Goodbye 2011, Helloooo 2012!!

Whew, it has been a long time since I sat in front of my computer and wrote. Why? Because my Christmas present this year was my computer crashing on me. Thankfully, I brought it in and they fixed it up to perfection!! I had a whole week without my computer and actually I didn't realize how much time I spend surfing the net. I had all this time on my hands that I didn't know what to do with. It was a good week of movie watching and cat cuddling, and now its back to facebooking and blogging (maybe me computer should crash more often...) 

Anywho, I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and for those who didn't celebrate it, I hope you had a wonderful day! Personally, I love Christmas. It's one of my favorite holidays of the whole year, besides my birthday of course :) Now Christmas is over and we're moving onto the new year. It's time to ditch those new years resolutions, because you already know you're not going to go through with them. Don't worry about losing that twenty pounds or making five new friends, just start the year fresh and whatever happens, happens. So with that, Happy New Year everyone!! Say goodbye to 2011 and say hello to 2012!!

Talkative Tuesdays- Just another day in paradise

It's love <3

I had my last two finals today!! I am officially done with school  for a monthish, feels so good! Now I can put my procrastination skills to better use, like sleeping and napping and other activities that involve laying in bed............ Other than kicking exam butt, today has consisted of cleaning and relaxin' with my fur ball, which I consider my paradise. Nothing is better than snugglin' up to my kitty and listening to some music. I forced him into yet another webcam photo shoot, he loves it. Oh! fun fact, my cleaning turned into dancing which then turned into recording it. I have wicked dance moves yo.

Anywhooooo, I had to drop off my textbooks today at the UPS store and let me give you a little pointer. DO NOT ever go there right when they open. I almost had a heart attack! For starters, I never went to this particular UPS store before, which was also connected to their warehouse. So I get there right when all the big brown trucks are getting ready to leave and I pull into the parking lot and just get bombarded with about fifty trucks. I'm in my little ol' Oldsmobile thinking I'm about to be run over and they just keep flying by me. I started to tear up (because I'm a crier in these types of situations) and drive out of there because I freaked and didn't know what to do. 

Short story shorter, I waited in the opposite building's parking lot for all the trucks to leave before I made my way in. I finally dropped my package off after waiting in line for twenty minutes. There are surprisingly a lot of people that like to drop packages off that early too. Conclusion, I probably won't ever go back there again, unless it's after 9:30am.  

So goodbye, au revoir, bless, arrivederci, zayt gezunt, and g'dayyyyyyyyyyy

xoxo

kelly elizabeth

Reminiscing....

Hello bloggers, it's been a while. Just a quick update, I do have a delicious Christmas recipe coming up for you guys. I'm so excited to make them!! But enjoy this little tid-bit for the time being. :)

So Dana over at The Wonder Forest got me looking into old pictures on my computer and rethinking those days that they were taken. I wanted to share with you guys some of my favorite ones.

This one was taken a little over a year ago during the fall months. We went to a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins for Halloween and of course the whole thing turned into one big photo op. This photo has to be my favorite from that day though, it just makes me feel like everything looked so simple. Also, the fact that I was getting a wagon ride makes it that much better. I love it!!  

Here's another good one. This picture was taken during Toga Day. For those of you who have no idea what Toga Day is, it's a day for all the seniors to dress up in togas during homecoming week. It's really just a day for all the girls to deck out in their Greece wear and the boys to go commando underneath their togas (yes, it happens). 

This little boy filled my heart for most of the year last year. I babysat him for a good amount of the year and he was the most amazing kid I ever met. He's only four years old and I could probably bet he's smarter than Albert Einstein. This kid knew everything, he taught me something new every day and I couldn't miss him more. This is also my favorite picture of him and I can't help but smile when I see it. :)

This picture was taken back in 2010 when I took a trip to Peru. We stayed for two weeks and ended the last four days with a hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. This photo was taken on the second day and this was the view that I woke up too. Let me tell you, it was breath taking, the picture just does not do justice. This is by far the best view I have ever seen and waking up to something like this is indescribable.

That's it, those are just a few of my favorite pictures from last year. It's amazing all the memories one little photo can hold. I hope you all enjoyed them! 

xoxo

kelly elizabeth

Don't Stress!!

For students like me it's that time of year again. No, not Christmas. Final exams (dun dun dun)!! The week of hair pulling, nail biting, and late night cram sessions. Why we put ourselves through this stress, I don't know, I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm in the same boat as everyone else and I'm beginning to feel the stresses of all the things I need to get done and handed in. I continue to tell myself to try and take a break every once and a while and return to the workload later (it really helps) And remember, your life will not end if you do poorly on one stinkin' exam. Calm down, take a breather, and RELAX! 

