Beauty in the Everyday

The other day I woke up from a long nap, got out of bed and turned to see this:

The beauty of it caught me off guard, and made me appreciate that even everyday things can be beautiful. 
Cheers to you finding beauty in your life. 

My New iPhone Case

Well it's official, I have an iPhone 4. And, since I'm very clumsy- it was an urgent matter to find a case. My iPhone 3 case from Uncommon worked wonderfully for me so I decided to give them a go again.

This process... took me forever. I'm just too picky. I wanted a NASA photo of a nebula. I came up with like 15 different designs

But I ended up with this guy:

Hope you guys like it as much as I do! If you want one, simply go to NASA's site, pick out a photo you like, save it to your computer and use it on uncommon. NASA photos are free to the public!

Church and After Church Outfit

Recently my guy and I decided to try a local church that I've heard great things about. Last weekend my mother whipped up this amazing mustard skirt for me and I've been itching to wear it. So, I decided to pair it with a crop grey lace tank, a coral necklace that I made, mustard flats and because the sides of the tank are open, a navy cardigan.

Church time:

In the sermon, the pastor talked about how we need to be discipline in studying, memorizing and meditating God's word in order to become his disciple. (notice the play on words? He said this is on purpose and its that way in Latin as well). He gave a couple sources to help with these steps that I wrote down and thought I'd share.

net.bible.org - includes scripture on the left and notes on the right to help you better understand the bible

navigators.org - this one I found really interesting, it has popular verses you should memorize

soniclight.org - free bible study notes from a theological professor

He also mentioned the apps Logos and Accordance (these both cost money but he mentioned that he used Logos everyday) and blue letter bible (free). 


After church I wanted to get out of my cardigan (its summer in Texas...) and throw on some heels and accessories. For some reason I've started wearing heels lately. I use to never understand why women would want to wear heals when you could wear comfy sandals. Maybe I'm becoming a woman? Or maybe I just want to trick people into thinking I'm an average height. Maybe its both. ;)


After Church:

The pink and taupe beaded bracelets are Lily and Laura they come in all sorts of great colors and go to a great cause. I wear mine all the time.

PS- these pictures make me look even shorter. (which I didn't think was possible) It's a weird angle. My apologizes.

A project....

It has always been a dream of mine to start a charity. This summer, I have started to inch closer to this goal, but I need help! To give everyone a bit of a background of the goals of this charity, I am wanting to give art supplies to children who have gone through tough experiences or who could use a bit of happiness in their lives.

Creativity has been such a great thing in my life, I have danced my whole life (and still dance in my kitchen whenever I happen to be bored, depressed or if a good song just happens to come on Pandora), photography, painting and using an art journal have been great outlets for me, and sometimes I just feel like making a craft (whether it be jewelry or making a pillow). Because my creative side was encouraged and successful with my mother's guidance, I know that I have become a better person. Many kids aren't as lucky as I was though. Art supplies and dance classes aren't cheap.

So, in comes my charity. I will be working with local children's organizations (Scotty's House, Boys and Girls Club, etc) and I will also be taking recommendations from anyone who thinks they know a child in their life who could use a bit of creativity in their life. So, I ask you guys to please vote in this poll to make this dream of mine one step closer! I need everyone's opinion on picking the perfect name! Also, if you can think of a better one not listed, please feel free to comment!

Thank you

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies with Caramel and Pretzels

Ummm... guys. Just read the title of this post. Is your mouth watering yet? No? Maybe a picture will help.

Relay for life is this weekend and I thought I'd do my part and contribute to the bake sale since I will not be able to make it to the event.
And let me tell ya, these cookies are...amazing. I seriously could go on and on about them. But for your sake, lets get down to bizness.

I "mimic"-ed this recipe to create these cookies.

However, I took the easy way out and bought already made cookie dough (shhh don't tell), and I added sea salt to the tops of my cookies.

Here's what you will need (+sea salt):

The caramel bits are located in the baking aisle!
I separated the dough into balls the size that I wanted my cookies to be.

Next, I just smushed the caramel bit and small bits of pretzel into the ball (I used approx 4 caramel bits and 4 small pretzel bits per ball- the pretzel bits shown I made smaller).
After that, you put your cookies on a greased baking sheet, and add sea salt to the top.

Bake according to directions on cookie package. 

This is how mine turned out:

The sweet and salty combination is just perfect. Some of you may be skeptical to add salt to the top of your cookies but trust me, it really finishes there cookies off. I tried one with out the salt and it wasn't nearly as scrumptious.

Enjoy!

Tribal Time

{Shop the outfit: similar blazer similar dress necklace tutorial to come soon!} 

Because this weekend was less than productive, (to give you an idea, a majority of it was playing Sims Castaway on the Wii) I've already had to start playing "catch-up". Sighhh I'll never learn.

However, I did attend this really cool music festival. The event was to raise awareness of sex trafficking. There were some local bands that played, and also some guest speakers that shared experiences they've had with God. It was insane because I just realized why I had chose Texas A&M this week (see this post) and one of the speakers spoke about the same exact thing.

Some of you may have been like me a couple months ago, and never even considered sex trafficing being a problem in our nation. But, it is. And, sadly, one of the biggest problem areas is in my home state, Houston.

