springin' into spring time

Happy Monday!!! It's super rainy outside at the moment, which is just so nice. I feel so glad and lucky that I don't have anywhere else to go before bed. I just wanted to share a few photos from the past week! These are busy times (as usual), but despite my crazy schedule, it is evident from looking back at my daily picture how many wonderful moments I've shared with my wonderful friends - and just with myself! Clíche time... Life is beautiful. 

1. New shoes for $3! Funny story: I actually bought these like two months ago and left the bag on the counter at the store. But they were back when I went in today!!!! So I guess I've bought them twice, which totals to $6. Still worth it. 
2. MY NEW 2012 CALENDAR. I LOVE IT. 
3. Gourmet grilled cheese and soup with the lovely Brittany! <3
4. Ecstatic to get out of my night class two hours early last week and getting to experience this sky.
5. It snowed. 
6. Ice cream!!! I know I wasn't supposed to eat dairy while I was sick, but... I did it anyway. 
7. Jumpin' on neon the trend with some new straws! Haha

perfect snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles (fondly known as snickerdudes to, well... myself) are one of the most satisfying types of cookies on the planet. While I love baking all different kinds of sweets, I usually tend to gravitate more toward cakes/cupcakes, pastries, ice cream, cheesecake, etc., but a freshly baked just-outta-the-oven snickerdoodle is pretty darn hard to resist - and super easy to make! I based this recipe on combination of things I found online, and it turned out splendidly last week when I first tried these babies out. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3.5 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tsp cinnamon

Directons: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
2. Hand mix softened butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together with a whisk (flour, baking soda, and salt). 
4. Gradually add the dry mix into the wet ingredients in the large mixing bowl, stirring well after each addition. 
5. Roll dough into consistently sized balls (however small or large that you choose).
6. Mix together the 3.5 Tablespoons of sugar and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon in a small bowl (a cereal or soup bowl will work just fine). 
7. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating each one as much as possible.
8. Place about two inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
9. Bake 8-9 minutes until set. Remove immediately from baking sheets onto cooling racks and be careful, because they will be soft and delicate.
10. Serve fresh, or microwave for 15 seconds if you're reheating.

WARNING: You will most likely feel extremely tempted to eat some of the dough before it's baked, and I say go for it. Give in to the magic! In fact, little bites of cookie dough are especially delicious if you dip them into the cinnamon sugar mixture first. :)

Tips:

• When baking, I always use pure vanilla extract from Mexico, which should be pretty easy to find at a Mexican grocery store in your area, or possibly in the international food section of wherever you normally shop - trust me, it makes all the difference! And you can feel free to add a little extra most of the time.
• Shortening can be a little messy to work with, but it's a breeze if you scoop it out of the container with your hand using a sandwich-sized ziploc bag as a kind of make-shift glove. Keep the "glove" on, and once you fill up the measuring cup, you can use the "glove" again to remove the shortening from the measuring cup into your mixing bowl. 
• Be sure to watch the cookies carefully depending on how large or small you make your balls of dough. If you want a larger cookie, you may need to increase the time in the oven, and vice versa if you want mini cookies.
• Cream of tartar can also be used in place of lemon juice. 
• Hand mixing has great results, but be prepared for a little workout! A sturdy, wooden spoon typically works best. If you would really rather use an electric mixer, that will also work.

Enjoy!!!

outta this world

Ever since I got back from Miami things have been going, going, going! I can't believe how quickly February is passing by and how many exciting events are coming up in my life. I'm really looking forward to working a weekend in Atlanta next month, my spring break trip to Vegas with the roomies (can't believe I'm really doing this, but it's going to be awesome), another birthday, my graduation ceremony, my brother's wedding, and starting the search for a new apartment, job, and cat! Wahoo.

Above, we've got a picture of me waiting for some friends in a dressing room, the gorgeous flower wreath Jazzy made for me (get yours here), mimosa cheers during Sunday brunch, Ally's birthday flowers, and a disco ball we had up for the space party this weekend. If you follow me on insta (or Facebook for that matter), you've probably seen some pics, but just in case you haven't... I was an alien! Note the eyeballs all over my arms, my lovely friend Megan, and our decorations the morning after.

My next few posts are going to include an outfit post and a food post! I've been meaning to share recipes here on the blog for awhile now but never gotten around to it. Happy Monday!

mi ami

I went to Miami last weekend and was lucky enough to experience an early morning sunrise, have a few good eats, and meet the brilliantly wonderful Steffy from Steffy's Pros and Cons!! She's the bomb. Overall, it was a busy couple of days, but I had a blast. 

Above: 

1. Morning plan ride

2. First meal (huevos rancheros for brunch)

3. Dude doing yoga while I watched the sun rise

4. Seagulls

5. Toes

6. First drink after three solid days of work

7. Crazy Cuban appetizer that's basically stuffed mashed potatoes? So yummy.

animal crackers

 What's up, party people??? Sorry I haven't really posted since my 2011 in review post last week... I started the last full semester of my Senior year on Tuesday. It's crazy! I can tell it's going to be a great semester; I'm taking a class on Walden (yeah - only one book on the whole syllabus!), a class on Sci-Fi film, which has already proved to be incredibly interesting, and also WOMEN'S SELF DEFENSE. Can't touch this. 

