DIY Tea Nook

 I love tea! So, I decided to set up a little tea nook in my room! So far I love it. All I did was get a small Doterra oil box, painted it (white with a tree on the side) and bought tea to fill it. Then I got a cheap electric kettle and voila! I just keep a mug or two up in my room.  (The tea: peppermint, earl grey, green, blueberry, apple cider, lemon loaf, and dream tea) btw :) recommend! 

What My Thursdays Look Like

 Here's what a typical Thursday looks like for me! 

    5:45 am - wake up, brush teeth, make bed 

    6:15 am- workout + shower 

    6:50 am- get dressed, skincare, hair 

    7:00 am- pack school bag + lunch 

    7:15 am- make breakfast and have my coffee 

    7:25 am- devotions 

    7:45 am- finish up getting ready 

    7:50 am- brush teeth

    8:00 am- load up the car

    9:00 am-first co-op class (Marine Biology) 

    10:00 am-second co-op class (Creative Writing) 

    12:00 pm-third co-op class (Shakespeare) 

    1:30 pm-go to the studio where my mom does piano lessons and do school

    6:00 pm-headed home 

Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe

 Cinnamon rolls might be one of my top three fall baking favorites. They're warm, fluffy, and taste so good! Yesterday, I made a batch of cinnamon rolls to take to a friend's house today and it was so much easier + faster to make than I originally had thought! 

 click here for link to the recipe

What you'll need: 

    For the Rolls: 

2 3/4 cup flour 

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt 

2 1/2 tsp yeast 

1/2 cup whole milk 

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup butter

1 egg

    For the Filling: 

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1 Tbsp cinnamon 

1/3 cup granulated sugar (I did a mixture of white + light brown) 

    For the Frosting: (recipe called for an drizzle, I made a frosting :) 

2oz cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

1 Tbsp heavy cream or milk 

1 to 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together and set aside. 

Combine the milk, water and butter and microwave or stovetop until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm to the touch. 

Add in the mixture to the dry ingredients and beat the egg in. You can use a mixer, or by hand. Beat until the dough is soft and smooth. 

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 mins. Place back into the greased bowl and cover with a tea towel for about 10 mins. 

Make your filling by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. 

Roll out your dough in a rectangle shape and spread softened butter over it + sprinkle filling mixture. Roll it up tightly. Cut into even rounds and place into a greased pan (I used a 9x8). 

Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and let dough rise for about an hour - an hour and twenty minutes. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once they have risen, place them in the preheated oven for about 25 mins. 

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, milk and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. 

Add the frosting or drizzle over the top of the warm buns and enjoy! 

snow

First Snow of the Season! ❄♡

Hot Chocolate Recipe

 This is really the only hot chocolate recipe our family has used! It's really quick and easy to make and perfect after a long day of work outside or on a cold winter day! 

Here's what you'll need

    1/2 cup sugar

    1/4 cup cocoa powder

    dash of salt

    4 cups of milk 

    1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk the dry ingredients in a saucepan then add in the milk and vanilla on medium heat, whisking till completely combined. 

Pour into mugs + enjoy! Whipped cream or mini marshmallows are great add ins! 

Easy Dinner Recipe

 This dinner recipe is super easy and fast! 

All you need is: 

    cooked + drained pasta 

    1 lb ground beef 

    salt + pepper

    half an onion 

    around 1/4 cream cheese 

    one can tomato sauce

    any kind of cheese 

sauté the onion in oil, add in the beef, season and cook until brown. 

add in the tomato sauce to the meat. 

boil a pot of water and cook pasta.

once both the pasta and meat are done layer it in a 9x13 or casserole dish (meat on top). Place the pats of cream cheese on top and cover with cheese and bake at 350 until the cheese is melted. 

Delicious Coffee Recipe

 Today I'm going to be sharing one of my absolute favorite make-at-home coffee recipes. This can be made with hot or iced coffee, whichever you prefer! 

So what is that recipe that I can't resist? 

                                                Brown Sugar Caramel Iced Latte 

I, quite unfortunately, don't have an espresso machine/milk steamer etc so this is very easy to make :) 

All you need is chilled coffee, caramel coffee syrup (we use sugar free davinci), vanilla extract, ice (optional), milk + brown sugar. 

I'm really not sure about the measurements for anything! Whatever you prefer! 

Add your ice, coffee, a splash of vanilla extract and the caramel coffee syrup into a glass and stir it up. 

In a mug heat a 1/2 tsp of brown sugar and as much milk as you wish (you might need to adjust the sugar if you prefer really milky) and either heat it up for about 20 seconds and then froth, or froth it cold. 

Pour the brown sugar milk on top and enjoy! It's very reminiscent of fall. If you tried it, let me know what you thought! 

Life Lately

 Life Lately | September 

    It's that time again! September went by so so fast, but it was really good.

