Thankful Thursday: Birthday Traditions of the Spring

This is my first ever Thankful Thursday link up with my friends,  Maddie and Addie however neither of them decided to participate today… but I still wanted to post my Thankful Thursday anyway!  I am so thankful for both of these women, and I love that they have started this link up on their blogs.  Any other Thursday, feel free to link up with them and share what you are thankful for.  

This Thursday, I want to express how thankful I am to have a family that stands so firmly on togetherness and tradition. As I mentioned back in March, we celebrate birthdays from March 6-April 20 as all five of us have birthdays within these six weeks. So naturally, as of Monday, all 5 of our birthdays will have passed, all desserts will have been had, and our world will go back to normal..ish. Over the years, we have developed a lot of our own normal, ordinary traditions celebrating, and that is what I am thankful for the most this Thursday!

Before I list out the traditions I am thankful for, I want to express how thankful I am for my stepmom whose actual birthday is today! Without her, the birthday celebrations and all the life put in them would not exist as it has for the last 15 years.  She has become such a great role model for me demonstrating how to keep everything organized, how to plan, stay healthy, and how to bake/cook anything under the sun while also working and socializing like a normal human.  She really does an amazing job keeping my family in one piece, and I am very thankful that she came into my life at such an early age! A lot of what she has taught me is what makes up my normal, ordinary life, and I will be forever grateful for her.

Now- The Birthday Traditions!

1. We all get to pick our own dessert

Lexi: Lemon Bars, Tiffany: Vintage Cake, Me: Banana Cream Pie

2. We almost always have to get creative with the candles

Last year was the last year that I was forced to blow out as many candles as I was old, so we didn't run out of candles like we normally do between my sister and I this year.  My stepmom somehow always bypasses the act of blowing out candles on her own cake, but we still make her stay next to us when the family sings happy birthday even though she tries to hide. All three of us would much rather avoid all that attention, but tradition is tradition I guess...

We sang to each other out of awkwardness

And why do people think this is a great photo to take EVERY year? We are blowing out candles for goodness sake..  Not the cutest moments of life, you know?

I only had 4 candles to blow out this year, so my wish will come true :)

Lexi finally blew all hers out after 3 attempts…

3. Watching the Masters with my dad and grandparents

You know, I am not really a big golf fan especially when we are watching it on TV, but the Masters has always been something that we have to share with our birthday. It has ultimately become a tradition to have it on the TV and watch it all together (and usually bet against each other trying to predict the winner) when we have our big family party. It's definitely not the worst thing to share our birthdays with, and I have grown quite fond of it… especially this year.  

Need I say more? source

4. My grandma's "themed" gifts

This year, my gift theme was glasses, my stepmom's was dishes, and my sister's was hair products… We were having a little too much fun with my theme since they were all some sort of crazy figurine wearing glasses…. Naturally, we all had to try on this pretty pair of specs, which are now displayed on my bedside table at home for decoration. 

5. The stories

For some reason, we always tell the same stories over and over again about when my sister was born and the crazy things that happened on that day, especially with my grandparents, same with Tiffany and myself. We never bring the stories up on purpose, but they are told every year and I swear we laugh harder each year at how funny they are. In my family, everything is always an adventure, so for a big event like a child being brought into the world, I am sure you can only imagine the "adventures" we seem to have. Trust me, they are ridiculous. I wouldn't trade any of them for the world though. 

Well friends, thanks for reading my Thankful Thursday! 

See you Sunday ;)

T. Hall 

Sweet Sunday: Sister Addition

My Sweet Sunday #2 is a shot-out to my sweet sister who turns 13 today!!!!!!! The teenage world is a scary place, but I think she can handle it…. she is sure ready. I'm pretty sure she is 13 going on 25 because she is so mature… more mature than I ever was at her age. She ceases to amaze me in all that she does, and I am so excited to see the impact she makes on this world.  There is no one I would rather attempt to cook with (and usually burn something in the process with), play sequence with, FaceTime with, or tell stories with. I am so thankful to have a sister as incredible as her. Age is just a number when it comes to the two of us, and our larger age gap doesn't seem to make a difference in closeness.  

