Being a college student means two things: I don't have a consistent income, and I have to grocery shop. This often results in a difficult standstill. So if you find yourself in the same situation as me, I have something to help you out! Here are three recipes inspired by the ultimate college food: pizza. #1: Tortilla Pizza I actually got this from one of Madeleine Olivia's videos. It's super easy! Simply grab a tortilla and pile on whatever toppings are your favorites. Stick it in the oven and you're good to go. 450 for just a few minutes is probably good. #2: Pizza Wrap While you have your package of tortillas handy, try wrapping it up and grilling it instead of using the oven. Delicious and portable. #3: Pizza Pasta This last one seems like a stretch, but it was actually better than I expected. Switch out the crust -- or in this case, tortilla -- for pasta, and you have our third dish! (Just make sure your toppings of choice work well with pasta.)
What is your favorite pizza topping? I gotta say, pineapple and/or mushrooms are my go-to.
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May has turned out to be a busy, busy month. I'm traveling more than before, and I've been waking up at 3 am for flights more than I would like to, but I don't actually mind all that much! I'm soaking in all of the hours spent in airports, walking around, trying new foods. So far this month, aside from some adventures within England, I've been to Salzburg, Austria and Athens, Greece -- here are my reviews and top tips! Salzburg I. Loved. This. City. We were right at the foot of the Alps, and everything about this place was relaxed and beautiful. My most important bucket list items were seeing some sites from The Sound of Music (which was filmed here) and eating a pretzel, both of which were happily checked off. The entire time we were there, my head was completely lost in the clouds. I felt calm, peaceful, and safe the whole time. It was way less busy than I was expecting too, so apparently early May is a great time to go. Two and a half days was plenty of time for us to go at our own pace and still see basically everything. Here are some of my favorite things about Salzburg. Mirabell Gardens This was such a beautiful garden, and it happens to be where the filmed all of the garden clips from 'Do-Re-Mi', so you know we had to spend time taking pictures. There were so many statues and all the flowers were planted in a variety of designs. So pretty! Lunch in the Alps So, this was also a Sound of Music site (the picnic at the beginning of 'Do-Re-Mi'). We popped into the grocery store to pick up some lunch items, and then ended up being the only two people on the mountain! It felt like we were in post card. It was a bit of a hike, but I definitely recommend. THE FOOD Schnitzel, pretzels, coffee, and the best sauerkraut I have ever had. No complaints here. Funny story though, Savanah and I had the same breakfast every day, and we noticed that the café had a bit of vibe going on, like it was founded on a religion, complete with a statue of the founder and a whole book section and shop. Long story short, we realized that it was not an actual religion, but instead was a cult where you had to be a member in order to be employed at the café. One woman apparently escaped and wrote a memoir. On top of that, we found out that this founder in question has cafes, yoga studios, etc. not only around Salzburg, but around the whole of Austria. Crazy right? Athens I think I was hoping that this Grecian city would feel more like the islands than it did. I have to say though, my whole overall experience would have been better if we had stayed nearer to the city center. NOTE: If you are traveling by yourself, or even with a couple other people, ESPECIALLY if you're a female, I do not recommend staying where we did. We were a bit bamboozled by our airbnb host, and the area we were in was not the best. Apparently, the street we walked down our first evening while exploring is a street that many sources say you're not supposed to go down. Plus, on top of the Acropolis, when we could see the entirety of the city, I joked that the ONE street that was dirtier and darker than the HUNDRED others was probably ours. It was. (We stayed way north of the center, and the sketchy street was called Acharnon). Another highlight of this trip was probably the younger woman on our plane talking about her solo trip to Columbia. She said that it was a place everyone needed to go before Americans discovered it simply because there was a lack of fast food, which, no lie, she said has become a trend of the upper middle class because celebrities always eat it. She then attributed our national heightened obesity to the 'fact' that fast food is a trend. On that ridiculous note, here are my favorite things about Athens. Ancient History Boy oh boy, did my middle school obsession with Greek mythology come roaring back during this trip. So much about Athena and Artemis and Poseidon - there were owls and olive trees everywhere! While the Acropolis and temples were very cool to see, the most important part of the history to me was the huge boulder we climbed on where PAUL PREACHED! I never in a million years thought I would get to be in a Bible location! I couldn't believe it! Even though this isn't ancient, I really enjoyed the area of Plaka, which is the historical city center. There were tons of shops and restaurants, and it was fun to walk around. Here's a warning though: there's a group of men that try and get you to agree to try on one of their bracelets, and then make you pay for them. If you don't pay attention, they'll just grab your wrist and tie it on without your permission. (I think they're somewhere near Monastiraki Square but I'm not 100% sure). They're a bit intimidating, and apparently they're also in Paris. The Flowers There were bright fuchsia, red, pink, and yellow flowers absolutely everywhere - gathered together in bushes, crawling across buildings, growing besides the sidewalk. Anafiotika I already briefly mentioned this on social media, but this was my favorite neighborhood in Athens. The classic white buildings with the blue doors, the flowers, the stone sidewalks. Amazing. THE FOOD (AGAIN) Greek food is the absolute best. I had olives, ice cream, baklava, and gyros. (My fellow Tarheels: I like Med Deli's lamb better. Wild.). We went to the same place three times, and one of the waiters ended up giving us hugs and saying that he loved Americans. It made our afternoon! Overall, these trips were a great way to begin to bring my semester to a close. 12/10 would recommend European travels - I am so thankful for everything that I have been able to experience since coming abroad. One more trip to go!
Ah, Face Tune: a topic that has caused so much controversy for so many acne-scarred teens and adults alike. Joking aside, this was something I had to take time to think about. I began to write this a month ago, but couldn't figure out exactly how I wanted to put it.
I have had pretty bad skin for quite a few years now, and there was an extended period of time last summer where I considered whether or not I wanted to use this app that had the ability to give me the skin that all my friends have, the face of my dreams. But I had to ask myself -- Are these the kinds of images that I want representing me? Do they actually reflect things that I value? I did give into my insecurity and use Face Tune once because of how embarrassed I was about myself. Even after posting the photo (which is actually still on my Instagram), I could immediately feel its ramifications. This seemed to go beyond what I want my brand to promote, or Instagram-induced depression, or even beyond the fact that it is a fake and fabricated version of myself. It was a clear and deliberate effort on my part to change something about myself that isn't inherently wrong. I realized that I don't want to become that kind of person. Face Tune or Photoshop do not at all relate to bettering ourselves. If you have an attitude problem or a gossip problem, then yeah, you may want to change that. But there's nothing wrong or evil about having acne, just like there's nothing wrong with having a speech impediment or hearing aids or large thighs. If we get into the habit of changing parts of us that we don't like, then we get locked into a cycle of being unsatisfied with who we are, changing ourselves on a screen so that people whose opinions don't actually matter see us in a better light, and then hating on ourselves because that 'better light' doesn't even exist in real life. I wrote a whole essay on Instagram and fantasy lives, y'all, I'm not messing around. (But on a semi-related note -- If you're really that upset with your body, have you made any positive life changes because of it? Are you eating healthy? Are you exercising?) It may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It's a problem that people are okay with this. Straight up, if I Face Tuned every picture that I post of my face, I would be failing myself. Don't fail yourselves. Rather, think about what you love about yourself, and love it even more. Here's a hot take for you: constantly verbalizing the things you don't like about yourself doesn't make you strong or self-aware, and complimenting yourself doesn't make you narcissistic. Write down three things that you really value about your personality, your dreams, or (Heaven forbid) your looks. I love my imagination. I love my work ethic. I love my eyes. Write encouragements on your mirror or stick some inside your car. You have to make the conscious decision to change the way you think about yourself, because no one else can do that for you. Get off your butt and actually make a change. Once you do, I promise it's worth it. Being in London has meant a lot of alone time. I have my own room and bathroom. I spent a lot of time in classes without anyone I knew. And on the days I had my internship, I was so tired that I would come straight home from work.
