Life Update #1


With the summer in full swing, I have not been up to much.  But here is my first life update on my blog.  It's not too exciting, but I am looking forward to my upcoming trips/vacations to post about! (aka my family reunion & NEW YORK). 


1) My best friend came in from New York and I have been spending most of my time hanging out with her! We have been watching a lot of Netflix (One Tree Hill) and just catching up on just about everything.

Here is my best friend and I showing off our new Alex & Ani bracelets (too excited obviously)

2) So I am not much into reading books, but after seeing the previews for this movie, I decided I must read it! I am about 200 pages into it and feel like I cannot put it down.  I love it! I would defiantly recommend reading it. 

3) I have been making this salad pretty much nonstop since I have came back home.  It consists of baby spinach, sliced strawberries, pineapple, and apples, some diced walnuts, and  topped with Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette. (found at Walmart with the salad dressings) Honestly this vinaigrette is the best I have ever had. 

 

4) Yesterday, my sister had a little get together at her house. There was a ton of good food and this cute puppy! This is a West Highland White Terrier puppy.  This is the kind of dog my family and I have.. and my mom is really wanting to get another! Seeing this wild and cute baby made my mom really start looking for her future puppy online! 

 

5) I don't have a picture for this, but today was a very exciting day for me! I went and job shadowed at The Children's Center in Bethany, OK.  My major at OSU is Communications Sciences and Disorders (or speech pathology).  Today, I observed two very sweet ladies and got to watch them work with their patients.  It was such a cool experience to see and made me excited to begin on my major at OSU. 


I am about to start on some painting. So get ready for some artsy blog posts!

My Go-To Party Snack

 

 

 

When living in a small town, it seems there are always little get togethers with neighbors, friends, and family that involve food, food and more food. So when I have to bring a snack or dessert I always resort to this easy and quick recipe. 

 

Puppy Chow

 

Ingredients:

• 9 cups of Rice Chex (can use Corn Chex, but I use Gluten Free Rice Chex due to my sister having Celiac & I honestly think they taste best)  
• 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Other materials:

• 2 gallon sized Ziploc bags
• 1 very large bowl (at least 4 quart)
• 1 microwave safe bowl

Directions:

1.  Pour cereal into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

2.  Pour the powered sugar into the 2 gallon sized bags (about 3/4 a cup of powered sugar in each) and set aside.   

3.  Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter into a microwave safe bowl and put in the microwave on high for 1 minute (or until mixture is smooth and entirely melted).

4.  After the mixture is melted, stir until the mixture is completely smooth. 

5.  Pour the mixture over the cereal and mix with a spatula or spoon (or I like to mix with my hands, after my hands are washed of course). 

6.  Pour in the completely covered Chex into the 2 gallon sized Ziploc bags.

7.  Zip both Ziploc bags and shake the mixture until the powered sugar is covering the Chex. 

8.  Pour mixtures from bags into a bowl and enjoy!

 

P.S. I am currently stuffing my face with puppy chow as we speak.

 

 

 

Freedom at Last



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It's that time of year once again! Another year, another graduation for high school seniors and college students everywhere.  I can't believe it has been a whole year since I have graduated from high school.  When family and friends would tell me how fast your high school years go I never believed them.  But now, after finishing a whole year at Oklahoma State, I definitely agree with what everyone has said.  For me, high school graduation is a time to celebrate finally becoming an adult and moving on to bigger and better things. 

It feels like this time of the year I am always trying to decide what to wear to numerous graduations and what gifts to buy! Here are some ideas for outfits to wear at graduations and gifts to buy graduates:

What to wear:

 

 

I think bright, strappy, summery dresses would be cute to wear to graduation with simple flats and/or wedges like these or these.


What to Buy:

This large duffle bag really really came in handy for overnight stays or trips back home. ($$)

I mean who doesn't love these cups? ($$)

My newest obsession: Alex and Ani bracelets.. not to expensive either! ($$)

I received a lot of flowers as graduation presents and I loved them! ($$)

Gift Cards are always great too! I used so many of these this last year! ($$)

If all else fails, money always works!!

