I've been consistently impressed by Bullet Journals and those who make it, along with the art of handwriting. I've really wanted a project just for me that I can work on my handwriting skill, since these days I'm not writing as much as I used to, and this has always been in the back of my mind. I would be lying if making this wasn't scary for me, I wanted so badly for it to be good, but it's mine and I did it for me, and it's amazing. Yes, I had shaky hands when writing at times, and ink smeared which annoyed me, but those "flaws" make it beautiful. I'm excited to use this journal as a reflection and meditation for myself and as a place to organize this month. Summer is almost over and to save I'm excited for pumpkins and fall weather would be an understatement. I'm ready to try this journaling thing out, improve my handwriting/calligraphy and maybe even find a place of balance in my life. Each page is dedicated to a specific area, from tracking my daily habits to writing down recommendations for books and movies, even an area dedicated to my spending and adventures I take over the course of August. I'm excited to see how this journal helps me to grow as an individual this next month. I'm excited to use different writing instruments in this journal and making this uniquely my own.
Do you keep a journal to track your life? What do you put in it? Let me know in the comments below if you journal or if journaling helps you, what would you put in your journal?
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I'm back!
Have you missed me? Noticed I've been gone for awhile? Well, part of the reason for my absence is that throughout the month of May my family moved into a new rental house, from our small two bedroom apartment to a nice three bedroom house. It's taken a lot of readjusting, having to do things like weed and trim hedges, or mow the lawn. Not to mention all the boxes we have yet to go through, even though it's been over a month since we turned in the keys to the apartment. I almost didn't come back to this blog, I felt as though I had failed it by taking a break for as long as I did. But, I missed it. I'm hoping to add new content to the blog, maybe even featuring some of my sister's photography skills, or the many crafts we've created recently. There's a lot of new stuff I'm hoping to bring to this place, and hopefully I can get it done. In the meantime, let me know what you would like to see more of in the comments, or if there's something I should try to do please share. Thanks for sticking with me through everything. :) A Faith JourneyA little over two years ago I decided to do something that was incredibly out of my comfort zone. I rode in a car with a bunch of people I barely knew, I spent a week without my sister, and I went to the beaches of Florida to "evangelize". However, this trip brought a new light on my religion and made me want to become a better Christian. This has been difficult. I always feel isolated from religious groups, in college I felt like I wasn't enough in one sense or I didn't believe similarly to some in another sense and I wasn't going to feel like I belonged. This has continued as I struggle to find some footing at my home church, being in a small age category where I only have my sister to connect with, it's hard. It's hard to feel so disconnected from a place and a group of people, to feel almost ignored in some sense, and like you won't ever fit in or belong.
But this past Sunday something happened, and I feel less alone, less ignored, and maybe I'm not as isolated in my faith journey as I thought. To set the scene: Sunday mornings I am tired. I am not functioning at least until I eat my breakfast at church. Even sometimes after that. Normally the only times any one ever talks to me at church is when they're cornering me trying to find out information in which I give vague answers because i need my space. This was different as a woman came up to me and asked if I had "The Good News on Wednesday." Me, being confused did not respond and probably looked more confused at her, because I could not remember what happened on Wednesday, nor if there was "Good News". Then she mentioned a Bible, and it hit me. I had been using a Good News translation of a Bible for Wednesday night Bible Study. She then handed me a Study Bible, a new Study Bible New International Version. I don't even think I said thank you at the time because I didn't realize what she was giving me. The Good News Bible I had been using was a replica of the Bible I got from my grandfather. The Bible from my grandpa sits next to my bed. As I grew in deeper faith I decided I wanted to get a Bible to mark up, to study the word further in, but I got OVERWHELMED. There are so many translations, and designs of Bibles, Bible journals with space to doodle and write notes, and so much more. Study Bible directed and different age groups and genders and so much. I decided to stick with something I knew and got this Good News Bible at a thrift store with the hopes to mark it up accordingly. However, I continued to write notes in a little notebook. This is a Study Bible was a gift that I had wanted for awhile now. Something I had thought about getting, but was to overwhelmed by the decision. I know that there is no way for me to adequately say thank you for this gift. I haven't even gone into it and I already know I have such deep appreciation for it. The pages are so clean and blank. The pages glitter and shine on the edge. I don't know where to begin with this Bible and yet I am filled with endless possibilities. I am eternally grateful, someone felt so called to go out a purchase a Bible for me. Or even just to see a Bible and think "they need this" or "I should get this for them". I don't know. But I'm so filled with emotion to be able to have this. I'm excited to delve into it, to read, and learn. But more importantly to grow in my faith. You might have noticed already that I love Disney. Some Disney movies however, I do not like too much. (Ratatouille (2007), why is this a movie.) Winnie the Pooh held a special place in my heart growing up though, and seeing the initial poster release for Christopher Robin (2018) I was super excited. This movie is set to release August 3, 2018, and I will be seeing this in theaters. (Probably not release date because I'm slow, but eventually.) Now if you live under a rock, or maybe you missed seeing the trailer come out yesterday here it is: And there it is, the emotional wreck I have become after having watched this teaser trailer is astonishing. Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) is struggling with the balance of work and family. The joyful child many of us grew up with has now lost the playful spirit he once had, and his childhood friends try to help. Enter in Winnie the Pooh and crew.