Found out more also look at this

Also, while at this event, local christian groups, local businesses and other companies set up booths where many donated a percentage of their sales to stop sex trafficking. Lucky for me... Hello Somebody watches were there. I had been wanting one of these for a while so imagine my joy when I came across this fella:

In the words of Mr. Darcy "I wish to never be parted from you from this day on". That's me talking to my watch. Everyone does that right? Anyways, you should get one because the company has partnered with a organization in the Dallas Fort Worth area to stop sex trafficking and it's a great cause and a totes cute watch. Over and out.

"Twist Method" Hair Tutorial

I thought it was about time I shared my hair secret to the world. On Pinterest I've seen this:

Headband to make waves 
and
Hair straighter to make waves

Although these are great tutorials, I've found that I've still stuck with my method because 1. I can't figure out how to do this headband thing AND 2. my method requires no heating element, which means no hair damage. This is important to me because I'm trying to grow my hair out, and the less damage, the quicker I can have healthy, long hair.

SO...without further ado, I introduce the Twist method. (I came up with this name all on my own if you can believe it).

Here's a video of how I do this:

Or if you would rather look at the pictures here is how I do it:
1. Start with damp hair. I usually take my showers before bed, and wait for my hair to get a little dry before doing this.

(I know, I'm stunning with out make up) 

2. Take a section of your hair that is closest to your face (I tend to think what section is my "bangs" and grab that).  

3. Grab another section that is behind the first section (around the same size or little bit smaller) 

4. Wrap the second section around the first. 

 5. Now your first section and your second section are one "section" 

6. Grab another new (3rd) section similar to the size of your first and second section. 

7. Twist this third section around the major/combined section (section one and two)

8. Continue this process until you have done half of your head and twist all the way down to your ends.

9. Repeat this process on the other side of your head.

10. Take your two "twisted pigtails" and twist them around each other
*note- if you have short hair you can just take a hair tie and combine the two pigtails into a pony tail at the nape of your neck.

11. Take a hair tie and tie off your ends.

See how I left a good amount of my ends out? This is for two reasons: 1. its less likely for the hair to fall out of the hair tie and 2. when the ends are out, it results in a more natural looking wave.

Also, many times I have used a small hair claw instead of a hair tie, and its works just as well.


Here's a video with the results:

And here's some pictures of the hair.

Sometimes I go back and curl a couple sections to make it look perfect, but never on class days... I don't use hair spray most days either, it tends to look fine once the hair has loosened up during the day. 

Thanks so much for checking my blog out!
My cat, Cleo sends her love as well...

On Another Note

I know it's been forever since I've posted. A new goal of mine is to get back on track by showing DIY projects, outfit ideas and baking/cooking ideas for everyone! I have a lot of fun projects planned so stay tuned. In the mean time, here's a pretty picture I took... ;)

A Change

This post is a bit difficult for me because I've never been the type to talk religion. I've always had a distant cousin relationship with god, never seeking to know him better or calling him family. This semester I decided to enact a change in myself, a change to become closer to God. The college I attend has a weekly service for their students. It's called Breakaway. I made a goal to attend as many of these services as possible. The speaker makes his messages target the crowd that he his speaking to; addressing classes, stress and even our sex-crazed culture. Through these services I have slowly grown closer to Him, I've started praying more, and I feel a change in my soul.
The funny thing is, I had the hardest time deciding on where to go to college. I've always been such a creative person, and I always pictured myself at a school where there was a strong art program. In fact, I was all set to start at one, and went to the orientation only to come home crying. I just KNEW it wasn't the place that I wanted to be. Somehow, I ended up at a school with no art program once so ever. Strange, I always thought. I didn't really know why I was drawn here. It never really hit me till this week, God knew this was where I was going to find him.
This school isn't a private school with a religious base, instead it is a public school with a very unusual amount of Christians. I know if I would've attended the other school I would've quickly gone on the path to become an atheist. It shames me to admit that, but it's true.
Instead, here I am at Texas A&M. I love it here. I love the people. I love Breakaway. I love God.
This weekend one of my closest childhood friend's father passed away. It was a bit of a shock, his health seemed to plummet in only a couple days time. For some reason, earlier this week the thought of why God causes sickness and death to those most faithful to him plagued at me. I didn't understand it, and for some reason I broke down and started crying and begging him to teach me why. The next day I had found out about my friend's father's stroke. He was in critical condition and they didn't know if he would make it. This plague seemed to grow even larger in me. This man was a pastor, a good man. Why had God done this?
Last night I found out he had passed.
I still asked myself and God "why?" Over and over.
To be honest, I still don't understand. But I feel like I'm getting there.
I hope this post doesn't steer some away. I know the subject of religion is a touchy one, I mean to only spread my happiness in finding him, and I hope that I am able to touch even one person into starting the path to find him.
We may not know all the answers, but we must know that He is there.

If you wish to start this journey, check out Breakaway Ministries 
Another suggestion is keeping a art journal. Do this at your own pace. Here is a picture of my journal page on the day the thought of sickness and death plagued my heart. It's been my most emotional entry yet, and the first one that I have really focused completely on God.