Anything Can Happen, Child

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It's nearly 4:00 a.m. and I'm still awake, so I figured this might be the perfect time to write. I just finished doing my Bible study on Esther by Beth Moore, which you can buy here. Something that has been weighing on my mind lately is this: people doubting your tenacity, over-analyzing the circumstances of your situation, and people telling you that you can't do things, or that there's no point in pursuing something that is of importance to you because it just cannot be. But let me tell you something. It can be. Just like the quote above (from one of my all-time favorite authors) "anything can happen child, anything can be". What a lovely and comforting thought to both children and adults alike. If you want something in your life, go and get it. Don't stop doing something that you know is right, something that brings you joy, love, happiness and the like. If you believe in it, and yourself, you can have it. Because that's just it...anything is possible, and anything can be. You just have to make it so. Whether that thing for you is a job, a home, a vacation or a personal relationship matters not. But don't underestimate yourself or what your life will become just because things aren't great right now. Have faith in your future and hope for the greatest life you can imagine. 

Sweet Dreams 

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ 

Pink & Blue Bridal Shower Lovelies

Today, I hosted my very first (and hopefully, my last) bridal shower. It was so fun and rewarding, but very, very exhausting! Nobody tells you that part... ;) This shower was for my cousin Devyn who will be getting married next month. As her Maid of Honor, I took my duties as party planner extraordinaire very seriously...as you'll hopefully be able to tell. I've never had to entertain 20+ people before, so this was definitely a new challenge. But, I have to say, it went off without a hitch and everything looked lovely...including the bride to be. Enjoy these pictures from our little shindig today, and make sure to read all the way until the end for vendor information!

Our amazing spread! 

I used vintage postcards (some with very personal family love notes scribbled on the backs) hung from 

fishing line to create this look. It took up a little visual space and it was a nice unique touch.

Sorry...but baby cheeks are for squeezin'

We made the cake topper out of her invitation!

Big, magic eyes

Lovely vanilla cake with swiss buttercream icing that Mom & I made 

The group!

Do you love those vintage dishes, or what? They really added a certain feel to this shower that I couldn't have captured without the help of the amazing company that I found - Southern Vintage Antique China & Furniture Rentals. This company is based out of Georgia and will deliver to Florida. Other than that, you'd have to check the website. At any rate, the owners of the company are so sweet and willing to work with first time party-planners like myself, all while displaying oodles of patience, kindness and understanding! How about those little thank you favors? I made those! Simple treat bags from HomeGoods or Michael's + Washi Tape + a cute stamp + gold ink = fabulously simple favors that everyone will love. Ours were filled with chocolate covered cranberries...yum! As for the food, including the cake, that was made by myself & my very talented mommy. 

I hope you enjoyed being a part of our special day through pictures! I've been running around for hours on end and after browsing through these pretty snapshots, I think it's just about time to call it a night. I've finally stopped running and come down with a sore throat...figures! Till next time.

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Lessons, Emotions & The Bank

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Happy September, everyone! Finally, the fall months have arrived. We won't get a cold snap here for a little while longer, but what we do have is Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. Pumpkin Spice equals the onset of fall. Always. I haven't had my first one of the season yet, but that will be happening soon! I thought I'd write a little post about the current state of things in my life. I'm sure this isn't the sort of thing people like to read on a blog like mine, but it's therapeutic to write, so I shall. Here we go! 

♥︎Current Favorite Activity: Baking! I've been baking cookies lately...and banana bread. Apparently, the best banana bread a good handful of people have ever tasted. I got a new loaf pan at HomeGoods (best store ever, I just found out!) the other day which I still have yet to test run. It's sitting in the cupboard just waiting for me to fill it with yumminess. 

♥︎Current Favorite Show: Mork & Mindy, hands down. In the wake of Robin Williams' tragic passing (yes, I cried), I decided to start watching things of his that I'd never seen. This show was one of those things. Wow. Just wow. You can really see how much of a comedic genius he was. Hilariously funny with a heartwarming message at the end of each episode to give you all the feels. Nanu-Nanu! 

✘Current Annoyance: The Bank. I apparently was involved in a security breach/information leak and my debit card was suspended. They called, and gave me the routine spiel about ordering me a new card, 5-7 business days, blah blah blah. Simple enough, right? WRONG. SO WRONG. A week and a half goes by and I'm sitting around wondering why my card hasn't shown up yet. A little worried, I call to ask what the hold up is. "Nobody ever ordered you a new card" said the young man I was speaking to. Uhh...excuse me? Nope. That answer just did not work for me. They said the earliest they could get a new card to me would be by Tuesday. Not realizing I had called on a Saturday at 4:00 in the afternoon, I said I'd do it myself. I later realized that I'm an idiot. The bank is closed already and it's not open on Sunday either, smarty pants. Oh, and Monday? Yeah, forget that because it's Labor Day. OF COURSE IT IS. So, Tuesday it shall be. Thankfully, that's tomorrow. Oi Vey. 

