Next Thing On My List: HALES

20, when did that happen?

This summer I decided that there are somethings that I just need to do.
Some are a right of passage, others silly,
and still others I might never do if I keep putting them off.

20 Things to Do Before I am 20

1. Get Baptized
This was something I had wanted to do for a while and finally decided that there was not time like the present.

2. Go on a blind date
Going on a blind date was crazy!  The butterflies in my stomach before hand were unreal and we had a blast swing dancing the night away at Social Dance Studio followed by tea at Hard Times Cafe.  All in all a night I will never forget.  (& although he was really nice, it was not meant to be.)

3. Go to a concert

Jukebox the Ghost!!!
I spent a week learning the songs then our Broom Ball team went and jammed out!

 

4. Have a tea party with Becks
Becks is one of my best friends in the world and I couldn't imagine life with out her.

5. Stay up to watch the sunrise
We sure did stay up all night and although we did not see the sun actually rise we did go ice fishing that morning.

6. Become One with Nature

7. Road trip with Friends
Turned into a weekend in Duluth at a friends cabin.

 

8. Try out for something
I tried our for Fiddler on the Roof and although I did not make it... or even get a call back it was good to get out there.

9. Pay it Forward (Drive Through Difference)

10. Become a Princess
ELSA!! (For Halloween)

11. Learn how to drive a stick shift
Thanks to Josh Ochoa I can now drive a stick shift very poorly!

12. Go up the down escalator
If you want to see me act like a fool then click the link below.
Me Going Up the Down Escalator

13. Participate in the Swap A Letter, Swap A Parcel, Find A Friend: The Perfect Strangers Project
My perfect strangers, Jean lives in South Africa.  Unfortunately I found out that the South African Postal Service is on strike so I am currently waiting for them to go off strike before sending anything to her.  

14. Carve my name into a tree
This was something random that I had always wanted to do.
My Tree by Chris Rice

15. Try Something New
I had never played Broom Ball before J-term and fell in love with the sport.  Falling was a common happening for me while playing Broom Ball, I fell time and time again. We Won our last game!!!

16. Simplify My Life

As seen in a previous post I simplified my life by taking part in the 250 Things Challenge.

17-20...

So, no I did not finish the list.  There were a couple things that I did not get around to or meant to do but could not finish.  That does not mean that I have given up! I am currently learning to ride the unicycle, have plans for a Flash Mob in the near future and will get around to calling Bob Goff at one point or another. 

A little over 6 months ago I came up with a list of things to work towards.  I have never felt so driven and it makes me happy to know that I accomplished so much.  This list has taught me that it is important to work towards something but it is also important to go off script.  

For now I keeping looking at the

Next thing on my list...

250 things challenge

This summer, armed with blue painters tape and 250 numbered note cards I began the process of ridding myself of the excess.  I had just finished diving into the world of minimalism and was reading Dave Bruno's book The 100 Things Challenge.  Although I knew that only 100 things would not be a realistic goal for me, I found Joshua Fields blog post Everything I Own: My 288 Things to be a little more realistic.  I love how Fields emphasized that the number of things is not important or the idea of "counting your stuff" but the idea of having less and appreciating the stuff you have.

As I walked around my room I found myself trying to pick my top 10, the top 10 things I could not live without.  And strangely it was very difficult to decipher what those 10 things would be, let alone my 250 things2.  After looking at all my material possessions for a good while I started putting numbers to objects.

1. My Grandmother old sewing box

2. A vintage camera

3. My favorite sweatshirt

And it went on from there.  Every item was counted. Every item.  There were a couple of exception to the 250 things, for example I counted all of my books as one item and all of my socks as one item.  Also although I pared down on the amount of memorabilia from my childhood I still have a box of stuff of "childhood memories" sitting in my parents basement.  Aside from that every article of clothing, every trinket, every thing.

 I must have gotten rid of over 75% of my stuff from random antique vases to shirts I had not worn in years to stuffed animals I just could not let go of. 

I want to emphasize that I do not hate things, I think that they are an important part of our lives.  It is when they become the focal point in our lives or more important that we fall short and should take time to reevaluate.   

