HELLO MY LOVELIES!

How have you been? I've been wanting to post for days now, but I haven't had a chance. My college teachers decided that they were going to assign everything at once, so I've been somewhat dying. I've also ended up in this major blogging rut- I can't come up with anything to post for some reason. I feel like all I ever do on here is ramble, and I know that has to get boring. So if you know of any particular posts you'd like to see, let me know!

Nothing too interesting has been going on around here. Just lots and lots of school, meetings, flu shots, and novel work. I'm slowly but surely getting past it all, though, which is making me happy! As long as I survive the PSAT next week, life will be good.

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So now that that's done, let's get down to business. Circle up, everybody. It's storytime.

Now, we've been over this many times before.

Baking and I do not get along. At all.

A couple of years ago, I shared my first fail on the blog. It wasn't absolutely horrible, but let's just say it was definitely a mess. I don't know what it is about autumn, but I always get an urge to bake. I blame Pinterest- there are so many cute desserts, that I'm naive enough to say, "Why not? Let's try to bake!"

I need to learn that this is not a wise decision to make.

This past weekend, life actually calmed down a bit. I had most of my schoolwork under control, and honestly I was just so tired that I didn't feel like blogging. Creativity was at a definite low. But my sisters and I had been talking about making some Halloween-themed desserts, so we decided to give it a try. After some in-depth Pinterest scrolling, we landed on a recipe that looked easy enough. Famous last words.

Simple, right? Make some brownie mix, make some cake mix, pour them in a cupcake liner, pipe on some frosting and bam, you have an awesome cupcake.

Or so we thought.

It started off pretty well. I worked on the brownie mix while my sisters worked on the cake mix. They added some orange food dye to make it nice and festive, and everything was great. I poured the brownie mix into the bottom of a cupcake liner, and then we poured the cake mix on top. It's not a hard recipe, so there shouldn't have been any problems.

(We had some extra cake batter so we decided to make some little heart cakes)

We put the cupcakes into the oven and baked them at the temperature that the recipe called for. When we pulled them out, they looked great. They had puffed up and looked really pretty- I loved the orange color! It was so autumnal and festive. We let the cupcakes cool, and once they were ready, we piped on the frosting. Decorating cupcakes is always so much fun- my sisters and I always tend to go crazy with the sprinkles!!

(Don't judge the icing, some of them are kind of messy haha. Although I'm quite proud of the one next to the bag of chocolate chips tbh.)

So everything seemed to be great. The cupcakes were beautiful. They smelled fantastic. We were all super excited to try them!

My mom cuts one open, because obviously we have to look to see how pretty the layers are. Upon cutting it, she noticed something odd.

"Guys...I don't think the brownie cooked."

We were all super confused. We baked them at the right temperature for the right time. What could have gone wrong? But sure enough, every. single. brownie. was too gooey and raw.

Like, what the heck?????

We still can't figure out what happened. Personally, I blame it on my baking curse. I'm pretty sure that I can mess up every single recipe, no matter how easy it is. Who knows? Whatever the reason, I have to say, I was pretty disappointed that the delicious brownie turned out not to be edible. -_- That should be illegal.

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Thus ends the sad story of my Saturday night. I'm still kind of bitter, really. I mean, a brownie/cupcake hybrid- what could be better??? I'll have to try and make them again sometime. Maybe bake them longer? I don't know. It's worth an experiment!

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So tell me- don't you agree that this is TRAGIC?? Can YOU bake?

Summer Days // Doughnut Adventures

Let's be real- doughnuts are basically little beautiful circles of happiness. The different kinds of doughnuts are basically limitless, and it's pretty hard to find a bad doughnut. I see no cons in this situation.

(If you're currently in the midst of the no-sugar challenge, I'M SORRY. I'm weak. I can't.)

There's this really cool place near to where I live where you can build your own doughnuts, and we've been wanting to go for forever. Now that we've finally had our schedules calm down a bit, we decided to head on over! We were hoping to do some shopping nearby as well, but there weren't as many shops nearby as we had hoped. We visited my uncle and my papa at work though, so that was fun!

Before I start talking about the doughnuts, though, can we have a moment of appreciation for this purse? IT'S AN OWL. I'm obsessed, guys. Like, how cute is that?

Also, for all of you who lean toward the healthier side of things, a photo of some bright colorful veggies that I snapped during out Aldi run!

Now, to the doughnuts.

