Merry Christmas!

For all my Christmas-celebrating readers, Merry Christmas!! Christmas Eve and Christmas Day tend to be busy days for me and my family, and this year is no exception. I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays depending on which you'd prefer!

Image from: here.

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

What's a holiday song that everyone knows but we can add a few different twists to? The Twelve Days of Christmas!!! There are so any different versions of this song that I'm not even sure what to do with them anymore. So, I'll share the same song that I did last year because it was and still is my favorite song for the holidays. I'm not exactly sure why, but it is!

Happy Holidays, dear readers!!
Love,
Sara :)

Smelling Candles

Have you ever gone into a candle store, like Yankee Candle, just to smell the different candles? No? Oh....awkward... Well, I do. Not a lot, but mostly during the holiday season because that's when they have the good smelling candles (in my opinion at least). This year I ended up buying one such candle, thinking I would give it to my mom for Christmas, but that probably won't happen because I realized that my dad will probably not really appreciate the smell of the candle, nor will anyone else because it smells like Christmas cookies. Like that's what the scent is called: Christmas Cookie. It smells like freshly baked sugar cookies when they first come out of the oven. Maybe it would be a good one to give to my grandmother, she would love something like that I feel, not to mention she always has freshly baked cookies when we are over....must be a grandmother thing.
Anyways, some of my favorite candles are still gingerbread, cinnamon and sugar, apple cider, and one that is now at the studio where I work called Home Sweet Home. I found myself stopping throughout my day today to smell it, it was relaxing and make me smile whenever I smelt it.

What kinds of candles do you guys get during this season? Fun ones?

Love,
Sara :)

I Passed!!!!

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it's really that exciting :P I am now Certified Personal Trainer!!

But that's the only thing that I have to share really today....it's less than a week before Christmas and I have done like nothing, so we shall be starting the Christmas/Holiday cards like tonight (after wrapping some presents. So much to do!

Love,

Sara :)

Help Your Mood During the Holidays

Have you ever gotten the winter blues? I know I have! And I still do. While I can't pin-point exactly what it is that gives me the blues, I would have to say that it is a combination of the longer nights and shorter days that make me feel like I'm getting less done each day, the fact that the month seems to go by faster (or maybe that's because I just changed my calendar to December and realized we are like half way through already...oops!), and it gets colder which never helps anyone (except Jack Frost). So, I went on a search for things that would help my mood (and yours too!) during these winter months. And some of the things that I found really surprised me! I'm going to list a few of them here and I really hope that this helps to brighten your holidays! :)
The scent of peppermint is a natural mood enhancer. This stuff not only smells really good (and tastes awesome) but it can increase your motivation and concentration! Who knew candy canes were so good for you?

Keep hydrated. Winter is a time when we tend to feel dryer, maybe not dehydrated so much as our skin gets dry and that's because the air outside is dryer. Make sure the keep your body hydrated, by drinking water and also using lotions to help with your dry or cracking skin! I suggest Pacifica Body Butter or Olay Body Lotion, both have worked really well for me in the past and I stick with them! Just because there is snow on the ground doesn't mean that we need to drink less water, if anything it means we need to keep drinking more even! This can also be applied to your hair, which may start to dry out more especially if it doesn't fully dry before you walk outside in the morning after your shower (guilty). For this switch to a hydrating conditioner instead, trust me it actually helps!

Also, keep exercising throughout the holiday season. I know we are all busy seeing relatives and shopping and trying to drive through heavy traffic and snow (at least up here in WI), but just 30 minutes a day, 3-4 days a week can really make a difference! Not only will you be staying healthy during the winter (when the majority of Americans put on the most weight all year), but exercising naturally makes you happy. This has to do with hormones which I won't get into right now because honestly, most people just don't care, just know that exercising can really make you happy!
What is the one thing that tends to be missing during winter months? Sunlight! Yes, our main source of Vitamin D, take some Vitamin D supplements during this sunless and cloud filled time (I will remind you that I am not a doctor and am not yet a certified personal trainer, so I'm not prescribing anything just giving out the advice I have heard, disclaimer over.).
And lastly, make sure you keep laughing and listening to awesome music! Both of these things are proved to help with those winter blues.

