Christmas Cookies

Well hello there!  So...it's been a while.  Since my last post, I have finished my 3rd semester of college (5 more to go!), won my university's concerto competition, and am currently having Christmas observed in Austin, TX with my family...there will be a post coming up about that soon.

One of the things that I do every year at Christmas time, is making Christmas cookies.  The recipe that I use has been in the family for 3 generations.  The Kris Kringle Cookie recipe was found by my great-grandmother in the Buffalo Evening News newspaper one night.  It's THE BEST sugar cookie recipe.  The dough is literally little balls of angel fluff that melt in your mouth.  While most recipes seem to be very flour-y and dry, this one is so moist and butter-y.   The one downside to this process is that it is very time consuming.  Because I am with my family for Christmas right now, I needed to make enough that we could all enjoy plenty since they are our favorite Christmas treat.  I ended up splitting the process into 3 days.  Day 1: make the dough.  Day 2: Cut out the cookies and bake.  Day 3: Frost and decorate.  In total, I made about 150 cookies.  This divided up the work load so it was still enjoyable.  Plus I have plenty of free time since I'm home for winter break.  This year was extra fun because it was the first year that I was able to use a KitchenAid mixer to mix everything. 

My favorite shapes were the Christmas trees, Santas, and candy canes.   I am very proud of how the Santas turned out.  The red icing was more pink, but I loved it.  Sooooo...without further ado, here is the recipe.

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Kris Kringle Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 

2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 cups flour

•  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Cream butter and sugar together
• Then salt, cream of tartar, sifted with 3 cups of flour
• Add enough more flour to make the dough that can be rolled out (Chilling helps with this.  I chilled mine overnight)
• Roll on lightly floured board to desired thickness.
• Cut and bake on ungreased cookie sheet in a 375°oven for 8-15 minutes depending on the thickness. 

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I hope you have the chance to try out this recipe.  It could be used for Valentines' Day cookies or any sugar cookies you'd like to make!  Just change the shapes.  

See you next time!  And hopefully the space in between this and the next post won't be as long.

xo, Marisa

Dorm Decor + DIYs!

"Crafts!"  "DIYs!"  These two words are some of my favorite.  Combine those with "dorm decor"...and I go crazy.  The past few days have been dedicated to dorm shopping with the bestie and the Mom.  I first needed the essentials that I didn't have/needed to replace from last year.  The laundry hamper bit the dust long before the year ended.  A new backpack...school supplies...water bottle.  Sounds like I'm in middle school, not college.  OH WELL!  Starting off the year right with these fun adventures makes the coming school year feel a little less daunting.  But the best part of it all is that I am going to be able to have a futon under my loft in my room this year.  Yay!  But something that I quickly found out is that the much needed pillows to spice it up are quite pricey...especially with how many I wanted.  Not to mention the struggle of finding ones that I really liked.

My theme for the new school year is MINIMALISM!  I learned the hard way last year that it is ridiculous to bring your entire bedroom with you.  This year, I'm moving into a much smaller room and so keeping everything to a minimum is imperative.  Plus it's fun!  I love a good challenge.  After I move in, I will try to write a post with pictures to see how I pull it off...fingers crossed.

As of right now, I completed a few DIYS.  There are two that I am extremely excited about and proud of how they turned out.  I first need to give the disclaimer that I have never sewn before on a machine.  This was a first and now I think I'm addicted! 

PILLOWS! 

My mom was invaluable in this process.  We went to Hobby Lobby together and looked at fabric and figured out everything that I would need.  I went the easy route with these.  I just sewed up the edges except for a little hole and stuffed away (definitely the most monotonous part of the process.)  Then, I sewed the hole up by hand and voila!  I was done.  I feel like I should mention that I started this process at about 11:30pm with the full intention of making only one, but I couldn't stop!  Needless to say, I had completed everything except stuffing the biggest pillows at 4:30am.  NO REGRETS!

The bigger pillows in the back are 20x20 inches.  I asked for a total of 1 1/3 yards of that fabric and then just cut it in half myself. 

These beauties are both 14x14.  I love the pop of color with the coral stripes.  And gold arrows...you can't get more basic than that!  I asked for 5/8 of a yard for both fabrics and went from there.

This little one is my pride and joy.  I actually made it out of a burlap bag at Hobby Lobby!  I cut off the top and bottom, sewed them up and stuffed!  So easy and I saved so much money.  It is the perfect completing piece to this quintet.  (#MusicNerdReference)

To complete my "DIYing" adventures, I made my own little succulent decor.  I have always loved these but didn't have the $50 to buy them at West Elm.  I went to Goodwill and found a dish for $2.  I then got some acrylic gold paint and $15 worth of succulents from Walmart.  And this turned into this...

