Leavin'

Well today is the day! I have everything packed in one suitcase for an entire year, under the weight limit too. And then I have my small but fully packed backpack to take on the plane, PLUS my furry winter coat. You know, the one Mom says makes me look like a bear? ;) Ah but it is so warm. 

Everything seems to be in order and I am just waiting for the hour to pass before we head to the airport. Then on to my nonstop flight to London for Christmas. This is it. Happy Day. :)

Pray for me and safe travels. I will be doing alot of it in the next year. Merry Christmas all!!

Good Morning Sunshine

Not even halfway through the day and it's already been such a lovely Sunday. I have the entire day to myself, and have no work to think about. Not to mention my last day is this coming Saturday! I am so excited.

What's more I started the day off with a fresh batch of banana pancakes. Yum! 

And to make things even better my au pair family called me this morning from Poland to say hello and have a brief chat. I love mornings like this.

Time

 Time. It has a place for everything.

I find myself a mere two weeks away from my departure from the States; somehow the time can't go fast enough. In such a short time I am preparing, mentally and physically, for my long awaited adventure and life building experience. In such a long time I am trying to imagine the day already here. In eight days I say goodbye to my job as an underpaid department store clerk (nothing wrong with that if you enjoy it) and start a new life more in tune with my passion and love--the English language. I cherish this time of goodbyes and hellos. It only means that new horizons are in sight and right now they are in a sunbathed light of fresh purples, teals, peaches, and bright scarlets. Who knew the world could be filled with such amazing things.

In the throes of preparing, I find myself wanting to pull out the suitcase and start to fill it. Unfortunately I know that packing for an entire year in just one suitcase is no small feat, so I am trying to convince myself to wait until next week. (It's so hard!) In the meantime, I have been shopping for last minute things I will need, a bit of clothes shopping in there, and some gifts for the family. I already have them wrapped, that's good right?

I must admit I have a new obsession. Brace yourself... knee high socks. Yes, knee highs. And now to those don't know what it is about them, because truthfully, I don't even like wearing socks that often, but somehow this year I am so enthralled by all the pretty patterns, and the softness and the cute marketing they show on what to pair up with them, that I have become obsessed with getting new ones. I can wear them with boots, layer them with tights, and wear them with flats. Oh yes, it is quite amusing.

I think my modern style conscious didn't kick in until now in my 20s. I can say I don't think I wore what was considered 'in style' as a child, or as a teen for that matter. But now, especially working in a department store where you are constantly being buried in clothes, my eye for cute outfits has really emerged. Maybe I got older, who knows. All I know is, I am digging the tights and shorts, and the layered longsleeve T with a dress over. Oh and boots--love the boots. Tune in next time for more updates on the last week home.

Every Day - A Day of Thanks

"O Lord, who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness." [Shakespeare]

Another year older and this year I look back at all the things that have happened over the past year. I really feel like I have grown from a young adult to a full grown adult--but that may be from all the different things that I have experienced and the things that continue to be given to me. I am so incredibly thankful to have finished my Bachelors degree; it's nice knowing that the hard hours I worked for it have paid off. Now for job hunting haha!! And I am also very very grateful for the roof my parents have let me sleep under while I get my feet wet and ready to run in this world. My next step is to move away and I could not have had a better set of parents who saw to it that I was well cared for in the last days of 'growing up'. Even now as I am about to embark they still carry on the task of gracious parents so well. I love you Mom and Dad.

And how could I ever forget the beautiful and wonderful trip overseas this past summer. The chance to grow in love and relationships, to visit old places that meant so much to me and continue to mean so much to me. The chance to see new places and to make memories there to keep always. And to bring them back to call upon and remember fondly like they were yesterday. The Lord continues to show me so much and I am ever grateful to Him for loving me unconditionally. I am so very lucky. Not only that but I have been truly blessed to have a best friend and loving guy that shows me every day how special I am to him. In all the time I have known you I am continually amazed at how strong we are growing together and even oceans apart of how much we care and love each other--despite all barriers or difficulties. Thank you for wanting me with all of your heart. I love you so, my sweet.

And last but not least, I am grateful for the upcoming events that I will be experiencing. This trip to Poland I feel will be quite a new chapter in my life, but also one that will open new doors in terms of where I will go and live and work. The people I will meet and the opportunities to visit other places will all teach me (and remind me) of how God takes care of His children and how much He thinks about us. I hope and pray that these things bring me to where God wants me to be, and wherever that is I know it will be wonderful and fulfilling.

My dear readers, you are also why I write this. To not only share my musings with you, to share my love of writing, to get out what speaks to me, but also to inspire you to take life as it comes to you, to listen to God and to know how much He truly loves you. To be grateful and thankful every day that comes and goes--with the utmost joy and happiness. Happy Thanksgiving friends, and may God bless you wherever you may be.

Todays cute findings

I want this for my bedroom in my future house! Isn't it cute? :)

With her nose stuck in a book...

 A. A. Milne for inspiration today

Not sure why I have Winnie the Pooh and A.A Milne in my head tonight, but here's one of his illustrations. I thought it looked the most like 'being frugal' which is mostly the reason for tonight's post. I see this picture and think how kind Christopher Robin is by trying to repair something he loves so much and using what materials he has. Simplicity--love it. 

I consider myself to always have been frugal. Growing up our family was always aware of not being wasteful and thinking about saving rather than spending. It was something I was good at. I still am. You talk about someone who saved pennies. I remember taking rolls of them to the bank to be deposited. That bag was pretty heavy, but nonetheless it was logical practice. Something I am still grateful to have even today when it is perhaps appreciated and understood more than in my younger years. I understand why it is so important now because I have become a grown up. 

