Saturday, December 31, 2011

Goodbye 2011, hello 2012!


I've been reading a lot of recaps or 2011 lately, and I thought about doing one on my blog, until I realized that 2011 was very boring for me.
And I liked it that way.

Geoff and I have been together almost six years, and there has be a lot of excitement in those six years, both good and bad. There have been 2 graduations, 2 deaths, 2 weddings, 6 moves, 1 house bought and many other seemingly small, yet significant events. The only thing we're missing there is a baby (thank goodness that isn't in the list right now!)

As you can see, going into 2011 I was eager for a quiet year. And quiet year is what I got.

In 2011 we traveled a bit, hosted family a bit, and Geoff started grad school, really the only big thing to happen this year. I got my wish. 2011 was nice and quiet.

If I have to make a wish for 2012, then it's that we enjoy this year together. I have no idea what 2012 will bring, but every year brings us a little closer to being ready to start a family, and I want to enjoy every minute of time just the two of us before we decide we are ready. So this year, in 2012, I want to enjoy time with my husband, however that plays out. {I'm not saying that 2012 won't bring a baby, but I'm also not saying it will. I'm simply saying I want to enjoy my husband and the life we've built together.}

Happy New Year, all.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Goals for 2012


I thought that I had a list of goals for 2011, but aside from the house list, I guess I didn't. That's OK, because there's a first time for everything! Here are my goals for 2012. I tried to keep them simple and not give myself too many, because goals can be overwhelming and I wanted to accomplish something! So, without further ado, my goals!

1. Make 13 payments to the mortgage and student loans.

2. Buy new furniture for the family room.

3. Get to my goal weight.

4. Get a promotion at work.

5. Blog (decent posts) regularly.

6. Get off my medication.

7. Participate in the 52 Letter Challenge again (and keep track of the number of letters I write!)

8. Go home for a visit.

9. Take more pictures.

10. Finish my wedding scrapbook! Also, get up-to-date on the day-to-day pictures.

11. Cross stitch 1 stocking.

12. Fully fund our emergency fund (goal: $10,000)

What are your goals for 2012?


Thursday, December 22, 2011

MIA

It's almost Christmas and I'm so excited!! My sister arrives in 2 days, and work has been insanely busy with the kids off of school, so I am going to be stepping back from the blog for a little bit. I'm assuming most people will be so busy with Christmas traveling and events that blog posts will go unnoticed, so I figure now is as good a time as any to take a break. I may post here and there, but it will probably be sporadic.

See you in the new year!


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Brown sugar cookies with browned butter frosting

Have I ever told you how much I love browned butter? Well, I love it. Browned butter adds to a cookie (or, in the case also frosting) a nice nutty flavor that is different, and gives it substance. It's amazing. These recipes come from two different places. The frosting is from cooks.com and the cookies are from this wonderful book: America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. I have all three of their books, the cooking book and the healthy cooking book and I love all of them. They are so handy.

Anyway, onto the cookies!
These cookies require browned butter, just like the frosting.

To brown butter (I now know, thanks to America's Test Kitchen!) melt it in a saucepan, stirring constantly. The butter will foam and, after 3-5 minutes, depending on how high your heat is, it should take on a nice brown color and have a nutty smell.

Roll the dough into balls, roll them into a sugar and brown sugar mixture, and set on the cookie pan. I forgot and thought these cookies were going to be squished, so I started to do that. When I went back to actually reading the recipe, I noticed that they weren't supposed to be that way, so I decided to experiment:
Here are the flattened cookies...

...and here are the ones that were balled. I preferred the balled ones because they were a little thicker and smaller around. I suppose it's a personal preference though!

Brown Sugar Cookies


1/4 cup white sugar
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg and 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk the sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
Brown 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet. Transfer to a large bowl, and add the rest of the butter. Set aside for 15 minutes so the butter melts and the whole thing cools.
Stir the remaining 1 3/4 cups of brown sugar in the melted butter until mixed. Add the egg and egg yolk (I scrambled these separately and then added), vanilla and mix. Add the flour, baking soda and powder and mix until combined.