This has left me a lot of time to spend with Jesus. That being said, I definitely do not spend enough time with Him. If I'm being honest, I get into this cycle of feeling good on my own, getting wrapped up in my hopes and dreams and plans, and kind of forgetting that He's there. Nevertheless, He still welcomes me with open arms and continues to teach me. So here's what I've been learning. 1. A Garland of Crowns I was doing a plan with She Reads Truth on Job, and something about reading Job 38 this time around really got my attention. When I began, the page in my Bible was basically blank, but if you look at it now, there are countless notes and highlights and circles. By this point, Job has lost his children, his home, his business, his friends, and his health, and he's wondering why out of all people, he should have to suffer like this. Chapter 38 is God's response. I love how much authority is in all of the LORD's statements, that this is His final word, and there is no need for further conversation. Even though these questions are directed at Job, I feel like they're also pointed towards me and my controlling nature. Where was I when the earth was created? (vs. 4) Have I allowed the dawn and the sunrise to know exactly when they're supposed to happen? (vs. 12) Have I seen the gates of death, or walked the bottom of the ocean, or told lightning where to strike, or led forth constellations? Yeah...no. I love how these questions reveal how vast and grand God is, yet how detailed and observant He chooses to be. God asks Job if he is able to lead forth Mazzaroth in their season (vs. 32), which many scholars think is a constellation. It roughly translates to 'garland of crowns' and I think that is so poetic. (God's creativity really comes through in places like this and I am HERE FOR IT.) God is not a Santa Claus that we only come to when we want something or a teddy bear that we only pray to when we think we've been wronged. That is focusing too much on ourselves. He is so powerful, so wise, so expansive, incomprehensibly good and just and loving and so many other things that I cannot even put into words. I could spend this entire post just talking about adjectives of God!! Wow He is so good and so in control of my life, of politics, of my safety. It's something I need constant reminder of. 2. House on a Hill When I say that 'House on a Hill,' the title track of Amanda Cook's newest album, wrecked me, I am not exaggerating in the slightest. I sat at my desk crying my eyes out for a solid half hour. I really recommend that everyone listen to it. It was a much-needed reminder that God doesn't "put up" with anything about me. It was a reminder that He is everything I need, and that when I follow Him, everything else really does fall into place. He comes to our own personal houses on our own personal hills and meets us in our depression, our loneliness, and our embarrassment and walks with us as we deal with them. Um...hello?! What kind of all-powerful king and God does that?! Having the song itself be so slow and peaceful makes listening to it an act of rest. It's beautiful. 3. Sunday's Coming Since I've come to London, I've been attending one of the campuses at HTB, and I think it is my favorite church that I have ever been a part of. I am so sad to have to leave it!! On Friday, I attended the alternative Good Friday service, which was made up of worship, a message, and creative responses to the Gospel (including a dance, an acoustic version of 'Nothing But the Blood,' and the first half ( ;) ) of a video). I love pausing at Good Friday. It was such a traumatic and horrific event, that I think it's important for us as a privileged, Western church to sit face-to-face with it. Thinking about the horror of the cross, in a way, makes Jesus seem more human. It is the climactic event that most explicitly shows us just how much Jesus loves us. The Romans were the most powerful and wealthiest nation on the entire planet in 33 AD, and crucifying Jesus was the most entertaining and painful thing they could do to Him. He aligned Himself with prostitutes, outcasts, and the oppressed. He wasn't at all attractive. He was born to an unwed mother. And on top of that, He came to claim His Kingdom on a donkey, symbolizing peace instead of war. I'm ashamed to say it, but I'm not convinced someone like this wouldn't make me turn and walk in the other direction. During the sermon on Friday, our speaker asked how such a man could end up as the most wanted person in Jerusalem, hanging on a cross between two criminals in front of the whole entire nation, naked and beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. It makes no sense for an all-powerful God to let Himself come down to earth to do this, and it's scandalous for a King to choose love instead of power. But that's exactly what He did for us. For you. For me. But y'all. SUNDAY IS COMING. The Resurrection. OH BOY GET READY. The Resurrection makes me so excited. The pinnacle of our faith, the reason I choose to get out of bed in the morning. The reason I can smile after being made fun of for sticking with Jesus, the reason I have joy and energy and LIFE. WOW. Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to women before anyone else even though women in the 1st century were unreliable witnesses (He didn't care. What a dude). He appeared to His disciples and left the early church the Holy Spirit to guide us until He comes back. He constantly chose the dirtiest, poorest, shameful nobody's to do His work. I have never, ever wanted anything more than to be used by Him. I can literally feel myself getting more excited as I type this because, friends, this is the reason I am alive!!! This is the reason I WANT to be alive!!! I feel most like myself when I am doing His work. When you've experienced His presence, literally nothing else, not even persecution or even death, matters. Don't you want to feel like that too? It may surprise you to know that I haven't done a lot of shopping since coming to London. So, since I've only had access to more of a smaller wardrobe, I've been getting creative with the same pieces. I'd thought I'd show you my go-to outfits for the spring, and I hope they give you some inspiration if you feel like you're in a fashion rut. In addition, I'll give you my #1 tip for never feeling like you have nothing to wear! (Also, I'm gonna go ahead and address the horrible setup of this lookbook: I'm too scared to take pictures alone outside, and I don't have a photographer SO this is what we're stuck with for now. I'll do one this summer that's better - I promise!) One of my favorite ways to make an outfit a little more quirky is to incorporate some fun socks. I'm pretty sure these are from Target but I can't find a link to give you! I like the pop of color that the turtleneck gives the first outfit, and having a cropped jean jacket instead of a baggier one makes it a little more classy. If you have a jean jacket preference, let me know! For the second outfit, the mock neck striped tank adds a little more visual interest than a regular top would. I can't wait to swap the jeans for high rise shorts. This turtleneck has become one of my favorite pieces. I literally wear it all the time. I really like wearing this satin tank over it to add another texture to the look, and of course, wearing funky socks ups the fun factor! If you're somewhere that's finally getting warm, you can switch the turtleneck for a tee shirt. I haven't been able to wear this one yet since it's still too chilly for short sleeves, but I'm definitely gonna wear it when the weather gets warmer. Super simple, also kind of patriotic. #Murica. These two are more girly options. Midi skirts are super popular right now, and pairing it with a tee shirt tones it down. I actually wore this to church last week, and even though it is more of a statement than I normally wear, the fact that I wore it and didn't care what other people thought made me feel so powerful.
I LOVE the color and the cold shoulder details of the sweater in the second outfit! You can definitely swap the skirt for jeans and throw a jacket on top if you want. I've been really into cooler colors since figuring out I'm cool toned, so I would add my green utility jacket. So...as promised, here's my favorite way to make sure going in my closet always feels like shopping. On my Pinterest, I made a section under my Fashion board called I Actually Own This, and when I know I love a certain piece of clothing, I just look up "black turtleneck outfits" or "midi skirt outfits" and save them to the board! So many different options come up and I've gotten so much inspiration. From there, I can see if there's a particularly trendy combination with pieces I already have, or it gives me inspiration for what to buy in the future! I hope you liked this! Tag me in your spring ootd posts, I wanna see them all. :) I can't believe my time in London is half-way over. More than half actually. I have really, truly learned to love living here and I can see myself moving back in the future. Mainly, my thoughts and feelings about this whole experience have calmed down a lot, and my view of London has become very similar to my view of North Carolina (which I guess is a good and a bad thing). I have my routines and my personal favorites. I can give people directions, and recommend restaurants, and I can get to many of the places I'm going without looking at the tube map. My favorite moments are those times when it hits me that I'm actually living in London, and I get that wide-eyed wonder all over again. And then that wonder turns into panic because I feel like there's still so much that I haven't done! This city consistently meets my expectations with how much I enjoy the places I always go and the things I always do, and with how much fun I have exploring to try new foods and routes. I love just getting lost and seeing how I can get home from wherever I am. (I mean, I always have my google maps, but for the most part I just wander.) I'll end on one last fun note. I started compiling these lists of things I like about England vs. North Carolina...what do you think?
It feels pretty weird that I can now say I'm in my twenties. I'll be saying that for 10 years! I know that I turned 20 more than a little while ago (my half birthday was less than two weeks ago actually), but it's still a pretty monumental event. So, in celebration, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that I learned during my years as a teenager in classic mushy-gushy Chloe style. I was a teenager for seven years, so here are my seven lessons.
The biggest lesson I learned was probably that my lifelong, unrelenting feeling of never fitting in actually serves a purpose. That was so type 4 of me I'm so sorry. During my senior year of high school, I was working on my portfolio for creative writing and listening to one of my Bethany Dillon CDs. (Definitely check her out, I love her). It is fairly important to note that my project was related to Narnia, which is a detail I actually just now realized. I was kind of zoned out as I sketched, but the last line of one of the the songs caught my attention: "I've always known this wasn't home." I knew I had to replay it. Long story short, 10 minutes later, I was crying my eyes out and my mom was really frustrated because they had to wait for me before we could all eat dinner. As followers of Christ, we are foreigners on earth. So it was like, all of a sudden, everything made sense: how ostracized I felt, the time I cried myself to sleep because of loneliness, all the times I felt a punch in the gut because my friends made plans and didn't invite me. Even though these things weren't world-ending, they felt like a reflection on me and I didn't know how to fix myself. Surprise! I don't need to fix myself. These feelings are all just reminders that my home is in Heaven. It's why Ecclesiastes 3:11 ("He has set eternity in their hearts") has such a deep, inexplicably important meaning to me. It's why I've been obsessed with Narnia and the idea that we have a greater destiny elsewhere since before I could understand the Gospel. This truth has brought so much beauty from pain in the last four years. I've learned how much I love my sister. She truly is my best friend (she also hates gushy stuff hehe), and I am so appreciative of how much she puts up with my crap, my endless talks about Marvel, and how much she supports my creativity. She is the smartest, funniest person I know. She is persistent and self-disciplined and has literally had to do physical therapy for, like, seven years and doesn't skip any days, even if it means she has to give up all her free time at summer camp. She's gone through way more than I did when I was her age and has handled it way better than I would have. I realized what I want to do with my life, and in turn, have had to figure out what it means to be in the world and not of it because wow guys, the fashion industry is a broken and hurting place. I learned that it's possible for a guy to be the right guy, just not for you, and that breaking things off doesn't make you a monster. Or (as my mother said), for the guy to be the wrong size of the perfect shoe. I learned how much I value kindness in a man, and that it's not selfish or snobby to have the self-respect to know that I deserve a heck of a lot. I have also started looking at this "perfect shoe" thing in reverse, and I consciously tell myself that I am somebody's perfect woman, I just haven't met him yet. Or have I???? (husband where you at?) Side note: this ties my job and my love life together, but I am so excited to write and live in a city and wear fancy dresses, and I have never been more satisfied with my life. I definitely have a deep, feeling-beyond-words-bring-tears-to-my-eyes desire to get married, but the reality that it may not happen until later than I've always wanted no longer terrifies or depresses me. That is very liberating. I learned that grief does not come as you may expect, because grief cannot be boxed into any one definition. When my grandpa died, I sobbed every night in the shower, but was totally fine the rest of the time. Even though I was emotionless at his visitation, I still stand by my opinion that that night was the closest to Hell I've ever experienced. True beauty has come from his death in the form of me spending more time than ever with my grandma, who is a ROCK STAR and I love her. I am tied with my cousin Josh for most literary and historical grandchild, and my grandma just gave me my grandfather's old copy of Jane Eyre at New Year's. I almost cried. I cannot wait to read it when I get back to North Carolina. It took me literally five months to tackle the balance between God being good and terrible things still happening in the world. I'm not saying I understand it because I will never understand it. I'm saying that I'm at a point where I can admit that they're both true. Hurricane Michael last season destroyed a ton of my family's belongings and has proved to be a terrible inconvenience. When my housemate got diagnosed with brain cancer sophomore year, I was suddenly faced with the difficult reality of my God telling me that He keeps His promises of life and victory, and yet we still had to see her go through treatment and all its ramifications. This whole phase of life without a DOUBT brought me and my housemates closer together than anything else would have because we didn't leave each other's sides for a whole week. It also had its own theme song, Yes and Amen by Housefires, because for some reason, I heard it every other week for those entire five months. It really added to the whole "God is good? But life sucks?" thing happening in my brain. I have learned how much I love my many homes and my many families, and how thankful I am for each of them. My FCA family, my hobbits, my actual biological family: I love you all more than I could ever hope to express. Black Mountain YMCA Center (rip UNCW), Chapel Hill: I love you. I even finally learned to love the Outer Banks, who EVER would've thought that would happen? So, there we go. A lot happened in these seven years. I know a lot is going to happen in the next ten. But how do we deal with that? One day after another until it's time for "What I Learned In My Twenties." Flowers are blooming, the air is fresh, and today was so sunny in London that I was sweating!? Heat? In London? Spring is here!! And that means it is one of my favorite times of year: spring cleaning.