I came across a few simple ways to relive your worries and wanted to share them with you. Hopefully some of these easy stress relievers will help you along the next few weeks. Enjoy!!

Balloon Stress Balls

(Click the image to view the full tutorial) 

These simple lentil stress ball are super easy to make and will really help get some stress off your back. I found these fabulous little guys on the Disney Family Fun site.  They take only a few minutes to make! Go ahead, squeeze some balls (I had to, sorry!) 

Take a short walk

When stress has got the best of you, stop everything, get up, and take a walk!! I know it's cold outside (in most places) right now but suck it up. Breathing in some fresh air will wake you up and re-energize you. Take a short stroll around your block or if you got a nice trail near your place, take it! I'm not saying you have to look as happy as the lady in the picture, but if you are, all the power to ya.

Chamomile Tea

I absolutely LOVE chamomile. I drink it all the time a hour or two before I start getting ready for bed. It helps me wind down and get a good night sleep, especially during exam week. Chamomile also has so many health benefits like helping with eczema and stomach cramps. It also helps cure anxiety, which is really great for those who get nervous or anxious around exam time. My favorite way to brew it is to fill my cup up and pour in the honey. So yummy!!

LUSH Bath Bombs

(click the image to view the LUSH site)

I don't know about you guys, but baths are pretty fricken amazing. Sitting in a tub of warm water, music playing, and candles burning is one of the best feelings ever. I recently discovered LUSH, a bath and cosmetics company. They make homemade hair products, skincare, and also their fabulous bath bombs. You throw them in the tub or even a shower and they explode with wonderful scents. The "Ne Worry Pas" bomb is made to wash away your worries and help you calm down. It's made with soy milk which helps your skin feel soft and refreshed. Take a look at their super fun site and maybe you'll fall in love just like me.

Tuna

I'm not a big fan of tuna, but when I saw all the health benefits of eating it, I might actually try it out. Tuna or any source of fatty fish is great for a quick mood lifter. Tuna has Omega-3 fatty acids that improves the flow of blood throughout the body. The acids affect hormones that have an important effect on brain function which will boost your mood and get you up and going again. If you don't like eating it alone I found this amazing looking casserole that is also super healthly! Check it out!

(click the image to view the recipe)

SMILE

It's really that simple! Think of something that puts a smile on your face. It's proven research that smiling causes your body to release feel-good chemicals called endorphins, which helps relieve stress. Hopefully this picture of an adorable blog kitten will do just that! Kitten's make me smile. It's also been studied that just thinking about a smile can do the same. So if it's physically impossible for you to smile or you just like looking grumpy, think about a smile and start feelin good!

I hope these quick and easy stress relievers help all you stressful students out there get through exam week. Most importantly, stay calm, it'll all be okay!!

-kelly elizabeth

Winter Snow Globes

These were really fun to make and of course, SUPER EASY!! There are so many different possibilities to do to make your own personalized snow globe. So give it a try!!

Materials Needed:
-Mason Jars, any shape or size (with lids to fit!)
-Glitter and more Glitter
-Figurines
- Glycerine
-Super Glue

To begin, grab the lid to your jar and glue the figurine to the bottom side of the lid. Then glue the lid with the figurine attached, to the inside of the jar screw thing. (I hope you know what I mean, I don't know what to call them. lol) 

Next, take your jar and fill it almost completely with water. They say to use distilled water, but I just used tap (no need to be fancy, right?) Account for the displacement of the water when you put the figurine in. Then drop a few drops of glycerine into the jar and stir. The glycerine helps the glitter to slow down and fall more nicely. Pour as much or as little of glitter in as you want, any color. 

Finally, screw the cap on and give it a little shake to shake up the glitter. You will notice some air bubbles, it is kind of hard to get rid of them but that's okay!! Set your homemade snow globe on a windowsill to get the best affect when the sun shines through. 

 

My favorite little snowman!!

Thanks guys!!

-kelly elizabeth

Talkative Tuesdays-an old friend

"Sometime people are beautiful,

 not in looks, not in what they say, 

just in the way they are."

