Christmas was excellent this year. Snow on Christmas day. A million cookies of every shape and size. Family and friends home. Christmas ham. Cozy fires in the fire-place. Family games. Movie night. New clothes. Light shows.
Thank you Jesus for coming into our world with one main mission: save the lost.
Merry Christmas! Here’s to 2013.
Today I spent the afternoon with my sister and we went Christmas shopping, ate yummy food, talked about life, and watched a Christmas movie. I had such a fun time!
We started the afternoon with lunch at Start. Also known as my new forever favorite restaurant. Their motto is Real Food Fast and they definitely delivered.
I went with the organic veggie-bean quinoa burger on a gluten-free bun with a side of sweet potato tots. Best meal ever.
The burger was superb and the sweet potato tots were excellent. I recommend this place 100%. I now know where I will eat whenever I’m in the city.
Afterwards, we put our shopping faces on and headed to Half-Price Books.
Some organic green tea was in order for successful shopping.
We were able to score some Christmas presents and sneak some pictures in front of the giant tree in the mall. (We may or may not have watched people fall ice skate below us for thirty minutes.)
After we were done, we headed back to my sisters place to eat some delicious veggie pizza (forgot a picture) and watch Christmas in Connecticut.
We also broke into some of the leftover gluten-free desserts and I managed to help out eating a peanut butter cup the size of a small cake. You just can’t go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate.
When I got home I was [shockingly] looking in the fridge (because clearly I hadn’t eaten enough today) and I saw this:
It’s like only my dream to get an edible arrangement one day. And while this edible arrangement was for my dad, he kindly said I could eat from it. Yes, the pineapples are shaped like stars.
A boy once asked me what kind of flowers I would want a guy to get me and I said an edible arrangement. I look back on that and think I possibly should have stuck to flowers…he may have been a little confused and weird-ed out. Oh well.
What are your favorite flowers to receive?
Since I am not going to say edible arrangements again, I would definitely go with daisies.
Today was a lovely, relaxing Sunday. It started out with church at my sisters church which I really enjoyed! The atmosphere was great and I really liked the preacher. Afterwards we headed to the Original Pancake House where they have a few gluten-free items on the menu.
I went with a veggie omelet and some gluten-free pancakes.
I kid you not when I tell you the omelet was the size of my head. The pancakes were some of the best restaurant gluten-free pancakes I have yet to try.
I came home and took a three-hour nap. Catching up on sleep is on my to-do list for the break. 
I woke up just in time to get ready for church and our Christmas dinner fellowship that followed the service.
We had a plethora of food including some very yummy desserts. (Sorry, no pictures were taken.)
I did get a picture with some friends though. It was good to have the gang back. 
I came home and took Topy on a quick walk to see some Christmas lights. Currently I am watching Easter Parade with my mom and enjoying some cheese and crackers.
Here’s a few pictures of our Christmas party preparations last night:
All the gluten-free desserts turned out excellent, my mom rocks.
What is your favorite food to enjoy at a Christmas party?
Hey everybody! How is the last day of September treating you? I am currently enjoying a caramel latte, so I would say it’s been a pretty good day.
This weekend was “Family Weekend” at my college and my parents came up Friday-Sunday to spoil spend time with me and get to know the campus and my friends.
It was really great to see them and not eating in the cafeteria for an entire two days was stinkin’ awesome. (Especially considering the food is the worst on weekends.)
I wasn’t able to snap to many photos from the weekend but I’m happy to share the ones I did.
Our first meal out was at a Brick Oven pizza place in town with the best margarita pizza ever. I think I ate this in two minutes.
That night, we ate at Chick-fil-a (un-pictured) because I was craving fries and they have the best fries. We went to a magic show after dinner and then ended the night with frozen yogurt (pictured above). I was so excited I mixed everything together and it tasted like heaven in a cup. I don’t think I have ever gone almost two months without fro-yo in the past two years- needless to say, it tasted amazing. I’m in withdraws.
The next morning, we got some fuel for our hour drive to the city. It was the grand opening of the Starbucks on campus and we couldn’t miss out on all the excitement. Tall skinny caramel latte, please. Being in Starbucks with my dad brought back fun memories of when we would go there…I’m so glad they came to visit.
Once we had our fuel we drove into the city in search of the important things in life like Chipotle. Priorities, people. You know its going to be a good weekend if it includes frozen yogurt and Chipotle. I got the burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, tomato salsa, cheese, lettuce, and guacamole. YUM.
After Chipotle, we went to Target because there isn’t one in my college town. And, let’s be serious…I get pretty much everything at Target- clothes, shoes, dark chocolate, room decorations…you name it and Target has it. If you are ever in doubt of what to get me for my birthday, a Target gift card will never go to waste.
