One Year Blogiversary!

In actuality, I've been blogging for much longer than one year (it's more like two-ish...), but next Thursday will mark the one year anniversary of my owning this domain name.  That's right.  I've officially been Krystal with a K for one year.  Even though I don't blog that often (you can blame college for that) and when I do it is usually to no one (one comment on a post makes me excited enough to wet my pants), I really love blogging.  Like, really.  A lot.  This website is my happy place, and it thrills me to no end that I own a very teeny tiny sliver of the internet.  

As I venture into my second "official" year of blogging, I've been thinking a lot about my goals and wishes for this website.  What do I want to write about?  Where do I want to go with all of this? Why do I continue to talk to a nonexistent audience?  I don't have all the answers, but I do have some.  And I'm hoping *fingers crossed* that documenting my goals will actually help me achieve some of them.  So, let's do this thang.

1. Blogging more frequently and consistently.

It's no secret that I went an entire semester's worth of time without posting one blog post, and I haven't done much better this semester either.  I'm hoping as I enter summer break that I'll be able to have a better blogging schedule and post at least once a week (maybe more).  I might even gain an audience that way.

2. More focused blog posts.

As a blogger, I'm kind of all over the place.  I write about my life, DIY projects, apartment decorating, organization, cooking, and a bunch of other random stuff.  I don't think that's going to change.  I think having a topic-centric blog can lead to stale posts and filler content.  I like not knowing what I'm going to write about until I write about it.  But I would like to maybe have a schedule for certain types of posts (DIY posts on Mondays, cooking on Wednesday, etc.)  Again, I might even gain an audience that way.

3. Vlogging and videos.

I love being in front of the camera.  I've loved it ever since I was little and made homemade movies with my cousins.  I also love YouTube vloggers and am subscribed to way too many of them. Somehow these rationalizations have led me to think that I might enjoy vlogging.  I'm thinking of calling the videos "Keeping Up with Krystal: <insert date here>" (it's still under consideration) and I'll add the videos here on the blog along with my normal posting.  Again, I might even gain an audience this way?

4. Get a life.

Part of the reason I don't blog very often is because I don't have a life.  I wake up, go to school, do homework, go to work, sometimes sleep, and then repeat the cycle.  I never get out of the house and enjoy myself.  It hasn't been great for my mental health, and it's terrible for my blog content. This summer is already looking to be filled with a lot of projects, family & friend togetherness, and I may or may not be heading to New York for the first time.  Basically, I'm looking at four months of not being a hermit.  This will surely be great for the blog.  And again, I might even gain an audience...

5. Be more personal.

One time a blog post got too personal, and it led to drama that I'd rather not live through again. Ever since, I've been pretty careful about what I write.  Sometimes, I think it makes me sound a bit robotic and not at all relatable.  I know I'm weird, but I swear I'm human.  So in my first attempt at making myself seem more like a normal, 22 year old girl in college and not an android, I filmed a "Getting To Know You" video.

Getting to Know You Tag from Krystal Jeannine on Vimeo.

If you can't see the video in Vimeo, you can click here to view the YouTube version.  And if you can't view the video at all, you're missing out on a really cute dog and epic Spice Girls lip syncing. (Don't say I didn't warn you).

Bedroom Daydreaming

Since the moment I decided to spend my summer back home with my family and three obnoxious, but lovable furbabies, I’ve been daydreaming about giving my childhood bedroom a facelift.  And with surprisingly little convincing, my Momma agreed to letting me go ham on the tie-dye wallpaper and purple carpet come May.  At this point, words won’t do my excitement justice, y’all. I’ve tried.  This is my fourth attempt at writing about it.

When I was younger, I used to think that beige houses were boring.  I once accused my Momma of making the house look like toast.  My heart yearned for bright, neon colors and animal print.  Today, my twenty-two old self is glad that tween me was not allowed to make many decorating decisions.  I shudder to think of how the house would look.  It would probably be covered in something like tacky tie-dye wallpaper and purple carpet with a unicorn poster.  Oh, wait…

In all honesty, I don’t really hate my room…it’s just not my style anymore.  I’m no longer looking for a party atmosphere every time I pass the threshold into my own little world.  I need calm.  I need serene.  I need to be able to sleep in without the combination of bright walls and morning light blinding me awake.  So after narrowing down what I’m looking for in my new bedroom and a few days of online window shopping, I was able to whip up this mood board to help visualize how all the things I’m loving will layer together.  And let me just say this: I’m swooning.  Sa-wooning.

