Thank You Cupcakes!

Sometimes you just have to mix things up a bit & think out of the box when it comes to "thank you" notes! What better way than creating a little note of thanks that doubles as a tasty treat?

I made these cupcakes for my grandparents as a thank you for all they do for me! I really am so blessed to have them! 

They were super-duper easy! 

I simply just used a box of white cake mix to make the cupcakes.

 I bought vanilla frosting and used food coloring to dye half of it pink for the frosting on top of the cupcake and then dyed half of it blue to write my "thank you"! 

Next time you are needing to thank someone for their sweetness, thank them with something just as sweet! :)

Happy Thursday, Friends! 

All About Giving Up Control

Today's post is all about giving up control. I will admit that this is something that is VERY, very hard for me. I like to know my future and know exactly how I am going to get there. I hate the unknown, and honestly, the unknown scares me.

Last week I talked about my proposal story & I still am on cloud 9 about it! I have never been more excited or sure about anything! I am so blessed to be marrying David! 

But along with planning a wedding & snatching up the perfect husband, there are a lot of other decisions that need to be made as well. Where are we going to live? Will we rent a house or buy one? Where will David complete his pharmacy rotations? Where will I find a job? The list goes on and on and on and on.

These are all questions that have recently been weighing on my heart. I know that each choice we make will carve out our future in one way or another. If I am rational and really think about it, I have no doubt that it will all turn out okay because I am walking through this journey with David and God and what could be more comforting or encouraging? But being the control freak that I am, I am really struggling to let go and let God. 

God really does know what is on your heart at all times & he always finds a way to speak to you to let you know he is there and he is going to take care of you.

Just when I was about to breakdown today, Hillsong's From the Inside Out starting playing on my Pandora. To listen to it click here.

These lyrics spoke directly to me. My prayer is that I can give up all control and be consumed by Jesus and put my complete trust in him. 

And if that wasn't a direct sign to let go and let God, my morning passage in Jesus Calling by Sarah Young was absolutely remarkable. 

Jesus Calling daily (October 22):

"No matter what your circumstances may be, you can find Joy in My Presence. On some days Joy is generously strewn along your life-path, glistening in the sunlight. On days like that, being content is as simple as breathing the next breath or taking the next step. Other days are overcast and gloomy; you feel the strain of the journey, which seems endless. Dull gray rocks greet your gaze and cause your feet to ache. Yet Joy is still attainable. Search for it as for hidden treasure.

Begin by remembering that I have created this day; it is not a chance occurrence. Recall that I am present with you whether you sense My Presence or not. Then, start talking with Me about whatever is on your mind. Rejoice in the fact that I understand you perfectly, and I know exactly what you are experiencing. As you continue communicating with me, your mood will gradually lighten. Awareness of My marvelous Companionship can infuse Joy into the grayest day."

{Psalm 21:6; Proverbs 2:4}

So from now on, I am giving up control. I am done worrying about things that I cannot predict nor determine the answer. David and I are putting our hope and trust in the Lord as we make a lot of tough decisions throughout the next year. After all, this is the most exciting time in our life so we are going to embrace every moment of it & continue thanking and praising God for blessing us with one another!

Do you have things in your life where you just need to surrender and let go and let God? 

Halloween is in the air!!

Halloween is in full swing & I feel like I am just now on jumping on board! I have been so focused on pumpkin spice everything that I haven't truly embraced the crazy costume ideas or the black and orange decor! This week is all about Halloween inspiration!

Today on the list is Halloween food ideas! 

If you have never been over to Mix and Match Mama's blog you have to check it out! Her recipes are so tasty & I must say these candy corn cupcakes are DELICIOUS & so incredibly festive. To get the recipe click here.

I promise these won't disappoint. 

What better way to eat your fruits than by disguising them into ghosts and pumpkins. Love this idea for the sweet kiddos in my life! 

