Little Reminders

Right now in my life, some things could be better. My family and I are dealing with some tough things right now, but there's nothing we can do but wait, watch, and take it one day at a time. Don't get me wrong, I really do love my life, who I am, the people I know and what I'm doing, but there are a few things that I wish just weren't so. But there's nothing anyone can do to change those things. Going through these things is part of life, and almost everyone experiences them, too.

However, there are some people out there who have it A LOT worse than I do. There are people starving and living in poverty, without homes or clothing. I found this message on Stumble and was reminded of how lucky I am, and how things could be so much worse. I need to appreciate what and who I have in my life more, and never forget it.

A recipe post

Due to finals, papers, work and school winding down, my posting has been very irregular. But that will all change after Tuesday, when I'm finally done with the semester.

For now, enjoy this recipe post. It's for a sausage bread, a family favorite in my house. I have no idea who was the first to make it, or where the recipe came from, but whenever I make it, William has seconds and requests leftovers. It's a simple recipe, and takes about 30 minutes to cook.

Italian Sausage Bread:

Ingredients:
- Six links of sweet/hot Italian sausage (whatever you desire)
- 3 larger green bell peppers
- 1 large onion
- 1 pizza dough (you can use frozen, make your own, or buy a dough from a pizzeria like I did)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning
- shredded mozzarella

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 Cut the sausage links into little chunks. On high heat, cook the sausage in a pan with olive oil. You can add salt and pepper as you desire.

 Cut the peppers and onions however you like (cube, dice, strips, etc) and add them to a separate pan. Cook on high heat with olive oil, salt/pepper as your desire and about 1 tbs. of Italian seasoning.

 Have your hot boyfriend man these ingredients at the stove. Or you can man (or woman) them yourself, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.

 Roll out your dough into a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, just circular. I don't see why it can't be rectangular either, so you can shape it however you want. Once your dough is rolled out, place it on a greased cooking sheet.

 Once the sausage is cooked (I usually check it to make sure, but it's okay if it's not cooked all the way because it will cook a bit more in the oven), drain the meat from the oil and place it on the dough.

 Add the peppers on top of the meat once they're done cooking.

 Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top of the sausage and peppers. You can add as much/little as you'd like.

 Wrap it all up. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The time may vary depending on your oven, but I take it out once the bottom of the bread is golden brown.

 Cut it into pieces and enjoy! (Behold the ooey gooey goodness of this meal above).

A fast and easy meal to feed the family. This bread serves about 6-8 people, depending on how big of a slice everyone wants. It's a flexible dish that you can change up to however you like!

Happy Easter!

 Bunny donut from Dunkin' Donuts

 Carrot Cake Cupcakes

 My loot

 William's loot

Have a Happy Easter!

For a Good Cause

I know I've been pretty silent lately, but this is a worthwhile cause I'd like to participate in.

I try to collect donations for various charities throughout the year. I plan on contributing money I collected since the fall to an American school in need, through the Waiting for Superman website. My next collection will go towards relief efforts for Japan.

 

Visit this website to find out how you can help.

Currently Wanting

Call me crazy, but lately I've been purchasing/asking/longing for items for my future home. I may be twenty, but I really don't plan on having a place of my own until after I graduate college and living a stable life where I can actually afford living alone. So we're talking at least two years before I move out of my parents' house.

After Valentine's Day, you probably would've found me at Target, purchasing V-Day markdowns. I bought dishcloths, bread pans, a cookie jar, and oven mitts for my future home. Then my grandmother started giving me items she's had around her house. I've always dreamed about decorating and stocking my future home, but lately, everywhere I go, I've been dreaming of what items I could purchase.

When I saw this Pyrex pattern on Etsy, I was in heaven:

Via

Via

 Via

 

Via

A girl can dream, can't she? Maybe I should opt for the pink Kitchen Aid mixer instead of the red....

What's been going on

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of Valentine's Day, my birthday, or my birthday party. I'm quite upset with myself for that...

My parents threw a wonderful party for me for my birthday. It was the first time that my family formally met William's family, and I'm glad to say that everyone loved each other! Our grandparents got along great, and our families can't wait to get together again when the weather is nicer.

For Valentine's Day, William made me a scrumptious seafood Alfredo dinner, and for dessert, I made raspberry cupcakes with a butter cream frosting. Dinner was so good that I've put William in charge of making Alfredo sauce from here on out.

 This week is midterms week, so I've been studying, studying, studying. And also writing away on papers and doing math homework. But next week is spring break, and William and I have a lot of things planned. Let's just hope the weather is nice to us. I also have a potential job offer that I'll be discussing further with an employer next week, so I'm hoping that works out, too. I really want to leave my job, and if I could get out of retail all together, I'd be soooo happy!

And... later this week I plan on making my first ever recipe post!

It's February!

I would be lying if I said I didn't like Valentine's Day. And I'd be lying to myself if I didn't admit that I've been excited for V-Day since the day I went to Target and saw all of their cute things (which was probably the very end of December/beginning of January).

What is not a lie is that I've gotten into this holiday since dating William, but maybe it's exciting for me because my birthday is two days after.

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I fell in love with this headband as soon as I saw it, and the lovely William got it for me for Valentine's Day.I have my V-Day outfit already picked out, and this would match!

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I'm in charge of dessert on Valentine's Day, and these cookies on marthastewart.com look adorable!

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William and I always make Valentines for each other, and marthastewart.com has some cute ideas. 

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This bracelet is so sweet!

Clearly, I'm counting down days until Valentine's Day! It stinks that it's a Monday, and we have school, but we still plan on having dinner and dessert together.