Hello everyone and welcome to a wonderful Wednesday post. Remember back in the day when today would have been Etsy Wednesday? Maybe we will have to revisit that but for now lets look at some fun things I have found on the internet throughout the week. 

Lux, sunbathing by the window. 

First, as the excitement of the new Star Wars movie begins to dwindle the comedy show SNL, Saturday Night Live, has put a hilarious parody video up of Undercover Boss: Kylo Ren edition so feel free to watch and enjoy! 

"I heard Kylo Ren has an eight pack" haha.

I am pretty sure most of you will be familiar with what is called a Fitbit. I purchased a FitBit Charge HR a few months ago and was wearing it everywhere I went. I loved that it kept track of my heart rate, sleep patterns, and of course steps I walked in a day. What was also great about it was the fact that your friends could join you through an app and challenge you to walking competitions throughout the week. I recently however had to stop wearing mine because I started to get a rash on my wrist which is super sad. Even if you are not fully committed to working our or dieting, this little wrist instrument is pretty great! 

I have been sort of addicted to looking at pretty gym outfits and found a few that I thought you all would enjoy. I will spare you my input and just let you admire them.

 BlackMilkClothing.com

 Lululemon.com

anthropologie.com

 Pretty cute tank tops right? I thought you all might enjoy them as much as me. I am sure in the next few weeks if I decide to get back into the gym, one of these will find its way into my wardrobe.

Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed today's post and make sure to keep checking back for more post!

Hello there and welcome to a wonderful Wednesday post! I hope you all had an amazing holiday and look forward to this exciting new year! I had a wonderful vacation and have decided to share with you some photos from my adventures into the new year. 

 

First, here is a throwback to this little cutie when Lux was just 10 weeks old. This was when I first brought her home. Little did I know she would become a huge cat haha.

Moving along, our adventure began after Christmas with a trip to the Grand Canyon which is located in northern Arizona. It was a wonderful day to visit with the sun shining bright and little snow on the ground. This place has grown with the addition of new buildings since I had last visited as a child so it was neat to see the changes. If you get the chance you have to visit this amazing landmark and make sure to visit the visitor center and watch the eight minute presentation. The presentation goes over the formation of the canyon and is a free for everyone to enjoy.

 Pretty awesome right? These pictures are from the south rim of the canyon which is the most popular spot for pictures.

Next, our adventure led us to Flagstaff where we spent New Years night celebrating in the downtown area and visited one of my favorite places to eat, Collin's Irish Pub. If you visit you have to eat here and make sure to try our their macaroni and cheese menu. Many people questioned us on why we would go to Flagstaff for New Years and the answer is simple, a giant pine cone. No joke, at 10pm and midnight a giant pine cone is drop from a hotel while hundreds of people crammed into an intersection to party and celebrate the beginning of the new year. It is very cold but definitely an amazing experience if you are in the area. 

The last stop we made on our trip was through Sedona, AZ which is known for its beautiful red rock formations. Also Sedona has a huge shopping center where you can find unique shops like Dirt shirts, colored from Sedona's rocks to homemade sculpted candles. I love visiting Sedona for the beautiful scenery because you can definitely get amazing pictures. 

 The picture below is from last year but still pretty awesome. We were kind of sad that we did not see much snow this year.

Last, I wanted to share with you guys some of the paintings I have done so far. I painted this one for my stepmom for Christmas which is Nightmare Before Christmas themed. This painting was done by outlining the idea from a picture on my phone and painting it with acrylic paint. I think it turned out pretty nice. What do you think?

Also, in honor of the new Star Wars movie I painted a picture of a storm trooper using a picture from pinterest on my phone and acrylic paint. 

I was pretty happy with how these both turned out seeming how there was no tracing involved. Definitely looking forward to painting more and sharing them with you guys. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed today's post and make sure to keep checking back for more! Happy New Year!

    
     Hello there and welcome to a wonderful Tuesday post. As we move closer to Christmas many of you are probably starting your holiday baking to fill your home with wonderful cookie scents. In fact, this past weekend I spent two days baking with some ladies and made tons of different cookies. So for this post I thought I would share some of the best recipes that we tried with you! Enjoy!

 

Throw back to this lovely day with Lux!

