Breakfast on the Go - Kathleen

Hi guys!!

This is Kathleen from the past because Kathleen from the present just got back from camping and probably horseback riding. I was at Camp Ondessonk for the eclipse on Monday.

Since school has started, (or is starting for some) I figured I would write a post about some on the go breakfast ideas. Insert a random mom talking about how breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But seriously, it is. Aside from breakfast giving you essential nutrients and vitamins (shouldn't every meal?) having a good breakfast can determine your mood for the day. For example: you are running out the door and don't have time for anything but a piece of toast. No butter, no jelly, just toast. How are you going to feel emotionally after that? Like a crab. On the flipside, if you got to sit down and eat a delicious meal (heehee, it only took you five minutes) that fills you up just enough and gives you key nutrients, one would probably feel much happier and awake.

So, today I am going to show you just how many breakfasts you can make and eat in 15 minutes. Let's go.

#1 Oatmeal

When I used to think of oatmeal, I thought of mush that didn't taste good without too much maple syrup. Now I really like it. I like putting strawberries, blueberries and chia seeds on it. Besides toppings, finding a healthy oatmeal to make is tricky. Lots of different oatmeals put too many sugars and sweeteners in them. I really like the Think Thin oatmeal. They come in portioned packages. They are super easy to make and are a quick, healthy breakfast that will keep you full and awake!

#2 Toaster Waffles

SHOCKER!!! Healthy toaster waffles!! Seriously, Kashi has Gluten Free/Vegan toaster waffles. Guys they taste delicious!! I like putting blackberries and honey on mine, but they have suggestions on the back as to other toppings such as peanut butter, bananas, and chia seeds. They are super easy to make and honestly guilt-free!

#3 Toast

Now I know what you are thinking, "Kathleen, you just said that eating a piece of toast on the way out the door is not good for you." But this is different. This is heaven on a slice of bread. People. Trust me. Toast a whole slice of bread. Spread peanut butter over it (thin layer) cut up any fruit, drizzle on some honey, generously sprinkle some chia seeds. Oh my Lord, it's so easy and soo good. Look at it like this, if you use whole wheat bread, (like I do) you get your grains, your protein, and your fruits, all on one piece of toast. What could be better?! And you can literally put whatever fruit  you want on it, it really is a seasonal thing. I love putting peaches on it. But you could use strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas, melon, or even cranberries. The options are endless. I highly recommend that you make this for breakfast tomorrow.

Now you don't have an excuse for not sitting down and eating breakfast!! And if you are so late that you can't even make these, you need to read my last post on school organization.

Thank you so much for reading! Tell me in the comments what your favorite breakfast item is!

Kathleen

Dog Photography -Emma

Hello everyone! I've been taking a lot of photos of my puppy, Sadie, lately and thought I would share them with you all! I know these are not anywhere near professional, but in the next few months I really want to get a DSLR camera and start taking professional photos of my pets! I think it would be so much fun and I'd be able to take my hobby to a whole new level.

I'm pretty sure this is my favorite photo ever taken of Sadie. I took it on Sadie's

first official hiking trip when my family and I went camping at Rend Lake for the weekend.

She's rocking the red bandana and looks super adventurous (and cuddly).

Don't you just wanna boop her nose? I know you want to.

I took this last Saturday at the farmers market. She had such a good time, and got tons

of attention. She's also modeling a bandana that I made for my Etsy shop, FureverFriendsCo.

This one was also taken while camping at Rend Lake. It was one of Sadie's

first sunsets. It's a low quality picture but I still think it's beautiful.

Sadie was all smiles because it's FRIDAY! 

(she actually just reallyyy wanted the treat I was holding up)

I bought her this new dinosaur toy the other day and let's just say she's absolutely 

IN LOVE with this dinosaur. It's her new best friend. She carries it around with her everywhere, sleeps with it, it's the cutest thing ever. Ugh. 

