New Years Resolutions ☆

Happy New Year!

I know it's like the second week of January but I wanted to take some time to think about where I'm going with the blog and prepare for some other exciting things happening in my life at the moment. I do have some resolutions and goals for 2019 and I think the new year is a good time to reset and make a change in your life (if you want to).

Obviously you can start anytime of the year and you don't have to wait until the new year begins but I think that's when you really start thinking about starting fresh and making a change. So that's what I'm doing!

Number 1 on my list of goals for this year is to blog more consistently. I've always wanted to and tried to but this year I'm really gonna step up and make sure I'm posting on a schedule every week. So look out for new posts every Tuesday from now on!

2. I want to read more! I love reading but I never have time (or if I do I'm just lazy and I don't do it). So this year I'm going to read a book a month! Maybe even 2 depending on how often I'm able to actually sit and read something. The first one will be Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Now I actually have already started this.. I'm almost done but I'm using this month as my incentive to finish it.

3. Cooking! I really enjoy cooking but I don't do it as often as I'd like. I'm very lazy unfortunately and I'm always exhausted and never want to do anything but that changes now! I'm going to cook at least 3 times a week! So follow me on Instagram to see what I cook up!

4. Take better quality pictures. I actually just bought a camera for this! I'm so excited to use it and see what I can do. I LOVE taking pictures and I LOVE to edit them but usually I only take them with my phone or my film camera which doesn't really allow me to edit them.

5. Getting healthy!! AKA working out and eating better and drinking more water. I all of a sudden want to work out???? Which is so bizarre considering I'm always exhausted after work and I hate sweating. But nonetheless! I will try to exercise more often! I think I'm more excited about buying workout clothes though..

Those are my main goals for the year! Hopefully I can stick to them for the most part!

As always thanks for reading and check back next Tuesday for a new post!

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

Merry Christmas!! Oh wait sorry its not Christmas yet.. but it is going to be here soooo soon! It's only a week away which is absolutely crazy to me. I feel like I haven't done anything Christmassy and all I've done is work. So for the next week I'm going to try and slow down and relax a bit so I can try and enjoy the season.

But anyways! I recently made some Christmas cookies and I thought this would be the perfect recipe to share with you all so you can make them too!

The sugar cookie recipe was from Two Sisters and I cut the recipe in half because ain't nobody got time to make THAT many cookies. And besides I have like 2 other cookie recipes to make within the next week so I can't be having a billion of them at once!

Because I linked the recipe I'm not going to bore you and write it all out! But I will share the recipe for the peppermint buttercream frosting that was on top of them!

Ingredients

• 2 sticks of butter, salted (room temp)
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract (to taste) 
• 2 tablespoons milk 
• vanilla extract

Directions

• Cream the butter in a mixing bowl
• Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well after each one. 
• Add the milk and the peppermint extract
• Taste and add more peppermint or vanilla depending on the taste you want. I added a splash of vanilla (the leftover vanilla I had left in the bottle) and it was the perfect mix of minty and sweet. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this recipe and let me know if you make it yourself! I want to see your creations!! 

San Diego Photo Diary

First off I want to apologize for the lack of posts this past week. After going on vacation I needed time to relax and do some other things (that I was supposed to do before I left on my trip but didn't). And I've just been working a lot and was exhausted!

But I'm back and will be continuing to post every Tuesday and Thursday until Christmas. Then I think I'll either go back to one post a week or I'll just change the days so they're spread out more evenly! Posts will keep coming into the new year so don't worry!

Now onto the actual blog. Today I'm sharing some photos I took from my trip to San Diego last weekend. I didn't take too many on my phone and we didn't do too much. Just wanted to relax and recharge for the most part.

BUT we did go to the San Diego Automotive Museum which was SUPER cool and interesting! They had the same car from Back to the Future!!!! (Not the exact car but same model and everything). They even had THE car that the Rat Pack rode around in. Like, this was literally Frank Sinatra's cab. So amazing.

Here are the pictures I took from the museum!

These next pictures were taken by my extremely talented photographer boyfriend. You can see his other photos and videos over on his instagram. @ohmygodmark

We also went to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park which was so beautiful. I love the ocean and it was so peaceful to just sit there and watch the waves while the sun was going down.

Along with all the pictures I took on my phone, I took some with my camera but I won't be able to share those until I get my film developed. I've got 5 rolls to get developed so it might be a bit before I get around to doing that. Hopefully I won't be lazy and can drop those off sometime this week.

