A Hiatus of Sorts

Hello my lovely readers, friends and followers. As you probably see, this is the first post on my blog since, lets think, oh January. I have constantly passed by the link on my twitter page, knowing I should probably update, but with the craziness of the semester my blog got pushed to the back burner of my life.   After I got back to school, my semester proved to be absolutely crazy to say the least. To apologize/prove my point/vent, here are the reasons why:

1. Sorority life

So as many of you may know, I ended up joining a sorority which was hands down one of the best decisions I ever made. The support system and friendship I get from these girls is unlike any other and I am truly blessed to have them here for me. Downside? My level of business has raised tenfold.

2. Semester

My classes this semester are to say the least, awful. I have a lot of pre-requisite classes I am getting out of the way and a lot of my "not so fun" classes to take, and my gpa has taken quite a downfall

3. Campus Life

I am involved in a ton on campus this semester, slightly overwhelmed, and definitely have not have time to even craft, let alone blog.

I am seriously blessed in so many aspects of my life (just got back from one of the best mission trips of my life that I will be blogging about shortly) but I have definitely been feeling overwhelmed. However, ultimately God has a reason for everything and will get me through.

So as summer approaches, expect blogging so slowly but surely start back up. I am staying home this summer and working as a nanny, so more DIY projects and posts about thoughts and life will slowly but surely reappear.

Love you all.

Music of my Soul...Bruce Springsteen

Many of you probably looked at the title of this post and thought "Oh god, Alyssa is pulling a not so ok 80s flashback". Yet this 80s flashback is honestly the reason why I am so into music today.

For as long as I can remember, I have always heard the tunes of Bruce Springsteen flowing through my house. We have an entire shelf of CD's and DVD's, as well as been to more concerts than I can even count. My 10th birthday present consisted of a road trip (RV Camper included) to see Bruce in Buffalo. If you cannot tell, my family raised me to be an ultra fan.
Yet being raised on Bruce developed myself as a music enthusiast and became the basis of music I listen to today. His lyrics are so rooted in the working america and so true - not just a catchy pop song. His music brings out emotions and feelings one can only feel through truly talented music. Here is to you Bruce.

He just released a new single which can be viewed here.
He is also releasing a new album March 6th.

I am not completely wowed by the new single, but if you are new to the world of Bruce Springsteen, my favorite songs include "The River" and "Waitin' On A Sunny Day".

Road Trip Part 2

Moved back into college today. Crazy exciting to see everyone and all my beautiful friends and brothers/sisters in Christ. Classes start tomorrow which is crazy to think, but it will be awesome to get back to a routine.

However, I never finished up with the fabulous road trip I took to visit my best friend from high school! Partly because I was waiting for her to send me some pictures she took. Aurley is an avid photographer and is one of the many reasons I adore her.

So after riding up, I met up with Aurley and her roommate Claire and saw their room and got dinner at their student union. It was so great chatting, comparing colleges, catching up and picking up right where  we left off. We even watched Sweeney Todd and drank tea. Presh.

We woke up bright and early the next day, looked outside, and saw it was pouring rain and grey. Great. So in order to brighten this awful day, we went to Cracker Barrel and Tim Horton's (this was my first ever trip to Tim Ho's!). Then we went bowling (which we were the youngest there by AT LEAST 50 years). Fun fact: Aurley wants to join a bowling league.

 So we walk outside and, like magic, it is sunny and dry. Aurley and I then took a tour of Allegheny's beautiful campus. It is very rustic and colonial, which is awesome to see. Alas, it was then time for me to depart and drive home - but not without a stop at Starbucks first. This was my trip in a nutshell. If you want to know more about Aurley, you can visit her Twitter or Flickr.

A Bit of Reflection

When I created this blog, I never imagined I would have so much self discovery. For instance, blogging is something I have grown to love. It eases my mind and helps me relax. Yet I have learned how truly indecisive I am. I go back and forth every day on my blog layout, picture size, and the direction I should take my blog. Should I make it more of a fashion blog? Or just continue on my lifestyle track?

