weekly gems (and a wish for the world)

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• Still not sure what goals you want to make for the 2012 New Year's, All Year Challenge? Check out these suggestions...or these ones, or these ones!
• Love this color palette of the week.
• Justin Timberlake may be engaged, but JC Chasez saved a baby! Big week for former NSYNCers, huh?
• I'm definitely looking forward to the publication of this series!
• Super inspiring success stories from one of my favorite magazines.
• Favorite Hello Giggles posts of the week: one, two, three.
• Favorite weddings of the week: one, two, three.
• This post on Makeunder My Life is so uplifting and comforting - it puts into words exactly how I hope to carry out this year and my goals for it.
• I greatly enjoyed reading through Daily Crush's Highlights and Hopes series - check it out!
• Adore Laura's letter to her 15 year old self.
• Recipes I can't wait to try: herb crusted sweet potato bites, rum raisin cheesecake, Elvis panini, Crockpot chicken Santa Fe, and buffalo chicken pizza rolls.
• And lately I've had the urge to bake a cake...maybe I'll decorate it similarly to this one.
• This year's WGA nominations have provided me with more movies to add to my "to watch" list.
  
• I'm always so inspired by The Shine Project. If I could change one thing in the world, I would make education of all levels available to anyone who wants it, and 100% free, no loans or anything to pay back, as long the program (whatever it may be) is completed in its entirety. Don't ask me how all that free education could be possible, I just know it would make the world a much better place for everyone. What would you change?

concert bucket list

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I love music. I love making playlists, listening to albums by my favorite artists and bands, and discovering new (or new-to-me) artists and bands. I don't care how I listen to music - my iPod, Pandora, Spotify, traditional radio - I just love listening to it. However, I'm not a big concert goer whatsoever. I hope to change that over the new few years. So much so that I've made a bucket list of artists and bands that I someday want to see live in concert. Check it out (the artists/bands in bold are the ones I want to see the most):

Have you ever seen any of the artists/bands on my list in concert? What's the best concert you've ever been to? What bands/artists would make it on your concert bucket list?

my life: a present from grandma

My maternal grandma is my personal hero. She grew up in southern Arizona as the only girl in her family, began nursing school, met my Air Force captain grandpa at a dance, then eloped with him despite the fact that doing so would mean being kicked out of school. She moved to Cleveland (where, post-WWII, my grandpa worked in his family's business), began a home with my grandpa, and raised 12 kids - 9 girls, 3 boys. Then she went back to nursing school, completed the education she'd always planned on getting, and worked as - what else? - a maternity ward nurse. At 88, she is now grandmother and great-grandmother to over 80 grandkids and great-grandkids, and is the wisest, kindest, and sweetest person I've ever met.

My siblings and I were visiting her last week when my aunt was making chicken a la king. My aunt couldn't find the recipe in my grandma's recipe box, so my sister called my house and got the recipe. My grandma insisted the recipe being used was not the right one, and went searching for her Betty Crocker's Good and Easy Cookbook (1978 edition). I helped her find the cookbook and sat with her while she found the recipe. My grandma kept pointing out good recipes, tips and skills featured in the book. She mentioned multiple times that the cookbook was full of "good and easy recipes to make when you are first married and working a lot." Once she found the chicken a la king recipe in the cookbook and made sure it was the recipe she had in mind, she turned to me and said, "Here, you can keep this book if you want to." I was very excited and touched that my grandma was giving me a cookbook she greatly liked with the intention of helping me build a strong home with my future husband. I cannot wait to start trying out the recipes in it! The first one I'm going to try? Chicken a la king, of course : )

Have you ever had a cookbook passed onto you from a close relative or friend? Which one, and what's your favorite recipe from it?

new year's all year challenge (new and improved 2012 edition)

Hello, everyone! I hope you had a great holiday season - I sure did! I spent plenty of time with family and friends, decorated my heart out, watched plenty of Christmas movies and specials, and constantly sang and danced to my favorite holiday music.

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If you are a longtime reader of this blog, you may remember last year I began a challenge called New Year's, All Year. You may also remember, after a crazy first half of the year, I ended up scaling back my challenge.

I'm the type of person who is always making goals. This year I also want to the be person who is always achieving them. I'm not making a ton of super specific goals in a year-long format and then pulling them back throughout the year due to unexpected challenges. Instead, I'm approaching this year step by step.

First, I recognized the major areas of my life: health, finances, relationships, career, wedding planning, and self-enrichment. Second, I made "endpoint" goals for each of these areas - basically, how I would like to end the year in regards to each area. From there, at the beginning of every month, I will make one or two goals in each area that, when reached, will bring me closer to my endpoint goals. Since I am making these monthly goals throughout the year, I will be able to take into account any new obstacles and then set realistic, measurable objectives (while I will always write out my objectives in a detailed manner, I may not always share all the specifics on this blog, for privacy reasons). The one aspect of last year's New Year's, All Year Challenge that I would like to keep is sharing my journey with YOU!

