Throw Back Thursday // Linkup Bonaza!!!

The wonderful Maddie over at Thriftary and Mae at Two Hoots & a Holler are hosting a Throwback Thursday link up where everyone can post their terrible childhood pictures on the internet for everyone to see. Sounds like a great idea right!? Exactly, so I'm doing it.

I don't have any baby pictures on my computer and I have no idea how to scan them to get them on my computer so were going with the utterly awful, stinky, and downright weird teenage pictures that I actually have saved in a folder.

I'm going to regret this...

I was doing the Jersey Shore thing way before Jersey Shore.

Wasn't I just a gem? 

Sleepy Kitty

Ever since Patches passed away several months back, my bedroom hasn't had many visits from the feline kind. The upstairs was always Patches' domain and the other cats rarely went up there. I don't even think they knew there was a whole second floor to the house.

However, now that Patches isn't here to protect his territory and chase off any unwanted visitors, the other cats have finally been venturing out further into the house.

Side note:
Funny story about chasing off unwanted visitors... the first time Mom decided to put a Christmas tree upstairs, Patches was so excited. He would sit under that tree day and night, happy as can be. Of course, the other cats didn't want him to have all the fun under the tree and one day Ashes decided he wanted to sit under their too.

Hell to the no, is exactly what I imagined Patches saying to him when he sat under that tree. Patches gave him one good whack on the face and chased him back downstairs. Now, don't think Patches was a mean cat (he was sweeter than honey) but don't mess with a cat's Christmas tree. That shit won't go well for you.

end story.

So, now the upstairs is unclaimed and the two others are free to make their trips up and down without being attacked. Recently, they've claimed my room as their new sleeping head quarters. Why? I don't know! I found this precious little grey ball snuggled up in the blankets this weekend and decided to snap some pictures before she knew what I was doing.

Everyone meet Snickers. 

We thought she was a boy until one day she came home spayed instead of neutered. 

She's okay with it. 

<3 

Saw it, Pinned it, Made it. // Wild Herringbone Canvas Art

My 'above the bed' area has been in need of a makeover. I've had my wall mirror hanging above in lack of anything better for quite some time and I really just got sick or it. I was contemplating putting it above my bed on the ceiling, but quickly realized how whore house inappropriate that would be.

I saw this awesome art piece via Pinterest and wanted to try it out for myself. I had two smaller canvas just waiting to be used, so it was perfect timing. It took me about a single evening to finish the two, that's including eating dinner and pie in between. 

The Pin:

The Result:

Here's a quick how to on how I achieved this awesome canvas art. 

Supplies needed:

-Canvas

-Acrylic paint

-Painters tape

-Toothpick

1. Start by painting your canvas like a mad man. Do whatever the hell you like. I wanted my colors to be a bit darker so I didn't use a lot of water. Use water with the acrylic paint to make more of a wash over the canvas. Splatter it, drip it, finger paint it, make it your own!

2. Acrylic dries super fast, so there's no need to wait around for it to dry. Begin by adding your stripes of painters tape in the desired pattern. It took me a second to catch onto the pattern, it may be just me, but I suck at those kinds of things. Once you get a row or two, it gets a lot easier. 

I also found that if you do the inside portions first then the outside, your more than likely to get a more consistent pattern. On my first attempt, the stripes started to get longer and longer towards the bottom. Crafts can never be perfect with me. 

3. Once your canvas is covered in tape and all the tape edges are securely down, start painting over EVERYTHING with a white paint. I did one coat with a roller and it looked pretty good. I liked it, done. 

4. Let the paint semi-dry then with a toothpick or very pointy fingernails, begin peeling the tape off. Grab one edge and rip off quickly to get a crisp line. I had some spot where the white leaked through, but I feel it added to the overall look. I did touch up on some spots with a small paint brush where my finger grazed the paint. 

5. Hang and pat yourself on the back for not hanging your mirror over your bed like a porn star. 

Hope you guys liked this tutorial and let me know what you think! The original is definitely 1000x better and I wish my canvases were a bit larger, but I enjoy seeing mine when I walk into my room. I might re-do them in the future on larger canvases, as of right now, I'm too lazy.