I hope that some of these things at least helped :P To start it off, I'm going to leave here an uplifting song that I am actually currently listening to (I'm not afraid to share my music!) and has put a smile on my face sitting here in my room in an over sized sweater and sweats....studying (after posting this).

Happy Holidays!
Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I have been seriously slacking lately and I am so sorry for that! On another note, I bring to you a video that made me smile and made me wish that I could do a color run/run around and throw chalk/dry paint at my friends. Seriously, not only is the video awesome, but the song is pretty awesome itself! It's called "The City" by Madeon. I would love to see these guys in concert cause I really an enjoying their music!

On another not, I am taking my test on Thursday and as long as I pass, then my stress will be greatly diminished, meaning I will once again have time for stuff in my life! Think of it like finals, and I have one last one on Thursday, which, if passed (just like school) means that my stressing is over! :D I'm trying to not think about how this test could decide my future but 'tis quite difficult...wish me luck!

Anywho! Back to the music! I hope that you enjoy both this video and the music that goes with it! I'm going to go and review some more and take a practice test.

Love you all,
Sara :)

How I End a Long Week

Alright, how do you end a long week? I end it curled up on a couch, eating saltines (yesterday it was frozen yogurt), and watching American Pickers. Bother...Friday the 13th has not been kind to me...but look! A cat in my sick drawer!!!

Love,

Sara

Musica Monday

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to block out the world and sit around with a cup of hot cocoa, a great book, and a crackling fireplace? Well, I've been having several of those lately. Now, normally I would do my best to get out and be social, but this two job thing is really wearing on me and I just had a day off after working for thirteen straight , but I suppose that is the real world isn't it? I really should not complain because I brought this upon myself, but it is quite tiring and if you were to somehow talk to Matt he can attest to me being quite tired and such for a while now. I think we all sometimes just need a day to curl up on the couch (or for me, a booth at Fiddleheads...same thing really!) and not have to answer to anyone for a while. On top of it all, I've finally scheduled my CPT test, and it is now December 19th. Wish me luck! It's less than two weeks away!
So, today I leave you with some Fountains of Wayne, mostly cause they are an easy listening group that really does have some great songs. For instance, I leave for you the first song of theirs that I ever heard: Mexican Wine. Enjoy friends!! :D

Love,
Sara :)

Loki Had Kids: a Short Mythology Lesson

Yes, Loki had children. According to Norse mythology, Loki had three children. The first was a son, named Fenrir, the second was another son, Jormungand, and the third was a daughter named Hel. They all lived in Asgard, until Odin got tired of them and their evilness, he was even warned by another god to be wary that they will endanger him and his own family. Jormungand was thrown into the sea by Odin, he is often depicted as a giant snake that bites his own tail. Loki's daughter, Hel, was sent to guard the underworld, where she would live with and look out for the dead, which she accepted without complaint. Fenrir, a wolf, was simply kept under observation as he did not seem to be much different from other wolves, until he started growing larger and larger each day. At some point he got too large for the comfort of his fellow gods, they realized that since they could not kill him, they needed to get him and his evil blood out of Asgard. They attempted to tie him up with chains called Laeding, which he breaks without much of a problem. They tried a second time, this time tying him up with chains called Dromi, which was twice as strong as the Laeding, these he too was able to break. In a panic, Odin turned to the dwarves to create a chain strong enough to hold his grandson. The chain they created was called Glepnir, which was made of some very strange things...like a woman's beard and fish spittle (yea, idk, found this in a mythology book!). When the gods attempted to put this rope around Fenrir, he demanded that as an act of good faith one of Odin's sons put his hand in Fenrir's mouth. So, Tyr (a son of Odin) put his hand in Fenrir's mouth and as the rope tightened around Fenrir, his mouth ended up tightening around Tyr, who ended up loosing his hand over this whole ordeal. He is then gagged with a sword and waits for the end of the world, which Norse mythology refers to as Ragnarok. There are some references to Fenrir breathing fire, but that part is unclear. Fenrir was, in the end, killed by Vidar (another son of Odin) during Ragnarok.

