Pumpkin Chip

I baked some cookies today. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip. And I made a sign. :)

Enjoy some "fall" in your life!

Love,
Miranda

Morning Joe

I recently discovered the wonders of cold brewing coffee. Not only does it take less than three minutes to prepare, but it is smoother and easier on my stomach (less acid than warm brew). Finally - a method that I like!

Here is my recipe:

 (I adapted it from someone else, but I couldn't find the site again.)

2 cups water
1/4 cup coffee grounds (I use fresh, you could use already ground)
2 tbs sugar (I like mine sweet - so adjust as you like)
1 tsp cinnamon

That's it! The night before you want to drink it, you combine everything in a mason jar, or other container with a lid, and toss it in the fridge. Leave it there overnight (the longer you leave it, the stronger the coffee). In the morning, put the blend through a french press, and rinse out the original container. Fill a glass with ice, and pour yourself a glass of iced coffee! I usually have left overs, so I put it back in the container for a later time. It will last up to a week!

As for my cup...I add half and half. I love the smoothness vs. milk, and it holds up more to the ice. Today, I also experimented - I added half the sugar last night, and put blackberry flavored syrup in this morning. Brilliant.

So there you have it! Today is my day off, so I am going to enjoy this day - and still try to be productive. I hope you have a splendid morning!

Love,
Miranda

A Place to Be Us

About two weeks ago, I re-arranged and decorated the guest bedroom to become a den/family room for Ian and I. It has been so wonderful to have a place for Ian to be on his computer, and for I to read my magazines (or whatever I am doing) with him. I love it.

I kept the yellow and blue themes, but now I added some red....and lots of bawls bottles. Ian randomly collected them, so I put them all over the room. I love the fact that all of our little knick-knacks have a place to be displayed. It truly is a room that is all about us!

Love,
Miranda

Raining Cats and Thoughts

Awww...Vala wanted to come to school with me! 

Today is rainy day, and I love it. Unfortunately, because of all of the roof work that is going on in the church (which is a good thing) we have a few leaks in our apartment. I spent last night and this morning switching out towels to catch most of the water. If you think about us today, send up a prayer? Thanks.

In other news, I have decided to not cut my hair shorter again, in favor of growing it out. Right now, it is in the awkward stage where there really is no shape to it, and it is kinda mullet-ish. But I must press on! The rewards will be worth it. And then, once I have succeeded, I'll just chop it all off again. Oh, the irony.

I am in my 1st Corinthians class this morning, freezing because although it is in the mid forties outside, the air-conditioning has not been turned off yet. The teacher is a Pastor at a church in the area, so he tells lots of stories - so it is easy to multi-task in his class. Wonderful.

Yesterday, Ian and I cleaned the whole apartment, and I cannot wait to go home to my (yes, wet in two small areas) clean apartment and do some homework - and by that, I really mean bake something warm, and listen to some soothing music (you all know I mean Christmas Music). I might still get some homework done.

I hope your day is relaxing, soothing, and full of life.

Love,
Miranda

Isn't she adorable? 

Five in Two

Picture Credits

In the next week, I will have two days off in a row. This is a rarity in my life, and therefore am going to set some goals for myself. I want to accomplish five things in these two days:

1. Clean and Organize my closet for Fall.
2. Make two/three batches of soup that I can freeze for easy lunches.
3. Move the old couch into the guest bedroom so that it can now be a place for Ian and I to hang out together.
4. Re-arrange/Decorate the guest bedroom.
5. Work on my Senior Project. (Really, this should be first on the list. But I put it last so it doesn't seem as intimidating. Ha.)

There you have it! Now that it is all written out....I have to do it. Isn't that the way it works?

Love,
Miranda

Red Sky

I had an interesting experience this morning.

I am sure that you have heard the old rhyme:

Red sky at night, Sailor's delight.
Red sky in morning, Sailors take warning.

I was getting ready before the sun rose, when all of a sudden, our bedroom was absolutely pink. I peeked out to find a red sky over Minneapolis - and I was reminded of this rhyme. Most likely, it is just a fall storm (one that I will relish every second of), but for a slight moment, I felt as if something else was coming - and it made me uneasy. Who knows? Only God does.

Other than this unsettling moment, the morning was fantastic. It was raining when I left the apartment, as predicted, so with my heels tapping the wet pavement, I danced down the sidewalk to Vince Guaraldi. Brilliant man, I tell you. Wonderful music. And what a wonderful morning it has turned out to be.

Love,
Miranda

Photography Pix

Finally

Hello, blogging world! It's been a VERY long time, and a much needed break. Let me fill you in on what has been happening:

First off - my absence from the blogging world. If you read my blog before, you know that I have not blogged for at least a month. To be honest, I don't really understand what made me want to stop blogging for as long as I did, but I know that I loved the break. I wanted to live life, and not have the accountability that I put on myself through blogging. It was great to just experience things and not document them - and it was good.

Well - now I'm back. :) Hello! Since my last post, I have started my last semester at school, surprised my family at Disneyland, Keeley has moved on to South Dakota and then Arizona, and it is FALL! I am truly loving the brisk weather, and my house smells like cinnamon and spice with all of the candles I have been burning.

So...what have you been up to? How's the blogging world? I guess I'll soon find out!

Love,
Miranda