Good work Kelly, you done did good.

<3

Needtobreathe and Sponsor feature // Life Goals

Have any of you ever heard of the amazing band, Needtobreathe? They are my all time favorite hippie, rock, folk band of all time. Three small town boys from South Carolina that have god-worthy voices. Anywho, they've had countless tours over the past few years and I always miss them, because no one I know enjoys their music. I sometimes believe this is Nicki Minaj's fault. Their playing this year in Minnesota and Illinois and I might just have to drag Chris along.

This one has always been my favorite. It just makes me you want to play a banjo. Play it while you read about the awesome gals down below!

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I have some very sweet ladies taking over with some of their goals that they wish to succeed in 2013. Head on over to the sidebar to check them out. 

 BLOG // FACEBOOK // PINTEREST

Up first, we have the very sweet, Veronica! 

1. Love other the way Christ calls us to.

2. Learn to be a leader in my church in the adult realm. I've served with kids for so long, it's like a whole new world to me. 

3. Create more time to have fun and do my crafts. 

BLOG // PINTEREST // TWITTER // FACEBOOK

Up next, we have Tyler with her very successful goals! 

1. Move up the corporate ladder at the company I work for.

2. Save money towards a down payment on a house. 

3. Get better at cooking. 

BLOG //  DESIGN // TWITTER // INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // PINTEREST

Lastly, but certainly not least, we have the very talented and beautiful Shannon! 

1. Dedicate a lot of time to my new business. I really hope for this to be my "real" job in the next few years. 

2. Eat less junk. I really want to make a conscious effort to eat better. 

3. Go on a date with my boyfriend, Aaron, once a week. I don't care it it's a walk around the neighborhood, a bike ride, lunch, or a coffee date! I just want to set aside special time for the two of us to spend together. 

Thanks guys for sharing your goals with everyone today! I hope it get everyone motivated to start their own goals for the year! Good luck everyone :)

<3

If I had a farm...

Recently I've been into dreaming up my future home. Pinterest is a big help in this dreaming and I've found out that my future dream home will have to have like three extra rooms that are specifically for crafting and blogging. I have a lot of ideas that can't fit into one single room, alright?!

Along with my three crafting studio rooms, in my backyard I want a farm. Maddie over at Thriftary is not only one of my favorite blogs to stalk read, she and her husband also built their own chicken coop in their backyard. Can you guess who's completely jealous of this. Yeah, me! If only my mother would allow it. I really need to move out.

I've also recently been watching a lot of vegetarian documentaries like Vegucated and it's really broken my heart to see how animals are treated in factories. People really suck these days, but I can't say much because I'm one of those people who supports these factories by buying their products. I told Chris that I just need my own farm and raise my own animals so I know exactly how they are being treated. Go watch that documentary right now, it really opens your eyes to a lot of things.     

Anywho, today I'm taking you on an adventure into my future. So enjoy this lovely walk through of my one day farm... 

If I had a farm....

x

I would have sheep that would eat my grass so I never had to mow it. They would be the cutest sheep ever, unlike the man eating ones from Black Sheep (not referencing the one with Jack Black). 1000 points to you if you do know which one I'm talking about. 

x

I would have a goat named Billy to be a friend to my sheep. 

x

On my farm, I would have a couple pink pigs that would roll around in mud and make funny noises with their noses. They would stay the perfect size and not get huge like some of those pigs you see on farms.

x

And like Maddie, I would build my own chicken coop. It probably won't be has cute and quaint as this one, but it'll be pretty darn close. They would be the happiest chicken's alive. 

x

Lastly, on my farm I would have a cow. I would name her Annabelle after a pretty awesome children's Christmas movie and she would have overly large ears that aren't proportionate to her head.  

And that my friends is what my farm would like. Realistically, I'll probably only end up with a chicken coop in my backyard, but that's okay. Having my own chickens is my number one priority for my farm. Annabelle, you're going to have to wait. 

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,

<3 

Recipe // Chris' Easy Cherry Pie

The following recipe isn't really a "pie" it's more like a cold pudding pie type thing. But it looks like a pie, so we'll call it a pie. Chris has made this for us a few times and it's pretty darn good. I believe he got the recipe from his mother, which is why it's probably so delicious.