Christmas dessert recipes:

Twix Thumbprint cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes 

 

One of my friends made these delicious cookies and they are quite delicious. Soft sugar cookies filled with melted caramel and topped with chocolate drizzle. These are definitely one of my favorites for this Christmas! Click on the link for the recipe. 

Cookie Dough Truffles

Prep time: 60 minutes 

These cookie dough truffles were definitely amazing and totally worth taking a whole plate home. They are cookie dough balls without the egg, covered in chocolate and chilled in the fridge until they harden. Seriously delicious. Click on the link above for the recipe. 

Chocolate Cherry Blossom Cookies

 Prep time: 20 minutes Bake time: 12 minutes

 

I was the one who took the lead on these cookies and they came out amazing. Basically you take a sugar cookie mix and add maraschino cherries to the mix and Voilà!  The chocolate kiss on the top melts a little since they are still warm when you remove them from the oven so make sure to try one right off the plate. To see the recipe, just click on the link above!

Caramel Apple Sangria 

Prep time: ~10 minutes 

 Feeling a bit thirsty while you are baking all of these cookies? Then make some caramel apple sangria! This recipe is super easy to make and it definitely pairs well with friends and baking in the kitchen all day. Definitely one of my new favorite sangria recipes to keep around this winter. 

The best way to melt chocolate

Melt time: 20 minutes 

This is not really a recipe but definitely a great tip to remember when you need to dip cookies and pretzels in chocolate. Instead of dealing with two pans and melting chocolate on the stove, simply place chocolate in mason jars and warm in your crock pot. We decided to melt chocolate this way to dip pretzel sticks in and it was a life saver!

Butterscotch Haystack

No bake! Prep time: 15 minutes

So I am not a big fan of anything butterscotch but these little haystacks are absolutely delicious. Also these haystacks are really easy to make and you only need four ingredients: peanuts, chow mein noodles, butterscotch morsels, and peanut butter. You have to add these to your baking list!

 Candy Cane Cookies

Prep time: 25 minutes Bake time: 10-12 minutes

These great little cookies put a twist on the typical sugar cookie by adding a hint of peppermint in a cute holiday candy cane twist. I will warn you, after a while making candy cane shapes can become rather boring so feel free to make other designs, I know we sure did! 

Here is a photo of a few of the cookies we completed over the weekend. If you look closely you can see the chocolate dipped pretzels, cinnamon sugar cookies, candy cane cookies, and no bake cookies underneath. It was a lot of fun getting together with my friends to make all these treats so make sure you make time to bake those cookies for Santa! 

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

 

Hello there everyone and welcome to a wonderful Thursday post. I hope you all are doing well since my last post and are super excited to see Star Wars. Better not comment any spoilers because I have tickets to see it tomorrow night! Today's post focuses on random things I have found on the internet to keep you busy and not thinking about Star Wars! Enjoy! 

 

Lux wanted to party :) 

First, I stumbled upon this video on one of the best websites for passing time, Stumbleupon.com

This is exactly how I felt when I lived in an apartment. I swear my upstairs neighbors were constantly having a party or bowling, or whatever they were doing up there. Hopefully I will never live in an apartment again.

This website is pretty cool because it will guess what number you are thinking every time. I have tried selecting new numbers and changing patterns and it is still correct. Pretty neat so make sure to try it out!

Pretty crazy cool right?

Are you having a rough day and could really use some inspiration in your life? The website linked below has lots of quotes to help you through difficult times and to remind you that you are awesome!

 

My favorite one is probably, "Don't give others the power to control your emotion. Those are only yours and it is only for you to manipulate."

This next page is pretty great at teaching some psychology techniques you can use everyday that actually work. For example, I totally tried the rock, paper, scissors trick on my roommate and boyfriend and it works! Check it out below:

 Did you try it? I hope so! Make sure to click on the picture above to take you to a list of more tips and tricks.

 The last video I have for you is pretty cool. What this artist turn a scribble into an amazing piece of art!

 

Well I hope I was able to keep you entertained and distracted from the fact that you are not watching Star Wars right now. Please make sure to keep checking back for more post! Happy holidays!