Uffdah! Well, there's an information dump for you! I'm sorry it's not terrifically written, but I thought it was interesting. I also picked up a fiction book called Fenrir, which I am anxiously waiting to read.

Oh! Note! For the next two weeks, I am going to be super stressed because my CPT exam is the 19th! Here's to hoping that I pass!!! Talk about nerve wracking! But on the plus side, my new job as a soon-to-be-personal-trainer is really teaching me a lot and I'm super excited to get started!

I hope you enjoyed the mini history lesson!

Love,

Sara :)

Secret Santa

This is the first of my holiday posts, there will be several this month because I really love this time of year. Also, because I really want to share things with you all or as many people as read this :P
When I was in younger, me and my cousins used to do a secret santa sort of thing for Christmas. Grandma used to say that it would encourage us to talk to each other and that it was fun, but honestly I think it was also just a way for her to ensure that we all actually came to Christmas, wherever it was being held that year. It was always a bit rigged because our parents would agree on who should get what gift for whom because of ages and shopping interest. Anyways, we stopped doing that about four or five years ago simply because there was no longer a consistent amount of cousins that would come to Christmas each year.
This year, me and five friends have decided to bring back this idea and are having our very own version of a Secret Santa, and I am super excited!! :D It's a lit of fun and a great way to test yourself on how well you know your friends or family! In order to pick someone and keep it a secret, we ended up writing out a list of what we wanted and putting our names on the top, then folding them up and dropping them into a stocking, where we each pulled out one name. Obviously, you pull your own name, put it back and try again. We are doing our exchange December 14th (I think) so I have until then to figure out what to get one of my friends.
As in any good girl's night in, there were also board games and wine involved. Ideal? I think so :)

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

Let's talk for a little bit about consistency. Or more, let's talk about inconsistency. Which is more important? We like it when our schedules and even the people around us are consistent. But what about our music? We seem to like a certain amount of consistency, but we are bothered when an artist or band does not change up their style often enough. Well, I'm here with a band that has made some changes to their latest album, which isn't so recent, but that's ok! This is Fall Out Boy with their song "Just One Yesterday", which I have become a big fan of! It is a bit different than their other songs, and I must say that I don't think that is a bad thing. Having a sort of variety is really an asset for them! I especially love the added female voices in this song, from Foxes.
Enjoy!

Love,
Sara :)

Just....Wow!

A little treat for you guys right before Thanksgiving, just in case you haven't seen these guys before, they are freaking amazing!! Plus I have to go to work again soon....these are the long days with two jobs :P

Love,
Sara :)

New Favorites 1

Since I started blogging more and more, I have started reading the blogs of other people, and getting some ideas from there. While the majority of ideas have remained mine, there are a few that have come out of what I have noticed and learned from other blogs. This post is one such example. While I can not pinpoint exactly what blog I picked this up from (and maybe it was Pinterest! I have been spending a lot of time there lately...), I can say that this seems to be a pretty popular subject and I thought I would try my hand at it! Let me know what you think!

I'm going to start with some simple things, which does not say much since I only have like four things to share here for this first attempt. This is not so much of an "If Only..." post (which I do have!) and more of a post of things I have that I love!
The first thing I want to share are my headphones. I have a bright orange pair of Beats by dr. dre and I love them so much! The sound quality is great and they are as comfortable as can be.

Second, I have a new body butter that I am really enjoying. It's by a company called Pacifica, which is a 100% vegan and cruelty free company with some really neat products! I currently have a lip tinter by them, some water-based cleansing wipes, and this body butter. It smells like Tuscan Blood Orange (how many times can you say that?!) and works wonders for my skin. I would highly recommend this brand, which can be found most places or online. Also, yes, that is a dinosaur standing next to the body butter, be jealous!!