This pudding pie is super easy to make, like it takes 5 minutes to make easy. It turns out so good! I'm tellin' you, you have to try it! 

Ingredients needed:

-Graham cracker crust (either make it yourself or buy the one in a tin foil pan like we did)

-1 tub of sour cream

-1 box of vanilla pudding mix

-1 can of cherry pie filling (you can use any kind of pie filling you like, strawberry is awesome!) 

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and vanilla pudding mix. Don't make the pudding, just add the powder to the cream. 

2. Dump the mixture into the graham cracker crust and spread even. 

3. Spread the cherry pie filling across the top. All done!

Dig in! 

<3

Me, myself and more facts

Today I'm linking up with Whitney over at I Wore Yoga Pants for a pretty fun fact post. I have some newer readers that probably don't know much about me, unless they have memorized my about me page. If so, good for you Glen Cocoa. The "about me" page is usually the first thing I click on when I visit a new blog. I love reading facts about people so hopefully you do to, otherwise this post is a complete waste of your time.  :)

I'm beautiful in all the right ways. 

Fact: I drink more water than anyone else. I probably drink an ocean amount of water per day. I don't know what it is, I'm always thirsty and always need a glass of water. I wasn't always like this, so obviously I have some weird 'my body can't absorb water' disease.  Fact: I have a small shopping addiction. It's quite hard for me to save money because I always find something that I want. I usually am pretty good about not going over board, but sometimes I wish I was like Chris and could go weeks without buying anything. 

Porcupine Mountains 2008

Fact: I love camping. In fact, it is the greatest thing about my summers. I love getting out into the woods with my family and sleeping in a tent. Backpacking is also a great love of mine. I don't get to do it as often as I like, but hopefully that'll change. It will definitely become a tradition when I have my own family.  Fact: I'm a hoarder. Not like the TLC show Hoarders bad, but I have 2 closets full of crap that I probably don't really need. I'm especially bad with craft supplies, like glass jars or any type of container, I'll keep it, because I feel one day I might need it for a project.  Fact: I love picture frames. They excite me like a child on Halloween. I wish I had more shelving in my room to accommodate my picture frame addiction. When I own a house someday, pretty much every wall is going to be like one of those picture frame galleries you see on Pinterest.   Fact: I fell off of a horse when I was about 12. It wasn't anything special. Me and my cousin were riding at my grandmas and the horse didn't fell like having me on it's back anymore so it took off and I fell off. I wasn't riding with a saddle so all I had to hold onto was the horse's hair and my leg muscles.  Fact: I hate shopping on the weekends. Sometimes I have to, but most times I'll do it during the week right when the stores open. This is like prime time shopping time. No offense to the elderly, but it is so nice shopping with them, because I can just rush past them and get my shit done. I disgrace stores that are jammed packed with people. It takes me a while to pick things out and I hate it when someone is standing next to me wanting to get the same item but refuses to ask me to move and just huffs and puffs until I leave the section. Woah, that turned into a rant. 

picture quality = 0

Fact: I'm dating a ridiculously handsome man, who likes to sip on juice boxes. He's the bee's knees I tell ya.  Fact: I think hippos are super cute. If I had a big enough back yard to build my own lake, I would consider throwing some hippos in there too.  That's all folks! Head on over to Whitney's blog to view everyone else's weird facts! It'll take up a whole afternoon, don't say you weren't warned. 

my pretty awesome weekend

I actually had a very long weekend that was technically a week but I considered it my weekend. Last Monday night, after work, I left to go visit the man. I didn't come back until Friday night, it was great. It was a very exciting week, because Tuesday we woke up and went shopping for a very special item that I've been saving up for. 

Please let me introduce you to my new little man, I think I'm going to call him George (yes, I'm naming my camera, yes he seems like a man to me, and I know I'm not the only one) my new camera....

He's beautiful isn't he? I made Chris come with me to buy him because I wanted him to be my backbone and not get sucked into the many deals that Best Buy offers. He saved me from spending $150 more then what I spent. Now I have to great men in my life. With much research and thousands of hours reading, I bought the Canon T3i and I can't put it down.

