Currently Under Repairs

Sorry in the delay of any new posts. I'm currently working on revamping the look and layout of everything. With the holidays and how fast they seemed to have approached this year I haven't had much time to do any updating.

I also found out a few weeks back that my current job will no longer be available as of January 31, 2014. I've been scrambling around looking at jobs I may like and spending even longer trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I'm only 24 but I still feel lost in the sense I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life. In an ideal world I'd love to stay home and bake all day, travel the world, and do volunteer work all over the world as well.

Give me a few more weeks and I'll be up and running as usual :)

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!!

Stephanie

Julep Zigzag Ultimate Mystery Box

Zigzag Ultimate Mystery Box

I purchased Julep’s Zigzag Ultimate Mystery Box from Julep last month. It was an early Christmas gift for myself :) Any day you can spend just $39.99 to get a box that’s worth $120 or more is a good day in my book! I haven’t gotten a chance to try everything that’s in the box but I thought I’d share what’s inside with all of you!

Beauty Army Box

On one of my days off a few weeks ago I had read an article regarding what seems to be the new phenomenon, monthly box subscriptions. When I first started to do further research into I didn’t realize they pretty much have box subscriptions for whatever interests you, literally whatever interests use. Some samples of the different categories I found are adult boxes, small business boxes, baby/mom boxes, beauty boxes, craft/hobby boxes, tea/coffee/cocoa/cocktail boxes, fashion boxes, fitness boxes, green living boxes, jewelry boxes, kid boxes, lifestyle boxes, pet boxes, and many more.

I used this bloggers list to narrow down some of my favorites, Ramblings of a Suburban Mom.

I subscribed to two boxes and am currently waitlisted on a third. The first box I received in the mail was from Beauty Army

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

In August I decided I was going to make it my goal to perfect making cupcakes. I decided to start this challenge off with a bang and not go the simple route. I’d been scouring through Pinterest looking for the perfect recipe, something that I’ve never baked before but also something I’d actually eat and could feed upon my coworkers who have graciously agreed to be my guinea pigs for this challenge.

There a few things I would do differently the second time I make them. The peanut butter center came out a bit dry for me as did the chocolate cake part (this could be from overworking the batter which I tend to do sometimes and am trying to learn from). The recipe says it yields 24 cupcakes but I got only about 16 or so cupcakes out of it which could also amount to why I had soo much icing left over.

I found this recipe here.

Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

It's been awhile since I've posted and I apologize for the delay. The summer and beginning of fall was just a mass of working extra hours at work and making the trek back to Pennsylvania for personal reasons and my childhood best friends wedding. I was back in PA about 5 times over a course of four months. This was the most I spent at home since the summer of 2009. (It's really been 4 years? Wow how time flies)

But now that I'm getting back into my regular work schedule and much more time on my hands and a bit lonely with having all of my college friends now not living in Providence. I gave myself a challenge of perfecting the perfect cupcake; which has really turned into trying new cupcakes and particularly fall inspired ones. This brings me to this post. I didn't get a chance to really take pictures of the process of putting the batter together but I do have the end result pictures :)

I brought about 20 cupcakes into work for my coworkers and they were gone within about 4 hours of me setting them out. I'm taking that as it was a huge hit and everyone loved them! I myself am not of a fan of pumpkin flavor things but thankfully with these the pumpkin was not overly powerful and was a burst of fall flavors in my mouth!

I found this recipe like most of my others from Pinterest and you find the original recipe here.

My Wake Up Call

I'm Back....

Bucket List

Random Thoughts and Coincidences?

The other day one of my good friends had made a mention of them loving my writing style and that it draws people in. I wasn't really feeling the same way but then another friend told me, "I feel like you're writing your blog about my life." These two comments made within just hours of each other left me feeling that I'm accomplishing what I've set out to do with this blog. I myself have read numerous entries by other bloggers out there in the internet and have had those same exact thoughts, man this girl is saying all the words I wasn't able to say. So to you readers out there I hope you can find some hope and inspiration in the words written behind each "read more" jump.

And by click on this entries "Read More" you will find yourself reading words I had written about 3.5 years ago. There's connections from these past words to those words previously written in my last post on Ginger Antics

Revelations.

You hear it all the time as January 1st approaches, "This year this gonna be different", "This is the year I'm going to stick to my resolution.", "New Year = New Me". I've been guilty of doing this a time or two and every year I find myself disappointed just few months in because I realize nothing is different, nothing has changed. At the end of the day I only had myself to blame.

This is my verbal commitment to myself as well as to all my readers that this year WILL be different. I've made the most important decision of my life (up to this point at least) . And that is to live a healthier lifestyle. It's more than just workout and changing how I eat, it's making a lifestyle change. 

It was just this past week that I made some revelations about my life that even surprised myself as the words flowed from my pen to paper. It's hard enough to admit things like this myself and my bestfriend, but to put it out there for the world to see is terrifying. But it's another way to keep myself accountable in this journey I'm just beginning.

"I’ve also decided to make a few changes in my life. I’ve never been comfortable with my body and the last few months I felt as though I had hit bottom. I was doing no physical activity and constantly ordering out at work."

"My list of goals for the coming year looks very similar to yours. I’ve made my #1 priority of 2013 myself. I’m determined to become the best person I can be and to ultimately be in love with life. I’ve spent too long stuck in the past, in the world of what if’s and what could’ve been. )  I was  really hurt and down on myself, blaming myself for what happened and the aftermath of it all. I think I’m finally moving on from it all and just letting it all go. I’ve always been a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and I’m thinking I’m just now learning why it all happened. It’s led me to become the best person I can be, (which is still a work in progress), a stronger person, and given me the reason to focus on me, myself, and I."

GARLIC PESTO CHICKEN WITH TOMATO CREAM PENNE

This picky eater is branching out, look out everybody!

chaLEAN Extreme Week 1

chaLEAN Extreme and Shakeology Week 1

A NEW BEGINNING

chaLEAN + 4 months = a new Stephanie

ME.

A little of this, a little of that

it's all in the name

Welcome to my world of post-college antics and just finding my place in this crazy world