Over and Under Whelmed.

I’m feeling utterly overwhelmed and simultaneously underwhelmed. Seriously how is tomorrow December 1st? Wasn’t yesterday, the fourth of July, and the week before Easter? No I’m wrong and last week was Thanksgiving and Christmas is in twenty-five/ six days. I really cannot wrap my head around that fact. Usually around this time, I’m giddy with excitement about my birthday and Christmas, but this year, everything is different. I’m not there and I don’t know how to remedy that. And at the same time I’m worried about not getting all the stuff I want to get done… done.

 

A lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m a terrible gift giver, and I made a solemn vow (to myself) that this year would be different, that I would make or buy a handmade gift for everyone on my list, but of course, I have three weeks left, and only one gift done. I made a to-do list today and it’s about 5,280 feet long. Yes, a mile.

 

The largest contributing factor to my melancholic mood is that for the first time in my life, I won’t be spending Christmas day with my immediate family. My parents and sister are flying to Florida to visit with my grandmother, who’s too ill to fly here, like she generally has in the past, but I’ll be home, most likely celebrating with Jon and close friends of ours. My plans are not set in stone and I don’t really know what’s going to happen, only that I’m definitely not going to Florida. I’m not even sure my parents want to put a tree up since they won’t be here. It all makes me a little very sad.

 

Additionally, I have some big decisions to make in the coming weeks and thinking about what I should or should not or want or don’t want to do is very, very, incredibly overwhelming. I am this terrible combination of romantically inclined, ridiculously logical, and unbelievably indecisive. So when it comes to making life decisions I weigh all my options, over think everything, go back and forth a 100 times on what I want, debate whether I’m thinking with my head or following my heart, and usually end up completely flustered and unable to make the decision. It’s why I’m going to be 25 in two weeks and I still live at home. I’m awful and I need therapy. Seriously my mind was made up on Monday morning, and by the time I went to bed I was at a total loss again. Just typing up this post has delightfully given me nausea and a headache. I really, really, wish I was eight again with my entire life set in stone based on a game of mash.

 

Being overwhelmed is terrible. An easy way, to remedy being overwhelmed would be to get crafting and begin checking things off my to-do list, but all I want to do when I get home from work is sleep or watch television so I won’t have to think about life decisions.  This post is starting to read a lot like the notes I passed to my best friend in highschool, so I think I’m going to end as soon as possible. Probably, I shouldn’t even publish this, but going two days without posting will make me even more upset. Basically, I’ve had enough of feeling underwhelmed and overwhelmed and I just want to be whelmed.

 

So distract me, how are you feeling about the holidays? Anyone else both over and underwhelmed? Any decision-making advice, without knowing the specifics?

 

<3 Frankie

 

P.S. I was referencing ”10 Things I Hate About You”  with the whelmed thing, but apparently whelm is a word, and it has the same meaning as overwhelmed … so color me ill-informed. Really,  I want to be in a normal state of whelm!

This Weekend I…

This Weekend I…

enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with my lovely family…

scolded a kitty for trying to eat out of the garbage…

knit a headband…

saw the biggest lemons ever on a lemon tree at my nonna’s…

made the prettiest apple pie with my momma…

made delicious straciatella soup…

taught Jon to play Pinnocle and then proceeded to kick his and my dad’s butts at the game…

watched a beautiful sunset…

laughed a lot with my siblings.

It was a great weekend. I hope yours was lovely as well!

-Frank

{This Moment 5}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

Amanda Blake Soule

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Happy Thanksgiving

Have a relaxing holiday!

<3 Frank

Sweet Potato Hummus & Knit Hats

On Monday, when I got home from work, instead of making this crumble, I made this sweet potato hummus. Let me tell you, it was delicious. I immediately put some in a tupper ware to bring to a friend at work, and some more in another tupper ware to bring to Jon’s mom. I don’t think I ever want to try another hummus ever again, because this one is just perfection. My only suggestion is to over-estimate the amount of sweet potato you need. It’s better with more. Also since you roast the sweet potatoes anyway, roast the garlic too.

In other news, here are two of the hats I’ve knitted thus far.