I myself found the trailer incredibly beautiful, let's hope expectations are met when the final movie comes out. When Winnie the Pooh utters his first words "What to do indeed." I almost lost it. Jim Cummings returns to take on the voice of Pooh and it still gives me goosebumps. The childlike personality Pooh has always had comes through when Christopher Robin claims to have "cracked" and Pooh replies stating "...a few wrinkles maybe." while touching Christopher Robin's face. My heart melted. So my thoughts and opinions of this movie: Obviously this is placed years after the original Winnie the Pooh came out. The willy, nilly, silly old bear first appeared way back in the 1920s, so my thoughts are that this movie will be set in 1940s, especially based off clothing and props. (I haven't read anything anywhere confirming this.) I grew up with the cartoon Pooh and friends on Disney Channel, and one of my fondest memories is the scene where Pooh ate too much honey at Rabbit's house and gets stuck in the rabbit hole trying to leave, so relatable. Having had such a fun loving and inspiring bear in my life as a child and seeing Pooh now as an adult, being their to inspire childlike wonder to a fellow adult, is so exciting. There's not much right now, but you can bet that I will be hugging all my teddy bears a bit more because nothing beats a big old bear hug. Let me know what you're excited about the Christopher Robin movie. What do you hope to see in upcoming trailers for the movie? Are you excited for a live action Winnie the Pooh? Leave a comment with your thoughts below. Welcome to the first installment of what I hope to be a weekly thing called "Three Things I Love". I had originally planned for this to be a Thursday bog post, but too many "th"s. Also, I will probably end up posting this series on Fridays. However, since February is seen as a season of love, with Valentine's day still fresh in the air, I decided to start this series now. So, let's get to the things I love right now. 1. Winter Olympics 2018 Alright, I LOVE the Olympics. Olympic season is one of my favorites. Getting medals and slaying it as a country is nice, but seeing all these amazing athletes pull off the unimaginable it really inspires. This year has been no different. My top three favorite Olympians right now are: Adam Rippon, Chloe Kim, and Shaun White (obvi). Adam Rippon is the gay idol I never knew I needed, but he's also such an amazing interviewee, and he's slays the game. He can skate and he will skate. Last Olympics he didn't make the team, and sat at In-and-Out eating burgers watching the Olympics. So inspiring, and anything is possible. Chloe Kim has the most amazing personality, and at only 17! I was an awkward teenager who barely talked to anyone at all at 17. Shaun White is obvious, and makes me want to get into the snowboarding, but I probably won't oh well. Not only do I love watching the Olympics, but I like wearing the Olympics. I have gotten into some fan made clothes that celebrate my Olympic spirit. Angela and I are huge fans of these "Cool Runnings" inspired shirts from a small shop Lantern Tree Studio. I found them on Instagram and the pictures sold me. I love these shirts. We've also had our eyes on some other Etsy shop items, but our bank account is telling us no. Maybe we will be able to buy some stuff after the Olympics, when demand isn't as high. However, these mittens are already on sale at the Team USA shop, so what a deal! 2. The Twitch Community Earlier this year I started watching streams on Twitch. Most of the time I'm watching people play video games, some that I have no intention of ever playing, but I watch for the community that is built around these streamers. I've made friends. We talk about our days, we try and cheer each other up, we help each other. It's great. It's a community. I look forward to those times where I can turn on my computer and watch my favorite streamers and chat with my friends. It's amazing. 3. Chocolate Alright y'all, it's chocolate season, the Valentine's chocolate is freshly on sale (actually it was on sale before the holiday, but...). I love me some chocolate hearts. This is the best time for them too! So my final thing I love right now will include my sweet, sweet, sweet chocolate hearts. <3 Let me know in the comments below what you are loving right now, and what you think of what I'm loving right now.
