happy moments

Excited to ride my bike to the trail for my walk this weekend. It was great up until the way home when I had to ride my bike uphill to get there. I'll never do that again.

Hanging out with some friends on Sunday. We cooked-out, drank our favorite bottled beverages, had some cake to celebrate and topped off the evening with come delicious coffee made in a french press. Such a lovely evening.

Attending a reception at the Chancellor's Residence on the quad. It was awesome. The food was tasty, the drinks were free and the surroundings were beautiful.

Consuming the most delicious Brazillian cocktail - a caipivodka. I got together with a few of my students {and friends!} for an International Food Night. We chowed down on empanadas and potatoes. So fun to see the girls outside of the office.

Starting my day with multigrain cheerios and vanilla silk. I love having cereal for breakfast, but rarely have the time to enjoy it on a week day.

I hope you all are having a good week - the weather here sure is perfect for all the activity I have going on. This is crazy work week. I should be back to normal next Monday, with any hope!

xoxo, christa

ch-ch-check it out

I'm guest posting over on my friend Vanessa's blog, See Vanessa Craft, today! Go visit her and check out the adorable embellished tee I made. :)

xoxo, christa

happy moments

Getting up early on Friday morning to bake cookies for my students. I love working with them.

Smiling every time I look over and see the pretty anniversary flowers from Steven.

Taking time on Sunday morning to drink a cup of coffee, relax and chat with some other early risers.

Working on a super fun guest blog project. I really need to get back to the craft room!

Eating healthier. I've been enjoying yogurt and fresh berries for breakfast.

What have been your happy moments this week?

xoxo, christa

super moon 2012

{1/125 | F22 | 800}

On Saturday night, the moon was the closest to the Earth that it will be all year. I was worried that our clouds wouldn't part and I would miss the whole thing, but they cooperated and there he was!

I took my zoom lens out and practice those manual SLR skills I learned at SNAP. It took a few tries, but I think I got a decent shot. It's not perfect by any means, I tried though!  Since the sky was a little cloudy, the moon wasn't as bright and clear as it could have been.

Did you all see the super moon? Or was it cloudy where you live?

Hope you all had a great weekend!

xoxo, christa

six years.

{outtake from our 2011 christmas card photo shoot, ha!}

Six whole years. I almost can't believe it. Neither can Steven, look at him up there, staring at me in disbelief. ;) It's been an awesome six years and I can't wait to see where the next sixty take us!

{winter 2006}

It's been a busy year for us! Besides all day-to-day happenings and craziness, we chose to go on different summer vacations {she to BlogHer, he to Lollapalooza}, he added extra duties to his work load, she switched jobs, he was out of town for christmas, we got got engaged {!!!}, started planning a wedding and this this spring has been crazy with the extra things on our plate {namely, unexpected trips to chicago}. Luckily things are slowing down and we're getting back into our normal groove. We are planning our summer vacation - together! Getting our engagement pictures taken, doing some more wedding planning and relaxing as much as possible.

{summer 2008}

Steven sent flowers to me at work on Friday since he had to be out of town this weekend. {so sweet of him} The note he included made me smile. The last line said "How about we do this one more time then get married, eh?" We'll be celebrating seven years about two months before the wedding. :) 

{summer 2011}

I truly savor every moment I get to spend with Steven. Between college breaks at our parents homes, classes, studying, work and temporary moves, we spent a lot of time apart from each other over the past six years. But I really think it helped us learn who the other really is and how to communicate well, whether near or far.  I'm glad we landed in the same place and now have our roots firmly planted in Columbia. Our life together has really taken off and I'm loving the direction we are headed. 

As they say, you bloom where you are planted. And we sure are blooming.

xoxo, christa

maple oatmeal cookies

The end of the school semester has arrived and my students are busy studying for finals, some even preparing for graduation and the real world. We always plan a 'food day' at the end of each semester to celebrate and maybe even to help us cope with the stress and changes.

Along with the healthy bowl of cucumber and tomato salad, I had to bring a sweet snack. And these cookies were good! I'm a huge maple fan, so maybe I'm biased. :)

maple oatmeal cookies
3/4 cup room temp butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350*. Beat together the butter and both sugars. Add syrup, egg, vanilla and water. Combine oats, flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet, making sure it is well combined. Drop a tablespoon of cookie dough onto a baking sheet, two inches apart from the others. Bake for 11 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Allow cookies to cool slightly before moving them to a cooling rack.

It it pretty hot out there, better just make it a la mode. Grab a bowl of vanilla ice cream and chow down. :)

xoxo, christa