Author: Amelia

Once in awhile, we all need a break.

So it happened.

Life caught up with me, and I missed a Friday Favorites post yesterday.

This week has been a whirlwind of activity – lots of fun outings, but also lots of work, showing support for people you love, and dealing with whatever life throws at you. Some days have been pretty stressful, but I’m learning to not let my tendency to stress out get the better of me. I love how William James put it, “The greatest weapon against stress is the ability to choose one thought over another.” #truth

So I’m working on this Type A personality of mine and learning to take things nice and slow.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to take a couple weeks off regular posting to take a little breather, spend a little more time creating + making stuff, and plan and explore what my goals and plans are for this little space in the future. During my blog-break, I also really hope to work on better content for this blog. I know how much time blog-reading can take and I always appreciate those who take time to come by this space. So I want to make your cyber-visit here worthwhile with content that is CRAZY GOOD!

To help me do that, I would love to hear from you guys and what you have to say! What are some of posts that you already love seeing on my blog? What posts would you like to see more or less of? I’m open to suggestions so please please please leave plenty of comments/suggestions/ideas (:

I hope to pop in ever so often to say hi. But in the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram @ameliawritesblog to stay updated on all that’s happening in between!

And fingers-crossed, in between school and work and all that jazz, I get my dreams + plans for this space all laid-out so Amelia Writes comes back even bigger and better!

I hope your weekend is beyond fabulous xo.

Right Now // Thursday

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Participating in Studio Calico’s photo prompts for #projectlife365 this week.

Hardly believing that we’re already more than halfway through September.
(Also, that I am already past the halfway mark for the first part of the fall term!!!)

Keeping up with running. Thankfully, I think I’m doing pretty good so far!

Trying to get school work done and stay calm, not stressed.

Remembering to cherish life and loved ones.

Anticipating all the fun things planned for the rest of this week.

Reminding myself that God always, always works things together for good because He is sovereign.

Wanting to make stuff again.

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Spread love wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. – Mother Teresa

Here’s to Thursday!

P.S. Guess what?! After much thought, Amelia Writes is now on Instagram! You can find me @ameliawritesblog. Remember to follow for lots of fun updates! (:

Wednesday Word // no. 017

It's not about them anyway.

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Short and sweet, this quote pretty much sums up what I’ve been reminding myself of this week – to have my confidence in my Savior and Creator, to live for an audience of One, to do my best regardless of whether people recognize/appreciate what I do.

Because really, it’s not about them anyway.

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Every Wednesday, I share a quote + some thoughts that have been especially relevant in my life during the week. Read more Wednesday Words here.

Adelia Makes no. 016 // caramelitas

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First of all, I will tell you that I didn’t get pictures of these yummy yummy caramelitas. Adelia made these for friends. And right after they were fresh out of the oven, we cut them up straightaway, packed them up and sent them off to be enjoyed. But you do get one picture though. From the recipe book Adelia made these out of. That’s the closest I could get to taking of pictures of how these caramelitas actually look like.

But second of all, I will tell you that you have to take my word for how good these are. If you don’t believe me, just ask our friends because I think they all quite liked it. Imagine a layer of chocolate + caramel + nuts. Oh so good.

Try it and let me know how you like it!

caramelitas

Caramelitas

Makes: 20
Baking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
  • 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup pecans, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup caramel sauce (or Dulce de Leche)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Base line a 12 x 12-inch shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
  2. Put the oats, flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt into a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and mix well. Spread half of the mixture in the base of the prepared pan. Press out evenly using the back of a spoon.
  3. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle the chocolate and huts evenly over the surface. Drizzle the caramel sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the reserved oat mixture on top and press gently with the back of a spoon.
  4. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
  5. Leave in the pan to cool completely and cut into bars to serve.

NOTE: Feel free to substitute the nuts for your favorites!

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Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.

the 22 list

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So I finally got around to putting my 22 list together!

This year, I decided to break down the DIYs into individual items instead of stressing myself out having 22 new recipes AND DIYs. And as usual, some of these are repeats from the past year(s) but they were so good that I decided to keep them there.

  1. Try 22 new recipes.
  2. Read at least one book a month.
  3. Run a half-marathon.
  4. Write a business plan/start a business.
  5. Document life.
  6. Make a recipe folder.
  7. Make at least six creative projects.
  8. Bind a book.
  9. Establish a routine.
  10. Learn to take better pictures.
  11. Learn how to use Photoshop/Photoshop Elements OR HTML/CSS (or both).
  12. Take an online/craft class.
  13. Make a project using cork.
  14. Sew something.
  15. Make jewelry.
  16. Stay on the Dean’s list.
  17. Paint something.
  18. Make something with canvas.
  19. Make a DIY with bobby pins.
  20. Use a sharpie for a DIY.
  21. Write/send five pieces of snail mail.
  22. Carve a stamp.

It’s kinda hard to believe that my birthday was already more than a week ago. But the list is always a fun part of my year so I’m definitely excited to get started on this list!

Stay tuned for updates.

First-ever Blog Award!

Blogs are one of those things that have become part of everyday life for many people nowadays. But blogging is a lot more work than most would realize. It’s also a lot scarier than you would think, because it involves you putting yourself out there and being vulnerable to criticism and being judged. But all the negatives aside, the blogging community is filled with lovely people and is a grand place for support and connecting with people.

