whhhaads up??? oh, i'm in my kitchen...

yesterday my kitchen was buuuuusy. i feel like i was in there for at least 12 hours and that yesterday was an entire week-long in one day. ever have one of those days? it was really tiring but immensely satisfying to have gotten so many things done. here are a few of my favorite things that i did yesterday:

i collected and cleaned some mint leaves to be dried for tea. now to grow lavender and blueberries. *sigh*

tried a new recipe for sandwich bread. do you know that store bought bread has a ridiculous amount of sodium in it? i looked at the pack of bagels we bought and one bagel has 600mg of sodium! 

tried a new recipe for cleaner. to make this orange oil cleaner, just put some orange peels in a glass jar and fill with vinegar. wait 2 weeks, take out the peels and pour into a spray bottle! you will have a wonderfully scented all purpose cleaner!

my mom used to clean with vinegar all the time- but straight from the bottle. even though our apartment would be clean, it would smell like salad dressing for hours. blegh! (sorry mom if you're reading this, but it's true!)

we had a coupon for crate and barrel so we picked up this awesome kitchen towel. we hung it up with tacks above our butler station. 

i also had a lot of fun making strawberry jam (recipe post coming soon- it's super delicious and you'll want to just eat it out of the jar with a spoon).

and in the afternoon, a mom who was coming to pick up her daughters from violin lessons spotted one of my headbands from my etsy shop and went crazy over them. she ended up buying $60 worth of headbands after she made me show her everything i made. 

not a bad way to end a violin lesson if you ask me ;)

i'm back!

wow. it's been a long time since i've blogged ANYthing. 'bout a month my the date of my last post. before you think i deserted all humanity just for the fun of it, let me explain: for some odd reason i ran out of space on my blogger account. (perhaps i upload too many large pictures?) i looked into relocating my pictures to another storage site and even starting another blog under a different publisher. but alas, my lazy bones didn't do fbi-quality research and i ended up (finally) paying a yearly fee to get more space on my blog. since you probably have no idea what i've been up to these days (unless you're like my mom or something) i'll give you a little update.

-my husband had his graduate cello recital and a bunch of people showed up from our church. it was really nice to have all of them there.

-i decided to have a nice little reception for after his recital. we had lots of little sweets including:
chocolate strawberry oreo cake
coconut lime sugar cookies
lemon bars
chocolate covered pretzels
chocolate mints
chocolate peanut butter cups
veggie tray
chocolate covered oreos
chips and salsa
cupcakes
that was a busy baking day.

-his parents drove out from Minnesota and stayed with us for 5 days.

-we drove to a wedding in South Carolina and had a blast seeing old friends and getting away for a couple days.

-i bought plants to start a little balcony garden. my chives survived the winter so my little collection now includes:
rosemary
basil
chives
mint
and 4 lettuce plants.

i may be blogging about this soon.

-the weather is definitely warming up. yesterday was 89F. What?!?!?!?! yes, i live in the northeast.

-found the perfect hair products/combination. may also be blogging about this soon.

-ordered my first pair of crocs online. (eeks! i paid full price for shoes! i never do that.)

-karl and ordered new pairs of glasses. can't wait for those to come either! (i hope they look good)

-my mom ordered me new makeup from faire organic. also waiting for that to come in the mail.

-we planned out our summer. hello europe!

-read a really good post on blogging....it talked about how when people only blog about the awesome stuff that's going on in their lives it gives a really skewed perception of real life. i'm gonna be really real with you guys. when my plants die and when my kitchen is an explosion of mess i may photograph it for you. you're welcome.

-i finished the hunchback of notre dame. spoiler alert: everyone dies.

-still not done with the hobbit, by the way.

-saw the hunger games on opening day. wept through the entire movie. forgot tissues, so my sweater sleeves were soaked.

-oh and most recently, ate a filet mignon steak for dinner. and now i'm on the couch blogging. i'll probably only get up to have some ice cream later.

ps. i'm not really as lazy as i pretend to be. but sometimes i am. like now.

the state of things. in CT.

lately things have been quite crazy around here. 

the busy kind of crazy. 

and blogging kind of got pushed to the side and overlooked. but to tell you the truth, i haven't been doing much online these days. it's like the internet has lost it's draw for me.

hurrah for breaking my addiction to pintrest. and not even realizing it. 

we have been going out and about a lot these days and traveling a bit. 2 days last week, 2 days this week. it's fun to go away and experience a new city every once in a while. but i'd have to say, i'm always excited to come home. there's just something extra comfy about being in your own bed and having your own kitchen.

