Snack...Day 4

An unhealthy snack today. On many days I go for an orange or another piece of fruit for a snack. Today, I went for a doughnut and an iced coffee. I'm not sure beverages count toward snacks, but I guess it's counting for this post (since it includes some food).

Sprinkles are the best!! 

P.S. Happy graduation Anniversary to myself, Martha S. & Miss Ellaneous! Two years already!? It's hard for me to wrap my mind around. We're getting old, girls. 

The Farmer's Daughter

But first, coffee...Day 2.

Today was an easy challenge! Most of my morning ritual revolves around getting up to make my coffee and getting ready to go to school or work. It also involves a little something to eat for breakfast. Mondays are a little more relaxed because I haven't been going into work until 11 so I can take it easy in the morning. Almost every morning involves me sitting on my couch catching up on some last minute studying before I go to school or proof-reading a paper before I go to class. So, I took my photo from the couch with my coffee and my Neuroanatomy lab manual. Trying to study for my test coming up this week. Usually Miss Cleo is curled up at my feet, but today she was too distracted by the cord of my phone charger that she was trying to attack!

Todaloo

The Farmer's Daughter

Day 12: Joy is...

Joy is a happy day in December. Joy is visiting a cute, eccentric little coffee, tea and crafty shop within walking distance of your apartment. Then..after feeling inspired, going to the Peddler's Mall and finding a yellow, vintage percolator for $10. I can't wait to try out the coffee maker, plus it'll look cute on my stove!
Did y'all make any purchases today?

-The Farmer's Daughter

These are a few of my favorite things...

Looking down our blog, I realize almost all of us have made lists in our posts lately...I think lists are really easy to read and it makes the post look so organized. So, I'm going to cave to peer pressure and follow the trend. I'm not sure why I have the urge to make this post, but I've been wanting to make a post of some of my favorite things. In a way it's sort of a spin-off on the 'thankful' posts like Martha S. and Captain Something Fun made...because of course, I'm very thankful for my favorite things. Here goes:

1. Fru fru coffee/ espresso drinks (and coffee shops)...as the other Twenty-Somethings know, I love the comfort, low-lighting and of course the specialty drinks of coffee shops. Anyone want to meet up at one sometime soon? :) Also, I recently bought a carton of Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha iced coffee drink at the grocery..it was a splurge, but it's pretty good!

2. Pinterest. I could spend hours on there and still not get enough. I have been getting alot of good gift ideas off of there lately...and ideas for Christmas crafts too!

3. Baking. This is especially a favorite around the holidays. It's so much fun trying new recipes and sharing the goods with other people. Buddy the Elf said "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."...I think the best way to spread Christmas cheer is actually baked goods. ;)

4. Christmas movies (and music)! Oh, I need to get to re-watching my old favorites and remembering to turn on the Christmas music, because they both make me happy!

5. Crafting...I absolutely love being able to make things for myself and the people I care about. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been knitting alot and I find making things to be a great stress-reliever. If you're looking for another reason to start knitting or crocheting, check this out, it's a craft that's good for your health!

6. My family's pets. Speaking of stress-relievers..it's so nice to live with and around so many animals. They're a good excuse to get outside and take a walk, plus they're always around to hug and love on whenever you need it. And...they always greet me with a wagging tail when I come home late and my parents are asleep.

7. Taking Pictures! Since getting a smart-phone I don't take nearly as many high-quality photos as I have in the past. But, high-quality or not, I love taking photos. Right now I'm participating in a December photo challenge and I'm posting a photo everyday to Instagram. Most of the photos have something to do with the Christmas season and I think it's kind of a fun way to get into the spirit of the holidays. Plus, I always love looking back at my old photos.

8. Jason. Last, but certainly not least. I love this boy to death. He isn't a thing, but he is my favorite.

Of course, this is only a few of my favorite things. Time to wrap it up though and get back to being productive! I hope you're all having a lovely start to the Christmas season!

The Farmer's Daughter

The Doughnut Trail

I saw a post from Martha S.'s husband about a doughnut trail in Lexington, I watched the youtube video that had been in his post: LexTreks: Doughnut Trail. Even though this 'doughnut trail' seemed like a sort ridiculously unhealthy adventure, my love of doughnuts won and my beau and I took a trip on the trail on Saturday. We started a little later than we had hoped, but we ended up exploring all the shops we had wanted to and trying a little bit at each one. We did not go to all the shops the video mentioned, but I hope to still go to the one we missed sometime in the near future. I'll break it down to where we did go with pictures and recommendations for you:

Coffee Times Coffee House: This was our first stop because it was the closet location to us on Nicholasville Rd. This was not part of the doughnut trail but this coffee house was celebrating it's 31st anniversary with 31 cent coffee, 31% off purchases, and vendors in the parking lot selling interesting things. I got their Flavor of the Day: "Sunshine" in coffee form and it was yummy! Jason got a blended iced espresso beverage which was really smooth and not too sweet like some frappes can be. We browsed the vendors in the parking lot and some handmade earrings and necklaces caught my eye. I ended up buying some earrings which I thought were too cute to pass up. The creator also said she would make custom earrings if there was something you would like earrings of, so I thought I'd give her some publicity in my blog post.

I LOVE Smores

Donut Days Bakery: Next closest stop from the coffee shop. This shop was the first and my eyes were bigger than my stomach at this point. I got a twisted chocolate donut which was pretty good. Jason got a regular chocolate doughnut. We both enjoyed them, but enjoyed other shops more.

Some of what Donut Days had to offer

Magee's Bakery: Even though this was only the second stop I wasn't ready to eat another, but we agreed we would visit two more shops when we left Donut Days, and Magee's turned out to be next. By the time we got to Magee's it was between 11 and 11:30. This bakery sold many breakfast items but I think they had a fairly large lunch menu as well because the place was very busy. The inside of Magee's was much more interesting than the first shop we had gone to and it was much bigger. When we got to the register we ordered just one glazed doughnut to split. The cashier told Jason to put his wallet away and he proceeded to give us a bag of two glazed doughnuts and two chocolate chip cookies. Maybe it's because free food usually tastes better, but we both thought this doughnut was really good! We'll be going back here.

Yum!!

Spaulding's Bakery: I've always heard good things about Spaulding's donuts and I've eaten them in the past (and enjoyed them)..so I wanted to make this stop on the trail, for sure. I think the bakery closed at noon so we got there just before they were closing and their selection was slim. They had sticky buns, cookies and glazed doughnuts among a couple of other choices left. We got two glazed and a sticky bun. We gave the glazed away to Jason's grandparents and saved the sticky bun for Sunday. The sticky bun was good but I want to try some of Spaulding's other doughnuts! So, we'll be revisiting Spaulding's too!

Danishes at Spaulding's

Overall, an interesting and unhealthy experience, but one that left me craving more doughnuts!
The Farmer's Daughter