A New Beginning

Readers,

Thank you so much for all of the support on this platform. I truly can’t imagine my life without having this outlet to express myself on, and that is why I am so happy to announce that I have created a new website! I will no longer be using this blog, but instead have created a new one! I would love for all of you to click the link below and see the new improvements. I have put a lot of work into creating a site that better represents my personality, and I hope you all enjoy it!

Thank you,

Brooklyn

www.capturingbrooklyn.wordpress.com

Finding Joy in Life's Simplicity

“Once we accept life for what it is, beauty will spread like wildfire.”

The older I get, the more I began to appreciate the simple things in life. The steady pace of the rain inevitably falling from the roof back to the sidewalk. The sound of my mom humming softly as she puts away the dishes. The wrinkles that form next to my little sisters eyes as she giggles. The smell of my dad’s old favorite tee shirt. The way my fairy lights glow at night when I’m reading. To most people, the things I just listed off seem incredibly random, and quite pointless, but they mean the world to me.

Awhile back I thought my highest priority should be happiness. I thought the only way for me to live a “good life” was to be in a constant state of “Happy”. Let me save you all the trouble by just letting you know now, it is humanely impossible to be happy 100% of the time. It’s horribly disappointing, but it’s simply not logical. What I didn’t know at this time in my life was that there is something much better than happiness; that no one can take away-

Joy.

You can have a horrible day, but still be joyful. You can be in a bad mood, but still have joy. Yes, you may not be happy, but you can still have joy, even in those times. Happy is defined as “pleased, or glad, over a particular thing” whereas joy is defined as “a state of happiness or felicity”.  One is simply a feeling; one is a state of mind. You have to choose joy. Happiness will come and go, but true joy won’t leave.

Nothing is too small to bring you joy, and no one is immune to joy. Yes, sometimes it can be difficult to force yourself to look for joy in all situations, but I promise, it is well worth the effort. I challenge you to search for joy in your everyday life. Look for it in the warmth of your grandma’s hug. Look for it in the steaming hot cup of tea before bed. Look for it in the gleam in your best friend’s eyes when you see her for the first time in weeks. Look for it your mom’s soft smile as she tells you goodnight. Find joy in life’s simplicity.

Easy Easter Treats

As the snow slowly begins to melt away, and the buds of the flowers slowly begin to unveil themselves, my heart swells. I absolutely LOVE spring. After the frigid winter, it’s always so comforting to walk outside and see color once again. My favorite part of spring is definitely Easter, and all of the festivities that come along with it! This year I decided to try out 2 of the cutest treats from Zoella’s Quick and Easy Easter Treats video, and I was so happy with the results that I had to share!

For the Cadbury Pastries you will need:

-1 Box (2 rolls) Puff Pastry

-Cadbury eggs (you can use any type)

-1 Large egg

-To start off, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, while your oven is warming up, get your puff pastry out of the freezer, because you will want this to be soft so you are able to cut it.

-Unwrap all of your Cadbury eggs, but then place them in the freezer, because you will want these COMPLETELY frozen.

-Begin to cut out your puff pastry into triangles, and wrap the Cadbury eggs the way you would create “pigs in a blanket”. Making sure to have all of the edges sealed, so the chocolate won’t melt out.

-After all of your eggs are wrapped, beat your large egg, and brush the tops of each pastry so they will turn golden brown.

-Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes, and let cool before eating!

For the Easter Egg Nests you will need:

-6 Shredded Wheat Squares (Large)

-10oz Dark Chocolate

-Cadbury Mini Eggs

-Cupcake wrappers

-On a double boiler pan, melt 10oz of dark chocolate

-Crush up all of the shredded wheat, and put in a large bowl

-Once the chocolate is fully melted, combine it with the crushed up shredded wheat, and stir thoroughly

-Once combined, scoop into the cupcake wrappers, and place 2 mini eggs on top to make it appear as a “nest”

Zoella's Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxKJPlk2GX4

Close Up

One of the promises I made to myself this year was to work on my photography. Whether its technique, uniqueness, or simply learning the basics more thoroughly, I want to dive into this passion of mine. As I sat and thought about how I was going to complete this goal, I realized I needed to do just start taking photos, and whatever happened, I would find inspiration from it. I felt like such an idiot as I set up my camera in my room, and just stared at it, sitting on its tripod, because I genuinely had no idea where I was going to go with this idea. I also soon realized that I was going to have to be able to take these photos myself to complete my goal, and the last thing I wanted to practice was how to take selfies. I sat and stared at my camera for a solid 5 minutes before I realized that I needed to not only think about what I wanted to come out of the photo, but I needed to think about what I wanted the photo to mean. It hit me instantly. I quickly turned the dial to the “Macro” setting, and began to create.

