Friday Faves

Finally, finally the school year from hell is over. To quote Rebecca Martinson, of sorority email rant fame, it has been "a rough fucking ride." But it is over and done. I am going into my last year of school. 36 credits and I can move on to my endless list of ways to change the world. So now I can promise happier, better Friday Faves.

1. Peer Research Consultant

I got an email this week offering me a position as a Peer Research Consultant in the Knowledge Market in the new library they are finishing building over the summer. The Knowledge Market is a new feature of the library that will include students specialized in writing, research, and speaking to help other students for free. I am incredibly excited to take a position and did a happy dance when I got the email.

2. Family Dinner at Uccello's

We celebrated the end of the semester, Grace's graduation, and Emily going to Spain next fall with some delicious pasta at Uccello's. I will miss Grace and Emily but I am very happy for both of them. Mary Kate, Claire and I will have a blast in the fall and I knew when I took my little sisters that they would have to grow up at some point. It was nice having some time with them before everyone disperses for the summer. Luckily, I will have Claire around all summer.

3. Fresh Starts

Like I said, the end of the semester ends the longest year of my life and marks the beginning of my undergraduate years. I am so ready for the fresh start and knowing it is my last chance, I am so ready to get started with my summer classes. It's time to go hard at those last 36 credits. I said that this year would be different and I mean it.

4. WeDoist

Jessica and I found this great site where you can create a to-do list with other people and check it off as you go. You can chat with other people, comment on their tasks, and create new lists. In case you didn't know this about me and Jessica, we're pretty dependent on each other to be productive. We cheer each other on and commiserate when we don't get as much done as we want to. And Jessica teaches me that parenting steals a little of your soul.

5. Chicken Pot Pie

I'm too lazy to go take a picture, sorry. But trust me, it was amazing. Literally, the most delicious pot pie I've ever had. Once you make this, you will never buy frozen pot pies from the store again. And again, I'm sorry that there is no picture to substantiate my claims but you're just going to have to trust me on this one. I'll blog about it later, mmk?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

I've been going through my boards on Pinterest because sadly, I love to pin food but on my dessert board alone, I had more than 700 pins. 700! That's a dessert a day for two years! So I went back the first pins on that board and started looking for easy stuff that would be fun to try to clear out my board.  One of my first pins were these little truffles. I had a couple of reincarnations that I might try at another time but for the moment they've all be moved to another board for the future. They are super tasty but they have the texture of cookie dough so I recommend adding a little more flour to make them stiffer or dip the whole truffle in chocolate. I didn't have any shortening to thin my milk chocolate out with so I decided the drizzle would keep the truffles from becoming too chocolate-y. Don't they look so cute? Obsessed. Plus they really do taste like cookie dough!

Wednesday Writings

This Wednesday Writings is a little different. Instead of coming from the "642 Things to Write About", this is something some students in my theater class got to do for our group projects and so I decided to do it too.

Dream Cast "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde

John (Jack/Ernest) Worthing, J.P.: 

Seemingly responsible and respectable but leads a double life. Has to be a little older because he is the guardian of teenage Cecily. I chose Daniel Craig because duh, he plays James Bond so we know he can do smooth with a dark side.

Algernon Moncrieff:

Brilliant, witty, selfish, amoral, charming. Has to still be a little likeable because we have to understand why Jack/Ernest and Cecily like him. I chose Hugh Laurie because he is incredibly funny and loveable. Plus he plays the very selfish, amoral House so well.

Gwendolen Fairfax:

A model and arbiter on high fashion and society, sophisticated, intelligent, intellectual, cosmopolitan, moral. Loves Jack/Earnest because of his name Earnest and insists she will not marry anyone without the name Earnest. Algernon's cousin.  I chose Emily Blunt because she does comedy well and she is classy.

Cecily Cardew:

Jack's ward and Gwen's antithesis. Imaginative and pure. Naive like 17 year-old girls can be. Obsessed with wickedness. Very sweet. I know I've chosen all British actors up until this one but I could not get Amanda Seyfried out of my head while I was working on this project with my group. She is very sweet and I don't think she would seem too young for Hugh Laurie like my second choice, Mia Wasikowska, might.

Lady Bracknell:

Algernon's aunt and Gwen's mother. Snobbish and domineering, unknowingly prone to hilarious pronouncements. Meant to satirize the hypocrisy and stupidity of aristocracy. Prefers ignorance over intellegence and would like to marry Gwen off to someone high society. Maggie Smith obviously does humor well and I think we can all say she would look great in Victorian costumes and play the old Victorian-valued mother well.

