Thursday Three

I didn't intend to take a week off of blogging, but I was so brain dead after finals, the last thing I wanted do to was write more. (I wrote 5 essays during my tests). This, added to the craziness that comes along with Christmas made it impossible to find any time or energy to think of posts. That being said, here is what I did this week:

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My time can be summed up in one word: baking. I have cooked so much this week, and I love it. I made two cakes (white and gingerbread), two types of pancakes (gingerbread and dutch baby), and a french toast bake. This is what I am looking forward to the most this break, which is being able to cook anything I want at any time.

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I was so thankful my mom left Christmas presents for me to wrap. Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite parts of getting ready for Christmas, and I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to this year. I got home late on the 21st, so I spent all of the 22nd wrapping my little brothers presents and listening to christmas music- a perfect day. 

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Last week I went on a run and this was the scene. There were hundreds of swans on the lake in Madison. This isn't the best picture to see them in, but it was a cool sight to begin the day. They were all over and making a bunch of noise.I have never seen this many swans before so it was quite the sight. 

Can't believe next week will be 2018!

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Three

UGHHHHHH.... finals ya feel?? Today is my last day of finals. I had an awful schedule, as finals started last Friday, but I didn't have one until Monday night. I still have two more today, so I am getting to go home as late as possible. That being said tomorrow I am home, and I can fully relax for a month! Here is what I was up to this week:

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I found such a good place to study for finals which made it a ton easier. I like to study at the church because there is free coffee, tea and sometimes food. One morning I got pancakes, could it get any better for being finals? It is just a nice, comfortable place to study that isn't the library so I will definitely be there more next semester. 

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I was able to go out to brunch with one of my good friends which was the best study break possible. We went to Marigold Kitchen (love that place) and there were egg nog pancakes as a special. They were moist, spicy and overall delicious. I wish these were available all the time, because these were my favorite ones yet from Marigold. 

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I have been taking any and every opportunity on campus to do something Christmasy. I am lacking in holiday spirit and it is killing me. I have been able to decorate cookies twice, so at least I have that. I can't wait to go home, turn on the Christmas music, and bake dozens of cookies (probably all throughout January) 

How was your week?

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Three

Won't lie this wasn't the best week. This Wednesday was our last day of classes before finals so people are unbelievably stressed out. I don't finish with finals until next week Thursday, so it just now have a ton of time to study... almost too much time, to the point I was bored out of my mind this weekend. Here was what I did this week:

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I made chocolate pretzel twist. Baking is one of my favorite things so this was the closest I could get to making Christmas cookies in my dorm kitchen. I gave them out to all of my friends. These treats are the easiest thing that could possibly be made in a dorm. You just need to find a oven and then you're good to go. Here is the recipe. 

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It went from unseasonably warm to freezing real quick. There was finally a morning with snow on the ground when I woke up and I was so excited. At my house, there is already a bunch of snow so this is weird for me. That morning I went on a run and it was the coolest/prettiest thing to be the first person on the path I run on. 

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I have been keeping my eye out for fireplaces this whole week. The winter chill is starting to settle in and nothing warms you up from a trek outdoor like a fireplace. The only one I can find that is usually lit is in Memorial Union, so anytime it is open I have to grab it. This weekend, the chair in front of it was open, so I snuggled in and began studying for finals mainly to have an excuse to be by the fire. 

How was your week?

xoxo,

Maddie

Chocolate Pretzel Twists

      I love to give gifts to people around the holiday season. I feel there is nothing nicer than someone surprising you with a small gift, just to show that they are thankful for you. Food is always the easiest way to do this. No one will turn down food, and most of the time, it is something everyone can enjoy.
     I make these pretzel twists every year with my mom. Normally I would call them Chocolate Pretzel wreaths because I use the circle pretzels, but needed to use gluten free pretzels this year. One of the girls I have gotten close with has Celiac's so I wanted to make something that she can enjoy as well. These little treats take almost no effort, just a little time to do the little things. I always appreciate a helping hand with these because it can make the process more fun and faster as well.

Chocolate Pretzel Twists
Ingredients
1 Bag of Holiday M&M's
1 Bag of Hershey's Kisses
1 Bag of Pretzels

Instructions
-Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
-Place pretzels on baking sheet. Put one kiss on top of each Pretzel.
-Place in oven for 3 minutes. The kisses should be soft, but still have their shape. Add one M&M in the center of each kiss. Refrigerate until hard.

