not adequate...?? DIY!!

it is no secret i am incredibly fond of the 60's & 70's; i was seriously born in the wrong era.
-my most favorite bands include the beatles, led zeppelin, and lynyrd skynyrd.
-frijid pink's "house of the rising sun" is probably my favorite song of all time.
-i wanted to be a hippie for halloween just about every year in elementary school.
-i grew up wearing my mom's old jeans and tee-shirts from high school. (she was very small. haha.) 
-i could easily keep going.

my mother and her two sisters are very nostalgic, which has rubbed off on me...including their own nostalgia and love for all things "retro" and "vintage". (retro and vintage are obviously relative terms though; it is a very weird feeling when you see a toy you played with as a child labeled "vintage" at a thrift store.) (and on another note, my intense nostalgia plays into my aforementioned hoarding-tendencies.)

i have been - o b s e s s e d - with these free people jeans ever since i saw them on the website. (along with all things free people, for that matter.)

however, there were a couple problems. one was the price. ($150 is a little much for me to pay for jeans at this moment in time.) one was their absence in my local store. (i'm fond of trying clothing on; i have a difficult body shape to please.) and one was the reviews. (each said they were an odd fit; too long all around.)
so obviously...i ordered some. ha. after drooling over them all summer long, i couldn't take it anymore.
they arrived today; i can't even button them, let alone pull them up over my hips. haaa--it was a sight to see.
BUT...in order to accept my "less is more" attitude and become more thrifty, i've decided to make my own. and with having them in hand for the next 29 days, i have a tangible template. i accept this challenge. hold me to it, yall.

WHAT'S for dinner...??

wow, i am so sorry, yall.
things got a little crazy round here.
i finally understand why all these bloggers can't possibly update every day. (while the wonderwomen (seriously) at a beautiful mess make it look so easy...sigh.)

NOW...i have made two batches of these oatmeal cookies in the past week for two different occasions.
the first being, Ritz has officially closed forever...and to celebrate i mean, mourn. duh... (but really, celebrate) my departure, I made a batch.
the second occasion being, we finally had our long-time-comin "cousin night" over here. (my entire family is extremely & ridiculously close...and equally busy.)

my lovely aunt nan makes these most every year for Christmas; they are a request at many family gatherings and are also given as part of, or the whole of, a birthday gift to many. aka: people love these things.

Aunt Nan's Oatmeal Cookieeesss!! (or opeymeal, as i used to say as a wee one.) (makes about 60 cookies!!)

the recipe calls for:
-1 c. softened butter (i used margarine; don't.)
-1 c. brown sugar
-1 c. white sugar
-2 well-beaten eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 1/2 c. flour
-2  c. oats

directions:
-set the oven to 350F.
-cream butter and sugars together.
-add eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda; stir well.
-add flour (1/2 c. at a time).
-add oats (1 c. at a time).
-bake 8-10 minutes. (there were so many times, with only twelve fifteen cookies on each sheet, that this step became the ultimate experiment with our oven...however, i still was not completely pleased with the outcome of any. at one point, i cooked a set for 11 even. practice makes perfect, i guess.)

aunt nan's hints:: do not overbake; bake on parchment paper (most definitely); small spoonfulls (absolutely).
mckenzi's hint:: leave plenty of time to cool down before stacking...unless you want one, giant oatmeal cookie. then, you're golden.

needless to say, they were a big hit...on both accounts. they were all gobbled up before i could snap a decent photo of them.
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i shall try to get my "what's for dinner" segment back on schedule from now on.
if tomorrow, whooo knooowsss what'll-it-be... ;)

now all's i got to do with myself is find a new job...
-preferably a photo assistant with some local photographer. wish me luck!!

less is more.

i am THE worst at this phrase.
in all honesty.
-you've probably figured that out from my blog posts. haha.
i write a lot.
i love details.
my stories are excruciatingly long. (because they are so detailed.)
i give a lot of advice. sometimes it's too much. sometimes it's not asked for. (i just feel like, if i sit back and watch somebody make a mistake and/or get hurt, i am somewhat responsible...so if there is a way i could help, i always want to.) (it's very possible i have over-stepped my boundaries on occasion.)
i take way too many photos. which, in turn, overwhelm me to edit. (because i am coincidentally ocd about editing.)
i am too fond of "stuff."
annnd i keep everything; one of my life goals is to try my hardest not to get on the show "Hoarders". (because it could seriously get to that point, yall.)

if you know me very well...and i guess in this case, this statement literally means "very well"...you know i tend to be a bit messy.
-not dirty, just messy.
aka: my room is a whirlwind of clothes.
many factors are involved here, but the two main ones are...i haven't grown since the seventh grade, and i never throw/sell/give anything away. (that's ten years of clothes, people.)
needless to say, i love clothes.
it's the only thing i will spend money on. (besides food. duh.)
today i went shopping-and bought more clothes. ay-ay-ay.
i obviously don't need more, but my style is evolving. (that is my reasoning.)

we had a garage sale about a month ago, and i put SOOO many articles of clothing in it...but from the looks of my room/closet/dresser/armoire, you could never tell.
i need to go through everything again and "de-clutter."
we are wanting to have another day for the sale, putting most everything at half price.
you should come. seriously. do it.

one of my favorite sayings is::
"live simply, expect little, give much, love extravagantly."
- anonymous. (to my knowledge.)

there is obviously room to work on each of those separate ideas, but the part i really want to focus on till the end of 2012 is to live simply. and "de-clutter" my life, in every facet.
hold me to it, yall.