Roll 2 tablespoons of the dough into balls and roll in the sugar mixture. Place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, 10-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through. Remove the baking sheet and let the cookies cool 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.



Browned Butter Frosting

1/3 cup of butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons milk (you can also use cream; I used whole milk)

Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it is browned and giving off a nutty smell. Remove from heat, stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat until the frosting is smooth and spreadable.
If, at any time your frosting becomes too stiff to spread (usually if it has been sitting out), just microwave it for 30 seconds.

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday.


Monday, December 19, 2011

How to do Christmas on a very tight budget: Play to your strengths

My other posts in this series are right here.





Today's tip on doing Christmas on a (very) tight budget is to play to your strengths. The key to saving money on gifts, I think, is homemade, thoughtful gifts. Do you love to sew? There are many many tutorials for things to sew, from clothes to purses, to baby items. If you own a sewing machine this is a great tip. Unfortunately, I'm not a very big sewer so this tip isn't exactly up my alley.




One thing I do enjoy, however, is very simple projects. In years past I have knitted scarves, and this year I plan to make a pocket scarf (pictures and tutorial to come, when I get my act together!)







However, if I have any strengths, they would be in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking, though I enjoy baking much more. This year I am compiling a book of recipes that I have found online, tried out over the past year and enjoyed. I am including side dishes, main dishes and bakery items in my book. Staples has a really nice presentation binder that I plan on putting my recipes into. I will print the pages off at Staples at a low cost per page, and the whole present will cost less than $10! This is what I consider to be a nice gift, and it will be something a few of my younger family members will be getting, specifically my sister and brother-in-law, another newly married couple.







Playing to your specific strengths will not only make your gift-giving time easier, but it will also mean a little more to the people you are gifting to because it's something that they know you enjoy, it's personal and it's homemade. As always, remember that not everyone wants to receive a personal, homemade gift. Some would much rather have a material object. Use discretion in deciding who to you want to receive your homemade gifts.






Friday, December 16, 2011

How to do Christmas on a (very) tight budget: Stuff Stockings Sparingly

Before I get started, how much do you love that picture?? Adorable.

I love stockings. They're one of the few things I love receiving more than I love giving around Christmas time. Unfortunately it's really easy to go overboard with stockings and spend a lot of money. That's why you should stuff stockings sparingly.

I don't mean that you should give people a half-empty stocking! That's definitely no fun. Not exactly. There are things you can put in a stocking that take up a lot of space, or are useful or consumible. Rather than write this post out, I thought I'd make a list instead of my favorite, yet cheap, stocking stuffers!


  • Candy!
  • Coffee
  • Socks (always useful)
  • Candles
  • Lip balm or fun lipstick
  • Razor cartridges (OK so this isn't cheap, but they are definitely useful!)
  • A favorite type of cookie (my mom always gives my dad Mint Milanos because he loves them!)
  • Movie tickets
  • Candy-canes filled with M&Ms or other candy
What are your suggestions for a good stocking stuffer?



Thursday, December 15, 2011

It's OK Thursday

Today I'm linking up with It's OK Thursday!

It's OK that I was late to work this morning because I had to get coffee (I had a free drink with my punch card!)

It's OK that I have almost nothing planned for posts next week. Or the week after. Or the near future.

It's OK that I made pumpkin bread for my neighbors and promptly put it in my fridge and completely forgot about it 2 weeks ago.

It's OK that despite the fact that a little kid growled at me yesterday for making him sit out of a game (for not listening) I still love my job.

It's OK that I'm 28 and couldn't be more excited about going to Disney Land in January!

It's OK that I've been meaning to link-up to It's OK Thursdays for several months and only just now got around to doing it!

Now it's your turn! What's OK with you today?


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

How to do Christmas on a (very) tight budget: Think used


"A book always keeps something of its owner in between its pages." (Cornelia Funke, Inkheart)

It won't come as a surprise to you that I love books. I come by it genetically; my grandmother, mother, father and sister all love to read. My father started reading to me when I was a child, and I almost always ask my sister to read to me while we drive alone. What can I say, we are a family who loves books!