Now what are you waiting for? Throw on the holiday sweater, turn on the Christmas music and start cooking! 

xoxo,

Maddie

Christmas Wishlist

It was almost impossible this year to figure out what I wanted for Christmas. I typically build up a list throughout the year, but this year I just didn't. There wasn't any particular reason, but maybe because this fall I was just too busy to actually shop. Either way I did manage to come up with some idea for my family.  

| Collective Giftcard | Red Sweater | cookbook | Anchor Sweater | Scarf | Hand Cream | | Perfume | 

     This year all I seem to want to wear is sweaters, but I never seem to find any that I like. I have looked at tons of websites, and so far I have only found two I like (from Madewell and KJP). Madewell has become one of my favorite stores these days and they really do well in the sweater department. Clothing wise I would also love a white scarf. I have two plaid scarves that I adore, but I can't wear them with patterned clothes. A white scarf would be so easy to wear. My mom has one that I always stole in high school, but now I think I need my own. 

     No Christmas list of mine would be complete without food being involved somehow. I would like some gift cards to local coffee shops in Madison, so I can go out for a treat without feeling bad spending my own money. I also enjoy cooking my own food for dinner instead of eating in the dining halls, so I could really use a cookbook so I don't keep making the same things over and over. 

      Whenever I need need to add something to a wish list, lotion or perfume is always a go to. There are so many options for someone to give with a wide price range. Anything from a small five dollar hand lotion, $25 roller ball perfume or a full bottle are always gifts that I love and use. The winter weather makes my hands really dry and a girl can never have too many perfumes. 

What is on your Christmas list? I could always use some ideas.

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Three

This was a pretty good week. Classes are starting to wind down so I really didn't have a lot of home which was nice. I will be honest, I didn't always know what to do with myself since typically all of my time is spend on homework. Here is how I spent my week!

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My sister came to visit me this weekend and we had such a great time. We tried a bunch of new food places, and walked around campus a ton. No lie, I walked over 55,000 steps this weekend. The best part was ordering Insomnia cookies and watching Christmas movies together. We just snuggled up and ate wayyy too many cookies. (you can tell with this picture that I really cared about the food haha)

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Saint Nick's Day was this Wednesday! This is one of my favorite Christmas events that I am missing this year. My mom was so cute and sent me a box of chocolate with my sister. It has all of my favorite chocolate and a cute pair of socks! Even though I peaked ahead of time, I made sure to not eat anything until it was actually Saint Nick's Day.

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When my sister was here we tried a new breakfast place called Mickies Dairy Bar. It is the typical college breakfast place that fills up so fast. It has been around forever and I really wanted to try it. The pancakes were so good and massive.  I had blueberry and my sister had chocolate chip. There were also really good cinnamon rolls and huge milkshakes. I would definitely recommend.

How was your week?

xoxo,

Maddie

Wearing Recently

I have been able to round up some of the outfits that I have been wearing recently. I was trying to take pictures for all outfits in one week, but I typically forget until I am already out of my dorm for the day. The weather as a whole recently has been way warmer than normal, making it seem like October, not December. It will finally cool down soon so I can start wearing my favorite winter clothes! (I am looking at you, Irish sweater) 

This is pretty much my go-to look with a lot of layering. It has been warm enough to not wear a coat so a vest has been the perfect stand in. I struggle to wear my vests because it isn't cold enough to wear both a vest and a coat, but it is too cold for just a vest. I am also wearing a flannel from LL Bean and a pullover from Polo. 

Plaid scarves are the best part of fall/winter clothes. I struggle to wear mine sometimes since I don't own a lot of plain shirts, but outfits such as these make it so that the scarf is the highlight of the outfit.  The scarf is from Old navy, and I have to say that Old Navy has some of the best scarves. They came out with more plaid scarves for this year and I have been eyeing them up. 

This is my favorite sweater right now. It is from Madewell and is the perfect weigh for wearing in the fall, or during the winter under a coat. It is a simple, yet classic sweater that anyone could wear. Madewell has definitely become one of my favorite stores recently. I love all of the sweaters, and I so want to try on a pair a jeans there as well. 

