Just Some Random Ideas...

So this post is going to be totally random, but I have so many cute ideas that I discovered over the weekend that I had to share! I spent my Memorial Day weekend up in the mountains in this itsy-bitsy, tiny, little town called Germania in Potter County, Pennsylvania. It was beautiful and very relaxing and remote. These are some of the things that I got to experience over the weekend.

Sun Tea

First off, being a HUGE fan of unsweetened iced tea, I loved brewing the stuff and never even heard about sun tea. However, while we were up there, my boyfriend's step-mother brewed some and it was delicious! Who would have ever thought to brew iced tea that way?

Strawberries In What?

I love to try new things and change and invigorate my palate once in awhile and was shockingly suprised when majority of the items prepared for my boyfriend and I contained strawberries. It was absolutely delicious, but very different. The people who live up there tend to use whatever grows wild up there and incorporates that into their everyday meals so I had a lot of strawberries and leeks, but not together. Some of these recipes included:

-Strawberry-Goat Cheese Bruschetta
-Pulled Pork with Strawberry BBQ Sauce
-Iceberg Lettuce & Strawberry Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing
-Parmesan-Stuffed Chicken and Melted Strawberries

Do You Buy And Support Your Local Farmers?

Farming is a type of lifestyle up there and it came to my attention that majority of these farmers are suffering due to the fact that we import a lot our products and no longer utilize our local goods. I therefore decided that I would start shopping locally for my fruits, vegetables, milk and meats and no longer buy everything from the grocery store.

Make Your Own Granola Or Bar!

When I came back to civilization after spending 3 days without cellphone service or internet, I checked my email and my mother had send me these websites where you can make your own granola or bar! Here are the websites if you want to check them out and give it a try yourself! I definitely plan on ordering some granola! The extra special touch is that you get to name your creation!


www.mixmygranola.com

www.youbars.com

Campfires

I never realized how relaxing they are...just sitting in front of the fire and watching the flames dancing upon the logs. It almost forces you to relax and invites you to forget about everything around you. You are thoughtless for the time being, only watching the flames and falling into a type of trance. It was so relaxing and the warmth of the fire created a cozy atmosphere, as the mountain nights get a little chilly.

Well that is about it for right now, but I just had to share some of these great ideas that I was either made aware of or was able to enjoy over the weekend.

Until the next time!

Alicia

The Doors of New Hope

I've been really into taking pictures since I got Cool Pics from my boyfriend for Christmas and I have been taking the most random, but beautiful pictures. I know it is not a fancy, high-tech or any kind of special digital camera, but I love it and have been recently experimenting with it. I thought that I would share some of the cute pictures that I took while on a little day trip to New Hope. I've always loved looking at the doors of people's houses and feel that they can say a lot about the character of the house. Personally, I love the French double doors, but I was not able to find any of those to take pictures of, but I did find some charming ones. Looking at doors always make me think about what type of character is locked up inside of them or what lies behind them. But anyway, enough of the random talk, here are some of the pictures. Just thought that I would share!

Alicia

These are some of the beautiful old homes.

These are some of the cute little shop and cafe signs.

These are some of the doors.

The Drawing Board

So, this week is officially my first full week off of school and I am so excited! My summers are my source of escape....an escape from homework, research papers, clinical and professors. My summers are MY time to let my creativity run free, my ideas and dreams to flourish and my time to experience new things. I'm not sure as to what my summer will hold for me quite yet, but I do have some great ideas! I plan to go on MANY day trips, shopping trips and random trips. I hope to try new foods, meet new people and have FUN! So right now I am just looking for some inspiration to trigger ideas for my summer. I was looking through this one book and it had some inspirational ideas for each letter of the alphabet for a positive attitude and I figured that I would share it with everyone because I absolutely LOVED it!

A:

Attitude: a positive attitude is our inner light.
Turn it on and let it shine bright.

B:

Believe in yourself in order for others to do the same.
C:
Charm your way out of anything!
It's a girl's 'get out of jail free' card!
D:
Dream big!
E:
Eclectic: mix and match to suit your mood;
Don't follow one system of style.
F:
Femininity is every woman's gift.
Its priceless and timeless.
G:
Glamour:
An elegant pair of earrings, a deeper shade of lipstick
Or a perfect manicure.

H:
Heart: never do something if your heart is not in it.
I:
Integrity: whatever you do, do it with integrity.
J:
Joie de vivre! The joy of life transcends any language.
K:
Kindness: make acts of kindness regular rather than random.
L:
Laughter is contagious. Pass it on!
M:
Make a home and love where you live!
N:
New: always try something new!
O:
Openness: keep an open mind and nurture an open heart!
P:
Poise and Posture are essential in order to walk tall through life.

Q:
Quirkiness: add a dash of the unpredictable into your day!
R:
Respect your own decisions!
S:
Spirit: your spirit is the engine room of your life!
Keep it stoke and enthusiastic!
T:
Touch should never be underestimated!
A hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on...

U:
Uniqueness is the difference between getting lost in the crowd...
And standing out on your own.
V:
Vision means seeing things not just for what they are now,
But what they can be in the future.
W:
World: do your little bit to make a BIG difference!
X:
X marks the spot. Put your stamp on something so that it
Lingers on when you are long gone!

Y:
You are only work as much as you invest in yourself.
Love yourself! Be kind to yourself! Appreciate yourself!
Z:
Zest: "Zest is the secret of all beauty.
There is no beauty that is attractive without zest!"

Well, I hope that this is able to help inspire some people and enlighten others! Until the next time, take care!

Alicia

Just doing some thinking...

So this is officially my very first blog post! It is my summer off from nursing school and was thinking of different ways to enlighten my time and thought about creating a blog. I have so many great ideas and things to write about and include on my blog! I can't wait! But this will be it for now...as I want to get some things set up...

Will get back later!