Next add-on is my favorite new candle. Now, this is a little weird for me because generally, I'm not a big fan of candles because they are a constant risk of fires and I was always worried that they would set off the smoke alarms and I never wanted that. This candle, however changed my view on candles surprisingly. Not only does this candle smell pretty good, it also has a wooden wick, which as of right now means that it burns with a noise that reminds me of a fire in the fireplace. The slow crackle of the flames is actually quite soothing and is a pleasant background noise for my bedroom.

Alright guys, this is my first "New Favorites" post, let me know what you think!
Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

I have to admit to watching quite a few documentaries over the past few days (mostly while I've been cleaning and on study breaks) and I've come to several realizations. Not only am I rethinking whether or not I want to try being vegan and trying to figure out how to have a healthy diet while living in my parents' house where I don't do the grocery shopping, but also why it is that women are misrepresented in society and how we can all help ourselves and increase our own self-worth just by looking in the mirror and telling ourselves that we value what we are right now. Ok, I guess I also learned about run-ons, but my point being that life is about being ourselves and that while things can be hard while we try to find our place in society, but there is always the view that life is as good as we make it.
This song for today is one that really talks about what we can find in life, the main words "life's not about what's better". Ladies and gentlemen and pups and kitties of all ages, I introduce you to the John Butler Trio and their song "Better Than". I should add too that I actually heard this song at the end of one of my documentaries that I watched called "Hungry for Change". This just goes to show that you should always listen to the music playing during the credits because you would be amazed what music you can find there! This is at least the second song for my Musica Mondays that I have found from the credits of a movie/documentary/TV show. Enjoy! :)

I personally enjoy this live version of the song more, I'm not sure why but that's just how it is I guess :P

Love,
Sara :)

Afternoon in Chicago

A friend of mine from college is looking at grad schools and was looking at the SIAC, and since I haven't seen her in a month (well, since homecoming :P) I decided to go down and meet up with her and meet her new boyfriend. I really had a wonderful time hanging out with them and doing stuff. I just wanted to share a few of the pictures I took with my camera phone (yes, you heard right, an actual camera is definitely on my wish list for Christmas!) while down there.

You have to admit that Chicago really is a beautiful city! I always enjoy visiting there. These first six pictures are all taken from Millennium Park which is pretty close to Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago. A great place to visit if you've never been there and are looking for somewhere to go while in this great city!

These next two pictures are taken at an art show that we went to at SAIC. The building itself was beautiful and there was so much interesting art that I wasn't sure where to start. I did not end up buying anything here but I do wish that I had since there were so many beautiful things here.

These next two are of dragon ornaments that I found that are absolutely freaking adorable! Please say no to those faces! I somehow managed to...

And being me, we found the Barnes & Nobles, along with an awesome book that I was tempted to get for Matt from Christmas :P Shockingly, I left the bookstore without any books!!! This is something that like never happens!

This is just a sweet sculpture near where we were walking downtown, I thought it was note worthy because it looked so cool :P

The last thing that we did tonight was going out for dinner. All I am willing to say about the place, Dick's Last Resort, is that if you haven't been there before you really should head over there and experience it! Just go do it now!

Love,
Sara :)

Chibi Means Cute

Ok, so I'm not sure that the word 'chibi' actually means cute but that's not the point here. Chibi drawings are always freaking adorable, so I went around the internet and found some of the cutest chibi drawings ever! :P

Who can say no to these adorable Supernatural boys? :P

And Naratu? Seriously?!

And the worst! Ookami!!

Love,

Sara :)

Mini Soapbox: Thanksgiving Forgotten?

Why is it that all the stores all over are already advertising for the holiday season? I mean, I am as much a fan if decorating for Christmas, doing holiday crafts and cards, and celebrating, but what happened to thanksgiving?! I'm getting the feeling that people are forgetting about Christmas. We live in a society so materialistic and single-minded that we can go from celebrating and being thankful for what we have, to everyone rushing to the stores on Black Friday in irder to get the best deals on more stuff. Sigh, in all this rush I think we forget the true meaning of the holiday season and thanksgiving. This is a time to celebrate with friends and family and realize what we have and what we can give to those who do not have what we do. While ideally this is something that should be practiced year round, at least there is one time of year when nearly everyone realizes that we can share what we have.