-Anonymous 

Currently listening to: Alan Jackson- "Drive" 

Here goes the second installment of Talkative Tuesdays and today's talkative topic is this purdy little lady Nicole, Nikki, Nikita. The reason I'm dedicating this post to her is because she's coming home for the first time in a long time and I couldn't be more excited. She joined the Navy after graduating and has been in Texas for too long. Tomorrow will be the first time in a long time that she will be home. :) I'm still running off the excitement from the news when she told me this past weekend. Bria and I are driving down to Milwaukee right after class and picking her up at the airport. The airport scenes from movies continue to play through my head. The tears, the joy, and the laughter that will come when she steps into view...so exciting!  

So, of course, here's a little play by play of our beautiful life together. (How romantic)

  Nikki is my brother from another mother and has been since we were little munchkins playing state tag in the schoolyard. She's like my own personal Snookie (because of her height, not her ghettoness). We spent countless summers together going to the mall to shop but ending up only buying food, we were fat, no need to hate. Having my best friend live right down the street from me was probably one of the best things ever. Walk five minutes and ding dong, I'm there. Movie marathons were a weekly thing for us, many consisted of the crappy low budget horror movies. 

Side note: do not rent/purchase/watch The Bog Creatures!! 

Our friendship continued through middle school and into high school, through boyfriends, horrible teachers, and laughing silently like a retarded seal. Of course we had our fall outs, what friendship doesn't? But that doesn't matter now because all is good. I'm picking her little five foot booty up tomorrow and I'm going to give her the biggest bear hug that she's ever received. 

There's a million different stories I could tell you guys that involved Nikki. One night, we stayed up for hours laughing about different types of laughs. Like who does that? We were psychotic back then, I understand it now. On a camping trip with the fam fam, somehow I ripped a chunk of Nikki's hair out and juice boxes were flying everywhere. Or crying over Lost characters when they died or went missing, we were OBSESSED with that show. Watch it now, you'll be addicted. I could go on and on and I'm hoping the second we're reunited we can continue to make fools of ourselves and make memories. :) I miss you like crazy dude. 

Cinnamon and Pecan Monkey Bread

"Yummy yummy, I got love in my tummy" <3

By far my favorite recipe I have yet made. My bestie Bria helped out, which made it quite interesting. If you're on a diet this is definitely not the recipe for you, because there's more butter and sugar in it than in anything I have ever seen. But if you're looking to indulge for one night or two, stop drooling and get to it!

Ingredients needed:

3 packs dry yeast 

3/4 warm water

3 3/4 warm milk

1 c butter

3/4 c sugar

6 eggs

3 tsp. salt

9 cups flour 

bundt cake pan 

2 bags of chopped pecans

Caramel Sauce

2 c brown sugar

3/4 c butter 

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Sugar Mix

3 c sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 c melted butter

(These measurements work for 2 pans of bread!)

First, you may see that the measurements for all the ingredients are kinda messed up. That's because we kinda played around with them to see what would work best. These measurements work for 2 pans so cut in half if your wanting to only make one.

Alright lets begin :)

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Then slowly stir in the heated milk, making sure not to 'kill' the yeast by adding it too fast. Then add the beated eggs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Add the flour until dough is firm. Knead for about 6-8 minutes or until smooth then roll into a ball and throw it in a bowl, covered. Let it rise until it has doubled, about 2 hours. 

2. While waiting you can mix up the caramel sauce and sugar mix that you'll be using later. Bring to a boil the brown sugar, butter, and heavy whipping cream. Set aside. Then mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. Once the dough is done rising, beat down the air bubbles and starting forming into balls. It really doesn't matter the size. We made large ones and small ones, so whatever you like. Grab your pan and spray it with some non stick cooking spray then pour a small layer of the caramel sauce on the bottom. Take the dough balls and dip them in the melted butter then in the sugar mixture. Cover the bottom of the pan then cover with the caramel sauce and sprinkle with pecans. Repeat this with another layer.

It'll look something like this when your done with these steps. YUMMY!!!

4. Cover again and let rise for another 45 minutes or so. Once done, throw in the oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.  

Tip: We might have wanted to overload on the caramel sauce, but we saved some for when the bread was done and poured it over the finish product. 

If you try this out I hope you have as much fun as we did. It gets super messy but the turn out is SO GOOD!!!

Bottle Cap Magnets

WOOT WOOT, another tutorial!!

I have a whole shoe box full of bottle caps. Why, you may ask, because I'm a alcoholic. Blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol....kidding, I had my parents collect them from their favorite restaurant that they always go to. Not that   I had any idea what I was going to do with them, I just knew I would need them sometime. My first craft with bottle caps was making necklaces. I would drill some holes in the side and string some hemp through them. Those were probably my staple jewelry item of the year, I was obsessed with making them. I attempted at making coasters, but I'm not even going to discuss those. They were an epic fail. 