Basically how it worked was you were given a little form to fill out, to build your doughnuts. The base of all the doughnuts is a basic cake doughnut, and you then get to choose an icing and a topping. There were literally so many options that you could try, it was incredible.

Since it was our first time, we decided to get a dozen so that we could try lots of different kinds. I have to say that my personal favorite would have to be chocolate with chocolate chips, although chocolate with Reese's pieces is definitely a close second!

Obviously I didn't mind the sprinkle too much either.

In conclusion? Doughnuts make the world go round.

p.s. Shoutout to my sister for being an epic photographer and capturing my awkwardness for the world to see. You rock.

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So, let's have a lovely doughnut discussion! What's YOUR favorite kind of doughnut?? Have YOU ever built your own doughnut? Do YOU agree that doughnuts make the world go round?? Let's chat!!

Team Pancake VS Team Waffle | A TAG!! | #TEAMWAFFLE

I'm super neutral on the topic..not.

You may not be aware of this. But the blogosphere is at war.

Yes, that's right. There's a war going on. So bunker down and get ready, because anything could happen at this point. It's dangerous out there, guys.

It all started with a tweet.

The battle then made its way to Instagram, and let me just tell you, it was beautiful. Only in the blogger world will you find people so passionate about a battle between pancakes and waffles. xD If you want to see the Instagram battle, you can see it here.

So then, the brilliant Rachel decided to make an official Team Pancake vs. Team Waffle Tag. Naturally, I had to take part!!

HOW CAN YOU LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS AND NOT BE ON TEAM WAFFLE??

To be clear, I'm obviously on Team Waffle. Don't get me wrong, pancakes are great. But WAFFLES!!!! In my opinion, they're easier to make than pancakes because with pancakes you have to worry about flipping them and making sure that they don't burn. With waffles, you just pour the mixture into the waffle maker and let it do its job. (Also I have a Mickey Mouse waffle maker which is kind of the best thing in the world.) There's also the issue of toppings. With waffles, you can put whipped cream or butter in all of the little boxes and it's perfect. Whipped cream or butter slip off of pancakes! Then you're just slightly depressed at your melted toppings all alone. It's a losing battle.

Anyways, on with the tag!!!

Rules:

1. Thank/link the person who tagged you. (b/c it's always great to be polite)
2. Answer the questions.
3. Tag 5 people. (b/c we want to spread the happiness!)
4. Include your favorite waffle/pancake recipe! (optional!)

Well, Rachel, thank you so much for tagging me! Rachel's super awesome, as is her blog. (Although she IS on Team Pancake. Sigh.)

Here are the questions!

1. Describe your ideal pancake/waffle in three words.
2. If you could eat pancakes/waffles with anyone in the world, living or dead, fictional or real, who would you want to eat with?
3. Top three condiments to put on your pancakes/waffles?
4. Describe why you think why pancakes/waffles are better than the other option.
5. If you could make your pancakes/waffles into any shape or size, how would you make them?

1. // Describe your ideal waffle in three words.

Light, chocolate-y, crispy

2. // If you could eat waffles with anyone in the world, living or dead, fictional or real, who would you want to eat with?

THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS HERE!!! Um. Personally I think it'd be pretty awesome to eat waffles with Julie Andrews. Not going to lie. I bet she's on #TeamWaffle.

3. // Top three condiments to put on your waffles?

WHIPPED CREAM, Chocolate chips (inside the waffle and sprinkled on top of the whipped cream), and butter.

4. // Describe why you think waffles are better than the other option.

As I explained above, waffles are easier to make. You can get them perfectly crispy so that they aren't mushy but they aren't overcooked either. My OCD self loves all of the little squares that can be filled with whipped cream or syrup or whatever you want. You can put awesome stuff in the batter like cinnamon or chocolate chips and it's wonderful.

5. // If you could make your waffles into any shape or size, how would you make them?

Hmm. Well, as you can see above, my waffle maker makes lovely large round waffles that split into four pieces, which I personally love. So then you can eat them a quarter at a time and it's all very neat and orderly. I'd be interested to see the world's biggest waffle. That would be pretty awesome.

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I would like to tag Hannah, Elizabeth, Elissa, Abby, and Autumn. And YOU!! I want to hear more opinions!!

As for a favorite recipe, I really don't know. I'm not too picky. Just give me some waffles!!!

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So tell me- are you #TeamPancake or #Team Waffle?? Let me know in the comments below! (I promise to still love you if you're on Team Pancake.)

