Boo

Every year, I tell myself that I'm going to be totally prepared for Halloweeen. I'll have my space decorated, I'll make yummy Halloween goodies, and I'll have a kickbutt costume. And every year Halloween sneaks up on me, taps me on the shoulder, and says, "umm I'm right here". *sigh* The only celebrating I'm doing this year is going to my night class. Yeah, I'm livin' the life.
BUT...if I ever get around to celebrating the best holiday ever, these costumes are at the top of my "to make" list. 

Pikachu 

Medusa 

Poison Ivy

Ghost Buster

Belle (blue dress version not yellow ballgown version)

This list is not comprehensive, and is constantly changing. None of these will be happening this year. But in the (hopefully near) future, I will see each of these characters come alive. And if you're wondering about my stance on the sexy costumes, I give you this...

Outrightly (and unnecessarily) "sexy"? Not for me, thanks. I think we can be more creative than that. :)

Happy Halloween y'all!

DIY: T-shirt Scarf

Last night was the Frogs for the Cure football game at Cowboys Stadium. Frogs for the Cure is TCU's effort to fight breast cancer and find a cure, so of course I had to find something pink to wear to the game. I finally decided on a scarf, but couldn't find one that I liked anywhere. 

After some searching online, I found this tutorial at moredesignplease for a t-shirt scarf. Michaels has t-shirts on sale for $2.50 this week, so I ran over there yesterday afternoon to buy a hot pink t-shirt (way to wait until the last minute right?). If you have a t-shirt that you don't mind completely cutting up, then you could just use that. The tutorial above said while small logos on the shirt are okay, it works best if you use plain shirts with no side seams.

I didn't take any photos of the process, because I was in a hurry and didn't know how it would turn out. Turns out that I love it! The whole thing took less than half an hour (no, seriously!), and was so super easy that anyone can do it...and I mean anyone. Plus it's no-sew, which is nice because I don't have my sewing machine up here with me (sad day). 

Here's the final product modeled by my carpet

Close up of the part where the loops are tied together

And modeled by me (I wrapped it around my neck twice) paired with my horned frogs sweater

Watch the Frogs for the Cure official video here!

The guy singing is Tim Halperin...anyone recognize him? He was on the last season of American idol and is a TCU grad!

"We fight back" <3

Rugs

Walking to class yesterday, I passed by a professor's office and glanced inside. On his/her floor was a rug. It wasn't outstanding or unique, and the floor under it was carpet. So at first I thought, "Well what's the point of that?" Then the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. That simple rug added dimension, color, and texture to what would otherwise be a nondescript office. Today I am tempted by the idea of filling my apartment with cozy rugs (it's finally getting colder). Now off to estate sales and thrift shops so I can fulfill this desire...

Blah

It's been a rough morning. I needed this video. Maybe you do too. This is "Keep Your Head Up" by Andy Grammer. You may have heard this one on the radio, but it doesn't hurt to listen again. :)

from YouTube

"I know it's hard, know its hard,To remember sometimes,But you gotta keep your head up, ohhhAnd you can let your hair down"
{"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" - 1 Peter 5:7}

Wonderful Wednesday

By Wednesday, most people are more than ready for the weekend. I know that I tend to get a little blah on this hump day, so starting today I'm featuring Wonderful Wednesdays. It's just a post about the little (or maybe big) things that are making me happy.

Here's what's making this Wednesday wonderful...

The gorgeous, perfect 80 degree weather - It's the middle of October, and although I would love to have the weather a teensy more "fall-like", I can't complain about it at all. Especially since tomorrow the high is supposed to be 55. Yikes.

Passion Tea from Starbucks - We have a coffeeshop on campus that sells Starbucks, and this large tea was only $2.50. The lady even let me put my Splenda packet in before she shook it up. :)

It's the last day of school - Tomorrow I'm going to Oklahoma City for my Honors class, so today is the last day of school for the week. I just have to get through clinic and in 2 hours I will be free!

img from weheartit

Class Search is up - They finally updated our online class search for next semester...crazy perfectionist schedule planning begins...now.

BYU/TCU game ticket - I finally picked up my ticket for Friday's game at Cowboys Stadium. I'm so pumped for football.