Where did this rant come from? Well, I was on Pinterest today and I read a quote about how materialistic our society is and realizing that for the past two hours I had been pinning things that have to do with decorating for thanksgiving and Christmas and planning parties. I came to the sudden realization that I do the same thing at this time of year, when it is before thanksgiving and Christmas and all I want to do is celebrate. I can't wait until I have somewhere I can do these things and I was thinking about what I would do when I suddenly realized what I was thinking about. Wow, reality check!

So, this rant us really just that, a rant. I guess I am a little annoyed today with all of the materialism going on around me. I will have to share later what I do to help this during the holiday season and throughout the rest of the year too. I will probably be back to being slightly more materialistic later on, but I guess this is just a bit of food for thought.

So, maybe this year I can buy a turkey not for myself (since I'm a vegetarian and don't eat turkey) but for someone who might not have one this year! I believe it was last year that California ran out if turkey's for thanksgiving? Sounds like there's lots of people who could use help or at least a little bit of assistance with some things. I'm not sure exactly what I'm talking about now but I guess I must have made my point somewhere in this languish rant! I hope you guys are having a great week and I'll be back with less....depressing?...stuff later :)

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

Sometimes all you want to do after a long day of works listen to some calming music that will not put you to sleep. I started my second job as a personal trainer today (more I shadowed for five hours, and learned quite a bit about what I need to do when I get certified) after working this morning at my current job as a direct care professional. Yea, between the two jobs I worked 14 hours today, so, it has been a long day for me. On the plus side, more working means more money which means I can move out sooner! I'm looking forward to this because I really want to be out of my own, which I have discussed before so I won't get into that right now. Anyways, the song that I am sharing today is called "Big Talker" by These Modern Socks. Look them up! Enjoy, friends!

Love,
Sara :)

Achievement: New Job!

I got a job, and to make it even better, it's one that gets me even closer to my dream (well, kinda is the start of my goal of being a personal trainer). I got a job at a place called Pulse Personal Training as one of their personal trainers. I start on Monday, and by start I mean I will be shadowing the other three personal trainers at the center. I am super excited and look forward to learning more and more about this field and everything in it! Hopefully working up to being able to do my own stuff at my own center someday! That'd be my dream as of right now, but who knows where any of us will be in the future! I for sure don't know! Life is an adventure and I plan on having fun :)

Love,
Sara :)

Musica Monday

It snowed!! Yea, it's later than it usually does in Minnesota (where I've heard it's already snowing), but I'm back in Wisconsin right next to Lake Michigan again this year, so we got our first snow today. It was more like a dusting of snow that froze all the water that came from the rain and required a brushing off one side of the car with a hand quick. But there is something about the first snow of the season that, no matter how early, gets me kinda excited. I think it's because snow usually comes with much happier times, with the holidays approaching and such, but I'm not sure, it is a little early for snow....I mean, we haven't had Thanksgiving yet! Bother....such is life in the midwest!

Now I couldn't find a good video for the song today, but I thought that it would be appropriate :) It's called "First Snow" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Enjoy!

Love,

Sara :)

Pinning: Fun Bookshelves

Pretty much my entire life I have been a big reader. When I was little and my parents were first starting their own company, they would have meetings, I would come along with a stack of books and stay quiet throughout the meeting while reading my books. Apparently, it worked no matter where we were, too!
While surfing Pinterest this week I found a few different bookshelves that I just couldn't pass up and had to share with you! So, enjoy!

What do you guys think? I'd love to have a little cubby among my books to read in, not gonna lie!

Love,

Sara :)

If Only....BOOTS!!!