oh and while i'm on the subject of home, i rearranged our living space again. i'm not sure that it actually looks better. i think i just like the change to something different. i made a small collage on our wall of pictures from our albums. we hardly ever print out pictures but when we do, we slot them away in one of our albums. how silly! it's fun to look at them every day and reminisce about our fun times. 

speaking of fun times, today is a long day of teaching for me. sometimes i drag my feet to the studio, not at all looking forward to seeing each student. it takes a lot of energy keep especially the young ones engaged for the full time of our lesson. and on those days that i dread teaching, my heart gets warmed by a little girl telling me that her violin is her best friend. 

too precious. 

the weather has been getting colder this week and i've been biting all the skin off my lips. dont' ask me why. i don't even realize i'm doing it. it's probably a stress related habit. 

random.

and on this lovely note, dear readers, i need a cup of coffee. or sanka. which is what i'm drinking these days. (did you know it's like 99% caffeine free?) 

~happy tuesday~

thoughts in the shower

i love a warm shower. it's the best place for me to do my thinking.

my stress melts away and i am so relaxed.

this realization happened a couple days ago in the shower.

the other day i was a bit annoyed.

not for a good reason, but for something silly.

i was upset that i had been the last one to fill up the gas tank the past 4 (or more?) times. i don't really hate fueling up. i think i just dislike standing out in the cold holding a pump to the car. whatever. i had a really bad attitude. i was blabbing in my head, complaining to myself how wrong it was to always be the one to fill up the car and other (now silly) things.  

as i was thinking all these horribly mean things, it occurred to me that my life is truly blessed. i mean, seriously, if the most upsetting thing in my life right now is that i have the responsibility of filling up our car with gas, my life is truly blessed. i instantly realized how this upsetting thought had consumed me. and it was so wrong. 

when i realize i am getting upset at things in life which are of no consequence, it is then that i should stop and realize how blessed my life is. 

because i am blessed beyond measure.

ideas (for lack of something better)

i have so many ideas for my blog.

 really.

 i would be blogging every day if i could. 

sometimes twice a day. 

where does the time go? there are some days i feel like i've run around the whole day doing things and at the end of the day it looks like i've accomplished nothing at all. i can't even imagine how much more i'll feel that way once i have kids. (no, not pregnant. not planning to be any time soon) 

there are so many things i love to do: cooking, crafting, blogging (duh), shopping, rearranging, bargain hunting, reading, decorating, and traveling, just to name a few. i also love music. i feel extremely blessed to be making a living doing what i love. today i (and about 20 other people) spent 5 hours recording music for a cd entitled "lullaby." it will be given out to families whose babies spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital. i love the idea of that. i would have even done it for free. but i got paid to do it. i'm not bragging here or trying to sound all proud. i'm not. i'm just so grateful for my job. and the fact that i love it.

even though i have all these distractions of what i like doing, i can't do them all. that's pretty much a fact. and right now, my music must take priority. i desperately need to go back to school and i have to take spending time with my instrument seriously. like at least 4 hours a day kind of seriously. 

i won't be blogging as much as i like. 

but know that i want to be. 

and keep on reading, cuz it makes me smile.

source

The Cold, Hard Truth

The past week there have been somethings i have realized.

 i've been stressed out about a bunch of things and my hair is falling out more than usual. (eeww, gross i know, but i won't be going bald anytime soon thanks to extra-thick hair) 

 this weekend (tomorrow actually) is my first ever craft fair. while i'm excited, i'm also worried i may have misspent money and time preparing for it. auditions are coming up soon. for those of you who don't know, both Karl and I are preparing to go on for more school. He's auditioning for DMAs (doctor of musical arts) and I'm auditioning for a number of different programs at various schools. Finding the time i need (at least 4 hours a day) to practice has not been happening. for a while.  my students are driving me crazy (who comes to a violin lesson without a violin??!!?). i painted my fingernails yellow. (who does that!!??)  forgive my randomness and possibly crazy-personness right now. (yes, that is a word. no, don't look it up, just trust me ;p )

despite all of this, i still feel completely blessed, fortunate, and rich. i am constantly reminded of how grateful  i need to be for my health, a safe and comfortable apartment, an amazing husband, how God has continued to provide for all our needs.

what i have realized throughout the week:

+ everything on my list will not get done. stressing out about it doesn't help. (surprise!)

+ my house will not be as clean as i like. get used to it. 

+ having my personal devotions first thing in the morning will be the most important thing i do. if i've spent my time with God, that day is successful no matter what the outcome.

+ drinking water will really help keep headaches away. it will also reduce stress.