Now tell me what's making your Wednesday wonderful! :)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Last week I shared a yummy recipe for pumpkin spice latte syrup, and promised y'all that there would be more. So this week's pumpkin recipe is for pumpkin cream cheese from Laaloosh and ohhhh my word is it good. 

To make it you'll need:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix!)

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp brown sugar

dash of salt

Note: Since the website I got this recipe from specializes in healthy recipes, 1 serving of this (2tbs) is only 2 WeightWatchers points IF you use low-fat cream cheese!

The original recipe can be found here. Most people eat this stuff on their bagel or with graham crackers...not me. I had to put it in the back of my fridge because I was eating it by the spoonful. It's really that good. It's not hard to make, and worth every step.

Homecoming Weekend

Saturday was homecoming for the horned frogs. We played the New Mexico Lobos, and beat them 69-0. I almost felt a little bit sorry for them...but it felt good to have a confident win for once this season. All of our other games were nail-biters. This puts TCU at 5-2 for the season so far. The game was hot (not as bad as usual though), but we toughed it out until the final play was over. Here's a few shots from the game

Just a normal Saturday at Amon G. Carter 

We got there really early...the entire top deck is currently under construction 

This was almost the entire New Mexico fanbase. They've got to be pretty dedicated to travel all this way 

Our ah-mazing TCU marching band 

The flippin' awesome hair of the little girl sitting next to me (I'm such a creeper)

DefenSe...um I never said we were Harvard. That's what Rice is for. ;)

School song after our glorious shutout win

I love my school...except for on Mondays. Bleh. 6 1/2 hours until my next week begins...just workin' towards Friday. We're playing at Cowboys Stadium against BYU. GO FROGS!

Flirting with Temptation: Navy & Gold Apartment

This morning I'm linking up with Blonde Episodes for her "Flirting with Temptation Thursday" (even though it's Friday). As y'all already know, I live in an apartment...a pretty small apartment. And you know how apartments can be. Mine really isn't that bad, but after 2 months the lack of decoration is beginning to get a bit boring. I've been flirting with the idea of redecorating, but I'm a poor college student so I have to be very choosy about what I spend my money on. For my living room I'm leaning towards a palette of navy, tan, and cream with gold accents. Here's what has been inspiring me lately.

Join us and link up with Blonde Episodes here to let everyone know what you're flirting with this week! 

Pumpkin Spice

It would be an understatement to say that people love the pumpkin spice line of drinks at Starbucks. They practically have a cult following. These yummy drinks been available for a month now and I have yet to buy one. Actually, I've only every had one and I have to say that they're pretty delicious. But Starbucks is expensive and really sugary (like more than a can of coke sugary), so I have yet to satisfy my need for "Fall in a cup".

Enter Pinterest. I was browsing the other day and stumbled across a recipe for pumpkin spice syrup. The magical elixir that transforms any normal drink into a warm, spicy treat. It's not completely healthy of course (none of the best things are), but it's a huge step up from that coffee chain's version. Plus it's way less expensive, so you can spend your money on better things (like new boots) than overpriced coffee, sugar, and milk.

The recipe linked back to Annie's Eats. I don't know if she is the first person to create this recipe or if she got it from someone else, but I do know that it is simply lovely.

Ingredients/Materials

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar (I ended up using 3/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar for a total of 1 cup of sugar and it tasted just fine...so if you're looking for a little bit less sugar then you can just use 1 cup)

4 cinnamon sticks or 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (I already had ground so I just used that)

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 tablespoons pumpkin puree

Bottle/container to store syrup in (I used a glass bottle from the craft section of Hobby Lobby)

*Side note: Instead of using the individual spices, I just used 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice (which, if you look on the bottle, is just those spices combined)

First, combine the sugar and water in a small pot on the stove until dissolved, then add pumpkin

Add your cinnamon and other spices

Stir continuously and let cook for about 6 minutes, but don't let it boil!

Pour mixture through a strainer. The recipe said through cheesecloth, and it's up there in the ingredients picture, but when I tried it with a little of the syrup it wouldn't strain (I guess my cheesecloth was just too fine). Instead I poured the mixture through a mesh strainer into a glass measuring cup. I may have cooked mine too long because it was already pretty thick and had trouble moving through the strainer. 