And there are plenty of great people indeed! Like Chelsea of Aphrodite Perception who nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you for the love, Chelsea. I so appreciate it! I started this blog to share my creative adventures, and it has since slowly evolved into a place where I share DIYs, recipes, my annual list, thoughts on life, and things I love. There are millions of blogs out there. And I’m so grateful that out of all of them, there are people who actually like/enjoy/appreciate what I write and what I do.

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So in the spirit of the award, I’m nominating fifteen more people to receive the Versatile Blogger Award. Because everyone deserves a little love and encouragement (:

If you’re one of the fifteen FUN bloggers that I nominated, here’s what you have to do:

  1. Display the Award Certificate on your blog.
  2. Announce your win with a post (like this one!). Make sure you post a link back to whoever nominated you as a ‘thank you’ for the nomination.
  3. Present the award to your own fifteen deserving bloggers.
  4. Leave each of the nominees a comment to let them know you’ve nominated them after you have linked them to your post.
  5. Post seven interesting things about yourself.

These nominees are listed in no particular order. Some of them are budding writers, others have been blogging for awhile. But either way they love what they do so go and check out them out!

  1. At Home In Love – inspiration, lifestyle and interiors
  2. Sasha Farina – paper, scrapbooking
  3. Elise Joy – paper, life, recipes, DIYs
  4. Love Taza – family, life
  5. Oh, Hello Friend – vintage, inspiration
  6. The Small Things Blog – hair, make up, beauty, fashion
  7. The Lauren Elizabeth – beauty, fashion
  8. Kendi Everyday – fashion
  9. Love Design Sunshine – design, creative inspiration
  10. Finding Nana – paper, scrapbooking
  11. Ann-Marie Loves – craft, paper, DIYs, scrapbooking
  12. Breanna Rose – design, inspiration
  13. Damask Love – craft, DIYs, inspiration
  14. A Flyleaf – life, photos
  15. Music and Little Moments – life, music

And here’s seven interesting things about me!

  1. I love roller-coaster rides. Like the upside-down, double-loop scary rides.
  2. I pretty much have the best, most amazing family ever (maybe probably biased, but so true!).
  3. I almost became a business major in college, but ended up majoring in Elementary Education instead.
  4. I started running after being influenced by the rest of the runners in my family.
  5. I’ve only had above-shoulder-length short hair once in my entire life.
  6. I have a sweet tooth. Desserts are my favorite part of any meal!
  7. I am without a doubt an arts and language person. Math is so not my thing.

Congratulations to all the nominees! And thank you Chelsea, for the nomination.
I’m looking forward to many more big things ahead on this blog!

I hope your weekend is fabulous. xx

Friday Favorite no. 015 // a silent message

I came across this video this week and knew immediately that I wanted to share it with you guys for Friday Favorites today. I’m definitely guilty of spending too much time on my smartphone, and end up ignoring the people around me. Such a good, good reminder to put aside technology and just enjoy being in the moment. Too many memories get lost because we’re too busy trying to stay connected.

I have no idea what this Thai company does but they have an amazing message.

This weekend, I’m choosing to put aside my smartphone to savor the moments + memories with those I’m with.

Happy Friday!

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Life is often full and busy. But I like to take time to enjoy some of my favorite things. So Friday Favorite is a weekly series where I share my favorite(s) for the week. Check out my other Friday Favorites here.

Right Now // Thursday

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Eating more chocolate than is good for me.

Persevering to the end of this week.

Craving sushi.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Figuring out how to fit a long run into my schedule this week.

Thankful that the sun is shining again.

Trying to stay focused, motivated, and not distracted.

Listening to Yiruma while studying.

Choosing to breathe, and not stress out.

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Take it all one day at a time and enjoy the journey.
– Kristi Bartlett

The weekend is so close; I can smell it!
I hope your week’s been full of sunshine and rainbows (:

Wednesday Word // no. 016

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This week has been pretty slow around here. It’s rained every single day this week and while I really do love the rain, it mostly just makes me feel like sleeping in and lazing around. Which really doesn’t help when you have assignments due and things to get done. So I’m just mostly trying to persevere to the end of this week, get motivated and into the groove of working hard.

But like the reminder my mom texted me yesterday, “The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude“. So I’m choosing to keep my spirits up and not let the lack of sunshine get to me too much.

Here’s to a brighter, second-half of the week!

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Every Wednesday, I share a quote + some thoughts that have been especially relevant in my life during the week. Read more Wednesday Words here.

Adelia Makes no. 015 // maple glazed cookies

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Maple Glazed Cookies

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These were addictive and so, so good. We finished these cookies in just a couple of days, down to the very last crumb. They were that good.

Maple Glazed Cookies

Makes: 18
Baking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 tablespoons or 3/4 stick butter, cut into cubes
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • Scant 1/2 pecans, chopped (we used walnuts instead of pecans)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 6 tablespoons maple syrup
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl. Add the butter and blend with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and pecans.
  3. Add the egg and 4 tablespoons of the maple syrup and mix until well combined.
  4. Drop small heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough, slightly spaced apart onto the baking sheets. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
  5. Brush the cookies with the remaining maple syrup while still hot, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

NOTE: Adelia use less concentrated maple syrup so she made up for the flavor by adding more tablespoons of syrup in the batter. This made the cookies soft and chewy but we still liked them that way (:

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Adelia Makes is a blog series featuring my very own little sister and all the fun things she makes. Read more about Adelia Makes here.