Here is an outfit that I wore a lot last year, but keep forgetting about this year. I rarely wear my riding boots because I only like to wear them leggings, not jeans. I also don't want to wear them if it might rain, so that takes out a lot of opportunities. Walking around outside all day definitely limits the shoes I can wear. 

The weather has been unseasonably warm so I have loved being able to wear my vests with just a light shirt. I have to take any opportunity to wear my vests due to the weird weather I talked about above. I have found that since I can't wear bests all of the time, I don't wear my button downs as often which makes deciding what to wear more difficult. 

The first of December meant that is was finally socially acceptable for me to wear my Christmas Sweatshirt. This is my go to for almost all winter, justified by the snowflakes of course. There are just some days where a sweatshirt is necessary and this was one of those days. I love Christmas sweaters and sweatshirts so this outfit never fails to make me happy.

What do you wear to class?

xoxo,

Maddie

My Christmas Playlist

The easiest way to get into the Christmas spirit is to make the perfect Christmas playlist. Christmas music is probably my favorite music to listen to all year. I love how upbeat, happy, and easy to sing along to. Music is the perfect accompaniment for making cookies or putting up Christmas decorations. 

This year my favorite songs are Home for the Holidays by Perry Como, Cold December Night by Michael Buble, and Christmas in Killarney by Bing Crosby. These have been some of my favorite songs for years and they never seem to get old. I also love to listen to various holiday/Christmas playlists on Spotify to find new songs. Here is my playlist!

What are your favorite Christmas songs?
xoxo,
Maddie 

Thursday Three

I finally went home this weekend and it was by far the best part of my week. I loved just being able to be with my family again, and I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with each of them. I also got to see one of my best friends and go out for coffee too many times. All of this makes for a good weekend. Here was my week:

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The best part of my whole week was getting to bake with my mom. We made everything for thanksgiving (see that post here) and I also got started on Christmas cookies. We made gingerbread cookies and chocolate covered pretzels. I am going to miss being able to make cookies all of December, but I know will make up for it when I am home for break. Hint: Come back soon for the gingerbread cookie recipe. 

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After a long day of classes, nothing is nicer than being able to snuggle up under a cozy blanket with a cup of coffee (decaf of course) and a bit of chocolate. I love to either watch Hallmark movies or read a good book. Both are great ways to be able to destress. This book, The Garden of the Beasts, is so good. I fully recommend it to anyone who is interested in historical fiction (rise of Hitler) or just generally likes to read. 

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This Christmas decorating has begun in my dorm. I have two trees, one fake with ornaments and a small little pine tree (real) that I am trying not to kill. I also bought some cute Christmas pillows for my bed because one can never have too many pillows. Finally I added tinsel around my bulletin board. All of this adds a christmasy touch to the room so I hopefully I won't feel too left out of the Christmas fun at home.

Can you tell I love the Christmas season?

xoxo,

Maddie

Thanksgiving Eats

Seeing as Thanksgiving is primarily based around food, I figured it would be fun to share some of what I had. I had a lot of fun taking pictures the various foods, especially since the lighting in my families kitchen is so good. My favorite part of my thanksgiving break was being able to make a bunch of different things with my mom. For a Thanksgiving with only five people, we sure managed to cook a lot. 

For lunch on Thanksgiving we made shrimp cocktail with a hearts of palm salad. I love shrimp cocktail. It was the perfect meal before a dinner as big as a Thanksgiving feast. Filling, yet you are ready for dinner when it comes around.  I ended up eating leftover shrimp cocktail for most of the weekend to give you can idea of how much I love it. 

For as long as I can remember, pumpkin nut muffins have been one of my favorite parts of thanksgiving. Most people have corn bread or rolls, but we have never failed to have my muffins. This year, an important part of the muffin (one of its mixes) was discontinued, so they were an experiment. Thankfully they turned out just as good as always and I ate way to many like usual. 

As an appetizer this year, we made Gougeres. They are cheese puffs, and always a hit with my family.  They are really simple to make, but taste amazing. Anything that is puffy and cheesy will always be a winner in my book. 

