I'm really bad at coming up with blog post titles.

I know I said a while back that I was starting to sew again, and so I've been working my hardest on all my little projects. So far, I've sewn a scarf, 3 purses, a dog carrier, and a couple other things I think...haha I can't remember. Here are some pictures though:

Makeup roll up

Inside of the makeup roll up

Makeup bag

Inside of the makeup bag

Purse #1

Flower on purse #1

Purse #2

Pet carrier

Just so you can see the colors (Navy & Paw print fabric)

Closeup of the paw print fabric

Makeup bag #2

Inside

Purse #3


Sooo...that's been my sewing adventures so far! ha Just comment if you want a tutorial for any of it. I followed other people's tutorials for everything except my pet carrier and the floral purse (not the grey checkered one)...well, technically, I DID follow a tutorial for the floral purse, but towards the end, I gave up on it and made it how I wanted.

- Katie

Counters & Tickers :)

I couldn't get them to post on FB, so yeh. :P

- Katie

Growing Up

Life is about growing up, and I've gone through this "I'm grown up now, so I can make this speech" stage before. When I turned 16, I thought I was grown up enough because I could drive around all by myself, and when I turned 18, I thought i was grown up enough because I was an adult and could do WHATEVER I wanted. Well now, I think I'm grown up enough because I'm moving 3000 miles away from everything I know. I'm a memories & nostalgia kinda girl, and its hard for me to let things go. Honestly though, after being in college for a year - away from my family - I've learned a lot about myself. One of those things is that you have to work for your friendships. You can't just let them go untouched, and you have to talk to your friends when you want to keep the friendship (although you are 3-5 hours away).

What I've learned lately though, is that you can't be the only one. I have so many "friends" who I wanted to stay in touch with, but now that I'm growing up, I realize I'm the only one trying. I knew I wasn't going crazy in high school when I said this, because I've grown and I know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not jealous and I'm not mad, but it is upsetting that I have to let some of my oldest friends go because we've grown apart, and they have better things to do than even keep up with me apparently.

I love my new friends, and above all, I know I have my sisters. I think that even when I'm 50, I can call then whether they live in the same county as me, or if they live in a different country. I do have friends other than my sisters (don't get me wrong, haha) but only they and a couple other friends are the only ones I know I will keep before I'm done growing up. I'm going to learn to let the other go, and even though we have so many memories, I'm going to have to learn how to keep the memories, and move on. Its bittersweet, but I'm going to have to do it.

Loves Bites

Well, I found a new TV show to watch, and as you should probably be able to guess - its called Love Bites. I was so bored tonight, and didn't feel like watching cable, so I turned on Hulu & just started lookin. I saw it and decided to try...so yeh. that's my night. haha

51 days until I get on my flight back to the SOUTH. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. I'm ready to get my stuff, see everyone, and say good bye properly. :)

Tomorrow, I'm hoping that either Pierce or H&M calls me back. (Both would be great!) I've been waiting for Pierce to call me back because I've left multiple messages, and they are starting to make me angry. H&M said they'd call me back within a week to ask me back for a second interview if they liked me...but Tuesday will be a full week, so I'm getting nervous.

I've lost 5 pounds yo! I almost gave up on this diet, but I decided to keep going. :P I wasn't going to completely quit though...I was gonna switch to weight watchers! HA.

Anyways, I think I've wasted 2 minutes of your life now. Congratulations, you've just read the most boring blog post EVER. ;) Sorry, but I haven't had anything to write about. lol...yeh, good night.

- Katie

I'm Back!

I feel like I haven't posted in forever, but there is a reason behind this awful occurrence...

I have started a brand new diet. Along with my dad & stepmom, I am following the Dukan Diet. If you don't know what that is...its an all-protein, no-carb, lowfat diet. Its pretty hard at first, and I'm only on day 3, but I'm doing great! So far I've lost 3.5 pounds in 2 days, and the strict diet I'm on at the moment only lasts 5 days. It includes only lean meat (turkey burgers, beef patties, turkey dogs, etc), nonfat yogurt, 30 grams or less of lowfat cheese a day, and eggs. Along with as much of that as I want, I have to have have 1 1/2 TBS of oat bran everyday until the next phase where it moves up to 2 TBS a day.

The whole point of me telling you this, is because I now have a new blog. (Don't think I'm just gonna give up on this one though...I just might not post as often.) I'm gonna be posting in it as a progress type thing to this new diet. It comes from France, so its pretty new to America, and not everyone knows the side effects. So, after saying all this, I will NOT be giving the link to my new blog to anyone until I've lost a substantial amount of weight, because I'd rather everyone not know how much I weigh in case I don't lose the weight! :P

That's how my life is going, and I will probably post when I get word from PCC about registering for classes! :)

- Katie

Sophomore Year

I'm soon to be entering my sophomore year in college, and to be honest - its a scary thing!

