5 things I MUST bake.

I'm a baker.

Sometimes, I bake to relieve stress.  In college, I always made a cake when I should have been studying for a big exam.  It became known as study cake, and last fall, my apartment of 6 girls would stand in our kitchen just eating the cake straight off the pan with forks at midnight.  When everyone is doing it, there's no judgement, no shame.

Since Pinterest entered my life, I've found tons of recipes that I need to try, so here are 5 that are at the top of my list!

1.  Hot Cocoa Cookies

can you say heaven in a cookie?

2.  Coconut Chocolate Pie

I'm not a huge coconut fan, so I'm wondering if I could omit that?  

I had this dense, delicious chocolate pie in North Carolina last spring, and I've been searching for a recipe that looks the same ever since.  Can any of my southern ladies help me out?

3.  Peppermint Patties

They're my absolute favorite candy...

4.  Homemade Thin Mints

Because chocolate & mint is always good for Christmas, right?

5.  Cinnamon Roll Cake

The one thing on this list that doesn't incorporate chocolate...what does that say about me?

Sponsor Spotlight: Andrea from Love is....

Today I'd like to introduce you to one of my newest sponsors...

Andrea from Love is...

Andrea is a sweetheart, and will be guest posting later this month, so read on to learn a little bit more about her!

Hi there!  I'm Andrea from Love is... I'm a newly married twenty-something, who loves reading, crafting, all types of music, & the outdoors.  My dream is to one day become a event planner... Hopefully, in the near future!

I'm a born & raised Minnesotan!  { And yes, some of us do have that crazy accent... And we make fun of ourselves! }

My blog is a place for me to let out my creative juices & talk about all the goings on in my life!  =)

If I could own any store I would sell my DIY creations.  I made a BUNCH of stuff for our wedding & had such a great time doing it!  I shared some of our DIY projects in this post.  I would be so happy if I could just create things all day long & I love how the things I make, make other happy.  That's the greatest gift!

A weird quirk I have, is that I love the smell of old books.  Like a lot.  I can't explain it, but it's something that makes me so happy!  =)

Go check out Love is... to hear more from Andrea!

Lately.

So life was a little busy this past week. 

Thanksgiving happened, and as I said, it was a pretty large ordeal with the Gettis family.

My brother's band practiced all week in my basement, which meant lots of noise and watching movies on my computer with my headphones while trying to write lesson plans.

I did 3 photo shoots this weekend, which translates to a whole lot of editing.

So while I work on all of that stuff, here's a "my-life-through-iPhone" update!

I went to an outdoor potluck a few weeks ago with lovely decorations, including candles in mason jars hanging in the tree!

I fully intend to recreate this at the Craft Night I'm hosting this weekend.

These were from my first-graders in Sunday school.  I'm the one in the blue cape and the one with the blue hair.  Adorable.

I found this on Pinterest the other day.  It's now the lock screen on my phone.  Lord knows it's the anthem of my life right now and the constant reminder is definitely helping!

 Pumpkin cookies!  (this is pre-caramel icing.  But seriously...this recipe is divine!)

My cousin, Matt, & I decided to have an adventure and go Black Friday shopping at midnight.  After 20 minutes of driving around looking for a space, we found prime parking.  And documented our success. 

Gobble Gobble!

Our Thanksgiving has consisted of over 40 people, 

turning the garage into a dining room, 

3 turkeys & a ham, 

and lots and lots of dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

sponsor spotlight: Cassie from Life in Technicolor

Ok, so remember how I said that these sponsor spotlights are some of my favorite posts these days?  Well....this is probably one of my ultimate favorite posts.  Because it features one of my ultimate favorite people!  

Cassie (from Life in Technicolor) and I lived together in college and bonded over grocery shopping, rolling eyes across the classroom, and a mutual love of Friends.  On top of all of that, we're also blogging buddies!

Hi friends, I’m Cassie from Life in Technicolor. I’m a new wife, writer, traveler, bike-rider, nature-lover, wanna-be-freelancer, and just your average free-spirited vagabond. I grew up 40 minutes north of Boston, but now we reside on the city’s beautiful North Shore in our home by the sea.