Lastly, a photo documenting the start of her first fall. So far she's loving chasing (and eating)

all the leaves falling off the trees.

That's it! I hope you all liked seeing all these photos! I guess you could say I'm a littleeeee obsessed with my dog. But that's okay, I have no shame. If you'd like to see more of Sadie, you can check out her Instagram account, @sadieonthemove. 

I'm planning some new back to school and fall related posts for these next few weeks, so look out for those!

Talk to ya'll later!

-Emma

Back to School Tips and Organization - Kathleen

Hi readers!!

Sorry for the late post, I've been a little busy and the bridal shower I was at yesterday ran a little late.

Anyways! School is starting soon and to be honest, I'm actually kind of excited!! It's been a great summer but I'm excited to have more of a schedule and a more predictable life. As much as a love the sun and extra exercise I get in the summer, leaves and sweaters and fall is my favorite season and school comes along with that. :D

So today I have some a list of some back to school tips and organizing that I like to do! Let's get started!

Tip #1
Have your backpack packed before you go to bed the night before school.

We all know it's hard to get up in the morning, especially on the first day of school. Have backpack ready to go in the morning. This makes you feel confident that you have everything and you are well prepared. And actually, if you do this, you are less likely to forget something because you weren't throwing stuff in your bag and then running out the door.

If you are homeschooled (like me!) you won't have a backpack. In this case I would suggest making sure you know where all your books are and know what the syllabus says the day before. Having all the books where you need them the day before is honestly awesome. It makes things so much easier.

Tip #2
Pamper yourself the night before.

Exfoliate, do a face mask, (nothing major maybe just a moisturizing or a little something to make you feel squeaky clean) and maybe do your nails just so they look nice. Pampering yourself the night before helps you feel confident. You will know you look good. Just make sure to clean of the zit cream if you used it. :P

Tip #3
Make sure you have any required work done before and that it is ready to turn in.

This is kind of a no-brainer, but how many times do you forget homework during the school year? Yeah. So just make sure its ready, and don't start the day before school begins.

Luckily for us homeschoolers, Required work to be turned in the first day of school is usually non-existent :D

Tip #4
Have an alarm set for the next morning.

Put it across the room from you. When you turn it off. DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR BED. Go to the bathroom and immediately make your breakfast. When you do this, you won't feel like getting back in bed because you are already awake!

Even though I'm homeschooled, I still wake up at 6 am. That way I have two comfortable hours to eat breakfast, take a shower, maybe go to the gym, and then get started on school. I highly recommend this even if you know you don't need 2 hours (I don't know when your school starts or when you have to leave) because then you could do something a little extra like eat your breakfast outside or something.

Tip #5
Don't look at your phone.

If you read the mindful eating tips, they say not to read or look at your phone while you are eating. This is because when you read or look at your phone, you aren't paying enough attention to the kind of food you are eating, how much you are eating, or your mental health. I like to take this a step further and not look at my phone until I'm completely ready for the day.

I've been doing this more often and I can honestly say that the extra time the adds, and the positive influence makes me so much more positive. When we look at today's society and think about how much of it is social media based or geared, it's kind of scary. People go places just so they can take a cool picture. The want that cool picture so they can get the views, the comments, the likes. Now I love to take a cool picture. But I won't take a picture and post it somewhere (if I had an Instagram... Mom...) just so that I can get big numbers. I will take it and post it because I like the way it looks and I'm proud of it.

Tip #6
Make sure you have one spot for all your classes.

As you can see, I'm taking four online classes this year: Bible Study, Medieval History and Literature, Chemistry, and Latin.

I use two binders a year. One for first semester and one for second semester. I always make sure to keep all my work for all my classes in that one binder that way I don't get lazy and stick an assignment in another classes folder. It won't get lost and I'm more organized.

Tip #7

Have your syllabi in the corresponding section of your binder.

By doing this, you always have your assignment schedule with your assignments and you will always know where it is. I like to put my teachers name, email, and the class link at the top of the first page of each syllabus. That way if the site isn't working I know the link.

