Pinterest bakes

On my days off, I like to either chill out and have nothing planned, or have my entire day planned. Lately I've been using them to look up dessert recipes on Pinterest and then make them for my family that night. Here are 3 that I've made this past week that I've loved.

Boston Cream Cake

It's so easy and so cheap! I wanted to bring a little part of Boston back to PA with me and, while this obviously isn't as good as the one at Mike's Pastry, it was still really good!

Chocolate Eclaire Cake

My parents LOVE chocolate eclairs, so I found this and thought it would be so easy and so good. And I was right! It was cheap, once again, and it took no time at all, it just had to be refrigerated about 8 hours before you eat it so the graham crackers can soften.

Banana Cream Pie

Banana-anything is probably my favorite thing ever. Making pies has been my new favorite thing since  made apple pie last Christmas. This was another cheap and simple recipe! I think the hardest thing with this one was deciding there to chill it. The fridge made it too runny but the freezer made it too solid. Still good though! One thing I did different, was used a pre-made chocolate crust instead of the traditional graham cracker one. SO good! It was the little hint of another flavor that the pie needed.

What have you made recently? I love finding simple and cheap recipes! I prefer baking over cooking as well. It's kind of my outlet, right up there with art. I just put on a Lifetime movie and bake away! I'll keep you updated if I do any more :)

Check out my Pinterest for more.

Lately

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Phew, I've been busy! I've been working day and night, during the day at my job and at night either cat sitting, house sitting or babysitting. I basically sleep at a different house every night! I'm currently at an old neighbor's house watching their 2 cats Pippin and Max. I'll be doing this for the next 7 days while also watching another old neighbor's cats and working. Crazy! It's just for about 2 more weeks though and then I'm ending my job and I'll be completely focusing on Summer!

How are you doing?

This isn't one of the cats I'm watching, but I found the great picture while scrolling through Flickr! It's by Tina Sosna.

ReFashionista

Check out this blogger and designer! She takes $1 thrifted pieces of clothing and recreates them into something wonderful and stylish. Most of the people that I've seen do this have been more of a miss than a hit, but Jillian does a fantastic job! It makes me very inspired. I think I should learn how to sew...

Check out more on her blog!

Portroids

I found an awesome Flickr account! It's called Polaroid Portraits and they take candid photos of celebrities and have them autograph the photo while it's developing. It's so cool! I scrolled through for a while and tried to narrow down my favorites (sorry the first 3 are from Workaholics!).

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Check out their website as well! Which one is your favorite?

I'm boring

What have you all been up to this Summer? Anything really interesting? I've been working so much, I feel like I'm at a creative halt! I'm going to be working a lot these next few weeks, but after that I'm going to ask for about 2 weeks off so I can have fun with friends and also pack up my room since we're moving!

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Photo by Kübra Z Sağin

Love

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"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

-Lao Tzu

Photo: Alina Valitova

Black and white

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I had another day off of work today, so I went to the pool, cleaned out my car, and took some photos. I think later I might go to the movies solo, because we all need to do that every so often! I snapped these just a little while ago, though. It's such a nice day here, perfect to get outside and not die of heat. I played around with edits and really liked the black and white. Photos like this always seem to make it look like life is standing still...

Photos by me, with my Nikon D3100.

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Postsecret

"Song of Myself" excerpt

I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the

     beginning and the end,

But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.

There was never any more inception than there is now,

Nor any more youth or age than there is now,

And will never be any more perfection than there is now,

Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.

Urge and urge and urge,

Always the procreant urge of the world.

Out of the dimness opposite equals advance, always

     substance and increase, always sex,

Always a knit of identity, always distinction, always a breed

     of life.

Photos by Maud Chalard.
Words by Walt Whitman.

Love yourself

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"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection."

-Buddha

Beautiful photos by Dennis Auburn

Days off

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The other day I had a day off of work and it was fabulous! It's been a while since I've gone an entire day without some kind of work. I really took advantage of it! I went to my favorite stores, baked some deserts, painted, watched Degrassi. All my friends were away, but I think it worked out for the better because it  was a perfect 'me' day. So great! I like my job, but it's always nice to get a break every now and then.

What do you like to do on your days off?

Photo by Fabrizio Milia, on Flickr.

Some forms of self care (you may not think about)

I talk about this a lot, but I feel like everyone should participate in some form of self care. To get some ideas if you're stuck, here are some that I thought of recently! I hope you try some out.

Cleaning your room

The other day I helped friend clean and rearrange her room and I thought to myself "wow, that felt good!" so right after, I went home and did the same for my room and I felt amazing! I moved things around, found some new storage for my movies and books, threw some things out... I felt my head space immediately clear up!

Drink water

Duh! What a simple one, right? If you're deciding what you want to drink, go for the water, not the soda! slice up some lemons and cucumbers and get some mint leaves and throw them in! So good and so good for you!

Pamper evening

I won't go on about this one too much, because I think I mention it on here every day, but one night have yourself a pamper night. Take a bath, put on a face mask, eat some snacks, watch a movie. I prefer alone, but if you like doing it with friends, by all means, make a night of it! A good face mask can heal almost anything, I'd say.

Do little things to improve everyday life
I couldn't really figure out how to word this one... this is just things like washing your makeup brushes. Today I washed mine and I feel like a new person. It's amazing what cleaning some brushes and changing some sponges can do for a lady. Also other things like watch a movie, journal your thoughts, light a candle, wear your favorite slippers. Little things that make you smile and feel good!

What do you do as a form of self care?

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Have any of you been to this museum in Boston? It's so beautiful! The courtyard is breathtaking. I could sit here everyday with a book or a sketch pad!

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Photos by me.

Film

I love love love these beautiful photos by rrrroza, on Flickr! They're so perfect. I wish I would take my camera with me more places... especially polaroid and film.

Do you typically just take all pictures on your phone? I have a point and shoot that I try to take with me most of the time, just because it's so small but it's something other than my phone.