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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

• Dirty Dozen Foods
• Superfoods 
• Clean Fifteen
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

MyVega
Going Vegan
Peas & Thank You
Overnight Oats

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.

Snow Day(s): Stockinette Stitch

Greenville has been shut down since the snow fell on Sunday evening. The difference between how South Carolina and Indiana react to a snow fall blows my mind. To pass some of the time, I've completed many extra large granny squares for the afghan, but last night I decided to begin another project on my list and re-learn how to do the stockinette stitch in the process. I love how the stockinette stitch looks, combining the purl stitch and the knit stitch together. Although, the downfall of the stockinette stitch is that it tends to curl at the edges, which can turn out to be a huge disappointment when you've been working on a project for ages, only to have it roll up on you! While I remembered this in the beginning of my project, starting off with 3 rows in garter stitch to prevent curling on the vertical ends of the scarf, I failed to think about how to prevent curling on the horizontal edges of the circle scarf that I'm working on. I'm thinking that I will end up steaming the scarf once finished (before I join the ends; I'm not using circular needles this time), and sew a strip (trim) of 3 knit stitch rows along the horizontal edges. Regardless, I adore the way it is looking so far!

The 'smooth side', also the knit stitch side.

The 'rough side', also the purl stitch side. Notice how it's curling all on it's own?

Yarn:Loops & Threads, Impeccable worsted.

Color: True Gray

Needle Size: 10, 6.00mm

CO: 25 stiches

Rows: Undetermined

21 Before 22

I am so thrilled about this list and accomplishing it! It looks like it will be a fun year!

It's my birthday!

 (image via weheartit)

I couldn't have asked for a better day to bring in my 21st birthday (well, if I had my family here, that would be pretttty great). I have felt so overwhelmed with love and thankfulness for all of my friends and family that have made this day so wonderful. Thank you for all of your twitter messages and facebook posts, they have made me feel quite special!

10. Learn to Crochet

I won't lie; I've already written out and typed up my '21 before 22' list to post on Thursday. I am so thrilled about this list! As it turns out, I'm already able to cross something off (is that allowed?!). I've been knitting for years and have always been interested in crocheting, but I have just not been able to fully wrap my head around it each time I've attempted to learn. This weekend I stumbled upon these YouTube videos and gave it another shot. Beth, who guides the tutorials explains every move very simply and I was surprised at how easy it was to pick up on once I got into the rhythm of it. I have been crocheting up a storm ever since! It is so fun! I'm not sure exactly what I'll do with all these little "granny squares" I have floating around now, but I'm thinking of sewing them together to make an afghan at some point.

Do you do any yarn or needlework? If so, I'm curious as to how you were taught! What projects are you working on now?

2011 Goals

(weheartit)

I have such a wonderful feeling about this year. I'm excited for all the new lessons that are waiting to be learned and new experiences to have. I'm looking forward to all of the unknown that this year has to offer. Here are a few goals of mine for the new year :) 

     
        1. Bring my GPA up .35 points by the end of the fall 2011 semester. I googled it and it has been done before (;

        2. Run 5-6 days a week A few weeks before finals began at the beginning of December I fell out of my evening run and daily cardio work-out routine. I am definitely going to stive to pick both of these back up. Exercise truly encourages a"happier me" all around, both physically and mentally, so I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!

        3. Maintain a steady sleeping pattern (i.e. sleep more)

        4. Read more often (other than textbooks) I have an entire list of books to read and I am chomping at the bit to begin!

        5. Visit my family more often in Indiana, Florida, and Georgia

        6. Blog more consistently

        7. Stay positive

I've been enjoying catching up on all of my friends' 2011 goal posts as well. What are your goals for the new year?