I still need to actually plant them.  I'm going to lay some rocks down first to make sure that it will keep everything airy under there and then place potting soil and the plants on top.  I'm so excited to have something living in my room with me.  (I was contemplating a fish for awhile there.)

I hope that you enjoyed reading about my adventures.  I will try to keep doing post like this as I progress with moving into my dorm.

Life Update-July 2015

So I'm back! 

  
I feel like the second I got this blog started, everything got in the way of staying consistent.  But hopefully distractions will no longer get in the way.  Since my last post, I have gone to two music camps in remote areas of the US and met so many incredible, new friends and mentors.  As I said in my bio on this blog, I am a music performance major.  That means that during the summers, "school" doesn't end for me.  Throughout the year, I research different music camps that will allow me to grow as a musician both by myself and with others.  This year I went to a week long viola intensive program in Indiana.  I stayed in a restored 18th century mansion with 6 other violists practicing, having lessons with the instructor, and playing for each other.  

After that, I went to a 3 week music camp on an island off of Wisconsin...which is where I just got back from.  Talk about gorgeous.  The island was so remote with the tiniest town ever in the middle of Lake Superior.  Many afternoons were spent on the dock trying to get some sun and collecting the courage to jump into the icy blue water.  When we weren't having free time, I was practicing, having rehearsals with my incredible quartet, and having coachings, lessons, and masterclasses with the amazing faculty members.  It was an incredible growing experience.  It is always good to get outside your tiny little bubble in your hometown and see what is really out there, competition and all.  I also made some incredible friends who I hope I will be able to see again in the future and remain in contact with.  

The aftermath of these adventures has left me happy to be back home, inspired, and sick...(too many late nights chatting away the hours.)  Next on the summer agenda is taking a family vacation down to see my grandparents in Virginia next weekend.  It's been so long since I've seen them and am very excited that they will be able to meet my fiance for the first time.  After that comes job searching!  Yay!  But seriously, I'm excited to get back into the real world and start making steps towards an incredible future.  Call me crazy, but I'm actually excited about my next year in college.  I have a good feeling that so much is on the horizon.  

You Mean I Don't Have To Stress?

When it comes to college, everything feels like "go! go! go!" Even when you do have a moment to breathe and binge watch your guilty pleasure show on Netflix (Gilmore Girls anyone?), you either are procrastinating on that paper due in 2 days, or thinking about the next big assignment. After finals rear their ugly heads, then comes the sweet embrace of summer. Everyone's summer is going to look different...jobs, family vacations, pools, summer classes (sorry about that)...but hopefully always sweet visits to your cozy beds for some much needed sleep. For me personally, I was only getting about 2-3 hours of sleep every night. Though this is something I am definitely not proud of, it is sometimes unavoidable...especially if there is procrastination involved.

 

 The hardest thing for me when it came to changing my pace of life from homework 24/7 to almost nothing for a few weeks was finding a good balance. At first, there was the novelty of knowing that I could do anything I wanted at anytime I wanted. If I wanted to stay up till 4AM and sleep till noon, nothing was stopping me. But after a while, that got really old. You feel completely disoriented. As human beings, we crave structure and schedules. It's how we are at our optimum.  Here are a few ways to improve your daily life and get the most out of your summer months.

• SCHEDULE—Even if there are few demands on you in a certain day, it is so much more enjoyable when you plan out your free time.   Watching a show is more enjoyable if you have already gotten up at a reasonable time, eaten breakfast outside, taken a relaxing shower, and made your bed.
• EAT HEALTHY—One of the things I missed most about living in a dorm is having a kitchen to cook in.  With that luxury being available now that I am home, it is easy to eat a large amount of yummy, fattening foods.  Though this is fun for a few days, you start to feel very sluggish.  It is better to try to eat healthier options that still satisfy the desire to be in the kitchen, and then indulge in that chocolate cake recipe you've had your eye on on Pinterest.
• GET OUTSIDE —Another option that really helps is just getting out of the house for a little bit.  Find a park close to where you are and go for a walk on a pretty day.  It will help with not feeling suffocated by being at home, which is something that is definitely difficult to overcome after living on your own for the year.
  
• FIND A HOBBY—Find something that you enjoy to do with your free time.  Something I love to do is look over every corner of Pinterest and YouTube to find any DIY's I want to try.  Many of these happen to be decor for my next dorm room...so it's also very productive!  But you can also cook, knit, learn a new dance move...or like me, start a blog!  

Remember...your life is still moving forward, and it is important to treat is as such. Many of these things I am still trying to figure out myself.  But try to keep a positive attitude and be proactive with everything that you do, even if it's just watching an episode of "Friends." =)

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