A Little Break!

Hello all! Hope your Thursday is going well! My week has been absolutely crazy stressful I've got loads of school work to do, I'm preparing for a government camp in a few weeks, I'm training for a 10-miler in early April, and on top of all that I have a cold! So, I must take a break from the blogging world for a few days! I'll be posting again soon ;) Goodbye for now!

Health & Fitness

Hello all! Hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday! Today I wanted to share with you all some benefits fruits can provide. Let me know your thoughts!

The Libester Award!

Hello all! Hope you are having a great Sunday! Well, I've been nominated again for the Libester award, but this time by Emily at Life's Notebook! So here's the lowdown:

Rules

1. List 11 facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.
4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate.
5. Go to each bloggers place to let them know about the award.
6. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.

Enjoy, peeps! :)

Eleven facts about little ol' me:

1. I'm a volleyball player & coach

2. I'm a story writer

3. I'm a big fan of Tolkien

4. I love running

5. I play the piano

6. My favorite song is Paradise by Coldplay

7. I'm addicted to Adventures in Odyssey :D

8. I love serving

9. I'm a summer kinda girl

10. I know Latin 

11. I love Jesus with ALL my heart

Eleven Questions to Me:

1. What does blogging mean to you?

To me, blogging is a way to share ideas, feelings, and thoughts with others. It's a great way to share your gifts, and be inspired by other's. 

2. What are your favorite things to do?

Writing, running,  playing volleyball, and serving

3. Do you have a quote you live by? What is it? Why that quote?

Emma Watson put my feelings into words in this quote. These words remind me to embrace the thought of standing out from the crowd. God created us all so uniquely. I'm not going to feel stupid because I don't follow the crowd.

4. What is your favorite accessory to wear?

Definitely my Hobbit Door Necklace. It's nerdy, but adorable :)

5. Where have you traveled? If you haven't, where would you like to go?

I've traveled to the Smokey Mountains, Chicago, Florida, and several other places I can't think of :) But one of these days I'd love to travel the world. 

6. What is your favorite thing to do online?

Pinterest. 'Nuff said. 

7. How has your blog changed since you started blogging?

Well...the name changed for one. I've experimented several different designs as well.

8. What do you want to achieve with your blog?

With my blog, I want to inspire people to embrace life. Though some days are harder than others, it's a beautiful gift.

9. What is your favorite pattern? (polka dots, stripes, plaid, etc)

Stipes probably.

10. Who is your idol or role model? What do you love most about that person?

My role model is probably J.R.R. Tolkien. He really inspires me in my writing but also my faith. I cannot get over his incredible creativity and hunger for knowledge.

11. Describe yourself in one word. Why that specific word?

Inspired. I am easily inspired by the smallest things. Notice I use that word quite often :)

Nominations

I'm going to be a rebel and do five for now :)

Meagan from Mainly Meagan 

Shelby from I am the Daughter of a King

Morgan from His Story-My Story

Jane from Dorky, Fizzy, and Quirky Stuff

Olivia from Color Coordinated

Deliciousness!

Hello all! Hope you are having a nice Saturday! So I tested out this new healthy recipe last week and just had to share it with you all! This recipe is for doughnuts, but we unfortunately do not own a doughnut pan. So I used muffin pans instead and it worked just as good! Let me know what you think about this recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Mashed Ripe Banana (Roughly 2 small bananas)
• 1/2 cup Raw Cane Sugar
• 1/2 cup Fat Free Greek Yogurt (I use 0% Fage)
• 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter (Melted)
• 2 Eggs (Room Temperature)
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups Spelt White Flours (You can also use AP Flour)
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Chocolate Chips (I used 1/2 dark chocolate chips and 1/2 milk chocolate chips)

Topping (Optional)

• 1/4 cup Raw Cane Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Cinnamon

Instructions

*If you do not own a doughnut pan you can skip step #6

1.	Preheat the oven to 325F
2.	Using your electric mixer with the whisk attachment, add the mashed banana, sugar and greek yogurt. Mix until incorporated.
3.	Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla extra and mix.
4.	Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the batter and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix!
5.	Using a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
6.	Scoop the batter into a zip lock bag and seal shut. Using scissors, snip the bottom corner of one side of the ziplock bag to create your homemade piping bag.
7.	Grease your doughnut baking pan and pipe 3/4 full the batter into each doughnut mold. Or fill the muffin molds 3/4 full.
8.	Optional: Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of each doughnut batter before baking. Or you can dip the doughnuts once baked in the cinnamon sugar mixture. You may need to paint melted butter on top of each doughnut before dipping the doughnuts in the sugar mixture to allow them to stick. Both options work perfectly.
9.	Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool before eating.

Friday's Fashion Finds

Hello all! Hope you are having a fabulous first day of March! Today I wanted to share with you all some simple makeup looks. It's funny how not too much makeup can really make you look stunning! I usually don't wear makeup a lot, but when I do I like to try to keep it simple. I think when we don't wear a lot of makeup, it gives us the self confidence we need. All in all, you don't need lots of makeup to look beautiful! Let me know your thoughts!