Warm weather, good books, and daffodils

I've been having some serious beach withdrawal lately. 

I used to go camp on the coast near San Diego every year (at least) with my family and I haven't been back for a few years. I miss it. It also doesn't help that it seems like everyone I know and their dog is at the beach right now for Spring Break and they like to rub it in with pictures of golden sunsets, foamy waves, and sandy toes. Ya'll are killing me.

Thankfully, the weather here has pretty much been perfection all week and that helps a lot. It actually feels like Spring! When we got 6 inches of snow last weekend I seriously wondered if it would ever get warm again, and the very next day it was 25 degrees warmer, the sun was shining, and my warmth-loving heart was happy. Very happy indeed.

Besides thoroughly enjoying the fact that I get to sleep in and will only be wearing Sunday clothes on Sundays  for the next couple weeks (seminary teacher problems...), here's what I've been doing to celebrate Spring Break:

1. Reading, particularly outside in this glorious weather. I even found some green grass! 

2. Tree gazing (also known as embracing my inner hippie). You can't see them in this picture, but this tree is sprinkled with new little green leaves. Makes me happy. :)

3. Bike riding on the cute beach cruiser Dallin gave me for my birthday last year. I would prefer to be riding in on the boardwalk, but you know... a quick trip to pick up some "essentials" is a close second. :)

Nothing says Spring quite like some cheery daffodils. Don't you agree? :) Spring flowers are my favorite. 

4. Playing with my new camera and trying out different ways to edit my pictures

This doesn't exactly show off my mad camera skillz (that was sarcasm) but we're cute and I had to include it. ;)

5. Gettin' my crafty on (or at least attempting to do so)

Making an insert for my purse so I can use it as a camera bag... so far so good! I've also been experimenting with different ways to make bows/headbands but I don't have a picture of that. 

I have a secret dream of becoming a graphic designer... I need lots of practice. ;) Oh, and some rather expensive software that I will probably never have... :P I'm not a huge fan of how these two turned out, but it is still fun to play around and I did print off the first one to frame.

6. A whole lot of wearing sweats and doing nothing. 

And boy, does it feel good.

My Favorite iPhone Apps (Part 1)

Last year, I got an iPhone for my birthday. It was love at first sight, especially since I upgraded from a phone that barely functioned well enough to make calls, and sometimes it didn't even do that. Since then I've become a bit of on app-aholic. I love discovering new apps and using them to make life easier, more organized, and fun. :)

I plan on doing a series of posts with my favorite apps in different categories. Today's post includes the apps I use the most and can't don't want to live without.

Gospel Library

This is probably my all-time favorite app. I have all the resources I could possibly want all in this blessed little app. I use it daily! Although I prefer to read my physical scriptures, this is very handy if we are traveling or if I need a little inspiration on the run. It also has all the general conference talks from 1974 to the most current session, and that includes text, audio, AND video for all of them! Plus, I never have to bring any manuals to church because this has them too. It's amazing. 

Pros:

Easy to use

Nothing is left out, it really has everything! Scriptures, manuals, magazines, General Conference, music...

Multiple languages, meaning I can use it to practice Russian

You can bookmark pages, add notes, and highlight important stuff

Cons:

It crashes sometimes without any warning and makes me lose my place :(

Instagram

Anyone that follows me on Instagram knows I love and use this app... a lot. I am a picture-taker. I take pictures of everything. Instagram makes it easy for me to share some of the many, many pictures I take with my friends, plus it is so much fun to look at their pictures as well! As far as social media goes, I like it much, much more than Facebook. 

(Click here to follow me on Instagram)

Pros:

Easy to use

Some of the filters are fun

Good privacy settings

Cons:

It cuts pictures into squares. Sometimes that works, but when it doesn't I use Whitagram to override that glitch.

Some of the filters really diminish the quality of your picture. Minor flaw that doesn't bother me too much.

Facebook

Ah, Facebook... we have a love/hate relationship. Still, I use it pretty often to keep up with friends and family, especially since most of the people in those categories don't live close enough for me to see often. It's also a good place to keep my pictures, partially to share with others and partially to have them organized so I can look through them myself.

Pros:

The app is reliable and easy to use, especially with the most recent updates

Convenient to communicate with people if you don't have their numbers

Good for keeping in touch with people you don't see often

Cons:

Mediocre privacy

Constantly changing settings (see above)

There is definitely such thing as too much information

...etc, etc, etc

Pinterest

I love Pinterest. It's chock full of recipes, tutorials, and great ideas. It's a little overwhelming, to be honest. I use this one pretty often too, although I much prefer to peruse Pinterest on the computer. 

