4th of july

Fireworks truly amaze me. Especially the ones that look like pixie dust falling over the city. The 4th of July was spent frolicking around the city of Manhattan with good friends, beating the heat with lots of water and popsicles. And then scouting out a place in Hoboken to watch a spectacular show of explosions in the sky, with the New York skyline in the background. Can't get much better than that, I must say. :) Truly Thankful!

That One Time

...when we made Paula Deen Cinnamon Rolls!

Back in December, when Ryan visited Connecticut, we decide to try out a cinnamon roll recipe. Not too shabby for our first go at it! Ryan used to work at a bakery, so he knew more about the yeast and dough and such. I think we could have changed up the icing some and added more cinnamon sugar. 

That's just the sweet tooth in me I guess :)

Happy Little Thankfuls

The end of semesters always fly by. Thanksgiving has come and gone. My belly was full of mom's best of the best. But my(!) how quickly we go from expressing our gratitude for the wonderful things in our life to putting focus on what we want. Thanksgiving to Christmas in such a quick flash. I found myself composing an annual christmas list to present to my parents the same night we carved the turkey and heard, once again, of our Pilgrim past. However, I'm thinking I need to keep up some of this Thanksgiving "spirit" alongside my Christmas "spirit" to keep my eye on the true holiday meaning.

Random Happy Thankfuls

a wonderful new home in Connecticut, where I hope my parents will happy retire someday

staying at home, cozy in bed on black friday, avoiding the crazies

supportive and understanding friends, who despite my flaws, are always there for me

puppies, because, what doesn't make you smile more than puppies. let's get real.

finishing a trying and tiresome semester, feeling accomplished

having my family fully support my college and life choices and have my back 

cozy, fluffy, white comforters and spending full afternoons blissful snuggled up

the possibility and excitement that the future holds

lazy, gray sundays on the couch with warm wool socks and good company

a loving and forgiving God who I owe this all to

adventures. even if they only sometimes remain in my head

and

cookie logs.

It's amazing how quickly we get wrapped up in the silly, stressful ways of life and forget to take the time to sit down, take a breath, and really think about all of the gifts we are given in our life daily. This semester has been an unbelievably selfish time for myself and this break was exactly what I needed to get my head back on and my heart in the right place. Hopefully I can keep up with some more "thankfuls" as I continue onto my next stage of life. The scariest one. The one with the most unknowns. And I couldn't be more scared excited.