The grey is the second one I’ve done, and the green is the third. The grey is way too big and the green is just slightly too short. I’m really excited about learning to knit and discovering knitting in the round. It was intimidating at first, but it’s so, so, simple and I love it. I have been making up the patterns as I go, which is why the sizing hasn’t been perfect. I’m definitely okay with learning via trial and error; experience is the best teacher.  If anybody knits, and wants to know my patterns for these hats, let me know and I’ll write-up a post. Anyway, I’m off to try a head wrap, ear warmer thing next…oh and help cook for tomorrow.

<3 Frankie

To Make Vegetable Broth

Somehow, the spelling of “broth” still looks wrong, despite the fact I’ve googled it approximately 4,002 times to confirm I’ve spelt it correctly. I should have just said stock instead, but I believe there’s no such thing as vegetable stock, because the word stock implies the use of animal bones. On Sunday, I made vegetable broth to be used for the soup on Thanksgiving. There is nothing quite as good as homemade broths or stocks.

Ingredients: 3-5 carrots, 2 parsnips, 1 turnip, 1-2 medium onions, 1 fennel bulb, 3-4 stalks of celery, 5 garlic cloves, 1-2 medium tomatoes or several cherry tomatoes, handful of chopped leek, handful of parsley and dill, 1 shallot, bay leaf, salt, pepper, red pepper)

To make Vegetable broth, begin by cutting all of your vegetables and herbs. Put them into a big soup pot.

Add cold water until the vegetables are all covered. Throw in bay leaf, salt, pepper and red pepper.  Put on high heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 2-3 hours.

Turn heat off, and let your soup cool. Once it’s cooled enough, strain the broth into a Tupperware for future use. Remove the bay leaves. Next puree the solid vegetables in a food processor or blender. Put this into the strainer and use a wooden spoon to squeeze the excess liquid into the broth. 

Now you have your Vegetable broth and a bunch of nasty looking smashed vegetables. The broth is finished, but don’t let the smashed veggies go to waste. Here’s how to use them to make a thick creamy soup.

First, heat some olive oil and red pepper in a smaller soup pot. Then add the mashed up veggies, some cumin, curry powder, ginger and coconut milk into the pot. Mix together. Heat thoroughly, about 10-15 minutes so the flavors can meld.  Lastly, salt and pepper to taste.  I served mine with toasted pine nuts, toasted Italian bread, and parmesan cheese.  It was a huge hit, and an awesome way to avoid wasting the vegetable broth’s leftovers.

I’m no expert, but I usually use vegetable broth within 5-7 days of making it, keeping it in the fridge. It can also be frozen and used within 6 months. Others will probably tell you it has a longer shelf life, and I assume it does, but it would freak me out to go longer.

So now I have my vegetable broth for my soup on Thursday. I’m making Stracciatella soup, which is an Italian egg drop soup that is so delicious! Ah, Thanksgiving Soup, I can’t wait to eat you. 

Do you make soup on Thanksgiving? What kind? Do you make your own veggie broth or use the kind from the store? Also, can you tell the difference between a parsnip and turnip? (I could not, until I googled it. How pitiful is that coming from a gardener who also cooks?)

<3 Frankie

Fantabulous Things Making Me Happy Right Now

Today, I’m feeling really sad, lost, and frustrated with life. Instead of lamenting about all the reasons I’m so grumpy and throwing myself a major pity party, I thought I’d make a list of all the things that are making me happy right now. So here it goes:

 

1. I found out last night that Jon isn’t leaving for Wisconsin until mid January, meaning I get to spend Christmas and New Year’s with him. Lucky me!

2. I spent the day Friday, shopping with Cassie and Jessi and Danny ! It was fantabulous. This is a new word.

3.There was this shirt at Francesca’s that I loved but practiced self-control and resisted. I’m still dreaming about it but I remain proud of my self-control. However, it would make a really sweet birthday present.