I challenge you to pick 10 things that you do not need, 10 things that you can live with out.  Put them into a box and donate them to Trinkets and Togs (In Waverly, IA) or check out Apartment Therapy's List of 25 Places to Donate Your Stuff.  

Less is Better - HALES

Scarf Season

Praise the Lamb it is scarf season again!

 

Hales expressed her deep love for crocheting with her post on making a Mason Jar Cozy...personally I usually gravitate towards making scarves.

 

 (Occasionally I will attempt a hat however I think that the general consensus should be that I stick to scarves for now!!)

 

Recently I went home for the weekend and found some gorgeous yarn when I was out shopping with my mom. I had one of those moments where I saw the yarn and with no hesitations I grabbed two skeins and accepted that they would very soon become a scarf.  

 

 

(Yarn is from Michaels/Loops & Threads/Stone)

 

Last year I made this scarf, but I have a few bones to pick with it.

  

 First I way overestimated the length so I have to wrap it three times if I want it to be functional in actually keeping me warm. Functionality is a must on my list when buying and making scarves. When I walk across campus is freezing temperatures I want thick wool and warmth!

 

Second is that the stitch (I call it the heart stich I am not one for actually knowing real names) I used makes the scarf really thick, which is nice but heavy!! I believe I used three skeins of yarn when I made this one...  

 

Lastly, I have decided that I have made enough infinity or round scarfs.

Yes they have a time and place where they are wonderful, but they are not as versatile as the classic tassel ended scarf. I am calling it now the tassel scarf is making a comeback.

(Not that it ever could have gone out of style, just briefly overshadowed.) 

 

I took my previous mistakes in to consideration when dreaming up this scarf.

 I liked the stitch I used previously but I only did half the width in that stich and double crotched the other half. 

 

[I watched some videos by SimplyHookedCrochet to learn the first stich. I would highly recommend watching some of her videos to learn the basics of crocheting and step by steps for projects!]

 

I also only used one and a half skeins of yarn and a really big hook.

My last solution was to not attach the ends but rather to make tassels instead!

And I have to say tassels are difficult to get perfect but I am get perfect but I am embracing my not so perfect tassels on this scarf! 

 

 

New Again

How did I come to this place?

A little over a week ago my family and some close friends joined me at lake Johanna and I got baptized!

And even now, the week after my baptism I am trying to figure out just the right way to tell my story and the right words to share my faith and what I believe.  But as I seem to do time and time again I am missing the point.  

The first time I accepted Jesus into my heart I was three.  I wanted to get baptized when I was in fourth grade and my dad told me that I needed to wait until I understood what it meant.  Then about two years ago I wanted to be baptized, but felt as though I had to clean myself before giving myself to Christ.  That I could not be with Christ until I was clean.  I don’t think that I had fully understood or remembered that it is only through Christ that I can be made clean.

I believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  I believe that Jesus came to this earth as a little baby and after spending some time on this earth died for our sins upon the cross.  I believe that being a follower of Christ is not the easy choice and will not be an easy road.  I believe that I will fall again and again and that each time Jesus will take me as I am. I believe.

And through Him I am new again, new every morning.

HALES

6 Reasons we LOVE Fall

Fall is here! 

And while it is fun to dwell on the wonderful summer that was had it is time to move forward to a new season that brings joys of its own. 

We wanted to share some of our favorite things about fall, because fall is awesome!

HALES

1. Fall Colors

The trees come to life in the fall, as if having one last party before winter.   It brings me such joy to see the leaves change colors.  From the soft greens of summer to bright yellows, deep oranges, scarlet reds, then down to the ground to rest in an autumn mosaic.

2. Hot Tea

I drink tea year round but there is nothing quite like drinking tea in the chill of fall.  Give me Chai tea, Black tea, Green tea, add some honey, milk or lemon.  Give me tea and I will be happy.  

3. Harvest Season

After a summer of weeding, watering, and waiting harvest season is finally here! It is amazing to see how a little seed can turn into something so beautiful.  Gardening fills me with such hope! 