These adorable little Frankensteins are over at A Turtle's Life For Me. They are too cute for a fun kid-friendly party! 

And Party Pinching cannot get any cuter with these Grave Yard Pudding Cups. I mean the creativity is remarkable! Such a unique & tasty Halloween treat! 

I love me some taco dip so I am positive that chickabug's Graveyard Taco Dip is on point. This is a must try for me before Halloween hits! 

Nothing like using tasty recipe ideas to get myself in the spirit for Halloween! 

Happy Tuesday, everyone! 

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Ever heard the saying, "The Early Bird Gets the Worm"? Well I live by this philosophy. I am such a morning person. I love the mornings. I thrive best in the mornings. I am productive in the mornings. I am happy in the mornings. I just love the mornings. 

There are so many reasons why I feel like getting up in the morning is beneficial for me. And so many reasons why I continue to do it even amongst my crazy college sleep schedule.

Here are some of my top reasons why I feel like everyone should become a morning person:

#1. Being an early riser can make you more proactive.
I love having enough time in the mornings to sit down and write my goals for the day. This has become a huge motivator for me to get those must dos checked off of the list.

#2. It is overall just less stressful. 
I hate being late and I hate feeling rushed. By getting up early in the mornings it allows me plenty of time to casually get ready in the morning without feeling frantic. Starting your day off with anxiety and stress is not the way to go.

#3. I have plenty of time to make myself a healthy breakfast & a cup of joe.
Healthy foods give me more energy. More energy makes me feel more cheerful and optimistic. Sounds like a win to me! So another reason I make myself roll out of bed at the crack of dawn is because it allows me to fix myself a healthy breakfast and enjoy it while watching a snippet of the news. And of course, no morning would be complete without a cup of coffee, no matter what time you start your day...know what I'm saying? ;)

#4. Quite time with Jesus.
This right here is the real motivator that overcomes my daily desires to snooze my alarm. Starting my day with Jesus is literally the best way I could possible start any day. It honestly gives me so much encouragement to spend time in God's word. It clears my mind and gives me a fresh perspective on each day. I will be blogging about my morning "quite time" routine soon so stay tuned!

#5. An opportunity to get my fitness on.
Waking up early allows you to get in that workout that you are too tired to complete after a long day of classes or work. It really does make all of the difference in the world if I am motivated to get my workout out of the way before the rest of my day begins. It also helps me to wake up too!


These are just a few reasons why I love getting up early. Who's going to join me in the 6 a.m. club? I guarantee you will love being an early bird too! ;)

Happy Monday everyone! :)

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday Everyone!!! 

The weekend is finally here!!! I am kicking off the excitement with another link-up of Friday Favorites with some of my favorite bloggers. Check out Andrea's blog called Momfessionals, Erika's blog called A Little Bit of Everything, and Narci's blog called Grace and Love. Their blogs are so inspiring and they are a must have read! 

#1. Getting ENGAGED is my FAVORITE. My favorite thing ever, actually. 

Saturday my sweet Dave proposed to me unexpectedly. It was hands down my favorite moment of all times. Nothing makes me happier than knowing I get to marry the man of my dreams! 

To read about my proposal story click here.

Our first picture as finances! It makes my heart so happy! 

#2. Organized spaces are my favorite. 

I am crazy obsessed with organization. It may be a bit overboard, but it really does make me super happy when things are all clean and pretty. Not too long ago I blogged about desk organization. Being a college student especially, I find that my life is less stressful when my space is put together. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't always stay clean and my closet is a whooollleee different story that we will save for another day, but I really do find an organized desk area to be one of my favorites. 

Here is my little space here at school. 

#3. Nestle Toll House Pumpkin Spice breakable cookies are a definite favorite for the week!

 I ohhh and ahhh over EVERYTHING pumpkin spice. My love for pumpkin spice is spiraling out of control and these break and bakes are not helping my cause one bit. These things are soooo tasty and completely hit the spot for me this week. These cookies made my sweet tooth do a happy dance. They are a must try this fall season my friends! :)

To purchase some of your own delicious cookie dough click here. 

