perfect & simple vanilla iced coffee

+ optional cinnamon roll.

but why would you want it to be optional?

i love iced coffee, and i will drink it well into winter until it's 20 degrees outside. and although i'll settle for a steaming latte or caramel macchiato every now and then when it gets chilly, something about iced coffee is really delicious to me. it's better, somehow. don't ask me how. similarly, i enjoy popsicles and ice cream regardless of the temperature. soups are also divine when it's 100 degrees outside. sometimes i don't make sense.

this semester has really sucked the life out of me so far. i'm staying up later and waking up earlier, which means i'm getting a lot less sleep. i am not a morning person, though i strive to be. when i do manage to wake up without feeling half dead, i thoroughly enjoy morning time. taking my time getting ready, browsing the news and making a nice breakfast (i know, it's like i'm sixty or something, right?) make all the difference in the world in terms of how my day goes. if i start on a tranquil note, i find it so much easier to relax and maintain that tranquility throughout the day.

needless to say, i've been drinking a lot of coffee. and waking up even earlier to trek to starbucks or mcdonalds (shudder) for a nice iced coffee was starting to add up in a lot of ways. i wanted to learn to make my own, at-home version. and i did!

it's really quite easy. i did a lot of reading about methods, and i decided to do the "cold brew" process instead of brewing the coffee hot and then allowing it to cool. don't ask me how, but it truly does taste better this way! making my own vanilla syrup was incredibly easy as well, but these, in addition to other flavors, can be purchased at starbucks, target and other grocery stores.

you will need:

• a large (at least 1½ - 2 gallons) jug/container
• 12 oz. - 16 oz. bag of ground coffee (i used starbucks medium roast!)
• filtered or tap water

and, if you'd like to make the vanilla syrup:

• 3½ cups water
• 3 cups sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
• a container of your choice 

pour your ground coffee into your container, then fill with water. this depends on your container size, of course. i used a 12 oz. bag of coffee and i fit about 22 cups of water into mine; i'm not sure this detail is super important, as long as the coffee isn't watered down, but all of the grounds are in contact with water - stir to make sure! pop your container in the fridge over night, or at least 8 hours.

for the syrup, boil together your water and sugar for about 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens just slightly. afterward, put it an a container, allow it to cool, then add your vanilla extract and refrigerate.

the next morning, or 8 hours later, take out your mixture and prepare to strain. here's where it's tricky. i didn't have cheesecloth, so i used paper towels. if you have an extra fine sift, this might work as well. take another large container to collect your liquid, place your paper towels over the top and begin pouring the mix in, separating the grounds from the liquid. this took me about 10 minutes and i had some help, but paper towels ultimately work if you're patient. when you're done, you've got your perfect iced coffee!

i put mine back into the large container and keep it in the fridge. i've read various accounts about how long this is supposed to keep... a week, a month, who knows. i'll find out. to make mine the way i like it, i put 3-4 spoonfuls of vanilla syrup into the bottom of the glass with ice. i then add about a cup or cup and a half of the iced coffee, then top it off with 1% milk. usually i shake it up to make it frothy!

enjoying this coffee has made my mornings this week go a lot smoother. cinnamon rolls help too.

welcome changes

 celebrating my best friend charla's 21st, tango videochatting with corey, deliciousness at cheesecake factory, opi's coney island cotton candy + seche vite topcoat (current favorites), returning my empties via back to mac in exchange for my free lipstick - 'hue', the 161 miles between rival universities that make my relationship long distance, building pokemon decks, my new hair!, cupcakes from twist cupcakes for my grandfather's birthday, chicken salad at mary anne's, & my new dress from kintage.

at the beginning of august, i went to six flags in georgia with corey and we had a great time. i surprised myself. i'm kind of a theme park wuss (though i've gotten better in recent years), but i ended up riding four rollercoasters, including batman! needless to say i didn't carry my phone around so i have no photos, but it was a great way to celebrate classes being over. also, ALWAYS get the flash passes - waiting in the 90 degree heat in half a mile long lines would have been a waste of a day.

ok, as lame as this sounds... this is the biggest change in my life recently. i guess i'll start at the beginning. in highschool, i cut my hair into a pixie cut after having long hair for my entire life. i grew my hair out to my shoulders, then cut it off again. having short hair is positively freeing, by the way. i could make it look awesome with minimal effort and it never got in my way. well, after experiencing these extremes, i vowed to grow it out during my senior year. and that's exactly what i did - until now.

i grew my hair as long as it would go. i loved it, but it was beginning to become a drag. too much upkeep, too much shampoo/conditioner, just too much hair. so, i decided to get a trim to my shoulders and add a few longer layers. it's the biggest hair change i've made since i was about 18. i love it so far. for a few minutes i kind of felt like it made me look 16, but i got over it.

i've just recently gotten back from spending a few days in auburn and fairhope. i visited corey from the 15th to the 18th, then headed to my parent's house for family time and relaxation. classes start on the 22nd, and though i'll regret saying this when i have a mountain of work due next month, i'm welcoming the change.

chocolate cupcakes with raspberry icing

i love raspberries, and i love chocolate. thus, its one of my favorite combinations. you can take the chocolate raspberry love a step further with these cupcakes and fill them with raspberry jam, but i couldn't find my tiny decorating tips and had nothing to pipe the filling with. this cake is moist and the icing is pretty unique. i found 6 cups of sugar in the frosting to be a bit much, but modify it to your tastes!

for the cupcakes:

• 9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 & 1/2 cups flour (or cake flour, which i didn't use)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup strong coffee
• 1/2 cup milk

preheat the oven to 350 degrees farenheit. line cupcake pan with cupcake liners of your choice. combine the cocoa powder, flour, salt, baking and baking powder in a bowl and whisk or sift. in another large bowl, combine the sugar and butter and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about five minutes. add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

brew your coffee and combine it with the milk. add half of the dry ingredients to your butter, egg and sugar mixture. next, add the coffee and milk mixture. add the rest of the dry ingredients and turn off the mixture just after all ingredients have combined. divide the batter in the cupcake pan and bake for 20-22 minutes. allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

i chose not to fill my cupcakes, but if you desire to do so: heat up some seedless raspberry jam in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, then put it into a piping bag with a thin, circular tip. simply poke a whole in the top of the cupcake and pipe some filling inside. 

for the frosting:

• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar (to taste - i only used about 4 1/2)
• 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
• pink food coloring

combine the butter and raspberry jam and cream them together until smooth. gradually add the powdered sugar, and finally, the pink food coloring as desired. garnish with a raspberry!

recipe adapted from annie's eats.

naps, naps & more naps

captain jack sparrow, view from green mountain in huntsville, nothing but noodles!, pinkberry in birmingham, nails of the weekend, the stadium at night viewed from my friend's new apartment, neutrogena naturals purifying facial cleanser (a supposed dupe for philosophy's purity), starbucks x 1000 to keep me awake at work, dinner at california pizza kitchen, my new headboard (!!!!) and sephora buys.

class class, work work, study study. that's all i do these days. i spent the past two weekends with my boyfriend; the weekend of the 13th, i drove to huntsville and was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful it was. i had never been before, and i wasn't sure what i was expecting, but the mountains were breathtaking and the view from the area around my boyfriend's family's place was gorgeous. oh, and they have a nothing but noodles there - another first, which was delicious. on my list of places to try again.

on monday, i drove to birmingham with michelle with the intention of picking up a new id mini wallet thing for my keys, since the one i have currently is pretty dirty. but no such luck, so i grabbed a new urban decay primer potion (i've been out for months and i have no idea how i've gone without it) and a new philosophy bubble bath, cabana girl, which smells just like a cocktail. SO GOOD. i also stopped by the apple store to see if i could get my phone fixed... the top button has been broken for a few months now. if i had known it was as simple as walking in, having my phone under warranty and simply getting a brand new one, i would have done it a long time ago. warranties are awesome.

when i got home my headboard had been delivered! i'd been patiently waiting and was so excited to receive it. i meant to get one when i first moved into my apartment, but i never got around to it. it completes my bed, and practically my entire room. it's plushy, comfy and gorgeous!

i'm honestly ready for summer to be over... i want football, a regular class schedule and my senior year to finally be here. i've become so pro at napping it's ridiculous!

instagram's impact on blogging

i'll preface this post by saying that i love instagram. it's fun, interactive, user-friendly, creative, and operates seamlessly. most everyone i know loves the app, or wants a smartphone just so they can use it. obviously, facebook saw what was up and purchased instagram a few months ago for $1 billion dollars - and after that, it absolutely exploded. it's likely worth more than $1 billion by now (don't quote me, i'm no business major)! i've used the app since spring of 2011 and i still have fun with it.

while instagram has its perks and i won't stop using it, i've realized that it's changed the way i blog, and the way others blog too. but for better or worse?

as a veteran blogger of nearly a decade, i've seen the "phases" of blogging and expression fluctuate. from livejournal's photo-less, emotional posts to tumblr's reblogging insanity, the way things are shared has evolved.

i remember when i first entered college and began blogging publicly - creating a post was an event. i'd spend a while setting up shots of makeup i'd bought or food i had made, just to get it perfect and beautiful for my blog. i'd carry my nikon d3000 in my handbag (so heavy!) and snap photos of my food, the setting, or what i was seeing. often, i would come home, look at my shots and decide they weren't good enough, thus i'd have no post. because posting without photos? who does that anymore?

then instagram happened. at first, i just used it to link to my twitter instead of using twitpic. putting filters on photos to make them look pretty was a lot more fun than just a boring old twitpic with sub-par lighting. but then, i watched instagram move from the app itself to blogs. it began taking the place of photos from dSLRS or film cameras. and soon, like many other bloggers, my daily life was being documented through my phone, and not my camera. i don't remember the last time my nikon left my apartment.

i remember being the girl who wanted to sit by the window in restaurants so i had good lighting for the shot of my salad, but now i just whip my phone out and instagram will brighten it up if it's too dark ('rise' and 'nashville' make everything look great!) i realize that the entire process of taking photos of your everyday activities is disputed as a little weird and ridiculous, but it's no different than the thousands of vloggers on youtube or bloggers around the internet. we all want to share, we all want to connect, we all want to let everyone see a bit of our world. i just miss putting more thought into it.


the fact is, instagram hasn't changed blogging in a good or bad way. but it's definitely changed it. while i praise instagram for it's convenience and i actually enjoy reading other bloggers "my life via instagram" type posts, sometimes i wish for the days where it didn't exist. as a busy student with a job and classes, i find the ability to take quick photos that look great for a post incredibly appealing. but in the future, i don't want to forget about my camera and an aspect that makes me love blogging : taking great photos and learning about my camera.

does anyone else feel this way? what are your thoughts on instagram and how has it changed your blogging or interactions via social media?