4. My grandma is up and walking around, in her house, as in not in the hospital anymore.

5. I’m spending Thanksgiving with my immediate family and my love…

6. My mom agreed to use veggie sausage in her stuffing so I get to eat it this year!!!!

7. I saw Breaking Dawn Part 1 at midnight on Thursday. It was also fantabulous, even if my sister hated it.

8. This morning when I walked into the kitchen, Tex and Tony were both laying on their beds, next to each other with their heads almost touching. It was swoon-worthy. Of course they both got up immediately to greet me, so I couldn’t get a picture. None the less, it was very dear.

9. Today, I’m wearing my green JCrew sweater. It’s comfy and pretty and I like it a lot.

10. This morning I slept for an extra ten minutes because I packed leftover salad for today’s lunch, last night. Yes I planned and it was helpful.

11. I made veggie stock yesterday and used the boiled veggies to make an impromptu soup. And it was delicious. And I took photos.

12. People keep telling me I look like I’ve lost weight and I definitely haven’t. (I weigh more than I’ve ever weighed before.) I guess it says a lot about my recent clothing choices. Regardless it’s nice to hear.

13. Yesterday, I cleaned my bathroom and did five loads of laundry. It made me feel accomplished.

14. I don’t have to work on Thursday or Friday. Four-day-weekends are the awesome, almost as good as five-day weekends, but definitely not as good as a whole week off.

15. I started several projects yesterday, They make me excited.

16. I love to knit. I finished knitting a third hat on Friday. It is the best one yet. I hope I continue to get better and better.

17. My mom and I went food shopping for Thanksgiving on Saturday . We laughed and chatted together. It was fun.

18. Tomorrow mom and I will make our semi-annual pilgrimage to the amazing, fantabulous, Wegman’s. I’m so excited.

19. I have a head full of ideas and two hands capable of creating. There is no limit to what is possible.

20. I’m planning to go home and make this.

 

This is the second time, I’ve written a list similar to this and I always feel better when I’m finished. In general, I tend to focus so much on past mistakes, future impossibilities, what’s lacking, or on what’s going wrong, that I can get really down on myself and my life. Taking a little time, to focus on what’s good, what makes me smile, and what makes me happy can drastically improve my mood.  Even if you’re not feeling down, I challenge you to make a list like mine, of things making you happy, right now. It can be as long or as short as you want. If you want to, feel welcome to post it in the comments, or write your own post and comment with a link so I can read your list.  It truly does make me feel better, and I hope it makes you feel better too. It made me feel so much better today that I think I might start doing it once a week. It is the little things that make life worth living.

 

So, please share! What’s making you happy right now?

 

<3 Frank

 

P.S. I have no idea how to make the font not small. Sorry. I figured it out!

P.S.S. I love this quote by Daniel Radcliffe.

{This Moment} 4

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Amanda Blake Soule

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Skirt Week

I deemed last week, “Skirt Week.” Mostly because I have about 50 skirts and when it gets cold, I’m super lazy and always opt for pants. I planned to share when I took the photos and rather than renig because I’m slightly very embarrassed by how ridiculous this all is, I’m going to follow through. Here are my outfits during skirt week.

Monday Skirt: Anthropologie, Sweater: Banana Republic, Tights: Macy’s, Boots: Marshall’s (Steve Madden)

Tuesday Skirt: H&M, Sweater: Banana, Belt: Vintage, Shirt: Banana, Tights: Macy’s, Boots: Lord & Taylor

Wednesday Skirt: Forever 21, Shirt: 10 years old, Tights: Macy’s, Heels: Madden Girl, Sweater: Jon’s mom

Thursday Skirt: Anthropologie, Sweater: Rugby, Shirt: Banana Republic,  Tights: Macy’s, Booties: Macy’s

Friday Skirt: Anthropologie, Shirt: Red Velvet, Tights: Macy’s, Booties: Macy’s, Sweater: No Idea

Friday Night Skirt: H&M, Shirt: Banana, Sweater: Rugby, Belt: Gift from my Brother, Boots & Tights: Macy’s

I loved all of these outfits when I wore them, but now looking at the photos, I’m not so sure I like a few.  It’s sad because they’re from last week!

