How to Keep Your Resolutions

Hello there! And Happy New Year's Eve!

You guys, it has been one heck of a few weeks. Sometimes life just smacks you in the face and you forget how to cope with everyday things. But hopefully, you figure out how to get by. Or you just fake it until you make it. Either way.

Resolutions are a funny thing. Most of us make them, but most of us also break them before February even gets here. 

We have the best intentions: losing weight, being better friends, learning new things, experiencing new things, kicking bad habits... But we aren't quite sure how to get there. Or we lose motivation. It's very easy to forget a resolution or to give up completely when things don't happen easily. But that's life and it's really hard sometimes. 

While thinking about my own resolutions, I came up with a few tips on how to actually achieve said resolutions.

My resolutions for this new year are to be a kinder person, to get back into the shape that I was in just two years ago, and to be more conscious of the foods I put into my body and the body products I put on my body. 

I resolve to blog more often, even without Internet access at home, and I will learn how to braid my hair. 

And finally, I will learn how to use my sewing machine. For me, these goals are huge. I have a long year ahead of me, but if I can achieve these goals I will also have the best year ahead of me. 

Cheers to a fabulous, healthy, and happy 2015!

xo

Friday Favorites

Hello, hello. It's been far too long since I've posted. Whoops. I've been busy, had my parents in town, and for the past couple days I've been sick. Yuck! So, here's a roundup of the last week, prior to being sick of course. Have a wonderful weekend, friends. I hope to be back soon with more workouts, recipes, and diy.

DIY Boot Cuffs {Holiday Gift Idea}

I adore boots. I really do. I will wear boots in the middle of summer, when it's 90 degrees outside. And I am so excited to be getting a pair of Frye boots for Christmas. I'm going to wear those things until I die :)

You can only imagine how excited I was when I first saw the adorable boot socks that everyone's making. How could I not want a pair(s)!?! Here's the tricky part... I have a huge foot, size 12 to be exact. So, it wasn't surprising that I couldn't find any long and cute boot socks in my size, not even handmade on Etsy.

Out of pure frustration, I took it upon myself to make my own sort of boot sock contraption... a boot cuff! It's basically a faux boot sock. I don't take credit for inventing the thing; I'm sure it was thought of years ago, but I'm pretty proud of myself. It's not a real sock, but it looks like it is and it has the cute factor I was looking for. Add buttons, ribbons, or embellishments if you'd like. I like to keep things pretty simple over here :)

Oh, please ignore how hairy my leggings are. I have two cats and no sense of self awareness until the photo is already taken.

Knitting your own Boot Cuffs is really easy. All you need is some yarn (I used super bulky leftover from a project), a pair of knitting needles (I used size 13), and a needle to stitch the ends together. I casted on 13 stitches and knitted until I had a long enough cuff to fit around the top of my calf, under my knee where the top of my boots hit. 

Need help with knitting? No worries. I've got you covered in my "How to Knit a Coffee Cup Cozy" tutorial. Just cast on 13 stitches (more or less depending on your yarn) instead of seven and knit until you reach your desired length.

Happy crafting, friends :)
And have an awesome weekend!

December Plank Challenge

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far :) It's my second day back at work after the Thanksgiving holiday and though it feels good to be back in a routine, I'm missing time with friends and family and not really having a schedule or deadlines.

But, I do have a lot to look forward to. It's December after all and that means Christmas! Christmas is my favorite holiday and it's such a magical time of the year. Decorations make me happy and the Christmas playlist on Pandora is making me even happier. We haven't decorated our apartment yet, but I'll be getting around to that soon :)

I thought it would be fun to add a fitness challenge to my normal workout routine and thought a December Plank Challenge might be fun. We use our core everyday, with every movement, so it's important to build core strength.

#decemberplankchallenge

Feel free to adjust the length of time based on your personal fitness level. Start with a manageable length of time and add 30-second increments each week to really challenge yourself.

Plank everyday for maximum core strengthening :)


See ya Friday with a fun holiday DIY gift idea for the ladies in your life!

Monkey Bread

Hello, hello! I hope all of you enjoyed Thanksgiving weekend. It was so nice to have such a long weekend and after having five days off from work, I don't want to go back ;)

Would you want to leave this view??

And of course I had to stop here :)

I loved spending so much time with my family and I ate entirely too much. Time to get back on track! 

But before I get carried away with fruits and veggies, I want to share a recipe for Monkey Bread with you. My mom made this version for Thanksgiving morning and we couldn't get enough of it.

You've probably seem monkey bread recipes before, but this baked good was new to me. It is so delicious and hard to eat just one piece! So dangerous :)

Monkey Bread

Recipe from the Bridgford Parkerhouse Roll packaging :)

Ingredients:

1 package Bridgford Parkerhouse Rolls, thawed

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 oz package regular butterscotch pudding mix (not instant)

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Grease a tube pan. Mix the sugars, pudding mix and cinnamon. Set aside. Sprinkle ¼ cup of sugar mixture on the bottom of the tube pan. Dip each piece of dough into the melted butter and roll it in remaining sugar mixture. Evenly place each piece into the tube pan. Top with the remaining butter and sugar mixture. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until it is well browned. Remove from the oven and invert on a large serving dish. Monkey bread is best served warm.

See ya on Wednesday with a new workout to help burn some of these holiday calories :)