Congratulations to all graduates & I wish you luck in the real world.

 

 



Skinny Banana Oat (Chocolate Chip) Cookies, oh my

As I mentioned before, I am no cook.  But, I saw this recipe on Pinterest and decided I had to try it! It was very easy to do and I already had all of the ingredients!  Here is my recipe for the 2 ingredient delicious cookies! Or you can click here for the original recipe. 

Skinny Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies

(makes 10-15 cookies)



 

Prep time: about 5-10 minutes

Cook time: 13-15 minutes





Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

Quaker oats (3/4 a cup)

Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips (1/4 a cup) (optional)

 

Materials needed:

1 large bowl

a fork

parchment paper (optional)

 

Directions:  

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Step 2: Mash 2 ripe bananas in a large bowl using a fork. 

 

Step 3: Add 3/4 a cup of oats and mix together thoroughly with the mashed bananas.

 

Step 4: Optional: Add 1/4 a cup of chocolate chips

OR

add 1/4 a cup of any additional add-ins

(i.e. pecans, blueberries, cinnamon, raisins)

 

Step 5: Cover a pan with parchment paper (the website suggested to use a greased pan, but I found parchment paper to be much easier for clean-up and for the bottoms of cookies to not be so brown)

 

Step 6: Place banana mixture onto the parchment paper in small cookie-sized balls using a fork or spoon. 

 

Step 7: Put into oven and bake for 13-15 minutes. 

 

These "skinny" cookies are about 50-60 calories a cookie.  Compared to a regular chocolate chip cookie (about 100 calories per large or medium sized cookie), that is about 40-50 calories less! These cookies go great with a clean eating lifestyle as a snack or for a breakfast on-the-go!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

                                        

 

 

Hello, Blogging World

Soooo here's to starting new things.  I have been looking at blogs and creepin' through Pinterest for awhile now just waiting for the time to actually put my ideas into action.  With the school semester ending, I now have 3 months to do pretty much everything.  I am super excited (and nervous) about starting a blog, but with the encouragement from my family and friends.. here we go.  I actually said to one of my close friends that "I don't think I'm interesting enough to make a blog" but, she said why not make one though? Do what you want to do! Just for yourself.  So here I am following her advice.  Thanks K.

Like I said in my about me, I am not really one to cook.  Actually I don't cook at all and have survived my first year of college in a community style dorm eating cereal, McAlister's, Panda Express, Panera, and Taco Bell.. SO with that being said, I have decided this summer will be dedicated to learning new healthy recipes and (pretty much) learning how to cook.  Thankfully, I did not gain the dreaded "freshman 15", but I still want to eat healthy and exercise a lot this summer.  Just kind of take the time this summer to focus on myself and hang out with my friends and family. 

In my about me, I did mention something about me liking art and painting.  On my Pinterest, I have been constantly looking at new painting ideas I can try this summer.  I love love to paint (especially watercolor) so hopefully you guys will see that through my upcoming posts! I want to try to do DIY's, recipes, and just events going on in my life. 

So with this being my first blog ever, I thought I would share a little bit more about myself and my life:

 

Here is my dad, sister, sister's husband, my mom, and me. 

My sister: Katey.  She just got married this last year and I loved being her maid-of-honor.  My sister is so full of life.  She always comes to visit me and my parents yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs laughing and coming to hug us all. 
My dad: He is definitely far from your "typical dad" he is such a jokester and always telling me how much he loves me.  I think he is the smartest person in the world. 
My mom: She is the most self-less person I know.  She would do anything for my sister and I.  (She actually has done everything for me and my sister) She's all around just the best. 

This turned more into "meet the fam" but anyways here are the people that have helped made me who I am today.

Next post, I won't get all lovey dovey on you guys.  Thank you for reading!