#4. The fact that Friends is coming to Netflix is my favorite!!!

There are some shows that you can watch and enjoy and then there are others where you literally feel like you are one of the characters. Yeah, that's how I feel about friends. I am convinced that for 10 years of my life I was the 7th character on Friends and was BFFs with Ross, Joey, Chandler, Rachel, Monica & Phoebe. I blame Central Perk for the coffee addiction that I still have. 

#5. Inspirational Pins are my favorite!!!

Pinterest is full of a range of amazing ideas, thoughts, projects, inspirations, wardrobes, ect. Sometimes I get too focused on all of the things that I think I need, really want, plan to recreate, and want to look like that I overlook all of the inspirational quotes that pinterest has to offer. Literally, there are motivational and encouraging quotes for anything and everything. This week I spent a little more time reading and reflecting on the quotes that I came across while scrolling through Pinterest. 

Here were some of my favs!! 

I hope that leaves you with a little inspiration and a lot of happiness to help kick off your weekend!!! Happy Friday, friends! :)

IM GOING TO BE A BUTTERFIELD!!!!

October 11th, 2014 is the best day I have ever had. EVER. 

My sweet Dave asked me to marry him and of course I said YES!! 

I have spent my whole life praying for someone who would build me up, keep me accountable, make me laugh, encourage me, love me, play sports with me, take on adventures with me, bake with me, act crazy with me, and love Jesus with me. 

I started feeling like my expectations were way too high and I was never going to meet a man that met my criteria; then I went on a speed date with this hunk and within 30 seconds I knew David was the man for me.

 He apparently wasn't as easily convinced. I had to work for his attention just a bit. ;)

Shamefully, after a little stalking and strategically locating myself in the same library as him to study, he was reminded of my existence and it was happily ever after from there. 

Goodness, I just love him to pieces! 

Friday afternoon David and I left for Bay View, Michigan with his parents to go to his family's lake cottage. I thought we were going there to close the cottage up for the winter, but man did they ever fool me.

Saturday morning David woke me up and wanted to take me out to breakfast. I was very persistent in wanting to just wear my PJ's (sweats and a sweatshirt) out to eat, but he on the other hand was very persistent in making me put on jeans. Coming from the guy who literally wears jeans twice a year, I was overly confused. 

Bless Dave's little heart. He was so patient and sweet and somehow convinced me to throw on a pair of jeans before we headed out the door. As much as I joke around about having swag, I am so happy he didn't propose to me in my 10 sizes too big sweat pants. 

At breakfast we decided to order two plates and share! We had chocolate chip pancakes, ham, eggs and more pancakes...and I now know that I literally ate it all. 

Dave was apparently just playing around with the food because he was so nervous, but me on the other hand, I thought he was pulling his weight and helping me eat so I had no idea that I was across the table shoveling in two whole meals alone. Just call me a human garbage disposal. 

After we ate breakfast we took a walk along Lake Michigan and ended up in a cute little gazebo. 

It was just a tad bit chilly and Dave brought along a blanket for us to cuddle under while we took in the scenery. Look how gorgeous are view was.

 Talk about peaceful.. the crisp fall breeze, the bright blue water, no one else in the world in sight.. it was pure perfection and so relaxing. I love sweet moments like this with Dave, where we can just embrace being together, reflect on life, and be in the moment.

As we took in God's beauty, David sweetly asked if we wanted to play cards or do a puzzle. All summer long David and I worked on a puzzle that my parents sent us every single night while we watched TV. With that being said, of course we went with the puzzle.  

He pulled out the pieces and as I started putting them together I realized that it was a picture of the two of us from the last time we were in Bay View together. 

My heart melted. 