Today's Christmas shopping on a (very) tight budget is: think used. There are many places were you can get used books: Amazon.com and Half.com are two online retailers that sell used books for a much lower price than new books. There are also used book stores scattered around everywhere; here we have Half-price Books which is a very nice, very large used book store!

Now, this tip is not recommended for people who are picky about their books. You can often find a used book that is in very good (like new) condition, but I have found that more often than not it is obvious that they are used. My sister couldn't care less, and I couldn't either, but some people might take offense to this, so be careful.

Books aren't the only thing you can buy used, however. My sister loves TV shows, and collects them on DVD. However, have you ever bought a drama on DVD? They typically go for between $40-50! This is a little steep for me, so I like to look for them on Amazon.com too! I get a list from my sister (make sure you know which seasons they need if you are going this route!) and for half that price I can get one, maybe two seasons of her favorite shows. It's the same with movies. If you are worried about your DVDs skipping, buy them from a seller on Amazon that guarantees they will play. Often these are larger sellers who make sure their DVDs are playable before selling them. And don't forget the video games for your video game lovers out there! GameStop is an excellent place to buy used games.

How about you? Have you ever given someone a used book, DVD or game?



Monday, December 12, 2011

Write Boldly


Recently my dad told me to "write boldly". It really made me think, and questions why I write a blog.

There are many people with many more followers. People who get many comments on each post they write. Then there's me, just muddling along. I get excited when I get one comment on a post that I write! But you know what? I don't write to get followers or comments, not that I mind either of those things. I write for myself.

It took me years to realize something about myself. I'm a writer at heart. It always amuses me, because my mom is a medical biller, and my dad is an engineer. My sister and I are both writers. In a previous life I was a reporter, and though I don't write now, it's in by blood, and I have to write.
It really isn't anything I ever thought about. Growing up I never thought to myself, I want to be a writer when I grow up, and yet I am. Even now, when I say I'm a writer, I almost feel odd, because to me a writer is someone who publishes books, and is famous.
And yet, I am a writer.

Writing brought me my husband. I was working at a coffee shop, and I wasn't getting my writing fix, so I started an online, text-based game. The result? A wonderful friend who was in our wedding, and my wonderful husband. Shortly after we started dating, I got the reporter job, and my writing desire was fulfilled, again.

When I went back to school I wasn't writing, though I was focused on my school work, so I suppose I was distracted. After I graduated, I was home, alone, and bored. I turned to writing, and started a blog.

Writing is in my blood. I have to do it. I've been told that I'm a good writer, but I don't see it. I just write, the words flow, and I feel better. It's a part of me, and it always has been. While I love knowing that people read what I write (any writer does, I suppose) the most important thing for me is simply to write. To let the words flow. No matter what I'm doing it my life, in either my vocation or my avocation, I need to write.

I'm a writer.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

She Made That?! Giveaway!


Don't forget to enter my giveaway over at the She Made That?! facebook page! Who doesn't love a good giveaway?? I'm giving away a pair of earrings right here! It ends on Monday, so hurry up and enter!



Friday, December 9, 2011

Book light switch covers

When we first moved into the house I began the process of replacing the light switch covers. For some reason the idea of constantly touching something that someone else used to constantly touch really bothered me! I replaced the covers in our bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living room with Etsy-bought switch plate covers, but I just couldn't find something that I wanted for our family room.

We spend the most time in our family room, probably because it has the TV in there. The decor in this room has a movie/TV/music theme, so I was constantly on the look-out for something that would go with that theme. I toyed with several Harry Potter themed switch plates, but I didn't like any of them enough to buy, so I left it. That is until I found this on Pinterest. It was perfect!
Rather than using Harry Potter, however, I decided to use my favorite book, The Giver. I bought a copy of the book for $4 used on Amazon.com with my Swagbucks, and prepared to cut up a perfectly good book (yikes).


