52 Lists, Week 20

Happy Monday! Welcome to my 52 Lists Project, wherein I feature one list every week for 2015. To join in with your own list, scroll down to the link at the bottom, print out your own list, and then share it however you wish!

Week 20: List Your Summer Goals
I don't usually make summer goals because I don't get tons of time off in the summer to do stuff (I wish!), but I'm thinking it might be nice to have some concrete things to work on/get accomplished this summer.

• start walking in the evenings again (train for Santiago!) - solo or with a buddy
•  spend more time outside - go to Mom and Dad's pool on my lunch break
• go rollerskating with my sisters on Wednesday night at least 3 times
• continue improving ye olde blog
• catch up on incomes and expenses at work - get stuff entered into the Neat database and keep up with it!
• get things at work that need to be shredded organized and shredded
• get on top of new/abandoned case files and get them finished
• go up to Salem at least once
• meet my summer savings goals for Santiago
• start saving for Europe next summer
• renew my passport
• read at least 5 new books from my list
• get my desk and vanity organized
• pick patterns and yarn, and cast on, for Lila and Talia's Hanukkah sweaters

Challenge: This week, I will prep for summer by...
clearing off my desk in my bedroom to make more productive use of the space.

So there you have it! What about you? Got any splendid summer to-do's? Know of any killer beach reads I should add to my summer reading list? Let me know in comments or with a list of your own!

Love,

Willow


P.S. I'm now officially on Instagram! Follow me HERE.

For more fun with 52 Lists, click down on "52 Lists" in the little categories section at the bottom of the post, and go over to Moorea Seal's site to see more!

Check out Moorea Seal's entire project at her blog below:
http://www.moorea-seal.com/p/52-lists.html  


 

Pinteresting, Vol. 14

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.

1)

Cranberry Avoado Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

This salad looks divine. It's got tons of super-stuff in it, like the spinach and cranberries and avocado and almonds. I'm kind of inspired to eat more super salads these days because I had the most amazing salad at my friend Therese's house weekend-before-last during a knitting afternoon. This recipe makes a salad enough to feed 4 so obviously the amounts will need tweaking to make for one, but it looks like a good place to start.

2)

Benefits of the Rosary

I've loved the rosary for a long time, and I've experienced many of these listed benefits firsthand (particularly that restful sleep thing!). I've actually spoken to one of my doctors and he's recommended the rosary for even his non-Catholic patients simply because it helps with anxiety - controlling one's breathing, having something physical and mental to focus on to prevent ruminating thoughts, etc. If you've been thinking about starting to say the rosary, I can't think of a better time than Lent.

 3) 

Duct-taped Desk Organizer

I've pinned similar ideas before but they were all a little... complicated. I like this because I have boxes that I've saved (because I save strange things like boxes) and this looks like a great use of one or two of them. I've been setting up a kind of mini-office station at the dining room table with a phone box (a small cabinet intended to hold a phone - no joke) but I really need a place to keep track of pens, markers, stamps and such. It would be really easy to just go and buy a small desk organizer but let's DIY something!

4) 

  Embroidered Handwriting Decor

We all have a few lyrics and quotes that we carry around with us, words that stick to our insides and follow us around. I can already imagine several of my favorite quotes or lyrics captured on muslin or linen and trimmed with lace, hanging around my house or tucked on my bookcases. I really love how it's someone's handwriting; I imagine you could even have someone write a message in their own handwriting and stitch over it or something...

5)

My Dream Desk

This little desk looks like my dream work space. It's small but has enough horizontal space to allow a little spreading and it has a bunch of drawers and spots for stuff. I doubt I would use it as a vanity but I would love a desk that doesn't have the massively tall overhanging shelves of my current setup. I just love a desk with cubby-holes and small, secret spaces.

6) 

Shelves above the bed

Ever since I re-re-read The Perfectly Imperfect Home, I've become slightly obsessed with making small but meaningful changes in my house. My bedroom is next on the list and I want to put something, anything on my walls. They've been bare and beige for far too long. Not sure if I'll do shelves (SoCal is earthquake country), but some twinkle lights, pictures or posters or pretty things to make my room a little less chaotic and more like a person lives in it instead of a hurricane.

 

And that's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE. Happy weekend!

love,

Willow

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Pinteresting, Vol. 13

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.

1)

Post About Siblings

 The pin links to a really lovely and thoughtful post written by Kendra of Catholic All Year (honestly, all of her posts are thoughtful and lovely) about older siblings and younger siblings. I really like how she illustrates what her family does and how it works for them. It might not work for every family but she talks about different strategies for giving older kids responsibilities that are empowering without overwhelming them. Seriously, go read it.

2)

Chicken Avocado Burrito

This recipe combines two of my great loves: avocados and chicken. It features instructions on heating and cooking but I feel like once you get the amounts of the ingredients you can get really creative and go from there. Yum!