+ remembering to drink water is essential.

+ yelling at the idiot driver in front of me is not good. he can't hear me.

+ i can kill a scary spider if i put my mind to it.

+ this awesome e-book is just what i needed. i've always known i have so many clothes i don't really use  them to their full potential. 

+ blogging is cathartic. (thanks to those of you who stop by for a quick read and a huge thanks for your comments!)

+ i love to cook. and eat. both go together well.

+ smoothies make an 'ok' day awesome.

+ i met my mailman today. he asked if i was the violinist. i didn't bother to correct him, but just nodded. (besides who needs or wants another violist confession or explanation?) he told me his daughter plays the violin.  cool. 

thanks for reading and wish me luck for the craft fair tomorrow!

The Pros and Cons of Sleeping In

First off, let me say that there are no cons to sleeping in.unless, of course, it is your wedding day and you sleep through all your beauty appointments. Or miss any beauty appointments. (for the record, I have never had any beauty appointments unless you count hair cuts. Which don't really count in my book since I always end up getting the super cheap cut that costs less than a good quality steak.) but there really are no cons to sleeping in.

 I actually slept in this morning and the thought occurred to me that there is no better way to start the day. Even if it's a Monday (and you know what I think about Mondays). Here are the pros:

 For starters, you slept in. That alone is pretty awesome. So you start your day with an automatic awesome.

 Second, sleeping in will make you realize that all the things you "had" to get done today really aren't all that necessary for survival. And you will re-evaluate your goals (when was the las time That happened?) 

Also, you will drink coffee for pleasure instead of survival. And it will taste better. Trust me. In addition, you will be happy. Why? Because you got to sleep in of course!

 Next, you will get to have bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, and Chinese food because by the time you get dressed and ready to face the world it will be BOTH breakfast and lunch time.

 Your clothes will match better if you are conscious when you get dressed.

 You will be spontaneous the rest of the day. You might even take a nap for no reason.

 You will use the remainder of your day and time more wisely because, let's face it, you DID sleep in and have less hours in the day to work with. Unless you're like me and decide to blog about it instead.


 My apologies to my readers for the lack of pictures in my recent posts. I've lost my little picture uploading gadget that I JUST bought from the apple store. Until then you might be getting posts like this one.

for more ridiculous ravings, visit mindy kaling's blog. she's the bomb diggity on stuff like this. except better.

Potato Chips, Ginger Ale, and Skinny Jeans

That is exactly how I stated my day today. The first thing I ate this morning was a potato chip followed by a swig of Ginger ale, straight from the 2 liter. Every Monday morning I am not awake until around noon. I am usually pretty grumpy that 1) it is Monday and 2) I have to wake up at 7:30. I don't really bother wondering if my clothes match or if my hair is like, really freaking amazing looking. I just know that they don't and it's not. What usually cheers me up is that I will go shopping later that day. Grocery shopping. But still for me, it's pretty exciting. I don't know why I like shopping so much....maybe it's that little swipe of a piece of plastic that makes it seem like I'm getting awesome stuff for nothing. Or maybe I just like clicking that little button that says "add to cart." I'm a girl and shopping is fun for me. I think thats a pretty basic concept.

 Aside from all of the above nonsense today is a day where I remember the different ways I am blessed. Let's get on with that, because fact is, reading about the Mondays of an average American female is not all that exciting.

 This week Karl and I had breakfast at our favorite area diner. It was so nice just to sit down and spend some time with him, especially since we both had a crazy week with opposite schedules.

mmm....poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, ham, toasted english muffin, and home fries.

 I got a surprise scarf gift from a friend. That was awesome.

 Dinner is already in the crockpot.

 My house ( and by house, I mean apartment) is comfortable and warm.

The 3 concerts I played this weekend were fun and they are over. Let's face it,there's only so much Vivaldi and Piazzola one can handle. Or should I say, Handel, haha. ( corny joke, I know)

 Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Which means vacation is coming up soon. yay!

 What are you thankful for this week? Feel free to share on the comments or link back to your blog!

Random Thursday and an Awesome Giveaway

Contrary to all that autumn should be, this week has been hot, humid, rainy and cloudy. The past couple days have felt like it's 4 o'clock all day. (y'know, darkish, quiet, and boring) I made a trip to Trader Joe's yesterday after Bible Study (since I was already like 1/2 way to the store) and bought...........(drumroll) AN OREGANO PLANT!!! Yay, one more herb to add to my 'garden' (haha, pots on my porch). So far I have basil, chives, and oregano. What other herbs should I add? Mint? Lavender? Give me some ideas, folks!