It's the holidays and I looove baking and making cool and new recipes for my friends and family. This recipe is fast and easy, two of my favorite things, and it only takes four ingredients! (Three if you want to forgo the sea salt.) This recipe is so easy though and takes little effort to make. I will warn you that these Marshmallows will be INCREDIBLY rich. But they are so good! You can take the caramel recipe from here and add it to this recipe for even more kitchen madness. Ingredients: Marshmallows (Large or Medium Sized) Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt (Optional) Directions: 1. Take marshmallow and dip in caramel 2. Take marshmallow and dip in chocolate 3. Sprinkle sea salt 4. Eat! Like I said this recipe is so easy and simple, but also incredibly rich. It's hard to eat one because it has so much sweetness/sugar in it. It makes I nice dessert for gatherings, and it's really easy.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments below, or tweet me @Always_Twinning Today I'm sharing with ya'll a recipe from Pinterest that I LOVE. This one is fast and easy, and comes from Let's Dish (original recipe here). I have used this recipe most recently as just caramel for other recipes, some I'll share later on this month. Whether you use this easy recipe as a caramel dip or for some soft caramel candies at Christmas, this is probably the perfect recipe for you. Contrary to what the original poster does, I put everything into one container! And it does get sticky. I honestly feel like I've had more caramel on my hands than in the little wax paper squares we've cut up. Also I will probably buy candy wrappers from Amazon for next time, and I might use parchment paper on the microwavable container to save a little bit of my sanity when trying to cut them into pieces. Instructions: 1. Butter your choice of pan, or if you want to go crazy, mold. I use microwavable storage containers, that work for both microwave and cold storage. These are great because it's one container and clean up is easier. 2. If you are using multiple bowls/pans melt butter in a microwaveable bowl. Since I used one container I combined steps 1 & 2, since butter was all in the same place. 3. Pour the corn syrup, brown sugar, white sugar, and sweetened condensed milk into the microwavable container or bowl. Stir the sugar is mostly dissolved. 4. Microwave for about 3 minutes, on high. Microwaves are all different, so start shorter and keep at it until it's slightly bubbly. (You don't want a mess of caramel all over! I did!) 5. Remove from microwave, stir and scrape down the sides of the mixture. 6. Return to the caramel to the microwave and microwave for another 3 minutes on high. 7. At this point you will want to stir in the vanilla, unless you messed up and added it early before microwaving, it won't ruin it, but it's better to wait. 8. At this point if you have it in separate containers immediately pour this into the buttered dish. 9. Put it in the fridge to cool, or set it out. 10. (Optional) You can either eat it straight from the container (like me), or you can attempt to cut it up and put it on squares of wax paper to give as candies. So there you have it some easy microwaved caramels! It's such a sweet little item to share with friends and family, and homemade is best kind of present you can give.