I wasn't gifted with siblings until I was 9, but my goodness, Lexi was sure worth the wait. I was so excited to be a big sister, and I could not have imagined Lexi was born at 1:17pm on Friday, April 12, 2002, and at the time I think I was more excited that I was missing a spelling test at school than anything else. We celebrated our two birthdays, and my stepmom's birthday as well (all our birthdays are within 8 days of each other).  The whole family told stories for hours about this little one and all of us old people can't believe that she is a teenager.  As she enters her crazy hormonal changes, learning how to drive, her first dates, maybe her first love, all the high school sports, drama, competition, and fun, I can't help but get more and more excited for her and to watch her grow through this stage of life. I feel like it was just yesterday I was in her shoes, but as of a week from Monday, that will be 9 years ago. 

The "sweetest" things that I think I am looking forward to Lexi experiencing the most (and hearing stories about) are:

:: Her first dance ::

:: Her first REAL date ::

:: Where her and her friends go or hangout after football games ::

:: What her favorite classes will be ::

:: What her most embarrassing moments are ::

:: What will she be involved in, if anything, besides swimming ::

:: Her learning how to drive ::

:: How tall she's going to be :: 

(she's already 3 inches taller and two shoe sizes bigger than me)

:: What her favorite things to do will be ::

:: her growing into an even cooler and more confident human than she is now ::

As of yesterday, she wants to pursue optometry like me, her favorite color is blue, she would love to swim and college, and she unfortunately wants to go to IU..  in about 5 years, I will have to report back and see how all those things change.  Here are some pictures to show how she has changed thus far:

2009

2012

2014

2015

                                       


OUR DESSERT CHOICES, including the lemon bars featured above :)
My Choice: Fluffy Banana Cream Pie           Tiffany's Choice: Vintage Cake         Lexi's Choice: Lemon Bars 








Happy Sweet Sunday and Happy Birthday to my Sweet Baby Sister!

Thanks for reading,
T. Hall

Sweet Sunday

So, I think I am going to start a weekly tradition for my blog called Sweet Sunday, one, to keep me blogging every week, and two, simply because Sunday is my favorite day (and when I have to most time, usually) to do what I want.

I like this theme mostly because baking and blogging seem to be my release, especially after weeks like this past one. When I need to unwind, I love to bake, and I love to share whatever I am making with the people I love most; for food is the key to everyones' heart, right? :) As I have mentioned before in previous posts,  "gifts" are my love language; both in showing my love for others and to receive from others.  Not in a way where I need material things constantly, but the gift of time or thought. Those are the kinds of gifts I love most.  So knowing all of that, Sweet Sunday posts seemed like a tradition I needed to incorporate in my Normal Ordinary.  I also think having a themed post like this will keep me accountable in serving people, as we should never forget the power of love.  That brings me to the reason why I picked this week to start "Sweet Sunday".  This weekend is Easter weekend; the symbolic weekend of when we were all given the greatest gift, the "sweetest" gift for my blog purpose; Eternal Life.  Sometimes, I feel like the love I give to others is my doing, and vise versa. I get lost looking for love and trying to capture the hearts of people on earth when really it is God's heart that I should be seeking and reflecting to those around me because His love is always greater. Jesus paid it all, and I know I am here to pay it forward and show others the love He has for us: enough love that He sent his son to conquer death and save us ALL from sin.  For that reason, this Sunday is the sweetest Sunday of all the Sundays in 2015 for it signifies Jesus paid in full when He died and rose from the grave to provide us with life beyond what we experience on earth.

His love is much more everlasting than my baked goods will be or whatever else I get to write about for these weekly posts, so don't miss that. He is Alive, and He loves you more than you could ever imagine.  I can only hope that these posts will help show a small portion of His love to those around me and will encourage all of you in the same way.








