WIWW: My First Week!

     I've been following "The Pleated Poppy" for several months now, but somehow I put off WIWW (What I Wore Wednesday) until now.  We're on vacation this week, so I'm definitely in my "casual" clothes.  Not the best week to start taking pictures of my outfits.  I figure everybody's got to start somewhere.  :]  Maybe things will improve once I go back to work next week.

 

Friday/Christmas Eve

Shirt- Target (one of my favorites)

Jeans- Target 

Shoes (not pictured)- Shoe Depot

 

Saturday/Christmas Day:

Purple Sweater- Old Navy

Jeans- Target (yep, I'm a jeans repeater)

Jacket- Kohl's (several years ago)

Shoes- Target

Fingerless Gloves- Christmas gift from "Santa" (i.e. my Mom bought them from Claire's)

Sunday:

Travel day, so I don't have any pictures of that.  

Monday:

Sat in the condo all day in sweats and a t-shirt.  Believe me, you don't want to see pictures of that either.

Tuesday: Walking on the Beach

Hat- college bookstore

Sunglasses- JCPenny's

T-shirt- self-made tye dye :]

Sweatshirt- Target

Jacket- No idea...I've owned that jacket for at least 6 years

Sweats- WalMart

Sneakers- New Balance

 

Wednesday: Shopping with the fam

Sunglasses- same ones from Penny's

T-shirt- Clemson t-shirt a friend gave me...go Tigers!

Jacket- same one from yesterday

Jeans- brand new jeans from Old Navy!

Shoes- Target

Obviously I'm missing a few days, but hopefully next week I'll have more.  So excited to be linking up with everyone over at The Pleated Poppy!  Read this week's WIWW here.

Psalm 148:7-10

     Hello from sunny Florida!  My dad, sisters, and I went on a walk this afternoon and it was freezing.  Seriously.  Still, it was a beautiful day to be on the beach.

 

Praise the Lord from the earth, 

you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,

lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

stormy winds that do his bidding,

your mountains and all hills,

fruit trees and all cedars,

wild animals and all cattle,

small creatures and flying birds...

-Psalm 148:7-10 

-Abby :]

Vacation and Thoughts on Blogging

     You'll probably see more posts from me this week because I am on vacation with my family.  Typically we'd be hanging out on the beach all day, but it is strangely cold down here.  My dad and I went on a walk and I found myself wishing I wore my super cool winter hat.

See, super cool winter hat...and my cat.

   I know what you're thinking: "Abby, you're on vacation with your family!  Why are you on the computer?"  That would be because it is too cold on the beach.  And there's only so much reading/watching tv/playing games we can do.  It's so hard to keep up with blogging after work every day, so I figured I would try to catch up a bit while I have the free time.  In fact, I was very inspired by a guest blogger on my of my favorite blogs: Gussy Sews.  Jess of Allora Handmade talked about fostering community through blogging.  Check it out here.

     The idea of fostering community through blogging isn't a new thought to me.  I've been thinking on it a lot and struggling with the "how."  How do I foster community through my blog?  One conclusion I've come to: it isn't easy!  You have to make an effort to interact with other bloggers or else you won't get any traffic on your own page.  It's been kind of weird to me to put myself out there and talk to people I've never met before, but that's what you have to do to achieve community online! 

     So tell me, what do you think about finding community through blogging?  Any tips you want to share?

-Abby :]

And just for fun, here are the books I'm reading this week:

I'm halfway through "East of Eden."  So good!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas so far.  :]

What I'm Baking Today: Christmas Eve Edition

     I found this recipe in a Betty Crocker ad in the latest issue of Good Housekeeping.  Yes, I am 22 and I read Good Housekeeping.  Last weekend I made them for a party and they were a big hit, so I decided to take them to Christmas Eve dinner tonight.  The green color just adds to the fun-ness of the cookies.  :]  Enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

•  1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract
• 6 to 8 drops green food color
• 1 egg
• 1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. Mix cookie mix, butter, extract, food color, and egg in bowl, until soft dough forms.  Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chips.
2. Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes.  Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.  Serve warm or cool completely.  Store tightly covered at room temperature.

What I'm Making for Dinner: Potato Soup

     My Dad showed up from his weekly grocery trip with chicken broth and cream cheese...a not-so-subtle hint that he wanted me to make potato soup again.  Hence, tonight I am making two batches of potato soup for my family.  Because I am so benevolent, I decided to share the recipe with you all.  Credit goes to Sarah Wigal for introducing me to this recipe and thinking to add the corn.

 

Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup

1 hour | 15 min prep

SERVES 4 -6

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
  
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1 can of corn
  
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks

1. Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.
2. Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
3. Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.
4. Reduce to low heat.
5. Add cream cheese and corn.
   
6. Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

Lately

     IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!  Finally, haha!  I love teaching, but MAN am I glad for a break.  Since I'm in "break" mode (and I'm about to bake some cookies), I'm not going to write a lengthy post.  But I will leave you with some pictures from my recent escapades.  Enjoy.  :]

Snow in NY over Thanksgiving break.

Small group Christmas party at Starbucks (of course).

Getting into the Christmas spirit.

Ready for our class parties!

It's really Christmas!

     The Christmas season officially started eleven days ago, but I have not been able to get into the spirit.  Something didn't feel right, and I finally discovered was wrong: we didn't have our decorations up yet!  Normally we decorate right after Thanksgiving, but this year we didn't because we were in NY.  We finally got one earlier this week.  Today Mom and I spent a couple hours putting on Christmas lights and some classy ornaments (all while I wore a festive Santa hat).  As I sit here typing the glow of little twinkling lights is filling me with the Christmas spirit.  It finally feels like Christmas!  Now I just need a peppermint mocha and some friends to laugh with for this to be a perfect evening.  :]

     And yes, I did dress up as Santa prior to decorating the tree.  A fantastic way to celebrate the season of giving, in my opinion.