Domino Cookies

These are like the Domino Cookies at the Great American Cookie store. I honestly didn't even know these existed until I first visit Fayetteville and Clark and I were walking around the mall. We saw this Great American Cookie store and like any sane person we stopped for cookies. We got a bunch of different types but my favorite was the Domino. And I have had it a lot few times since. 

 I decided to look through different recipes and use a combination to make these cookies. And honestly they taste so close to the ones at Great American Cookie. I have to be careful now that I know how to make them... 

You'll need
3/8 Cup of Special Dark Hersey Cocoa 
6 oz of White Chocolate Chips
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup soften butter

Set oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 8 minutes. Until edges are set, middle will still look gooey but they will set after a few times out of the oven. 

Makes about 36 cookies. Enjoy.
love, Carlee

Peaceful walk

So Clark is still at airborne school and has been there for about two weeks which means he is almost done and going to be home soon. I have been here just settling in to our apartment still and getting used to being by myself. I have learned that I sleep terrible. 

It has also taken me a while to get out of the house more and go on adventures on my own. It is weird when your so far away from all your friends and family and even your spouse is away. In a new city across the country but I know I just need to immerse myself in the experience. So I have started going on walks in the evening to become more familiar with my surroundings and just become more comfortable with this new city I am living in. 

It has been a work in progress but I am trying. And I guess thats all I can really do. In other news I am heading to Georgia this weekend to visit Clark for the long Labor Day weekend and I am very excitied. So say the least. I want to go into Alabama at least a bit so I can check off another state! 
love, Carlee

Cooking: Homemade French Fries

I wanted to make something different with the potatoes I had rather then just baked or mashed potatoes so I looked up a homemade fries french recipe to see if it was easy or not. I used this recipe and it turns out it was super easy. I didn't have peanut oil so I just used vegetable oil which totally worked so yeah. Anyways this is what I have been cooking up lately.

love, Carlee

Not glamorous

1. Doing lots of stuff for my Etsy shop and trying to get my work space organized. 2. Just me with my hair up doing some cleaning. 3. Couponing? Does anyone else do this. 4. Triangle wall. 5. Dead flowers. 6. Working from the floor lately. 7. New card. 8. New labels for the back of my shipping envelops. 

It is not the most glamorous life but it is mine and I am enjoying it right now. 

love, Carlee 

Surprise flowers

Even though he is 500 miles away right now and doing airborne training. Which means he is learning how to jump out of planes. Clark still had the time to have flowers delivered to me. I am so greatful. Really, I know how lucky I am. It is day 8 of Clark being gone so we are getting there... Also iris' are my favorite flower, ever. 
love, Carlee 

USS North Carolina

While in Wilmington we checked out the USS North Carolina Battleship. It was pretty cool actually. But to be honestly one thing I don't like is how much stuff cost to see. It cost Clark and I $10 dollars each to explore this ship. I guess I am sensitive to this because while I visited Washington DC last year we didn't have to pay for anything that was historical. We didn't have to pay to see the, donations were expected but you didn't feel like you were getting robbed to see history Smithsonian. Also in Boston we saw the USS Constitution battleship for free. 

Anyways, excuse my little rant. The ship was very cool. She fought in WWII and after the War the Navy was going to scrap for her parts but the citizens of North Carolina brought her back to NC were she now is preserved and a tourist action on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington. 

I can honestly say that I don't know how southern girls can look so cute and have cute hair in the dead of summer in the middle of the day. I just don't get it. Like at all. At this point in our trip, my hair was up in a messy bun and I had the least amount of clothes on as possible. Is that okay to say? Anyways, have a wonderful day. 
love, Carlee

Shorts: H&M

Tank: Forever 21

Sandals: Old Navy

Sunglasses: American Eagle

Southport Ferry

The North Carolina coast is a bit different then the Washington, Oregon, California coast (which I have driven before.) The North Carolina coast is a lot more windy, I wanted to drive up the coast from Myrtle Beach to Wilmington but it was a lot different then I expected. We actually didn't get to see much of the coast but that is okay because we got to ride this ferry and I really like riding ferries. 

It was a short ride compared to some that I have been on, only about 20 minutes. These seagulls actually followed the boat the entire way across the harbor and people threw bread pieces to them. No wonder they stay around. I have a feeling that the animals are a lot more spoiled on this coast. haha. 

