And So It Begins...

Today I start a new chapter of my life... well I guess it kind of started a few days ago but let me start at the beginning.  After attending community college for three years and graduating with two associate degrees, I decided it was time to transfer to a University.  I had originally applied and was accepted at a state university and I was super excited because they had a great music program (for those of you who don't know I am a harpist and I'm majoring in music with an emphasis in performance and composition).  Then, I was talking to the harp professor that works at that state school (she also works at three other schools in the area).  I had told her that I was accepted.  She asked if I received any scholarships and I didn't.  So, she suggested that I apply at one of the other schools she teaches at.  Well, this said school is a private school so that mean tons of money to go there.  I told her I wouldn't be able to afford it but she said that they have lots of opportunities for scholarships.  So I applied... the night before the deadline for transfer application.  Talk about last minute.  After that I scheduled an audition for the conservatory of music... yeah they actually have a conservatory, not just a music department but a music conservatory.  :-)  I had my audition and they said they wanted me and that they would see what they could do to make it so I could go there.  Wow!  Then comes the day when the "envelope" comes in the mail telling me if I was accepted or not.  I WAS!!!! And, not only that but I had received an academic scholarship!  Plus, I received a grant from the school too!  :-)  A few weeks later, I get a call from the conservatory telling me that I received a scholarship for music too!  YAY!  But, that's not the best part... I was on campus one day submitting paperwork or some such and I passed but my orchestra conductors office.  They happened to be finalizing the budget for the year... they had some money left over and were trying to figure out where to put it.  My orchestra conductor said "I have a harpist out in the hall, lets just give it to her".  How awesome it that!  :-)  So, now I am going to a private University!!!  :-)  I still can't believe it.

This last week I had orientation.  I have been super nervous because it's a new school, new people, and a new city.  But, orientation went great and I met lots of people.  We had so much fun!  :-)  So, today I start my first day of classes at my new school!  So weird, exciting, nerve wracking,  amazing... like everything at once.  I know it's going to go great but I'm still nervous because I am starting a new chapter in my life.  And I mean really new... I'm not living with my parents anymore, I'm in a new city, and a new school.  Talk about huge new chapter!  But this year is going to be amazing!  I can't wait to see all that's in store!  :-)

Mmm... Chocolate!

A few months ago, I made a German chocolate cake from scratch... yeah, not from a box!  :-)  It was the first time I had made a cake from scratch... I usually use the box mixes.  I was kind of nervous about it, but it turned out great!  It was nice and fluffy, not too sweet, and very chocolaty!  I even made the glaze on top from scratch!  It tasted amazing! :-)

Hey, She Actually Posted!

Hello Everyone!  I know I haven't blogged in a while, but these last couple of months have been crazy!  But through all the crazy, some great things have happened!  I am graduating this semester and I found out that I will be receiving two associates degrees!  One in music and the other in humanities.  Yay!  :-)  Then, this last Friday, I put my deposit in for the university that I am transferring to!  I am so excited, it is such a great school and fits me perfectly!  :-)  Here's another cool thing that happened just last week.... Have you ever heard of the t.v. show Motion?  Basically, they travel to different parts of the United States and go hiking, biking, kayaking, etc.  It is a really neat show.  Sometimes they take guest hikers.  I wrote to them to let them know that I would really like to be a guest hiker (this was about a month ago).  Last week, I received a call from them!  I wasn't able to make it to the show they are doing this month, but they said that they would keep me in mind for their future shows.  :-)  This is my last month of school before summer break... which I can't wait for... so I probably won't be posting much until after finals.  But for now, I leave you with this picture I took in Zion National Park last November.  :-)

Feline Friday

My kitty, Duchess Du Bois!  Isn't she adorable?

"What are you doing down there?"

"Bird!"

"I see you!"

"Hi!"

Dad's Lunch

This weekend, my dad made a really yummy lunch!  It was black beans, corn salsa from Trader Joes, hot and sweet cherry peppers from Trader Joes, little heirloom tomatoes, green onion, a little bit of the juice from the cherry peppers, a little oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  We put it in a tortilla and wrapped it up like a burrito.  It was sooo good!

Rock n' Roll Flowers

A few weeks ago, I was watching the Nate Show.  He had a guest on that had made flowers out of brown paper bags and she put them on and around her fireplace which you can see below.

Picture from A Place for Us.

I loved them so much, that I decided I wanted to make some for my room.  But, being a music person, I decided I wanted to make mine out of old sheet music.  :-)  I found this book of rock n' roll music in an antique store for $4.50.  Such a deal!

I found the tutorial to make these flowers on the blog, "A Place for Us", which you can access by clicking here. 

I started by making a template out of a paper bag, so I could get just the right shape.  Below is a picture of my templates for my big flower.

After I made my template, I traced it onto my music and began cutting.  After I got my petals cut out, I folded each one in half.

Then, I layered them with the biggest petals on the bottom and the smaller ones on the top.  As I layered them, I glued the petals together.  Below is the first one I made... and the largest one I made.  It is about 18 inches across.

I didn't like the way the center of the flowers looked when I was done, so I decided to add a little bling.  I glued a giant rhinestone to the middle of all of my flowers.

I made one big one (18 inches across), two medium ones (15 inches across), and two small ones (12 inches across).  I then arranged them on my wall around a mirror.  I love it!

My First Knitted Lace

I have always knitted or crocheted off and on for most of my life but never really got into it until recently.  I started to like knitting a lot when I made a cowl for my best friend Julie for Christmas.  After I made that, I decided I wanted to try something a little more difficult... lace. :-o I found this pattern on Ravelry and went at it.  It took a couple of tries in the beginning, but now, I love it!  I think I'm hooked on lace knitting. :-)  And, the orange color is perfect for the school I am transferring to.  I love it! 

