one year Ago...

Hello.

 Today marks the "one year anniversary" of when I started this blog. I've been thinking it, and I felt that such a momentous day deserved a blog post. But I have a problem... I don't really know what to write about.

 I could write about how much my life has changed during this last year. How I'm finally starting to figure out what it is I want to do with this life God has given to me.And how, as I'm figuring things out, I still get so scared. How I've learned am learning to trust God with every aspect of my life.

 Or maybe something simple like how I like my handwriting a bit more than I used to. I still don't love it, but I'm OK with it now.

 Or I could write about how ""cookie day adventures"" sort of just faded away into nothingness.

 I could write about how much God has shown to me; how He's shown Himself to me; how He loves and cares for me. And how the trials I've gone through have brought me closer to Him, and have assured me that He will always be with me.

 Maybe about the friends I've made, or even just met in passing. About what great, supportive friends I have, new and old.

 Or I could simply write about how this year has made me realize that I'm growing up. Whether I like it, or am ready for it, or not. And that being 18 is quite a bit harder than being 17.

 But I don't think I'll write about any of those things.

 I really don't know what to write about...

It's been an eventful year :)

Xoxo,
           <3 ichelle

Aqua Nautilus.

   A few weeks ago I saw a giveaway on a blog. Love, Milk, and Honey was hosting a Sea Lillie giveaway to win one of Sea Lillie's Aqua Nautilus necklaces.  To enter, you had to write about your favorite beach memory. I entered, hoping to win, but definitely not expecting to. I put the the necklace somewhere in the back of my mind, and went on with life. One day, the contest came to my mind and I decided to look on Love, Milk, and Honey's blog to see who won. Imagine my surprise when I saw MY name! I noticed that the winner had been announced a few days earlier, so I sent an email, hoping I wasn't too late. I wasn't! Fast-forward a week or so, and the necklace arrived in the mail! It's so beautiful and I really do think it will remind me of the beach whenever I wear it. 

 

  

Thank you Love, Milk, and Honey and Sea Lillie!!

~ <3 ichelle

New Year's EVE...

 The new year as been here for a few weeks now, and the "newness" is already starting to slowly wear off. I don't think I have written the date wrong yet...

 I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. In fact, I don't think I've ever made a New Year's resolution. I actually came close to not making them this year... So close, that I made them a day or so after the New Year had started. But that's OK too. Better late than never :) My New Year's goals this year are: drinking more water, regularly; and going to sleep earlier... They are pretty simple goals, but I've been failing pretty terribly at them. But...all I can do is try my best and take one day at a time.

 All that said, here are some pictures I took on New Year's Eve to pass the time until midnight came...

I hope everyone had a lovely New Year's Eve :)

~ <3 ichelle

Christmas two-thousand eleven

Fog.

Tradition.

Peaceful.

Owl City.

Cookie.

Bracelet. My friend made this for me.

Picture. From my sister.

Necklace. My friend made this!

Flower. My friend crocheted this for me to wear in my hair :)

Garlic. For the mashed potatoes.

Necklace. My sister made this for me. Isn't it beautiful?

Gift.

Earrings. Given to me by my sister's sister-in-law, Keiki (Psst! She has a Facebook page where you can buy other treasures like this!)

Festive.

Necklace. We did a White Elephant gift exchange with my sister and her husband's family, and I got this necklace which is also from SO Keiki Jewelry.

Book. My sister gave to me.

Doughnut cutter. My sister gave to me.

That pretty much sums up my Christmas. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

~  <3 ichelle

CHRIST.mas

   Each year, when Christmas comes around, its different. Different feelings. Different wishes. Different thoughts. As I've gotten older I've noticed things that I've never noticed before. I know, I make it sound like I'm SO old, but I think you know what I mean. From the small discovery that opening a pomegranate is no more the involved task of getting a rag towel out, laying it out on the floor and carefully separating the seeds from the white stuff. To the bigger longing to be with all of my sisters and have Christmas the way we used to. God knows what's going on though. And that gives me a tremendous peace.

Christmas Baking and cooking...

  Last year, on the 1st of December, I went to my friend's house to bake and go sledding. This year my that same friend's sister and I decided to do this again this year. We tried for the 1st, but that didn't happen, so we ended up setting the date for the 5th.
  We made pesto swirl bread, pesto chicken pasta, and salad for dinner...
 

