Crock Pot Meals

As a college student, I find it so hard to find time to go to the grocery store and actually cook my own meals.  I would eat on campus, but I don't have a big meal plan and after awhile, I get tired of eating the same food, over and over again.

My mom has always made crock pot meals, and I think they're perfect on cold nights! Today, I had a good amount of homework to do and I also had a choir concert this evening.  That makes it hard for me to prepare dinner for my friends who come over every Sunday night for dinner. So, tonight I made one of my mom's crock pot meals. It's super easy to prepare too!

What you need:
1 Chuck Roast
1 bag of mini carrots
3 sticks of celery
1 package of French Onion Dry Soup Mix
2 Large cans and 1 Small can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (More or less depending on the size of your crock pot)

Preparing it:

1. Place the chuck roast flat on the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Sprinkle the French Onion Dry Soup Mix on top of the chuck roast.
3. Thinly slice the celery and throw it into the crock pot.
4. Add half of the bag of mini carrots, or enough to cover the majority of the meat.
5. Put the Cream of Mushroom soup to the top of the crock pot. 
6. Set to cook for 6 hours

I personally like eating this stew over white rice.  Here's a picture tos how what it looks like. It tastes better than it looks.

The Patch: Season One

If I had to pick a season that is my favorite, I would have to say that Fall is my favorite time of the year.  Of course, I love winter because that's when Christmas is, but there is just something special about the fall time.  I feel that Fall is wonderful because it is when school starts and so you can get all your school supplies.  The weather is just cooling off, but it's still warm. Fall slowly starts to lead us into the "Holiday Season".  The leaves start to change (Well... in other parts of the country. Not in LA.). You can pull out the boots and scarves. You can go to Pumpkin Patches. Thanksgiving comes and you can eat as much turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy as you can fit in your stomach. And then once that is over, the Christmas season has arrived!

Well, yesterday, my friends and I decided to go to a pumpkin patch and all get pumpkins! There was just something about being able to go out with friends and dress up in boots and scarves and enjoy the fact that fall was here.

Doesn't this kind of look like a "How I Met Your Mother"/"Friends" type photo? 

Couldn't resist to not put this photo up of the two couples. Aren't we just adorable?!
Oh, here's a little side note. Kelley and I have been friends since the first day of Freshman year at choir camp!
We still remain great friends and we're even roommates!

We found our "perfect pumpkin"!

We took over the hay stack.

So what are all of your favorite fall activities? And your favorite parts about fall?

Planning

I know in one of my previous posts, I posted about how I am a planner. I seriously have 5 different planners. I love knowing what is going on and I like being able to see what is coming up. Well for this post, I decided to share about how I plan out everything going on in my life.  Who knows, maybe you could get a few tips and incorporate/modify for your own life.

iCal: I love iCal because it syncs up to my phone so if I'm out and about and I need to see if I am busy on a certain day, I can just pull it up on my phone.  In iCal, I also have the times of every class as well as major events, such as flights home, choir concerts, and things like that.  Each section is color coded, as you can see.  That way, I know if it's light blue, it's just a class, but if it is something important, it is in a different color.

Wall Calendar: I also have a wall calendar, which I made on Shutterfly.  I love how I can add my own photos to my calendar, and it adds some nice decoration to my walls in my room.  I am also able to add my friends and families birthday on my calendar.  (If I wanted, I could even put their picture on their birthday!) On this calendar, I mainly just have all my major projects and papers written out on here.  Everything class is color coded and if it is just a reminder such as days off of school, it's in black.

May Book: I seriously love my May Book! On the left side, I have birthdays, and again, major things that are coming up.  That way, when I'm in class, I can see what is coming up.  On the right side, I have my "Things to Do" list, which I put down major homework assignments, as well as little things that I just need to do, such as sending an email to someone.  Under it, is my "Errands to Run".  This past week, there were no errands that I needed to run, however occasionally there are a few written down under that section.  Lastly, is my "Oh, and Can't Forget!"section.  This section is just for my little reminders that I can jot down when I think of them during class or something like that.

Homework List: This homework list is a place where I can not only decorate and doodle on every week when I make it, but it's also a place where I can see which class I need to focus on the most.   I used to use a planner, but I liked writing everything out and just having to carry one sheet of paper in my notebook.  This homework list has all of the details for everything, such as materials I need to study for a test or quiz.  

To Do List: Lastly, is my very detailed to do list.  I can't remember when or where I got it, I actually think my mom may have gotten it for me, but it's a notepad.  I love it because I use it for my mouse pad as well.  This one has the break down of everything I am going to do for that day for every class, from starting papers to reminding myself to send an email, this notepad has it all. 

So yes, many people may think I'm crazy for having this many planners, but it's the only way I can be focused and on top of what needs to be done.  I'm always interested to hear how other people stay organized, so if you have any tips, ideas, or suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them! 

#FirstWorldProblems

APU has chapel, three times a week.  The other day in chapel, we watched a video of people living in Third World Countries, reading tweets with the hashtag, First World Problems.  This video really makes me take a step back and think about how fortunate I am. So take a minute and watch the video and I encourage you to think about how much we all have that we take for granted.