 

Hello there and welcome to a wonderful Sunday post! After a brief hiatus due to some life changes I am back and ready to pick back up right where we left off. I hope you all have been doing well as a lot has changed in my life. I graduated with my M.A., moved into a new house with my awesome roommate, and travel as often as possible with my super sweet boyfriend. Don't worry Lux loves her new space and I can't wait to share with you our new adventures :) But first..

  

As many of you know, or should know, Star Wars is coming out this week on Thursday so naturally I thought this post should be dedicated to Star Wars. Who doesn't need some Christmas gift ideas because face it, you probably do not have all your Christmas shopping done. 

 

Star Wars limited edition loot crate

For $100 you can make someone very happy with this limited edition loot crate box. Loot crate itself is a great gift idea to give as they send a themed box every month full of Pop dolls, comics, and other neat toys for your favorite geek. I myself have purchased this box as received a t-shirt, Mr. Potato head Darth Vader and much more that I do not want to spoil for you.  

Star Wars Planetary Glass Set

Are your normal everyday glasses boring and just not that awesome? Well you can do better by getting this awesome set of Star Wars themed drinking glasses! Right now they are on ThinkGeek for $50 but I am sure if you watch them they will drop in price. 

Star Wars Battlefront

Is your favorite Star Wars person short on cash and did not already buy Star Wars Battlefront? Well then you should definitely purchase it for them because I promise you this is on their Christmas list. You will not be able to find any good deals on this game right now as it is running for $60.00 but it is totally worth it. Click the link above to watch videos on game play and maybe become a little immersed yourself.

Star Wars r2d2 Stocking 

So I totally bought a Christmas stocking that is close to identical to this one and it looks great on my mantel right next to Lux's. Nothing shows your holiday/Star Wars spirit more then a stocking to represent the most vulgar character in the Star Wars franchise. I mean come one, they bleeped out every word. Anywho, the link above will take you to ThinkGeek where you can purchase this stocking for around $30. As I mentioned, I found it at Target for around $20. 

Star Wars Coloring Book

Do you have an artistic person in your family who would just love to pass the time coloring? Well why not go ahead and make their day with this Star Wars adult coloring book. The lines are smaller, the details are more difficult, and overall a perfect gift. I found this one on Amazon for $11.95.

Star Wars Sphero BB-8 App Enabled Droid

Do you want to spend $200 on your favorite Star Wars person? Then this app controlled droid is the perfect gift for you to give. With the capability to control this little guy on your phone, and yes I mean this little RC toy is only 5 inches tall, you can conquer your home. There is a video on Amazon your have to watch to get how neat this little toy can be.

Star Wars: The Complete Saga

In the end, the coolest gift to give any Star Wars lover is definitely the complete movie saga on blu-ray. Everyone owns the old VHS tapes and it is about time you help them upgrade. I recently received this gift and haven't even opened the box because they are so nice to look at...Anywho here is the set on Amazon for around $100.00.


Next I thought I would share with you a little parody of Star Wars collectors from SNL so enjoy because we all know it is true. 

Anywho, there is a quick list of neat things you can get your favorite person last minute because you almost forget that Christmas is in less than two weeks. Moving right along I have started painting again which is nice. So far I have painted a few things but can only share one with you right now:

I mean, it's not perfect but it is pretty good since it was free hand from a little picture on my phone. 

Recently I also attended an ugly sweater Christmas party and wore the most appropriate sweater I could find:

Life has been pretty great lately. Please make sure to keep checking back for more updates and I hope everyone has a great holiday season!

 

Hello there everyone and welcome to a wonderful Wednesday post. I hope you all are having a great week so far as we move closer to the weekend! I have decided that today's post will consist of the funniest YouTube videos that I have seen over the years so I hope you enjoy. If you know of a funny video make sure to comment below so I can check it out!  

Side note, Lux did not want anything to do with this post today so here is a picture of Hogwarts from Universal Studios Orlando which I recently visited. 

 

Joke of the day as told by my co-worker Richard:

R: You know how cowboys always have dogs with them? Well what kind of dog do you think they like best?

K: Um, I don't know?

R: A Dachshund, because cowboys get a long little doggy

 

How Animals Eat Their Food

 

One of my personal favorites.  