       

18 CANDLES..................

November 19th was my 18th birthday. At first I wasn't going to have a birthday party, but at the last minute (two days before to be exact), I decided to have one.

  The day before my birthday I made one layer of my cake. All went really well except for the fact that our water had stopped working the day before...so I had no way to wash dishes. Then it came to me as I was looking out the window at the snow piled up outside...So, I went out  and scooped some snow into a big bowl, then hurried back into the warm house. One of the girls we were babysitting and I did this a few more times, melted the snow on the stove, and I washed dishes with the water...I felt very hard core ;)

AUTUMN leaves

There is just something about this time of year that makes me  smile. Something about sweaters, scarves, tights, and boots that makes me feel like everyday is special.

Last week

My SD card with the pictures from my graduation party are is still not working... Let me rephrase that. I haven't done anything about my SD card not working yet... It's a long story, but I'll probably end up formatting the card and then using a recovery program. I'm just scared to format the card... But, I'm going to talk to someone I know and ask if he thinks that's a good idea, or if he has any other ideas.

In the mean time, I have been looking for any opportunity for things to take pictures of, so I can blog about something.  I've gotten quite a conglomeration of pictures, but our computer is broken due to a virus, so I had to wait to use my brother-in-law and sister's computer.

I also just like taking pictures :)

 Lemon Lavender Cookies
 

1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons dried lavender, finely minced
¼ cup safflower oil
¼ cup sugar (I think that's how much I used. I can't remember exactly)
1 tablespoon lemon zest 

2-4 tablespoons of water (to make the dough more moist)

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve

Makes about a dozen cookies

 

Adapted from Elana's Pantry.

                                       ~ <3 ichelle ~

Bittersweet. . .

  I'm very sorry for how long it's been so long since my last blog post. I have been busy busy busy and also waiting for edited pictures (which I still haven't completely finished editing) so I can put them in here. That said, here is a blog post from April.


     A few memorable things happened this last week; some good, some bad. The first of these things was my aunt passed away. I have so many memories of things my sisters and I did with her. Ever since we were little, we would bake cookies at Christmas time. Have Christmas (or Christmas Eve) and day-after-Thanksgiving dinner. As we got older we went sailing also. It's hard to say goodbye to someone you love.
   The other events that happened this week were: I went on an airplane for the first time; and I got to visit the places where I grew up; the places that I think will always feel like home. 
   Here are some highlights that I wrote during the week...

4/11/11
   I finally felt the familiar cold, saltwater feeling of waves rushing around my feet. It was absolute bliss to be near the roaring waves again. Just the smell of the ocean was amazing. To misjudge how far the waves will come in and, as a result, get your jeans wet even though they are rolled up. The sand clinging to your feet all the way home.

4/12/11
  As if I didn't love Trader Joe's enough, I have found another reason. I went there today with my sister and found that they sell non-dairy ice cream made with coconut milk, the same idea as Coconut Bliss but about two times cheaper (And Trader Joe's only has chocolate and strawberry, while Coconut Bliss has quite a few more flavors). Along with one of these we got green tea Mochi, whole wheat tortillas, and roasted garlic hummus. Mmm mmm...
  We also went to two thrift stores that we used to go to a lot, and I got a Martha Stewart magazine from February and a Towne and Country wedding magazine (for dress designing ideas) :).

4/13/11
  I am currently doing...nothing. Except using the computer and occasionally looking out the window to see the beautifulness. I painted my nails pink, and later I'm going out for coffee/tea with two of my good friends who I haven't seen for over a year :O
  I was going to wear an orange dress today, but as it was raining, I decided not to, and now wonder if I should have because the sky is very blue. But...oh well.
  Oh. I also went into an Urban Outfitters for the first time yesterday...It wasn't that interesting...Mostly because I couldn't find the sale section. Hahaha.

4/19/11
 After two flight delays, we finally made it back home. My sister is quite happy to be home. Back to her husband (who, I am told, was not himself while she was gone), and the regularity of life. For me it's bittersweet. But I keep having to remind myself to enjoy where I am right now, and not mope, because I am going to miss out on a lot of wonderful things in life if I do.

                                                                                                                              ~ <3 ichelle ~