I never realized how money can put such a damper on things until now. I dread having to worry about one day being in debt or not being able to provide for daily necessities. Is our world really getting to be that bad? Well, yes yes it is. as much as I wish I had the dream job I always wanted I am very grateful to be in the good position I am in. Although I am in the beginning stages of moving away from home (hopefully permanently) I am humbled that my parents have never forced rent upon me or daily payments on such things as insurance, groceries, and phone bills.  This is not to say that they shouldn't be compensated, and I plan on giving them a 'thank you for being so supportive' stipend, but that they understand what it means to struggle and wish to keep me from that while they can. They are very merciful you see. :) Furthermore, I see them struggle more now than ever before and it makes me think twice about superfluous expenses and things I could really do without. 

Some things I have done to help save some $$$, though they may be small and silly...

•  Coupons. Although I am not nearly as awesome with this as some people.  
• Name brands aren't everything as long as it is quality. Sometimes this is hard to do, but I have been going more or less for the cheaper lesser known brands. And most of the time it's just as good. 
• Thrifting. You would not believe how much money I have saved. Clothes are so darn expensive! Save a few bucks and supporting recycled goods at unbeatable prices. 
• Similarly to thrifting I have been trying to go for cheaper stores such as Big Lots and Dollar Tree. Although some things are not any cheaper and aren't readily available, you can still save a few dollars by getting specific items there that you know are cheaper than anywhere else. Just make sure you aren't being jipped by quantity.
• Grocery shopping wise Aldi does a pretty good job of offering low prices and pretty decent food items. Granted they are much smaller than the average grocery store, you still save by buying items here. Anything else we can't find there we buy at our regular grocery store but it's all about trying to save yourself some money to use for other important things.
• Need vs. want. We all struggle with this one, but since money is so precious nowadays I have really begun to think twice about what I need to get and what I really should be getting. I have saved alot of money just be dealing with this idea. 
• Investing in the purchase. This is somewhat a vague idea, but I have been applying it to things by asking myself how much it will last compared so another item and if it is worth paying the extra 30cents. Some things that you may not realize are that for example some bars of soap last way longer than say liquid soap. Little things like that can save you from buying some items so frequently.
• Using a smaller amount of toothpaste. Okay I know this one is silly, but seriously they say on the back of the tube that a pea-sized amount is what you should use! Come on people you can use half that and still have a quality clean brushing. And your toothpaste will last longer by months!

I am also trying to pay off my loan at twice the minimum payment to get that debt down alot sooner. I want to be able to proudly say I am debt free and to stay that way. I think I am lucky in that it's manageable and could easily be paid off in full at this very moment, especially so fresh from graduating. (Not sure I want to do that though and leave myself with very little cushion..) Regardless, the thought of getting behind in payments and not using my money wisely scares me. It keeps me on my toes and lets me know the reality of the situation our country is in. We need to practice healthy spending and saving.

Those are my world-saving tips for the day. I hope they were meaningful. Happy saving, friends. :)

Mmm... mmm good!

For weeks I have been wanting to make this. It looks soo yummy! So today I set off to check the butternut off my list of squashes and pumpkins my dad bought me. I admit butternut was not something I grew up eating.. ever. My beloved is the one that introduced it to me and after making it just a few times I love making soup out of it. I don't know why we didn't buy it before. It's cheap, makes alot of soup if you use it for that sort of thing, and its very nutritious and healthy. Win! Plus it's perfect for those fall and winter weather days. Or just because. :)

Taste wise I guess it could be considered similar to a sweet potato and a vegetable. Really nice flavor and if you add the right spices it gives it a a nice balance of sweet and savory. Plus I love the rich, creamy texture it leaves once you blend it up. Beautiful!

I have to say I didn't have all the ingredients, so what turned out to be a raiding of the spice rack and a few less vegetables turned out some pretty awesome homemade butternut soup. This was my version still following the directions, but with some variation in ingredients.

•  1 Butternut squash
•  1 Medium Onion
•  1 Tbs olive oil
•  3 or so garlic cloves (some were tiny and one was huge--go by taste)
•  LOTS of spices--salt&pepper, rubbed sage, thyme, allspice, and dried basil
•  1 can of chicken broth
•  2 cups or so of water with chicken bouillon added. 

(You might have to add more water once you  blend as it does thicken up nicely)

Even though I didn't have the celery or the carrot the canned broth ended up having some of that in it anyway, and I thought the allspice would give it a nice sweet flavor to go with the savory thyme and sage. Seriously this was some good soup! I definitely think roasting the garlic and the squash bring out more flavor and it very easy compared to say boiling. I have heard you can microwave it, which is faster, but I like the taste the roasting gives it. Also, I just want to say, get an immersion blender! It will save your life and makes soup making so easy. I ended up finding one randomly in my mom's pantry drawer never used. Love it! I might have to steal..erm borrow hers. Shhh! ;) After being in England I found it was a common household item there compared to here. They seem to be big soup makers, something I really admire and hope to me more like myself. I see now how enjoyable and beneficial it is in terms of time, quality food, and in saving money. You can make soup on a very low budget and it lasts you awhile depending on the size of your crowd.

Seriously try this. You will love it!
PS. Check out the recipe and Cook Your Dream's blog. I stumbled upon her site when spending a whole afternoon drooling over recipes all over the internet. Love her creations :)