 Miley Cyrus Chatroulette

 

I am not going to lie, when I first saw this video I laughed really hard.

Purple Dye in Angry Girl's Shampoo Prank

 

Famous for the line "Well that's just great!" haha.

 Ghost Chili Pepper Pizza Prank

 

So I have actually done this to someone with pizza believe it or not and it was probably one of the funniest moments I have ever been a witness to. 

What Girls Think About During Sex - Jenna Marbles

I love Jenna Marbles!

I'm a Snake

 

This video wins the award for one of the weirdest, yet funniest videos I have watched. 

 

Epic Rap Battles of History - Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney

 

 This channel is by far one of my favorite to watch on YouTube because all of their videos are pretty great to watch. Make sure to check out the Sarah Palin vs. Lady Gaga video too!

Grape Lady Falls

 

A video so funny that even the show Family Guy made a parody of it. 

 A Bad Lip Reading of Twilight

Well that was a pretty good selection of the funniest videos on YouTube, but do not worry there are plenty more for next time. Make sure to keep checking back and have a great rest of your week!

 

Hello there everyone and welcome to a random Sunday post. I hope your weekend went well as we prepare for classes to begin this Thursday. I've decided to do this post on shows you should watch that are available on Netflix. If you do not have a Netflix account then get your friend's password or simply sign up because it is not that expensive. 

 First, here is Lux today. She is upset because I have not really been home a lot this weekend. In fact, she was so mad that she caught a bat, yes a real bat, and brought it into my room. So nice of her..

 A little tip I want to mention is that if you are looking for a show to watch on Netflix and cannot seem to find anything, you can download Hola which is a Firefox browser add-on that allows you to change your location to a different country and unblock thousands of new titles not available in the United States. You're welcome.

 

 I randomly stumbled upon How I Met Your Mother while browsing Netflix one day for something new to watch and was instantly hooked. The show is about a crazy close group of friends and their adventures in Manhattan. Plus there are many, many episodes that you can binge watch and keep you busy all weekend. Unfortunately the last season is not available so you will have to find it elsewhere. 

 

I absolutely love watching House of Cards, a Netflix original series which depicts the life of an American politician who does not exactly follow the law. Kevin Spacey does a fantastic job in this show and I definitely think you should give it a shot. It is also nice that since this is a Netflix Original Series, they will upload an entire season at once so you can watch all you want!

 

Have you ever loved a show so much that you just never wanted it to end. Breaking Bad is one of the best shows I have ever watched and all five seasons are available on Netflix for you to enjoy. The story line follows a chemistry professor named Walter White and his adventure into the meth business. Watch it.

 

If you are looking for a new comedy to watch and have not watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia then you definitely need to check it out. The story line follows a group of friends that own and operate a really run down Irish pub and their adventures as business partners. Plus there are tons of episodes available to keep you busy! 

 

There is nothing better then watching Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman work together as Sherlock and Watson in this BBC series Sherlock. Unfortunately there are only about three episodes per season and only three seasons available so make sure you watch them slowly. 

 

If you are looking for yet another comedy series because you are awesome and have already seen It's always Sunny in Philadelphia, then you definitely need to watch Parks and Recreation. The story line follows the Parks and Recreation department of a town called Pawnee and the funny adventures of all the employees. 

 

Have you ever wanted to watch a show that was super weird and you were not always sure what was happening because it was just really off the wall? Well then you need to watch American Horror Story. What is interesting about this series is that they use the same actors every season but the story line is different. For instance the first season was focused around a house that was haunted while the season after that was an insane asylum.

Anyways there is my short list of shows to get you started on an awesome binge watching Netflix filled night and if you have already seen all of these then you are awesome. Next time I do a Netflix post I will share with you my favorite documentaries, and yes I promise they are fun to watch.

 

Shower Thoughts:

Now when you begin a fun night of hanging out with your friends, you need to make sure to create a rule that no one is allowed to bring up any information that is going to upset you while you are intoxicated. For instance, any information that you have to start with the phrase, "Please do not get mad", does not need to be shared while everyone is drinking. You are going to upset that person who was having a great time, causing them to get mad at you and ruin both of your nights. Do not be this person. 

Well I hope you all have a great week this week and make sure to keep checking back for more post!