For those of you who know me, you know I love the mornings. Now, I get it, most people are not morning people and that's okay! I think the key is to have something to look forward to before you start your day. That thing I look forward to is a hot cup of tea or coffee. It sounds like something so simple or so little, but it is a great reason to get out of bed and indulge in.

So, set your alarm to a happy and gentle song (find my list of songs to wakeup to here); give yourself time to wakeup slow. Go downstairs, brew your coffee or put your hot water in the kettle. Bring it upstairs or to your room and get ready for your day!

Make sure to enjoy your sips as you take them. Drop the makeup brush and free your hands, take a sip, and enjoy :)

Let me know what your morning routine is!

2015 was a great year for many reasons but it's out with the old and in with the new! 2016 you're lookin' FOINE. This is a monumental year for me because I will be spending my last semester of college student teaching (trying to keep a positive mind BUT it's hard as all of my peers can attest to). I will also be graduating from college- what the what... Where has the time gone?! AH. Last but not least, I'll be starting my career helping impoverished children to have the same opportunities as I did. I am passionate about equal rights and this experience will be one that helps to set me up for my future of advocating for those kids. Along with those HUGE life goals, I created a list of personal things I want to focus on to better myself inside and out.

The holidays are always the hardest time food and body wise for me. I consume everything in sight (think Patrick in the episode of Spongebob when they go to Spongebob's Grandma's house to eat the cookies). I don't workout because I have no access to the gym so essentially I lose my summer body. So the New Year always comes at a great time where you can get into the mindset of a new slate. So, here we are. I present you my "Bettering B" List:

1. Take more bubble baths- does this even need to be explained?


2. Find a perfect hairstyle- preferably long but more blonde


3. Read more- it's definitely hard when you're at school but it's definitely rewarding especially when you're reading next to a candle!


4. Cut out words "like" & "um"- I should have jars where I put money into when I say these words because I'm broke and I could use that as motivator


5. Find my "go-to" beauty products- everyone everywhere knows their go-to beauty products and I'm over here spending $140+ of my Christmas money trying to find mine


6. Eat clean(er)- I'm going to cut out dairy products like milk and yogurt, not quite ready to cut out cheese. I also want to cut out things that are manufactured because MONSANTO is scary.


7. Eat more dark chocolate- because I heard it's good for your heart and so is red wine??


8. Drink more tea- lately I've been drinking a lot of coffee with almond milk


9. Bloom my blog


10. Meditate everyday


11. Learn more- READ


12. Surround myself with more life- by this, I mean surround myself with more nature like plants and flowers


13. Start an in-house herb garden- having basil, rosemary, and chives at my disposal would be nice!


14. Write and reflect- daily.


15. Get the Wednesday New York Times- for those of you who don't know, on Wednesdays, the NYT includes a food section with recipes and stories about food and I'm such a foodie so I love to look at them all. But, I want to start cutting out the recipes and saving them for the future!


16. Exercise- good for your mental and physical health so, DUH.

If you know me, you know that Sundays are my absolute favorite day and Sunday morning is my absolute favorite part of my absolute favorite day. I love to wake up and watch CBS Sunday morning at 9 while I sip my coffee or tea. Growing up, Sunday mornings were always made special by my mom and dad because we sit down as a family to brunch. My mom would always have a recipe of a scrumptious breakfast treat that she would prepare either the night before or the morning of. My dad's job was to accompany that breakfast spectacular with toasty, essentially burnt bacon- because that's how the Logan fam loves it. I fully intend on containing the very special tradition of sitting down to an amazing brunch meal.

So this is a recipe that I made and tested on this rainy Sunday morning. The lemon-blueberry filled crepes recipe is my own version of a one that I found online. I tested it out by swapping and changing a lot of the ingredients and I am so proud of these!

Here's how I spent my Sunday morning:

Crepe ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup of almond milk


• 1 1/4 cup of white flour


• 3 tablespoons of butter, melted


• 3 large eggs


• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Filling ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of crème fraîche


• 1/2 cup of yogurt- vanilla or lemon, greek or regular


• 2 tablespoons of lemon zest- the zest of a whole lemon


• 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Blueberry sauce ingredients:

• 8 oz of fresh or frozen blueberries


• 2 tablespoons of water


• 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup


• 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

Directions:

For the crepes: Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until evenly combined. Make sure the batter is smooth and there are minimal clumps. When evenly combined, cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 1-12 hours, or over night.

