Tomorrow's Christmas Eve!

I'm so excited for Christmas, I can barely take it! However, there's so much to do in so little time! I come back after Christmas and inform you of how the holiday goes.

Almost Here!

My Gifs!

I've been making a bunch of my own gifs lately. Take a look?

A Hard Day's Night

George

John

Ringo

Paul

Granola Bars

For midterms last year I made these granola bars to keep me energized and focus. Enjoy!

Makes about 6 bars.
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup dried fruit (small pieces)
• vegetable oil (for greasing pan)

Directions:

1. Blend the peanut butter and honey in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the oats and fruits and mix well; stir until all the dry ingredients are evenly coated with peanut butter mixture.
3. Grease baking pan (9" x 9") with vegetable oi; press the mixture evenly into the pan, making it about 1/2 " overall; put it in the refrigerator (covered) for about 2 hours.
4. Cut into 2" squares and serve.

Recipe from here.

Winter

I LOVE winter, don't get me wrong. I'm just starting to miss little things about spring and yes, even summer. I am looking forward to Christmas (11 days!) and snow, though. We've had three snowfalls so far but I want more! Haha! Anyway, have a happy holiday everyone and be sure to let me know of your holiday adventures!

Winter Challenge: Day 9

 

Candle

Winter Challenge: Day 8

 

Snow Angel

Winter Challenge: Day 7

 

Sledding

Winter Challenge: Day 6

 

Big Jacket

Winter Challenge: Day 5

Ice Skating

Winter Challenge: Day 4

Books

Winter Challenge: Day 3

Hot Drink

Winter Challenge: Day 2

Snowball Fight

Winter Challenge: Day 1

Sweater

New Challenge!

Tomorrow I'm starting a new challenge: the Winter Drawing/Photography Challenge!
Here are the requirements:

• day 01 - sweaters
• day 02 - snowball fights
• day 03 - hot chocolate/hot drinks
• day 04 - books
• day 05 - ice skating
• day 06 - parkas/big jackets
• day 07 - sledding
• day 08 - snow angels
• day 09 - fireplace/candles
• day 10 - snowed in
• day 11 - quilts
• day 12 - mistletoe (or plain smoochies)
• day 13 - snowmen
• day 14 - hot baths
• day 15 - winter hats and mittens
• day 16 - shaking from the cold
• day 17 - snow shoveling
• day 18 - hibernate/sleep
• day 19 - cookies/cake/gingerbread
• day 20 - scarves
• day 21 - soup
• day 22 - huddle for warmth
• day 23 - sick
• day 24 - socks/boots
• day 25 - trade gifts/donate
• day 26 - foggy breaths
• day 27 - ski
• day 28 - knitting
• day 29 - power outage
• day 30 - sing loudly and/or obnoxiously
• day 31 - family/friend pictures

Walking in a November Wonderland

Last week we had our first snow! Yippee! If you know anything about me, you'd know I have OCD- Obsessive Christmas Disorder. ;-) Thus, you have no idea how happy the snow made me.
In case you aren't a victim of OCD as I am, you might not know that there are THIRTY-NINE days until Christmas! It's almost a month away!
At some point in my life I'd love to visit Paris or New York for Christmas to see all the decor and festivities. Sigh. Maybe another year...

Costumes and such...

So. During September I took a month off from blogging, but now I'm back! Woot woot! I've been so busy with school that I just haven't had any time!
I know that Halloween is 30 days away but I'm trying to decide now what I want to be (I'm going to a party, apparently I'm too old to trick-or-treat :-( ) I'm thinking of going as someone from the '70s (see below)... thoughts?

Hullo!

So a week ago I decided I want a change in appearance (plus I had a lot of split ends!) so I decided to change things up and get bangs!

Back-to-School

School is starting soon and I'm not sure if I'm happy about it or not... I can't wait to see my friends and wear my new clothes, but I'm not very excited for all the work that comes with it... I'm still enjoying my last remnants of vacation and hoping they last just a tad longer. In the meantime, here's a picture of Penny et moi! :D

BACK!