I do also still have three jobs. Which are all wonderful. But still. It's crazy to know I'll always be going from one place to the next for pretty much the next 6 months or so. Then I graduate! Holla. I'm so excited. I love working, so thinking about being in a full-time job that I can make one of my very tip-tip priorities is going to be awesome. I can't imagine a life other than having multiple part-time jobs and a full load of classes at the same time - all the time. It's going to be a breeze! Working is definitely the thing I'm best at, and I know I'm working as hard as I possibly can in all three of my jobs now, as well as in school... but seriously, having one job only, and that's it? I will be able to work SO hard at one thing with no other distractions. Man. I need to stop talking about it, because I'm looking forward to it too much. I'm sure I will enjoy this semester a lot, but I want to make sure I don't rush through it since college is such a unique experience that won't happen in my life again. 

ANYWAY. Enough rambling. Up top there, I just put up some recent pictures. 

1) While I was walking to work on a suuuuper cold morning 

2) Outfit deets from awhile back

3) Pretty kitty at my boyfriend's grandparents' house

4) Gummi bears before breakfast, in bed

5) A sweet vintage brooch I attached to this silver chain

And that's it! P.S. I'm a huge nerd, and I am loooooving my technical writing class so far, too...  In case you were wondering. I can't help it.

2011 in review

After seeing posts like these all over the place (aka hey, Bonnie & others) I thought it would be a good idea to do one of my own! It was actually really fun to go through posts from the past year and pull some of my favorite outfits for this collage. So, yeah! These babies (above) are the kinds of things I wore in 2011. Deetz:

So, even though we're already 12 days into January/2012 (say WHAT?!), I would like to officially and publicly reflect on good ole blorange dice and just say thank you. Thanks to anyone who reads or has ever read my li'l blog here. It's such a wonderful creative outlet for me, and I just looove being part of this amazing community. AND LET ME JUST SAY: Having instagram has made all this business even BETTER. So if you have an iPhone and don't use the insta app, please change your mind. It is the best thing ever to get to see shots from the daily lives of gals/guys like Veronika, Stefanie, Lynnette, Brittany, Clio, Kenzie, Nicole, Anna, Taza, Natalie, and Francesca (I know that is quite a long list, but they're all so cool)... So just do it. Nike style.

P.S. If you think any of the jewelery above is awesome... a lot of it was made by the oh-so-talented and brilliant Jazzy. Check out her etsy shop if you haven't already. 

In summary, I ♥ you guys!!!

P.P.S. I was just thinking how funny it would be if I listed all of the clothes/jewelry/accessories worn in both of these collages. That would be the longest list ever. But after glancing back up at them, the three star suppliers of my 2011 wardrobe are various thrift stores (obviously/duh), Urban Outfitters {{sale section}}, and grey dog - one of the best places ever to work.

later, 2011!

I know I'm a little late on the Happy New Year post and all, but I feel that when it's this early in January, things are still so fresh. I feel like it's a new beginning. This year holds a lot of upcoming changes in my life; I'll be graduating from college, entering the work force, and gaining new family members (weddings, y'all) - just to name a few biggies. I'm excited about starting my career and am already getting a glimpse of life after college. I don't want to rush it, like I've said before, but it's definitely something to look forward to.

Pictured above are:

- My new gloves

- My New Year's Eve outfit + champagne

- Mini lemon cheesecakes with ginger snap crusts I made for Kara's birthday

- Becca (in her adorable button dress) and me on New Year's Eve!

- My nail polish chipping away only a few minutes before midnight; earrings off

- HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!!! 

runnin 'round town

This dress has been the MVP of my Christmas break! I scored it for $20 on sale at Urban Outfitters, and it's just so versatile and comfy for winter dressing. I can't stop wearing it. P.S. Who knew Pacsun has some really cool stuff??? I went in to get a Christmas present for a girl I used to babysit for and came out with this super sweet fringe top and a new space/galaxy shirt, as well!!

So that pretty much sums up my winter shopping. In other news, I have recently decided to train for a half marathon. I'm so excited! I started my 8-week training program yesterday. It's going to take a lot of work and re-prioritizing in my schedule, but I feel confident that I can do it. It's actually a pretty reasonable training plan; there are three rest days each week, so I'll make those my busiest days, aka when I have most of my classes. Do any of you guys run? I've gone through running phases off and on in the past but never done anything like this. Wish me luck!

Oh, also, I'll be guest blogging on the Publix Georgia Marathon blog about my experience. Keep an eye out on my twitter for links to my posts and stuff if you're interested!

wearing: silence+noise dress, pacsun fringe top, thrifted necklace, purse, and dr. martens

decemberies (december memories)

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve!! I've been in Dallas with my family for a few days now, and it's been so wonderful. I'm really diggin' having all this time off work and a lighter work load in general. I'm also especially enjoying my instagram feed since everyone's in the holiday spirit! I hope you're having a great week, regardless of which holiday(s) you celebrate. December is such a great time! 

Here's some appropriately titled Norah:

"you have a freak flag but just don't fly it"

I couldn't resist this sweater. At all.

Happy one week till Christmas!!!!!!

wearing: thrifted sweater, h&m hatband, thrifted backpack, thrifted dr. martens

colla poppin'/show stoppin'

For some reason, the title of this post is a random phrase (I guess I made it up at some point?) that pops into my head from time to time. Reason #3847807 why I think I might be able to be a good rapper. Or possibly that I should write children's books. Either one sounds good to me!

So, I'm wrapping up my finals on Thursday, and besides that, it's time for the holidays! Having Bonnie here to visit has been lovely, and then early next week I'll head home to Dallas to see my family and high school friends. SO HAPPY.

Oh, and isn't my new cuff from Jazzy-the-great so... great??? She's insane amazing. 

P.S. These booties are the most expensive thing I've bought it probably four or five years. They were $75 at the Topshop opening in Chicago. Worth it. 

wearing: thrifted crop top, thrifted sheer button-down, thrifted necklace and purse, second-hand jeans (buffalo exchange dallas), topshop booties, hivenj cuff.