Yes, the secret (which is actually pretty obvious) is out. I love to clean. When I was little, I used to really love the movie sequences where characters cleaned their rooms, and one of my favorite topics within American history is still just learning about the daily chores from any given time period. All this to say, you better believe that when I move into my own place, it is going to be a sparkling clean MASTERPIECE. So, today I'm going to be sharing some spring cleaning ideas that are hopefully a little less mainstream so that you too can take part in the joy that is spring cleaning. #1: Your Closet Okay, so this one's pretty popular, so let's just get it out of the way. I read somewhere that the past few months have been the best time to go thrift shopping because of how many people have gotten rid of clothes following Marie Kondo's Netflix show. You know the steps: get everything out, assess whether or not you actually like/wear/feel good in each piece, then decide if you're going to keep it, toss it, or donate/sell it. I know it's easier said then done, but you can do it. I believe in you. #2: Your Desk This one gets me every time. My desk is always SO MESSY and it drives me absolutely insane. A good rule of thumb is to make sure what's in your desk can't have a place anywhere else, so that you know all the contents are work related. Throw away those old papers, put your beauty supplies in your vanity, and relish in your spick and span work space. #3: Your Computer There are so many parts to cleaning out your laptop and they are all very satisfying. Delete old files, unsubscribe from emails you don't care about, un-bookmark links you've already opened, clean out your YouTube playlists and subscription list. If you're feeling fancy, you can make your screensaver something springy! Here are my new ones: one and two. #4: Your Phone This one is closely tied with #3, but every spring I always go through my notes, my contacts, my photos, and even who I'm following across various social medias so that I can feel like I've got a fresh start. Go crazy and change your phone background too. Mine is this really beautiful Ravenclaw collage from She The Spy (she also has the other houses!). I'll admit, I'm on my phone enough that after I've cleaned it out, I really feel the change. #5: Your Bags Going through your backpacks and purses after what feels like an lifelong hibernation can be an interesting experience. Crumpled pieces of paper, old beauty products, and even crumbs await you. Approach it like you did your closet and just take everything out. Then, go through each item to see if it actually needs to go back in the bag. Your back and shoulders will thank you for it! #6: Your Decorations Now for the really fun part! I'm a huge fan of seasonal decorations, so I always get excited when it's time for a new season. For me, that means I switch out magazines I'm displaying, photos I've framed, I change my sheets, and I replace my winter trinkets (ie: the super cute stuff I got from the Target dollar section). This will make your room feel more breezy and fresh, and that is a great way to start of the spring season. Did I miss any of your favorite spring cleaning hacks? Let me know below what your #1 cleaning tip is! I really love to cook. And recently, I've been watching a ton of "What I Eat in a Day" videos for recipe ideas and to form my grocery lists (a new trend perhaps?). Breakfast I've come to realize that I am a fan of warm, heavier breakfasts and dinners, while I choose lighter and fresher lunches. So for breakfast on this day, I made a cheese and pepper quesadilla. I've been buying vegan cheese that's coconut-based instead of dairy-based and, honestly, it's life changing. I also paired this yummy dish with a banana + peanut butter + honey and a cup of tea. Lunch I truly eat the same thing for lunch every day. Because I have to pack a lunch and bring it to class, salads are always easy. I grabbed an apple and made a salad with:
Dinner A truly amazing meal. Eating a hot dinner really adds the "comfort" to comfort food. I made a stuffed bell pepper with whatever was in my fridge, and I wasn't as hungry as I normally am, so I just added a handful of nuts and berries. Here's what was inside:
What's your favorite meal? Would you want to see more of these posts in the future?
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AuthorI am a September baby, which may be the root of my love for fall. I love dark chocolate, popcorn, and I do actually like brussel sprouts. I'm the kind of person that listens to a Christmas song in September. (But only one. I don't want to ruin the ~magic~). Archives
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