Of course I can't resist posting at least one dessert recipe for my first Sweet Sunday. So I have two of them :)  I made this Mouth-watering Four Berry Pie (except I didn't include the raspberries) and also Mix and Match Mama's Marshmallow Peeps S'mores for this divine Easter weekend.  Check out the links for the recipes in full- I definitely recommend both.  If I were to make the pie again, I would only use 3-4 cups of berries instead of 6, and I would use a different recipe for the pie crust. This one was good, and I think I would have liked it more had I made more of a sugary-type topping, but regardless, this was a very delicious cobbler-type pie with all the berries. It went perfectly with the Vanilla Bean ice cream, and keeps well in the fridge after baking.







The Peeps S'mores haven't technically been served yet, but each component is delicious by itself so far. I am serving them later today at my family's Easter dinner.  I will be icing them with the homemade chocolate frosting (also in link above) which I am beyond excited for. I think we will have plenty of sweetness to share for everyone :)

The Frosting is the best part!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Easter everyone!


T. Hall

Luck of the Irish

Happy March All! I know the month is almost over, but I couldn't help but post all about the festivities that have been going on these past few weeks.  The Normal Ordinary in March for my family and me is celebrating St. Patrick's Day of course along with our fellow Irishmen, the kick off to spring birthdays, anticipating spring break, and finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel: Spring time means sunshine! St. Patty's Day is what everyone can come together and recognize about the month of March though so let's start there:

St. Patrick's Day is considered a Roman Catholic "holy day" of feasting and ale-drinking to honor the spread of Christianity, so my dad's family and I usually take advantage of that to the fullest (no pun intended). This year however, I was on Spring Break and missed out on all the feasting, but I do have some fun facts about the holiday to share:

 1. St. Patrick himself wasn't even Irish. He was actually born in Britain, captured, and was a slave in Ireland until he entered into priesthood and made his name known as a missionary advocating for Christianity. 

2. The shamrock was used a symbol to teach the Trinity of Christianity ( The 3 leaved ones obviously).

3. Cabbage and Corn beef is the traditional meal of St. Patty's Day because the Irish in the US were typically part of the lower class, and to celebrate this feasting, beer-drinking holiday, families would splurge on dinner. Corn beef and cabbage were usually all they could afford so that is why it is served as the traditional St. Patty's Day meal all across the United States.

4. Like too many things, the wearing green tradition originated in the United States along with the pinching. It may have started early on, but the story behind both traditions is that by wearing green, you were invisible to Leprechauns which was good because they would pinch anyone they could see. So the pinching is to warn and remind people about the Leprechauns. 

5. One of my favorite Irish signatures is the claddagh ring, which is their representation of love, loyalty and friendship. This isn't a St. Patrick's thing, just an Irish thing. The old tale is that these rings were made and used to signify the important qualities within a marriage. Women who owned claddagh rings prior to their marriage would wear the heart open-faced (the crown side down) indicating that their heart was still open for someone to "capture" in marriage, whereas the women who wore a claddagh and were married would wear the heart in the closed fashion (crown side up) indicating that they had now found love from someone loyal and were bound together though love and friendship. At least that is the story I was told when my grandma gave me her claddagh that I now wear everyday as tradition, so I thought I would pass the story along to anyone reading. 

Okay. Enough of that.

Of course I have a dessert to associate with the month of March: The Most Delicious Apple Crisp I have ever had (and made myself) came off of one of my new favorite recipe blogs (the link will take you there). I am a huge fan of apple crisp, and I cannot wait to reuse this recipe. Some people argue that apple crisp is a fall dessert, but I say if you use Green Granny Smith Apples, it can qualify for spring time too, especially the green-themed month of March! Here are the pictures I took from Lauren Allen's Blog: Tastes Better from Scratch, because I missed my own opportunity to take pictures of the one I made, and I promise it looks just like this! I cut my apple slices a little thinner than she did, but that's just personal preference. The recipe is also on my Pinterest if you want to access it from there, along with a few more festive desserts to make.