Beach Weekend!

Hello! Sorry that I've been a bit MIA on and off. I don't really have a solid excuse, except to repeat what everyone in the blogosphere seems to be saying lately- life is crazy.

Over the past weekend, I got to get away for a bit to have a well-needed break. My family was invited to a wedding in Myrtle Beach, SC, so we got to go down there for a bit. It was absolutely wonderful. It was exactly what I needed!

We headed down first thing on Thursday morning, and made it to the beach in time for a late lunch. One of our favorite places at Myrtle is River City, so we decided to go there. It's the BEST- if you ever are in the Myrtle Beach area, you definitely should stop by. The food is amazing, and it's just a really cool environment- they have big buckets of peanuts, and the walls are lined with license plates. You can write wherever you want- on the walls, on the doors, the tables. There are hundreds and hundreds of signatures and messages written all over the restaurant, and it's really cool to look at them.

Isn't this place just the coolest? And the food is fabulous. If I lived at the beach, I'm pretty sure I'd gain ten pounds just thanks to this restaurant.

After lunch, we headed to the hotel, and grabbed some doughnuts on the way for breakfast. I have a love affair with Krispy Kreme.

We unpacked really quickly, then headed to the beach. We had a lovely adventure that consisted of a twenty minute struggle to figure out where on earth the beach access was. Like, we were debating whether or not we would have to go through the woods to reach it. Honestly it was sort of hilarious. BUT WE MADE IT!

The beach was SUPER windy, but it was so nice to be out there. I love the beach so much. I can really see myself living at the beach at some point in my life. The dream would be to have a house on the ocean where I can write and be an introvert to my heart's content, haha!

We did a ton of beach walking- like, four miles. Then we headed out to dinner. We really like Ultimate California Pizza at Myrtle, which is actually owned by the same people who own River City. When we GPS'd it, however, we ended up next to some tiny ice cream stand and were told that the place didn't exist. Ummm okay then... We found another one, though, so it was cool haha.

Their pizza is seriously the best. I love it.

Our plan for the next day was to go to the beach, but we only lasted about thirty seconds. It. Was. So. COLD! It was about fifty degrees outside, the wind was around 17-20 mph, and being next to the ocean- it was far too cold to stay on the beach. I thought I was going to freeze to death! So suddenly, it became a shopping day.

We decided to go to the Coastal Grand mall, and it was pretty successful- I ended up with a dress and a pair of shoes! They had a ton of shops, so it was really fun to walk around and just explore. I found a bunch of interesting-looking books in Books A Million, so I can't wait to see if my library has them! I have this weird thing about not wanting to buy books that I haven't read before, because I'm scared I won't like them. Weird, I know, but it's how I am!

These are the shoes that I found- aren't they the cutest?

That night we had a dessert party, which was fun- chocolate cheesecake was involved;) Gosh, I feel like all I do is talk about food lately. I swear I'm not as unhealthy as I sound.

The next day was our big beach day- we spent most of the day on the beach. Not going to lie, I was absolutely freezing for about 3/4 of the day. It wasn't as bad as the previous day, but it was COLD! I was wearing leggings, a t-shirt, my dad's sweater, and a hoodie, and I was still cold. The rest of my family was fine, though, so apparently I just don't handle nature very well.

That night was the wedding. It was a really nice ceremony, and the venue was gorgeous. The reception was also really fun- any time that I get to dance to Footloose is a good time!!

We had to go home the next day, but not without squeezing in a few hours on the beach, first. It was the best weather that we had all week- of course our best weather is the day that we go home. I loved the several hours that we spent out there, though- they were great.

After that we began the sad trek back home. But hey- there are still lots of exciting things at home, and we can always go back to the beach! I can't wait until we do. : )

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Well, that was my weekend! It was really nice to get away. How was your weekend? Do you have any trips planned? Tell me all about it in the comments!!

September / October Favorites!!

Hello, everyone!!! First off, I am SO sorry that I never posted my September favorites. I had the majority of the post written up, but things just got super crazy and time got away from me. Sorry about that. Anyways, I decided to combine my September favorites with my October favorites, so that I could show you all everything that I've been loving over the course of the past two months.

Is it just me, or has autumn gone by super quickly? The fact that it's NOVEMBER, and Halloween is over, and it's almost Thanksgiving...that's nuts! Time, can you please slow down??