I thought it was the sweetest thing in the world. Dave is such a romantic and always comes up with the most genuine and thoughtful ideas, so I thought he was just being extra sweet. As I put the pieces together, I realized that we were missing some key puzzle pieces.

David is such a natural because once again he fooled me and nonchalantly acted like the missing pieces must have accidentally fallen out into his bag. Yeah right, dude.

When he handed me the other pieces I noticed there were words on them and I looked at him and said "Oh goodness, I'm nervous!" because at that moment I had a slight suspicion of what might come next.

I felt like it took eternity for me to put the last pieces together. My hands were shaking and I was starting to cry and sweet David stepped in to help. He is such a gem!!

When the pieces were all in place it read "will you marry me?"

I was flooding with emotions. David was proposing. The moment that I had been dreaming of forever was happening and I was on top of the world. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

I said YES!! I have never in my life been more sure of anything in the world.

 When I saw the ring I was stunned. It was breathtaking. 
It is an ecclesiastes 4:12 band..."A cord of three strands is not easily broken" and it symbolizes the promise between David, God and I. 

David then asked if he could pray for us.

I cried tears of joy during the whole prayer. I am so grateful to have David as a spiritual leader in our relationship. He truly keeps me accountable and always makes sure our relationship is centered around the Lord. I am so overwhelmingly blessed and joyful to have him in my life. 

After we prayed, we celebrated with my future in-laws!! Ekkkk!!! Can I just take a moment to say how BLESSED I am to have Jim and Barb as my future in-laws! Man alive are they the greatest and I just love them both so so much! 

We spent the rest of the day going to an apple festival along the lake. The scenery was beautiful. We enjoyed some yummy apple cider, taste tested all different kinds of cherry recipes, shared delicious homemade apple pie, had caramel apple and pumpkin spice flavored popcorn... the list goes on and on. I loved it! Every minute of it was perfect.

Later that night we had a nice relaxing dinner at the cottage and rented Father of the Bride. Get the irony? ;)

The next day we had a really really relaxing day! It was very refreshing! Then, Monday morning we packed up early and headed to my hometown to see my family! I got to show David's parents all around CC. I loved being able to take them to my house so they could see where I grew up! It was just so much fun! 

My parents threw us a little surprise party with all of my family! It was so much fun seeing everyone and telling them our story!

 On Tuesday we set a date for October 17th, 2015 and things got REAL! We are getting married in almost a year! How crazy???? I am so PUMPED to be Mrs. Butterfield!!!

On Tuesdat night, I had a pinning circle at Ann Tweedale. A pinning circle is a tradition we do here at AT to announce that a girl in the house is engaged. It is such a sweet and fun tradition. I was soooo happy to finally be able to tell all of my besties that I was engaged!!!

I love these girls so much!!

 Room 10 love! 

All of my pledge sisters!

Love my sweet Rachel!

Katie and I are engaged besties and I love it! Her and her fiancé surprised David and I with two engagement/wedding planning books! She is seriously one of the most thoughtful people & I am so grateful to have her as a bridesmaid (& to be her bridesmaid, too!). 

I am so lucky to have such sweet friends, two loving families & such a WONDERFUL fiancé! 

I am so thankful to be marrying my sweet Dave and 

I AM SO EXCITED TO BECOME A BUTTERFIELD!!!!!

Friday Favorites!

Hello there Friday!!! 

Thank goodness the weekend is around the corner! And for me its an extra long weekend due to fall break!

I am kicking off the excitement with another link-up of Friday Favorites with some of my favorite bloggers. Check out Andrea's blog called Momfessionals, Erika's blog called A Little Bit of Everything, and Narci's blog called Grace and Love. Their blogs are so inspiring and they are a must have read! 

#1. To start off my Friday Favorites, I must say that Pumpkin Resees are my fav.

