Lately...

Howdy! A lot has been happening lately which is both exciting and stressful...Let's talk about it!
I recently had a job interview to work in another retail environment. I left the interview and was offered the job just two hours later, which was very surprising. I am looking forward to starting and I am glad to have two jobs now so I know that our bills will be paid and we will have extra money to do things this summer.
Additionally, I begin classes in less than two weeks. I am very excited and looking forward to interacting with people that aren't coworkers or Sean, but I do hope that I can keep up with everything so soon.
Here are some other things that I've been up to:

These cups aren't particularly new at all, but they are to me, in a way. The Air Force base we lived on in Italy used to hold these field trip-type events where you could pay a flat fee and then travel somewhere around Italy or Europe with a group. In 2004, my mother took a Polish pottery trip to Poland. Apparently it was a good trip because she left with about $200 and came back with enough pottery to make hundreds of dollars in the states if she wanted to. Mom had planned on buying a hutch to display her favorite pieces but could never find the right one and before she knew it, we were moving again. The entire collection was packed away in a tall cardboard box and shipped to our next destination. But somehow, over the next ten years, the box was never opened again. Mom says she didn't realize we still had it and so, up until last month when it was discovered, it stayed packed up in it's time capsule-like state.
Unpacking the box was like Christmas. There were things in there that I hadn't seen since, well, I was eleven. Of the beautiful Polish pieces, my mom gave me these: two sets of mismatching cups and saucers. They have become prized possessions of mine and the beginning of my own Polish pottery collection.
And let's just say, I'm not hoping to study abroad in Poland next year for no reason.

I have been making a lot of smoothies lately, which I am kind of proud of. Not to mention, I've been using some of my wheat grass, as you can see, and it is turning our very well! This particular smoothie was one I made when I felt myself getting sick. After drinking this pitcher, I felt better the next day. I really wouldn't be surprised if wheat grass has healing properties!

Sean and I recently visited one of our local favorites: Town Topic. I was craving a cheeseburger terribly so we stopped by and had some delicious diner food! After my burger, I ordered a piece of warm blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!

A friend of ours, and a friend of his, had a joint birthday party last weekend which Sean and I attended. We arrived at the party just before 7:00 PM and left at 5:30 AM so we really enjoyed ourselves. I wanted to share this photo of Sean (left) conversing with a our good friend Charlie. I love this photo because it is so genuine and I am glad to have caught them both in such a happy moment.

Henry's first photo

Lastly, Sean and I had a sad thing happen last week when our furry friend and first pet Henry the Hamster passed away in his sleep. Henry was two years old and suffering from a large tumor on one of his arms, which had grown to the size of his own body by the time of his death. He was never in pain and seemed to handle living with it quite well, but it pained me to watch him struggle with daily activities such as walking, eating, and even sleeping. Truthfully, I wished his passing to be soon and painless, which was the outcome. As silly as it may sound, I did cry when we realized he was gone. Henry was Sean's and my first pet together. He was the best hamster and first pet. He was happy, social, lively, and super fun. We miss Henry already, but we are glad to have had him as a friend. Rest in peace, Henry!


Tell me about your pet! If you don't have one, what kind of pet do you wish you had?

How to: Grow Wheat Grass

Hey guys, I just wanted to share how big my wheat grass has gotten and how easy it was to grow! This was just two days ago, after a week from planting the seeds! I am very happy with it so I wanted to give a small 'how-to' on planting wheat grass seeds.
Growing wheat grass is probably the easiest thing you could grow. So if you want to try your hand at gardening but you seem to kill everything, try wheat grass! Plus, it is super healthy for you and your pets too!


Supplies:

• wheat grass seeds (You can find them at your local plant or hardware store. I bought mine from Dutch Flowers in Kansas City, Missouri)
• a pot or container of any size
• soil
• water

1. Determine how many seeds you need based on the size of your container. The bag I am holding was completely full when I bought it. I have grown two large containers full (one is in the blue pot seen here, and the other is the size of a loaf of bread) and I still have this much left. 

2. Soak your seeds in a bowl of water for 24 hours. This allows the seeds to absorb as much moisture as they can before being planted.

3. Plant your seeds in a container, a half-inch below the soil's surface. Spray with water and place in a sunny window. 

4. Keep an eye on the soil everyday and make sure it isn't drying up. Give a it a good water once every few days without drowning it. After about two or three days, you will begin to see sprouts. After five days or so, your grass should begin growing nicely. 

5. Let it grow! This is one pot after a week, but as you can see, I did not plant some of my seeds below the soil so it is take a bit longer.