I chose one of my favorite passages for the single switch plate, and a happy passage discussing happy memories on the double switch plate. I followed the directions in this post, (mostly) and was very pleased with my work!


You can see the words on the other side slightly, and the sealer made it look different than I thought, but I think it looks a little old fashioned, so I like it.


What do you think?

Who doesn't love a good giveaway?? I'm giving away a pair of earrings right here!



Thursday, December 8, 2011

How to do Christmas on a (very) tight budget, 2011 edition



Last year I did a series on doing Christmas on a tight budget. Considering I now have new followers, I thought it would be worth it to tweak the series a bit and rerun it.

A year ago, I had just started a new job after spending almost 11 months unemployed. We were in no position to go all out for Christmas. This year, after working full time for a year, I am now only working part time. Though we are in a much better position financially than we were a year ago, we are still in no position to go crazy, nor do we want to. Whether your budget is tight by choice (you just want to save money) or by need (you're unemployed, or only working part time), the holidays are the time of year where you can either go overboard, or remain in control. I choose to remain in control.

Who doesn't love a good giveaway?? I'm giving away a pair of earrings right here!



Wednesday, December 7, 2011

52 Letter project wrap-up


It's almost the end of the year, so I thought I would post one last time about it in 2011. {I say in 2011 because I plan on continuing this next year, and I think I will actually keep track to see if I can send out 52 letters!}

This will be my 15th post on this challenge, which is a little sad because I wanted to update once a week or so, but at least I may have averaged one post a month. Anyway, I have no idea if I actually posted 52 letters but I do know one thing. I wrote all year. All year long I wrote either to my friend and penpal Lydia, or other random friends. Some friends from grad. school received letters. Friends from high school got letters. My grandparents, sister and aunts got letters. Even The Non-Consumer Advocate got a letter. (She may have gotten two, I'm not sure)

I'm proud of myself because I sat down and wrote all year long. Did I write one letter a week? Probably not. There were probably months where all I did was write one letter. However, there were also weeks where I sat down and sent out 3 or 4. It all evened out in the end, and I'm happy to say that I think this challenge was a success.

Last week I was surprised with a letter in the mail from an old high school friend. I had forgotten that I'd written to her earlier in November, so the return letter was a lovely surprise. She wrote, "You are the only person in my life who understands how wonderful receiving a letter is."
Yes, I'd call this challenge a success in my book.

So thank you to The Non-Consumer Advocate for starting this challenge, and here's to another year of letter writing!

Who doesn't love a good giveaway?? I'm giving away a pair of earrings right here!



Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Pumpkin pecan pancakes!


We harvested 5 pumpkins from our garden this year. I absolutely loved having them around the house, but come December I decided that we needed to do something else with them because pumpkins really aren't a Christmas decoration. So, I'm in the process of cutting them all up (I started with this one because it produced a LOT of pumpkin) and cooking with it, which means finding creative pumpkin recipes to use!

These pumpkin pancakes were delicious and very filling!

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup pureed or canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

My local, organic, fresh pumpkin came out much less fake-orange looking than canned pumpkin!

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk wet ingredients; eggs, milk, pumpkin and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in pecans.
Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle. Flip pancakes when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown.
Serve with butter and syrup!

Adapted from Allrecipes.com
This post is linked to Tasty Tuesday

Who doesn't love a good giveaway?? I'm giving away a pair of earrings right here!



Monday, December 5, 2011

Winter swaps!

I got a little ambitious and decided to sign up for 3 different blog swaps! I guess I just got excited. They may not be the most frugal thing I've done, but they're so fun that I don't really mind. Plus, it's once a year!

Luckily for me the respective blogs are doing a link-up today, so I'm posting about all three swaps I was in!
The first is a nail polish swap hosted by Fabulous but Evil and Celia's Way. I loved this swap because I don't normally wear nail polish, but I decided that I wanted to get back into it. My partner was Kasey from Domesticated Hygienist.
Along with a sweet note, Kasey sent me these polishes!

