christmastime.

Merry Christmas from cats and dogs, cookies, and new robes from Menard's.

pancake mix muffins.

I've got 1,000,000 things to complete. I LIKE LEARNING but sometimes I want to put everything aside and just go ice skating.

Finals are also for muffins and tonight, that was really all I wanted.

Who has time to mix together dry ingredients? I don't have three extra minutes for that because mulling over the likes of Paulo Freire and Pancho Villa is attacking my life. So for those times, I've created (someone probably created it first) a way to have muffins in half the time. Because I used pancake mix. Oh, I'm sorry! Did I just hear you judging me?

I am unfazed, so is Mr. Pancho Villa, and you can thank me later. (i love you)

Pancake Mix Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups pancake mix
1 egg substitute (or a real egg)
1 cup non-dairy (or dairy) milk
2 tbs melted butter, margarine, oil what-have-you
1 tsp vanilla

Whatever add-ins for whatever kind of muffin mood you're in.

(this recipe is sassy like my finals-oriented mind)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix everything together.

Fill twelve muffin cups and bake your new friends for 20 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted, comes out clean.

You know who else is sassy? This guy. He's a Christmas yeti. And if you come to i like you in Northeast Minneapolis, you can visit him. And maybe me.

in any given week & the hollydaze.

This week things happened and I got way excited for the holidays. WHY?!

1. My new baby Canon Rebel has been doing me real good.

Welcome to my Tuesday/Thursday weekly life. Improvising with these lovely mugs.

It's true, I'm totally learning things in school.

 2. During my prime years of cool, (1st-3rd grade), I was an figure skating princess. Which is why I'm excited to report my newly acquired ICE SKATES. From the best of friends, Nicole. I'm about to make a serious comeback, world.

3. All week. Lianne Lahavas. You want to listen? You should.

4. Things I'm currently excited about that have something to do with the holidays:

• cranberry bread
• Hallmark Channel Christmas movies
• candy cane cookies
• Pretending I know the lighting the menorah prayer. I might. I'm just not sure.
• apple latkes
• breakfast on Christmas
• dogs
• gingerbread gingerbread gingerbread

(Notice how I put things in between the bullets that had to do with food. I did that on purpose. Because I'm not only excited about cookies. I just wanted to get that out there.)

5. A special creation brought to you by Ms. Samantha Feld.

6. TWO MOUSE EXPERIENCES THIS WEEK WHY.

7. This week I went to our local cash only, no meat eatery to indulge in some tempeh jambalaya, forgot to order it to go, and then was forced to have alone time. All I had with me was an issue of Glamour. You don't read Glamour in Hard Times. I felt like an awful, awful person. Like I was committing a crime. The jambalaya was good.

8. This weekend my mother is visiting. How many cookies will we eat? I will report back later with this information.

Lata, playas. There's some nanner bread in the oven that needs my attention.

sometimes part deux.

Sometimes, after I go to the University Center of Recreation, I buy a cookie. I did that today.

Sometimes I don't even look at any other page in the newspaper besides the crossword puzzle.

Sometimes I let my bran flakes soak in their almond milk for ten minutes because I like it.

Sometimes I wonder if the people working at the Seward Co-op recognize me as the girl who takes too big of samples from the hot bar.

Sometimes my roommate and I look on the front page of Pinterest just to get angry at people. It's possible that last night, searches were done for cake pops, cake batter, red velvet, and jello shots just to see how upset we would get. This is not just a sometimes activity. Last night's winners included "books" made from a square of white chocolate with a fruit leather wrapped around it and waffle jello shots.

Sometimes I borrow pens and never give them back.

Sometimes I don't want to wear pants.

yarn and stick alphabet ornaments.

Listen, Anthropologie. I really dig your style, you smell real nice, and sometimes I think my dream home might be...any one of your stores. But sometimes I see something and think "HEY. I CAN MAKE THAT." That's what I did here, Anthropologie. Except I used real sticks instead of mass fabricated pieces. Oops, sorry.