BECKS

1. Fall Clothes

AHhhhhhh! I love layers so much! If I could wear boots, cardigans, flannels, and jeans all year round I would. There are so many different fabrics and patterns to play with in the fall and the rich colors warm my heart!

2. Leaves/ leaf art

 I love really leaves, especially when they change colors and start to fall. Walking to class in the morning is always prettiest in the fall because of the changing leaves!

Have y'all seen the leaf art on Instagram and Pinterest lately? Well I couldn't resist breaking out my hole punch when the first leaves hit the ground! You could also use the little dots that get punched out for some natural confetti!

3. Apples

 It seems that in recent years apples have been overshadowed by their lovely friend the pumpkin. Don't get me wrong I love a good PSL (pumpkin spice latte) and some pumpkin pie! I just love apple cider and apple pie a little more. There is something so magical about going to apple orchards and picking your own apples too! I have been dreaming a trip to a local orchard a lot lately!

(Also we know it's not quite October yet, but we just can't resist this quote!)

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables    

HALES and BECKS

Mason Jar Cozy

Take a moment, if you will and imagine a world without rough edges.

I have had the sudden urge to make a cozy for everything.  Imagine a world filled with toaster cozies, car cozies, house cozies, even a cozy for your cat.  Just when you think that your cat can not get any cozier suddenly their twice as fluffy and snuggle-able as before.  

I would first like to acknowledge that I do not like patterns nor do I believe in them.  I don't live by a pattern so why should my projects have to?  Once I start sewing more this may change but for know I stay as far away from them as humanly possible.

I started by crocheting in a circle and adding stitches, almost doubling the amount of stitches every time to keep the bottom of the cozy flat.  If you don't know how to croche in a circle there are some awesome videos on YouTube.

Once I reached the size that I wanted to bottom of the cozy to be I stopped adding stitches.  

When I stopped adding stitches the cylinder started to form on its own.  And I just stopped once it felt right in my heart. 

 

After carrying it around for a couple days I got the idea to add a strap to my next one so that I could sling it across my shoulder and take it on my adventures! 

Making the world a little softer, one cozy at a time: HALES

Adventures in Dorm Food: Puff Pies

Once in a while I try to make homemade food in my dorm room. I get tired of dining center food pretty fast, which I have concluded is because a lot of the joy in food comes from making it! (at least for me) I titled this post "Adventures in Dorm Food" because not all of what I make is successful...

I have made anything from cookies to toasted pumpkin seeds to tortilla pizzas in my dorm room! Last year I discovered the beauty of a small appliance called "the brave little toaster oven". You may be wondering, isn't it just called a toaster oven?? No, its not it is a very brave appliance because it is basically a mini oven that can do anything a regular oven can.

 For some time I have been wanting to experiment with puff pastry, and what better time to bake than when I could be doing homework? I have heard it called procrastibaking and I am definitely guilty! 

To start I gathered my ingredients:

puff pastry (let thaw at room temp for 40min)

Savory pie: mozzarella

                       dried rosemary 

                        cherry tomatoes

Sweet pie: brown sugar

                apple slices

              cinnamon

I pretty much made these recipes as I was grocery shopping at Target, so they can be easily adapted to whatever fruit/veggie/seasoning combination you want! (next I may try a pb&j banana pie...the possibilities are endless!)

Top your pastry to your hearts desire! Try not to overload them because it really does puff and heavy toppings will not allow for the fluffiness you really want! I put too many apples slices and too much brown sugar...with that said it still tasted good! 

I baked them at 400 degrees for about 10-12 min. I used the browning of the cheese and the texture of the apples to guide my baking time.

These little pies turned out pretty good and I can't wait to try making some others!

 Also shout out to the dining center for the apple! (I could probably win some sort of award for my talent in using dining center fruit in creative ways...)

Please take a moment to appreciate these quotes as well!

24 best quotes ever about food

From the *kitchen of the #1 Dining Center Fruit User- BECKS

*the term kitchen is used loosely (see also dorm)