(Click here to follow me on Pinterest)

Pros:

Very easy to find ideas, no matter what you are looking for

If I am making a recipe I found on here I can look it up while I'm at the store if I need to (For example, sometimes I'll forget how much of something I need)

Cons:

I like using Pinterest on my laptop much more than the app

Grocery List Free (Buy Me a Pie)

This is the free version of Buy Me a Pie. I love how easy it is to make shopping lists. Plus, this organizes the items and saves paper too! :)

Pros:

Easy peasy

Lists can be shared (although I haven't done that yet)

Cons:

Haven't found any yet!

Gmail

I can't stand the email app that is built into the iPhone. Drives me crazy. The Gmail app lets me organize my emails the way I'm used to and is a lot easier for me to use. Plus, I think the interface is a little more visually pleasing, which isn't important (but really is, at least for me since I'm a very visual person). 

Pros:

More flexible

Easier to use

Cleaner interface

Cons:

A little slow opening up (first world problems, I know)

Not compatible with Siri

Google Maps

I love (and hate) Google maps for a lot of the same reasons I love (and hate) Gmail. The built-in Apple maps is incredibly mediocre and has lead us astray a time or two. Google Maps is much more reliable, the interface is cleaner, and it doesn't have Siri's I've-been-smoking-for-40-years voice directing you. (Tangent: Am I the only one that hate's Siri's voice? It's like a dull knife cutting through cardboard! The male option isn't much better either, in my opinion)

Pros:

Reliable

Easy to use

Visually appealing

Cons:

Not compatible with Siri

Well, there you have it! The next installments with hopefully be a little more interesting and fun, but these are the apps I use the most.
What about you?

Cinnabon cinnamon rolls {Pin a week 10/52}

Please excuse the I've-been-living-in-a-hostel-for-a-week nastiness...

When I was in Russia we went on vacation to Moscow for a week. That is where I had the life changing experience of a fresh, warm, gooey, enormous, delectable Cinnabon cinnamon roll. It was perfection. It's really good thing I shared it with one of my friends. I don't even want to think about how unhealthy it was. 

It should be no surprise that when I found this Cinnabon clone recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to try it. The one that has been circulating is found here on allrecipes.com, but I also found the same recipe (but with better instructions, especially if you are using a Bosch or Kitchen Aid) here on the King Arthur Flour Company website.

Unfortunately, mine didn't turn out as good as I was expecting. I'm pretty sure it was my fault, but I'm still not positive what I did wrong. They didn't rise as much as they were supposed to so maybe they were too dry or something. I also baked them a minute or two too long, hoping that it would help them puff up some more but that didn't work. Oh well. I think I will try it again sometime though. And even if they didn't come out perfectly they were still really good! I mean, how can you go wrong with that much butter, sugar, and carbs, am I right? ;) 

That one time I hugged a Russian man

I spent a semester teaching English in Russia about a year and a half ago. Besides the fact that it is one of the coolest, most amazing experiences I've ever had, it was also a steady stream of fantastically awkward situations. Seriously, it was almost daily. I could probably start an entire blog just devoted to the many embarrassing moments I enjoyed whilst in Mother Russia. 

Nevertheless... there is one that takes the cake. 

Let me preface this by telling you a little bit about the bus situation in Voronezh. We had to take the bus if we wanted to go anywhere that was too far too walk, and that was pretty often. The buses are kind of small, have a distinct stench smell, and the windows are so dirty you usually can't see through them. Also, they tend to be extraordinarily crowded, meaning you are really lucky to get a seat. Usually you get the privilege of standing with your fellow passengers pressing you on every side. If you are really lucky, you might get squished between some stinky, fat Russian guys.

I got "lucky" a lot.

A typical Russian bus, except this one is too clean. Imagine it is covered in 20 years of grime.

Yes, he is talking on the phone which he answered right after he threw his cigarette out the window. I love Russia. 

One evening after school, three of us headed to the church to play some volleyball. All was going splendidly. Volleyball was every Friday night and signified the end of a week and the beginning of the wonderful weekend... yippee! We waltzed down to the bus stop and when our chariot arrived we climbed aboard.

It was pretty crowded, which was usual at this time of day. Unfortunately, I was so excited to get to volleyball that I forgot to get my 11 ruble (that's about 35 cents) bus fare ready so I could hand it to the driver on my way in. No matter, I said to myself. I'll just dig it out of my coin purse while we're driving and have someone pass it up.

The next few seconds are a bit of a blur. I took advantage of a red traffic light to release my grip on the one of the poles we relied on to stay upright so I could get my coin purse out. That was my fatal mistake. As luck would have it, the second I let go the bus lurched forward and I went careening with flailed arms towards the herd of people on the bus behind me. In my frantic attempts to catch myself, I managed to end up kneeling on the ground with my arms securely wrapped around the torso of a rather large Russian man and my face smashed in his soft, smelly belly.