I have acne. I struggle with eyeliner. I have frizzy, oily hair. I have chapped lips. I have an uneven smile. I have an oddly proportioned body. I suck at eye shadow blending. One of my eyes is bigger than the other. I have the world’s roundest face. I am flawed. If you looked at me online, yes, you would see a few of these features, but most of them I am able to edit out with the simple swipe of a finger.  I would spend hours meticulously editing out acne, stray hairs, and yellowed teeth. I knew exactly what angle to turn my face to hide my double chin, and I knew how to move my legs to make my thighs look smaller. Something I would think about constantly is whether or not I would be able to make myself look the same in reality as I do online, to make sure people didn’t notice the editing done to my photos. More makeup went on. Different jeans were bought. I wore my hair differently. I wanted to be beautiful. I didn’t even know what that meant, but whatever it did/does, I can assure you I had strived for it. I have cried over acne. I have skipped eating a second helping, because I was worried about looking fat.  So here I am, fully exposed. I thankfully have grown to love my unruly hair. I have learned to deal with my acne. I have accepted the brilliant eyeliner motto of “sisters not twins”. I learned to love myself close up, and that’s a pretty big deal.

Disclaimer: I decided to put these photos in black in white, because I believe it will give it a timeless, more relatable tone.  No editing has been done to my face. 

Dear 2016

You were a really tough one. You put a lot of really difficult situations in my path, and you were filled with hard recognitions of who should have really meant the most to me, but you also gave me so many opportunities. I had the chance to meet new people, make new friends, begin to truly learn how important it is to look after myself. You drew me closer to my family, and my faith, and you made me appreciate the good times so much more.  You helped me strive to chase my dreams, and you sparked immense amounts of inspiration in my heart. You helped me understand how a simple face to face conversation could turn your week around, and you helped me grasp a better concept of what true joy means. 2016, you taught me a lot dear friend, but 2017...I cannot express how thankful I am that you're here. In honor of the new year, I decided the best way to kick it off is by choosing my word. 

Since I was in junior high, I had the opportunity to participate in our local churches girl’s bible study, and when every New Year rolls around, we each get to choose our “word”. This concept to me seemed so simple at the time, but after my 5^th year of choosing my word has rolled around, I began to truly understand the importance of this tradition. I suppose I should explain what “choosing your word” really means…

Each year, instead of setting a New Year’s resolution, we each chose one word-any word, that would represent what we want to do in the oncoming year. Whether its something as general as “grow”, or something more specific such as “happy”, it can be whatever you want to accomplish that year. This year I decided that I wanted to a word that represented several goals of mine. In the year 2017, I will have to not only make a decision on what my future job will be, but I will also have to applying for endless amounts of scholarships. Not only do I want to complete that, but I also want to put 10x more effort into my photography than I did this year. I want to work for the things I want, so that was when I decided my word for 2017 would be…

Pursue.

I WILL pursue photography.

I WILL pursue my future.

I WILL pursue my goals.

I WILL pursue the best memories.

I WILL pursue happiness.

I WILL pursue to be a more devoted Christian.

I WILL pursue self-love.

I WILL pursue MY 2017.

Easy Christmas Gift Ideas

The lights are twinkling, the hot cocoa is steaming, and the soft sounds of Christmas music are coming from the radio, and once again you aren’t taking any of it in, because if you are anything like me, the holiday season can seem horribly stressful. The pressure is on to not only get gifts that people will love, but to somehow find time to buy the perfect gift for EVERYONE. Over the years I have had my fair share of “white-elephant_ gift exchanges, but there always comes a time when you have to actually buy a REAL gift. YIKES.

This year (after stressing out for several weeks) I came to the conclusion that I should only give gifts that I would want to receive. Whether it’s something simple, or something personal to specific person. After searching Pinterest for hours, I realized that maybe I should put up my own ideas for quick and easy Christmas gifts, so that you won’t have to stress out nearly as much as I did!

My first gift idea is to buy something SEASONAL from Bath and Body Works. All of their Christmas smells are AMAZING, and I have yet to find one that I haven’t loved. They have great deals around Christmas time, so it is also very inexpensive! This year I decided to get some of their smaller products, and to distribute them as “bits and pieces” of all of my friend’s gifts!

My second gift idea is something so easy, but so meaningful as well. I bought this mug at Michael’s for $5, and simply cut out small pieces of paper and wrote either memories, or things I loved about my friend, and filled the mug with the slips of paper! These are some of my favorite presents to receive at Christmas time, because I know how much thought they put into the gift, and it’s also so fun to think back on fun memories that you had together!

My third gift idea was to put together a “Christmas Cheer Box” for one of your friends. The JOY box is also from Michael’s ($10), and on the inside of the box I filled it with things that would work as not only Christmas décor, but also a few things they could use year around! Inside this box I put the “Memory Mug”, an adorable ornament (Michael’s-$5) and a picture frame. ($5) I was also able to find a bag of cheap ornaments, and filled the inside of the box with it! Overall, the gift was around $30, but I think it was well worth it, and turned out super cute! Some other “filler” ideas are wire twinkle lights, hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, or even some jewelry!

I hope these few ideas helped you get inspiration for your Christmas gifts this year, but just remember anything that you give this season is more than enough, it’s all in the effort that you put into it! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season, and I hope you all are enjoying the cold weather! ❄️