All week I was snapping pictures of everything and I even caught Chris playing with it every once in a while. I don't know if it's because this was my second biggest purchase of my life (the first being my computer) but I feel like I'm going to be mugged every second of the day. Paranoid much? I just feel like everyone wants a little piece of George. Sorry, but George is all mine. 

Here's some snippets from my week(end)...

Chris was very proud of the lunch he made us that me made me take a picture. 

I forget how good hot dogs and ketchup are sometimes. 

Chris' cherry pie. Yes, he made it all!! 

Recipe coming soon.

I'm still learning how to use this camera and all the buttons can confuse me. So sometimes, pictures like this will happen where I don't know what the hell I'm doing...

Have a great day!

<3 

Chris and I got our portraits done....

Courtesy of Free Crappy Portrait, Chris and I got our crappy portraits drawn. About a month ago, I stumbled upon this lovely site and thought it was  pretty amazing. I instantly wanted my own crappy portrait done so of course I wrote them....

Chris and Kelly.

Kelly loves cats and is addicted to candy.

Chris loves soccer and preparing for the zombie apocalypse. 

Kelly thinks zombies are weird. Chris thinks cats are weird.

We go pretty well together. :)

<3 Kelly 

So out of that we got the above picture sent back to us. I'd have to say they got us dead on.

If you want your own crappy portrait done, go here, send them an email describing yourself or you and your husband or whoever and then wait. Mine took about a month and a half to get back, so be patience  It's worth the laughs you'll have when you see the final product.

Sponsor Feature // We Took the Road Less Traveled

Today I'm handing the reins over to a gorgeous gal whose going to tell you about the most amazing trip ever. While reading her post, I pretended I was her, reminiscing in all beautiful places I've been too I was so very jealous of the opportunities she's been blessed with. 

Seriously, if you haven't already, you need to check her out. She's pretty rad. 

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Hi friends of Kelly, and therefore friends of mine! I'm Casey, the brains behind the blog, We Took the Road Less Traveled. I'm just your average Southern girl turned expat, living abroad in beautiful Germany! My handsome Air Force hubby and I made the move 4,000 miles away from our families in North Carolina almost a year and a half ago and have been traveling fools ever since! We love life here in Deutschland and have had the opportunity to travel to some pretty amazing places. Just last year we visited 9 different countries! This year, we've got goals to see 8 more!

As a young girl growing up in small town North Carolina, I never thought my life would take me to such amazing places. I've always loved to travel, but the wanderlust bug bit me hard when the Air Force cut us orders to move to Germany in the summer of 2011. I immediately started making a European bucket list to help organize our travel plans for the 3 years we'd be stationed overseas. Who knew 3 years would hardly be enough time to see all we want to see?! One of my favorite trips this far has to be what I like to call "My big Fat European Family Vacation." This past May, my husband and I took 8 of our closest family members on a whirlwind sight-seeing adventure through 3 different countries.

We viewed the Alps from the highest point in Germany...

Stumbled upon the bluest lake in Austria...

Explored the most well-preserved medieval walled city in Bavaria...

Sailed down the Rhine River sipping wine and watching castles float by...

sunbathed among the olive groves of Tuscany...

Climbed atop the famous Duomo in Florence...

Marveled at the colorful cliff side houses in Cinque Terre...

And talked of gladiators outside the Colosseum in Rome...

all in one amazing 2 week adventure! 

It was a trip of a lifetime, to say the very least. I'm so happy I got to share it all with my dear family! And with all of you out in blog land, too :)

Do you have a travel bucket list? Any big travel plans for 2013?

A mega huge thanks you to Kelly for letting me hang out on her blog today! Isn't she the sweetest? Hope you'll head on over to my little slice of the internet and say hello...I'd love to get to know you! Tschuss!

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And thank you Casey for being a guest today! Like I said, these pictures are wonderful and makes me so jealous of the trip! Come back soon :)

<3

Recipe // Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

About week ago, Chris came down with a pretty bad cold and I was getting the start of one. I decided to go visit and take care of the man, because I love him and that's what couples do. For dinner I wanted to make a big ol' bowl of chicken noodle soup. I usually leave that kind of recipe to my mother, because before I did it myself I always thought soup was a super difficult thing that took hours on end. 