There are four other minor characters: a nanny, two butlers, and a reverend but I don't think it is necessary to cast huge actors into these parts because they each have very few lines. This was fun! I'm going to have to do this again!

Liebster Award

I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Jess @ Monkey Toes and Manicures! I honestly had never heard of it before but I'm glad Jessica gave me something to do. The Liebster Award is for blogs under 200 followers that you love! The point is to spread some love to some smaller blogs. There are some rules:

1. Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
2. Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award onto and link them in your post.

3. Create 11 new questions for the chosen bloggers.
4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.
5. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
6. No tag-backs!
So the thing is I'm not going to follow rule #2. I follow only a few blogs and I'm not going to search out smaller blogs because the point is I honestly love the five blogs I'm nominating. I don't want to lie to you and say I love 11 blogs when I honestly follow these five blogs. Upon some research, the award originally was intended to only nominate 3-5 other blogs with less than 3,000 followers so I'm cool with breaking these rules and following the old ones. Okay, now that that is cleared up, these are my answers to Jessica's questions.

1. How did you meet your best friend?

On a date. Originally, Joe and I dated and then we realized we are the coolest best friends and we did not work at a couple. And I am completely honest when I say it is not awkward at all. I love Joey. If you follow my blog, you know that already.
2. What's one makeup thing you struggle with?

Eye lashes. We all know I rode the struggle bus with those dang eye lashes.
3. What's one place you really want to see before you die?

Germany. My history degree kind of makes this so.
4. What do you splurge on?

Clothes. Always. I spend way too much time trying on clothes and if I love something, I do not care how much money I don't have, I'll buy it.
5. Who would you pick to play you in a movie?

Jennifer Lawrence. Because I love her. It's not weird. I promise.
6. What is your absolute favorite store to shop at?

New York & Co.
7. What is your favorite snack food?

Cereal. I could eat breakfast cereal every day for every meal.
8. If you could have a role in any TV show, what would it be?

DOCTOR WHO!
9. You are having a dinner party. You can invite anyone, dead or alive. Who would it be?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Matt Smith, Jennifer Lawrence, Audrey Hepburn, and Louie C.K.
10. What is one beauty product on your wishlist right now?

Anything from Lush.
11. What is your favorite cosmetics brand?

Maybelline. I believe we have proved before I have more of their products than any other.

11 Random Facts About Me:

1. I am a twin. You know her, right? She's the one who nominated me.

2. I am getting my history degree but as soon as I graduate, I want to go back and get a radiology degree too.

3. I have two little sisters. Grace and Emily. They could not be more different.

4. I love Bath & Body Works mini candles. Not the small or the three-wicks. The minis.

5. My room must be clean if I have any hope of studying which is why I don't study in my room very often.

6. I've seen all 10 seasons of Friends a ridiculous number of times.

7. For the first two months of living with my current roommates, I'm pretty sure they thought I only ate black beans and rice. Probably because I mostly did.

8. I buy each season of Gray's Anatomy as it comes out. I say "buy" but really I ask my parents for it and they get it for my birthday. Every. Year.

9. My make-up and beauty knowledge exclusively comes from my sister.

10. I sing a lot of karaoke.
11. Sometimes, I randomly sing "Fa la la la la la la la la". You know, the Christmas tune? Just when the mood strikes.

The people I nominate:
1. Blair @ Blair Blogs
2. Samantha @ Samantha Elisabeth
3. Katie @ Confessions of a Starving College Student
4. Briana @ Royally Pink
5. Amanda @ Bows, Pearls, and Frappuccinos

Here are my 11 questions for these lovely ladies:

1. How did you pick your college?
2. Current trend you love?
3. Color for the summer you're loving?
4. One beauty product you cannot live without?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
7. Favorite online store?
8. One skill you would like to learn before you die?
9. Something interesting you learned recently?
10. If you had to live in a decade other than the current one, which one would you choose?
11. Sailboats or cruise ships?

This was fun! I'm really excited to spread the love with these five bloggers.

Doctor Who Season 7 Part 2 Premier

WARNING: May contain spoilers.

Doctor Who once again made my bucket list because the premier was on the Saturday before Easter and I've been looking forward to it since Christmas. The first episode of second half of season 7 is "The Bells of Saint John".  We have the return of Jenna-Louise Coleman's terribly confusing character of Clara Oswin Oswald and Matt Smith continues as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor. And spoiler! We also get a glimpse of "the Great Intelligence", played by Richard E. Grant. Can't wait to see how he comes back throughout this season.

