Strawberry Cream Cheese Heart Pies

Even though Mother's Day has long passed, I wanted to share what I made for my wonderful mother. I was inspired by this post and this post. These were a hit with my family! My brother said they tasted like pop tarts!

 Since I didn't have a heart shaped cookie cutter, I used the end of a fork. It worked pretty well.

 My oven has a pretty high temperature setting, so the first time I followed directions, I actually burned the pastries! Oops! But I adjusted the temperature for 340, for 12 minutes.

Definitely try out this recipe for a sweet and cute pastry!

Spring Has Arrived!

Spring has officially arrived! The sun is shining and the flowers are blooming! My favorite thing to wear during the spring time is floral. Floral skirts, shirts, shoes, you name it! I think they can easily be paired with sandals or be dressed up with wedges. I've shared some of my favorites down below. Enjoy spring!(:

Dresses: first, second, third, fourth

Blouses: first, second, third

Bottoms: first, second, third

Prayer Apps

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday; the beginning of the beautiful Lenten Season! This is my favorite time to really reflect and try to grow closer to God. Now many of my friends like to give up sweets or their phone for Lent, but I prefer to try to do something everyday. Last year, I decided to say a decade of the rosary each night. This year, I'm going to be following an app that I found--I'll tell you about it down below, as well as some other spiritual apps I discovered.

1. 40 Day Spiritual Workout for Catholic Teens by Bob Rice

I thought this was perfect for the 40 day Lenten season! Each day has different Bible verses as well as Saints quotes to reflect on and tips to help pray and understand the Catholic faith. The app was created in order to allow teens to grow stronger in their faith. You can even set notifications for when you want to "workout". I am currently on day 2, and so far I really love this free app. 

2. Laudate

This app is amazing because it has so much stuff! Daily prayers, liturgy of hours, an interactive rosary, numerous prayers (some even in Latin!) and much more. I use this app to say prayers in the morning and evening. Since I was little, I could never say the rosary without looking at a cheat sheet; but with this app, I can easily follow along. 

3. Word Alert: Daily Bible Verses

I have used this app to read daily Bible verses in the mornings. I feel like it's a good way to start the day. You can set the times for alerts. They are really quick and easy to read. 

4. Instapray

Twitter meets prayers. You can share your prayers and thoughts to people who will pray and reflect with you through this social app. It is really simple to use and great for people who like to pray in communities. Sometimes the people who need our prayers the most, are strangers we don't know at all. 

5. The Word

This app has daily Bible verses as well as awesome typography wallpapers! Each verse is accompanied by a reflection. There is a subscription rate, but I think it's worth the money. At least try out the free trial!

Spring Wreath Inspiration

I feel that my front door has been rather bare since Christmas has ended, and have been searching on Pinterest for some ideas for Spring Wreaths! I plan on creating one during the Spring Break holidays, and I'll be sure to make a DIY post about it (if it comes out good, fingers crossed xx). Check out some of my favorites! I really want this wreath to be a Spring/Summer wreath and I like more of a light, airy wreath.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Leggings Love!

I know this trend has been around for ages, but I'm now just hopping onto the bandwagon! I recently purchased a pair of black leggings from Target and once I put them on, I knew there was no turning back. I was in love. They are incredibly comfy and can be worn with so many tops; which makes picking out an outfit super easy. I also purchased yoga leggings--basically the greatest thing ever invented. My two favorite types of pants, combined into one! Here are some of my favorites, plus outfit inspiration:

Fleece leggings are a must when it gets cold; especially if you live where it snows! They are soooo warm inside!

These Victoria's Secret PINK leggings are actually reversible! So cute!

floral / fleece / reversible

Favorite TV Shows

I am literally obsessed with Netflix. My favorite types of TV shows are usually comedies, with a few dramas. Here are a few that I can watch for hours!

1. The Office

Can I just say "BEST SHOW EVER". I love this show so much! I am currently re-watching all 9 seasons; I just started season 1 this week. My favorite characters are Jim and Dwight! Personally, I think the show was better with Steve Carell, but it wasn't terrible without him in the last few seasons. Whenever I'm having a bad day, I can always count on The Office :)

2. Parks & Recreation

This show is also pretty amazing and hilarious. Leslie Knope, played by Amy Poehler, is so quirky and weird and just plain adorable! Sometimes I wouldn't mind working for her...and then you realize that's how much deep you are into obsession with a show.