Oh, sweet heavens above.

If one could die of embarrassment, I am confident I would have shriveled up right then and there. The split second I spent there felt like decades. I picked myself up, choked out an apology (Thankfully I knew how to do that in Russian), and then put the nail in the coffin by going into a fit of uncontrollable nervous laughter.

And that, my dear friends, is the first and last time I hugged a Russian man. 

Today I am thankful I am not Lindsay Lohan

This week and I haven't been getting along very well. I've been a little stressed out the past few days and it is all coming to a head tonight. Unfortunately, I am a worrier. I get stressed out too easily and too often. It doesn't make any sense... I mean, it doesn't help anything. It just makes it worse.

Thankfully, since I have so much experience with stressing myself out, I also have figured out what I need to do to be happy and let go. Here's a few of the main things.

1. Play or listen to music. I am so thankful my in-laws gave us our piano. There is something so soothing about that instrument. I'm not very good, but I can plunk out a few tunes, and I know a handful of hymns that always bring me peace, especially when I sing along. I believe there is great power in music. 
2. Exercise. Just a quick jog/walk/bike around the block will often be what I need to get out of a funk.
3. Do something creative. I am a recent convert to the world of sewing and crafting. I didn't always enjoy it that much, probably because I thought I failed at it, but I've been gaining more confidence and ability and whether the things I make are good or not it feels good in the process. :)
4. Treat yo' self! (Name that reference and we can be friends forever :P) I'm not saying it should be anything big... a little indulgence goes a long way. 
5. Do something for someone else. If I can get my mind off of myself and onto someone else then I am always much happier. It's a win-win since I make someone else happy too!
6. Cry it out. Tears can be healing, at least for me. When I'm really having a rough time sometimes this has to happen before I can collect myself and put on my big girl panties. ;) Thankfully this doesn't happen often because I think I might be the world's ugliest crier... it's gross. 

At least my whole life isn't a big, public mess, no? 

Things like this help too. See how much worse life could get? 

You're welcome. 

Don't you hate it when you discover you have superpowers at the worst possible moment?

This is something that would happen to me.

Dang gravity, always messing things up.

Have I mentioned how much I love flats?

Again, there goes stupid gravity. 

My personal favorite... hahahahaha!!!

What do you do to get out of a funk?

DIY Bows {Pin a week 9/52}

I love bows. They add such a simple, girly touch. It's also really handy that they are so easy to make. I've been meaning to make some headbands for my little sister and finally got around to it this week.

Here is the tutorial I used for the bows. I need to practice because mine don't look this good yet! :) I think I am making them a little too wide. I've also seen some no-sew tutorials that I want to try where you just use a hot glue gun instead of sewing.

To make the headbands I just strung the elastic through the center of the bow and then stitched it in place. Check out this post to see where I got my elastic for cheap and what you can do with the leftovers!

I'm pretty sure my sister is going to look a lot cuter (thank goodness). ;)

Just in case you forgot how attractive I am.
I might hate myself someday for putting this one up... 

DIY elastic hair ties {Pin a week 8/52}

I have long, almost waist-length hair. It can be a major pain sometimes. Not enough to convince me to cut it off, but enough that something has to be done about it if I want to stay sane. This means that I put my hair in ponytails/buns a lot and go through more than a few hair ties. (Side note: Where the heck do hair ties and bobby pins go?? It's like magic... I buy a new pack and they slowly start disappearing to who knows where. Please tell me I'm not the only one with this problem!) I have seen these nifty elastic hair ties for sale around the internetz but they are CRAZY expensive. I'm not willing to pay $12 for a pack of 5 ($2.40 each!) especially since I know I will probably definitely lose them.

I thought they would be pretty easy to make, though, so I made a trip to Pinterestland and found a nifty tutorial. (Click here to see the one I used)

These are seriously the easiest things to make. Don't believe me? Here's the instructions.

1. Cut elastic
2. Tie a knot
3. Melt the ends with a lighter or candle
4. The end

Wanna know why I love these so much? Of course you do. ;) First of all, they are SO inexpensive. I bought my elastic here for $2.55 for 5 yards. Yep, you read that right. TWO FIFTY-FIVE FOR FIVE YARDS! That's 15 feet, or about 20 hair ties, which means they cost about about $0.12 a hair tie. Score! Second, they are really nice to my hair. They don't leave a crease or tear my hair when I take them out. And third, they look cute on my wrist. Pretty much a win-win-win.