We don't get a lot of details about Clara/Oswin except the connection from Clara to the name of Oswin and the little details of how Clara comes to be a nanny in the 21st century. I'm afraid the last 7 episodes of the season may not give us a lot either.  Moffat can be pretty sadistic like that. But I'm hopeful this season will help us learn more of Clara's story and resolve how she has died twice! Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if she is Rory's daughter or something from the number of times she has died and come back to life.

Also! Neil Gaiman has been bribed back into writing another episode, which will be the 12 episode of the season! It's titled "Nightmare in Silver" and Moffat requested that Gaimen make cybermen scary again! Considering Gaiman wrote one of my top 3 favorite episodes of all time, I can't wait to see it!

"When you say 'mobile phone', why do you point to that blue box?"

"Because it's a surprisingly accurate description!"

Friday Faves

Will this semester ever end? I really just need next Friday to be here now.

1. Marybeth

MB surprised us by showing up at meeting on Sunday. We enjoyed $3.99 chicken finger baskets at the Pub afterwards and it made me realize just how much I miss her. It was so exciting to see her again and it was a good start to my week.

2. Strawberry Chiffon Pie

Joe and I made the best pie in the entire world. Literally the best. I've eaten nearly a whole one this week. It's a little sad but also really awesome. I wrote a post for it so look forward to being jealous of my pie again soon.

3. Jaclyn and Ashlee

Ashlee is moving back to Grand Rapids in May! Jaclyn and I spent Sunday evening talking about all the awesome shenanigans we are going to get into this summer!

4. Matt

Well. This should explain it.

5. Baby Gorilla

This baby gorilla is very surprised by the cold stethoscope!

Mug Brownie

I like the whole dessert in a mug trend. It's perfect for lazy people like myself. I did post this tasty mug cake so you know this already. I found this mug brownie online the other day and I was like "hey I have all this stuff!!" so I proceeded to make it. It's good to note that this is not tasty without the salt so make sure you add that. And it's also a little too big for one person so share with a friend. I'm sorry this picture isn't super tasty. How do you make a brown blob tasty looking? I pulled it when it was still a little gooey because that's how my oven brownies are.

Wednesday Writings

Something you had that was stolen

At the end of my sister's pregnancy, I packed a bag so that when she went into labor, I would have everything I would need without having to rush around my apartment. I had a couple DVDs in there in case we were there a long time, my camera and the charger, my car charger for my phone, and a couple of outfits so I would have clean clothes no matter how long I decided to stay in town. I left it in my back seat and forgot about it. We had a couple of false alarms and I drove down only to come right back home. One weekend, I went to Joe's to go to a wedding with him. I left my bag in the car as usual. Joe moved my car into his garage and I remember asking him if he locked my car and he said no one would come into the garage so I let it go. On our way to the wedding, we noticed the garage door was open and a bike that was there was gone. We didn't think anything of it. The next day, when we walked out to my car, we noticed the door was open and the car's battery was dead. While Joe was getting ready to jump my car, I looked behind my seat to notice my hospital bag was gone. I was devastated. It wasn't so much that I lost all those clothes or the DVDs or anything. It was more about having someone in my space and think they deserved my stuff more than me. I am just a poor college student. I stayed over night at Joe's instead of going home because I was so upset. The next morning my sister went into labor and my nephew was born that night. I wasn't wearing clean clothes and it didn't matter.

Open Face Chicken Caprese Sandwiches

Pinterest is great. Almost every recipe I've blogged about has been found on Pinterest. But there is one problem. A lot of recipes I find on there are complicated, time consuming, or have a lot of ingredients that I have to go out and find. Sometimes, you just want a lunch or dinner that won't take a lot of time or financial investment. Joe and I had these sandwiches for lunch and they came together very quickly. As usual, Joe and I instantly came up with half a dozen ways to put our own spin on it but really, this is one of those rare recipes I would eat again without any alterations. Iowa Girl Eats is such a great food blog. Here is her post about these yummies. I can't wait to make these again!

Spring Cleaning

Another post from my Spring Bucket List. As much fun as all the food and activities are, I put spring cleaning on my list for some motivation to get stuff done. I didn't actually clean my whole room. I limited my cleaning to the reorganization of my closet. With all the crafting I've been doing, the shelf in my closet became unruly. I'd been storing stuff I meant to up-cycle on my floor and I had already begun to clean out my wardrobe so it was getting a little out of hand. Here are the before pictures.

View from the door: All that stuff on the right is on the floor because I had literally no other place for it. The big blue bin is full of sorority shirts.

The cubes on the back wall were over flowing, particularly with purses and hoodies. As you can see, they also were home to all the beauty products that didn't fit on my shelf in the bathroom.