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(what's for dinner wednesdays is still comin, folks. i made the cookies, i took the photos, now i have to edit them. haha.)

moments.

life is full of moments.

i spend a lot of my time wishing for moments back...moments when i could have stood up for myself better, moments i could have spent more productively, moments i wish i would have made a different decision, moments i missed out on, moments i wish i had said something more or completely different.

i do not think i am alone in this. these are not necessarily regrets...but moments i can learn from. if i think about them long enough and too frequently, however, i am wasting other moments.
i am bad at this. i think too much. way too much. i wish, and want, and plan, and write too much...instead of do.
-and i want (there's that word again) to change that about myself, so i am going to do that. and i am hoping this statement will hold me accountable. (as i am hoping this blog will do in many regards.)

today, i am quite ill, which always makes me reflect on this concept of moments. because whenever i am ill, i am quite ill...and then i lose many moments, sometimes days. and it makes me want to do something even more when i recover; i just have to remember that feeling when those moments and days come again.

i leave you with this perfectly relevant quote i love::

"how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

- annie dillard.

("what's for dinner, wednesdays...??" is not happening today, due to my current state. but tomorrow i am planning on making my aunt nan's oatmeal cookies for my last day of work at Ritz...so it is just postponed. no worries.)

be remarkably charismatic.

so...over time, i have strategically NEVER made a site i actually frequent as my homepage.
i forever and always want yahoo.com to maintain that spot. it keeps me up-to-date on the who's who and what's what. i get just enough "news", and i can keep up with the "times". and especially since i'm not going to school anymore, i am not surrounded by peers to keep me in the loop.
I have never liked the radio (i cruise pandora, youtube, noisetrade, and itunes for new music...often.); I stick to all the same shows year after year (which do not include mtv, "keeping up with the kardashians", "jersey shore", "the real housewives...", or any of that crap.); I do not have any magazine subscriptions. Nothing I do or see informs me of what's going on in the world/America's world...so yahoo is my go-to "grapevine".

Occasionally, I find article headings on yahoo's homepage that intrigue me to actually read and less often ones that inspire me. Most of the time the self-help's are "how to become a millionaire by age 50", or "10 steps to make you more successful at work", or "things you should never say in an interview". They are seldom commendable to the point that i am impressed with yahoo's rectitude.
I say all that to say...tonight's page prompted me with:

"The ten habits of remarkably charismatic people".

First of all, ten is a great number; moderate enough that it seems feasible to obtain, but substantial enough that it seems as though not everyone could possess the sought-after quality.
Second, I love the word remarkable (...go read Purple Cow); it is a word, like extraordinary or sensational, that is ultimately positive and absolutely wonderful. One of the best complimentary adjectives to be described as...fore you do not come across these kinds of people every day, let me tell you.
And third, charismatic can give off a negative connotation-to some familiar with the church...but the descriptors include charming, captivating, magnetic, and strong in character. Sounds just as good as remarkable!! And to be remarkably charismatic?!? whoooo-eeeee!!

The following are the characteristics yahoo gives of this rare individual::

1. They listen way more than they talk.

2. They don't practice selective hearing.

3. They put their stuff away. (aka: their phones, computers, calendars, etc.)

4. They give before they receive--and often, they never receive.

5. They don't act self-important (or self-righteous)...

6. ...Because they realize other people are more important. (you already know what you know, but you don't know what other people know, and that makes them more important than you; you can learn from them.)

7. They shine the spotlight on others. (remember what others achieve and compliment them on it; show you actually care.)

8. They choose their words. (the words you use impact the attitudes of others; everyone wants to associate themselves with happy, enthusiastic, fulfilled people. be a light.)

9. They don't discuss the failings of others...(if they gossip about others to you, they gossip about you to others.)

10. ...But they readily admit their failings. (be humble. share your screwups. admit your mistakes. laugh at yourself.)

*you have to be incredibly genuine to be remarkably charismatic.
source.

told you...tis a rarity.
-food for thought.

-what's for dinner...??

i'm going to attempt to become domestic by starting this weekly entry every wednesday featuring some sort of culinary experiment i try.
and today, i decided it was about time i did some baking.

a few years ago, i went home with my best friend for our spring break. that trip was really special to me for a number of reasons, but predominantly because i got to meet and spend some time with her dad who passed away last year, and i'm still so glad i decided to go.

while we were there, her mom had baked this recipe of beer bread for us, and i immediately fell in love. i had never had beer bread before and thought it was easily one of the best things i'd ever eaten.

i e-mailed her for the recipe a few months ago and finally got around to making it.

the final product wasn't as good as colleen's, but it still did not disappoint. ;) and it's also super easy, which is my kind of recipe!!

Colleen's Beer Bread!!
(makes 1 loaf, 12 servings.)

the recipe calls for:
-1 (12 oz.) can/bottle beer (i used foster's...cause...duh.)
-3 tbsp. white sugar
-3 c. self-rising flour




directions:

-set the oven to 350F.

-mix flour and sugar in large bowl.

-add beer, and continue to mix (first with wooden spoon, then with hands.)

-pour sticky dough in 9x5 greased loaf pan. (i used an 8x6 pan...and forgot to grease. don't forget to do that!! the bottom was done-for.)

-bake for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack. (i went with 50.)

*the top will be crunchy, while the inside remains soft.


mmm...so good.

((if anyone wants to help me with my layout, i will be MORE than happy...i have been trying to get these photos and this copy lined up the way i want it for a couple hours, and it still isn't satisfying me. and i'd rather the images be larger anyway...and the text to all be the same. oy.))

the sun will rise.

"i've been stuck in the storm before,
felt the wind ragin at my door,
couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't find a way out.
somehow the clouds disappeared,
somehow i made it here,
maybe just so you could hear me say:
the sun will rise.
the sun will rise.
when you've lost your light, the sun'll rise.
it'll be alright."

- kelly clarkson.