Funnel your syrup into a glass bottle, jar, or whatever container you've decided to put it in. I recommend glass because this mixture is pretty warm.

Screw the top on your bottle and enjoy your syrup! This recipe probably made about 12-16 ounces. That bottle is pretty big. Keep it stored in the fridge and it should last throughout the Fall season (if it lasts that long!)

I would love to bottle this in smaller glass bottles from the craft store and give them as gifts to my fellow coffee-addicts lovers. The blog I got the recipe from also gave these instructions on how to make a pumpkin spice latte with your homemade syrup:

"To make a pumpkin spice latte, combine 2 ounces of hot coffee or 1 shot of hot espresso (about 1-1½ ounces) with 5-6 ounces of steamed low-fat milk.  Stir in 1½-2 tablespoons of the pumpkin spice syrup.  Taste and adjust amounts accordingly.  Top as desired with freshly whipped cream, ground cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce (optional – sort of)."

I made the syrup last weekend, and will be making my first latte (with soy milk instead of regular) tonight. I'm currently out of coffee (GASP!) and need to make a grocery store run pronto. With the way this week has gone, I'm gonna need it. Be on the lookout...more Fall recipes are on the way!

Happy Fall y'all! 

Starbucks Clone

If you know me at all, you know that I love Starbucks. I do not like the high price of Starbucks. Around $3.50 for a SMALL blended Frappuccino? I don't think so. I can't have regular milk so add another 60 cents for soy, and I usually like to add an extra pump of syrup to whatever I'm drinking, which is another 60 cents. Then if I want an extra shot of espresso that's even more. That can add up pretty quickly to a drink that's full of sugar and fat. Ugh Starbucks, why do you have to tempt me so?

I was browsing Pinterest the other day (y'all are going to think that's all I do with my time but I promise I actually have a life), and saw this recipe for a Starbucks frappuccino clone. And naturally, I just had to try it. Since I was off today I decided to give it a try.

You can find the recipe here.

Work it Out

Every Friday morning I wake up early and drive to campus to work out and eat breakfast with my boyfriend. It has become our mini-celebration of the end of the week. But sometimes when that alarm goes off before the sun is even out, I just want to turn it off and sleep in for a few more hours. 

If you're like me, it's hard to get motivated to work out sometimes. Once I actually get to the rec center and start exercising, though, I feel much better about it. And working out is good for a number of reasons:

* It keeps you healthy (duh)

* It reduces stress

* It makes you look good and feel good about yourself

Now I'm not saying that if you don't work out you're a bad person or lazy or that you can't feel good about yourself. But once I started seeing results from lifting (i.e. my tiny little bicep muscles), I became more proud of myself and the progress I am making. 

Still not convinced that working out rocks? Maybe these cute workout outfits will change your mind. 

 

Every time I go lift, there are at least a few hardcore guys grunting and straining so that they can be more manly than the other guys around them...and I'm over here lifting my 15 pound freeweights. I figure if I can't lift like them yet, I can at least look like one of the guys. "Bro Tanks" are huge on college campuses for both guys and girls right now. (if you need help with making your regular t-shirt more "bro", All Dolled Up has a good tutorial)There's always someone wearing one at our rec center. The t-shirt is from the men's department, but the red sports bra adds a girly touch. The headbands will keep your hair from getting in the way of all those reps on the benchpress. ;)

 

The weather is finally cooling down here (highs in the 60s tomorrow yay!), and as it continues to get colder this long-sleeved shirt will come in handy for those outside runs. Not that I run outside. I'm definitely not there yet...more of a treadmill girl. But since I'm up and out of the house so early in the morning, I would definitely use it to keep warm during my journey from the parking lot. This outfit also features my school's colors, so I can be spirited and work out at the same time. I'm seriously considering buying those shoes...Putting them on my wishlist now.

 

Since I don't sweat a lot during yoga (the rooms are always freeeeeezing), this outfit would be great for going straight from the rec to class. Although I would slip on a pair of yoga pants over this (I'm a firm believer of the "leggings are not pants rule), this tank provides pretty good coverage. And of course TOMS are appropriate for every occasion, right? Just add a light sweater for more coverage and you're good to go!

What do you do to workout? Would you wear any of these outfits?

Happy Workout Wednesday!