I don't have a ton of new beauty favorites, I really need to go shopping. I've only been to Target once recently, and it was at like, 11:30 p.m. haha, so that didn't count.

I MISS YOU, TARGET!!!

*cough* Annnnyway...

Y'know what, let's just forget my awkwardness and get into the favorites...

Beauty:

I believe that I mentioned this polish previously, in a Weekly Wrap-Up post. My friend gave it to me, and I've fallen in love! It's by Essie in the shade "borrowed and blue". The quality of this polish is crazy, it lasts for SEVERAL days (Usually my nails chip after like, a day), and it dries super fast. It doesn't get really sticky and gloppy, which is nice. It makes painting my nails much easier! The color is gorgeous, it's this really pale blue, and it looks great on my nails. Now I want to get some more Essie polishes!! Oh, how I wish they were cheaper. I would buy them all!

I purchased these burgandy wedges at the beginning of the season at Maurice's, and I'm seriously obsessed. They're perfect for autumn, I love them so much! The color is a lot more reddish in person, a lot darker. I'm not sure why I couldn't get that on photo better. 

I feel like such a stereotypical blogger, but I just love plaid! I picked up this shirt at Ross a few weeks ago, and I think that it's super cute. Plus, plaids are so cozy! They're seriously the best. I'm definitely wearing plaid a ton!

Nivea hand cream. This stuff is AMAZING! I originally got it in a Walmart Beauty Box, but at the time I didn't use it. Lately, my skin has been SUPER dry thanks to the weather, and I decided to try this cream. Oh my goodness, it's seriously the best stuff ever. I love it! It's super moisturizing without being greasy. Love it.

Books: 

I've raved about Catching Fire on here before (I read it in September), but I had to include it. I'm still planning on doing a post devoted to The Hunger Games (I don't want to publish it until I've read Mockingjay- which is currently in my possession! I'm going to read it this week. Let the tears begin.), but let me just say, I loved Catching Fire. Yes, it crushed my soul. A lot. But I loved it nevertheless!!!

I know that I already reviewed this, but I had to include Secret Letters in my favorites. Honestly, this is SUCH a good book, guys, I can't recommend it enough.

Randomness:

As I'm sure that you all could tell by my posts, I'm loving this season of Dancing With The Stars! It's been great so far. I really miss Len, though. It's just not the same without him! I wish he'd come back, even just for a few episodes. It's been a good season though, if you ignore the lack of adorable British-ness...

Scones have quickly become my newest obsession. They're such a great breakfast. My mom makes the best scones- I need to try making them sometime! Let's face it, I'll probably crash and burn, but if so, it'll be an interesting blog post for you all! (Note: Since I originally wrote up this post, I did try making scones- AND I SUCCEEDED!! I was quite proud of myself. Usually cooking and I don't get along too well.)

Yes, this is a Disney show. And yes, sometimes it can be a little bit cheesy. But I have to admit, I love it. I absolutely adore Boy Meets World, and now I've gotten sucked into the sequel. It's actually a good show, once you get into it. Plus, Lucas + Maya = Perfection!!!

Hand-lettering. I showed you all the original version of this in my Weekly Wrap-Up, and while my version is far from perfect, it turned out better than I expected it to. I'm working on getting better!! 

Music: 

I think that I've mentioned this soundtrack in one of my Weekly Wrap-Up posts, but it definitely needs to be a part of my favorites. IT IS SO GOOD! Oh my goodness. I've been listening to this soundtrack constantly lately, and I'm in love. My favorite song on here would probably have to be Dying Ain't So Bad, but there are so many good ones! I'm a bit partial to that piece because a friend of mine sang it for a competition, and it was INCREDIBLE. Her voice is absolutely gorgeous. There are lots of other great songs on there though- Picture Show, How 'Bout A Dance, Bonnie, and You Love Who You Love (which my sister and I might do for a competition!). Overall it's just a really great soundtrack. Bonnie and Clyde is such an underappreciated musical- it only ran for four weeks, which is crazy. Definitely go listen to it!

This is kind of weird, but I've been loving the Tarzan soundtrack!!!

Favorite Songs:

I See Fire- Ed Sheeran
Chasing Cars- Snow Patrol
Human- Christina Perri
Fight Song- Rachel Platten
I'm Not The Only One- Sabrina Carpenter (Originally Sam Smith
Try- Colbie Caillat
Rocketship- Shane Harper
Let Her Go- Passenger
Hello- Adele

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What were some of your favorites?