First world problem

I have been reading this other blog quite religiously (Health Freak College Girl) and she keeps referring to the "first world problem."  Reading one of her posts earlier this month was the first time I was exposed to this idea.  This picture sums it up nicely.

It kind of refers to the fact that as a wealthy country we have more luxuries than others.  Like those in third world countries don't have access to clean water, which is something that is critical to life.  And even with the luxuries of our life we still have things we can complain about.

So my problem, although it is nothing big in the grand scheme of things, still makes me crazy.

Anyways since school started I have decided that I hate my current backpack.  It is purple and white and so is just not me anymore.  I have outgrown it or something.  Anyways, I want to buy another one, but I really don't need one because I have a fully functional backpack at my fingertips.  So I am putting off the purchase thinking maybe one day I will change my mind and get over my want for something new.

Impromp-to applesauce muffins

Oh, when bananas go bad it is a bummer.  I dont eat them unless they are perfectly yellow with no black spots.  Well, as you may guess I don't eat a lot of bananas because they cannot all be perfect.  So I watch them sit on the counter becoming brown and wilting until it is just the right time to bake some banana bread something.

I would guess that most people do not like the soggy bananas, but I am proven wrong by my brother.  I have watched three bananas ripen this week, and no one has touched them.  Well, the day before I am planning on making some banana bread muffins one of them is gone.  I am a bit set back by this, but the remaining two are still very big.  The next night, at about 9:00 when I feel like making my muffins I set out all the flour sugar and other stuff I need, go to find my bananas and they are gone!  GONE I tell you!  So I get upset for like a minute and decide to scrap making anything this night.  After sitting on the couch I realize that I am in the mood to bake and so I must do something.

I found the banana bread recipe here.  Well without bananas I had to improvise, so here is the recipe that I came up with, and it is vegan too.

Muffin Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup applesauce


I mixed all the ingredients together and decided it needed something more.  So then I went nuts and added nuts.  1 cup walnut and 1cup pecans, chopped.  With half the mix they were just applesauce nut muffins.  Then with the other half of the dough I added dried cherries into it to mix it up.  The ones with just nuts are much better that the ones with dried cherries.  I think dried cherries are too tart, but I had them left over so I decided to experiment.  After these muffins are gone I plan to make another batch, this time with yogurt chips and dried cranberries.

Art Journal II

Another day of drawing and coloring. 

Was inspired by a pinterest pic (go figure).  Find the tutorial HERE.   

My version is pretty good for a first attempt.  What I would suggest is that you remember that when you begin this process your starting points do not have to be equally spaced.  Mine were really close to equally spaced so some of the columns came out even, which is not as cool as if they are all different and weaving.

Art Journal I

This week I have decided that I want to start an art journal.  For the past four months I have been focusing on school, and having little time for things I actually like (like crafting) because they seem to take up time I dont have.

But now that it is summer there is so much time, and so much inspiration all over Pinterest that I had no excuse not to do something. So a few weeks ago I told myself I needed to sit down and start some kind of art. 

I was feeling so deprived of my crafting ability, but I did not want to actually sit down and do anything because I am so worried about not making it perfectly.  For a week I had to almost work up the courage to begin making art.  Its weird to say, but I really dont want to do art because I will be disappointed in myself for being bad at it.

However, because I have all this inspiration online, I went out and bought a notebook early in the week, and began doing things. 

My first piece is some cutouts with my hand print in the background.  The hand print did not come out as well as I would have hoped, so I covered a bit of it  up with a picture, so it hides the imperfections. 

Twisted Pearl Necklace

Scrolling through the internet I stumbled upon this beautiful picture.

Oh, I instantly feel in love.  And wahoo  there is a tutorial for it too!!!!! It was my lucky day.

A day or two later I went out and got the materials I needed.  Ribbon and stands of pearls.  And at hobby lobby together they were 1.50 before tax.  So it was worth it.  

Anyways...

I gathered all of my materials:

• ribbon
• strand of pearls
• embroidery thread
• needle

Then I sat down and got started.  You can see the original tutorial you can go here: http://www.flaxandtwine.com/2011/12/day-16-twisted-pearls-diy-pearl.html. They have good pictures to better explain my horrible instructions.

I began by measuring out 2, 36 inch strands of ribbon.  At about 10 inches in I crossed the ribbon and threaded the needle through, then tied a knot and was ready to begin beading. 
Bead one pearl, then cross a long ribbon end over the pearl, and thread through.  Be careful, you want the thread to sit nicely on top of the pearl, no excess and no stretching.  You want the ribbon to fall nicely on top of the pearls.
Thread the second pearl, and cross the other long strand of ribbon over this second pearl.  It should look like this:

Then you repeat, alternating the ribbons after you add a pearl. 

When you find the length that you like you stop, make a small knot at this point, then re-thread through the last three or four beads, and make a small knot that it is hidden in the strands.

After that I knotted the ends right after the pearls ended.  Then made small knots the remaining length of the strands.

To attach it, I put a safety pin at the end as a closure.  This also allows me to adjust the length of the necklace.  The original tutorial has a better (more professional) way to complete the necklace, which you can check out here. 


This is one of the prettiest necklaces I have made.  But I am not going to make another one.  It was somewhat frustrating to make because the necklace kept moving, the beads were slick, and I could not always tell how much ribbon to use so that it would sit nicely over the pearls.  This necklace was a lot of trial and error.