Today, we have friends coming over for a barbecue. (Haha, does anyone else have trouble spelling this word? I usually just type "BBQ" to be safe.) Problem is, it's 52 degrees (that's 11 degrees celcius for you English folk) and raining. It's been raining all night.

Don't get me wrong. I love the rain. It's soothing and therapeutic. But not when you're supposed to have a barbecue. Sorry, I digress. Back to the MAIN purpose for this post...

I was scrolling through my iPhone trying to find apps to delete. I always have a space issue on my 16gb iPhone 4S. They need to make one with macho storage for app hoarders like me. Anyways, I came across Hipstamatic Disposable.

Does anyone else remember this app?? It was one of the greatest! You can share "disposable" cameras with friends. And just like proper disposable cameras, you can't see the pictures until you finish the whole roll and get it developed. I remember the anticipation that came with sharing a camera with friends, eager to see the excitement everyone captured.

Sadly, this app disappeared off of the iTunes store. Life in LoFi posted a blog about its disappearance as well. It makes me so sad. I know this happened close to two years ago, but I just can't bring myself to delete it from my phone (even though I'm one of the lucky few that has it backed up to my computer). I guess the fun is just minimized now that most of my friends no longer have it. Most of the fun was in sharing the cameras.

I hope that this app someday returns. I'm not very hopeful though.

You, your, you're.

There, their, they're.

It's practically second grade English, is it not? WHY can't people just learn?!

#majorpetpeeve

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Lately, I've been trying to promote my blog. I absolutely love reading and following blogs and I would love if my own blogosphere can grow to be like the blogs that I follow. I recently signed up for Bloglovin' and it has the cuuuutest iPhone app to go with the site. So, for those of you out there that are into blogs, I highly recommend checking this site out, downloading the iPhone app, and following my blog! Hehe. Happy blogging! :)

Nerd Alert!!

If I were a millionaire, this would definitely be something I'd invest in! It would be suuuuper cool to have original Apple signage hanging in my living room!

I looooove eggs. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and never get sick of them. Sometimes, I am lazy and just scramble them really quickly because I can't be bothered to wait to eat. Other days, like today, I feel like being a little more creative. A potato hash is one of those meals that can't really go wrong! It has a bunch of my favorite ingredients and is quite easy to make!

Recipe: Fried Egg Over Potato Hash

Ingredients:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

People asked me to post updates so I decided I wouldn't leave them all in the dark.

My CND Vinylux arrived in the mail a couple days ago. Today, I painted my nails and used my new top coat.

CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat Day 1—we'll see how this lasts! I'm planning to do everything normally to gain an accurate judgment on how protective this top coat is with the regular tasks of life.

Last night was a blast! I love spending time with friends and when that involves eating as well, it is absolutely perfect!

We went to Rodizio Rico, a Brazilian BBQ place in the city centre. It's one of those places where they give you this little token thing that has a red side and a green side. As long as you have it flipped with the green side showing, they keep coming by with large pieces of different kinds of meats. When you get full, you just flip it over to the red side so they know to stop. Since it was my third time there, I knew exactly which meats I wanted and which to avoid...so it made it easier to pace myself and not get way too full way too fast.

Afterwards, we went back to Dave and Clare's house and had ice cream. You can always make room for ice cream!

There are days when I wake up so hungry for the word—I can't even bring myself to make breakfast before opening it up. (And believe me, for a person like me, that is HUGE.)

Then there are days like today, days like every single day this week, when I find myself so distracted by petty things around me. The internet, Netflix, and my never-ending piles of email—neither one of those things is evil in and of itself. But when they distract me from the Lord, they become evil.

A friend of mine posted a blog saying that she was taking a "selah" from blogging and then went on to describe the word. In the book of Psalms, Selah meant a pause or a rest, a state of meditation on the good things the Lord has done. Contrary to her, I find that blogging is often my selah. I love putting into words the good things God is doing in my life. I love sharing the joy that the Lord has given me.

Lord, please help me to be on fire for You. I want to be a wildfire, so contagious that people want to hear what You are doing in my life. Give me a hunger and an appetite for You and for Your word, so that I want it right when I wake up.

One of my biggest pet peeves is painting my nails and then having them chip later on that same day. In my frustration,  I ordered a CND Vinylux Weekly Top Coat in order to emulate having a Shellac manicure. Usually, I don't buy a product unless I do thorough research and read a ton of reviews. But I just couldn't find the amount of reviews I was hoping for. So I'm reaching out to my blogosphere and taking a poll. What do you guys think?

watching // HIMYM...I'm barely starting season 9...so no spoilers, please!
eating // scambled eggs
drinking // coffee
playing // the new Shane & Shane album + the new All Sons & Daughters album on repeat
wearing // pjs. I'm a housewife, remember?
reading // a bunch of blogs on my Feedly
loving // my wonderful, always hard-working husband
learning // to trust that God's timing is always the best timing
working // on blog template revisions
practicing // patience and productivity

Yesterday, hubs and I did some work on the garden. We transplanted this random lavender plant and cleared out an area so I can have an herb patch. [Random thought: since English people pronounce the "h" sound in the word "herb," would it be grammatically correct to say "a herb patch" rather than "an herb patch?"]

Anywayyys, so far, I've planted basil and coriander. I am planning to add mint, parsley, rosemary, and thyme. And yes, I plan to add them in that order so they can be in my garden alphabetically. Obsessive compulsive, I know.