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My 2012 endpoint goals are:

• Health: live an overall healthier lifestyle
• Finances: be more organized, balanced, and responsible
• Relationships: maintain mutually supportive relationships that are in balance with one another
• Wedding: have location and date set and all major vendors booked
• Career: aggressively pursue full-time teaching position; develop my coaching skills and knowledge while also developing the school's swimming program further
• Self-enrichment: allow "me" time without overindulging; actively participate in passions, hobbies, interests, etc. further
  

My January goals are:

• Health: track food daily; workout three times a week
• Finances: save specific percentage of all paychecks
• Relationships: e-mail out-of-town friends; prepare for Dan and I's three year anniversary
• Wedding: research vendors in the two locations where Dan and I are interested in holding our wedding
• Career: prepare for the end of swim season and substitute frequently
• Self-enrichment: blog much more often
  

I feel like in 2011, among all the fun, love, and laughter, and despite the stress, self-doubt, and hardships, I learned a great deal about living life in a balanced and positive way. I am very excited to put those lessons to use this year, and to share my experiences with you. If any of you would like to join me in the new and improved New Year's, All Year Challenge, leave a comment and let me know! 2012 is definitely going to be a wonderful year : )

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things that are making me happy, new year's edition

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Things that made me happy in 2011:

• Student teaching
• Crazy snow adventures
• Celebrating two years with my love
• Seeing awesome college theater productions
• Getting my second tattoo
• GRADUATING!
• Visiting my future mother-in-law's hometown
• Lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons
• Trying out Jillian Michaels DVDs
• Attending my cousin's at-home wedding reception
• Going to Cleveland Indians games
• Trivia at my favorite local bar with hilarious friends
• Seeing the last Harry Potter film
• Getting my first job
• Watching Dan's soccer games
• Seeing my sister star in her two biggest theater roles yet
• Being a bridesmaid in a close friend's wedding
• GETTING ENGAGED!
• Admitting my first job wasn't a good fit and leaving it
• Coaching high school swimming at my high school alma mater
• Seeing Million Dollar Quartet
• Attending another close friend's wedding
• Trying out Zumba
• Substitute teaching at my high school alma mater
• One of my closest friends and her husband welcoming their first child
• Endless, amazing support from my family and friends
• And tons of little things, like: trips to local ice cream stores, rocking out to music in the car, movie nights (at home or at the theater), coffee or lunch dates, walks with Madison, curling up with a good book, trying out new recipes, shopping trips, long phone chats, eating out at both favorite places and new-to-me places, nights at home spent painting my nails and reading magazines, celebrating holidays and birthdays, visits with my grandma, laughing over board games, blogging, etc., etc.

Things that will make me happy in 2012:

• More of the above
• Other exciting adventures both known and unknown

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Happy New Year's, everyone : )

watch it: my 25 days of christmas

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White Christmas

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Mickey's Christmas Carol

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A Christmas Story

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A Charlie Brown Christmas

For as long as I can remember, with the exception of a two-year period during my college years, my family has not had cable/satellite TV. When I did have cable at home and in my college dorm room, I greatly enjoyed ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas. And as silly as it probably sounds, those Christmas specials are probably the number-one thing I miss about having cable TV. I just loved being able to turn on the TV on any given December evening or weekend and be bombarded by truly wonderful holiday specials. It just made the holiday season feel that much more nostalgic and fun. So this year, I decided to make my own 25 Days of Christmas list and then work my way through it. Check it out! Let me know what favorites of yours made the list, and which ones didn't that you think I should make an effort to see. The photos above feature just a few of the classics I included.

play it: 2011 holiday albums

Hello, everyone! I am sorry for my absence last week/early this week. This past weekend was the first meet for the high school swim team that I coach, so I was super busy with preparations and then catching up on the rest of my to-do list. Now that things have slowed down (slighty), I'm diving right into holiday-related posts. First up - my favorite 2011 Christmas albums!

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1. Christmas, Michael Bublé

Since I love Michael Bublé and his classic, big-band style, it's probably no surprise that his holiday album is my favorite new addition to my Christmas music arsenal. My favorite songs: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Jingle Bells (featuring the Puppini Sisters)," "All I Want For Christmas Is You," "Blue Christmas"

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2. A Very She & Him Christmas, She & Him

I adore everything Zooey Deschanel does, including her indie pop duo She & Him. If you've never heard them before, their holiday album is a great introduction. My favorite songs: "Christmas Day," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Silver Bells," "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

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3. Under the Mistletoe, Justin Bieber

I am not the biggest Bieber fan, but I must admit I do enjoy his music whenever I hear it playing. That being said, I decided to try out his holiday album. It is pure pop fun, perfect for dancing along to while decorating or baking Christmas cookies. My favorite songs: "Only Thing I Ever Get For Christmas," "Mistletoe," "Drummer Boy," "Someday at Christmas"

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4. The Christmas Album Volume 2, Glee the Music

Regardless of storylines, I always love the Glee soundtrack. I adored their Christmas album last year, and wasn't disappointed with this winter's second installment. Similar to Justin Bieber's album, it puts a new spin on Christmas classics in totally upbeat, fun way. My favorite songs: "Santa Baby," "Christmas Eve with You," "Let It Snow," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

What 2011 Christmas albums/songs are you enjoying this year? Also, you can check out other awesome Christmas albums here.