Why is it that wherever I go online I find boots that I simply love and want to have? Why is it also that I am so hesitant to wear the boots that I own? Fun fact: I know why. While I have cloths that fit boots, I just don't wear them that way. Because I run around so much I don't tend to wear anything other than tennis shoes, my ninja shoes (for parkour), or TOMS. But that doesn't mean that I can't look at the sweet boots I see! I also have the issue of wanting to buy said boots, mostly for fancy occasions...when I wear ballet slipper style or...converse...yea...I'm that girl! Hah!

I'm going to start with pair of combat boots. Yes, you heard right: combat boots. I have a thing for combat boots. I mean they are fun and tough and not to mention I feel like Maka from 'Soul Eater' and who wouldn't want that?! Ok, this pair is from Forever 21, I'm not sure why I don't just go down and buy a pair but I'm not, so they are here on my wish list!

The second pair is from one of my favorite places to shop from: Modcloth. This pair is a bit fancier and nicer looking than my Forever 21 boots, but hey, I need something for when I wear prettying dresses! I know lots of people say black is better for boots, but for these I think that lots of dresses and dress pants look almost better with brown. Personal preference for what that's worth.

My third pair I really just couldn't pass up. They are a higher boot and black, but I really love them! They are from Journeys, and they look pretty badass! So, you now know that I have a thing for both combat boots and apparently for buckles... Huh! I learned something new about myself!

So, what do you think of my boot choices? I'm a fan! :P

I also should explain that I just got a new computer (yay!!!) and it's a desktop! It's exciting because I got it at Best Buy for a nice discount! This does mean that I just finished transfering all of my settings onto this new computer and for some reason this post didn't post when I originally 'posted' it yesterday while I was in the middle of my 24-hour transfer (I really should have gone through and gotten rid of the unnecessary things on my laptop....).

I will say that I am keeping my laptop since it's a bit of a hassle to carry around a desktop to coffee shops and around the world so I'm not even going to go there. Blogging during my travels will still happen to the best of my ability and I look forward to putting this new computer (and my old one until my dad goes out and personally sells it himself...) to the best use I can!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

I'm not usually one for country music, I mean I listen to it often enough but it is not one of my favorite genres by far. I'm much more of an indie and alternative girl myself. But lately I've become hooked on a crazy song by Hunter Hayes. Alright, that was my attempt at being funny, I won't try it again :P The song is called "I Want Crazy", and it honestly reminds me about my own current relationship which is going very well. Today was one of those days that I got to spend lots of time with Matt and we had a lot of fun hanging out and going and doing stuff together. I admit to dragging him to the library and half-price books, but he didn't object! This is the type of relationship I've always searched for, because it is in no way perfect and neither him nor I are perfect but we both try hard and seem to be perfect for each other. I found someone to be silly with, who accepts and loves me for being me, and treats me well! This song reminds me of my ideal relationship because it involves doing some crazy things that make you both happy. I fully support love of any shape and size because in my opinion love is love, and you can't argue with the heart (it doesn't have a mouth or ears so it  doesn't care what you say).

Love,
Sara :)

Books Books Books: The Rover

I've been searching for a good, light-hearted fantasy book that included all of the classic fantasy components: wizards, magic, dragons, dwarfs, and, of course, lots of history. I finally found one! Being able to travel to this other world really helped out my mental state, which has been consisted of me wandering around like a zombie because I'm so tired lately.

Anyways, here's my review for Mel Odom's The Rover.

"A great, lighthearted story that kept me turning pages all night! While parts reminded me of The Lord of the Rings, it really was very much its own story. Well-written and captivating! A great read for any sword-wielder and dragon believer, a pretty simple read."

Go pick it up and read it fellow knights and adventurers!!

My next read looks to be (finally) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship if the Rings. Yes, I know I'm a bit behind on the times but this is the first time in like years I've had enough time to sit down and actually read something! And on that note I actually have to study :P yes, it never does really end. Beware!

 

Love,

Sara

Happy Halloween!!!

