Thursday, December 5, 2013

Holiday Cheer

I really don't understand all the hoopla around pumpkin spice lattes (or PSL), but peppermint hot cocoa and gingerbread lattes? Now that I can get behind!
For the past few years I haven't really gotten into the holiday spirit, but this year I'm really excited! My roommate put up some decorations around the house and they are super adorable.
                                                                 Photo credit: Gena B.
I love our fridge snowman! I've named him Frosty.  It is super easy to make your own. All you need are scissors, colored paper, & tape.  Next week I'll be making holiday cards with my friends, so check back for pictures! At work yesterday I got to make wrapping paper samples for an upcoming Toddler Art activity.  I used brown paper grocery bags and decorated them with tempera paint, markers, and a stamp pad. 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Bellingham Adventures

Awhile back I started a list of things I want to do before I leave Bellingham, and I thought I'd share some of them:

  • GRADUATE! I will be graduating from Fairhaven College after winter quarter, but the ceremony will not be until spring.
  • Pumpkin Patch: My friends and I started a tradition of visiting Stoney Ridge Farm every October.  I ended up having to work that day, but these lovely ladies all had a great time :)
                                                    Photo cred: Emma F.
  • CreativiTea: My roommate, my friend, and I went to the CreativiTea pottery studio in Fairhaven on 11/11/11 and 12/12/12.  Although we have run out of repeating calendar dates in this century, I would still like to go one last time. Here are a few of our past pieces:
  • I also have quite a few eateries on my list: Late Night at ABC Crepes , the lunch buffet at India Grill, and breakfast at Homeskillet 
It looks like I'd better get busy!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Favorite Goodwill Finds

1. My mom and I found this chair at Goodwill a few summers ago.  It is super comfortable and it’s in good condition.  They were selling it for $14.99 and we had a ten dollar credit so we got this great chair for $4.99!  The tea cup is also from Goodwill.  My favorite tea right now is Sleepytime Peach.  I picked up all of these books from Goodwill for my trip to Montana over the summer. Some were better than others, but I didn't spend more than $3.00 on a book, so no harm was done!

2. Sometimes people forget that you can get dishes from Goodwill, but not me! Before heading off to college I went to Goodwill to start collecting dishes for my dorm room.  I returned to Goodwill to expand my dish collection for my first apartment.  I've found a lot of great stuff over the years and once it all gets a good cleaning, it's as good as new! I recently picked up some ramekins for making lava cakes, so expect a recipe in the future :)

3.  That Sea, The Gambler by Gregory Alan Isakov
You never know what you will find on discount tables and bargain bins.  Usually they are full of merchandise that no one wants, but if you are willing to spend a little time looking through piles of stuff, sometimes you can find a treasure! I found this CD on the $.50 table outside of Everybody's Music in Vancouver, WA.  Right after getting this CD I got two of my wisdom teeth pulled out, and this mellow music was perfect to have in the background while I drifted in and out of my post-wisdom-teeth-pain meds-coma.



4. I got these boots at Goodwill for $7.99! The leather was in good condition, but unfortunately the soles were not.  I decided to get them re-soled because I knew that they were worth it.  The whole ordeal was a little more costly than I would have liked, but still much cheaper than if I had bought a new pair of cowboy boots. Four years later I love them and I still wear them all the time, so I think the extra money was well spent!

Welcome!

I’d like to start by giving a big shout out to the beautiful & talented Allegra Villella for designing my blog! You should check out her wonderful work here. I'm excited to have this beautiful space to share my thoughts. I can't wait to see where this blogging adventure takes me!

Happy As A New Dawn will be a place for me to share my favorite recipes, thrift store finds & tips, and other things that inspire me. Feel free to check out my cooking tumblr Better with Butter.

The title for my blog came from the song Old Pine by my favorite musician Ben Howard.  Have a listen: