Reflecting on 2013

I'm cuddled on my couch at the moment watching The Holiday before I get myself ready for tonight's festivities.  I plan to follow this film up with the first Sex in the City movie because what better way to prepare for 2014 than watching Carrie Bradshaw be fabulous. A new year has come again and I am thrilled.  I hope everyone has prepared their goals/resolutions/what have you.  If not, maybe you'll find this post helpful!  I think there is a lot that could be said about 2013 and while not all bad, I'm glad to see it go.  It had some lovely moments, including converting to Catholicism, a rejuvenating trip to the Adirondacks, landing the best internship ever, and some of the best "friendship" and "growth" moments of my life.  It was a good one, but I'm ready to ring in the new year!

Here are a few lovely moments from 2013!

What are your favorite moments?

Valentino Rockstud heels for less

Valentino Rockstud heels go for about $945...I found these lookalikes from Lulus.com for $36!!!

I have been in love with the Rockstud Valentino heels since I first laid my eyes on them.  I'm a college student, so of course, I cannot afford them...well I can, but I should not spend money on them since I'm planning on moving out soon.  Regardless, it dawned on me the other day to search for a similar pair and to my disappointment it seemed that I had missed the boat on all of the Valentino dupes.  So many fashion bloggers had found their similar pairs and I was searching to no avail.  I closed my computer and woke up this morning to try one more time and entered "studded t-strap heels" into Google and low and behold, I found em!

Can't wait to grab a pair of these and maybe save for a colored pair of the Valentino beauties :) 

There is always lipstick...

I am never one to wear a ton of makeup, it just isn't my style.  But I am a strong believer in lipstick.  I think that even if your walking out of the house with no eye makeup on that day (which I do often) you can easily throw up some bright lipstick!  It brightens up your face and is a ton of fun to change up each day.  Because I am cheap I rarely buy expensive lipstick.  My current favorite's are made by Maybelline, specifically their ColorSensational Lipstick!  So many people ask me if I am wearing Mac lipstick and I never am!  Such a drugstore steal :)

What are your favorite lip colors?

Homemade Green Bean Crispers

Whenever I go out with family or friends to Applebee's I always, allwaaays, order the green bean crispers.  They are kinda healthy right? Since they are green beans and all.... 

This Christmas Eve I set out to make my own version of these tasty (deep fried) hors d'oeuvre's!

Ingredients:

• Green beans
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 heavy cream
• Panko bread crumbs (or Italian)

Directions:

• On one plate mix together flour, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder and a dash of salt and pepper and set aside
• On another plate, crack your two eggs and whisk with heavy cream
• On your third and final plate mix your breadcrumbs with some salt and pepper
• Take your fresh green beans and snap off the ends.  Boil a pot of water and blanch the green beans for a minute, turn down the water and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.  Strain the hot water and run green beans until cold water to stop the cooking
• For the purpose of convenience I cooked the green beans in the deep fryer but these can be done in a pan on the stove with some oil
• First drudge the green beans in the flour mixture, then move them to the egg mixture and lastly coat with the bread crumbs.  
• Stick a small handful into the deep fryer at a time and keep an eye on them.  They cook very quickly. I'd say about a minute, maybe two max, but I removed them from the oil once they had turned golden brown

Dipping Sauces:

Applebee's serves these green bean crispers with two dipping sauces and so since I was making them, I figured I'd go ahead and try to make my own!  

Barbecue Ranch Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• Ranch dressing
• Barbecue sauce

Directions:

• I made this by taste but basically you want to have a 2 to 1 ratio.  So two parts ranch, one part barbecue sauce!

Horseradish Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• Mayo
• Onion Powder
• Ketchup
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Horseradish

Directions:

• I also did this by taste but I started with about a half a cup of mayo, a tsp of ketchup, a tbsp of horseradish and then seasoned with the above spices!

Enjoy cooking!

 

A few Christmas favorites...

A few Christmas favorites 

For my family, Christmas has never been about the presents.  Christmas is more about love, family and Jesus.  As far as gifts go though, I'm notoriously hard to surprise.  Throughout the year I tend to save my money to a ridiculous extent and rarely buy myself things...so around the holidays and my birthday, I sort of have a wish list.  This year I did my best to let me family & friends surprise me and I could hardly contain my excitement Christmas morning.  My parents surprised me with new sunglasses, a J.Crew necklace, a new watch & wallet from Fossil and my little brother bought me those gorgeous earrings!  Brought such a smile to my face on Christmas morning and I totally felt lame when all I had bought my little brother was the football he asked me to buy him!!!  My favorite gifts to watch people open were for my parents.  My little brother and I went ahead and planned a whole date night for them and paid for it.  Watching them open that was really sweet.  My dad also bought my mom a new ring which was just lovely.  

