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:

|1|

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.

|2|

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. 

|3|

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:

|1|

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. 

|2|

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. 

|3|

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:

|1|

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. 

|2|

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. 

|3|

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!

|1|

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)

|2|

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.

|3|

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