This isn't everything we had for Thanksgiving, have no fear, but it gives an idea of what I eat. Pictured is the turkey (duh), angle biscuits and sweet potato-apple puree. I am not really a big turkey  fan so I tend to stick to the sides for my overall meal. The sweet potato-apple puree has always been one of my favorites, even when I hated sweet potatoes. It is sweet, creamy and doesn't taste as healthy as it actually is. (all of which make it a good side) Not pictured: broccoli, gravy, and cranberry sauce. 

Last but not least, the dessert. Pictured is the pecan pie, and we also made apple pie. In my opinion, dessert is always the best part of thanksgiving so why not go all out. My sister tried the pecan pie for the first time this year and loved it, which means that I can make it more often! In the past, pecan pie was a dessert only my mom and I would enjoy so we only made it once a year. 

Here was a peek into what I made and ate over Thanksgiving break. It was so nice to be home with my family and away from all of the stress of college. Also, if you want to check out what else I have been up to, here is the most recent article I wrote for Spoon University- UW Madison. Check it out and let me know what you think. (Hint: it is also on Thanksgiving)

Now all I have to do is wait until Christmas break to bake some more...

xoxo,

Maddie

Thanksgiving Outfits

I never know what to wear for Thanksgiving. Do I wear a dress? Or maybe just a nice top? This is such a tricky holiday because there is rarely a set dress code. It also tends to depend what else you are doing that day. A day filled with football game watching would require a different outfit than a formal dinner. I tried to make some different outfits, so at least one would match up with what your Thanksgiving requires.

| Vest | Flannel | Jeans | Boots |

 | Sweater | Jeans | Booties | Scarf |

| Black Jeans | Sweater | Necklace | Flats |

     I will probably end up wearing something similar to the second outfit. I love pairing plaid scarves with sweaters in the fall. It is a perfect way to look festive but still be comfortable. Any of these outfits would be perfect for Thanksgiving. 

    I am so excited for Thanksgiving since it will be my first time home. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't go home until Thanksgiving, and even though I made it, I don't think I could have lasted much longer. I am ready for my mom's cooking, my own bed, and not having an insane amount of work to do each day. 

     Speaking of work... you might have noticed that I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been crazy busy with midterms and my sorority right now that each time I have a moments rest, the last thing I want to do is sit on my laptop. I also haven't been able to come up with any great content ideas, and I would rather not post anything than something bad. I am planning on using this break to regroup, so hopefully I can come back next month with some good posts again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Three

The highlight of my week was my Mom being able to come for the weekend. I had a such a great time with her. We went out for a lot of great meals, walked around a lot, and just overall it was exactly what I was needing. Here was my week:

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When my mom was here this weekend I went to the cutest bakeshop called Bloom Bakeshop. I've been wanting to go for quite a while, and thankfully it was everything I hoped for. The owner was so nice and the food was amazing. I had a delicious cinnamon roll and a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin that melted in my mouth. I would 10/10 recommend going. 

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I finally got my hands on the dairy free Halo Top ice cream. I am lactose intolerant, which means I haven't been able to try anything from Halo Top until now. This was the chocolate peanut butter flavor. I really liked it, but I did feel that something was missing. (probably the dairy lol) I definitely want to try the other flavors. Has anyone else had the dairy free Halo Top?

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There is no doubt that it is fall now. The leaves are finally completely changed. The reds, yellows and oranges make such a pretty picture. I love my morning runs (now that it is light again) because there is nothing quite like seeing the fall colors with the sunrise. 

How was your week?

xoxo,

Maddie

What I Wore This Week

 This week was a crazy cold week. I had to break out the parka for almost everyday, which meant planning my outfits around that. I didn't want to be too warm since it was still round 30 degrees so the parka wasn't 100% necessary. I also wore the bean boots a lot, but my feet have been hurting and they seem to provide enough support for me. With that being said, here is what I wore this week. 

Halloween over? That means I can finally wear my christmasy flannel. It doesn't scream Christmas, but I feel like I can't wear it until Halloween is done, but then I will wear it all winter. I love just pairing flannels with sweaters or vests for cozy, but cute fall look.

One day this week was warm enough to just wear a vest (for 1/2 the day) so I knew I needed to take advantage of that. I love my J. Crew vests because they are legitimately warm, and look so cute. I have vests in black and navy so there is nothing that they don't go well with. 