We started school in the beginning of September and so far, it's been okay. I definitely don't have the same love and enthusiasm I usually do, but my favorite class is Creative Writing <3 (it doesn't feel like school:) My least favorite is still the same-math. I'm really a humanities girl, I guess! 

Nothing really big happened this month that I can remember. Except we had a lot of fun football games to go to, one of my favorite things this time of year and my little sister had xc meets. 

Unfortunately, it just kept raining

                                                    and raining 

                                                                    and raining. 

There was a few nice days but mostly it rained. Snow is on the forecast for Mon and Tues, with pretty high percentages and the snow on the mountains have been steadily creeping it's way down the mountain. 

My schedule is so full now! On Sundays we have church and youth service, on Monday Jacob and I have YoungLife, on Tuesday I go hang out at a friend's house all day while my mom and sister are at their homeschool coo-op and then we go to a biblical citizenship class that night, on Friday or Saturday there's usually a football game or xc meet. 

What have I been baking: sadly, not as much as I wanted to! We've been so busy, but I guess all I really did was the baked apples! 

What have I been cooking: I made salmon that everybody actually loved! Most Alaskan kids get tired of eating salmon, so I decided to experiment a little bit and made a honey mustard spice rub for them, and there were no leftovers. It was really fun to experiment, it was really yummy, and it was so fun to have a variety of flavors (I made four different variations). 

What have I been drinking: iced coffee season is winding to a halt, but I'm trying to hold on to it as long as possible.  I have been making caramel brown sugar iced lattes. And they are soooo good. After working as part barista at Sweet Darlings I have loved experimenting with so many different drinks. 

Well, I guess that's all for now! Thanks so much for reading! 

Delicious Fall Recipe

 Hey guys! Happy October! 

This morning, I made a delicious fall recipe for breakfast (although it's not specifically for morning). 

Here's the recipe! 

1 large apple-cut in half + core cut out 

    brush with melted butter and sprinkle both sides with cinnamon. 

In a small bowl combine about 1 tbsp or so of melted butter, 1/4 cup of oats, a a tsp or so of flour and more cinnamon. Top the apples with the mixture and put them in the air fryer for 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 

(you could also put them in the oven :) 

This was so yummy and autumnal and I really enjoyed it! It tasted kinda like pie <3 

Ways to Make a Person with the 2nd Love Language feel Appreciated

 Quality time is my second love language, actually. :-)

        1. Take them out for coffee 

        2. Go on a walk together

        3. Do something together that they are passionate about (journaling, baking, etc) 

        4. Just talk 

        5. Board games, card games, baking Christmas cookies together....

Ways to Make a Person with the First Love Language feel Appreciated

 Words of Affirmation is the first love language (and my love language, coincidentally). Here is 5 ways to make someone with this love language feel loved + appreciated. 

    1. Slip an encouraging note into their school backpack. (or something similar :) 

    2. Randomly compliment them through the day

    3. Take the time to talk to them 

    4. Tell them you value their __ (taste in music, baking skills, etc) 

    5. Write a note on a post it note and stick it in a book or on their bedroom door or write a note on a whiteboard.

I know this was brief, but hope you enjoyed!

Update

Here's a little recap on how I am doing on my goals for 2022! 

    for number 1...Bullet Journaling. This goal has been going mediocrely well. Sometimes, I'm very consistent and really enjoy it, but I'm also very busy right now, so I don't do it often. So far, I'm fairly happy about the once a week (usually Sat. or Sun.) progress I'm making. 

    for number 2...Creative Pursuits (music, writing, art, and reading) Out of all four goals this has been the second most easiest/productive so far. I've been playing guitar for youth worship at our church. I have a keyboard now (!) so playing/learning is going really well + I spend about four hours a week, roughly, playing. And, Violin. In early January, I kind of lost my interest in violin but a couple of weeks ago I picked it up for the first time in months and fell back in love :) I have been challenging myself to learn a Lindsey Stirling song called Guardian, which has been going well! 

    for number 3...School. I have a pretty solid morning and evening routine, but I'm definitely still stressed. The perfectionist in me, I guess. 

    for number 4...Bible Time. So good! Our church hired a youth pastor in mid February, which has been cool (small group/bible study + youth service), and I've been really strong about studying (or at least reading) my Bible daily! I've done a lot of personal studies through the New Testament while I'm reading the Old Testament in my Bible In One Year plan (I'm in Joel now). 

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed! 

5 of My Favorite Things to do on a Rainy Day

1. Bake-I love baking so much, especially on rainy/cold days. 

2. Journal-I am a journaler; I bullet journal, junk journal, and write in a journal and I love all three! 

3. Learn a new song on the piano, violin or guitar. 

4. Rearrange my room. Obviously ;) (or plan for redecorating etc) 

5. Read with a cup of tea (especially an Anna-made London fog :) 

Thank you so much for reading!