DIY | Triangle Statement Wall

I knew I wanted to do a statement wall in my apartment. It look be a while to decided what and where I wanted to do it. Then I decided on the wall with the TV on it. I looked around mostly on Etsy for vinyl self-adhesive wall decals. There was so many different sizes and colors. I was excited. But I continued to put off ordering anything. I am glad I did. 

 I was at Hobby Lobby the other day and I found rolls of self-adhesive vinyl. I was so excited. It said it was perfect for wall art. So I bought one pack for 7.99 which was way cheaper then anything I had seen for sale. I went home and cut off a little piece and stuck it to my wall. Since I live in an apartment, I wanted to make sure this vinyl would be easy to remove and not damage the walls. It didn't, at all. I was really shocked at how easy it was to take off. Super easy and no damage what so ever. 

Triangles just always seemed like the shape I was going to do. I did think about polka dots but I always came back to wanting to do triangles. I first thought I would buy a big triangle punch out but the ones at hobby lobby weren't big enough. Or at least not big enough for my liking. So I decided that I would just measure, trace, and cut. Which I think was the better way to go anyways because it was cheaper. The only thing I bought to make this statement wall happen was the vinyl. 

Steps: 
1. Measure and draw the size of triangles on the vinyl. Use pencil that way you can erase lines later. 2. Cut them out. 3. Separate the pieces and check for straight lines. 4. I used my straight cutter (that I also use for my cards) to touch up the edges. 5. Start placing them on the walls. I didn't really have any rhyme or reason, I just tried to place them evenly. 6. Done. Throw away your garbage. 

This was a really fun project and I really love how it turned out. Living in an apartment I knew that my decorating would be limited but I didn't want that to stop me from making this first place my home. We are also lucky enough to be able to paint (which I have done.) But I didn't want to go totally crazy with the paint because I will have to repaint when I leave. So this statement wall was a great addition to our home and so easy. What do you think?
love, Carlee 

More from: SC, Wilmington and Myrtle Beach

1. An amazing cafe that we had lunch at in Wilmington. 2. South Carolina state line. What can I say I like taking photos at the state line signs. 3. Maps. 4. Myrtle Beach. 5. Flowers. 6. All the fish in the pond at Boardwalk at the Beach in Myrtle Beach. 7. The awesome moss the grows on the trees in the south.

love, Carlee

New favorite Little Sloth card

So this is my new favorite card in my Little Sloth shop. I just love it. It is Day 3 of Clark being gone. Keeping the countdown going. 
love, Carlee

Scrapbooking

Clark left for airborne school yesterday so it has been day 1&2 without him. I have gone months without seeing him and being without him but I have never been without him while I have also been across the country. So that is the difference, I am here in a city by myself were I only know a few people. However, having a husband in the military, being alone at times is something that happens to us wives. Airborne school is 3 weeks and Clark is only in Georgia which is just a jump away. So it's not so bad.

Thankfully I do know a few people here and I have also made a long list of stuff I want to do. Yesterday I spent my day scrape-booking and today I am mailing cards. Later tonight I am going over to a friends house to watch a movie and eat pizza. It will be nice. Enjoy your day. 

I still have more posts from vacation. I just wanted to do a little real life update.
love, Carlee

Rioz | Myrtle Beach

We spent most of the trip eating ice cream and pizza but one night we wanted to go out to a nice dinner. So I put on my new favorite dress and didn't really fix my hair. I forgot to bring my curling iron on the trip and we had just been swimming. I don't think there was a time that my hair wasn't at least a little damp. Oh well.

We had dinner at this awesome place called Rioz. It is a Brazilian Steak House. They have a huge salad bar and then servers come by and bring you different types of meat. It was my goal to try all the different meats. I believe there were about 12 different types including cooked pineapple. (I know, not a meat but so yummy.) I actually have eaten at a similar place in Boise, Idaho, I don't remember what it was called. Anyways, we also got the best dessert. I got cookies and cream ice cream cake so yummy. And Clark got double chocolate cake.

It was definitely so yummy and we left there so stuffed full! This was our last night in Myrtle Beach so we just enjoyed each other and ended up relaxing. In the morning we headed out and drove up the coast to Wilmington where we stayed one night. Have a great day.
love, Carlee

Dress and Sunglasses: American Eagle

Sandals: Payless