the Ws: smitten kitchen

So you may have seen today's W website previously on my blog, however, it is too good to not include in part of the Ws series. And that is Smitten Kitchen. If you are the least bit interested in cooking, delicious easy-to-find ingredients and surprising tastes, you will like Smitten Kitchen. 

From the basic, but most delicious cinnamon buns to the perfect recipe for hamburger buns, Deb updates her blog like website with new recipes every few days only to reader's happiness. Cooking from her tiny kitchen, she tells small tales of how she came to find the current recipe du jour and her husband Alex photographs the loveliness of it all. 

Smitten Kitchen is a wonderful website to find new and interesting recipes to spice up your life — your eating life in particular. One of her newest recipes that I am dying to try is her peach cupcakes with brown sugar frosting. I'll let you know how that goes when I attempt to make them! 

Until then, have fun cooking (or at least looking) with the Smitten Kitchen!

Bon Appetit!

id cards

I was wearing my favorite orange tank top, the perfect fitting boyfriend jeans and my rainbows. I had just cut my hair short and made sure every strand was straightened with a little flip at the end. With my freshly washed VW Beetle, I drove an unfamiliar route that now feels like home to me. 

Waiting in the parking lot next to Alpha Chi dormitory, unusually early,  I sat nervous. I double checked myself and wondered if I should have chosen my olive button up jersey instead. I reapplied my lip gloss five times. I prayed. And then they arrived. My new roommates. At the time, strangers. 

I paused to get out of the car until I saw their car doors open. Kolbey got out of the car first, then Jen. I remember seeing Kolbey standing at 6 feet tall and just thinking, she is so pretty. And of course, Jen was just as gorgeous. We introduced ourselves and quickly found that we all didn't drink soda, but loved Shirley Temples. And it was obvious from the start, that we all loved to laugh! 

We walked around campus and found our dorm, the one we would share in just a few weeks. We got our ID cards and then went to lunch. I learned from the get go, that Kolbey loved mustard and Jen was allergic to nuts. And mostly, learned that I didn't need to be nervous. I could be myself around these girls that I'm now proud to call friends even after 5 years. 

I went and got my ID card as a graduate student this week. I couldn't help but recall the first time I went into that office and the three of us girls stood in line and insured each other our ID pictures looked great. And I couldn't help but thank God. 

I had no idea that I would be here, in this place that I am today. That He would be so instrumental in my life and use so many different people in the last five years, two of those being Kolbey and Jen, and so on with the amazing women I lived with and the wonderful Hart RDs, the Lows. I had no idea when we walked into that dorm, that it would be a place that would foster so much growth, friendship and love. Nor did I realize Biola would be. 

As I start a new journey, although in a now familiar place, I hope I am just as astonished when I finish graduate school, at the places and situations God has brought me into and out of. Although, I write this nervously similar to how I sat in that car double checking myself and praying, I know that what awaits me is nothing to be nervous about, it's something to be excited about.  

the Ws: The Pioneer Woman

Welcome to the second edition of the Ws! You are in for a treat if you have yet to stumble upon today's W website: The Pioneer Woman. If I could sum The Pioneer Woman up in one word, incredible, delicious and downright country would be in the running, however there isn't one justifiable term to describe this wonderful website (and I think downright country is more of a phrase). 

The Pioneer Woman is Ree Drummond, a woman who loved the city and married, as she says, a cowboy and now lives in the middle of nowhere. 

It seems as though nowhere has served her quite well and is now serving her website readers quite well. From her own delightful recipes to her amazing photography and even down to her journaling and home and garden tips, she knows her stuff. And she shares it with the world - even better! Considering, I'm not a master at any of the above, but am interested in every tid bit of being a woman, artist, baker, chef, plant person, etc, etc. I am every bit interested in this website and I think you may like it too. 

Enjoy!

our backyard

It's been a little more than two months that I left our house in La Mirada to live in an apartment. And I love it. I haven't written much about our new apartment since the week we moved in. However, it has been wonderful. Between the amazing facilities - pool with cabanas, outdoor lounge areas and 24 hour fitness center - and having a fridge where my strawberries aren't fighting over space with my roommate's fish is quite a good experience. 