It is Halloween, so Happy Hallow's Eve to all you lovely people out here!! Since it's been a busy day here for me (I'm distributing my muffins which have gone over SUPER well, had dinner with the family, lunch with Matt, and it's all crazy here! But that's life :P) I'm kinda going to go a little lazy on you all today.
I will share a few things with you first. Just a little information about Halloween for you to start off. Halloween (or All Hallow's Eve) is an old Christian Celtic holiday that starts a period of time for honoring the old Christian saints and martyrs. Well, that's my fun fact for today! I hope that you all have a fun and safe Halloween!!
Also, enjoy this AMV for my favorite Halloween song and one of my favorite mangas: Soul Eater!

Love,
Sara :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

So when I decided to make these muffins this morning, the only thing I realized I didn't have were milk chocolate chips (who'd of thought?!) and the pumpkin purée. The chocolate chips were easy enough to find, but the pumpkin purée proved to be harder to find. I went to four different grocery stores before I found a can of pumpkin purée. Sigh....how was it so hard? Apparently, it has been a bad year for pumpkins.
Anyways, pumpkin purée problems aside, there's a fall recipe that I want to share with you all! I haven't had goo luck with muffin recipes in the past, but this one actually turned out really well, so I'm excited!! I'm writing this as I watch a marathon oh 'The Haunted' on Animal Planet. This recipe is for a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, which a perfect not only for fall but for Halloween because of their orange and black coloring!

Ingredients
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup canned puréed pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F and grease a muffin tin for 12 muffins.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk,  oil and pumpkin until smooth.
Fold in your chocolate chips. Use as many as you want, depends how chocolaty you want your muffins to be!
Scoop evenly into your muffin tin. (For this you can also use smaller muffin slots if you want, it's up to you and depends how many muffins you want to make.)
Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Best when they are warm, but delicious no matter what!

For me, this recipe made 12 good sized muffins.

I am sorry that my grammar has been going badly over the past few posts, that's what I get for typing on an iPad instead of my computer and for not double checking my work after...apologies!

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

I'm visiting the punk pop world for this Musica Monday. but first I want to clear up some things. Just because a song is referred to as pop, that doesn't make them a 'popular' band. Allow me to explain briefly: what 'pop' means is that the music is derived from 1950s style rock and roll, which was considered popular music at the time. While the terms 'pop' and 'popular' are used interchangeably, 'popular' music can refer to any genre of music and not specifically to 'pop' music. 'Pop' music tendsto be short to medium length songs that follow a simple chorus-refrain pattern and often times repeat the same melody over again. 'Punk' music is also interestingly enough derived from the same base: rock and roll, only this time from the 1970s in the USA, UK, and Australia. These songs tend to be short and often times politically motivated with at DIY ethic (meaning usually bands use their own record label to produce their music). Just thought you might like to know!
The band I want to introduce you to today is a combination of these two genres in one. They did in fact use their own recording studio, and their songs aren't too long, but they also use the chorus-refrain pattern in many of their songs. This band's two main members actually announced in July that they are expecting their first child this November. I'm introducing you to the Dollyrots. They have a unique sound that I've become a fan of simply due to their intense beat and the fact that they aren't afraid to be themselves and try something a little bit different. They've been around since 2000 and I hope that you guys enjoy this song of theirs called 'Satellite'.

Love,
Sara :)

Carved Pumpkins 2013

Yesterday I posted about the pumpkin farm and today I'm posting about what happened post-pumpkin farming. Pumpkin carving, whether we mean to or not, always tells something about the one who carves it. For instance, a person who carves a Pokemon into his or her pumpkin has probably just bought the most recent DS game or is a collector, plus they've got some sort of talent to be able to carve something like that. I too would like to think that our pumpkins tell a little bit about the people who carved them. My pumpkin (the first picture) is of a surprised pumpkin face with my own hands on the sides as if its hands are on its cheeks in shock and surprise. It feels this way because of the other three pumpkins, which include a Bat-signal for Batman, a big-eyed cat, and a wolf howling at the mood. With that combination, who wouldn't be a little shocked? It is I suppose a bit like seeing the superheros together...you got Batman, Catwoman, and....Wolfman?

