21 recipes / sweet + savory

While things have been quiet around here, I’ve been busy in the kitchen. Trying new recipes is still one of my favorite parts of this 21 list (: If you try any of these recipes, let me know how you like them!

I made the first three recipes last month (so overdue, I know), and the cinnamon oat pancakes this morning.

Cajun Chicken Pasta from skinnytaste.com

IMG_4791

This pasta was a huge hit. I think the combination of meat, mushrooms, and vegetables made this really yummy altogether. I substituted spaghetti for linguine. And I didn’t have any Cajun seasoning on hand so I made my own from this recipe mix. I may or may not have left out a couple of the spices but it was still delicious. While there’s plenty of knife skills involved in this one, I’m definitely making it again one of these days.

Beef Stroganoff from imbreannarose.com

20130131_202503

Although the recipe calls for egg noodles or rice, I went back to good old spaghetti because that’s what everyone in this house likes. Check out the handy PDF print-out at the end for your recipe collection!

Chunky Apple Muffins from MarthaStewart.com

20130120_214441

These are a great pick-me-up when you need breakfast on the go or an afternoon snack. And they were gone before I knew it. Green apples + walnuts in a muffin are pretty much a blue-ribbon combination.

Cinnamon-oat pancakes from MarthaStewart.com

20130209_102141

I love having pancakes for breakfast on Saturday mornings. This simple hearty recipe incorporates oats into the batter so you get your dose of healthy! Drizzle some maple syrup and add a couple of banana slices and you have the perfect way to kick-start the weekend (:

10 down, 11 to go.
You can find my other 21 recipes here.

Hello February

Pinned Image

image source

Hello to the shortest month of the year. Hello, Chinese New Year and lots of family time and traditions. Hello, Valentine’s and pink and hearts. Hello, new experiences and getting used to a new “normal”. Hello, more school assignments and more DIY projects. Hello to maybe actually getting started on Project Life. Hello, daylight and more time for running. Hello to choosing joy, every day – what a reminder.

Hello, February. I don’t quite know what to expect from you, but you just might be the most interesting month yet. I know it’s going to be full of lots of good things, regardless.

Enjoy your first February weekend! (:

Busy is good.

Pinned Image

image source

The pile of work seems to be especially high lately, which I suppose, explains for the lack of posts on this space. Although, it’s a strange kinda funny how all the big assignments are always due at the same time, during the same week. But rest assured, I have plenty of things to share, albeit slightly delayed.

Once the workload slows down a bit, I will be back! In the meantime, I’m (trying) to focus on the important things and making each day productive.

See you in a bit (:

Right now: Friday

Pinned Image

image source

Thankful that it’s Friday.

Looking forward to the weekend.

Relieved that assignments are done. For now.

Needing to plan blog posts for this space.

Wishing I had more hours in a day.

Praying for strong and healthy bodies.

Having too many ideas floating around in my head.

Needing to write stuff down/make lists.

Hardly believing that January is almost over.

Remembering that He makes everything beautiful in His time.

—

Live every day with intention.

I hope your weekend is amazing!
xx.

CHA winter 2013 favorites

With CHA Winter just wrapped up earlier this week, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorites from this show.

I’m always so blown away by all the amazing new releases each time. And after I get over my excitement of all the new products, I always remind myself to save money so I can get everythinggg when they hit the stores (haha).

I think I have too many favorites this time around. But anyhow, here we go.

Dear Lizzy, Lucky Charm collection by American Crafts

Source: americancrafts.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

I really like the look of the phrase stamp somewhere near the top. And oh, those thickers near the middle, and that mini-album book.

Amy Tangerine, Yes, Please collection by American Crafts

Source: americancrafts.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

More of those daybooks and puffy stickers in the top row. And the clear stamps in the middle (I’m always excited for these!). And the thickers and alphabet stickers look pretty cool.

Again, these designer collaborations always get me really excited because I really like Amy Tan and Liz Kartchner – good stuff.

Sundrifter, Here & There, and Snippets collections by Studio Calico

I’ve been a fan of Studio Calico for awhile and I’m really liking they’re new collections as well.

The stamps are always a favorite (:

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

From top down, the stamps are from the Sundrifter, Here & There, and Snippets collections respectively.

Source: studiocalico.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Wood veneers are always a hit.

I didn’t include the patterned papers because they’re all so lovely but you could can check them out from the links I included above.

And please don’t get me started on the Handbook line. The oilcloth covers sound exciting and the inserts look pretty amazing. I can’t decide whether I like the inserts for the Here & There, or Sundrifter collection better. Maybe this is the perfect excuse motivation to scrap an event I’ve been procrastinating on.

Sn@p! by Simple Stories

Source: simplestories.typepad.com via Amelia on Pinterest

The Sn@p! binders are pretty amazing. This makes me seriously consider switching up Project Life to this size.

Technique Tuesday by Ali Edwards

Source: aliedwards.com via Amelia on Pinterest

Ali Edwards pretty much outdid herself with all the new stamps she designed for Technique Tuesday. You can check out the rest here (here for the video) and on her blog.

While I’m still working on getting started on Project Life for 2013, the new Project Life core kit editions are so great and seriously inspiring. I don’t know which is my favorite – yet.