Dictionary Find of the Year!

This last weekend, my mom and I were wandering through a local antique mall and we kept finding items that we wanted and would have bought if we had an unlimited budget.  I am an avid reader and one of my dreams is to one day have a personal library.  So, that means collecting books.  I absolutely love antique books and I have been collecting them for a few years now.  I try to get books that were printed in the 1920's or before.  So far, I have over twenty books that are 1920's or older.  Since the beginning, I have been on the look out for a big dictionary and a set of encyclopedias.  These, however, are very hard to find and even harder to find at a good price. 

Well, I finally found one... well, actually two!  :-)  While in one of the vender booths, my mom (who has also wanted a big dictionary for years) found one and it was only $16.  Wow!  We wondered, since the vendor liked it enough to buy it, then, maybe they bought more.  And, as luck would have it, they did!  The second one we found was $26, a little more than the other, but that was probably because the cover was different.  When we bought them, we asked if we could get both for the same price because they were both the same year...1966.  The vendor said that we could have them for $30 since we were buying both.  Wow!  You can't beat that price!  :-) 

Those two dictionaries were two of three things that we bought that day in the antique mall.  The other, I will talk about in a later blog post, so keep checking back.  :-) 

This is the one my mom found first.

This is the second one we found.

They are each five inches thick!

That is a lot of paper!

Just inside the front cover is a tree with all the different languages of the world.  It also has a dictionary of foreign words and phrases, a dictionary of scripture proper names and foreign words, abbreviations commonly used in writing and printing, practical business mathematics, forms of address, tables of weights and measures, special signs and symbols, presidents of the United States, Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, history of Canada, air distances between principal cities, and in the back there are maps of the world, continents, and the United States.

I love some of the illustrations next the the definitions... especially this one, obviously.  ;-)  For those of you who don't know, I am a harpist.  :-)  This was such a great find!

Hand Woven Whimsy

A few years ago, I made a magic ball.... which you do by taking yarns of different texture and similar color, cutting them and then tying them together, and winding a ball.  I made one with different oranges and blacks, but I could never figure out what to make with it until my mom pulled out the loom one day.  I wove a strip of fabric with it to make a bag... well, I wove the fabric but then it got put in some container and sat in our craft room for another couple of years.  Last week, I decided I needed to finish some projects and while going through some stuff, found my fabric.  I also found two wide ribbons to use for the handles/sides.  The finished project... finally... is this...

It looked a little plain, so I picked out a few buttons and made this pin to go on my bag.  :-)

After many years, I have a very cute, whimsical bag!  :-)

Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of frozen artichoke hearts
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• Zest and Juice of 1 lemon
• Olive Oil
• Fresh basil
• salt
• Pepper
• Airtight container

(Some of my ingredients including one huge clove of garlic instead of two regular)

Directions:

Thaw artichokes in a bowl of water.  While those are thawing, finely chop garlic and basil, and zest the whole lemon.  After artichokes are thawed, cut them into bite sized pieces.  Drizzle olive oil in pan, and over medium heat, add garlic (don't over cook, it browns really fast).  Then add artichokes, lemon zest, and basil.  Season with salt and pepper. 

While the atrichokes cook, juice the lemon into the container you will be storing them in.  After this, take artichokes off the heat and scoop them into your container.  Add a little more olive oil.  Stir up the ingredients. (Or if you use a jar like I did, put the lid on and shake it up a little to incorporate ingredients) 

Let sit over night in the fridge before eating and enjoying.  :-)

Tahquitz Hike

Our Hike up to Tahquitz...

In the parking lot getting ready to go...

On the way up, my dad and I found the perfect lounge spot to look at the view.

This was our view... Suicide Rock across the way.  We just hiked to the top of Suicide Rock just a few months prior.

I just loved the shape of this tree.

I found a piece of bark that looked like a mask.

My wonderful parents!

The designs in this fallen tree were so cool.

I found this piece of wood that had bug trails all through it... it was the most I had ever seen in one small piece.

There were these little clumps of lichen like this everywhere and they were the brightest lime green.

We finally made it up to Tahquitz Rock and it was huge!  It was fun to watch the various rock climbers on the different faces.  I'd like to climb part of it someday.  :-) 

We were sitting watching the climbers for a while and I noticed the socks my dad was wearing.  I gave him these for Christmas a couple of years ago... he calls them his roaming gnome socks.  :-)

Back down in the parking lot, during our lunch, we saw these planes fly over.  They were to remember the fallen fire fighters that were from the local town that died fighting one of the wild fires a few years ago.

It was a great hike, and I definitely recommend doing it sometime.  :-)

A Valentines Day Table Setting

Every year, since I was little, my mom and I would make decorations and decorate the table for a fancy Valentines dinner.  This year was the first time in a couple of years that we had the fancy Valentines dinner. 

Here is the finished table setting.

I made a mobile to hang over the table.  The top frame is made from four shish kabob skewers glued together between two pieces of felt.  I cut hearts out of patterned scrapbook paper and tied those at lengths to the frame.  For the finishing touch I cut pieces of ribbon and ties those onto the frame.  The completed project gives you a fun, easy, and festive mobile.

I found on Pinterest, a picture of a napkin folded like a rose.  This is how it turned out.  Very cute... I added fresh cut rose leaves to give it a little greenery since I didn't have green napkins.

I made wine glass markers out of felt, personalized for each person with their initial. 

I made these felt roses to set on each place setting.  It added the perfect final touch.

It was a wonderful Valentines Day spent with my family!

Happy Valentines Day!

This year, I decided I wanted to be a little more festive on Valentines Day.  I made a little red rose ring using felt, a jeweled button and a ring blank.  =)  It turned out so cute!  =)  Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!!