2011.

It's the last day of 2011. To be honest, this day is not very special, at least to me. 2011 has not been the greatest year for me but there have been some good times. I've made some new friends, realized what I want out of life, and had some funny and special moments. To end the year my favorite sports team of all time won the Insight Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes, that to me was one of the biggest and best moments definitely. Sadly, we also lost an amazing player, Austin Box. Every year has it's ups and downs, just as 2012 will. I don't believe in resolutions. I personally think they're pointless. However, in 2012 I am hoping for a few things.

I'm hoping for:

Good health for myself and the ones I love.

Safety and security.

And just overall a good year. I want to smile and laugh more than ever before.

I also, want to take a trip back to Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, I have a slight problem with a trip to Oklahoma. A problem bigger than money. Not wanting to leave. I honestly think that if I touched down in Oklahoma, I would never want to leave again. It would hurt too badly to have it teased right in front of my face. If I were in Norman, Oklahoma I don't want to have to think "Take a good look because in a few days you'll be back in Northern California." That idea almost seems cruel...

I know that one day though, I will be right where God wants me to be. I'm just hoping and praying that place is Oklahoma.

So, here's to a new year where we're all hoping for a great year. Even though we know it will have its ups and downs.

Cheers, Sarah. Xx.

Necklaces!

Necklaces are my favorite form of jewelry. Bracelets can bug me, my ears aren't pierced as well as no other part of my body, so necklaces are my favorite. My favorite necklace is of course a cross necklace. It symbolizes a part of who I am, but necklaces can also be used to complete an outfit, express how you're feeling, or just for fun. Maybe you like the design, style, or color, sometimes you just want to wear one because it's pretty.

Here are a few forms:

CHUNKY:

PENDANT:

FUN PENDANT:

Strange and Vintage:

CROSS NECKLACE:

Besides a diamond ring on her marriage finger, necklaces will always hold a special place in a girl's heart. There are other forms of necklaces, like name necklaces, word necklaces, or locket necklaces. I've always wanted a locket necklace. I don't know why, maybe because of all of the movies that featured them. Now I rarely see them.

To all of the loves of the world, whether it be your babies, your husband, your parents, your siblings, your chocolate cake, or your jewelry, know that I have love for you all as well.

Late night blogging and wishing I now had chocolate cake, Sarah. Xx.

Christmas is Finally Here!

Hope you're all having a wonderful day full of love, laughter, joy, family, friends, and the sweet presence of Jesus! Today is more than getting gifts and having a nice big dinner, it's about the love of family and the birth of baby Jesus.

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post a lot lately, this past week has been absolutely crazy. I guess that's the holiday season for you. Running around last minute looking for the perfect gifts, finding out they have run out of those perfect gifts, and looking for another perfect gift that wasn't the gift you had in mind. Or maybe that was only me, but I highly doubt it, ha ha.

Peace, love, and the joy of Christmas, Sarah. Xx.

Gifts For Just About Everyone.

Hi guys! I can't believe it's been four whole days since I last blogged! I'm so sorry. I've been busy studying and also helping my siblings with schoolwork that time has seemed to get the best of me the last few days. Can you believe it's only 6 (almost 5) days until Christmas! Neither can I! We haven't even gone Christmas shopping yet because we've all been so busy, so yes you will see my family out with the crazy last minute shoppers, ha ha.

Anyways, todays blog is going to be about gift ideas! If of course, you can find these gifts in a store and they're not all sold out. So here's to hoping the stores are stocked!

For Teenage Girls:

Toms Footwear. These shoes are super comfy and come in a variety of colors and patterns.

Personalized jewelry will always be a big hit for teenage girls underneath the Christmas tree.

A gift card to her favorite store in the mall. Maybe that store is Forever 21, the bookstore, or the music store, in the end the fashionista, the bookworm, or the music junkie could all have their ways.

For Teenage Guys:

The hottest video games. That's a given in the guy world...

Buy him a ticket to a local sports game. Maybe even chip in an extra ticket for one of his closest guy friends too.

A 5-lb gummy bear. I saw that and even liked it, so of course a teenage boy would like it as well...it's fun...and yummy!

For Her:

Fun jewelry boxes or organizers! Maybe you could even set a nice necklace, bracelet, or a mighty fine engagement ring in there so when she opens it: SHAZAM! Instant love... ha ha.

A brand new camera. Women seem to be a little more sentimental than men, how else save your beautiful memories than with a nice new camera?

The purse she's been drooling about the past few months...you know she's talked about, now make it happen.

For Him:

A retro-style vending machine. Maybe he can put it in his man cave?