Story time!! 

I bought a magnetic whiteboard calendar a while back that only came with two blah boring magnets. I had more than only TWO pictures that I knew I wanted to hang up. So I thought to myself, 'Kelly, you have a whole shoe box of  bottle caps that are dying for your attention, use them!!' 

And look what fabulous creation was created!!!! 

These little babies are so simple to make (I say that a lot don't I?). Any who, all you do is glue a magnet to the backside of a bottle cap.When dried, print out your favorite pictures and cut them out in the shape of the bottle cap. Before doing this though, make sure the picture will actually fit inside the bottle cap, remember you don't have a lot space to work with. Shrinking the pictures before printing works really well, obvious  i know but I thought I would throw it in there anyway. Glue the picture on the inside of the cap and then slop some mod podge in there to seal in the goodness. You're finished!

Of course, there's hundreds of different ways you can do these. And think about it, if you don't have any bottle caps, go out and buy a six pack and drink until you do have some. :) Then you'll be super creative...

Waffle Cookies

Ingredients needed
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 eggs

To begin, mix the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls then combine and mix well. You'll end up with a big blob of gooey goodness. Probably ate a little too much of this dough....I couldn't help myself. We all do it, no judging. 

Next, heat up your waffle iron. Try to stay away from Belgium waffle makers, they're a little too deep for this cookie, regular waffle irons work fabulous. Coat the iron with some spray on Pam or any non-stick spray you have laying around the house. Once the iron heats up, drop a spoonful (about 1 Tbl) of the dough onto each section of the iron. Like so....

Close the lid and let cook for about 1 1/2 minutes. After a few rounds I let them sit in there for about 2 1/2 minutes for crisper cookies. You can leave them in there for more or less time depending on your cookie preference. They come out looking like this....

A miniature waffle!!! So cute!

For the icing I used some left over frosting that my mother made for spritzer cookies the day before. But you can make really easy icing by melting 4 oz of either white chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips. Once the cookies have cooled dip the cookies into the icing and use sprinkles for some bling bling on top. They're great without icing too, pour some maple syrup on them and eat them for a quick breakfast!! Dessert for breakfast, gotta love it. 

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving dudes!

correction... happy LATE thanksgiving. (oops) 

Just wanted to stop in and say i hope everyone had a beautiful thanksgiving and ate as much food as I did. I ate one meal Thursday and it lasted all day. I was in a food coma, nuff' said. 

xoxo 

kelly elizabeth

Talkative Tuesdays- Hairy Men

I thought of "Talkative Tuesdays" while doing the dishes and thought this would be a perfect segment for me to blabble on about whatever I wanted. Every Tuesday i'll inform you guys about what I'm doing, places I visited, things I saw, stuff like that. I think it'll be fun, kinda like stalking, but I do it for you.

currently listening to: The Lion King- "Circle of Life" :)

So here's to another day dedicated to sitting on my ass doing nothing but blogging. It has quickly become my addiction to perfect my blog and stumble through other blogs for inspiration. I've been off of work for the past two days which in other words means "lets not accomplish anything today." But come to think of it, I have accomplished a few things today already. I did drag my booty out of bed at 7:00am this fine winter morning and made my self presentable with the help of a shower and makeup. I did take my math exam that I totally owned like a boss and I did make new links to my different pages for my blog. !! That one was the most exciting because I'm technology retarded and it took me forever (check them out, many of them don't have a full page yet, but a few do) So actually, I did accomplish something today, good for you Kelly. I've quickly discovered the new feeling of joy I get when I do something new with my blog. Does anyone else get that, or is it just me? It's almost equivalent to the feeling of opening presents on Christmas (yes, that good).

In other news, I sit in my living room, with my cat by my side deciding whether or not to tell you about him....who am I kidding, of course I'm going to tell ya about him, because he's the shit. I'll admit it, I'm the crazy cat lady who continues to snap pictures of her cat even though his appearance never changes. I understand that, but come look at him, he's friggen adorable.

This is my man, Patches. He's an old man (10 years) but none the less, I still love him. Most people own their cats, but for me it's the other way around. Patches owns me. He decides when we wake up, when we go to sleep, when it's time to cuddle, etc. He's the mac to my cheese, the peanut butter to my jelly, and the frosting on my cake. He may annoy the hell out of me on occasion (usually on a daily basis) but I put up with it because this is what I call love, an eight pound hairball who thinks it's okay to drool on me.