Like I also mentioned, March kicks off birthday season! My dad, stepmom, sister, brother, and I all have spring birthdays!! We celebrated my dad and brother's birthday this month, while the other three of us are all April birthdays. My dad is never into making a big deal out of his special day, but he came up for breakfast a few weeks ago and went out to breakfast (our special tradition) and I could't help but get him a mug from our favorite breakfast diner we found up here.  It is also tradition for me to get my brother their specialty root beer for his birthday. If you ever get the chance, check out Triple XXX or Route 66 up in West Lafayette. Both places are owned by the same people, and Triple XXX has actually been featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives, the TV show with Guy Fieri. Amazing breakfast and burgers. And of course, what is a birthday with out a sibling selfie… below is our picture from last year, and the one from this year. Not much change happening… minus our extra facial hair ;)

2014

2015

I also have now been to Disney World and back to conclude my crazy month of March, but that will take a whole separate blog post to share all the good of that trip. I hope your month of March has been as "luck" as mine! Thanks for reading!



T. Hall

Love what you Love

So this Valentine's Day, I was really excited to celebrate for some reason. There was nothing in particular that I was looking forward to other than celebrating the love I have for the people around me at this point in time. Already, 2015 has been filled with more than I ever could have hoped for between my friends and family, and I feel truly blessed because of them.  My one true Valentine (my mom) got to come up and spend the morning with me, and we spent our time as every single girl should on this Hallmark holiday: pampering ourselves, going out to breakfast, drinking Raspberry Mochas, shopping, and laughing about everything humanly possible. For those of you who don't know, my mom and I are polar opposites making us the best of friends. She serves a role as a mother, provider, guider, and dear friend better than anyone I know, and I am so thankful to call her my Valentine once again this year. She is certainly the one I have to thank for starting my Valentine's Day off just right with cookies and a beautiful card. We ended our Mother-Daughter Day with a pic forced upon us by my roommate (which I was thankful for…. after the fact) so of course I had to share:

Isn't she just the cutest?!

After she left, I spent most of the weekend with my true love, Greyhouse Coffee and Supply Co., and all the beautiful people who work with me there. Then, I got to run and spend the evening laughing with my roommates, drinking my favorite wine, and eating my mom's famous sugar cookies. Even though I am the only one of my roommates not in a serious relationship, they sure made me feel special regardless of their plans along with a few of my other closest friends. To keep the spirit alive, my roommates and I are even having a Roomie Valentine's Day dinner this week with one of these yummy, festive desserts! Check out my Pinterest Valentine's Day Board for more links and ideas to steal to keep the love alive! https://www.pinterest.com/taylorhall/valentines/

I am one lucky girl with so many things to celebrate this Valentine's Day, and now I am sending it to all of you. Here are some cheesy e-cards and such to make my Valentine's post complete ;)

Sorry, I had to put one nerdy one in there

                                                      

True Love 

             


Thanks for reading,

T. Hall

Here's to you, Big Guy.

So I finally have decided to write another blog post! I haven't blogged in a good four months, so I would say it's about time I do something. I was going to wait until Friday to make this my "Friday Favorites", but nah. I'm up and I feel like doing this today, so today it is.

In honor of my Papa's birthday in 10 days, I am writing this post for him. Like I said, this was originally a post for my Friday Favorites link up, so sticking with the favorites theme here (even though it's Tuesday), my Papa is my favorite fighter, my number one man, IU's biggest basketball fan, and he is the one who taught me the most about loving the Lord and dedicating my life to the greatest purpose of all: Loving like he does. He is my biggest role model, and my rock. My memories with him are some of my greatest memories to date, and these are our favorite things to do together!

 1. Getting ice cream from Frazier's

It may not look like much, but this is one of the greatest ice cream places in the WORLD! I think he is the one who makes it so special though. He really knew the key to my heart even at a young age, and this place was it. Every chance we got, we went to Frazier's when I was growing up, and it's probably the reason for my sugar addiction to this day.

 2. Watching our sports together

We may not have the same taste in teams, but my Papa was the one who taught me how to be a dedicated fan no matter what. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, my Papa has remained loyal to his Indiana Hoosiers. He wasn't thrilled about my transfer to the dark side (Purdue University), but he promised that he would love me anyway as long as I never made him wear anything to support Purdue sports. When he gets on his sports rolls, I know that's when he is the happiest, and they are some of my favorite conversations to have with him.