If you have a techie-guy the coolest, funkiest phone covers may just be the way to his heart...

Lego Architecture Sets. Because they're darn cool that's why.

For Little Her:

Pillow Pets are super cuddly and in right now.

Mommy & me pajama sets. Daughters look up to their mommies and would definitely enjoy having the same exact jammies as mommy.

Little girls love their jams just as much as their matching jammies, so maybe a kid-friendly karaoke machine would work for you little girl.

For Little Him:

Remote control flying/driving/swimming anything. Ha ha ha.

Old classic Hot Wheel cars. They do the trick.

Angry Birds toys. Angry Birds have become a hit and I've seen little guys all over the place rocking Angry Birds shirt, hats, toys, stuffed animals, about anything you can think of.

I hope you all enjoy all of these ideas. I wish I could post more but I have to go eat dinner and see if they can restore the power to the San Francisco - Pittsburgh game.

Love, peace, and merriness all around, Sarah. Xx.

Guys Wear.

Guys Wear. by sarahisofficial

Links Stitch Crew Sweater
$88 - armaniexchange.com

The AF Classic Straight
$60 - abercrombie.com

Boss Black Phoet
$195 - piperlime.gap.com



I love men who look clean cut and put together. Dark jeans, no rips. Sweaters, polos, plain t-shirts, sneakers, and fresh cologne always put my heart into a quickening beat, ha ha. Basically, Abercrombie. I just like the look. They look appealing and look as if they have personal stylists and I love it. If not in a clean Abercrombie look, I also like...uniforms. Yes, men in uniform do the trick for me. Police, firefighter, paramedic, military, all make my heart yet again, quicken.

Featured in this post: Colton Haynes. Actor and model. You can currently see him in MTV's "Teen Wolf" which will premiere it's second season in June 2012.

Here's to men looking snazzy and classy, Sarah. Xx.

Chex: Muddy Buddies!

Prep Time: 15 minutes.
Start to finish: 15 minutes.
Servings: 18. (1/2 cup each)


Ingredients:

9 cups of corn Chex, rice Chex, or chocolate chex cereal.
(Maybe even a combination of all!)
1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.
1/2 cup of peanut butter.
1/4 cup of butter or margarine.
1 teaspoon of vanilla.
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar.

Preparation Directions:

Measure cereal, pour into large bowl, and set aside.
In a one-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter,  and butter on medium high, then stir.
Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture is completely smooth.
Stir in vanilla.
Pour mixture over cereal, stirring smoothly until cereal is completely coated.
Pour into a 2-gallon resealable bag.
Add powdered sugar, and shake bag.
Store in refrigerator.

WARNING: THESE CAN BE ADDICTING.

I love these little guys! They're so yummy and easy to make! Somebody brought them to Thanksgiving dinner and I munched out! Ha ha.

Love and warm hugs, Sarah. Xx.

For more yummy Chex recipes go to: http://www.chex.com/Recipes/Recipes.aspx

Excuse the Title But:

This is extremely funny and I'm 100% responsible for saying over half of the things in this video.

Happy Wednesday, Sarah. Xx.

Holiday Socks!

Hello! Sorry, I know I've skipped, yet again another day! My life has just been hectic and I've been studying for midterms so all of my computer time is going in between studying and talking to family on Facebook, ha ha. Anyways, today I wanted to do a post on holiday-themed socks because I have seen many people wearing these lately and I was watching "Glee" last night and even noticed Santana and Brritany sporting some of these festive babies! So here are a few holiday-themed socks I love:

Christmas Socks:

I love these! I would wear these even if it wasn't Christmas! I just think they're fun and definitely make a statement, ha. I suddenly have a sudden urge to eat candy canes...ha ha!

Halloween Socks:

I'm infamously known for wearing mismatching socks, ha. I get this from my grandfather, sometimes he would wear red with yellow, and sometimes we would wear bright red socks with a nice dress suit, ha ha. So, this was an easy pick for me, they're Halloween and mismatched!! Perfect combination!

Valentine Socks:

Pretty much any kind of sock with hearts on them will work for Valentines' Day. I personally, am not the kind of person to have hearts all over everything, I'm a little more reserved with graphics, ha. But these are definitely cute socks. :)

So, I hope you enjoyed this posts and these colorful and fun socks! I couldn't find any good socks for Thanksgiving, they were all men socks...not my size. Lol.

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week!

Getting ready to put knee highs on to keep me warm, Sarah. Xx.