I originally started this blog when I spent a semester in Australia and I adored documenting my travels and experiences in an exotic foreign land. I felt like there was always something new and exciting to see and so many lessons to be learned. The ultimate dream would be to turn this blog back into a travel diary, with Will (my talented hub) snapping photos throughout our journey. I currently work full-time behind a desk and I’m (we’re) aching to get out and explore the world. Stay tuned, because more adventures are on our horizon, no doubt.

In the meantime, I blog about our whatever tickles my fancy - particularly fashion, design of all kinds, the goodness of being green, music, the great outdoors, and my freakish obsession with typography. Don’t judge.

Time to enter my favorite dream world: If I could own any shop or business, there would be multiple.

1. The online store would be cleaning and selling antique beauties that we come across in our travels and in our own life. So many pretty things, but our home can’t contain them all (mostly because we’re hardcore minimalists who constantly purge our belongings). But you’d want to buy these vintage items, so don’t worry, I’ll have a shop someday.

2. The real live shop would be the Baldwins’ breakfast place/coffee shop. Not only am I obsessed with beverages of all kind (teas, coffees, chai, lattes) but Will and I both cook a pretty mean breakfast. I am self-proclaimed omelet queen of the world. We already have ideas of what we’d want it to look like and we have an adorable name in the works, but I’m not telling. Oh, and I’d also be a potter and you could buy my mugs, bowls and teapots.

3. As a constant source of income, I’d be a freelance marketer and writer. Alas. I dream on.

Now that I’ve spilled my soul and we’re best friends, come by for a visit and follow!

Well, you heard the girl....go check out Life in Technicolor!

photoshoots galore.

In the past two weeks, I've done two (very different) shoots for friends from church.

DJ Soto of Sonata 7 Studios asked me to be a production assistant/take some background shots of his music video shoot with Dan & Lauren Smith.

Andrea & Dave asked me to shoot some portraits for them in order to "redeem their wedding photography" from a few years ago.  Let's just say their photographer should stick to snapping candids at family holiday gatherings rather than masquerade as a wedding photographer.  (He actually photoshopped their faces onto the Liberty Bell.  The Liberty Bell, people!  They didn't even get married in Philly!)  So we did a super fun shoot and we sure did redeem those photos.  And I may have edited them onto the moon, just for kicks.

 

Head over to my photography site to see more!

Oh, and here's some fun that I had with Andrea & Dave's photos:

I'm not even joking.  This is a recreation of what was in their wedding album.

phila-phila-philadelphia

I spent Friday in Philadelphia with my aunt, and we perused the Reading Terminal Market.  I love snapping photos of the things people do as a part of their daily lives! 

And I decided that I wouldn't mind living in Philly. 

 

 

The thing I love about Central Park..

I love the fact that in the midst of one of the busiest cities in the world, there are scenes like this one.  There are places were all you see is green.  I love that Central Park (at least in the day time) isn't at all like what you see on Law & Order, where the casual runner is jogging along and sees a pair of feet sticking out from under a bush.

On a side note, check out my guest post over on Tales for Karina Marie today!  

I'm blogging about life after undergrad, in case you hadn't already heard enough from me on that topic.

a reminder that i really do love my job:

Yesterday, I was kinda sorta feeling a little restless.

Here's what's what:

I work at my church.  

I'm an administrative assistant, and I'm pretty overqualified for it, and it's not what I want to do with my life, and sometimes, all of that gets a little frustrating.  

But there are moments that I'm SO glad that God has me here, at this time.  

Today, when I got an email saying: "Sumo wrestling competition, NextGen Center, 2 pm", I was really really glad to be here, now.

(That's our senior pastor in the red. He pastors over 3,000 people, but still 

found time to don the sumo suit on a random Wednesday afternoon)

It's funny how God sends little reminders to be thankful and to be present in the most random ways.