I absolutely love the snow, maybe because I'm a winter baby, but who knows. I like to believe that snow makes the cold winter air less brutal and more forgiving. Either way snow is one of my favorite things, and I love making snowflakes. This December has been, unfortunately, stressful. I got sick the first week of December, and missed out on going to a Christmas party and then a light parade in Naperville. It wasn't even that cold outside, which made missing the parade worse. On top of all the colds going through my family, I had an allergic reaction to something this weekend. My motivation has been at an all time low, and I just wanted to do something fun for a little bit that would cheer me up. Thus came the snowflake making! When I was in college my junior or maybe senior year (probably both), I spent a lot of my down time making snowflakes. This was my stress relief from all the studying for finals, writing of papers, and just school activities. Maybe I spent too much time making snowflakes, but I graduated....so I guess maybe the stress reliving worked? Either way snowflakes are great, and they are so easy to make. Here are some of my favorite snowflakes I made this year. My favorite "pattern" is cutting little triangles like Christmas trees. So have fun with it! Tape them all over your house (on the inside because paper will disintegrate in the actual snow). Snowflake making is an easy way to decorate at a relatively low cost, and anyone can do it (even my dad)!
Throughout the last half of December we are excited to share with you some of our favorite DIYs and recipes. These are so easy, my dad could do them. Well, maybe not all of them, but after these you will be the talk of all the holiday parties. One of our favorite recipes, and a huge hit with literally EVERYONE is Chocolate Bark. This recipe is pretty versatile and you can add to it to make it your own. I've seen variations with different toppings from nuts to peppermint to make it festive. Plus there's chocolate, so it can't get too messed up with chocolate involved....right? Ingredients: -Saltine crackers -Foil -1 cup Butter -1/4 cup sugar -2 cups chocolate chips You will also need a pan and a cookie sheet. Now the steps: 1. Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees. Cover Cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Line the crackers on the tray. 2. In a pan put the butter and sugar on the stove on medium bringing to a boil, we tend to stir during this process. 3. Pour the butter sugar mixture over all the crackers and then bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. 4. After taking out pf the oven, put chocolate chips all over, we usually don't measured here and just put as many as we think looks good and it is covered to our liking. After we have put the chocolate on we put it back in the oven for about a minute to help them melt. Then spread the chocolate out fairly evenly over all the crackers, so all have the chocolaty goodness. 5. Put in fridge to harden fro 4-5 hours or more, we also tend to put it in the freezer to harden. 6. After it has hardened, break into pieces as big or small as you would like. They can be random sizes and shapes or the size and shape of the crackers, however much you think is a good serving. There you have it, our beloved bark. Some of our friends love just the cracker, sugar, butter mixture, while others love the whole thing. Hopefully your friends and family enjoy it as much as our's do! Next week is Thanksgiving and with the upcoming holidays, I am so thankful for my family. We're not the biggest group, but we're still interesting.
To start I'm thankful for my parents. They're the two people who have started my life off on the path I'm on. They've taught me to be kind, respectful, and to leave the world in a better place than I left it. My parents work hard all the time. They help me to pursue my sometimes crazy ideas. They supported me throughout college when I felt hopeless and like nothing would work out. They would answer my panicked calls when I thought the world was ending or that I would never make it through the next week. They proofread hundreds of drafts of papers from every single subject possible. I love them for their constant love and support and I'm thankful they continue to have my back. I'm also thankful for my cousin Sam and Uncle Carl, they're so weird, but family is great. My Uncle may not show how much he loves or cares for me like everyone else, but his over all "Uncle-ness" is something that will continue to fill my life with excitement. My cousin would take my sister and I on adventures all the time when we were little. I'm so thankful for those adventures (although I don't really remember them). She continues to take us exciting adventures when she asks for help on projects like No BS Gift Baskets (Order your gift basket today!) and party planning. They're great and I can;t wait for the adventures to come next week at Thanksgiving. Finally my twin sister, Angela. Where would I be without her? I have no idea. She is my actual rock in life. I don't even have the words to explain how much she means to me. She pushes me to be a better person. She listens to me when I'm in crisis. She's always there for me, except when she's asleep because she sleeps a bunch. She works so hard to achieve her dream for being a teacher. I am so proud of the person she continues to strive to be today. She makes me want to be the best me I can be and for that and so much more I am eternally grateful. So who are you thankful for? Let us know in the comments down below! <3 |
AuthorHello! I'm Tamara, but my friends call me Tammy. I love crafting and making people smile. Follow all the exciting adventures and stories I have. Archives
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