So we did alittle a lot of shopping and my mom bought me a shirt, dress, and some workout clothes (since apparently you shouldn’t re-wear workout clothes but then that means I have to do more laundry…). Then we picked up some grocery necessities (Peanut butter, dark chocolate, Larabars- you know, priorities .
We then headed back to campus in order to go to the first home football game!!
We won, for the record. The weather was perfect and we managed to steal some seats during half-time since we got there a little late because we were *shocker* eating at Chilis.
This morning, we woke up bright and early to go to church and then headed to Ihop for my last good meal before it’s back to reality.
I was going to get something healthy because I think I managed to gain the freshmen 15 in one weekend, but then I saw Pumpkin Pancakes. Best decision ever. I have seen so many food bloggers make pumpkin pancakes and now that I have tried them, I am definitly making some over Thanksgiving break.
I am currently in the library sipping a caramel latte trying to get motivated to study for midterms coming up this week and next. Have I seriously already finished half of my first semester? I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun!
Thank you Dad and Mom for such a great weekend! You can visit any time.
Have a Happy Fall Day.
Well folks, it’s down to three more days till I leave for college. Yikes!
Today my mom and I spent the morning at the Corinthian Wellness Spa and got “rejuvenating pedicures.” No, we do not go to the spa on a regular basis but we had two free $50 gift cards we got from a conference so we decided to use them today. It was ahhhhhmazing.
I seriously want to design my house after this spa. {Pardon the terrible picture quality, it was very dark in the “relaxation room.”)
{They have a fountain coming down from the ceiling}
{My mom and I are officially addicted to this tea…we had two cups there and could have easily had five more.
Now accepting donations on New Balance Nicole. }
A spa that has complementary refreshments? That gets an A++ in my book.
The water was so cool! It was “infused” with all different fruits and cucumbers- so good!
The pedicure was an hour long and they had you laying down in these recliners with hot towels and blankets. I almost fell asleep but I was too enthralled with the room decor and the ceiling painted like a sky. I felt so spoiled. {Which I should, and did feel awkward at first because some people don’t even have food to eat. But I had to remind myself that 1. we had coupons and basically paid nothing and 2. it was a special treat before college so just enjoy it.}
I highly, highly recommend this spa if you have one in your area and spa’s are your ‘cup of tea.’ {Not to mention it is a Christian business.}
I think it would be lovely to work there- always relaxing music, dimly lit rooms, fabulous refreshments, and your ultimate goal is to help people relax and escape reality for an hour.
After our pedicures, we ended up staying in the relaxation room talking and drinking that heavenly tea for another hour. So I would say we got our moneys worth.
Well, it’s back to “reality” for me! Off to go pack some boxes…
What is your take on spas? Anybody go to a spa on a regular basis? If you could get any service at the spa, what would it be?
I think a trip to the spa every blue moon {if you have the money} is fine, but I don’t think I personally could ever justify going on a regular basis {unless I was like a millionaire}.
The last day of our trip (and quite possibly one of my favorites!) we went to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado.
If you have never been, please but it on your bucket list. Or just plan a trip right now.
{Don’t they look like natives? To fun.}
It was my first barefoot “hike” and so much fun! I love the feel of sand in my toes and running up and down the hills were a blast. {Ok, and a bit tiring.}
We went in the middle of the day so we didn’t go all the way to the top but we made it very close. We put it on our bucket lists to someday climb all the way.
So overall, the trip to Colorado was awesome! A big thanks goes out to my awesome parents for planning and funding the whole trip.
Colorado. Is. The. Best.
Where is your favorite vacation spot? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
After we left my sister and headed to another little town, we spent the next couple days in a quaint little cabin.
The first two days we went on two beautiful hikes. The first trail was called “Mill Creek Castle” and the second trail was “Oh Be Joyful.” “Oh Be Joyful” was our personal favorite.
{Finding the worlds largest dandelion guaranties your wish to come true.}
We also visited the Blue Mesa reservoir in Gunnison, Colorado that was breathtaking. Pictures can not do it justice.
How did we fuel for these activities? For breakfast most mornings we made eggs with toast and drank some 2% milk {a yummy treat and good for some extra fuel}. Lunch we packed which consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apples, carrots, and trail mix. Then for dinner each night we went out to eat.
{These were the only meals I remembered to take a picture of.}
Yes, fries or chips were present at every dinner but hey, I’m not complaining. From top left to bottom right~ Chicken Gyro, Fried Fish Sandwich, Spicy Chicken and avocado Pita, and Powerhouse Hamburgers.
