2016. Just as quickly as it began, it ends. A year for gratitude for myself personally. January was the end of a job I held for two years, and I spent the rest of the months until May, searching for a new one. Roommate struggles were had, and soon it was a relief to have them end. I spent most of June in the south, exploring North and South Carolina and briefly Georgia. 

Exciting things happened in 2016. 

I tried out new recipes, like this Cauliflower pizza recipe, and a Cashew Chicken recipe as well. 

Eating healthy was something I really focused on for the most part, 

I went on a family vacation and really realized how much I love family road trips.

Climbing to the top of Chimney Rock in North Carolina to see the Blue Ridge Mountains might have been my favorite part, and eating at Jestine's in Charleston in South Carolina was a special treat after we had been there in 2011, forgot the name and by chance found it again. 

Along with Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, you will be able to see my European adventures via Snapchat too! Just add kenziedear! And if you haven't noticed, there is a YouTube button in the top right corner where I will be putting videos of my trip! 

December is a cold month here in Wisconsin, there is a ton of snow and all you really want to do is curl up in front of the fire with a cup of tea or cocoa, or lounge around in the bath. Christmas is also about baking, and while there has been a ton of cookies that have already been whipped up already, I decided to try out a new recipe. 

Because you really cannot have enough cookies. Right? 

There is an entire can of dark hot chocolate mix in my cupboard and I decided to use some of it up in my favorite form of dessert. Cookies. The first batch I made was awful, and the second was just alright but better and tastier! (They just didn't rise and that's because I didn't chill the dough)

Christmas eve is only ten days away, and for ten days you can watch each one of these Christmas films on my list! So just wrap up with your warmest blanket, and fuzziest socks and warm up that cup of cocoa because here is another holiday-themed list post! I hope you don't mind! Let's get to it then!

1.The Santa Clause

2. Polar Express

3. The Holiday

4. Prancer

5. Christmas Under Wraps

6. It's a Wonderful Life

7.Rudolph

8.Miracle on 34th Street

9. The Bridge

10. Northpole

These are just a few of the many Christmas movies that are out there, but definitely my ten favorites! I love throwing on my fuzzy pajamas and fuzzy socks, and watching a hallmark movie at night during the holiday season. There is just something about cheesy-christmas-love stories that get me so much more excited for the actual day!

Do we have some of the same movies on our lists? Which one is your favorite? 

I hope you're enjoying these posts! This one is quite quick, but exam week is upon us so cross your fingers and wish me luck! 

x see you next time! 

Happy Saturday everyone, though I'm not participating in Blogmas this year, I hope you enjoying all of the Christmas themed posts that everyone is writing. Christmas is a special time of the year, and this year I jumped ahead a little too soon, I think. By the end of November I had but three things checked off of my list for gifts!

If that doesn't make it obvious that my favorite holiday is Christmas, then I don't know what would. 

Like many holidays, this one is centered around baking. Another one of my favorite things! This recipe is one of the staple side-dishes at my Christmas table.

Cranberry Side Dish Recipe

While getting ready for the holidays, I started thinking about what I really love about Christmas that makes it so special and exciting for me! Here's a little list of things that I thought of:

I hope you enjoyed this Christmas themed post! I love this recipe and I hope you did too! Let me know what your favorite Christmas dishes are in the comments below! 

These Christmas-Themed posts are getting me into the spirit one post at a time! Every year I fall in love with Christmas music all over again, there is just something that feels good about listening to it in the car, as the snow on the roads starts to pile up. Here are some of my top ten favorite Christmas songs! 

1. White Christmas-Bing Crosby & Michael Buble

2. Silent Night

3.I'll be home for Christmas-Lady Antebellum

4.It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas-Michael Buble

5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas-Sam Smith

6.My Favorite Things-Julie Andrews

7.The most wonderful time of the year-Pentatonix

8.Happy Xmas (war is over)-John Lennon

9. A Holly Jolly Christmas-Burl Ives

10.Baby It's Cold Outside-Idina Menzel & Michael Buble

*Bonus: Do they Know it's Christmas? -Various Artists

Overall, most of my favorites are from Michael Buble (he's great). Whenever I am home for the holidays, the holiday music is always on in the background. Whether we're baking cookies and other treats or just hanging out. 

What songs are you always listening to during the holidays? Do you have a favorite song or artist that sings holiday music? Only a few more weeks until Christmas! 

xx 

Hello everyone. It's finally December! Can you believe it? A lot of bloggers do "Blogmas" posting everyday this month, but with final exams looming in my near future (they start December 14th), I'm sticking to my Wednesday/Saturday postings. This Christmas wishlist has been one difficult list to come up with, since I'll be abroad for four months, I really didn't need anything other than money. 

But here are a few things that made the list anyway!

You can read last years Wishlist right here! 

I'm the kind of person who has to triple check things before I even walk out of my room. There are only 40 days until I depart for England, and there is a long checklist to get through before I actually leave my house and board the plane. I also worry a lot about whether or not I have locked the door, or left anything behind! It's stressful. 

SimpliSafe home security has a ton of great tips for keeping the home safe while traveling. Their wireless security system was designed with the traveler in mind and is perfect for busy, individuals. After seeing their pre-travel checklist around the house, I wanted to share it with you, along with some of my own tips for leaving before traveling!

