3 dollars and 82 cents of pure awesomeness.

something happens on the first saturday of every month.

something giant.

something magical.

something i like to call

50% OFF EVERYTHING at goodwill!

oh whats that?

my new cereal-eating-ice cream-enjoying bowl for a mere 50 cents? yes, thats right!

these plates were truly a find.. and at a dollar for both i was bummed out that they didn't have the whole set! oh well, dinner for two!

75 cents for this purse?! HOLD THE PHONE! thats less than the pack of gum inside my purse! spruced up with one of my favorite scarves and i've got a new summer purse ready to be filled with disposable cameras and sunscreen!

needed a brown belt. could of paid 30 bucks for a new one at urban outfitters or i could pay less than how much a diet coke costs me! needless to say, i think i made the right choice.

bringing back the old school candle sticks. and at 25 cents a pop, why not?!

now that was a good shopping day, didn't break the nonexistence bank of chelsea and only bought things i'll definitely use! {yes, i almost came out with about 5 different skirts that needed sewing, a blazer with shoulder pads all the way to mars, 3 different coffee mugs, and an old school coffee pot. but alas, i contained myself!}

UNTIL the first saturday of july that is!

have a thrifty, money-saving kind of day!

p.s. two lovers on the run made some banana pudding cake in a mug! hooray! their's looks better than mine! and seriously "cupped cakes" is the greatest thing i've heard!

two is better than one: p.p.s. i might have been making a billion new prints this weekend and i just made this one... am i allowed to play favorites?

a taste of summer mid finals week.

after my final on wednesday i decided to go to franklin for a quick mini trip before my finals on monday. well deserved? eh.. debatable of course! but really it just got me even more excited for monday at precisely 4:45pm when it will officially be summer for me!! as i begrudgingly opened my text books sunday i realized that those couple days were exactly what i needed to power through the night. {i could tell you what a Riksdag is and the stages of Piaget’s cognitive development. and they say i need another three years to earn a degree..}

happy hour at sonic is what summer's about. thats 44 ounces of pure diet coke with lemon and lime {going crazy} BLISS. and half price? thats merely nickels and dimes!

surprise! i open my cup {to chomp on some ice. i don't care what the dentist says.. i love it!} and there was a piece of ice was bigger than the lemon! apparently sonic has fallen victim to america's view that bigger is better. no, no, no!! surely this would do some major damage to teeth. which i only found out after i attemped to bite down.. {think giant jawbreaker} woops.

antique shopping and funky finds.

{wait is that a potential love liv cake stand in the back??}

i'm kind of way loving all the different lamps on the ceiling!

the 3 stages of chopstick usage.

1. nervousness.

2. diving in for some rice.

3. complete success*

feast at p.f. changs.

where a table of 5 ate enough for a small city of ravenous teenage boys. {but seriously if you've never had the double pan fried noodles with vegetables then grab a to go order TODAY because its insanely incredible}

*please note tessa is the background picking up rice and putting it on her chops sticks. gotta love the kid.

some days all i need to do is be alone in the kitchen. its therapeutic. BUT there is nothing like having my darling sister tessa as a baking buddy! she cracks jokes left and right. and at age 11 she cracks eggs better than me!

these cupcakes have quickly become my go-to cupcakes! i love how surprised people are when they take their first bite. the hints of orange through out the cupcake is simply magically and epically delicious. and my favorite part is people explaining that since its basically fruit then you can have another. {and another} and i most definitely agree with that!

hope your weekend was simply delightful and just swell.

and i would love to say thank you for all your sweet comments on monique's obit. if we could we would take you all for a wild ride blasting your favorite tunes!!

friends don't let friends cut their hair late at night.

who wouldn't want a hair cut at 1 in the morning from your friends who proclaimed "we really don't kow what we are doing?" and to make matters worse better we only had a pair of kitchen knives. {you know, asparagus... hair. same thing} oh the joys oh being broke!

here you can actually see how much hair andrew grabbed and chopped. hysterical. except for the fact that there was a giant hole in the hair... jared what a tropper. someone get him a kit kit bar.

i mean i tweeted while i cut his hair. so obviously thats skill. {or thats why there's that one awkward section...} either way jared has a fresh new mullet/mohawk/glamour-don't do! FOR FREE!

late night is for taco bell. and apparently hair cuts?

make your appointments today!

don't be scared.

chatatatat.