What were your favorite gifts to open or watch others open this year?

What does Christmas mean to you?

It's hard to sum up what Christmas means to me.  It's of course about Jesus and faith but it's also about family and love.  There is so much magic this time of year and I can hardly contain my excitement!  Here are a few of my favorite quotes about Christmas:

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.  Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" - Bob Hope

"Christmas, children, is not a date.  It is a state of mind." - Mary Ellen Chase

 "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale

"And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forest and mountains and oceans--and all that live and move upon them.  He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself." - Sigrid Undset

How gorgeous is this little Nativity set up?  We have a beautiful Nativity set that my mother had saved and bought my great grandmother when she was 18.  I'd like to save and do the same for my momma next year!

What does Christmas mean to you?  

Just a note: I'll be back after Christmas!  I hope you all have a blessed holiday and I look forward to continuing this lovely relationship with all of you in the New Year!  Thank you all so so much for reading From Scratch.  It means the world to me :)

Happy hunting!

The other day my family and I went to a town nearby that is full of history.  It is a section of a town that has its original buildings/barns from the 1800's that have been converted into antique shops.  They have a lovely little cafe that we always eat at and I ended up buying a tiny chalkboard that they would use in old schoolhouse's and a tiny pocket Bible that had some cool mementos folded into the pages.  I absolutely love antiques.  There is something so special about owning something that was once loved before!

Because that's what humans do

Breakups are earth shattering.  Especially when you have spent a significant amount of time with that person...when you loved that person.  Very little provides solace because your heart hurts so terribly.  There is so little that can be said to help sooth the pain.  It feels like you will never, no matter how hard to try, love someone again.  You're already exhausted by the idea of trying.  Sometimes that is the worst part of the whole thing; the unwillingness to try again. My aunt once said one very important thing to me that I have not since forgotten:

"No matter how much your heart is breaking, it will repair itself and you will love again because that is what humans do."

Truer words have never been spoken.  

Sparkly flats and circle scarves

We had a relatively warm day on Saturday and so my family and I got up and spent the day at a small town nearby that is full of antiques!  I'm not typically one to mix something a little dressier with something more casual, but I've started to branch out a bit and loved this little combo.  I was always into the circle scarf trend...even when they weren't cool, I was walking around with my crazy big American Apparel circle scarf!  This tan circle scarf was a secret Santa gift from a friend at work and these addoooorable shoes come from Old Navy! Comfy, casual and super chic :)

Homemade crock pot hot chocolate

I've wanted to make homemade hot chocolate for quite some time now.  This time of year, when it is way too cold for comfort, it makes cuddling under a heap of blankets that much better.  Have I mentioned that it is super easy? Just grab your crock pot!

Ingredients:

• 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
• Dash of salt
• 8 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of dry baking cocoa
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Directions:

• Combine condensed milk, water and vanilla extract
• Add dry cocoa and salt and whisk until all ingredients are combined
• Cook on low for 4 hours or until the hot cocoa is very hot

Serve with some marshmallows and whipped cream!

Here's a picture of the finished product in the crock pot! (Not the best photograph but it does it justice I suppose)

A perfectly trimmed tree

Each year my mom works tirelessly to put up our tree and each year I look forward to coming home to it. What do your trees look like?  I'd love to see them!

Oh, Italy

As a child, two things were always certain.  I loved New York City (although I hadn't yet been) and I wanted to travel the world.  I think both of these perplexed my parents because they were not New York City people and they certainly did not like to travel.  I eventually made my way to New York City and was in love with it just as I knew that I would be and as a junior in high school I had the opportunity to travel to Spain.  It was such a beautiful experience and I remember knowing that it would not be the last time my passport would be stamped.  It's been some time since I've traveled but am very excited to announce that I will be heading to El Salvador on January 4th for a service trip with my University.  There is something about seeing the world that is just so lovely and so while my eyes are set on my impending trip, I can't help but think of all the places I'd like to visit someday.  A few months ago, Taza from the blog Love Taza and her family took a trip to Italy and since then I have been hooked.  I've started saving by using this fun savings plan and in the mean time I have pinned every image I could find on Italy.  Below are a few of my favorites!

Does Italy tug at your heart strings? Or is there another place on your wishlist?