Ok, so enough about that for now. (i'll include pictures of 2 awesome new items i bought at TJ's at the end of this post) 

What about that giveaway? Long story short: it's time to do something fun and get more feedback from you!  :)  One of these awesome totes will be given away to you! I'm trying to build up my etsy shop and reopen it with some exciting and new items. These totes will be available once I reopen my shop, but for a special preview, I'll be giving one away! The winner will be randomly selected using an online number generator and will get to choose one of the 4 totes below. (you can specify if you would like black or flamingo for the words)

also available with flamingo lettering (as are all totes)

doesn't he? 

perfect for toting around the necessities, y'know, like music.... ;)

So are you ready to enter the giveaway? Here's how to enter:

:: you must be a follower of fifteenevergreen (it's super-super simple if you have a gmail account) and leave me a comment telling who your favorite composer is right now.

:: for additional entries you can post a link to this post on your blog or facebook account

be sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do!

The winner will be announced on Monday, September 8th!

Now for my 2 happy purchases at Trader Joes: 

These things are seriously good. like your eye brows go up and your eyeballs pop out when you taste them.

way better than I expected.  what's a day without coffee? oh yeah, one where your eyes are closed the entire day. 

Happy Friday folks, and dont' forget to enter the giveaway!

Tuesday, Late -Night Style

Is late night even a style? Not really sure. I think it's just my excuse for any typos or lack of cohesion you may find in this post. Anyways, its Tuesday and as I am suuuuuuuuuuuuuper tired and pooped (which is just a more intense version of tired) so I thought I'd share a couple picture from this week. Mainly food, which has not made nearly enough appearances on my blog as of late. :)

The food we got to take home from a wedding we did at the Mark Twain House. Favorite: the dumplings. You can't eat just one. (and I didn't)

Spring rolls. dumplings. fried rice. fried crab dumplings. veg. noodles.

My West Coast Burger (fried egg, avocado, and olive mayo) with a deeeelicious pickle and parmesan fries. (which were a waste of the $2 upgrade from regular fries)

The Irish Soda Bread I made the other morning. As you can see, I cut the "X" too wide and ended up with 4 pyramid-like corners. Lesson learned.

Last night's dinner: fresh corn chowder, salad and soda bread. 

That's all for tonight! 

Random, Fantom Tuesday

I'm starting to learn that if I want to do a post with pictures in it, nighttime is the best to do it. (Since Karl is usually home, which means his laptop is home, which means I can use iPhoto...you get it...)

As usual, Tuesdays posts will be random. So are you ready for a smattering of picture and a whole lot of random? Put on your adventure hat and here we go!  (that was...awkward, weird, whatever. just scroll down)

Bought I couple red pears this week. Mostly because they're so pretty.

Can't get enough pears.

Made some salsa for the church picnic. Also these (hot chocolate) cookies.

Church picnic! 

The teens are hosting this "rice bowl" project. This little rice bowl is basically a piggy bank and you fill it with your pocket change for the next two weeks. The money collected in all the rice bowls gets donated to a children's orphanage overseas. love it.

Leaving the picnic (karl keeps his name tag on as long as possible) :)

Super-awesome vintage Leed's suitcase I picked up outside a big house on Prospect that had tons of stuff on the curb. 

Simple, tasty beans: 1 can (15.5oz) of beans, 2 garlic cloves, 1 serrano chile pepper, handful of cilantro, chicken broth. Dump it all in a pot and cook for 15 min. 

Macho-Nacho dinner night! 

I made this lemon-scented sweet bread today...mmmmmmm...It's a not the easiest recipe, but I love to try new things. Recipe found here. See some steps below:

The final product. Breakfast, anyone?

Happy Tuesday!

Blast From The Past

Ever come across one of these? This just makes me smile.

I never had sisters, but these cousins made up for it. 

Love it.

Happy weekend, y'all.

Thursday's Randomosities

Happy Thursday everyone! Can you believe tomorrow is Friday? (I think I  say this too much, but time really does fly!)

I've finally gotten into some kind of routine with my practicing which is good. 

I didn't practice today which is bad. 

I remembered to take a pict. for WIWW today which is good.

There was major flooding on the campus where my husband goes to school/teaches/works which is bad. 

We got a buy 1 get 1 free at Coldstone Creamery tonight which is, yup you guessed it, goooood.

My basil plant is an absolute diva, which is bad (nobody likes a diva).

I got an amazing back massage from my bff which is good.

There are still a lot of dirty dishes in my sink. bad.

Spell check says "no guesses found" for   randomosities. funny.

