, as well as all the other necessary vitamins and minerals from my diet alone. I've been browsing the internet for recipes, suggestions, and the like. Dorm-living, vegan friendly, and most of all - simple recipes, are key.
Burrito bowl: brown rice, black beans, tomato, avocado, broccoli

Salad with strawberries, apples, carrots, and raspberry vinaigrette

This actually turned out to be, dare I say it...fun? I believe I repeated, "We are so grown up!!!" to Blair tens of thousands of times between the process of writing out the grocery list to putting the groceries away in the kitchen. She is such a patient friend.

Here is a short list of various blogs and websites that I found especially informative as well as some recipes that I'm excited to try:

The Daily Green
MyVega
Going Vegan
Peas & Thank You
Overnight Oats

May 06, 2011

Summer break pt.1

Summer break has finally arrived! I had my wisdom teeth taken out today, so I thought I would share some photos from the past few days here at home (Indiana) and a mini-video I made from little clips that  my mom and I shot at the "family photo shoot", yesterday! Pardon the sloppiness, it's my first time ever making anything in iMovie!

getting ready to have our family pictures taken

 
[Song: 'The Winner Is' by Devotchka]
Alexander's for ice-cream (and sorbet) in downtown Noblesvile. Delicious!
Hannah and I with our selections from Alexanders

Buyer's remorse. Hannah said it was too short. I should have ignored her! It's the cutest little thing.
I made banana (some with nut) muffins from scratch last night. Mmm! I may have accidentally overcooked them a tad bit! Oops.