And night time wouldn't be any less scary, although my pumpkin is starting to look a bit like a scarecrow or a witch or a mix between the two....but hey! It was a spur of the moment carve! I was the only one who didn't plan out what I was going to carve. 

I still say that one of the best parts of carving the pumpkins was not just the carving of them but also the removing of pumpkin guts, as well as having coffee and good talks with friends and family. These both were in abundance the night we carved pumpkins.

Love,

Sara :)

Picking Pumpkins 2013

When I was younger, my family used to go out and get pumpkins for carving at local pumpkin patches and I remember loving going out on the tractor rides and picking my pumpkin off the vine. However, as my family grew and stuff began happening, it got harder and harder or my family to go out and do these things such as picking out pumpkins and even picking out Christmas trees (not to mention my mother turned out to be allergic to the real trees), it even went so far as my family didn't carve pumpkins this year for trick-or-treating! Well, this year is my first year back from college and Matt and his family ensured that I started out carving pumpkins for Halloween. But first we went out to get pumpkins this morning at a pumpkin patch about 20 minutes away. I was brought back to my childhood memories of running around and finding the perfect pumpkin.

This is the small group of us who went out this past Saturday to pick pumpkins. Wen ended up with quite the haul of pumpkins, both big and small, and gourds. We got four pumpkins to be carved and each pumpkin was less than $10, which is quite awesome and is why we go to this particular farm I guess. My pumpkin was 27 lbs, and I got three miniature pumpkins that I may paint later on, one of them being white! I love the white pumpkins because they always look the coolest! I'll post pictures of the carved pumpkins next! But I hope that you all are enjoying fall (if you have it, parts of Minnesota and I hear New York already have snow!). Fall is definitely my first or second favorite season because of all the colors and going pumpkin harvesting just adds to the colorfulness of the season! I look forward to hearing about your fall traditions and how Halloween goes for you.

Love,

Sara :)

Musica Monday

For today's Musica Monday, I'm going back in time to 1985 and an old song that I remember listening to. A single by A-ha, later found on their album Hunting High and Low, I present to you the song "Take Me On". A-ha was formed in 1982 in Oslo, Norway and performed through 1994, they then had a reunion that lasted 1998-2010. They are considered a new wave and synthpop group. Their other famous single was "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."

I guess I just wanted to also share this music video with you because it's quite cute and not really like what we see in music videos anymore.

The band split in 1994 because their records stopped selling, their fifth album, Memorial Beach, failed to achieve the success that they had achieved in their past albums. In 1998, they reunited to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. After this concert, the band recorded their sixth album, Minor Earth Major Sky, whichever sang nearly as good as their old stuff in my personal opinion. I shouldn't say that, instead if you listen to their newer songs like "I Wish I Cared", nothing has changed, they didn't do anything different with their music which does make them consistent, but also makes them boring and uninteresting as far as changes go, mostly because they didn't change. Don't get me wrong, they aren't bad, but I've lost interest since they didn't evolve really.

What do you guys think?

Love,

Sara :)

Pinning Pumpkins

I've seen painted pumpkins before on Pinterest for Halloween, but they never seemed to be as big as they are this year! People are really getting creative with this different version of decorating for Halloween. I do understand the draw for like younger kids: less of a mess for the parents to clean up, but it still stands that I have found myself more and more interested in trying out one or some of these new pumpkin ideas myself this year. Now, I haven't done my Halloween decorating yet this year, but I will be getting on that as soon as I have a day off of work...so next weekend? I'm not sure when that will be exactly, but when I do get to my pumpkins I will for sure share them with you! For now, here are some painted pumpkins that I have been pinning on Pinterst lately!

From here

From here

From here

From here

From here

Also, you can follow me on Pinterst here.

Lastly, Matt just got Pokemon X and is very unwilling to go to bed tonight even though he works early tomorrow morning because he wants to play :P It's amusing and adorable!

Love,

Sara