artsy

artsy

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

things i like tuesday - 10/29/2013

...where I share things I really like RIGHT NOW!



1. Being short is super cool of course. Because I am short.



2. Oh my goodness these doughnuts. I need them in my life!



3. I painted my nails orange like this to get in the spirit of things.



4. Excellent list of ultimate things. Important things in life.



5. Here is the recipe for the caramel apples Ben and I made over the weekend. Pretty easy, and you can use whatever toppings you want (and I say, the more, the better!)



6. While we don't have quite as much space (or stuff) yet, I think this blog post has some great points about storage spaces, and how to utilize them in the best way possible.



7.

this. trailer. #jubileeforever



Happy Tuesday everyone!



Love and epic trailer music kisses, 

~A

P.S. #hanszimmerftw

Monday, October 28, 2013

potpourri, or everything we have been getting into lately

Weeeeeeee'rrrrrrreeeeee baaaaaaaaaaaacccccccckkkkkkkk!!!

Well. 

It's been awhile. 

So let me share some happenings from us Soltoffs. 

* Ben had an internship in DC during the summer, so I stayed in State College, cooking a lot, babysitting, and having lots of girl time with Ariel. 

*We became an aunt/uncle (!!) for the very first time. Ben's sister and brother-in-law had their first baby (a gorgeous, adorable little girl) in August, and she is too cute for words!!

*Ariel turned two and decided she likes plastic coils above all other toys. 

*I started my second year at Lock Haven and I'm getting ready to present my developing portfolio and go into my professional semester in the spring. 

*Ben officially became ABD. That means that he is knee-deep in his dissertation, working all the time on complex data sets that sometimes (to me) resemble plans to construct a space station. 

*I got a camera!! A really nice Canon Rebel t3i! We budgeted and I saved a lot before thoroughly researching all the pros and cons, then deciding on a Canon. The lens is the 50mm f/1.8 and it is so. much.fun. to take pictures, although I am still mostly taking them in the auto mode. But I'm learning and practicing so I'm not stuck there forever. 

So far this has been super newsy. Here are some thing we am currently into/have done/etc.

Foxes - They're kind of mainstream now, but the hippest 2 year old I know was into foxes last year and she just happened to tip me off on their coolness factor early this year. Since then they've only grown in awesomeness, until this happened: 




amazing.



Caramel apples - We made some this past weekend, and they were outrageous and delicious. Luckily for us, we had lots of family and friends to ship them away to so we wouldn't overload on sugar. 












Pumpkin picking - Kind of a no-brainer in October, but my mom and sister got to join us in going to an actual pumpkin patch! Of course, my mom and I spent half the time taking pictures of the evolution of a pumpkin from flower to gourd (teachable material!), but we all managed to get good pumpkins. And can we talk for a minute about how lovely my sister is growing up to be?...actually, let's not. I don't want to think about her growing up yet! (even though she is almost as tall as me, and can fit into my shoes already)










i love this guy a whole bunch.



We have also been watching hockey, making pumpkin bread, going to the Y regularly (gotta pump that iron!), watching The West Wing (broke my heart), making fun fall soups, going to baby showers (how can you not have fun at a couples "BaByQ" shower?), snuggling under blankets in thick socks and sweaters (the cool, crisp fall weather is here to stay in PA), and helping our kitty earn her first award as a winner in our apartment complex's pet costume contest!




 our champion, Troy Catamalu.



Get ready to hear a lot more about the humdrum boring exciting and fun Soltoffs as we happily jump into the holiday season - now we're just waiting for it to snow!



Love and sticky caramel kisses, 

~A