#shortpeopleproblems. I had just been tossing things up there because it had been so hard to get things off the shelf and put them back up in an orderly manner.

I began by clearing the shelf off and pulling everything out that was on the floor. Which gave me a tiny panic attack because it just made a big pile of stuff in my room that would all have to find a home before I could go to bed. Just look at the mess!

What you can't see is the pile that also took over my closet and how I was stuck in the closet while I attempted to reorganize.

I set my priority at the beginning: Crafting. I wanted all my crafting supplies organized in such a way that it would be easy to find what I was looking for. All those pretty patterned boxes and only one small box was dedicated to crafting. I knew I could consolidate my other boxes to make room for more crafty things. I ended up making all 6 pretty patterned boxes craft stuff along with a clear plastic tote for current projects so I wouldn't get down all 6 for one project.

All the sorority clothes and bag made it into the blue tote. The plastic bag just has plastic bags in it to use as garbage bags. The cubes got reorganized and the beauty supplies were consolidated down to just one shoe box and my box of samples.

All the stuff I use regularly got pulled to the front and everything else creates a secondary row at the back of the shelf. The big box of papers got sorted into two shoe boxes that have been labeled to make it easier.

The best part of this whole project? I can find what I need now and the whole thing cost me absolutely nothing. I didn't have to spend any money buying new organizational tools. I just rethought some stuff I already had and created a priority for the space. Perfect!

Friday Faves

I think my Friday Faves will be more fun when I'm not drowning in school work. I'm sorry I am so lame.

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Yum. Yum. Yum. These are amazing. Ahhhh-mazing. I have no self control around these. 

2. Gift from Joey

Isn't this just the cutest! I just love it! I have the bestest friend ever.

3. Influenster

I got an email earlier this week from Influenster for the qualifying quiz for the April box! The title of the quiz is "The Total Cleanse" and from the questions, I bet it's cleaning products and body care. I'm excited.

4. Formal

AW YEAH! Formal was a total blasty-blast! I had a great time with all of my sisters!

5. Motivation

For the rest of the semester. You're welcome. 

Tiered Make Up Stand

I've been seeing all these cute little tiered stands on Pinterest. Like this little cutie from BHG. And then I realized the Dollar Store could be the perfect place to find what I'm looking for. So I walked around the Dollar Tree for approximately a million hours looking at all my options for trays and while I love their metal serving platters, I wanted the proportions of a small platter on top of a larger platter. I finally settled on some burner covers to get the proportions. I went to the craft store with a plan but as all my projects seem to go, the execution altered from my plan.

Supplies: Burner covers, super glue, candlestick, spray paint, and washi tape.

The original plan was to spray paint the tops and bottoms of the covers and maybe add some washi tape to the edge. That is not quite how it went.

After doing a test on the back of the trays, I didn't like the paint. I wasn't sure if it was the brand or the can or operator error but it spattered everywhere while I was spraying and created big splotches. It was a mess. And that little spot on the little cover? I sprayed that and the paint literally repelled off so that was it for the paint. I got the great idea that I could use the washi tape to add some flair to the edges  and leave the inside of the covers (mostly) white.

I did the little cover with pink washi tape and the big cover with purple chevron washi tape.

 I decided to clean up the inside edge too so I added the opposite color on the inside edge.

Then I just super glued the whole situation together.

And there she is all set up with my make up. I think after all this, I'm going to remake it some day. But for now it works and its cute. Plus it gives me a place to display my nail polish.

Wednesday Writings

You are an astronaut. Describe your perfect day.

Dear Diary,
Day 73 in space. Success! I finally made it through the night without floating out of my sleeping bag. We had bananas at breakfast which made me feel like a monkey in space. :)  Then we made a video about the effects of no gravity.  I got to drink water out of the air! That was way more fun than the Harlem Shake video we made.  The for lunch, NASA had Pizza Hut "deliver" a pepperoni pizza! YAY!!!! Then we got out and did space stuffs. Walked on the moon or whatever. That part doesn't bother me, it's just a good day when we don't see aliens.  Before bed, I'm gonna snack on some Pringles from my own stash and video chat with my nephew. BTW, day 6 with no toilet problems and for once no other little mechanical issues.  Best day in space yet!!! I <3 space!

Fabric Covered Cork Boards

I have a problem. I love pictures so much that if I'm not careful, they will take over my room. I just love seeing the things that make me happy every day. And for the last 18 months, that has been my nephew. So obviously, I need pictures of him from every age all over my walls at all times. Well not all over. My OCD does apply to my walls so one wall is AST stuff, one wall is for my family and friends, and one has art I picked out from the arts & crafts festival in East Lansing. But anyways, the wall over my desk felt like it was missing something and I acquired some small square cork boards when we cleaned out the chapter room.  I didn't like the brown color so I decided to cover them with some leftover fabric from my stash. This project cost me NOTHING! Yay! So here's how they came together...