If you couldn’t already tell from most of my favorites, I really really really love stamps. Maybe you could call me a stamp hoarder collector.

Thank you for letting me share some of my CHA favorites with you! What are your favorites from the recent CHA show?

I hope your weekend’s been amazing!

Right now: Friday

Pinned Image

image source

Giving thanks in all things – good and bad.

Counting my blessings.

Enjoying all the new products from CHA this past week – so many lovely new things!

Telling myself I don’t need any more scrapbooking supplies than I already have.

Thinking of my friends who live a plane ride away.

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Needing to stop procrastinating and start taking action on all my good intentions (read: Project Life and New Year’s resolutions).

Pinning tons of DIY projects onto Pinterest (haha).

Trusting God for His plans in all things, whatever they are.

Pleased + grateful that school pretty much went according to plan this week.

Loving my new washi tape-covered laptop keys.

—

Remember happiness is a way of travel, not a destination.
– Roy Goodman

Have a smashingly good weekend! (:

21 projects / DIY washi tape keyboard

I was looking around on the Internet when I spotted this pretty washi tape-covered keyboard. Very quickly, I googled “DIY washi tape keyboard” and had so many links come up on how to make this happen.

IMG_4732

Following instructions from Her New Leaf, Karla Dudley, and Design Aglow (which pretty much all say the same thing), I picked out six of my favorite washi tapes and started on this DIY. My keyboard was covered in a couple of hours and I pretty much love the result.

The neat thing about washi tape is that it’s translucent and easily removable so I don’t have to worry about my laptop keys being ruined if/when I decide to take out the tape. And I can still see what letters and symbols are on each key so my typing doesn’t get messed up.

The only step I skipped was cleaning my keyboard with rubbing alcohol because I was (kinda) in a hurry to try this and didn’t have any rubbing alcohol around the house. Instead, I used a brush to clean out any dirt and wiped down my keys with a wet wipe. Also, my keyboard is normally covered by a silicone protector so I figured I could skip the first step. If your keyboard isn’t protected, I’d go ahead with the first step and use rubbing alcohol to get rid of any oil and dirt.

IMG_4737

I would definitely recommend snipping the four corners before sticking the washi on because it certainly helps with it adhering to the keys. By the time I got done covering all the keys, some of the first few keys already had the washi tape curling up. So I’m guessing this DIY might not last too long. But I went ahead and put my silicone protector back on my laptop keys. Hopefully, that helps this project to last awhile longer.

IMG_4736

Nonetheless, I love the pops of color on my laptop now and it makes me happy every time I look at it.

I love washi tape and I love a good DIY project. If you try this project, let me know how yours turns out!

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

IMG_4687

In these digital times where people type more than they write, and use a stylus more than they use pens, I’m still a pen and paper kinda girl who enjoys writing things down in notebooks and planners. As each year begins, getting to purchase new planners to use for the year ahead is definitely one of my favorite parts about starting a new year. Since planners are such a huge part of my daily life, I decided to share some of my thoughts about planners and what I did for mine this year.

From daily to weekly to monthly pages, there are numerous options for planners/organizers. You can get them from your local stationery shop or customize your own from Etsy. The choices are endless, really, so you have to figure out what works for you. I usually get a daily planner (one day to a page) from my local stationery store. I don’t usually stick to one particular brand or store so I just go with what catches my eye and has an affordable price.

When I first started using planners, I usually got the A5 daily planners. Last year and the year before, I switched things up and got A6 daily planners. This year, I decided to go back to A5 and got my regular daily planner in the larger size from Smiggle. But I also decided to get a smaller A6 weekly planner to carry around. Because I’m at home a lot, the A5-sized daily planner works for me because I don’t have to carry it around much and it has enough room for me to write my daily to-do lists in.

IMG_4657

But decorating my planners and making them just a little bit more special might just be my most favorite part.

blog1

Those gold foam thickers blow me away and the Dear Lizzy stickers are just too cute for words. And I really do like that gold-misted Studio Calico wood veneer arrow.

IMG_4691

I even stuck some washi tape on the inside cover just because.

These planners make me happy and I love using them. How do you plan for the year?

Together, we’re ready to conquer twenty thirteen!
Let’s do this.

Right now: Monday

Pinned Image

image source

Getting used to new routines.

Loving my new and decorated twenty thirteen planners.

Enjoying the last week of Christmas break.

Needing to get started on Project Life (if I don’t want to fall behind right on the first week of the year).

Finishing up the things on my before-school-starts to-do list.

Pinning lots of ideas and getting excited to try them!

So thankful for a good weekend.

Trusting God’s timing and sovereignty for all things.

Looking forward to new adventures and experiences this year.

—

Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway. – Earl Nightingale

I hope your week is amazing!

Hello January

Pinned Image

image source

Hello, new beginnings and new year resolutions. Hello, new goals, routines, and planners. Hello, hopes, dreams, and wishes for twenty thirteen. Hello, school. Hello, fresh starts and getting out of holiday mood into work mode.

Hello, January in 2013.

January, we’re starting off pretty fine. You’re going to be a good one.
xo.

A year from now you will wish you had started today.
-Karen Lamb