3. The Walking Dead

I wasn't much for zombies and science fictiony shows, but TWD is definitely an exception! Season 1 was the best season out of all of them. I think it had the most excitement and plot twists; the other seasons felt that they dragged on and on. But that did not stop me from watching them night and day! 

4. MasterChef Junior

This show was incredibly interesting! I have never watched an episode of MasterChef, but I wanted to see how these kids cooked and boy can they cook! They had kids from 9-years-old to 14-years-old. The kids knew so much and acted so mature. I couldn't imagine the pressure the show had, but it looked like they were having fun! Alexander, the winner, was simply amazing. I wouldn't mind eating one of his creations!

I think those are mostly my favorite TV shows. I'll probably update this in a couple of months as I watch new shows! :)

Christmas Decorations

Since 2012, I have used Pinterest as my guide in Holiday Decor. The "Holiday & Events" category is heavenly around Christmastime. My family usually starts decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving. Since my brother and sister are either working or away at college, I have been in charge of decorating...which I'm not too sad about!
I'll begin with my own room. I have seen many YouTubers, such as Bethany Mota aka Macbarbie07, decorate their rooms for the holidays and goodness! They go all out! Their rooms are so nicely decorated down to the details! My room is pretty small, with minimal amounts of furniture. So I decided to only decorate my dresser.

The pink tree and polka dot present were from a figurine set as a gift I got about 2 years ago. It came with little penguins and it seemed very childish, so I threw out the rest and kept those. I don't remember where that snowglobe came from...possibly Hallmark.

The red jewelry box was from my birthday last year. I thought it looked cute on top of my Fossil watch box I received last Christmas. Throughout December, these decorations have been moved all around my dresser; from different corners to being spread out. But I ultimately decided on keeping them in the middle. I almost forgot the Tinsel Tree! I added that this year when I went to the Dollar Store to get some Christmas decorations. I got a small Styrofoam cone and some tinsel. I simply wrapped the tinsel around the cone, gluing the bottom of the tinsel to the cone and gluing the top.

This is the view from the top of the stairs. The garland and the bows are from the Dollar Store years ago. I had some difficulty trying to figure out a good way to hang the garland on the stairs (I just used tape and some floral wire, but the tape ended up chipping the paint). I decided to hang it instead of wrap it in order to show the poinsettias more. Please excuse the messy game room...

I'm not sure where this angel banner thing is from.

These stair decorations were new this year and such a fun project to work on! The original idea came from this post and this picture; both thanks to wonderful Pinterest! The garland and the picks are both from Target. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby. I placed 3 spindles in between each swag.

They look amazing in the day time!

Onto the Christmas village! My personal favorite and the first decoration I put up! I'm pretty sure most of the village houses are from the Dollar Store that we've had forever. The street lights are from Michael's last year.

This beautiful shop is Lemax from Michael's last year. I absolutely love it. It looks even better when it is lit up.

The tree was from an antique store in Louisiana for a $1! It was great.

This painting was from a boutique store somewhere in Texas. It has LED lights that looks like snow and at night it looks so pretty.

This is the mantle of the fireplace in our living room. This is also fun to decorate and full of festive decor! The painting is from Kirklands we got this year. During the rest of the year, we have a different painting that hangs on hooks. In order to cover up those hooks, we took some extra garland and picks from Hobby Lobby and concealed the hooks. I think it also adds a nice touch to the painting!

The MERRY was a DIY project from last year and was inspired by this post. We hung them by placing the ribbon underneath stocking holders.

This "Believe" ornament sign is from Hobby Lobby.

These candle holders were from the clearance section of Hobby Lobby. When they're lit, it adds a glow to the painting.

The tablecloth on the center table is from the Dollar Store and the candles are from Macy's.

The dining room chandelier needed some Christmas spice! I wrapped some Dollar Store garland (my family loves Dollar Store Christmas decorations if you didn't notice..) around the base and used some floral wire to attach ornaments. The picks are the same ones on the swag, I just cut them up and placed them in the garland.

That's it for my Christmas decorations for 2013!