Seriously. Just cork boards, fabric, scissors, and a stapler. You might want some push pins to hold the fabric in place while you're folding and stapling it into place.

See my little push pins? So helpful when you're making sure the pattern stays the where you want it. Also, ironing it first and then adding creases as you go might help. That just sounded like a lot of work and I didn't want to drag my iron out.

Add some ribbons to the back if you like that look. I attached them with a little fabric glue and a couple of staples. I just wanted to make sure they wouldn't fall off my wall.

Aww they're cute! The green and black fabric is leftover from Grace and my failed attempt to make letters when she first joined. I really like that I get to look at it everyday and be reminded of those memories.The other fabric is just something I accumulated when my big graduated.

Now I realize the black frame isn't straight. I straightened it out before I took the picture but I'm pretty sure it hates me because it does that every time I straighten it. Also I just noticed one of the pics I put on my new cork board is also framed so I'll print something new to put up there. Oh well.

What do you think?! So cute right? Do you have any projects that you made from just stuff you had? It's the best when something like this comes together with no extra investments.

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Remember that episode of Friends where Amy pierces Emma's ears and Rachel gets really mad? They bond over how fat their third sister, Jill, has gotten because of her weakness: garlic bread. Yeah, that's me. I could eat garlic bread with every meal. Joe and I made this little snack and I can not get it out of my mind. It's so easy, I don't even have measurements or numbered steps for this. We dipped our bread in some spaghetti sauce with Parmesan cheese mixed in. It is just so dang good.

Get yourself some french bread, butter, garlic powder, and mozzarella cheese. Butter one side of each slice of bread, sprinkle on some garlic powder and put under the broiler until they look toasty. Top with some cheese and put them back under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly. Devour.

  

Friday Faves

This has been an impossibly hard week. "Let no one weep for me, or celebrate my funeral with mourning; for I still live, as I pass to and fro through the mouths of men." - Quintus Ennius

1. Kiersten

I could not have made it through this week with out her. Only a true friend sits through mass even though they are an atheist. She really is the best.

2. Joe

As usual, Joe is the best. He takes such good care of me, even from so far away. I couldn't have lived through this week without him.

3. Mama

I hope she knows that as much as she thinks I've been there for her this week, she was there for us kids too. She is a good mama.

4. Liam

Every time I see the baby, my week gets better! I love him to little tiny bits! 

5. My Alpha Sigma Tau Sisters

Countless emails and texts just reminded me how much I love them and how they are there for me when I need them most.

How To Clean Your Stove Top

Boys are kinda gross. Well, my house isn't much cleaner than a boy's but that's because I live with two girls who act like boys. So anyways, I was helping Joe clean his kitchen and this is what his stove looked like when I started.

Can you say ew? Yeah. Don't ask me what that brown goo in the middle is but it was very hard and scrubbing was getting me know where. I remembered that white vinegar is used for cleaning a lot so I poured some of that on and then I was like what the hell, I've seen pinterest posts use baking soda so I poured some of that on. Which was really fun by the way. And I let that sit for a few minutes. It didn't clean everything but it did make it easier to get most of it up. I have other plans to try other products because I'm determined to make it look like boys never touched it. It left the caked on stuff that is right around the burner but it got all the big stuff up. See?

The actual grey burners need to be cleaned and as you can see on the front left burner, there is still some caked on stuff but I have plans of attack with some harsher chemicals so I'll let you know how that goes!

Wednesday Writings

Write Facebook status updates for the year 2017. 

Seriously facebook?! I hate the new facbook layout! If they change it again, I’m leaving!
Congratulations Bob and Steve! So excited to see you get married today!

Like this status if you love your mom. If you don't like this status, your mom will die!

The Friends movie is amazing. I <3 Joey!

My cat is so cute. Cuddling my kitty.

Raspberry Lemonade

Have you ever wondered what sort of magic crack they have in restaurants that makes literally everything they serve so freakin' fancy? Like why is lemonade suddenly the most delicious beverage in the world when you are paying like $3 a glass? I don't know either! But I like the fruity crack lemonades so when I found this recipe, I was all over it. It comes out a pretty red pink color and it tastes amazing. New summer obsession! My suggestions? More lemon, less sugar syrup. And don't thaw your raspberries if you are using frozen But whatevs. It's your lemonade. Actually, will you share with me? I don't care if you don't take my suggestions, just share ok?