The Art of Bustling

This was a good weekend. I didn't have too many items on the "to-do" list, nowhere to be early in the morning- and it was cold outside, which made it perfect weather for doing whatever is was that I wanted to do.

While I would like to be able to say that I spent most of my weekend curled up by a fire with a good book- that would be false. Instead I had other things to accomplish- such as watching the Baylor game, eating some Bush's chicken, and baking some banana bread. Oh yeah- and that other thing- learning how to bustle my old roomie's wedding dress.

Yep. I said it. Jenny- my former roommate and good friend from Baylor- is getting married in December. When did we grow up? When did we get old enough to have weddings- and jobs? I still wonder that. I wonder when the transition happened. In my head, I'm still this little girl- that still needs help with silly things- like remembering when to change my oil, and wondering how many clothes are too many to stuff in the washing machine. Weddings and jobs are for old people- for grownups- not for me.

And while in my head- I might still feel like this little girl- somewhere along the way- I must have grown up. Somehow- sometime. And in that process- I have grownup friends, who are now having very grownup weddings, grownup jobs, and grownup responsibilities. That being said, I found myself in a bridal store on Sunday, learning how to bustle Jenny's wedding dress.

It hit me sometime between the first step of the bustling process (tie the strings marked #1 together) and the third step (tie strings 2-10 together). We have come a long way from arguing about dates for "roomie Christmas"and hanging undergarments around the living room because someone left them in the dryer too long. Instead of wondering who our dates will be for semi-formal or how many people we should invite to "finals fondue", questions now revolve around jobs, brand-new nephews, and fiances. So while I'm just now dabbling in this new grown-up pond. And I'm still testing the waters, and making rookie mistakes- like maybe not knowing what the hell a bustle even is- I think I'm doing alright- and I'm ready to embark on many other new grown-up adventures- rookie mistakes and all.

*I would share the pics of the bustling experience, but I can't have nosey fiances looking for sneak peeks of the dress*

Christening the Kitchen

I can't cook. I'm no domestic goddess- nor do I claim to be. I sometimes wish I inherited the chef genes that run in the fam- but they didn't make it into my set of chromosomes. While I might not ever be able to whip up a five - or even three star dinner- I can bake a pretty mean cupcake.

That being said, after living in my new apartment for two months means that I was way past due to christen the kitchen. I pulled out my dusty trusty cookbooks and went on the hunt for a recipe I hadn't tried in awhile.

After I happened across my Zeta cookbook from several years ago, I settled on oreo balls. For the domestically challenged like myself- it only has three ingredients: oreos, cream cheese, and white chocolate bark. Yes please.

They were super simple to make- and so yummy if I do say so myself. A girl's gotta have her chocolate.

So while I didn't get all fancy and gourmet on you all- they definitely didn't look like this:

Just picture those, and subtract the fancy chocolate drizzle- and the perfectly even white chocolate coating...... and you have something that looks more like this:

But tastes equally as delish. Let's just put it this way- homegirl doesn't need no five star oreo balls to make her happy. An oreo ball- is an oreo ball- fancy chocolate drizzle or not....

I passed the cookbook along to a friend- once I get it back- I'll stick the recipe up here!

The Ebb and the Flow

I've been in a creative rut lately. The bad kind. The kind of rut where you want so badly for something intelligent or witty to flow from your fingertips- but.... I got nothing. I've found myself the past few weeks starting to write a post, but nothing good enough seemed to come to mind. So I would hit the delete button, and end back up at square one. Instead of forcing it, I just decided to give it a rest. And like a really good friend- that sometimes you need a break from- I put my laptop aside- knowing that when I was ready- it would be there.

So here I am- I'm back. I missed writing, but sometimes you need to just give it a rest- and you'll know when you're good and ready to come back. It's the ebb and the flow. Always present- and always faithful. It might ebb for awhile, but it'll be back. And when it does come back- it's better than ever.

That being said- this calm November is a great juxtaposition to my crazy October. The ebb and the flow. It is just what I needed to balance myself out a bit. I'm just now finding the time to finish unpacking those last few stubborn boxes from the move- and the finishing touches are being put on the new apartment. Pics to come once it's all finished. Now that I'm not out of town practically every weekend, I'm finding the time to settle into my new routine. This is a new sense of comfortable to me. And I like it.

Last weekend, a co-worker and I ran Race for the Cure. I'm not going to lie. I wasn't exactly thrilled about getting out of my bed any earlier than I needed to on a Sunday morning- but I'm glad I did. I don't personally know anyone that has been affected by breast cancer, but I sure have interviewed quite a few woman who have survived-or are still battling it. They inspire me.

After that, J-fred and I had a massage scheduled. It. Was. FABulous. And exactly what I had been needing. Work has been stressful lately. Tight deadlines, late nights, and some tough projects have been wearing on me. It would be a lie if I said otherwise. Don't get me wrong. I still love my job- but a girl has got to draw her sanity from somewhere. I found my sanity in a 45 minute massage in a dark room. It worked wonders. After that, a trip to the farmer's market, and a late lunch- made the perfect ending to my Sunday. The ebb and the flow.

Don't you wish you had one of these in your house?

Sorry it's a little blurry- NOT my best photo- but it was the light in the waiting room while we were waiting for our massages. I want one in my house.

And while I wish I had some really eloquent way to end this post- it's just going to have to wait until my creative juices slowly seep back. The oreo balls calling my name on the counter- also aren't helping the situation ;)