This trip was much needed and I feel so much better now. My mind is clear and I finally feel like I'm heading in the right direction. I know exactly what I want to do and how I'm going to get there and it just feels good. Sure I came back home to a few stressful situations but it's all solved now (for the most part) but I pushed through and here I am!

Cheers to great and exciting things to come!

As always, thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Hey guys! Today I'm sharing my favorite cookie recipe of all time. I love desserts and baking and everything about the holidays (because it's baking season duh) and these cookies are no exception. I make these cookies multiple times during the holidays because I love them so much and I've made them so many times I remember the recipe by heart.

After trying a few other ones, this one from Taste of Home is definitely the best for this type of cookie. It's super simple. Like only 4 ingredients simple. It seriously takes like 5 minutes to put together before you throw them in the oven. This doesn't make a lot so if you want a bunch double the recipe!

This is what it will look like before you roll it into balls!

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• Hershey kiss 

Yeah. That's it. Like are you kidding???? Who doesn't love quick and easy recipes like this. 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350℉.
• Cream the peanut butter and sugar. 
• Add egg and vanilla and mix well. 
• Roll into 1 1/4 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. 
• Cook for 10-12 minutes until tops start cracking.
• Take out and immediately press Hershey kiss on top. 

Well there ya go! Enjoy the best holiday cookies and don't forget to leave some for Santa! 

Also if you've noticed, I've been posting A LOT lately. Well you better get used to it because I'm going to be posting holiday themed posts ALL MONTH LONG!! Check back every Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes Saturday for a new post! 

See ya soon! ♡

Devine Jayne's 25 Days of Christmas Movie List

Merry Christmas!!!!!!! I grew up watching Christmas movies every single year. I still very much enjoy watching the classics and even the cheesy lifetime/Hallmark holiday movies too.

Which is why this year, I'm sharing my holiday MUST WATCH movie list with you all! I've got the classics, some cheesy stuff, some TV show specials. I've got a little bit of everything on here.

I honestly can't get through the month of December without watching at least one Christmas movie a day.. in fact I may watch multiple a day.. and the same ones more than once.

Alright. That's enough about my Christmas obsession. Back to the movie list. I have 28 movies on this list so you can watch them all or skip some you aren't too interested in!

Here's the list! Merry Christmas + Happy Holidays ♡

Ho Ho Holiday Playlist

Hey y'all! Today is the first official day of the Christmas season which means it is now socially acceptable to start listening to Christmas music. Unless of course you're like me and have been listening since June. :-) hehehe

If you know me then you know that I love anything and everything Christmas. I decorate my house, my bedroom (keep those eyes peeled for a lil post about my holiday decor) and even my bathroom. I make holiday treats, I listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies all day every day. I just love it all so much. Now if only it snowed here so I could enjoy it even more.

So to get you all in the Christmas spirit alongside me, I'm sharing my Christmas playlist. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be listening to this on repeat and baking cookies! See ya!!

Enjoy these holiday tunes and get ready for all of my holiday themed posts coming next month! It's gonna be a busy one.

Cinnamon Apple Topper Recipe

Now I'm a big breakfast fan. I don't necessarily like making breakfast, but I sure do like eating it. This recipe is one of my faves for a quick breakfast. It can be used for many different things, but my favorite way to eat them is on top of oatmeal.

You could also use it on top of pancakes or waffles, ice cream, hell even throw it on top of a pork chop for some savory sweet goodness!

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 5 apples peeled and sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (you can just use nutmeg if you want)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Before you start, make sure you mix all of the dry ingredients before hand so your apples don't get too brown!

Next you're going to peel and slice the apples and put them in a ziploc bag (or a container) and toss them in the coating you made earlier. Make sure all of the apples are coated. 

They'll look like this after you toss them! After you finish coating them, fill a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of butter. Do this on medium heat. After the butter has melted a tiny bit I pour the apples in and stir. Cook them for about 10 minutes or until soft. You'll want to keep stirring every once in a while to make sure the apples cook evenly. 

Voila! Your cinnamon apples are cooked and ready to eat or ready to store for a treat later! I like to keep mine in a mason jar in the fridge. 

Now beware! Your house will smell INCREDIBLE while these are cooking. It smells like fall. They also are probably going to take more than 10 minutes btw. It's different every time I make them so 10 minutes it's just the minimum amount I would do.