I was wrong. Soup is so incredibly easy. Now I for sure know that I'll be able to feed myself when I move out one day. Be proud mom, be proud. 

Anywho, back to cooking. I looked at a bunch of other chicken soup recipes to see what others put in theirs and came up with my own. It turned out amazing and I'm definitely going to keep this recipe in the books for a later date. My favorite part was the noodles that we used.

For Christmas, Chris' brother got me cat shaped noodles and he also got Chris soccer shaped ones. They were pretty cool and made the soup taste that much better. Except for the fact that the soccer shoes looked more like penises than shoes when they were cooked. It was a little uncomfortable, but they still tasted good. 

Onto the recipe! 

Ingredients needed:

2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Celery Stalks

3 Carrot stalks

1/2 White Onion

Salt and Pepper

1 lb Chicken, cut into cubes

Noodles (preferably not penis shaped ones)

2 quarts Chicken Stock (this is about a medium sized box)

2 cups water

1 packet of Chicken Noodle Soup Seasonings (you can find these at Walmart near the spices, they're awesome)

Start by cutting everything up into nice and tiny cubes. Add the olive oil to a pot and heat over medium heat. Add the vegies and cook for about 10 or so minutes until they begin to get soft.

Add the whole box of chicken stock and a couple cups of water. The soup absorbed a lot of the water when it was done, so I added a couple more cups of water to keep it juicy. Meanwhile, cut and cook the chicken in a separate pan until done. Add to the pot of soup and bring to a boil. Then add the seasoning packet and stir until thoroughly distributed.  

I didn't really time how long I let it boil. Maybe about 25-30 minutes. Pretty much until everything was hot and cooked all the way through. We each ate a huge bowl and had it with some fresh bread from the bakery. It was a great meal to make you feel better when you got snot running down your nose.

We ended the night with cuddles on the couch and a good game of Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64. It was awesome.

If you try out the soup, let me know how you like it!!

<3

Recipe // Copy Cat- Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade

Ingredients Needed:
Tazo Passion Tea (bought mine at Starbucks)
Lemonade
Simple Syrup: sugar and water

I made the simple syrup that is needed and this contains a simple mixture of 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar. I found this syrup recipe from another blogger that tried a different rendition of this drink. All you have to do is bring the sugar and water to a boil and cook for about a minute until all the sugar is dissolved. Throw in the fridge to cool and it'll magically become a syrup!

Next, boil 13 cups of water (or however big the pitcher you are using is). Meanwhile, open your tea box, cut the strings off and plop the bags into your container. When the pot of water comes to a boil, pour over the tea bags and let steep 7-10 minutes.

After about 10 minutes take out the bags with a spoon and squeeze the extra flavor out between 2 spoons or just let it drip out.

Stick the pitcher in the fridge and let it cool. Now go do something cool, like eating or watching a romantic movie like I did. Whatever floats your boat. I actually left it in there overnight and mixed everything in the morning.

Then after a while, the tea is finally cold enough to start mixing! I happened to have gotten myself a Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks yesterday afternoon, so I used that to get the exact measurements. Fill the tea to the second line and then the lemonade to the third line. I went a little over because I really like the lemonade taste. You can change the ratio however you like.

I then added about 2 Tbl of the simple syrup and gave it a good mix. Throw in your ice and you're good to go! Something in the store that they do that I didn't is shake it all together to get the foam on the top. I couldn't find a container to shake it in so I just skipped it. But you can shake it like polaroid picture and get the fancy foam on top if you like.

All done and ready to be drank. nom nom nom.

My drink came out a little bit stronger than how Starbucks makes them, so I make put less tea and more lemonade in next time. But overall, it's equally delicious.

I made enough of this drink to probably last me a few weeks for about $10. A 20 oz one from Starbucks goes for $4 each. Making it yourself not only saves you a whole bunch of cash, but it also makes you feel like a fancy drink mixer dude (whatever they are called).

Hope you enjoy it, if you try it out let me know!!

<3