Birthday Wish List

My birthday is coming up in a few days. I will be 27! For me, visiting with my family and friends, and munching on yummy treats is all the celebration I need, but it was fun to put together this picture of pretty things. I am easy to please. Shiny? Sparkly? Colorful? Fancy? Pretty? I love it. 

Back in the fall, my mom discovered a gold, mirrored bar cart at Ross Dress for Less for a really good price, so I bought it and I have been storing it at her house because we have NO space in our tiny home now. We will hopefully be moving soon to a bigger space soon so I will be able to bring it home! Anyway, I've had fun dreaming of a few accessories to style it with :)

My Birthday Wishlist 

Pretty Wine // Pink Goblet // Pineapple Decanter // More Pretty Wine

Floral Cut Out Handbag // Anthropologie Candle // Too Faced Melted Peony

Too Faced Melted Metal Tutu // Stainless Steel Teapot

Sugar and spice and everything nice :)

Have a lovely Thursday!

A Surprise Gift

 Get ready...this is no ordinary super, cute, inspirational box...

 It beholds a parade of adorable, pretty, and sweet gifts.

 Over the year, my mom has been collecting items to put together as a gift for me for finishing my first year of coaching. She is so sweet and thoughtful! My first year of coaching was definitely not easy. I thought I was going to get a ton of kids out who really wanted to work hard and learn, and what I found, was that it was really to get kids out for team and then it was a battle all year with holding people accountable for grades and attendance and attitude, and trying to find a balance between wanting to be excellent and yet not being so hard on dancers that they would want to quit. I definitely learned a lot! 

I'm a sucker for scrapbooking supplies...especially stickers! Pretty colors and glitter? I'm sold!

My mom found this Christian Magazine "Life Beautiful" at Barnes and Noble. I love it! It is full of inspirational stories, bible reading plans, tips for lovely meals and cleaning, and just lovely pictures and diy projects. I think I am going to subscribe to it!

She included a gorgeous frame with birds & flowers (I love both of those things!) and a picture of us at the Cinderalla movie in it, along with gorgeous Lauren Conrad necklace and earrings from Kohls, and a beautiful votive holder.

The gorgeous shiny, pink on the outside, silver on the inside, votive holder, contained a Chamomile scented candle to help me relax when I am feeling stressed.

Next, she included an awesome journal with a Hippo on it :D and some yummy chocolates.

She included some British films (love me some Collin Firth!) and a lovely leather bound novel from Barnes and Noble (we collect leather books). Here's also a close up of the jewelry.

Isn't this book lovely? I'm looking forward to reading it.

Easter was coming up, so she included some sparkly Easter decor. Everything is better with sequins :)

I snapped this pic a few weeks later to show a mug I bought recently, but I'm including it because, thanks to my mom, I've been following a new bible reading plan from Life Beautiful Magazine. Since I'm only 3/4 time this year I've been able to enjoy coffee and read my bible in bed before scooting out the door in the morning. I'm going to miss that extra time to relax next year when I go up to full time. I will have to start waking up earlier!

Anywho, I have the best mom in the world. She is the best gift giver and she is the most thoughtful person I know. She is always thinking of others and has a difficult time spending money on herself. She definitely brightens not only my life but many others with her thoughtful gifts. :)

Have a lovely Monday!

Christmas Gift Idea: Candied Pecans

 I don't know about you, but I'm not much of a Martha Stewart. Every year I have visions of making beautiful Christmas cookies and treats for friends and family, but when it comes down to it, the thought of the time it takes to make it, bake it, decorate it, and clean up afterward makes me tired. I also have a tiny kitchen so there's not much counter space. Last year I discovered a recipe for candied pecans, and I have started giving them as gifts. They are SO easy to make, and they are yummy!

 Here's what you need: 2 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of water, 2 cap fulls of vanilla, 5 cups of pecans, a mix of sugar, cinnamon and salt. (mostly sugar, a little cinnamon and a pinch of salt.)

Directions: Beat 2 egg whites, 2 tablespoons of water and 2 cap fulls of vanilla in a large bowl. Just beat until it's a little bit foamy. Add 5 cups of pecans to the mix and stir until all the pecans are coated. The original recipe I found didn't include vanilla and it only called for 2 cups of pecans, but I discovered that the mixture could cover a lot more pecans. After the pecans are coated, sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon/salt mixture until, again, all the pecans are coated. The original recipe called for a 1 cup mixture, but I'll be honest, I don't measure, I just sprinkle until the pecans look good and covered. 

After you mixed it all, heat the oven to 225 and put it all on a baking tray (use cooking spray!). DO NOT put them on tin foil. This is probably common knowledge, but I made a batch and the tin foil stuck to them so we couldn't eat them :( Try to spread the pecans out at much as you can so that they are not on top of one another so that they can bake better. Bake the pecans for 1 hour and stir them every 15 minutes. If you don't bake them long enough they will end up being more chewy than crunchy.

The final step is to put a layer of wax paper in a cute goodie box and fill it up! I got these at Target and Michael's Crafts. Cute, easy, and delicious Christmas Presents!

We're headed off to Christmas gathering number 5 and hopefully we will get our Christmas shopping done! 

Oh how I love Christmas!

Happy Monday :)