♥︎Current Blessing: My Mom. She swooped in at the last minute when I finally humbled myself enough to call her and ask for her help, advice and expertise. The woman is a party planning machine. She can do it all. I'm not just saying that because she's my Mom. She just happens to be ridiculously talented. I'm planning a bridal shower for 35 guests that's going to be taking place 5 days from now. If you don't know me, you should understand that I take things to the extreme. It's all or nothing. If I'm given a responsibility, I will turn it into the biggest most wonderful most stressful thing ever. For example: "empty the dishwasher" means "clean out the pantry and organize everything into color coded baskets with labels". Yeah...that actually happened. So, suffice it to say, I got in a little bit over my head, financially. Having to pay for other things that popped up the past few months (ahem...hospital bills) kinda threw me. I was having severe anxiety about how I was going to pay for food, flowers, table linens, dishes. The list was long. But I called and she immediately said "I'll handle it". The exact words I needed to hear. And handle it she did. I'm actually excited about the party now because a good portion of the stress was taken off of my shoulders. Can't wait to take pictures and post them here for you guys to see. I'm sure it'll be beautiful! 

♥︎Today's High: Knowing that I'm going to get to see my other half tomorrow (♥︎!!) and my best friend making me feel a lot better about something that was really bothering me. 

✘Today's Low: Having a bad dream that really shook me & crying over things that I can't ever put into words or explain. I suffer from anxiety and depressive episodes, and today was rough at the beginning. But, I'm okay now as I'm blogging from my big comfy bed. 

❀Today's Lesson: Start using your words to really tell people how you feel. Stand up for yourself and your beliefs and the things that are important to you. Don't simply do something nonsensical because you feel bad for someone, or because you think it's what they want you to do. Don't say something dishonest because you think it's what someone wants to hear. Anyone who goads you into doing something by playing on your emotions is NOT someone you want to be particularly close to. People like that aren't in it for you, they're in it for themselves. Know when you're being manipulated. 

Well, that's all for tonight! I hope I brought a little insight, laughter and light to your evening. Goodnight! 

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Final Days Of Summer

Here in Florida, we have summer year-round...for the most part. It really doesn't start to get chilly until about October. Sometimes we even have to wait around for January! At any rate, school's back in now, and summer is just about officially over. Even though there will be plenty more trips like this in the near future :) Today my cousin Landon and I went to the beach, I got (mildly!) burnt-of course, and then we ate lots of yummy Thai food. I'd call this afternoon a success. I have to say, I love where I live.

loving those rainbow umbrellas!

bye bye, beach

mmm edamame :)

pad thai woon sen-my fave!

dragon roll...trying to enjoy sushi

hi!

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Chocolate Chip Cookies

If there's one thing I love, it's chocolate. Whether that be by brownie, by cookie, or by my spoon in a big jar of Nutella, it matters not. Just as long as I get my fix. WOMEN NEED CHOCOLATE TO LIVE. It's just an undeniable fact of life that we (and diets everywhere) must come to terms with.

Let me start out by saying that as far as cooking inspiration goes, Averie Cooks is my new favorite place to spend all my time on the Internet. So...all my time. Beautiful photos and amazing recipes are sure to get you hooked, too. Click the link and head on over.

The recipe I'm about to share with you came from her blog and let me tell you that these cookies are by far and away the BEST chocolate chippers I've ever put in my mouth. Nice and firm on the outside and oh so gooey, chocolaty and soft on the inside. Just how I like 'em.

As I'm sure you all know by now, I work in a jail of all places. Fun stuff. Anyway, when you work with a bunch of CO's all day, there's one thing you learn. They like to eat. A lot. And they like it when you bring them food of all kinds as often as possible. I usually hear one or more of the following phrases at least once during the course of my work day:

• "What's for dinner?" 
• "Can you go get me....to eat/drink?" 
• "What did you bring me to eat?"
• "Someone has to go get food or we'll starve!" 
• "I'm hungry." 
• "Who's got food?" 
• "Chinese again?!" 
• "Italian again?!" 

The list goes on. But I can tell you that these cookies were a definite hit. They love sweets. Well, they love anything, but sweets, definitely. And they love when they're cooked right. This recipe is fool-proof, so it's perfect for the beginning baker. Make these for anyone who you want to do anything you say for the rest of the day. They're a great bargaining tool. I heard a few comments about them that made me giggle:

• "This is a MAN sized cookie!" 
• "Thanks for the THC!" 
• "THC stands for Tasty Hot Cookies of course." 

Chocolate Chip Cookies-Averie Cooks

INGREDIENTS: 

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed 

1/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 egg, large

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 3.5 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding (don't use sugar free or "cook and serve") 

1 tsp baking soda 

pinch salt (optional) 

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine butter, sugars, egg and vanilla in or with an electric mixer on high until creamed well, about four minutes (mine took less time than this).

2. Scrape sides of bowl and add flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt. Beat on low unit just combined, about 1 minute.

3. Scrape sides of bowl again and add chocolate chips, beat on low for about 30 seconds until just combined.

4. Using a large cookie/ice cream scoop/1/4 cup measure, make 14 equal sized dough mounds. Roll into balls, place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly. Place a few more chips on top of each dough mound. I ended up having 16 cookies, 8 for each sheet.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or up to five days. The dough must be chilled to achieve the right texture. If dough is warm, cookies will spread.

6. Preheat oven to 350F and spray cookie sheet with cooking spray or use a baking mat, such as a Silpat. Spread mounds 2 inches apart and bake for about 11 minutes, or until the edges are set and tops are set as well. It's okay if they look a little pale and under baked. The cookies will firm up as they cool and won't be hard and crunchy. After they are done baking, let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before serving them.

7. These cookies will keep at room temperature for up to one week when stored in an airtight container. You can also freeze them for up to six months!


That's all, folks. Delicious cookies, fabulous blog. Go check out Averie Cooks! Happy Baking!

♥︎♥︎♥︎