I love working on the garden! And I love eating the [literal] fruit of my labor...or in this case, herbs!

I always complained that I hate web design. Print design has forever been my preference. But I think I actually do gain some enjoyment from problem solving on the web.

After some toil, I have solved the problem with my Disqus commenting system. You can once again leave comments on my blog!

Want to make a difference? Want to buy products that change peoples' lives?

Check out Remnant International.

You wont regret it!

I have a thing for old books. There's something about them that's just...comforting. Maybe it's the smell. Maybe it's that they're falling apart. Maybe it's that you can hold so much history in your hands.

Yesterday, for no reason whatsoever, my friends (I have the greatest friends!) gave me a gift —an old book. But not just any old book, it's a Leica Manual from 1951! Now I just need a Leica! That has forever been my dream camera. I can't wait til the day I finally have one in my possession. If anyone's feeling generous, I'd like a Leica X2 please.

1. If it wasn't wayyy too complicated of a remodel, I would love to add a window seat to my house! I'd be there allllll the time reading with a cup of coffee in my hand!

2. Yesterday, we were at some friends' house and we were talking about how iPhone batteries just don't last the whole day. This can be VERY annoying unless you have an external battery pack to give your phone a boost. Look at this new cute one I found on Photojojo! I want it!! If this one costs a little too much, check out my friends' company which sells them for way cheaper! (The might not be in a built-in purse, but they definitely get the job done!)

3. Definitely taking part in A Beautiful Mess's Photo Challenge! #abeautifulmesschallenge

4. One of the things I miss now that I live in the UK is shopping at Target! Aren't these little buckets adorable?!

5. I love peonies. And I love green. What can be prettier than this?!

6. I might have to build one of these for all my clothes!

Whose bright idea was it to make nail polish wands that don't go down to the bottom of the nail polish bottle?

I finished a nail polish bottle today. My first time ever. I have this problem where I buy too many nail polishes so they either dry out or break before I get the chance to use them up. Today, I faced another problem. There's about 5mm left inside the bottle that my wand just wont reach! So frustrating!!

Fashionistas, what do you do when you face this problem? I just can't bring myself to throw away my Red Apple polish.

1. You thought nail polish was only for your nails, huh? Nope, not anymore!

2. I remember when I first saw the Periodic Table of Typefaces and I thought it was soooo cool! This is pretty cool too, but if they made one with Typefaces, it would be cool²!!

3. How smart and chic is this idea?? A vase on a bookshelf—and it blends right in too!

4. I'd love to visit this Victorian mansion someday!

5. Dreamy color grading puts me in the mood to travel! I need to start editing my pictures just like this! :)

6. If only all honey was sold in pretty packages like this! I'm a sucker for pretty packaging...I'd buy anything!

7. I'm not one to typically brag about my own photography, but I love the way this photo came out...and the edible product wasn't too shabby either!

8. I'm a bit sad that Blogtacular is so expensive! It's only a couple hours away from me too!! Oh well, I guess I'll have to learn the fine art of super-blogging on my own! How do you all think I am doing?

9. I know this is in a store, not in a house, but I reeeeeally want bookshelves like this in my house!!

You know that feeling when you have a food craving that wont seem to go away until it is fulfilled? I've been craving some gooey, chewy chocolate chip cookies for a few weeks now. Stores just don't sell the gooey ones—and crunchy ones just aren't the same. So I decided to make my own.

Recipe: Homemade Gooey, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened 
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed 
• ¼ cup granulated sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (that's 180°C or gas mark 4 for you English folks). 
2. Sift flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 
3. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla until completely incorporated. 
4. Add flour mixture in 3 additions; scraping down the bowl after each addition. 
5. Mix in chocolate chips. 
6. Either grease cookie sheets or cover in parchment paper. 
7. Drop 1 tablespoon sized balls onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. These cookies will spread! 
8. Bake 8-10 minutes in preheated oven. DO NOT bake more than 10 minutes. Warning: when you remove the cookies from the oven, they wont look done. Don't worry about that...take them out anyway.
9. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet (by this point they will look done!) and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If you are impatient and try to eat them before they are cool (we’ve all been this person!), the cookies will fall apart and they will seem underdone. Patience is a virtue!

I want to do this someday. I just love everything Pantone. This seems like such a fun project! :-D

There are so many pretty things online. I love artsy blogs and I hope to someday have a repertoire of blog readers like some of my favorite blogs have! In the meantime, I will refer you to those blogs. Here are some pretty finds for the day!

Happy Wednesday!

This past weekend, we went to a Cheese Fair in Leicestershire with a group of friends! It was so much fun and the samples were so tasty! I bought a couple cheeses but then was later inspired to attempt making my own cheese! I did a bit of research online and am up for the challenge! Once I do it, I'll be posting about my experience, so keep your eyes open! :)

Here are some photos from the day!

About a month, I accidentally broke a souvenir from our honeymoon. I was soooo sad. I even cried. Embarrassing, I know.

Maybe I hold on too strongly to physical things. Maybe that's a problem. Regardless, I wanted to get it replaced. I emailed the resort we stayed at for our honeymoon. I thought they'd understand. I was willing to pay for the replacement and pay for the shipping from St. Lucia to England. Our email correspondence lasted for about a week; they seemed eager to help me. But the last thing I heard from them was that the boutique at the resort didn't have any in stock and they were going to check their warehouse supplier. When I didn't receive any other emails, I thought they had given up so I tried to move on.

Then today, the doorbell rang and I received this package!!