3) 

Meal Planning Post

Mary over at Better Than Eden wrote this really great meal planning post and the title says it all: Boring Girl's Guide to Family Meal Planning. Does that have my name written all over it, or what? She breaks it down so it makes sense and it's inspired me to actually buckle down and figure out a way to make meal planning work for my life. If I'm successful, I may even post about it! (If not, we'll pretend it never happened and continue fumbling through the feeding myself process.)

4) 

Cross vs. Crucifix Info

My little sister J asked me several weeks ago during Confirmation class why Catholics have a corpus on the cross (she said Jesus' body but corpus is more accurate, don't you think?). I gave her roughly this explanation and we discussed it as a class. I like having things like this on hand, though, for a quick reference if my brain ever decides to take leave of me.

5) 

Chili Recipe

Theresa at Ordinary Lovely has been running a lovely series on family-friendly soups for the last week or so and it's been really neat! I'm not a huge soup-lover, but I like chili for sure and she even gives a meat-free version of this! Lent is less than 2 weeks away so I'm seriously thinking about making this to have for a Friday option.



And that's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE. Happy weekend!

love,

Willow

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Pinteresting, Vol. 11

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.


1) 

Spinach Balls

 Don't these look yummy? The recipe calls for seasoned stuffing mix, but since I'm not a huge fan of stuffing (it's great for Thanksgiving, but past that - no thank you) I may substitute breadcrumbs or crushed seasoned croutons instead. These look like a nice little snack for having people 'round when you don't want to make it a dinner party.

2)

This List

I like this list. It's pretty simple but it's still a good list of little things to make your life better. This list is something I try to incorporate with my New Year's Resolutions of being happier, healthier, and more organized.

3) 

About That Star

Click through and read this article by Mary at Better Than Eden. It's simple and beautiful and lovely and made me sit at my desk for a few minutes and think. It's just really good. Go read it and then let's all be stars, okay?

4) 

Dumbledore's Hiring Practices

 Sometimes I come across funny Hogwarts headcanons and they remind me how much I love the Harry Potter fandom (which is clearly still alive and well!). Looking back at the series you have to wonder how on earth Dumbledore rationalized hiring the buffoon that was Lockhart - this gives us a possible explanation.

5)

Fox Hooded Cowl

So Julie at Knitted Bliss was doing a January sponsors show-&-tell and one of them designs patterns for people from babies to grown ups (have you ever seen a kids' pattern you longed for in your size? me too) and my favorites are the little hooded cowls. They look so warm and cozy! And adorable! Go look.
     Also, these patterns make me wish I lived somewhere cold and snowy so I could wear these. It's not quite cold enough here in sunny SoCal. Our "cold snap" over the holidays had nighttime temps dropping to the high 30s whereas in Vermont right now the temperature is a whopping 18 F. Yikes!

6) 

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Doesn't this look delish? I love avocados, even though they're more expensive off-season. I'm not sure I'd even use this for pasta sauce; I might just cut the recipe in half and use it as a spread on a quinoa-asparagus wrap with cherry tomatoes. Mmmm...

That's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE. Happy weekend!

love,

Willow

P.S. What do you guys think about my new blog design? I'm still tweaking it a bit, but I think it's a lot easier to read than the old one and maybe a little more viewer-friendly? I'd love to hear some feedback in comments.

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Pinteresting, Vol. 10

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.

1)

Knitted Tree Ornaments

Are these not unspeakably cute??? The link from the pin links to a place where you can buy a kit, but you can also download the free pattern if you want to make your own and bedazzle 'em yourself. I'm gonna keep pinning Christmas stuff until Epiphany, y'all. Christmas is gooooood stuff. :)

2)

Command Hook Hack

Ah, the adhesive hook, a renter's best friend. I've struggled with our trash bags in the kitchen trash can for a while now and tried every type and manner of taping I could think of and eventually just gave up and now just let it slip and endure the frustration. With this handy hack, though, perhaps others don't have to! Upon reflection, this hack won't work because my kitchen bin puts the liner inside an inner tube of trash can, which sounds weird but it's what I've got to work with. If I ever get a more traditional/standard bin like a normal person I'll definitely switch to this hack.

 

3)

cat-lover's sweater

 I need this in a big, bad way. It's everything I want in winter apparel: it's comfy, neutral colored, features a cute kitty, and has a sassy saying on it which will ensure my singleness! For more on my forays into the world of romance (HA) visit this post. 

4)

Haley's Blog Post

 I adore Haley Stewart at Carrots for Michaelmas. This post is one of many reasons why. I've got quite a bit of housework to get done before I can really enjoy Christmas (if you had my mother breathing down your neck, you would, too) and it's become rather a begrudging mountain of "I don't wanna." But, with a slight change of attitude and some small happy-making touches, housework isn't such a hassle. I would know, because I employed some of these things last night and got a whole slew of tidying done between 7:30 and 9pm. I even vacuumed! The whole house! 