I found a super-quick yummy recipe for dinner: pocket chicken pot pies.

you make the filling (with chicken, veggies, cream cheese, butter, salt, pepper) and wrap it in croissants and brush it with and egg wash.  

Homemade salsa with garden tomaatoes. (and serrano peppers. and garlic. and cilantro. and salt.) 

Don't ask me why I'm holding a hot pepper with no gloves. Or why I'm making that face. But you should know that next time I will wear gloves.

Finished 2 projects this week. This is one of them.

Hubs-made pasta aglio e olio with homemade breadcrumbs. We love our food processor.

Our date to Coldstone Creamery. Speaking of which, I feel really relaxed for all the sugar I just had. 

This is good.

Happy Weekend!

Tuesday's Thoughts

As you may have noticed, i've been making some changes with my blog. Perhaps the biggest change since I first started is more consistent blog posts. At our previous apartment, we didn't have internet which made it much more difficult to blog. Since we've moved to a new place that includes wi-fi in the cost of our rent, this problem has disappeared. (wa-hoo!)Soooo, I've decided to format things a little differently and hopefully you like the changes :)

Mondays I'll be linking up with "He Sows, She Sews" for "I'm Blessed" which will re-focus my mind on what I have to be thankful for that week.(it's also a chance for you to get in on the thankful train too!)

Tuesdays is basically whatever I feel ,like doing: maybe a recipe, craft, or something just random.

Wednesdays I'll be linking up with "What I Wore Wednesday" (hosted by "The Pleated Poppy") which is a type of accountability tool to motivate wives and mothers to get out of their yoga pants and t- shirt routine.(which is exactly what I'm wearing as I type this. Yikes!)

Thursdays:same as Tuesdays for now.

Fridays I'll be linking up with Insta-Fridays, a week in photos.

Any posts on Saturday and Sunday will be extra-credit.(man, it's been a long time since I've been in school!)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


So on to today! Here are some things that occurred to me this morning:

- I can get excited about anything after my morning cup of coffee

- My posture is really horrendous

- I really shouldn't forget my purse (which has my drivers license in it) when I drive around.

- If I don't buy more bananas there will be no more breakfast in our house

- I'm really glad nude nail polish is making a comeback since I have some clear stuff and what's more nude than clear?

- I shouldn't have put that many hot peppers in the chicken enchiladas last night.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things....or...Websites

Since the holidays are coming up, I thought I would do a short post on some of my favorite websites. If you are stumped on what to get a friend or relative, visit some of these sites for some  amazing, one of a kind gifts.

Also, at the end of the post are some really great resources I use for ideas on cooking, organizing, decorating and cleaning impossible things (there, now I made those links irresistible!)

Here's one of my all time favorites. It's always on the top of my list of places to visit when we head into NYC for a weekend. This little place downtown is the quintessential old time tea and coffee shop where there are literally hundreds of loose teas to choose from. You buy tea leaves by the whole/half/quarter pound. They have all different kinds and flavors of black, white, green, and flavored teas. It was rated number one for coffee and number two for tea in Zagat reviews. You can also order online from them. Either way, you don't have to miss out on the perfect flavor for your holiday season.

 Here's the link: http://www.mcnultys.com/

Everyone who knows me well, knows I'm a huge fan of pottery. Katie Coston, headquartered in South Carolina has many beautiful pieces, both functional as well as decorative. The colors she glazes with enhance the shapes she forms. I love her mugs- you will find no vessel more perfect to hold your coffee or tea ( or cider or eggnog). Her bowls are also fantastic. Check it out!

Here's the website: http://illyriapottery.com/home/

Etsy is home to some of the coolest handmade goods. Here are a few favorites:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62790994/holiday-sale-lovely-silver-bird-and?ref=cat2_gallery_25

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/63411028/plummery-hair-clip?ref=sr_gallery_4&ga_search_query=hair&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62250786/bird-headband-swallow-silver?ref=sr_gallery_23&ga_search_query=hair&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=7&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62250786/bird-headband-swallow-silver?ref=sr_gallery_23&ga_search_query=hair&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=7&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade

Now for the awesome web resources.....(drumroll) (or scroll...)


This website is indispensable...they so much information on sooooo many topics. I also subscribe to their magazine. It's worth it.
http://www.realsimple.com/


Self explanatory.
http://allrecipes.com/

Ok, so I admit it. Everything I've made of hers is probably the best I've ever eaten. Yeah, it's that good. (prerequisite- must be able to part with 1/2 pound of butter for 1 recipe. I think butter is her magic ingredient)
http://www.marthastewart.com/food