See? I am so indecisive its unreal. But it is amazing seeing the transformation.

Thats all for my little rant. I am off to watch Mona Lisa Smile...again. Such a good movie. I cannot believe I just watched it for the first time the other day.

Fair Trade Review: Women's Bean Project Salsa

So one of the presents I gave my Mom for Christmas was some Salsa mix! When she was pregnant with me she always craved salsa, so salsa in my house is definitely sentimental. Plus I am a huge advocate of fair trade, so finding fair trade salsa mix made my day!

The Women's Bean Project is an organization that "strives to break the cycle of chronic unemployment and poverty by helping women discover their talents and develop skills by offering job readiness training opportunities". They are awesome. They sell a bunch of different food mixes ranging from dips to breads to cookies. They also sell coffee/tea and jewelry.

However, what I think is most interesting is that they are not hiring women to make/sell products, but they are selling products to hire women. In short, WBP:

• Meets basic needs and removes barriers to employment by paying a wage and facilitating support services
• Offers life skills that enhance a woman's ability to govern her own life
• Arranges services that increase employ-ability such as GED and computer classes
• Provide hands-on training in the fundamental job readiness skills required by entry-level employers

I wanted to make a salsa fresca with some fresh tomatoes, onions and cilantro. About half the mix can be  mixed with 1lb of tomatoes, which I think is pretty impressive. After cutting everything up and mixing the ingredients with the mix, I let it sit for roughly 2 hours to let all the flavors mesh.

I am pretty impressed with the mix, but honestly I think the 1lb/half pack ratio is off. I did not really taste a whole lot of mix. There is also a recipe given where you blend canned tomatoes, jalepenos, onion and the mix that I would like to try (with organic tomatoes!). I am curious if the mix is better with canned ingredients compared to fresh.

Are you a fan of mixes like this? Any recommendations I should try? Also if you love salsa, what is your favorite brand/kind?

Craft Time: Artsy Art

So today I was feeling particularly artsy. Some days I want to create something useful for my dorm or something I can wear, but others I just want to create something for the sake of art. Just something lovely, appealing to the eye and something I just look at and sigh. So I created this lovely piece of work. 

All you need is:

• Colored card stock
• An old book you ca rip pages out
• Tissue paper of your choice
• A button
• A candle
• Crafting glue

I first began by burning the edges of the paper to create that nice vintage looking effect. If you have never done this before, just have a wet cloth handy and make sure you burn the edges slowly, making sure the fire does not spread to the whole sheet of paper. Next I just glued my book paper to the card stock.

I then took tissue paper and cut circular pieces that would make the flower you see below. I also crumpled the tissue paper in order to make sure the paper had some height and dimension.

I then sewed the pieces of tissue paper together and then sewed on the button. I did not use glue because I wanted to keep the flower as light and airy as possible and did not want to weigh it down any more with glue.

I then glued the flower onto the top of the paper, and for a little touch took another sheet I burned and cut out a stem and flower. I did not really want the stem and flower to stand out, so the book on book paper turned out to be perfect for the effect I wanted.

Hope you enjoy my little art project. I am off to listen to some Vitamin String Quartet and chat with some friends!

Rainy Day

Lets just take a look at the photo above. Its rainy and cloudy and gross out. A rainy day...in January? What is the world coming to. Well, since I consider a rainy day a problem, the only way to fix a problem is with a solution!

What is the perfect way to fix rainy day blues...

A movie! But more importantly what is the perfect movie to cheer up oneself on a rainy day...

A Disney movie! Well how convenient. Beauty and the Beast just got remade in 3D and put into theaters. A classic Disney princess movie+3D+rainy day = perfection. So there I was, me and a movie theater filled with girls ages 10 and under with their Mothers. Did I care? no. Did I ooh and aw with the little girls all throughout the movie? Oh yeah. Did I highly regret not dressing up in a Belle costume? Heck yes.

What is your favorite Disney princess movie? Also, what is your opinion on this huge 3D craze?