1. As for the color choice, I’d love to see a monochromatic scheme of sandy tans, creams, and white to ground my dark oak and black wrought iron furnishings.  Painting the walls in Glidden Water Chestnut and the ceiling in Glidden White Pebble will help create the hotel and spa-like aesthetic I’m seeking.  And ever since I saw the horizontal stripes painted in Young House Love’s hall bath (their first house), I’ve been dreaming about a striped accent wall of my very own.  I’d love to see the wall and ceiling colors striped along the window wall in my bedroom, which will also keep the neutral color scheme from feeling too blah and toast-like. 

2.  It’s not a secret that the purple carpet currently gracing my bedroom floor is not my favorite thing in the world.  It needs to die.  In a perfect world with an endless budget, I’d love to replace it with this Mohawk Thoroughbred carpet in Quiet Neutral.  And you want to know the best part?  This stuff is treated with Scotchgard repelling technology that provides a lifetime warranty against spills, stains, and pet urine.  This is the miracle carpet my dreams are made of.

3. My current ceiling fan is a piddly white thing that barely provides relief during the humid summers that Indiana is notorious for.  I also decorated it with snazzy flower and fashion wall decals when I was thirteen.  I think this low profile 46” Hunter Louden fan will be a welcome change. 

4. These prints by Etsy artist VintageDictionaryArt have a “worldly” effect that I’ve fallen head over heels for, and they really speak to my inner architecture and book-loving nerd.  I’m picturing two on each side of my big window, resting inside thrifted frames spray painted in a glossy black to add a fun mix-and-match effect.

5. I’m lusting after these 18” wide Sloane Java leaning bookcases by Crate & Barrel ($99.95).  With a 14” depth and five shelves, they offer a lot of storage without taking up too much space.  Added bonus: they look so much cooler than normal bookcases.

6. I’ve always been a fan of sheer curtains, so switching out my current pink and purple sheers for an all white ensemble is a no brainer.

7. I love the look of my purple animal print bedding (originally used in my dorm room), but it isn’t exactly soft and inviting, nor does it fit in with my hotel and spa-inspired style.  I’m thinking a fluffy white down comforter, like this one from JC Penney (or this cheaper alternative from Linens ‘n’ Things) will do the trick.

8. I’m all about the sparkle and glam, so this throw pillow from Pier 1 is a must.  Great news, I was able to find one on clearance at my local store with one small broken bead (10% damage discount!) so I brought this baby home to the tune of $22.

9. Learning to sew is at the top of my summer project list, so I would love to make a couple Euro shams and throw pillows from fabrics like this, this, and this.

10. My current lamp is a sad, broken thing standing on its last leg, but I can totally picture this smoked glass lamp filling its place.  I already own the white crinkle shade in a smaller size and love it, so I’m sure I’d like the larger version just as well.

And there you have it.  A calm, hotel and spa-inspired bedroom.  The final total when adding up each item in the board before paint and carpet rings up to $783.57...so yeah, it's not exactly budget friendly.  I know I can't afford that on my weekly pay.  But that's why God invented those 20% off Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons that never expire.  And dreams.

Krystal's Kitchen: Broccomole Dip

If you would have told me two years ago when I started blogging that today I would sit down and type up a cooking post, I would have told you that you'd been smoking because I don't cook. Like, ever.  Why?  It's simple: I don't know how.  Some of you may say, "But cooking is so easy! It's just following a recipe!"  And this is where I tell you that you're wrong.  Very, very wrong.  I once burned Spaghetti-O's charcoal black in the microwave.  That is my skill level.

Now knowing what you know about my culinary abilities, you can probably guess that I went out into the world on my own without knowing how to properly feed myself.  That guess would be 100% correct.  I was hopeless.  I called my mom daily to ask her how to do things that most people are born knowing how to do.  Like hard-boiling an egg.  It was that bad.  But not one to give up, I’ve challenged myself – occasionally – over the last three years to broaden my diet with things I made myself.  Ninety nine point nine percent of the time it ends in epic failure and a good story.  Point one percent of the time it’s just me fumbling around in the kitchen creating something edible, and the fumbling about part may also make a good story.  Today, I decided to share the mess that is me attempting the act of cooking.