I came back from my adventures in France on Wednesday and I'm happy to say my jet-lag is finally wearing off. I had a great time traveling around Paris, Saint-Esteve, Perpignan, Saint-Lys, and Toulouse in France, as well as spending a few hours in Roses, Spain and Brussels, Belgium. I got to see places like the Eiffel Tower (I went all the way to the top!), the Louvre (and Mona Lisa!), Pompidou Center, Sacre-Coeur, Notre Dame, Point Zero, Galaries Lafayette, Montmatre, Versailles, Pere Lachaise cemetery (where Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf are burried), Shakespeare & Co, Jardin du Luxembourg, Champs-Elysees, thrift shops, cafes, Musee Grevin (a wax museum), the metro, and more! It was a fabulous time and I enjoyed nearly every second! However, as much fun as Europe was, I am glad to be back home with my cats, chickens, and other familiar things (my own bed!).

Au Revoir USA, Bonjour France!

EEP!
I'm off to France on my exciting voyage! I've waited since last August for this day! I'm approaching the airport right now and since I won't have internet access or the energy to update this blog for a few days, don't be upset. But don't worry, I'll be sure to update with pictures and events from my amazing journey!
Until then,
Au Revoir!
Bisous,
Ella

30 Day Book Challenge: Day THIRTY!

"Your favorite book of all time"

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This book has been mentioned so often, one can only assume that it's my favorite book. Best. Book. Out. There. 'Nuff said. Read it.

Me :)

Check this out :)
http://gifboom.com/x/b2aec7db

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Nine

" A book everyone hated but you liked"
 
 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee


This is a great classic that I enjoyed reading for the fourth time a last year... We read it in school and surprisingly, many of my classmates didn't like it! Surprising, I know! Well, anyway, I think it's a great and I recommend it to anyone, although you'll most likely read it in school...

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Eight

"Favorite title"

Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse


Not only was this a fabulous book (takes place in Vermont after a nuclear accident), but the title is just so poetic and beautiful. My grandma lives in Vermont and there was an accident where a local and loved shop got burned down. Outside of the "grave" of the store (the place with all the remains), someone put up a sign saying "Rise like a phoenix" in attempt to spark people to overcome the disaster and rebuild the store. It just gets me every time. :)

30 Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Seven

"The most surprising plot twist or ending"

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool


This is definitely one of my favorite books of all time. It's about Aibelene Tucker's journey to discover the present, but only by searching through the past. It's absolutely fabulous and I don't care who you are, you need to go out and read this book! Plus, you're in for a surprise at the end (I don't want to give too much away...)! ;-)

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Six

"A book that changed your opinion about something"
 
None.

I'd really REALLY like to say that there's this book that has forever changed my views on life, however I don't believe there is (if there is one, I can't seem to come up with it). I don't have any issues with my opinions now, and I only hope if there is a book that changes my views, it's only for the better!

Sigh...

This summer I've been loaded with Civics work as in the fall I'll be in an Honors Civics class. I've been working on it little by little after work every day this summer but now, with my voyage to France right around the corner, the work has come piling down on me. I'm concerned I won't be able to finish it all before I leave and now I'm super stressed. Does anyone have any ideas to cope? I'm taking the occassional breaks so it's not consecutive work but... I don't know...

I hope everyone's having a marvelous summer!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Five

"A character who you can relate to the most"
 
Julie from Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Although I prefered the 1960s movie setting over the modern-day book setting, this book is also a fantastic read. I can relate most to Julie, who, although I'm not much of one anymore, is a social outcast. She loves her chickens and cares for them with all her heart (like me) and she's a young advocate for the environment (like me). There's this great scene when she climbs a tree just to prevent it from being cut down... I've always wanted to do that!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Four

"A book that you wish more people would’ve read"

NONE

I absolutely LOVE it when I read about and very few other people know about it. This way, I feel a stronger connection with the characters and plot as if it's my own world without other people involved.

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Three

"A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t"

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Although I'm not always one for modern teen literature, I saw this movie (I hate to admit seeing movies before books but...) when I was younger and became absolutely fascinated with it. It's about friendship and travel (YES!) and it just always caught my eye. I have the first two books in the series but just haven't gotten around to reading them yet... Soon, I hope...