5)

Revlon ColorBurst matte balm in Sultry

We don't do a whole lot of makeup talk here at Infinite, but every once-in-a-while I pin stuff and really like it and go to Walgreen's and buy it and end up really really liking it. This is kind of the reverse of that process. (Though I did pin another makeup-y thing that I then went out and purchased here.) I got this matte balm about 2 weeks ago and I can't stop wearing it. It comes out as a darker berry color on me instead of this pretty pink but I love it. The rich berry color isn't too dark but still feels on point for winter (whatever that means).

 

6) 

Black-and-White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

 *hem hem* THESE COOKIES. These cookies are your reward for making it to the end of this post because Sweet Jesus are they good. I made them last year as gifts for my office friends and neighbors and you bet your bum I'm making them again this year. They were a hit, they taste fantastic, and while they were baking my whole house smelled like Christmas. If you don't like mint or chocolate they are not for you (and I'm not for you, I mean really, what's not to love!?) but they're awesome. The recipe was posted at House Unseen by the lovely Dwija last year around this time, but because I needed the recipe for this weekend, I went digging through her archives to find it and pin it. The pin links to her post from last December. She got it from one of her daughters' books.


That's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE. Happy weekend!

love,

Willow

 

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**

Pinteresting, Vol. 9

Happy Friday and welcome to Pinteresting! The part of the show where I roundup my favorite pins from this week and share them with the world. I pin recipes, decorating ideas, religious stuff, teaching thoughts, funny stuff from Tumblr, kids' activities, crafting ideas, knitting/crochet patterns, and cute cat pictures.

1) 

Chicken, Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake

All I can say about this recipe is YUM. This has everything I love and want in a comfort food casserole for the cold, winter days we're entering: chicken, spinach, pasta and artichokes! I very rarely cook with artichokes and I definitely want to start doing so. This recipe also seems so versatile that you could add mushrooms and asparagus if you don't happen to have a jar of artichoke hearts handy.

 

2) 

Kitty Sticky Notes

Okay these are too stinkin' cute! They're kitties! But they're post-it flags! And they're indie-made! ALSO they are currently 30% off according to the selling site so off you pop - $2.77 isn't bad for novelty cute stuff like this. (Seriously, I'm gonna go buy some as soon as I hit "Publish.")

 

3) 

Cleaning Schedule

So I live alone, now, and don't have someone (albeit half-assedly) sweeping the kitchen and dusting and vacuuming most days (seriously, it was a half-assed job at best but it was still something) so now I get to do it all myself. Which means it will be done right the first time so it won't have to be done every single day. I like this set-up because it has you doing basic maintenance every day instead of the Saturday and Sunday deep-clean-while-you-have-the-chance silliness I usually end up doing. Basically I need to print this out and hang it in my kitchen.

 

4) 

Party Hats!

So this actually links to an article about throwing a swanky New Year's Eve party on a budget, which is cool, but party hats!!!! They're so cute and little and I've loved this idea for quite sometime but now it's in easy step-by-step format for us! I'm totally making a Christmasy one for our confirmation class Advent Caroling Party in 2 weeks.

 

5)

Prayer to Purify Your Home

On a completely different note, I feel this is a very important pin. If you remember from this post, my childhood home is haunted. Our favorite priest is visiting us from his village parish in Kenya for a short while, so hopefully he will perform a proper blessing of the house before he returns, but just in case. Also, I live alone now, and there's been a lot of negative energy in that house for the last 4 years so I'm keeping a printout of this handy because after the events of last month, I'm a little paranoid.

 

6) 

This adorable Tea House

Fair warning, the source site is (I believe) in Czech or something similar. My Eastern European language skills are very poor, but my best inference is that it's Czech. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
But this little tea house is so cute!!! Sure, we can't read the directions correctly, but I imagine you could use pieces from a birdhouse kit (or 3) and use a jigsaw to cute out some of the shapes and add hinges of sorts to the roofs and then glue it all together. Right? Too much work? Maybe this is a good idea for an advanced shop class final project. For my birthday. Just a thought...

7) *Bonus* 

Knitted Plush Hearts

These are so cute! I've been thinking about knitting some things like this for a while out of some of my scrappy leftovers I have from all of my Christmas knitting, and these might be the ticket. Can you imagine an adorable little garland of these things for Valentine's Day??? It's a free pattern download so off you go, get your copy.

That's it for this week's edition of Pinteresting! I always enjoy curating my favorite, most recent pins. If you're not currently on Pinterest, make sure you take a moment to say goodbye to your loved ones before you log on, because there's no going back! You can follow me on Pinterest (any or all of my boards, find your cup of tea) HERE. Happy weekend!

love,

Willow

 

**Author's Note: None of the images in this post are my property. I have borrowed them from Pinterest and made my best effort to ensure that the Pinterest pages linked to link to an original source. If you see your work here and want it taken down please see my About page and contact me. Thank you for not suing.**