My “style” (if I have any), varies so much from day-to-day.  I absolutely love the gold lace Banana shirt. Thursday was my first time wearing it with a skirt, and I fell in love with it all over again.  On Friday I thought it was a great idea to mix olive-green and mustard yellow, but I doubt I’d do that again.

I was feeling self-conscious about these photos while editing them last night. Jon made me feel loads better. He told me I look like Blossom in the Tuesday one, and in the Thursday one, I look like I’m picking a wedgie. I was laughing hysterically while I stored his comments in my brain for later use. Then he compared my writing about him here to being in the tabloids, which made me laugh even harder as I’ve never heard the word tabloid come out of his mouth before, and that’s just really silly.

So which outfit is your favorite? Do you share my love for skirts, especially high-waisted ones? Do you feel ridiculous while posting outfit photos? Any advice on how not to look awkward in photos?

<3 Frankie

P.S: I may just stick with taking pictures of the food, but if I ever do the outfit photos again, perhaps I’ll remember to wear make-up. Obviously, I forgot for all of these.

P.P.S: It’s Thursday! Breaking Dawn is tonight. I’ve been dorking out all week, but especially today. Only fifteen hours and forty minutes to go.

Notes on learning to use a DSLR

Sometimes ignorant people will refer to me as an artist, but I have never considered myself an artist and I doubt I ever will. Jon is an artist – an amazing artist actually. But me, I’m just crafty. Sometimes, I think of ideas and make things, but mostly I’m inspired by something and I try to recreate or emulate it. It’s why I love pinterest.

I love that I’m able to create things but I hate that I have never and may never be able to focus on one craft. I love them all! I jump from one craft to the next more often than a toddler pees his pants. One minute I’m making friendship bracelet earrings and the next I’m painting pots.  It makes it difficult to be really great at any one thing because I don’t stick with anything long enough to really improve.  Usually, even if I return to a craft, like say knitting, I have to reteach myself how to do it. It makes it difficult to advance when I have to return to the beginning and start over so often. It’s self-inflicted and really annoying.

When I bought my camera, I thought photography had the potential to be different.  I figured that I had improved while using the camera on my phone, and my digital point and shoot, since I’d started taking pictures with them years ago.  So wouldn’t I naturally improve over time in the same way with DSLR?

It has only been two months and one class since I bought my camera, and I can say that I have improved if only a tiny bit, but I’ve also realized that it’s important to take pictures every day, which I have not been doing. It’s hard to take my camera everywhere with me because it’s big.  Maybe if I had a nicer camera bag, I’d bring it everywhere and then rapidly improve.

Here is the big thing. I really love to take pictures. I enjoy being the creepy person at the party, taking candid pictures of people when they’re not paying attention.  I notice beauty in the nature around me – the golden leaves on my way to work have been amazing. Sometimes I want to pull over on my way to/from work and just go take some photos. When I Facebook stalk the photos of people from high school who are getting married, or engaged, I wonder who they hired to photograph their wedding or engagement session, not who they chose to marry.

I realize, I will most likely never be a professional photographer but I’m okay with just being a photography enthusiast.  It is one craft/ art form that I don’t feel I need to be amazing at right away. Even if, Jon was; he took the leaf picture, on manual settings with a manual focus, while the leaf was floating down the river, having only held my camera for maybe twenty-five minutes. You could call it luck, but there were like thirty others just slightly different.  He may have been incredible immediately but I wasn’t and yet I’m willing to work on it.  Hopefully one day I’ll be great and then Jon can kiss my lens.

I guess my point is if you buy a DSLR, don’t expect to have amazing photographs right away. Don’t expect to take a class and immediately when it is over have amazing photographs. Even if you know how the manual settings on your camera work, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to produce incredible photographs. It’s a combination of practice, trial and error, knowledge of your camera settings, and luck.  Also, don’t be surprised when you have to buy a new external hard drive to fit all the pictures you’ll take.

Do you own a DSLR? Do you carry it everywhere in a nice camera bag? Have any photography tips? Are you unable to focus on one craft for long like me or are you an expert at just one? Does it make you angry and jealous when you try something new with a friend or boyfriend and they’re better than you at it? No- that’s just me…

<3 Frankie