wire heart midi ring.

Today we're discussing how not awful Valentine's Day is. Here's how you can make it better:

Appreciate some awful Valentine's animal puns. I'm particularly biased to the ones below. Oh, you like what your eyes are checking out? Treat those peepers to some more  Scatterlings here.



Try not to remember those two years of middle school when student council sold heart shaped lollipops for delivery on Valentine's Day. Try not to remember that the only time you ever got one, it was from a teacher.

Accept that sample of the heart-shaped shitty Target cookie from the bakery man. Appreciate the sprinkles.

Assess the progression of the conversation heart. (ie. Tweet Me? Since when are conversation hearts sparkly? Why do the new Sweethearts taste like soap?)

Reassure your views on the colors pink and red. I, for one, am always reassure that I do not like red. Done.

Use the holiday as an opportunity to learn how to say "I love you" in multiple languages.

Buy cheap boxes of chocolate, play a game that involves guessing what each flavor will be, and spit out half of it. It's fine. Russel Stover won't be sad.

Of course, love with all your being. But you should already be doing that.

And last, but not least, use Valentine's Day as a serious excuse to wear all the heart jewelry.

I got your back AND YOUR FINGER.

DIY Wire Heart Midi Ring

Materials: Round tip pliers, wire cutters, wire (I used 16 gauge), and something to form the ring around.

1. Cut four inches of wire. You might not need all of it, but cut at least four inches to be safe.

2. Make a bend one centimeter in. This will be the first half of the heart.

3. Make a small bend a little less than halfway down the length of the first. This will be the middle of the heart.

4. Make a third bend, equal to the first. This is the other side of the heart.

5. Use your pliers to shape the heart and bend it so it stands vertically.

6. Wrap the wire around a small circular object to shape the ring. I used the very top of a tapered nail polish bottle. You want the shape to be smaller than a chapstick tube (unless you're making a full-sized ring).

7. Trim excess wire and use your pliers to shape the end. Wear your lovely Valentine-y ring above your knuckle. Super sweet.

this is what we need to know.

I'm making this soup! Except there are about 37 other vegetables involved! This soup and this post are brought to you by the fact that tomorrow, I return back to Minneapolis. It's been a holiday for sure.

Dear you and me,

This past year was...a year. In which lessons were learned, teachings were taught, love was loved all over. I'm here to tell you the things that I've recently and always been reminded of. I'm hoping to make them the superstars of my life this year. Yours too?

• First thing's first; only you can truly control your life. No one has the right to tell you what you are and who you are. You are what you feel. So take those inhibitions, those inklings, those dreams and just go.

• Recently I've learned the importance of letting people love you. To love and be loved is one of the biggest favors you can give yourself. If love presents itself to you, you take it and run with it. In all forms. It's precious. Necessary. It doesn't mean you're not strong anymore.

• Eat so many of nature's colors and cook them up yourself. It's so crazy important to realize and put into action the amount of care it takes to prepare the nutrients your body really, truly needs.

• You better take care of that body of yours...it sure does a lot for you.

• Positivity above all else. I've recently seen, first hand, positivity proving itself to be the most powerful form of self-medication. It works, you guys. And it's free.

• Be a good friend to the people you really care about. Really let them know that you want to listen.

• Whenever you go anywhere, make sure to make eye contact with people and smile. I've recently noticed the decreasing amount smiling in myself and others. It's really a bummer to walk around in a world without smiles, so let's fix that.

• Accept compliments. Even though it's hard, even though your first thought is that it's disingenuous. Guess what--it's definitely probably not. 

• That fresh air outside is meant for breathing in, so use it daily.

• Pet animals as often as possible because all they want to (usually) do is love you.

And my new year's resolution: be conscious.


GO FORTH.

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.