I Am A Fan Of:

Art! The different forms of art, and the artists that create the art. I also happen to be a fan of the hit tv show "Glee" and actress Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn Fabray. So, put the two things together: Art + Dianna Agron = An artistic site created by Dianna Agron! I am so excited about this! It launched just today, a few hours ago and I have been searching it up and down! It's a wonderful site full of artistic wonders, and one of the best parts is that her fans can contribute to the site by posting their own artistic creations! How fun, right!? It is such a fun site! I personally love photography so the "POINT AND SHOOT" section is my absolute favorite! My favorite kind of photographs are black and white photographs with a pop of color, photographs of old churches, and fashion photography. Oh my, ha ha. Anyways, if you would like to visit the site, here is the link:

http://youmeandcharlie.com/

Having lots of fun searching artistic sites and sharing, Sarah. Xx.

Small Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies!

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 375° for 7-8 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Remove to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 4-1/2 dozen.

I saw this recipe on the 'Taste of Home' website and these lookes SO yummy! This recipe is actually from Kris Humphries mother, you may know Kris Humphries as Kim Kardashians' soon-to-be ex-husband, others may know him as a professional basketball player, but most will probably know him as Kim K's ex, ha ha. Anyways, these are his mothers recipe and they look and sound so good! If you want to read the recipe/article go to:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Kris-Humphries--Mom-s-Small-Chocolate-Chip-Butter-Cookies

Hope you all have a wonderful, whimsical weekend!

Drooling at the mouth looking at photos of these cookies, Sarah. Xx.

54 servings. (There's so many because they're like minis!)

Prep Time: 25 minutes. Bake time: 10 minutes per batch.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons Spice Islands® pure vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Chocolatey Truffley Goodness!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips, for melting into the cookie dough
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Baking Chips, for mixing into the prepared cookie dough
• 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt, or as needed

Directions

1. In a heatproof bowl over a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter until smooth. Turn off the stove and let chocolate sit over warm water.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. In another bowl, mix together sugar and eggs, combine thoroughly with a whisk and slowly add the warm chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add vanilla extract and mix. Stir in flour mixture. Cool for a few minutes (if batter is warm, chocolate chips will melt). Stir in chocolate chips. Chill for 10-15 minutes.
3. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop rounded tablespoons of batter and place on baking tray. Sprinkle each cookie lightly with a pinch of sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 7-8 minutes until the outside looks slightly cracked. Be very careful not to over bake cookies because they will continue to bake as they cool once removed from the oven. Cookies should be soft and gooey in the center.

Footnotes

• For a chunky and different twist add one of the following:
• --3/4 cup toasted pecans or pistachios
• --1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
• --1/3 cup sweetened coconut

Sweaters!

Sweaters! by sarahisofficial featuring a knit sweater

Alice Olivia cropped sweater
£295 - oxygenboutique.com

Aubin Wills christmas sweater
£165 - net-a-porter.com

DK navy blue shirt
149 SEK - ginatricot.com

TOMS long sleeve shirt
$44 - toms.com

H M knit sweater
£25 - hm.com

A New Change For The Holiday Season.

These are a few hairstyles that would make a nice change for the next few months. Shorter hair! With all of the holidays, and vacations who wants to spend hours on their hair? Nobody! Ha ha. Personally, I have been eyeing a few shorter hairstyles and here are a few that I have chosen in my top three:

Dianna Agron

Jenny McCarthy

Kristen Bell

I love all of these! I really like the first one for sure, but I think may be a bit too short for me. So, maybe if I was able to pull off the last one that would be fun too! We'll just have to see! Hope you all had a great Tuesday and have a great Wednesday!

Looking at lots of photos of hairstyles, Sarah. Xx.

As A Football Fan.

Dear BCS,

I have certainly had my fair shares of losses with my teams. I know, some of you may be wondering where the heck this sudden football talk came from, the truth is, I am a huge football fan! College and pro. Anyways, I think that the BCS is a little unfair. I understand why Alabama is playing LSU in the National Championship but I really would have liked to see Oklahoma State given a chance. The fact that Alabama didn't have to play in a division championship game is unfair to both LSU and Oklahoma State. LSU and Oklahoma State worked their butts off this Saturday to keep their titles, and lost a few of their players while Alabama was sitting on their buttsspending the day watching these games and drinking hot cocoa. UNFAIR. Anyways, at the end of the day Alabama only has one loss this year and that loss is to the number one team in college right now, LSU. Oklahoma State was beat by a hardly noticed team Iowa. I have to admit, Iowa played darn well the night they played the Cowboys. So, congratulations to all teams that are in a bowl game. I'm sure you all deserve to be in the places you are, even if I don't understand or neccessarily agree with it.

Sincerely,  A Dedicated Football Fan. Aka, Sarah. Ha ha. Xx

PS: Boomer Sooner all da way baby!! ;)

Dazzling Your Bedroom!