Farm Fresh

I live on a small produce farm and it's usually about this time of year that yummy foods start popping up! I went exploring the garden for foods for dinner tonight. Take a look at some of the lovely collections.

   Fresh eggs! Yummy! :) 

 Not our tomato (from our garden, I mean), but it's organic and local and I'm planning on using it for dinner! :)

 Challots! Look a bit different than store ones, right?

 Raspberries are probably the number-one best fruit to make desserts from. They're delicious!

 This is some purple lettuce growing. It's a bit bitter but with some olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, it's absolutely divine!

 It's hard to tell from this picture, but these are some delicious snap peas. I prefer the bigger pods, yet others (like my Mum) prefer the skinnier ones.

Nasturtium flowers are VERY bitter/spicy and I'm not much of a fan... but they look great on your salads (and my Dad enjoys them).

 BASIL!!! This smells AND tastes delicious! :)

Cucumbers. I love these! Look how big they are!

 These are our tomatoes... Still growing but they'll be ready soon!

Some hot peppers in the works... Not quite ready yet but almost...

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-Two

"Favorite book you own"

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

I picked this novel up in an old hippie bookstore in Maine last summer. Once I opened to the first page and began reading, it was impossible to put it down. It's an absolutely fabulous book about Calpurnia finding her voice and calling in the world in late 1800s-early 1900s America. READ IT!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty-One

"Favorite book from your childhood"

Eloise by Kay Thompson

I couldn't get enough of these books when I was little. I would often pretend to be Eloise and dress up as her. She's an absolutely adorable character and the illustrations (by Hilary Knight) are fantastic! Love it, dah-ling!

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Twenty

"Favorite romance book"

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

If you've been following all my posts, you'd see that Anna and the French Kiss has been mentioned quite a bit. This is a good thing. One of the reviews says "You should date this book". I couldn't agree more. As the title exhibits, the book contains of lot of romance (yay!) and is a fabulous book: thus making it my favourite romance book.

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Nineteen

"Favorite book turned into a movie"

One Day by David Nicholls

One Day isn't my favourite movie (see Across the Universe or Midnight in Paris), however, it happens to be my favorite movie that originated from a great book. Being madly in love with Jim Sturgess (Jude in Across the Universe), it's only natural I'd want to see the film One Day. (Not to mention, Anne Hathaway is one of my favorite actors). However, I usually prefer to read the book first, so I ordered from Amazon and read it. It was marvelous! It kept me hanging on to every detail and falling in love with Dex along the way. Recently, I finally got around to watching the film, and it was just as good, if not better, than the book!

I also want to read and watch The Help... any reviews?

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Eighteen

"A book that disappointed you"

Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

I was really looking forward to this book, as it's rare to find books for youth about evolution. My hopes for this read included: the main character would come to the decision that evolution is real and gods aren't. The book sort of started off that way, but in the end I was disappointed to find the science teacher to be religious as well as the main character made some sort of weird twisty conclusion about evolution and creationism combined. I very disappointed. It had it's good parts, but over all, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone like me.

30 Day Book Challenge: Day Seventeen

"Favorite quote from your favorite book"

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Although Charlotte's Web isn't my favorite book, is does include one of my favorite lines.

“'Why did you do all this for me?' he [Wilbur] asked. "I don't deserve it [the help from Charlotte's webs]. I've never done anything for you.'

'You have been my friend,' replied Charlotte. 'That in itself is a tremendous thing.'” 

My Chickies :-)

 My lovely girl, Penny (left). She's a Rhode Island Red and is very outgoing. Although she likes to go on adventures, she follows my rules and usually well behaved. :-)

 This one here on the right is Advika. The name is Hindu and it means unique, just like my little chicky.

 This one (on the left) is Daisy. She's a bit of an oddball, but she's super sweet!

 The one that looks like she's angry is Prudence... She's not always the most fun-loving of the bunch but she can be sweet. She's just a bit mature.

 The one in the back left is Charlotte and the one in the back right is Dhara (also a Hindu name, means Earth). I was holding clovers and all the chickies wanted their share.

 Here's some fresh eggs! The green ones are laid by my Americanas: Charlotte and Advika. Aren't they cool?

This is a picture of Penny taking off. You can't see her head, but those are her wings flapping.