For the lemon filling: In a medium sized bowl, combine all of the ingredients until smooth and well mixed. Refrigerate 1-12 hours, or over night. You want to let the ingredients sit so the different flavors meld together.

For the blueberry sauce: In a small saucepan, combine all of the ingredients and let simmer over medium heat. Remove the blueberry sauce once it reaches a thick constancy- about 6-8 minutes. Put the blueberry sauce into a maple syrup pitcher until you're ready to serve.

Cooking the crepes: Now, making crepes isn't for the faint of heart because they can be difficult to flip. You just have to have confidence in your flips! First, start by heating a big frying pan on medium heat. To test if the pan is hot enough, put a little water on it and if it "dances" and disappears, it should be ready. I didn't use butter to grease my pan like most crepe recipes call for, I used coconut oil- lemon ginger coconut oil to be exact. It provides a healthy and vegan alternative to butter and also goes great with the lemony recipe. Put the coconut oil in the pan and tilt the pan until it covers all over- about a teaspoon. Next, pour a half of a cup of the crepe batter into the pan. Tilt the pan until the batter covers the whole thing in a circle shape. You know when the crepe is ready when you shake the pan and the crepe moves smoothly. Next, comes the flip. Take your time and be confident! It should be a smooth and swift movement. It took me three times to get it right. When the crepe is ready, set it aside on a plate. Continue until the batter is all gone.

Filling the crepes: Fold the crepes in half, and then in half again. It should make the shape of a big slice of pizza or pie. Open the crepe back up so it is the shape of a half pizza. Take the lemon filling and spoon in two-three tablespoons of the filling to half of the folded crepe. Pull the other half over the filling to cover it. Continue until the lemon filling is gone and the crepes are stuffed!

Once you've filled all of the crepes, arrange and serve. You can pour the sauce all over the crepes or have each person do it individually. Take your fork and knife and enjoy!

Recipe yields about 6 crepes, serves 2-3 people.

So I'm literally obsessed with this oversized scarf. Oversized scarves are perfect because they are so warm, thick, and best of all: BIG! This scarf is also suuuuper soft that it makes for the perfect pal during the winter months. Last week, my family and I went to Vermont and it was sooooo cold and even snowed! Having this scarf around my neck was the perfect accessory. It is gorgeous and compliments any outfit.

This year I had 0 dollars and 0 cents so I had to really cut back on my Christmas expenses. One of those expenses was gift wrapping. I like putting a personal spin on presents I give to people because it's that extra thought that counts, right? So this year, I made my own Christmas tag to put on presents. It was super easy and I had a lot of time so why not.

A little while back, I got into watercolor painting. Watercolors are my absolute favorite kind of painting so I went to Michael's and picked up some paint and paper. So, I already had the supplies on hand to make these tags.

I got the three different green paints and just started painting. I painted the brush strokes from side to side and did a lot of layers of them. When I was finished, I let it dry over night. Then, I cut out a cutout of a Christmas tree. You can get as elaborate as you would like but I made my somewhat simple. I then traced the trees on the painted paper and cut them out and voila! I put a hole in the tag so I could string them through the rope. You can also tape them onto the presents or put them in a bag! You can make them as little or as big as you would like! Have fun with it! Let me know what you think!

So this dish is the mother of all holiday appetizers. It is both elegant and delicious. It is perfect to serve with any holiday or winter meal. We served this last Christmas before the big meal. It is seriously so simple.

Here's what you need:

• 8 oz package of Brie


• Whole cranberry sauce- we used homemade but canned will do


• Baking dish

Here's what to do:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F


• Place the brie in the baking dish- you can cut off the top of the brie or leave it on


• Put the cranberry sauce on the brie


• Place it in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until you see the cheese has melted

Take the dish out of the oven and dig in as soon as possible! Serve with whole grain crackers. Let me know what you think! What kinds of appetizers do you have around the holidays?