Christmas Party

Hey ladies! I know I've been MIA this week.  We are getting down to the last weeks of school (TWO WEEKS LEFT!) and things are crazy for me.  I will be pretty busy the next two weeks so bear with me!  Today I'm linking up with some lovely ladies for a Christmas cheer link-party! Whoo hoo!

Who's looking forward to Christmas?? I am!  To get us in the mood today, thought I'd share some of my favorite Christmas songs! Enjoy!

Winter Snow-- By Audrey Assad

 



Silent Night-- By Taylor Swift

 

 

Mistletoe-- By Colbie Caillat

 

 





Awkward.

It's awkward. Yes, yes, it is.  But everyone's doing it.  And if everyone's doing it, I should be too, right?  So here it is...

my outfit post!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweater dress: Old Navy; Scarf: Bath and Body Works; Boots: Famous Footwear; Spoon ring: my ALL TIME favorite piece of jewelry, a gift

 

 

 

Thanksgiving Day Recap

Look at all this delicious grub! Hope you enjoyed some equally delicious food! 

Yes, those are Cheetos and Gushers.  Sorta a family tradition.  And YES, that is a "Cookie Monster" cake, made by that creative guy down there.  What untraditional foods did you eat this Thanksgiving?

The Chefs

An abundance of blessings

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to remember to be thankful.  Thankful for the people in my life, thankful for the food I have every day, thankful for the warm home I live in, thankful for my health.  Thankful that God has given me an opportunity to know Him and contentment that comes from this life.  Thankful for blue skies and sunshine, thankful for rain that waters the earth, thankful for beautiful flowers and fall leaves.   

Thought I’d share with you a lovely little list from here.

I am thankful for…

·        The taxes I pay because it means I am employed

·        The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat

·        A lawn that has to be mowed, windows that have to be cleaned and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home

·        The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking

·        The lady in church who sings off key because it means I can hear

·        The huge piles of laundry and ironing because it means loved ones are nearby

·        The alarm that goes off in the early morning because it means I am alive

In the stress of day to day life, it is so easy to become too busy to remember all the little things that mean so much.  Let’s take the time to be truly thankful for the gifts we have before it is too late.  Happy, HAPPY Thanksgiving!!

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

On being legit.

Let me tell you a little bit about how hardcore I am...

I am taking an exercise physiology class this semester and as part of that class, our lab group had to create our own experiment.  We decided to test the effects of eating different types of carbohydrates on glucose levels during exercise.  Like, running-a-lot type exercise. 

Cool.  However, only two people out of our group had to perform the trial, so I'm home free----- NO, somehow I got roped into doing this stupid experiment.  I'll break it down step by step for you.

Step 1:  I am have to be fasted before the test so I don't get to eat breakfast before I go to class.  I am extremely hungry.

Step 2:  I have to eat a simple sugars as my carbohydrate.  Enter 53 grams of gummy bears.  Yum, yum.  I don't know about you, but I find this pretty appalling to have to eat 53 grams of gummy bears for breakfast and then work out.

Step 3:  RUN.  For 30 minutes.  Hooked up to a headpiece, mouthpiece, and nose clip. While my lab group stares at me.  Ew.

Step 4: Get stabbed in the ear every ten minutes to draw blood for the glucose test.  See below. 

Step 5: Finish 30 minute run.  Begin a 1-mile performance run where I have to run my absolute fastest. Without dying?  Yes. 

Step 6: My fastest was 8 minutes, 20 seconds. That is not very fast. 

Step 7: I think I'm so legit.

The Fine Line We Walk.

This week I’ve been reading a lot of bloggers who are saying that the blog world can get to be too much.  And I agree.  I’ve seen a lot of great bloggers get swept away with giveaways and product reviews until I no longer am interested in reading their blog because it’s just about stuff.   It’s just about getting more followers and sponsors.

A quick glance to my followers section shows that this is not the case for me.  And I think:  Why don’t I have more followers?  What can I do to make people like me more?  What can I post here that will make people want to read? Why does everyone else have more followers than me?

 

Well, I’m asking the wrong question.  If I change my content to get more followers, I’m no longer an honest blogger.  Yes, I do want followers.  Because despite some of the bad aspects, I love the blogging community and there are so many sweet bloggers out there I’d love to get to know more.  I’d like to think that I have something to share that others will care about.  But even if I never get another follower, I want to keep blogging true to myself and my faith.  So thank you to all who have shown me some blog love.  And to all those awesome bloggers that share real stuff every day… you gals are the best!  Keep doing what you’re doing! 

Joyfully yours,

Danielle

Fall Scrumptiousness

Hey ladies!

Every time I go into Starbucks I am soooo tempted to buy a Pumpkin Scone because I am a huge fan of all things pumpkin.  I haven’t given in yet, but when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I had to try it.  I made some tonight and they were pretty darn good!  I think you should give ‘em a try!

 

Pumpkin Scones (originally from here)
2 cups flour
7 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
3 TBSP half and half
1 egg
6 TBSP cold butter, cubed

Glaze:

1 cup + 1 TBSP powdered sugar

2 TBSP half and half

In a large food processor combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Pulse to combine.  Add cold butter and pulse until well incorporated and mixture is texture of cornmeal. 

In a separate bowl, whisk pumpkin puree, half and half, and egg.  Add to flour mixture and pulse until combined.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface (my dough was extremely sticky at this point, so make sure your surface and rolling pin are well floured) and gently knead 4 or 5 times to bring dough together.  Flatten into 1” thick circle.  Using a pizza cutter, cut in half and then in thirds.

Place wedges onto greased baking sheet and bake at 425^o for 14-16 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove to cooling rack.

Once cool, whisk together glaze and spoon on top.  Let harden for at least an hour. 

 

Sounds delish?  I think so!

Joyfully yours,

 

Danielle