Tip: Put sticky notes where you'll see them. I make a list of bathroom products that I need to bring with me onto a little sticky note and tape it to the mirror so I can double check that I have everything I need. 

     What's on that sticky note list? 

                     

Thursday November 24th was Thanksgiving here in the United States, and while I got ready to greet all of the guests that would descend upon my home, I thought about what I was thankful for. As a lot of people do every year. I know I have been writing more list-posts than usual, but I hope you don't mind that this one is another!

        Adventures. I am so thankful that I have been able to go on so many adventures this year. Skydiving was probably my favorite thing this year! And I cannot wait to go on more! 

There's always that one big question that comes up in the beginning, before applying to study abroad. And that's why? Why should you study abroad,it's going to cost a lot of money. You're going to be away from, home for more than one week. So why should you, or anyone else look into it? Here's why. 

1. Living in a foreign country is different than a holiday. You're living, chatting, and going to shops just like the locals do. Instead of sitting around being 100% touristy. 

2.Make lifelong friends. Being away from home is scary, but you'll also be with 100 other students who are all in the same boat as you. And they'll become you're best friends for four months. 

3.Gain Independence. You will be able to proudly walk through the airports of the future without being overly anxious about whether or not you're in the right terminal. 

4.Learn more about yourself. Everyone that has studied abroad has told me that they have learned so much about themselves while being in another country than being at home, in their comfy duvets. 

5.An unforgettable experience. One that you can tell your family and friends over and over (and become so annoying they'll probably want you to go back). 

6. Exploring more. You're not limited to staying in just one country, for me, I'm able to fly to different countries like Ireland, Spain and Italy on weekend trips while I'm over in England! 

7. Future employment. You lived for an extended amount of time in another country by yourself, and that will look really impressive to those who may want to hire you in the future!

8. Experience another culture. I'm going to England, and while the US and Britain both speak English, the way we live is completely different and I cannot wait to see how things are done over there!

9. Bucket List. You can cross so many things off of your bucket list. 

10. You'll learn to appreciate the little things. Like peanut butter. Apparently that's not a thing in England. 

If you have any questions about studying abroad, or ideas for posts let me know in the comments or send me an email! I look forward to hearing from you! I hope you're all having a great November, it's nearly Christmas :) 

It's holiday season, which means it's time to give in to all those sweets. I hardly baked anything this past summer, and being away at school means I have no access to a proper kitchen Recently, I went home and had the perfect excuse to try out a new cookie recipe! I only hope you'll love it as much as I did!

You may remember that a few months ago, I made this batch of cookies. And similarly I had found a box of funfetti cake mix and wanted to whip it up into a batch of cookies. So, here's what you'll need! 

1. Baking Sheet

2.Funfetti Cake Mix

3.Veggie Oil

4.Vegan frosting (I used dollop) 

5. White Vinegar

6. Baking Soda

7.Cup

First, you can totally un-veganise this recipe by using 2 eggs instead of White Vinegar and Baking soda. The steps are simple to follow and they go like this: 

1. Heat oven to 375 F. 

2. In large bowl combine  cake mix, oil, 2 tablespoons white vinegar and 2 teaspoons baking soda, stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. If it's a bit crumbly, just add a little bit of water (about 1 tablespoon). 

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased pan or parchment paper

4. Flatten cookies with bottom of cup about 1/4 inch thick

5.Bake about 6-8 minutes (or until golden brown edges) 

For the frosting, I used this madagascar vanilla flavor from the Dollop company (which has many more flavors and you should check them out). Being a white cookie, I wanted to spruce up the frosting a bit and added red food coloring! 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, and have fun making it! It's nearly Thanksgiving here in the states, which means I am almost done with this semester of school then I will be heading off across the sea for four months! That's crazy! 

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Tell me about yours in the comments! :) x

Let's talk money. 

If you're thinking about going abroad to study, make sure you look at all of your options. 

And then you have to look at your bank account.



Because, let's face it, studying abroad is expensive.
My program runs at about thirteen-thousand USD, and that's without the extra traveling that I've paid for and am still going to be paying for.



So here are a few tips on saving up that extra cash!


1. Work. A L O T. If you don't "feel" like getting out of bed and clocking in, then just know that the money you're giving up would probably pay for that trip to a magical destination in a far off land.


2. Half & Half. Put half of your paycheck into a savings account, and keep half of it for spending it on life pre-study abroad.


3. Raise money. Sell cookies to your neighbors, start mowing peoples lawns. They'll all love you for it, and you'll thank them while sipping on a latte outside of a cafe somewhere in Paris.

Now I'm craving cookies!!

4. Apply for Aid. Most schools have scholarships that you can apply for that will give you a nice little chunk of money in your pocket when you need it!

5. Cut down on spending. Know how much you spend each week, while you're at home or at uni and pay attention to what you're spending on. Share rides with friends, you don't need to buy that clothing item because there will probably be one even better overseas (and you can say where it's from once you're back!)


This list is pretty short, I worked a lot this past summer, and will until I leave. It also helps that I do not like spending money. It actually hurt to spend money on a trip to Ireland, but it will be all worth it in the end!
How do you raise money? Any tips and tricks that I missed?
Which countries should I visit while I'm over there?
xx