Friday's Fashion Finds-Fall 2012

Hello all! Hope you are having a great Friday! Well, since this is the last day of August, I thought I'd start posting fall fashion! I don't know about you all, but I am so excited about fall fashion for 2012. Let me know what you all think!

Around the World Thursday!

Hello all! Hope you are having a wonderful Thursday! So today for Around the World Thursday I wanted to show you all the lovely Paris, France! Let me know what you all think.

Book Review

Hello all! Hope you are having a lovely Wednesday! Well, today I thought I'd tell you all about an incredible book I just finished. It's called The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. Here's the summary from inside the front page.

"What would you do if you lost the one thing that mattered most? Sixteen-year old Jessica is a runner. It's not just what she does, it's who she is. So when a tragic accident causes her to lose one of her legs, she is shattered inside and out. Though doctors say she'll be able to walk with a prosthetic limb, recovery is slow and full of pitfalls. Jessica wonders if the girl who died in the accident didn't get the better end of the deal. But as she struggles to reclaim her life, Jessica gets to know Rosa-a girl with cerebral palsy whom she and her friends had always overlooked. Not only does Rosa come to Jessica's rescue in math, she also helps her reach for a future that is full of unexpected opportunities. And Jessica starts to wonder: Is it possible not only to walk again, but to run?"

As an athlete, this book meant so much to me. I've never really experienced an injury before (Except for a broken wrist which, thank goodness, was not during volleyball season!). So I can't even imagine going through something like what Jessica did in this book. It's like the question at the beginning of the summary, "What would you do if you lost the one thing that mattered most?".

What made me love this book so much is that Jessica didn't let this injury stop her. It inspires me to work hard at everything I do, and not let one "injury", big or small, stop me. It doesn't matter if you do sports or not. An injury in your life could mean a lost loved one, or a broken heart. But we can't let those things drag us down into a big pit. We were created to get back up and trust that God's got it in control.

Now, this book is fiction, which I didn't realize until about a forth of the way through. But that doesn't mean these things don't happen in real life. Have you heard of pro-sufer Bethany Hamilton? Her arm was bit off by a shark when she was just thirteen. But she didn't let that get in the way of her surfing dream. She worked hard, got right back up on her board, and is now an incredible pro-surfer. Amazing right? Have you heard of Oscar Pistorius? When he was 11 months old, he had to have his legs amputated. But that didn't stop him. He ran in the 2012 London Olympics. Oscar is called the fastest man on no legs.

It really inspires me to see these people get up after such traumatic experiences. I hope you all get the chance to read this book, I know you'll love it!

Gettin' Crafty

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a fabulous Tuesday! Today I thought I'd post a cool craft idea that I defiantly want to try sometime. Let me know what you think!

Writing Inspiration

Hello all! Hope you are having a great Monday! Today for my writing inspiration, I thought I'd post a quote that helped me as a writer. I hope it brings inspiration to all you writers out there too!

Interview at Covergirl & Converse

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a great day! Be sure to check out my interview with my lovely sister at Covergirl and Converse today. In the meantime, enjoy your Sunday!

Deliciousness!

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a delightful Saturday! I found this recipe on Pinterest and just had to share it with you all!

Triple-layer GODIVA Dream Cheesecake:

• 
  

• 2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers (about 12 crackers)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened (2-8 ounce packages)
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
• 3 ounces GODIVA Dark Chocolate Callets
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream, divided
• 1/3 firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 finely chopped pecans 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• GODIVA Dark Chocolate Dream Glaze:

• 6 ounces GODIVA Dark Chocolate Callets
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a bowl, combine the crushed graham crackers, 1/4 cup white sugar, and butter. After thoroughly mixing, place into 9” springform pan and press firmly into bottom and up the sides. In one bowl, combine 8 ounces cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar together; blend well with mixer.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 egg, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, melted GODIVA Dark Chocolate Callets, and 1/3 cup sour cream. Mix the two bowls together and blend well. Spoon evenly over chocolate graham cracker crust.

Combine the last 8-ounce package of cream cheese in a bowl with the brown sugar and flour; beat until the mixture is fluffy. In a separate bowl blend together 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and finely chopped pecans. Mix the two bowls together and blend well. Spoon over the chocolate layer of cheese cake in the springform pan.

To create the final layer, combine 5 ounces of cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar; beat until well mixed. Add the remaining egg to the mixture and beat again. Stir in 1 cup of sour cream, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and the almond extract. When all ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add to the pecan layer of cheesecake. Bake in the preheated over for 1 hour. Let cool for 1 hour on wire rack.

To make the GODIVA Dark Chocolate Dream Glaze, combine the GODIVA Dark Chocolate Callets and butter in a double boiler.  Bring the water to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium.  Begin to stir the GODIVA Dark Chocolate Callets and the butter until smooth, in order to prevent burning.  Remove from the heat.  In a separate large bowl, add the remaining ingredients.  Once thoroughly mixed, add the melted chocolate mixture, and stir until smooth.  After the cake is completely chilled (4-6 hours), spread the warm chocolate glaze over the cheesecake.

Friday's Fashion Finds

Hello all! Hope you are having a great Friday! Here are some final fashion finds for this summer. Let me know what you think!

Around the World Thursday!

Hiya everyone! I hope you all are having a terrific Thursday! Today for around the world Thursday, I thought I'd show you all beautiful Brazil! Brazil is such a gorgeous country and also will the the home of the 2016 Summer Olympics!

First day of school, here we go!

Hello everyone! My first day of school is today! So excited to conquer yet another year of high school. Though my classes aren't exactly of my liking, I still think I'm going to have an exciting year. Wish me luck!

Getting Fit!

Hello all! Hope you are having a lovely Tuesday! So lately, health and fitness have become more important to me. Today I thought I'd post a few tips and ideas for getting fit that I found helpful!

Writing Inspiration

Hey everyone! Hope you are having a delightful Monday! Today for my writing inspiration I thought I'd post 10 steps to becoming a better writer. I found this helpful and I thought you all might like it too.

Deliciousness

Hey all! Hope your Saturday is fantastic! So, today I thought I'd post a mouth watering recipe that I definitely want to try. Hope you like it!

 

Cake

1

box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix

1 1/4

cups stout beer

1/3

cup vegetable oil

3

eggs

Chocolate Frosting

12

oz semisweet baking chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/2

cups whipping cream

1/2

cup butter

Caramel Filling

6

tablespoons caramel topping

• 1Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease bottoms only of three 9- or 8-inch round cake pans. Make cake batter as directed on box, using cake mix, beer, the oil and eggs. Pour about 1 1/2 cups batter into each pan.
• 2Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool completely.
• 3Meanwhile, for frosting, place chocolate in medium mixing bowl. In 2-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream and butter to just boiling over medium heat. Pour cream mixture over chocolate; stir with whisk until melted and smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour; stir. Refrigerate about 1 to 1 1/2 hours more or until spreading consistency.
• 4Place 1 cake layer on serving plate. Frost top of layer with 1 cup of the frosting. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons caramel topping. Top with another cake layer, 1 cup of the frosting and remaining 3 tablespoons caramel topping. Top with remaining cake layer and frosting. Garnish with chunks of chocolate covered caramels with sea salt, if desired.

Friday's Fashion Finds

Hiya everyone! Hope you are having a fabulous Friday. Here are some random fashion finds for today. Let me know what you think!