this weekend i road tripped it up to chattanooga! finally. and it was filled with adventures, insanely delish food, laughs galore, an introduction to glee starting with the first episode {dare i say it... i'm a gleeker. "who is josh groban?? kill youself." }, and just plain old good fun with friends i wish i saw everyday. plus it doesn't hurt that the city is gorgeous and filled with good eats like MOJO BURRITOS {it's like moe's only freasher, better, cheaper, and did i say better? i want one now!} and aretha frankensteins where wait and hour and half for gigantor pancakes doesn't seem insane {when i say the pancakes were 5 inches thick they were 5 inches thick. plus they were jam packed with blueberries... so check off your daily fruit needs as you dig in to a fluffy cloud of delicious drenched in syrup and obviously some buttttah. paula would be proud!}

first thing first? hiking adventure into the depths of the wild jungle where lost is actually filmed! {okay maybe not but we found a perfect cave for sawyer to stash his stolen goods} but guess what.. tenneesee is beautiful!

{hey! look there's katie!}

THE BLUE HOLE.

we made it!

after i took a tumble crossing the water.

{of course!}

i almost lost a sock too. unbeknownst to me!

{thanks andrew for the quick rescue!}

hannah and erin {and virg} being oh so brave and jumping off the cliff. something i was to terrified {mostly of the icy cold water to do. ONE DAY!}

it was such a gorgeous day!

and gives me hope that spring hasn't left us yet!

and you know a weekend isn't complete without a little baking.

orange cupcakes that is!

orange smiles for orange cupcakes!

late night volleyball...

...where some of us took the opportunity to play 20 questions {where i chose cheetos and have consequently not stopped craving them ever since. must breakdown and buy them asap!} and simply die of laughter! i may or may not have been sore the next morning die to all the laughing.

reunited!

basically preparing for a week filled with papers and test after i weekend like that is like locking me up in meat filled room where i'm forced to eat gherkin pickles and watch south park and dancing with the stars combined. on repeat. i just want to go back to chat town and watch some glee whilst enjoying orange cupcakes! thanks for all the fun chattanooga!!

weekends in franklin.

i am one lucky gal. cheesecake factory TWICE in one week! {call CA-cheesecake annoymous- and sign me up. i need help!} its just too good. got sephani's red velvet cheesecake. new favorite. {p.s. t swift sighting!}

shopping trips to target always prove to be the most fun when sisters are included! yes we stopped by the shoes, browsed through the music, and ogled and the new liberty of londen line, but the best part was the toy section where we were completely ridiculous and absolutely goofy. {oh how i love these girls.} but sometimes i have to remind them who's older and ultimately more powerful.

we got a little face work done.

real housewives of orange county ladies ain't got nothing on us.

ever since i made a bop it reference in my reverse letters i've been dying to play it! low and behold they have this new fancy version. so close to buying it, but i don't think the roommate would approve of hearing "TWIST IT" at 3 in morning. but you best believe i played it at the store! score 75 thank you very much!

thumbs up.

when do i go a weekend without baking. {oh yeah that one time when i was 2.} i tried out a recipe from my new book, the hummingbird bakery cookbook. i just got it for my birthday and i'm seriously obsessed! {if you are looking for new recipes then get this cookbook, its too cute!} all the recipes look divine {next on my list is lavender cupcakes, and the muffins OH THE GLORIOUS MUFFINS}. so while the sun streamed in and edith piaf {with a little animal collective} blasting i whipped up a batch of the most delicious, most fluffiest and light LEMON CUPCAKES ever.

{before i delivered them to my friend, me and tess manged to sneak away two for ourselves!}

and because i love this recipe so much i typed it up for you!

LEMON CUPCAKES

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp grated lemon zest

3 tbsp butter {only 3 tbsp. of butter!? you're basically eating fruit!}

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

lemon frosting {to die for. best icing hand down!}

2 cups confectioners' sugar

5 tbsp butter

2 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp whole milk

preheat oven to 325 F. Beat flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, and butter in mixer on slow speed. gradually pour in the milk and beat till just incorporated. add egg and continue beating. continue mixing for a couple minutes until batter is smooth. spoon batter into baking cups until 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.

lemon frosting: beat together confectioners' sugar, butter, and lemon zest on medium slow speed. slowly pour in the milk on a slow speed and gradually turn the mixer up to high speed. continue beating for 5 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy. spoon frosting on cupcakes and decorate!