Tip #8

Make your binders and notebooks look cute.

I just bought some cute scrapbook at Joann's fabrics and used double sided tape to apply it to the notebook. I wrote a DIY about it on International BFFs. (Link beneath the signature)

I really think that having your supplies look good really makes a difference in your attitude throughout the day and it just makes me feel like a happier person.

Tip #9

Keep your room clean.

This is incredibly important for me because I'm homeschooled. When my surroundings are a mess (bed is in-made, laundry in a big pile, and I haven't even gotten dressed yet) my school is usually a mess too. In the beginning, it's hard to get used to, but when you get in the routine it's easier. Your laundry doesn't sit in a huge pile because you do it every weekend. You don't want to have a big clean up session on a Saturday so you just start putting things away the first time. I adopted this policy of only having 15 minutes to clean up on Saturdays, and it makes me keep my room clean throughout the week.

Thank you so much for reading!! I hope this post helped you feel a little more ready

Kathleen

DIY Notebooks - Kathleen (IBFFs)

New Room Tour!! - Kathleen

I did a thing...

Hey guys!!!!! It's me again, back with another post!

A little backstory, a few Christmas' ago, my parents gave me a free can of paint. (It was empty, but it symbolized the paint they would by me to paint my room.) That was four years ago. Over those four years I could never decide what I actually wanted. That was probably just because my style identity was changing all the time and I had no idea what I really liked. Now, I feel like I have a better grip on what I like in my bedroom. Soooo, we went to Lowes and picked out a color.

I chose Valspar's Voyage (4006-1B) in the eggshell (I think) gloss "level." I did have to use a primer on the bottom half of my room because, in case you didn't know, it was pink and I think it did slightly change the color.

Anyways, I thought I would give you a new and updated room tour! Let's get started!

So this is my room. As you can see the color is a nice, light blue/grey color. It's very chill and relaxing. We also left my chair rail on just to break up the color. We gave it a fresh coat of white paint to clean it up seeing as it was 10 years since it was painted last.

This is my bed! I've had this mattress since I was big enough to sleep on a big girl bed. My throw blanket is my baby blanket. I think the colors in it look good with the color of my wall. My duvet cover and sham is from Aeropostale (I think, but it's not being sold anymore) and then the duvet itself is the Mysa Vete one from IKEA.

This is my beanbag. Emma loves it. Whenever she sleeps over, she doesn't bring a sleeping bag because this is squishier and comfier. It is from the brand Comfy Sacs and I think it is the small size. I have a pillow my neighbor made for me when I was little on it. The stars are pretty cute I think.

I have these Christmas lights on my window. They are bundle lights so there are more lights on a shorter, 12 foot strand. I got them at Walmart. I made my banner with some scrapbook paper from Joann's.

And then this is my desk. I got the actual desk as a bundle from Lowes. The legs came with the two pieces of wood. We painted it white with furniture paint. I highly recommend you use this over regular paint because this dries harder and won't be sticky. I just keep my laptop and school books on it. You cant really see my organizer/display area but I will go through it anyways. I have two mason jars. One I just keep knickknacks in and the other I sometimes put flowers in. I also have a candle in the scent White Gardenia from White Barn. Then I have my two succulents, I got those at Marshalls. (They aren't real but they look real.) I have my little earring box with my favorite earrings in them, and they my little Beethoven bust. I play piano and my piano teacher gave him to me. I think he fits my room theme well. Then I have my two perfumes. The tall green one is Sweet Magnolia and Clementine. It is my everyday scent and Emma got it for me at Bath and Body Works. The smaller gold one is the Jeweled Amber scent from Charming Charlie and it's my special occasion scent. Last but not least I have my alarm clock. I love it so much! I got it at Target. Its from the Capello brand and I am almost positive they still sell it because I just bought it in June!

Thank you so much for reading!!! Tell me about your favorite part of your room! Byee!

Kathleen