Today I thought that I could base my post on bedroom settings! I love going into furniture stores and just imagining a beautiful bedroom set in a whole new room. I think of what colors it may go with or what I could decorate with using the bedroom set as the primary. If that makes any sense at all...ha ha. So, here are a few ideas I had to dazzle your bedrooms:
Rustic Bedroom:

A few items to enhance the set could be:

An antique wood trunk to sit at the end of the bed.
Family photos to sit across your dresser.
A fun idea for rustic bedrrom ideas is getting a large glass vase, you could find these about anywhere (Target, Walmart, Michaels) and find real or fake pine cones and fill the vase with your pinecones. Real pine cones smell amazing, so I personally would choose real but it's just about personal preference.

Modern Bedroom:

In modern bedroom settings, less is more! Modern rooms very little decorations and little furniture, everything is down to a bare minumum. To spice up your modern room design a few ideas would be to:

Hang a few modern paintings. Cubism is a great modern expression of art, as well as geometrical shapes.
Black, grey, or dark wood decorations are good for the modern eye.
Tall vases are very modern. Again, go with the color scheme of black, grey, and dark wood.
A good place to search for modern decorations is Pier 1 imports! I adore the mod stuff they have in that place!

Black & White Bedroom:

While I love colors, nothing is as simple and chic as black and white. The black and white color scheme is classic and will never be outdated. Design ideas for the simple black and white bedroom:

Black and white photographs of course!
Black and white photo frames for the photos.
Pinstriped curtains are so fun to add in to a black and white bedroom!
Also, if you think that black and white is too boring, go ahead and add in an accent color! Pink, purple, and blue are great colors to add into the mix!

Pink Bedroom:

This bedroom set is by far my favorite. The color of the walls, the photographs to the right, and the antique nightstands aside the bed make this a wonderful bedroom setting! I could just picture myself dancing around to "I Want Candy" in this room! Ha ha.

Good ideas to decorate a pink girly room:

Flowers, flowers, and more flowers! Whether they're real or fake, they still look pretty!
Mirrors, evey girl wants a nice mirror in her room, ha.
A nice bedding set! I know at my Target they have this beautiful set that is pink and white, (or they have a green and white) and it's so nice! It's expensive yes, but nice nonetheless. Ha ha.
Plus, if the girl is as romantic as I seem to be, you could add in a few Parisian themed items!
Like these beauties:

Mini Eiffel Tower Decorations!

An Eiffel Tower Wall Hanging!

And an Eiffel Tower Clock!

Okay, so what if I have a minor obsession with the Eiffel Tower? Ha ha. Actually, at the local antique store they had this absolutely beautiful Eiffel Tower stand! I think it was originally $70 but was on sale for half off! I drooled and drooled, ha ha. They also had this nice mini glass Eiffel Tower, I'm not really sure how much it was but probably not over $10 because it was pretty darn small, ha ha.

Anyways, hope you all have a wonderful week full of love and laughing!

About to go watch the end of a football game, Sarah. Xx.

A New Love Has Been Born!

For antiques!!

Last night, my small town in California held a Christmas stroll. The Christmas stroll consisted of local buisnesses setting up booths, Christmas music that made me want to boogie, and Santas' elves. While I was enjoying the festivities of the cold night I stumbled upon an open antique shop. The antique shop was full of bustling Christmas stoll goers, and at first I was against the idea of even entering the store. My family however, wanted to check it out. Okay, I would love to thank my family for making me go inside of that store! I could have stayed for hours looking at the antique dolls, signs, and silverware! The store had one of the original 1987 Princess Diana of Waled barbie dolls! It was beautiful and also $150. That's $150 more than I have, ha ha ha. I am as broke as a homeless person right now. Speaking of, I really would like a job so I could afford antique shopping. Anyways, the antiques were beautiful and I just wanted to stuff all of the little lovelies I found into a huge "HOLD" bag! Ha ha ha. They also had antique lunchboxes, Marilyn art, and lots of Elvis! I drooled and drooled and drooled some more! Ha ha. I can't wait to step back into that little antique store so I can further find the unique babies in there!

Here's to finding historic finds and not being able buy them, Sarah. Xx.

Funny Holiday Photo!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday guys! My family and I were gone almost all day, running around doing errands and what not. Anyways, here is a funny photo to make your day a little better!

Ha ha, hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy December!

Hot Chocolate Recipe!

Serves 4.

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream

Directions

1. Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

What a super yummy recipe! Heat your cold winter nights with these chocolatey babies!

Really craving hot chocolate right now, Sarah. Xx.