This pot is on day 9 and looking beautiful! I am very much looking forward to trying some of this in smoothies. Maybe I will find some wheat grass smoothie recipes and share them with everyone! 

Have any easy plant recommendations? What are some things you like to grow indoors?

6 Things I Love Right Now

I wanted to talk today about some things that are absolutely rocking my world recently. And I don't think I need much more explanation than that, so without further delay, here are 6 things I love right now!


1. San Benedetto Iced Tea:

When I was a kid, my family and I lived in Northern Italy for a few years, While we were there, we experienced a lot of great things and drank different drinks and ate different foods. We miss it a lot and unfortunately, it has been difficult to find some of our favorite items back here in the states (I still have yet to taste pizza made here in America that is as good as Italy's!) However, Sean and I recently visited the River Market area where they have many different kinds of shops with imported goods. One of those was an Italian market and I found this! My family and I used to drink these like water when we lived there! You could buy them in cases and they were very popular with flavors of both peach and lemon. I was so happy to have found them that I went back again today and got some more! I feel like this will end up being my drink of choice this summer.

EXHIBIT A: My brother, sister, and I on our first day of school in 2002. My sister is in the middle, holding a San Benedetto Peach Tea. 

2. Mollie Makes Magazine

I was walking around Barnes & Noble one day last month, just trying to kill time, when a magazine called out to me. With it's beautiful, eye-catching photos and inspiring designs, Mollie Makes will literally make you want to pocket the magazine*, run home, and feverishly begin creating adorable crafts (such as the free DIY floral fabric brooch included in this package), and then you'll want to blog all about it! Want a taste of what I mean? Visit them online at: molliemakes.com

Then you'll agree that this UK-based brand has just the inspiration kick you've been needing!

*Don't pocket this magazine. They're too amazing to have to lose money unnecessarily. 

3. House Plants
I bought this little girl today at a nursery in River Market today, and I am so excited to watch her grow! My mom's favorite plant is ivy so I thought it would be nice, in honor of her and it being Mother's Day, to choose this little one as a house plant. Unfortunately, Sean's and my one bedroom apartment doesn't have a balcony or anything like that so we don't have many choices when it comes to gardening. At the moment, I am experimenting with growing an avocado seed as well as oregano, but I want more! MORE!! I love plants so much, but especially indoors. I feel like they can give a really great atmosphere to an otherwise boring home. I am also very excited because along with my baby ivy plant, I got some wheat grass seeds! They are soaking in water as I write this and I am nearly counting down the hours until I can plant them! I had originally wanted them as just another house plant and because I know the rabbits would love it. But I have since read that wheat grass can be eaten or blended up into a smoothie. And why is that a great thing? Well wouldn't you know it, but apparently 2 ounces of wheat grass is equal to 4 pounds of vegetables! That's crazy talk! I am super excited to try it out! 

4. Vienna by Billy Joel

I've been obsessed with this song all week and I cannot stop listening to it. I think it is such a beautiful song and very relatable for me because it describes my exact relationship with myself and the expectations I have for the life I want to live. My favorite lyrics of the song:

Slow down you're doing fine
You can't be everything you want to be before your time
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight
Too bad, but it's the life you lead
You're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you're wrong
You know you can't always see when you're right

The second and third lines are very much my mentality when it comes to plans that I have and things I want to do. I am usually very demanding of making things happen as soon as possible, which is why I end up getting burned out. And the last lines are relatable because I tend to feel guilty when I make decisions for myself that others don't approve of. Although I have been getting better, it's still there and I think that learning how to not care and do what is right for me is not only obvious, but it is an expectation that every person should have of themselves. Does anyone else struggle dealing with guilt brought on by the negativity or disapproval from others (family members, friends, etc.)?

5. My new Japanese double lunchbox

I bought this adorable two-tier lunchbox from a Japanese store today! I was very happy that a store like that even exists in Kansas City and I absolutely loved their products! There were tons of Hello Kitty items as well as kawaii stationery and Japanese candy and teas. I found this little lunchbox and decided to buy it because of how compact it is. Not to mention, the designs are very cute! Truthfully though, I got it because I have a bad habit of not eating enough protein and then going out and starving before I make Sean buy me food. It's a terrible thing to do, especially when the food we end up buying isn't very healthy. So I bought this little lunchbox to encourage me to pack some snacks inside and carry it with me in my bag when I go out. That way, I can eat what is healthy as well as not starve to death! Yay!

6. Bob's Burgers

Sean and I are watching through Bob's Burgers on Netflix. At first, I didn't think we would like it or think it was that funny, but it definitely proved us wrong. Just...watch it. You won't be sorry.*

*You'll only be sorry if you love burgers. After watching this show, all I crave is burgers. Happens every time.