After gaining 20 pounds on a fast food based diet last semester, I’ve spent the last few weeks overhauling my eating habits.  This means no more fast food – I’m officially three weeks without! – and preparing all my meals at home.  With my limited skill set, you can imagine how bland that is for me.  I eat a lot of cereal and yogurt.  But sometimes I come across a recipe on the interwebs and I’m intrigued enough to try it.  Today I discovered broccomole.

Let me preface this by saying that this is NOT a substitute for guacamole (well, it could be if you want…)  It’s not trying to be guacamole.  Broccomole knows that it’s not as cool as guac.  It can’t help that it was given a punny name.  Just let it be what it is, and we can move on.  Okay?  Let’s go.

I found the recipe on the MyFitnessPal recipe forum, and the ingredient list was as follows:

3 cups chopped broccoli

1 jalapeno, chopped with seeds removed

2 tbsp green onion

1 tsp olive oil

2 oz. fat free cream cheese

¼ tsp chili powder

1 tbsp cilantro

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp garlic powder

I had actually heard of all these ingredients before, so I was off to a good start.  After a quick trip to the grocery store, I was off to an even better start.  Then came the cooking part.

1.  Chop the broccoli. 

This part was easy.  Measuring out the chopped mess into 3 cups…not so easy.

2. Cook the broccoli in lightly salted water until very soft.  Overcook the broccoli in comparison to the al dente cooking that most recipes recommend. 

Now, I’m not sure what “al dente cooking” is or what most recipes recommend, but I am very good at overcooking things.  Normally, my food gets overcooked because I ignore it, so here is where I set the pot of broccoli on a medium heat burner and ignored it – but not really - for ten to fifteen minutes...maybe more.

During that meantime, I chopped up my onion and pepper.  <Insert me Googling “how to chop a jalapeno pepper and remove seeds” here>.  Also, I already had a white onion on hand, so I used it.  White onions are practically the same as green onions, right?  If not…oops.

3. Once broccoli is cooked, drain it very well.

It was very lucky that I recognized in advance that the holes in my strainer were too big for my chopped up broccoli.  It was even luckier that I remembered this paper towel trick I once saw Rachael Ray use.

4. Transfer broccoli to a food processor.  Add the remaining ingredients.

Now, if I had to Google “how to chop a jalapeno pepper and remove seeds,” what makes you think that I own a food processor?  So I put my ingredients in my blender with the food-chopping blade, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best.

5. Process until smooth.

I may have closed my eyes as I hit the “blend” button.  I was so scared this wasn’t going to work.  Ten seconds in, though, things were looking good.  I may have even shouted, “IT’S WORKING! IT’S WORKING!” complete with Dr. Frankenstein excitement.

6. Serve warm.

Nope.  I prefer my dips cold.  <Insert me typing this blog post while impatiently waiting for my dip to cool in the refrigerator here>.  Then, when things were nice and cool, I served it up with some multigrain pita chips.

What does it taste like, you ask?  Well, when I took my first bite, I wasn’t so sure about it.  It definitely tastes like broccoli, but with a bit more kick.  So I took another bite.  Then another.  And another.  And before I knew it, my pita chips were gone.  So I guess I liked it?  I think I’d give it a B- because it’s not triple chocolate ice cream, but it’s not a boring rice cake either.  Broccomole is an acquired taste, but the good news is that it doesn’t take long to acquire.

But wait, I haven’t even told you the best part yet!  This recipe makes a lot.  I would even go as far as to call it family size.  What’s better?  The number of calories in the entire thing is so piddly, you could literally sit on the couch and stuff your face without a second thought.  (P.S. I love that).  After entering the recipe into MyFitnessPal, here are the nutritional values I came back with (I considered one serving to be about 1/8 of the full recipe):

	Full Recipe	One Serving
Calories	230	29
Carbs	26	3
Fat	5	1
Protein	21	3
Sodium	1207	151
Sugar	13	2

How does that make you feel about the broccomole, now?  Don’t knock it 'til you try it!