Remember how I said it was parka weather, well I wasn't lying. I have been so thankful I brought my jacket to school right away. This week I was crazy busy with homework,  and this particular day I sat in the library all day. The comfort of a sweatshirt and jeans cannot be matched. 

This shirt is probably one of my favorite ones. I got it from Vineyard Vines early this fall, and I wear it any chance I can get. It pairs really well with a vest, scarf or just on its own. It is honestly the best purchase I have made recently 

And finally, it round out what I wore this week we have Friday's outfit. I felt a sudden urge to wear my oversized Vineyard Vines quarter zip so I just went for it. Sometimes being comfortable and lazy is the nicest outfit for a Friday. 

And last but not least I might as well throw in the Halloween Costume. I didn't end up taking good pictures with friends (go figure) so this is the best I have. I was a gum ball machine and in my fanny pack I had a bunch of gum balls to give out. 

Hopefully this could give you some outfit inspiration or ideas. I probably changed my clothes about two to three times each day because it seems like something else is always needed, but this is the best representation of what I wore. Sometimes I get in such a rut with wearing the same thing over and over which always sucks.

Is this a type of post you'd want to see more often?

xoxo,

Maddie

Thursday Three

This has been a crazy busy week. Halloween was this past weekend and there was a ton of hype surrounding the weekend. Sadly, I found the weekend to be overrated which was a disappointment. The weather has plummeted recently. It went from fall to winter real quick. I am talking about 35 degrees each day. Here was my week:

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I have started cooking for myself in the dorms and I have loved it. It means that I get a good, warm meal and then some tasty leftovers for the busier days. My favorite thing I made this week was the chicken with veggies and brown rice shown above. I added teriyaki sauce which made for a yummy meal. Here is one of my recipes. 

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I got new winter hat from Great Lakes Clothing Company and I am so excited to wear it! Getting something in the mail is always fun, and it is even better when it is something as cute as this hat. (This is what it looks like). Now I am fully prepared for the crazy cold weather we are having. 

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I finally was able to go out for coffee this week. Yes, it was to do homework, but it was still such a nice change of pace. I went to Michangelo's Coffee House and had the best pumpkin pie ever. I had been craving pumpkin pie for a while, so it was the perfect solution. It was so relaxing to spend time off campus and just be by myself that I know I will need to do it more often. 

How was your week?

xoxo,

Maddie 

A Day in the Life

One of the things that I was the most excited about going to college was being able to create my own schedule for life. I would be able to make more decision on what I wanted to do and when. Well, being a creature of habit, I pretty much live life how I did in high school but now I just workout in the morning instead of going to school right away. I still wake up early and still need to go to bed early, but I am guessing that it will change by the end of the school year. 

In general, I really like how my day is structured. This kind of a day happens three times a week for me, and the other days are similar except I have no classes in the afternoon. On those days I try to keep up on other things I need to do such as laundry and cleaning my dorm. The only thing I would change about my day is doing homework with all of my free time, but sadly that is the one thing I don't have a choice with.

What is your day like?

xoxo,

Maddie

College Cooking: Taco Night

I am dead sick of dorm food. I have already complained about this several times on my blog, so I won't go too in depth on this. Mainly, I have decided to stop my constant complaining (at least for now) and do something my dining situation. This week I went grocery shopping with the goal of picking up ground beef based meals. Last night I made tacos and it was amazing. This is probably the simplest thing to make, but it is so rewarding to make my own food. 

Ingredients
1lb Ground Beef
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning
2 Torilla Shells
1 Tomatos
1/2 Avocado
Sprinkling of Shredded Cheese

Instructions
- Brown the ground beef, and then add the packet of taco seasoning according to the instructions on the package.
- Add desired toppings.
- Save the other have of the avocado and the ground beef for leftovers.

Here are the other meals I have planned for this week:
Bagel Pizza's
Beef and Cheese Quesadillas
Pasta w/ tomato sauce and beef

I am now ready to attack this week with good food, and avoidance of the dining hall.  If nothing else, this week will be one of the best dining weeks of the year so far. I finally feel somewhat like an adult with the grocery shopping and making my own meals. This has been one of the most exciting parts of the month for me since I have been able to start cooking again. 

I'll let you know how this goes!

xoxo,

Maddie