Dress to Look Tall

Taller Makes you look Thinner.

To dress to make yourself look tall:

1. Reveal your throat and chest with scoop or V necks

2. Choose fabrics with vertical or diagnal stripes.

3. Choose pieces with built in verticals such as corduroy fabric or princess seams.

4. Create long lines with scarves around the waist or neck (becuase it will drape down), long jewelry such as dangle earrings or long necklaces.

5. Dark colors of any type (not just black) wear from head to toe if you can. (such as brown pants with a brown jacket or brown shirt. If thats too much of one color for you thats okay but it will make you appear taller and thinner.)

6. Create vertical hairstyles such as vertical up-dos, high ponytails, halfup half down, or straight hair.

7. Keep your pants 1inch above the the floor behind your heel.

8. Wear shoes with platform soles.

9. Get tops and jackets with hems that fall about three inches below your hipbones. This is long enough to cover most of the tummy. You can get them longer but they will make your hips and butt look larger than they are.

10. A-line skirts. The most flattering hemlines fall right at the top of the knee and about two inches below the knee.

11. With skirts, wearing shoes that are the same tone as your skin is slimming. Pantyhose should be the same color as your skin and opaque tights should be the same color as your shoes.

12. If you use a cover up of some kind choose a fabric you can see through. This will keep you from looking bulky.

AVOID

1. Boxy, loose, oversized anything. 

2. Tops, Jackets that are 3inches below your hip bones. The longer the top, the wider you will look.

3. No horizontal stripes or designs.

4. Pants with pleated waists. They make you look larger despite the common thought that they slim you.

5. Pants tapered at the ankles (''Mom jeans'') Anything tapered at the ankles will make your hips look wider.

6. Pants with side pockets or back pockets with flaps make your hips and butt look bigger (I personally want this so this is not a no for me haha)

7. Skinny jeans, leggings, bike shorts that fit tight across the hips, butt thighs, calves. These make everyones butt look big.

8. Skirts with longer hems than 2 inches past the knee will make you appear shorter and wider.

9. Shoes with ankle straps or gladiators that go across your leg will make your legs look shorter and wider along with the rest of your body.

Sweet Savory Rice

Ingredients

2 Tbs Turmeric, garlic powder, cinnamon, clove, coconut oil, butter (or half a stick)

1 Tbs Vanilla extract

1 chopped onion

4 c Basmati or Jasmine rice (really any rice you're willing to try the mixture with.)

5-6 c chicken broth 

Salt/Pepper to taste
Lemon or lime juice

(You can also cook chicken pieces and mix them into this if you wish. You can also add peas and carrots shreds if you want more vegetables.)

Directions

1. Soak rice for about an hour then let it drain it for a while (I spread mine out on a paper towel, the goal is to get the rice as dried again as possible--it will absorb the flavors better this way.)

2. Put all the ingredients but the rice and broth in large pan with a lid on a simmer level. Cook until the onions are clear. Add the rice and mix well until all the rice is covered in the mix.

3. Add the broth and bring to a rolling boil, then let simmer for 20-30 minutes with the lid on. When it's done you can put more lemon juice on the rice to help the fluffiness if you want.

Blueberry Corn Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 c sour cream or cream cheese
• 1 stick of butter melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 Tbs baking powder
• 1/2 c milk
• 2 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
• Tons of blueberries (I like a lot, use however many you desire)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375* F (190* C). Grease muffin cups and add a bit of flour to stick to the oil to keep muffins from sticking (this is if you don't have cups of course.)
2. Sift dry ingredients. In a bowl, mix wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture just until moistened.
3. Put a spoon blob into each muffin spot and then drop a blob of blueberries over it. Then add another spoon on top, then add another blob of blueberries on the top.
4. Bake for 20min, let sit for about 10.

Prayer Time Prayer

PRAYER TIME

Get my bible near me. 

Go wherever you need to go to sit and listen, be quiet before God.

Do not rush this time.

Heavenly Father,

I am nothing without you and can do nothing without you. Thank you for being with me always. Forgive me of my sins. Forgive me of ____. Show me sins I do not notice. Change my attitude to the ones I choose to ignore. Thank you for the compassion to have Jesus on the cross to forgive me. You are so holy, merciful and loving. Thank you for moving (this way) in my life and providing everything I need. Thank you for (physical blessing, a person that has blessed you, spiritual blessings, transitional blessing.) Thank you for all the blessings you freely give to me as I walk with you and trust you with my life. Thank you for your interest in me and my life and allowing me to ask anything of you and tell you anything on my heart. My life is in your hands always and I surrender my entire self to you. Control me with the holy spirit. Allow me to borrow your eyes and see things how you see them; borrow your heart and feel what you feel; and borrow your mouth, that I speak for you and not for myself. Help me keep my heart as open to you as an open window. (Ask of anything that is on your heart.) (Think of anyone that keeps coming up in your heart, imagine them in between God and you, present their needs to God.) Lord, please cloth me, my family and close friends with your armor. Protect us from spiritual attacks as well as our safety as we go through the day. Too many I know live without your glory and love in their lives. Please create the circumstances in (List the unsaved); in their lives that they will see the need for God and turn away from what the world claims to offer them. For those that I am able and close with, allow me to be able to share Jesus Christ with them in a way that reaches them and doesn't turn them away from you. I also pray for those that I do not know that do not have you in their lives. (Pray for anything that has been asked of you to pray for.) Lord, I pray for our nations and our leaders. I pray for Israel's safety and that our country does not support those that plan to destroy Israel.Thank you for all of your blessings and listening to my prayer Lord. Give me the strength to do what I need to do through the day. Most of all, keep me in the spirit and your guidance that I listen to you when you communicate with me. That I don't ignore or miss your guidance doing other things. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

1 heaping cup of all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda (or 1 tsp baking powder+1/4 cream of tartar)

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup Vanilla Sugar (put a vanilla bean in a covered cup of sugar for a few days and you'll have vanilla sugar.)

1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw

3/4 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg 1 yolk at room temperature (only add the rest of the egg white if for some reason the mix seemed dry.)

Bag of Toffee

2/3 cocoa powder

1) Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

2) Cream the butter and sugars until it is smooth. 

3) Add the vanilla and eggs until mixed. 

4) Slowly add flour mix. Add toffee Refrigerate dough for at least an hour or 24-36 hours.

5) Preheat oven to 350. I use an inch wide melon baller and place them about an inch or two apart. I pat the top down to make them flatter.

6) Bake for 11-15min (this varies per oven.)

Voila

Moving back in...

It amazes me how much our tuition is and how incredibly crappy our dorms are kept at our school. They cut way too many corners. Anyway, I slaved away in the dorm today cleaning as much as I could. It was like someone had cooked something and dumped bits on the floor letting them crust on the tile, letting bugs eat it and die there and shedding hair all over the place. I got most of it clean though and the majority of my room setup. It's been a long day but even though I'm tired I feel good to have something under my belt.

Project Rachael

I have very eclectic taste. Some would call it tacky haha Usually, I know where the tacky line is. I'm taking my college dorm as the last few years of being allowed to just have a hodge podge of everything and it being socially acceptable. I've been making and ''rachifying'' what I already have. I'm still working on some pillows but this is one I've Rachified so far.

BEFORE:

RACHIFIED

The dots were more of a salmon pink color that didn't quite thrill me. The online picture shows up as more red and on my camera the edges show very hot pink. The blue color in the original color is actually more of a light teal color on the actual product. I used an old GAP scarf to make the border (it's kind of sheer but I don't mind)--random buttons for the eyes and a green ribbon bow. I don't know which I like better really but I achieved my goal in getting rid of the busy polka dots.