hazy days

for some strange reason, today was just one of those long dreary days. kind of like i was in a daze or something. i guess the rainy weather didn't help anyone. fortunately, it made for some interesting photos, plus this dress is ah-mazing! 

{dress: thrifted; cardigan: belk; socks: bass shoe company; "brave" boots: dsw}

funfetti dip!

this weekend i'm going away to for a leadership retreat for the leaders on my hall at school, which i am super duper uber excited about! we are traveling about 2 hours and will be leaving a little later than desired, so i decided to make some fun treats! of course, blue muffins are my go-to for an appetizing little delight, but i saw this funfetti dip on OH SO PRETTY the SKINNY and wanted to give it a try! i did make a few changes to their original recipe, but it still tastes AH-MAZING! so anywho, because i will be away from my hall this (i'm an RA), i wanted to leave my girls with this little treat as well! 

okay, here we go! 

{ingredients}

1 box of Funfetti cake batter

3 cups of vanilla pudding

8 oz of cool whip

3 Tbs of vanilla 

Mini chocolate chips and extra sprinkles are optional, but look great to top it off! 

{step one - add everything together! it's best to add them in the order i have listed them above, but i don't think it's make a big difference}

{step two - mix everything together until you see no more dry cake mix - it should look like this; it will be a little thick}

{step three - put in serving container, which you can see I just plastic cups. i placed one in each quad; i have six! and then you can top it with sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, and whatever else you think would be a wonderful addition!}

{step four - EAT!! - you can use gram crackers or teddy grams - i'm sure fruit would be really good, too!}

wow! can you believe that's it?!?! super easy and super good! if you wanted to make this a little more figure friendly, fat-free yogurt and cool whip would be perfect! please let me know if you find any more ideas to add to this! 

enjoy! 

Magical Forest

 

This past weekend, one of my close childhood friends got married. It was absolutely beautiful! She was beautiful! As soon as my sisters and I pulled into the parking lot, we knew we had to get some pictures. I wish you could have seen it in person. Tall trees, perfectly cut green grass, and an enchanting little stone wall - it was magical! 

 

{dress: Boscov's; perl necklace: mother's; pearl drop earrings: mother's}

Firework

 {shirt: forever21; skirt: Grandmother's; belt: thrifted}

This weekend my youngest sister had her graduation party. I can't believe she's finally finished and moving into culinary school very soon. Jacqueline hasn't always enjoyed school, but once she put her mind to it, she could accomplish anything. When she was in elementary school, one of her teachers gave her a little note with simple yet powerful and inspiring words on it. It said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) Her faith and determination has allowed her to accomplish anything! 

(Jacqueline and some of her closest friends) 

I also had to post Katy Perry's "Firework" song. Click here so see it or watch below! I used the version from the Glee Project! It just fit perfectly!! Good luck Jacq!

oreo mini cheesecake

baking is one of the most relaxing things i can do. i love the smells, the decorations, the mixing, the mashing! it's wonderful! my youngest sister's graduation party is tomorrow and one of the desserts (trust me, there will be many!) are cheesecakes. these little precious delights are super easy and delicious! i did a few with the regular gram-cracker crust, but i experimented a little with an oreo crust, which turned out wonderfully! 

{ingredients - gram-cracker crust}
1 1/2 cup gram-cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 butter (1 stick)


{ingredients - oreo crust}
1 1/2 cup crushed oreos (about 10-12 oreo cookies)
1/4 butter (1 stick)


{ingredients - filling}
3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla


first, preheat oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.


then mix the cream cheese in a mixer till it's fluffy. once fluffy, add the can of sweetened condensed milk. 

like this! :) make sure it is mixed well! this part is extremely important because you don't want any chunks of cream cheese in your cheesecakes! make sure it's nice and smooth! 


while your mixing the cream cheese with the sweetened condensed milk, make the crust. for the either of the crusts, just add the ingredients together (melt the butter first) and put them inside the cupcake liners while patting them down. 

                  

(the two on the upper right are gram-cracker!)

now you want to add your eggs and vanilla to your smooth cheese mix.

see how smooth and creamy this is!

then fill your cupcake liners with the batter, but do not fill to the top! they will spill over in the oven and make a big mess. typically one large spoonful will be enough for each cheesecake! then bake for 20 minutes!

        

add mini oreos to the tops of the cheesecake for an extra special treat! it also helps distinguish the oreo from the gram-cracker crust!


  

 

once bake, they should look like this! a little puffy. (these are the gram-cracker ones)

and wa-la! cute mini oreo cheesecakes! 

a washington adventure

yesterday, my sisters, my mom, and i had a blast in washington, d.c. the weather was perfect and of course, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to take some pictures in the beautiful scenery! 

{shirt, thrifted; skirt, thrifted; belt, thrifted; shoes, belk}

meow

a few weeks ago, my beautiful kitty died. his name was mr. bousch and i loved him so stinking much! you have no idea! i am finally ready to share his memory - this makes it official. in honor of him, i am wearing my disney cats shirt and a neon kitty bracelet i made. i have also included some pictures of him! 

 {his eyes seem a little scary, but it's only the flash!} 

 {3 years ago when my hair was blonde}

 {we share the same birthday - June 25}

{wore a slip with some ruffles at the bottom to add some flare to the skirt and

 it kept the blue shirt from showing in the skirt!}

{t-shirt: disney gift shop; lacy skirt: grandmother's; slip: walmart; sandals: sears; 

beaded bracelet: gift from sister; gold watch: gift from mommy; neon kitty bracelet: marilyn made ;) }