3. Our love of singing 

 You may not know it, but this big guy has the best voice in all of Indiana. Some of my favorite memories of him are singing the Cubbies baseball song and "Back Home Again in Indiana" all the time. We were probably way too entertained by those two songs for our own good.

4. Playing Cards and Eating Cake 

We don't do this much anymore (the playing cards part, anyway), but as a family, my Papa would alway orchestrate a huge game of 10 Down while we ate dessert. It's played with Rook cards, and this was the only game we could really get him fired up about. When I was little, and let's face it, even now, I always want to be on his team even if it isn't a team game because he is simply the best and I just can't be against him. We always have our game faces on and our plates ready to take on each challenge as a team. Together, we are unbeatable no matter what we are accomplishing. He's my number one fan, and I am his. I could not have been blessed with a better partner in crime.

 

The Little Things

For those of you that know me, you know it's the little things that make my world go round. I think that is why fall is my favorite season; trees are changing, new decorations are out, the weather drops just enough to bring in a new wardrobe, and traditions start back up like pumpkin carving and Thanksgiving planning. When fall season kicks off, all these little changes start to occur making this time of year so perfect. Each change is something normally ordinary, and yet gets more unique and extraordinary as years pass.

My normal ordinary way to kick off fall season has always been special, but this year it's even more special because it's my last fall in college (kind of).  Now that I put that into words, this season seems pretty bitter-sweet in a natural-growing-up kind of way, but we are embracing it to the fullest.  I have started this fall season once again alongside my favorite people (with our pumpkin spice lattes of course), and we have gone to things like barn dances,
 football tailgates, breakfast club, Starry Night, we've baked anything and everything with pumpkin puree, and had way too much fun doing it all. This year, we even had a "Bring Your Own Pumpkin Spice Latte" craft night, which in my mind has now become a Fall "Must-Do" tradition whether my friends are aware of it or not.  School seems to be really busy around this time too, but I think that is why these little fall traditions I have with my closest friends are ones I will always hold near and dear to my heart. No matter how busy we are, fall always brings out the best in us, and we find little things to do that make this season so perfect.

Alright, enough with the my tribute.

Other traditions that define my fall season are the start to fantasy football, lazy Sundays start happening more often, long socks and blankets are constantly out, s'mores become a food group, Starbucks becomes an accessory to all of my outfits, romance is everywhere (more on that later), and most importantly, fall fashion is back! Sweaters, boots, vests, flannels, scarves!!! It's just too much, and defines my September through November all too well. As I mentioned, I also love the decor that comes out during this time of year. Last year, I made a wreath to welcome the spirit of fall, and I must admit, I was just as excited to get it back out this season as I was last. Hobby Lobby has the best pieces to make a seasonal wreath like this one, and I encourage all of you to make one for your home!

Unfortunately, this past BYOPSL craft night I didn't get to create anything, but I did get to bake! I made the house smell like fall with Pumpkin White Chocolate Snickerdoodles, and I will most definitely be baking these again before the season is over. For those of you who might make these at home, don't add extra pumpkin and make sure you bake them the full 10-12 minutes or they won't set up. Even though the half baked warm dough was delicious, that is my recommendation. Also, don't add more white chocolate chips to the top unless you want an overwhelming white chocolate taste. I wasn't complaining about that part, but when I make them again, I will for sure tone down on the white chocolate and add more cinnamon and sugar instead. This season I also made  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins which were my all-time favorite! These pumpkin treats really got me in the mood for fall, and I can't wait to make more!

     
















Like I keep saying, it's all about the little things. These are the little things that I include in my fall season to make it so special.  Most of the fun comes from the people I do all these things with, but nonetheless, normal ordinary things I plan to do throughout time.

That is just enough distraction for me for one day. I hope you all can take something away from my little, normal ordinary things and add them to your fall "to-do's".

Thanks for reading,

T. Hall