People, I am borderline obsessed with these things! There is just something about the peanutbutter/chocolate ratio in the Pumpkin Resees that make me drool when I see them. You can only imagine that I did about 10 cartwheels and a million leaps of joy when my mom sent me them in the mail. WEEK MADE. Actually, YEAR MADE. 

#2. Barn Dances are my FAVORITE! 

There is just something about a barn and dancing with my girlfriends that makes me love barn dances a heck of a lot. It was bittersweet knowing that this was my last AT Barndance with all of my girls before we graduate, but we definitely made the most of it and had so much fun! We were missing our sweet Alli though! 

Have I told you all how lucky I am to have such perfect besties? They really are a HUGE reason why my college experience has been so great. I love them all to death. 

#3. Going to Bay View with my other family is my favorite! 

For fall break I am going with my boyfriend and his parents to their cottage in Bay View, Michigan and man am I ever excited. First off, the Butterfields are the absolute best. They are such a Christ centered family and they are a blast to be around. I am SOOO grateful to have them as my second family. 

Here is a little throwback to last summer when the whole clan spent a week together at the cottage! Can't wait to go and make more fun memories this weekend! :)

Loved canoeing with my man! 

I am convinced that the prettiest sunsets are in Michigan.

Paddle boarding was so much fun!!!!! 

The clan!

#4. Carrie Underwood's new single, Something in the Water, is on repeat for me this week and is definitely a top favorite. 

First, let's just talk about how absolutely stunning she is. This song has so much purity and I just love the sincerity of the lyrics. To listen to Something in the Water click here. 

#5. Lattes are my favorite. Pies are a close second.

I am on a HUGE latte kick and it needs to cool down big time. Like I have become a latte a day kind of person. Say a prayer from my hips because they are never going to look the same. I justify it by saying "a latte a day keeps the osteoporosis away" because I hate milk & lattes are the only way I increase my calcium intake. Totally justifiable right?

Can't wait to read about all of your favorites!! I hope that everyone has the best of all weekends! :)

My Favorite Accessory: Shoes!

There are two things I love a whole lot in this world. Shoes & Fall. And when you mix them both together you get the best kind of shoes out there. To me, shoes are just one of those things you categorize with statement jewelry... they just add the perfect touch to complete the outfit and pull it all together.  

Isn't this the truth though. Buying shoes versus having a mental breakdown. Shoes always wins. 

And what better than buying some cute new shoes to spice up your fall wardrobe. These fall booties have me drooling. I already see them pairing up nicely with some denim, vests & comfy scarves just in time before the cold kicks in. To read my post from a few weeks ago about my favorite must have booties click here.

I got these Toms last year for Christmas and I adore them. Polka dots are this homegirls thing and I love mixing them with strips, colored tops and cardigans. They add the perfect pizzaz to some of my laid back, comfy, everyday outfits and are super quick and easy. Not to mention they look great with all of my Purdue gear! ;)

To order a pair for yourself click here.

These moccasins are my absolute favorite shoes. EVER. There really isn't a shoe that could be more comfortable than these. I'm not planning on taking these things off until there is snow on the ground. I love them to pieces. 

I purchased mine a couple of years ago, but click here for a pair similar.

I love these flats form Target. They add a little sparkle and sass to my simple. everyday outfits. I will definitely be pulling these out for the remainder of the fall months. They no longer have my exact pair, but click here for some really cute look alike ones! 

I am crushing over these combat boots from Nordstrom & LOVING the fact that they are on sale for only $28.00. To snag yourself a pair click here.

I also really love the style of these Lucky riding boots. I have a thing for riding boots this seasons, and these are one of my favorite pairs I have seen so far. I am obsessing over the details in this pair from Nordstrom. 

I love me some good fall shoes to add style to my wardrobe! I am really wanting to purchase one of the 5 booties I talked about in my previous "Must Have Booties" post, but can't decide which ones are the most practical. I would love to know your thoughts on which ones I should buy!

I hope you all have a great day! We are about to the weekend, friends! Keep pushing along! :)