NYE

Living it up on this last day of holiday eating.

Salted caramel butter bars

Mmm

Late night snacking.

Merry Christmas

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -Marcel Proust 

So grateful for all the friends and family I'm lucky enough to spend time with this holiday season. 

Merry Christmas to all. And to all a goodnight. 

Merry Christmas Eve

Some of my favorite Christmas decorations from around our house.

Cake pops

Nailed it.

Mexican Pizza

I am a huge fan of Mexican food. (Actually, there are very few types of food I don't like...) I bought some ground beef at the store the other day because I was really craving taco lettuce wraps (I modify them, but still so good!) and Mexican pizza. 

I always end up having a lot of left over ground beef, and I can only push so much of it on my roommates. Mexican pizza is the perfect way to use left over ground beef. (Side note: Normally, I would just freeze the leftovers, but I'm trying to clean my stuff out of the freezer before break.) This is a simple, but satisfying dinner that is perfect for busy nights, or Margarita night in with friends. 

Let's be honest, who wouldn't want pizza AND nachos at the same time? 

Spread a little olive oil on the pizza crust and sprinkle on a few handfuls of shredded cheese. I use the Pizza Blend from Wal-Mart and Boboli's Pizza crust. 

Brown ground beef, add onions (the quality of my phone camera doesn't show them- sorry!) and taco seasoning.  I use Old El Paso, but any kind will work. I only use a little because I don't like things to be too spicy. 

Spread ground beef on top of pizza and pop in the oven at 450 for about 8 minutes. 

While the pizza is in the oven, I make a chunky salsa with avocado, tomato, onion.  (This is also really good on tortilla chips!) 

I like to mix a little store bought salsa with sour cream and do little dollops all over the pizza before spreading the homemade stuff. This is definitely optional, but I like it because it can get a little dry without a sauce. Plus I'm a big fan of sour cream with Mexican food.

The nice thing about this meal is that you can modify it however you'd like. Add some hot sauce or refried beans if that's what you like. 

Another thing I like about this is it isn't so terrible for you. You could use low fat cheese and light sour cream. This will last me a couple days and I bring my lunch almost every day, so it's nice to have something already made. (I make my lunch the night before, so I love bringing leftover, already made dinners) 

My goal next time I make this is to also try making homemade Strawberry Daiquiris. 

What's your favorite Mexican dish? 

Holiday Happiness

Can't wait to get home to decorate for Christmas at my house, but we've done some decorating and activities in our apartment to make it feel like home. 

Lunch with Lilly

I got a set of these adorable Lilly Pulitzer cups for my 21st birthday from my cousin and her family. 

I'm enjoying a rare day: class is cancelled and I have no scheduled obligations. Tomorrow is pretty busy, so I'm enjoy the leisure of working from home in my pjs and this colorful lunch today. It's 65 degrees right now, so I'm going to take a nice long walk later and stop by Starbucks on my way home for a Green Tea/Passion Tea Lemonade. The roomies and I are going to have a photo shoot for our Christmas card, make cookies and decorate for Christmas this weekend, which will be totally odd since it's unseasonably warm. I'll take it. 

What are your weekend plans? 

Hey it's ok...

One of my favorite features in Glamour Magazine is the "Hey it's ok" section at the end. My all time favorite one went something like, "Hey it's ok to put something you've already done on your to-do list just so you can cross it off." 

The first two items may have already been completed before making this list...

Yep, you are reading "to-do list" on my to-do list. I made a master two week two list for the rest of the things I have to do before school is over! 

Haven't Blogged in a Month

Ooops.

Life lately...

Holly Golightly lives in my bathroom courtesy of Ben.

Ryan got me these rockin' socks. 

Homemade Mac N Cheese with crab from random things in my kitchen. 

Ryan finally admitted he wants a vest like mine. 

Addicted to Supernatural. Team Ackles. 

What's up with you? 

P.S. I'm getting an Iphone for Christmas, so my pictures will be better quality soon! 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! 

Happy Camper

File under: things I absolutely do not need and would never spend that much money on, but still want. 

Pinterest

Saw this on pinterest and thought it was super cute: 

And then I realized I had all the things in my closet to re-create: 

Thank you for helping me maximize my closet, Pinterest. 

BHL

I was home this weekend and got to go to Ryan's hockey game. He plays with his younger brother and they were the all stars. 

Ryan scored two goals and had an assist. 

Doesn't this look like a picture from a Blues game? To quote Elle Woods, "Totally look the part!" 

The Transition: Dress Edition

I love all of these dresses with flats, boots, or even gladiator sandals (weather permitting!) with a cardigan or jean jacket. The yellow dress is called "The Perfect Summer Dress." I think it actually works well for fall too. It would look great with a navy cardigan and some nude flats. 

This is unrelated, but my roommates and I are decorating are going to decorate for Halloween on Sunday. We're going to make Halloween cookies, watch movies and experiment with homemade warm drinks for fall like salted caramel hot chocolate and pumpkin coffee. 
I'm also going home this weekend and I can't wait to experience some real fall weather! What are you up to? 

Long sleeve dress  Mela Loves London tribal print dress

The Transition: Shoe Edition

I have under appreciated flats for 20 years, but this is the year I've come to appreciate flats. They come in adorable colors and shapes and are (usually!) a comfortable alternative to heels. They look cute with jeans, skirts, dresses and even shorts. I love the cap toe trend (like the candy corn looking shoe below) and you can't go wrong with cheetah or a neutral. They're perfect for the days you don't want to wear open toe, but it's going to be too warm for boots in a few hours. 

Ballet shoes  H m

School

This interruption to regularly scheduled programming is brought to you by....

"Hojo" stands for History of Journalism 

...school. 

This was my study guide last night for my 12:30 exam today. Don't worry, I rocked it. (I had read over my notes several times before filing out the study guide, so I wasn't totally waiting until the last minute. Filling out the study guide is how I remember the material. Then I quiz myself and go through with a colored pen and circle what I don't know. That's my method and I'm sticking with it!) 

Anyway, I have another exam to take tonight and a few other things to do, but I hope to have the next part of my transition series up tomorrow. 

The Transition: Shirt Edition

The transition between summer and fall clothing can be a tough one. I'm going to do a series this week on transition your wardrobe from summer to fall.

I love boots and cozy sweaters, but September, and even October weather can be really unpredictable, so I hate to break them out too early. I like to pick light pieces that I can throw a cardigan or a light jacket over for my walk in the morning, but can be worn alone in the afternoon. All of the below would look great with jeans and nude flats, gold sandals or boots, depending on the temperature. Do you have a "go to" transition shirt? 

J Crew loose shirt   J Crew j crew   Red top   Look From London sheer shirt

Sibs

Happy Sibling Appreciation Day!

One of my favorite things to do when I come home is stay up late catching up with my brother. I'm lucky to have a sibling I'm so close with and really enjoy spending time with. 

I will not bug my sister

Candy Corn

Have I mentioned I love fall?