Here's the other man in my life (though the two are surprisingly similar). This is Christopher and I'm currently waiting for him to get home for the holidays. He needs to hurry his booty up because I miss him and it's such a good feeling knowing he's in the same city as I am. I'll stop there before I get all mushy and gushy like the inside of a chocolate chip cookie. Ya'll don't want that (I'm not from Texas, I just like to pretend I am).

I'm all out of words for today and I think I just might go back to doing nothing for the rest of the night, I've become a professional at it.

So goodbye, au revoir, bless, arrivederci, zayt gezunt, and g'dayyyyyyyyyyy

Hehe, cat mug.

Recipe Box

I recently made my little own recipe box to hold all the recipes I've been collecting lately. This was super simple and quick. It can also be recreated and tweaked to however you like it. Enjoy!!

Materials Needed:
scrapbook paper
sticker letters
mod podge- I prefer the matte finish
scissors
box of some sort- make sure it will fit your recipe cards!!
paint and brushes- which I forgot to picture in there, sorry.
and lastly your recipe stash!

(I got all my stuff from Michael's minus the wooden box which I picked up from JoAnn Fabrics)

Firstly, I measured out the first piece of paper to fit the top square of the box. I then eyeballed the second and third piece. I decided to make my third piece an oval to had a little pazaz. Mod podge all three of those pieces, one on top of the other, onto the box, then take your stickers and write 'recipes' or whatever floats your boat. Finish with a top coat of mod podge to seal in all the goodness.

Next, lets paint!! I decided to go with a red color to compliment my color scheme of pinks. I just used some old paint that I had laying around in the basement. Go ahead and lather the paintbrush in your paint and throw on about 2-3 coats (depends on the color, mine took 2), letting dry in between coats.

JoAnn's didn't have any boxes there at the time with a flat front surface so I had to do something with those cracks. I wanted them to be white, but for some odd reason there was no white paint in the house. ?? Anywho, I grabbed a really light pink (again an old paint stash in the basement) which pretty much came out looking white. (I thanked the paint gods) and painted in the cracks with about 2 coats. I went back over with some red to touch up on a few places. 

WALAA!

(sorry about the wrinkly fabric, I was lazy) 

I last minutely decided to paint the inside that pink white color and was pretty happy with it. I scrapped off most of the red paint that got smudged on the gold clasp. I threw my recipe cards in and away I went. Finito!! Now I have an adorable red box to hold all my recipes!

Post a picture in the comments below if you recreate this, I would love to see the things you guys come up with!! 

thanks for stopping by, come again!

xoxo

kelly elizabeth 

Ready, Set, GO!

Ladies and gentlemen welcome to my very first blog and with that my very first blog post. (oooo this is exciting!) This one post declares the birthday, the anniversary, and also the start of the beginning of my blog, epic I know. I'm new to the blogger world, so go easy on me, I'm slowly getting use to it. I just recently started checking out other bloggers and got to thinking how fun it would be to start my very own. I got ideas, I make things, I cook a lot, I eat a lot to but that's beside the point. I wanna share the stuff I create with you guys in the hopes that you'll click your little favorites button and share it with someone else and so on. Now I know I'm not Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker, hell I wish, but this is what I enjoy doing in my free time. I love wasting away a day in the kitchen making desserts that will give my whole mouth cavities or taking garbage and making it into a Tim Noble and Sue Webster creation, well not exactly but something close to that. I hope I can share these interests with some of you guys and make my blog a place you keep coming back too. There's not much to it right now but grab a snack, put your feet up, and take a peek into my creations. 

Let's not be strangers, here's a little look into my life...

(I live in a forest and forage for my food....kidding I went apple picking!)

If you haven't already guessed it, my name is Kelly, middle name, Elizabeth. Hence kellyelizabeth... k just making sure you got it. I'm a 19 years young big headed blonde girl who likes to live day by day and not worry about the future...kidding, I just don't have the slightest clue what I want to do with my life. I live in the only state that can experience all four seasons in one week, you guessed it, Wisconsin. That's alright though, I'm proud of my cheese makin' Packer lovin' state. 

I've always been a craftster. I love to create. I love to flip through craft magazines or any old magazine and re-create what I see. I also LOVE to bake, which goes along nicely with my hobby of eating. 

I first discovered craft/baking/fashion/etc blogs about a year ago. I would spend hours stumbling through your guy's blogs, looking through everything you all made. It fascinated me all the different things people were coming up with. I've learned a lot from you bloggers, so I guess this is my way of giving back and sharing my ideas with you.

Come back again soon!!

xoxo

kellyelizabeth