I've already used several of them and I love all the colors! You can see what I got Kasey here.

I also participated in a Secret Santa, thanks to Serendipity! My partner, Beth, sent me a lovely package!


She definitely had read my blog, and I loved that! The three frames are repurposed, which is great because I always love used things! The socks are super soft and I can't wait to wear them, and the cookies haven't been broken into yet, but it's only a matter of time. Beth also included a lovely letter which talked about some things I mention on my blog, so I know she took the time to read it, which made me happy.

The last swap I was in was an ornament swap hosted by Laura! My poor recipient hasn't received her gift yet because it went out today...but her package for me arrived on Saturday! Stephanie sent me a lovely package with way more than I ever thought I'd receive! It made my day.


First, the package included hot chocolate mix, a Christmas pad and Christmas sticky notes and a pen.


Next, she sent me an ornament with a fleur-de-lis, the symbol of her city, Louisville. In the note Stephanie said she hoped that I'd think of Louisville whenever I saw it, and I will!

Next, and possibly my favorite, was an ornament she made!


It's the last page of the last Harry Potter book, all in an ornament! I absolutely love it, not just because we all know how much I love Harry Potter, but because she looked at my blog, saw that, and made something personal for me. It's definitely the nicest thing anyone I don't know has ever done for me, and I was very touched. Thank you Stephanie!


Friday, December 2, 2011

O Christmas tree

Before Geoff and I got married, he bought a tree. It was only 3 years old when I pulled it out this year to set it up. I quickly discovered a problem. One of the feet was broken, causing it to list to the side a little. A few days later I discovered that this was a bigger problem than I'd realized, because the tree was incredibly unstable, especially with cats.



After finding this far too many times, trying two types of glue and a tree stand, I gave up. We were going to need a new tree.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel like spending $100+ on a new tree, so I decided to try my back-up plans first. Craigslist, and Freecycle. I didn't have a lot of hope, since trees seem to be going for at least $250 on Craigslist, but I sent a few emails and posted to Freecycle. I was shocked when, a few hours later, I had a response on Freecycle! There was someone who had been planning on listing her tree anyway. I was thrilled.

The tree was a bit of a pain to set up, but it's much fuller than our other tree, and half a foot taller (which is at about our limit, but that's OK!)


I love it, and you can't beat the price! Hopefully some time soon I will put lights up, but since it took me almost an hour to put the tree together I think that can wait.

As for our original tree? It's listed on Craigslist!
Check out my other Freecycle finds here:
Our couch
A love seat
A frame that I turned into a cute craft

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Love

This is a reprint of a post I wrote 2 years ago, on another To Write Love on Her Arms Day.


I saved this postcard from postsecret.com several years ago, when I was first diagnosed with depression. Off and on I would set it as my computer desktop picture, to remind me that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Today is To Write Love on Her Arms day, and I'm going to take part. I said I would last year too, but it was more of an "attending on Facebook" thing. This year I think I'm going to actually write love on my arm. Tomorrow also happens to be a youth group night, which is another reason why I decided to participate this year as well. I want people to ask questions.

I'm sure you have plenty of questions yourselves, and though I realize my blog doesn't have a very high readership, maybe I can raise awareness with even just a few of you. TWLOHA is an organization whose aim and vision is to raise awareness of depression, self-injury and suicide. They also support organizations that promote and help with recovery.
One of the things I both like and hate about depression is that it's hidden. People all around you could suffer from depression and you'd have no idea. I recently learned that a fellow-librarian graduate, Elizabeth, suffers from depression too. I saw Elizabeth almost every day for a year and a half and had no idea. Sometimes, you just can't tell.

TWLOHA is all about telling. Letting people know that you support them, that you hurt too, are hurting now, or have in the past. Whether or not you are ready to write love on your own arms, it's OK. I am participating because I want people to know I'm aware, that I'm a "safe person", for lack of a better way to describe it, that I am someone you can come to and talk to. I've been there, and sometimes I still am.
How about you?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...