Its crazy to know that a year ago, I was just beginning college. I never thought I'd be transferring colleges let alone moving 3000 miles away after one year at VSU.

I'm going from sunny Valdosta, GA with palm trees and sun to...

Rainy Puyallup, WA where there's no sun & weird trees. :) 

Its okay though, I'm adjusting. All I need now is a JOB, a CAR, and my BOYFRIEND. :( Gosh, its the worst thing in the world not being where the person you love most is! We've gone 5 weeks apart so far, and we still have another 2 months to go. I love him so much though, so we can make it. :) <3

- Katie

Avenged Sevenfold

Yesterday, I was on Stumble and found a recipe for cinnamon pull-apart bread that I really wanted to make so I went to the kitchen and started rounding up the ingredients. I realized we didn't have butter, so I decided to just use Crisco instead. It was all good until I realized my homemade dough was NOT rising, and the Crisco burnt me when I pulled it out of the microwave after attempting to melt it. HA! After I cleaned all the melted/drying Crisco up, I quit for a while. Later on, I went to Walmart to get the rest of the stuff to finish making it. (I had to remake the dough because I put 3/4 a cup too much sugar in the first time anyways...hahaha.)

I finally finished making it around 4:00 this morning (7 am for you East Coasters). Since I went to bed so late, I ended up not waking up until like 1:30 this afternoon! Ashley and I had planned on running to the mall today to look for some shorts for her, so I got up and got ready speedy quick! haha. We made our way to the mall around 2, but when we got there, we realized there weren't any good ones, so she bought a purse, and then we walked by a tattoo place. She decided she wanted to get her long-desired replication of the Avenged Sevenfold logo on her back. 

Her first tattoo! (and only, she says :P) It was cool being on the other side...and not the one getting the tattoo. :P Her getting it really made me want another for some reason...although she made it clear that it was painful. I don't know why'd I go back in after watching her go through that, but I want to...haha! 

When we got home, I briefed her on aftercare since her artist didn't for some reason, and then we died her hair. (yes, again. :P) After we lightened the underneath and died it purple, we realized it was only semi-permanent, meaning it wouldn't last very long. It has already started fading, so we just used the same color from the top, and made it all one color! 

With there being extra purple, I decided to put a streak of purple in MY hair. :P So now, I've got a purple streak, a burgundy feather, and HOPEFULLY I'll have my burgundy streak and other burgundy feather put back in soon. Goodness sake, I had TWO of my extensions fall out the same day I got them. One of them fell out twice in the same day, and I went back and had it put in right afterwards. 

Not the best picture, but you can kind of see the extensions. :)

Well, I'm going rinse out this purple & see how it looks. :)

- Katie

Chests & Feathers

Well, Ashley and I went to 3 different vintage stores in Puyallup, a little thrift store, and Goodwill 2 days ago. We find tons of things, but they were all pretty expensive. There was only one store that was somewhat cheap, so we both got really old books there. I got a dictionary from 1933, and she got a bible from like, 1917 or something like that.

Other than that, I got a new (not used) swimsuit at Goodwill. Yesterday, we decided to lighten Alissa's hair, so we did one application yesterday, and one today - she went from medium/dark brown to light blonde! Its not absolutely the best, because I mean...I didn't have all my tools. I just used what came in the hilighting kit, but I still think it looks great!

While Ashley and I were downtown, we decided to get feather extensions in our hair. There was a salon right downtown that did it for pretty cheap. I got 2 little burgundy feathers and a burgundy strip of hair. She got a burgundy strip and a stripey looking feather. Her's is cooler. lol I don't care though, I think both of ours are cute. :)

Today, after we got our extensions, Ashley wanted to go back and buy a chest that we found yesterday. It is absolutely gorgeous. Its really big, white, and has big pink and blue flowers painted on top. Its chipped and you can tell its old. It was also on sale (always the best!) :P

- Katie

Transfer

Since I am moving to Washington, I will not be able to attend VSU anymore. I applied to Pierce Community College, Puyallup, and I just got the e-mail today saying I was accepted. I'm glad I at least know where I'm going...now I just have to finish my stupid financial aid. Yuck.

We went to the beach again today, and we ended up collecting some more shells...go figure. :P We had a whole bunch of sand dollars from previous trips this summer, and I attempted to bleach them. They didn't bleach very well though, so Ashley and I decided to paint them tonight!