My Fake Longchamp

I've always heard that Longchamp bags are amazing, but when I finally looked on the website, I was shocked to see the prices! The one I was looking at, the Le Pliage was $145. I was NOT going to pay for that.

Anyway, I happened to wander onto Amazon.com, and I one just like it. And let me tell you, I absolutely love it! The price was reasonable and even though I fill it up so I can't even zip it, it doesn't feel heavy at all. Sometimes I forget I'm even carrying my laptop in it.  I love that it zips and is also waterproof.

Does anyone else have any bag that they just absolutely love? I just can't understand how people can pay so much for purses or bags that will only last for so long... Are there any brands that you would recommend?

Fall Time in LA

I've grown up in Northern California and had lived there up until I moved down to Southern California for college a few years ago.  There's no way to pick which part of California is better, because they both have their pros and cons.

As of right now, obviously Northern California is better because:

1. The San Francisco Giants are just doing AMAZING right now.
2. It's actually cold enough starting in September to wear boots, jackets, and scarves. 
3. There is no smog.
4. It rains there a lot.
5. It's home for me.

However, I really do like living in Southern California because:

1. I'm at an AMAZING school that I absolutely just love!
2. I've made some really great friendships since I've been living down here.
3. It's warm so I can wear shorts in the middle of October... sometimes up until the beginning of November.
4. Disneyland is near and I get to go for free every year when my choir sings.
5. I can go to the beach anytime I want from March - November. 

Right now though, I really do being able to wake up, put on jeans, crazy looking socks (right now, my dinosaur knee high socks are my favorite!), a nice warm pair of boots, a cute top or sweater, and a bright colored scarf. This past week, it was nice and cool. I did even pull out the rain boots and the North Face fleece jacket and rain jacket, however somehow it has managed to get back up in the high 80's, low 90's!  I really just wish that the weather would cool off, that way I'm not sleeping with the fan on at night or having the AC on during the day... in the middle of October. 

What's not to love about wearing an outfit
like this when it's chilly outside?

Fall is definitely my favorite season, because it's when the holiday season begins.  I can't feel like the holiday season is approaching because 90 degrees does not equal fall time for me.  

Saying No

For some reason, I have the hardest time saying the word "no".  Because of this, I somehow find myself overcommitting and loosing sleep. However, this year, I've slowly started saying "no" more often.  For the first time in college, I've been getting about 7-8 hours of sleep a night during the week!  Of course I am sad sometimes because I do miss out on hanging out with friends late at night, but I'm able to manage my time better because I wake up earlier.  For school, I'm waking up between 7 and 7:20 AM.  On the weekends, I usually sleep until 9 or 9:30 AM.  Usually I would say that waking up at 9 is just horrible, but because I have been getting up so early during the week, 9 AM is officially sleeping in.  However, when there is a choir concert in the morning, I do sometimes have to wake up earlier than I normally would on a school day.

Does anyone have any other strategies to control yourself from overcommitting?? I'd love to hear them!

Cake Batter Pudding Cookies

Last year, before Shawn and I started dating, we would bake different things together.  We've made Chocolate Overload (I've changed the name to something a little more appropriate!) and Cake Batter Pudding cookies.  We have yet to try some other recipes, but this one is still my favorite of the two.  I am the kind of person who loves to lick the bowls clean after putting the cupcakes or cookies into the oven.  These cookies, give me that same cake batter taste, but it's cooked! 

Cake Batter Pudding Cookies

1/2 sticks (or 3/4 cup) butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
3/4 cup yellow cake mix, dry
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour”
1/2 tsp salt
rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Stir together flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together.
Add in pudding package and cake mix and beat until well blended.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Add flour mixture slowly until well incorporated.
Mix in lots and lots of rainbow sprinkles.
Roll into 1″ balls and place on greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.

*Note: It is just the powdered pudding mix inside the packet you use.  Just open it up and pour it in.  It is in a box like this:

Hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Something that I've come to realize the past year or so is that I am a lot like my mom.  I never thought that this could be true because growing up, I would always hate cleaning my room and planning things out.  I always thought that it was a little crazy to be 5-10+ minutes early for something.

However, being away at college, and more so now that I've been living in an apartment for over a year, I've come to realize that I am a lot like my mom.  I love the feeling after the apartment is nice and clean and clutter isn't all over the place.  I love when my space in the apartment (desk and bed) are clean and organized.  I love knowing that everything has a place.

If people know me, they know that I'm obsessed with having cute school supplies. I've always loved going to the office supply section of Target. I love bright colored pens and having cute notebooks and folders, and planners.  I've noticed that I am definitely more of a planner, more so than I already was.  I have now moved to having about 3 different calendars! I have my wall calendar, which has major events. I have my planner, as well as my calendar on my phone. I don't use the one on my phone as much though. Call me old fashioned, but I like things written out and printed out.  I found out about these planners called May Books and I just absolutely LOVE mine. They are customizable planners and they are also just super cute.

This is what my May Book looks like!

If you choose to get your own May Book, use this promo code "MONOFAB" and get your free monogram on it!