Oh, and I love my job.

sponsor spotlight: Stephanie at Artfully Craft

Stephanie (from Artfully Craft) approached me about sponsoring HTB just a bit ago.  She's blogging her way through a series of crafts...and this girl is seriously creative!  Check it out!

I’m a fulltime student and I work in after school child care at the local YMCA.  I suppose I've always been a crafter (even at Halloween when I was just a tot!). It became apparent at a very young age that I was not a prodigy in art class. Even today, my stick figures are alarmingly devoid of any identifiable features. I never seem to get the arms the right length... But I always had a passion for the art supplies and the potential they held. It was in my early days as a Camp Fire Girl that I learned the magical art of crafting. I always find that the best place to stir up a little spark of creativity is a craft blog. I've been obsessively searching for and following many for years. It's my love of these that inspired me to start this very blog. I've been making crafts for so long, that it's only fair I share a few with the community that inspired me.


Right now, I live in Eugene, Oregon where I’m attending school as a Marine Biology and Environmental Science double-major. Home is in Southwest Missouri, a little town just outside Springfield.


My blog is called Artfully Craft.  It is meant to inspire those who want to get into crafting. I just love how accessible crafting is and want to share that.  I will include some recipes, but only if they fall under the category of “If you knew how quick/easy/cheap this was, you’d do it too!” 


I’ve been to camp every summer since I was 5, and that makes 19 as of this past one.  I have been an arts and crafts director for 3 summers.  I made my acting debut on stage at the Springfield Little Theater in Springfield, MO with a starring role as Noleta Nethercott in Sordid Lives.  Just weeks after the show closed, I was packing up and moving across the country, so I’m looking forward to getting involved in local theater here if I ever find the time.

So go check Stephanie out at Artfully Craft!

i dig yo' style.

This is a first...an outfit post!

As I was heading to lunch today, I thought I'd stop and take a few photos of my outfit because:

a) I desperately need some new pictures of myself

b) I particularly liked my outfit today

And I guess I should tell you what I'm wearing..cause that's what you do in an outfit post, right?

Sweater:  Target
Dress:  Ross
Tights:  I couldn't even tell you.  I might have stolen them from my mom.
Boots:  Target
Socks:  Target
Scarf:  Oxford, England ('twas a gift from a friend!)

So clearly, I shop at Target.

Sponsor Spotlight: Emily from Tales for Karina Marie

I've got another sponsor to introduce you to!  

(and I'm really starting to love these posts...I love getting to know new people!)

Emily blogs over at Tales for Karina Marie.  She's actually the real life friend of one of my real life friends, so we're like, two degrees removed from one another or something.  Anyway, she's a sweetheart, has great style, and also has some pretty awesome diy projects going on.  Oh, and did I mention she's having me guest post later this week?  Yeah, I like this girl.

I'm a 23-year old executive assistant by day, and by night, I'm a violinist/vocalist, part-time Journalism student, a crafter, a folk-bluegrass lover, a film-buff, and a subscriber to Vogue since I was 15 years old.

I grew up in Haverhill, Groveland, and Newburyport, MA.  In fact, I spent a lot of my time in Haverhill with the young lady from Life in Technicolor.  

I started Tales for Karina Marie with a different name about a year ago.  I wasn't completely committed to it, and it was completely directionless.  A little less than two months ago, my best friend died in a tragic car accident.  I felt God's push towards the blogging community and decided to immerse myself into it full-time  It has been extremely therapeutic, and it is starting to grow rather rapidly.  Right now, I'm focusing Tales for Karina Marie more from a personal/lifestyle aspect, along with crafting and outfit posts.  

I'm REALLY trying to find my voice in the blogging world, and in the "real world" I am an extremely honest and frank person.  I am finding it difficult to share anything too personal or close to my heart right now.  Hopefully that will change eventually.  Gah!  Stay tuned.

Oh, and when I asked Emily what type of store she'd like to own, she said "I would probably own an Anthropologie store. I'm kinda obsessed with that place. I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive!!"

Girl after my own heart. 

So go check out Tales for Karina Marie!