Tomorrow. we are going to antique stores & thrift stores to see what we can dig up. :) I will TRY to remember to post and say what we/I got. hahaha, there's no telling I'll remember though...I'm getting really bad at posting every day. Also, I found 2 new blogs to follow today, and this cool website called Lucky Chic. Its pretty cool, you should check it out! If you do though, send me your e-mail address so I can send you an invite and get extra chips/money. ;) haha...no, seriously.

- Katie

Coupons & Sales

Today, I finally got to buy some clothes since my mom won't send my clothes from home. I had $50 to spend, and I got 4 shirts, 2 tanks, & a belt! I thought I did pretty durn good. :)

Target:
White Graphic Tee - $8
Turquoise Tee - $8
Total: $16 + tax

American Eagle:
Pink/Orange Polo - $10
Blue Tank Top - $5
Belt - $10
Total: $25 + tax -20%

Aeropostale:
Light Blue Cami - 2/$15
Pink Cami - 2/$15
Total: $15 + tax

Obviously, that doesn't equal $50, but I just estimated. I don't exactly remember how much I paid for each thing. Later today, or tomorrow, we are going to go grocery shopping f'real. With all the coupons that I've set up with the in-store sales! I hope we save a good bit, I'm so excited. :)

- Katie

S'more-Topped Cupcakes

I decided to make homemade cupcakes tonight, so here it is:

I forgot to take pictures of the first steps, but here is the recipe I used from Fun Stuff: Cupcakes:

Yield: 12 cupcakes

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1¼ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 whole graham crackers (12 squares)
1½ cups marshmallow cream
1½ bars (3 - 4 ounces each) milk chocolate, chopped into 1/2 - inch chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard (2½-inch) muffin cups with paper baking cups. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. [Do not use the big bowl you are going to put everything in at the end of mixing!]

2. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until creamy and light. Add sugar; beat 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine milk and vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling ¾ full. [I didn't alternate, I just threw it all in one big bowl, and it was just fine!]

3. Bake 21 - 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan 5 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

4. Break each graham cracker square into ¾-inch pieces; press onto each cupcake to completely cover top and extend slightly over edge of cupcake. Spread about 2 tablespoons marshmallow creme over each cupcake (see Tip); top with chocolate chunks. Freeze cupcakes 15 minutes. [I used an eating spoon to put the marshmallow creme on, and I only used one spoonful...it wasn't really enough, so more would probably be better.]

5. Preheat broiler. Place cupcakes on baking sheet. Broil cupcakes at least 6 inches from heat source about 1 minute or until marshmallow creme is lightly browned. Serve immediately. [I couldn't tell if the marshmallow creme was browned unless I pulled it out of the oven a little bit, so watch it carefully! Also, the graham crackers and marshmallow creme with start smoking if you leave it in too long.]

Tip: Marshmallow creme is very sticky and can be difficult to spread. Spray your utensils with nonstick cooking spray; drop teaspoon-size dollops of marshmallow creme over graham crackers and spread gently to cover.


So there,  you've got a free recipe :) And if I do say so myself, it was PRETTY durn good!

Reminisce

Since I've decided to grow my hair out, I finally cut my bangs today. I've been letting them grow out along with the rest of my hair so that I didn't have short bangs & long hair. Today though, I got fed up with them! They are short now, and I can't wait to cut the rest of my hair! Gahh

We went grocery shopping today at Costco (that is absolutely the hardest word to say in the world), and we got some bulk food! Tomorrow though, Lisa & I are going to try some couponing. :) Its never good the first or second time, but after you build up some coupons, you get better! Hopefully we will get some good prices and some good food. 

Now, I am just sitting on the couch with my sleeping kitten watching some more Ghost Adventures. :)

I found some old pictures & figured I'd share them...

This is from when I first got this Macbook at college!

(l-r) Emily, Jordan, me, & Amber

When I lived with my Grandma!

In the dorm, with bangs :)

Jordan & I. haha

In the dorm with Kaleb :)

Hangin out with the bruhs & sorors! :)

In the dorm - that's Jordan's side before she packed up!

At home, reppin V-State :)

Long hair!

Skinny & medium long hair. haha

10th Grade & that's Kaleb in the background...before we were dating. lol

Very first beach trip this summer!

Summer 09 with Morgan.

My Krista Lou. :)

Jessica Doherty in 10th Grade chem lab!

My best friend Sara and I in my old dorm!

My roommate Jordan 'pregnant' with Wurth. haha 

Sara, Jordan, & I on TWLOHA day

By the way, if you click the photos...they will get bigger. I just make them small for my post.