{That was my first Gyro ever and I LOVED it.}
Dinner tasted amazing {and every bit was eaten} every night because of all we did throughout the day.
One of the last days there was also went mountain biking. It was fun but physically challenging…going uphill those mountains was tough! But we rented the bikes for a day so after we were done biking through the mountains we drove through the town and explored. {And got ice cream, our bones needed some calcium.}
Lastly that day, we rode the ski lift up to Crested Butte Mountain because it was free lifts that night.
It was the longest ski lift I have been on {which I liked!} and the view at the top was awesome.
See you tomorrow with the last part of the trip!
I’m back! Back from breezy, lovely Colorado. Boy was it hard to leave. Nothing like coming home to 100+ weather.
I chose to call this blog post series about my vacation “Tiny Towns” because that’s where we were the whole time in Colorado. Denver, Aspen, and Colorado Springs never got a visit from us. Instead, small, quiet towns were on our map quest. A good choice, if I may say so myself.
We left last Friday at the ripe hour of 4:30 AM and set out to a small town about an hour and a half from Colorado Springs. My sister works on a ranch out there each summer and leads pack trips into the mountains + horseback rides {and performs all the other many ranch duties}. Pretty awesome, huh?
Some people say we look-alike. {However, you can tell who has seen the Colorado sun and who hasn’t.}
We spent the weekend with her whenever she got a break from work. She took us to some local restaurants and most importantly, caught us up on her life.
If you are not aware, I LOVE Chai Shakes. So obviously when a local deli has them, we will stop. {As you can tell from the picture it was a little windy…my sister likes to call it “The Windy Wild West.”}
My parents went with ice cream.
Saturday night, we went to Cowboy Camp at my sister’s work which is a big cook-out complete with singing, campfires, and good cookin’. I assisted my sister in making her famous fruit salad.
Cowboy camp was a blast and my goodness, some people can sing and play the guitar so well! I could have listened all night.
The next day we went into Canyon City and found the cutest place to eat. You literally feel like you just stepped off the streets of Italy into a little paradise.
Michael’s on Main was a restaurant, coffee shop, and chocolate heaven. We got lunch and chocolate. I went with a spicy chicken and avocado pita wrap with chips that werefantastic. For my choice of chocolate, I went with the dark chocolate salted caramel square.
If you are even near Canyon City, I highly, highly recommend this little oasis.
Last but not least, we enjoyed some Brown Butter Cookies from a local Amish bakery.
You think cookies can’t get any better and then, you put icing on them. It’s a done deal. {Oh, and it also helps when the cookie is the size of your head.}
Anyways, it was awesome to catch up with my sister but also sad to leave because we won’t see her till Christmas. The only bad thing about Colorado’s beauty and awaiting adventures is that my sister quickly lost her heart to the mountains there.
And that concludes the trip weekend. See you soon with part two!
As you can imagine, I have been anticipating graduation for much too long. Likewise, I have no idea what to say in this post or how many pictures to display so I just picked a few of my favorites.
I graduated on Friday, May 18 but on May 17th I attended the traditional senior dinner. At senior dinner there was a meal (obviously), a slide show of five pictures throughout of lives, a message from the school president, a candle lighting with songs, a prayer with the parents, and overall a fun/sentimental time with family and friends.
I was actually an emotional mess after Senior Dinner and creed to my mom for a little too long, but in the end felt much better. She seems to always know what to say. And my family really helped my graduation day feel special.
Exhibit A:
My two sisters surprised me with a pinata full of goodies, a “Smores Please” bag, and some sparkling grape juice. Oh and did I mention my certain favorite pink box of goodies is going to show up in my college mailbox in August? It will surly be the highlight of my month. I love Birchbox.
Graduation flew by and before you knew it, I was throwing my hat in the hair and walking out as a 2012 high school graduate.
Our class kept graduation exciting with many practical jokes on teachers/faculty and funny speeches. Overall it was a fun night that I hope to never forget.
Here’s to college and whatever the future may hold!
When a new frozen yogurt place opens up in town, obviously, I have to be there pronto.
So I had a good excuse when my cowgirl sister came home from college and had a craving for some fro-yo. I guess we are related?
We got our yogurt (with a buy one get one free coupon) and talked for 2 hours. About halfway through, the worker came to our table and asked if we would like two free mocha frappuccinos that she accidentally made.
Hmmm let me think about that…YES.
So not only did we enjoy a cup full of yogurt and toppings, we also had an extremely delicious mocha frapp.
And all for $3.24.
Needless to say, we were a bit crazy by the end of the two hours.
So anything stupid I did that day, I blame it on the sugar overdose.
Don’t worry, I’m a functioning sugar-aholic when I need to be.
