Oy with the poodles already...

Oy, I just looked and it's been over a month since I last posted. Oops. I've been a little busy with school starting and moving and watching Lipstick Jungle on Hulu (Thank you, sweet baby Jesus for Hulu) and making lists, etc. Anyway, I'm going to make blogging short and sweet until further notice because I don't know when I'll have the time/motivation. This semester is heavy on the writing and getting up early and coffee. This semester is also for doing a lot of thinking about the future and what is best for me. I'll leave you with some words of wisdom from Christopher Robin for the new school year:

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. 


Much love to anyone who caught the Gilmore Girls reference in the title of this post, which is probably no one, but I digress. 


Love, 
Caroline 

Salted Carmel Butter Bars

The other night I was playing on Pinterest (my obsession, seriously) and I found a picture of some sort of bar that I thought looked delish, so I did some more clicking (I love the internet) and found this adorable blog (click here for full recipe and instructions) and the recipe for what turned out to be salted caramel butter bars. they. are. so. good. I would try to just cut a small  bite-sized piece from the pan, but would end up camping out in the kitchen doing algebra eating way too much of this delicious creation. 

Mix the ingredients for the crust and topping. (The recipe calls for a pound of butter, so you can only imagine how good it tastes...)

  

Presssss the dough into a pan to make the crust and bake for bit. 

Mix and melt the caramels, milk and vanilla.  Please excuse the Christmas bakeware. 

After the crust bakes for a bit, pour the melted caramel mixture over the crust and salt it (you're probably saying, "salt? whaaaat?" but it keeps it from being too sweet, just trust me) then begin crumbling the remaining dough that has been chilling in the refrigerator over the top and pop back in the oven.

                                                            

                                          Final product before it was devoured! 

Love, 

Carencaramelpants

My room-Before and After

After I decorated my room for college, I became obsessed with decorating, so naturally I wanted to redecorate my room for the first time...ever. So, we set aside a weekend, moved some furniture and got down to it. Here's a pic of before:

 Before my room was a reallllllly light blue (almost white) with some mismatched furniture and decorations. So, we added some bright blue paint and repainted all the woodwork white and the room instantly looked brighter and better. I rearranged some furniture and picked up a few new accessories from Target and my room is a whole new place. I love it. Here are a few of the things I found at Target that really pull the room together:

A new bedspread from Target that really complemented the paint. Only $24 people!

This corner of the room needed a little something, and I needed a bit more light, so this $8 lamp from Target was the perfect find!  

My bookshelf fell apart when we moved it to paint. I love this because it stores so many things and looks very organized. 

$14 table! It could be used as  side table, but I usually use it as a place to set and charge my laptop and whatever book I'm reading. 

A little basket for beauty odds and ends  that I can use frequently and need to grab quickly. It even matches my bedspread and was $5. Might get another for the room at school. 

Love love love flowers. As much as I wanted to use real flowers,  it would have been too expensive to replace them every week, so I bought some cute fakes for $2 each and paid $2 for the vase. Definitely doing this at school too. 

A super comfy butterfly chair, also from Target. I spent some serious time in this chair studying for math. Only $30!





We did paint the wall behind my bed just plain white because we wanted an accent wall, so I'm still looking for something cute to do over my bed. I thinking about three pictures or some block letters.


Love,
Caren

Ryanpants

I have to write a post for my fantastic boyfriend for his birthday! (Sidenote: it was actually yesterday, but like I said, limited internet) Anyway, a shout out to the boy who exhibits extreme patience in so many situations with me, such as tutoring me in math, making me grilled cheese sandwiches and being a passenger in my car. I also accidentally hurt him all the time, like stepping on his foot with heels on, or elbowing him, and he is always a trooper about it. He always listens to my rants and laughs at my jokes. And he reads my blog. And for all of these things, I owe him a big thank you. Happy Birthday Ryan!

Lots of love,
Caroline

(Ryan might be the only person who calls me Caroline)

Tom

Forgive me for not posting recently, our internet was down! I need to write a post about my faja, Thomas in honor of Father's Day! Although I have blonde hair and blue eyes unlike my dad, I do look like him a lot. Oh wait, except he's really tall and I'm really not. I am like my dad in many ways. We're both observers and people pleasers and do better in smaller social settings. I also get my stubbornness from my dad, which is unfortunate for my mom. My dad gives me great advice and always thinks carefully about what to say. He is very into soccer, but never forced me to play (thank goodness because I'm awfulllll) He puts so much time and energy into everything he does and I'm always proud of him. He is also an excellent cook! He makes homemade pizza and this chocolate cake that is to die for. While I'm at school he sends me texts like this:

Bee,

Hi honey! I hope school is going well. We are so proud of you and we miss you. We'll see you soon and can't wait to hear all about it!

Love,


Dad

I'm so lucky to have my dad! Happy Father's Day and congrats on making it on my blog!

 Love,
Carenpants

What I am doing...

What I want to be doing...

Sigh. 

Actually, I wish I could sigh, but I am currently so stuffed up and frustrated by math that my breathing is irregular. 

Love, 

Caren

Matchbook Magazine

I'm a journalism student and I hope to one day work for a magazine. I was stumbling the other morning hoping to find something interesting, when I stumbled upon a link that eventually led me to Matchbook Magazine. I spent the whole morning reading every issue (they currently have five) and could not contain my excitement about this perfect magazine. I've found the place where I hope to work! I love this magazine because the content is unique and the graphics and photography are fantastic. The newest issue just came out this week and I love it. Definitely worth a visit to the website and thumbing (clicking) through the mag. Also, check out Matchbook's Tumblr for daily pictures and inspirations. Enjoy!

Love,
Carenpants