p.s. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY!

picnics and sunshine.

when the sky looks like this. you know its time to back a basket of goodies, grab a friend and head outside!

song of the day? summertime clothes by animal collective

{"what do i do with my hands?!"}

just the classic lunch of peanut butter&jelly sandwiches, oranges, diet cokes, and wheat thins! {you can tell i made the sandwiches because they are exploding with peanut butter!}

the sky doesn't even look real.

the day was complete with good laughs, a couple of break dancing karate fighters {intense}, a parkour hardcore bike rider jumping off the roof {okay not really, but he was going down stairs and doing tricks}, and even a lesson in how to whistle. {one day ciara! one day!}

hope your weekend was sunny and bright.

p.s. i got a formspring! what do you want to know!? ASK away!

wild rumpusness.

a few weekend highlights.

LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN!

i finally got around to seeing where the wild things are {i was too edgy and hardcore to see it when it was in theaters..okay, i was just broke.} and the first 20 minutes was so good! but then it started getting really weird. {right around the point where you meet bob&terry} i just turned to my friend with a question mark as a face and he says "just wait, it's about to get STRANGE!" and when poor douglass {my fave} got his arm torn off and sand fell out i realized they strayed from the book a little. {a lot.}

jimmy fallon. with his new lost parody "late" and his thank you letters, he is quickly filling the conan shaped hole in my heart. {yes, i'm still kicking it with my blast from the past, VHS-playing TV!}

"thank you fake drawer in my kitchen. even though ive lived with you for 10 years you still manage to fake me out." for me its my bathroom drawer thats super skinny and would be perfect for the stray bobby pin, nail polish, and the emergency stuff-everything-in-the-drawer-because-a-guest-is-here clean.

my mail box wasn't empty this weekend!

the cobwebs were brushed away and cheerful flowers and valentine wishes took its place! {cupid lives!}

after giving away all the cookies i made last weekend.. what did i do this weekend?! oh thats right, i baked some more cookies. i used the chocolate peanut butter cookie recipe, shaped them into hearts and sprinkle a little love on top. they are quickly becoming my new favorite cookie.

{i chopped up chocolate cause i was out of chocolate chips. turned out delicious. but then again, its chocolate so how could it not?}

i watched so much 30 rock it was like 180 rock. thank you instant play netflix.

"I can't read Liz Lemon. My shameful secret is out... now you know why I'm always running into the ladies bathroom. I can't read! I sign my name with an X! I once tried to make mashed potatoes with laundry detergent! I think I voted for Nader! NADER!"

for valentine's day i sported some red lipstick {which i always save for the most special occasions!}, rocked my heart purse, painted my nails a happy pink, and was delighted when i heard my cards had reached their destination! {check out this lovely gal and this wonderful lady! it filled my heart with joy when i saw their blog!}

i realized all i need to know i can learn from dove chocolate.

{let's pretend i ate these over a period of weeks versus the 4 days it actually was. yeah, i'm gonna need to sign up for chocoholics anonymous immediately}

hope you had the most happiest valentines.

p.s. i loved how the pickle lovers united to make sure i knew to try dill pickles! all the responses made me laugh. after i regain my strength.. its going on my grocery shopping list!

SNOW, bagels, & valentine crafts GALORE

TENNESSEE GOT SNOWED IN!

{it rivaled the great snow storm of '03 where i got stuck at school for 5 hours while everyone else was sipping on hot chocolate... okay so i might still be bitter but i digress} it was the perfect opportunity for a LOST marathon in order to prepare for the season premiere on tuesday!

"see you in another life brother."

i had my LAST DAY of free bagel&schmear.

my heart broke a little. now i gotta fork up the $2.59. big bucks.

{cinnamon raisin + honey almond}

{but as you can tell they totally skimped on the cream cheese. i think they were catching on to all my free bagels... woops}

craft time with my best friend, as we watch the snow fall.

i am loving garland right now so i decided to make valentine hearts garland! so simple. all you need is paper, colorful markers, fun pink and red string.

and VIOLA. finished product.

now everytime i brush my teeth i am reminded of love and homemade goodness.

so festive.

i had so much fun making these hearts!

P.S. dear dove, i love your chocolate but next time have better "valentines promises". and remember us single gals that maybe don't have someone to "draw a lavender bath for on valentines night" okay thanks. signed, your otherwise biggest fan.