P.S. I still love you.

DIY Yarn&Stick Alphabet Ornaments

Materials: Yarn (assorted textures is a good thing), fairly thin twigs, but not so thin that they'll break when you wrap yarn around them, and scissors.

1. Choose your sticks, choose your letter. Those long sticks for the M? They're about 5.5 inches long. Definitely choose sticks with nubs, they make it way more fun. Arrange your sticks in the letter you've chosen.

       *Obviously, letters with curves prove to be more difficult. One thing you can do is use more live       

         sticks that will bend.

2. Wrap pieces of yarn around any joints and overlapping you might have in your letter. Just to keep it sturdier. You'll be able to secure their positions once you start wrapping.

3. Choose your yarn! I've been working with two colors, because I like being able to switch between the two or use both at the same time. Make them about six feet long.

Start wrapping! Make a route for your wrapping so you'll end up at the point where you want the hanging loop to be. For example, I started at the bottom of the M, up to the middle, and down to the other side. Make sure you wrap your yarn extra tight around the joints.

4. Here's where I wish I had a hot glue gun. (But Danie, aren't you supposed to have all of the crafting supplies ever?! No.) When it's time to make your loop, you can either use one string to loop and tie to the other (see picture) or use a hot glue gun to secure both colors to the back. Hot glue would be preferred.

 Mmm...it's real cute, y'all.

this infinity scarf is for you, thora birch.

I want to tell you about one of my favorite movies, Now and Then. What? You've never heard of this cinematic masterpiece?

Let me break it down for you and give you reasons why you should drop everything and watch this movie. You too, boys.

1. The movie stars some of this centuries most beloved actors:

• Thora Birch, also the star of another favorite, Hocus Pocus
• A young Christina Ricci who, at this point in time, also graced our VHS players with her fabulous portrayal of the troubled pre-teen Kat in Casper. 
• Rosie O'Donnell at the peak of her stardom (cerca the era of The Rosie O'Donnell Show) playing the grown-up version of Christina Ricci.
• Demi Moore playing a serious, dressed in black, smoking author. She was the most troubled.
• Cameos by Cloris Leachmann, Janeane Garofalo, Brendan Fraser--the list goes on.

2. The movie touches on coming-of-age subjects prevalent in all our lives.

• What material you should fill water balloons with in order to create the most authentic bra stuffings. Answer: pudding. (Thanks, Thora)
• If you come across Brendan Fraser walking along the side of the road, stop and talk to him. He might give you a cigarette.
• Red Rover rules.
• How to properly execute a seance. 
• You should totally be nice to old men that ride their bicycles through cemeteries at night. They'll save you when you happen to get stuck in a man-hole.

You might be asking yourself, "Danie, why are you telling me this?" It's because recently, I indulged in the film and in the time it took to watch it, I knit up the coziest of infinity scarves.

This guy uses up only one skein of Lion Brand Hometown USA Yarn and will take you less than 1.5 hours to complete. Totally less. 

It wraps around twice and it's super warm and cozy. Do yourself a favor and knit yourself one.

Super Simple Quick Knit Infinity Scarf

Materials:

• One skein Lion Brand Hometown USA Yarn (or something similar)
• #17 knitting needles
• Tapestry needle
• A MOVIE.

Cast on 14 stitches 

Sl 1 purlwise (with yarn infront), K2, P2 til one stitch remaining, K1

Repeat with the rest of the row for pattern.

It's important to slip the first stitch purlwise in order to achieve a nice, clean, chain edge.

When you run out of yarn, cast off, leaving about nine inches of yarn. Bring both ends of the work together, and with your tapestry needle, sew up the seam. If you don't have a tapestry needle (or can never find yours like me) just roll some tape around the end and use that like a needle. Weave in the ends of the yarn.

 

Love,

Steve

ain't nobody got a best friend like danie.