One of the things I was not looking forward to about living in an apartment was the lack of a backyard. Or a front one for that matter. I loved our backyard at the last house. It was really spacious and perfect for laying out and reading in the grass. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that our new "backyard" was a beautiful courtyard complete with a coy pond. I am so glad we are on the first floor! I love opening the sliding glass doors out to our patio in the afternoon to listen to the waterfall. We have two patios and I was really excited when I found out Christy and I got the room with the attached patio. 

The above photo is our "view." However, we currently don't have any patio decor. Therefore, my current project is fixing up our patio so we can actually sit outside and enjoy our "backyard" without actually being in the fish bowl of the courtyard. :) 

the Ws: DesignSpongeOnline

Welcome to the W's.  Today, I am introducing my new favorite daily read that Deannah recently introduced me to: designspongeonline. You may as well leave my blog right now and start reading the wonderful columns and articles on everything design. 

Each day, there are 8 to 12 posts on topics ranging from entertaining, art, interior design and even a recent column on how to write a book. Although, it works as a blog, it is similar to a website in the sense that you can search for past projects and posts on specific topics. So if you want to cook something different for dinner, browse through their recipe tab and for your weekend trips, check out their city guides for fabulous places to visit with style. 

Today is my favorite day for designsponge, as it is DIY Wednesday, aka: they post DIY projects all throughout the day. I like to call that inspiration. 

So go, now, and be inspired! 

oh, and i hope you have a lovely day. 

hand sewn

I had a date Friday night. With my sewing machine. (I live an exciting life.) Unfortunately, I got stood up because the Singer couldn't wind his Bobbin or something of the sorts, so he sent his wing man - second best, but just as fun. Fortunately, we hit it off pretty well. His name is needle and thread.

*****

I've always loved the idea of sewing. In seventh grade we had Medieval Day and I remember coming up with this grand design and pulling out old sheets and to my parent's dismay, try to sew myself a costume. Unfortunately at about ten o'clock the night before I sat in a heap on the floor frustrated and my Dad convinced me to find something in my Mom's closet. Thankfully, since then I've learned a bit more about sewing and I have a little more patience.

I tend to go through phases though. I'm sure Megan, my old roommate, will never forget coming home to the dorms after classes and see me attempting to sew an apron for a week straight before I realized I didn't have much time to sew and hold two jobs and oh yeah, be a full time student.

However, I'm pretty sure my sewing phase will stick this time. I've been crafting a lot the last few months, which I will soon have a fun announcement going with that, but I also really want to learn to sew...like really know how. So I'm taking a class in a few weeks for how to use a machine. Hopefully, one of my sewing machines will be back in commission soon. Until then, I am loving hand sewing. As I said before, my date with needle and thread went pretty well and this is the result, a new purse! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out since I wasn't really sure what I was doing when I started. 

Up close and personal. I slightly puckered the top under the ruffle. 
Back of purse and inside of the strap.
First lined pocket. I double lined the purse and love how sturdy it feels. Also, notice the light silvery gray floral design on the lining. I love the simplicity of it. 
Second pocket — the perfect size for my iPhone. :)

kitchen things

Our kitchen has lots of things, as most do. And by things, I mean decorative pieces, fruit baskets, blenders, coffee grinders, etc. At one point after moving in, one of my roommates finally found a home for everything. We now keep our spatulas in mason jars which I love and our blenders under the kitchen counter, which I also love. The one thing or things we did not have were nice kitchen towels.

Oh yes, we had an abundance of pink died and bleach spotted kitchen towels. But I found this unacceptable for everyday decor. So when I found these on sale at Sur La Table, I decided it was fate.



Most things involving green, stripes and matching yellow-green lemons are.

series: The W's

Dear Blog Readers (all five of you),

Beginning next Wednesday, I'll be starting a new "series" delving into the world wide web...and my favorite parts of it. Over the past year, I have just fallen in love with browsing through websites, be it paper goods shops or a photographer's website. I think you deserve to see just some of the wonderful people and things I've seen over the last year and continue to. Therefore, come back next Wednesday and I'll share with you a lovely new site that I'm sure you will adore as I do.

To start "The W's" - wednesday website wonderfulness - check out Cristina's blog and see what I was up to this past weekend in Northern California.

Much love,
Jenna

ps. Thank you for reading! And...While I'm addressing you directly, always feel free to comment on posts. Don't be shy. I like to feel loved. :)