Pinterest

I was introduced to Pinterest a while ago, but it wasn't until recently I received a invite to join the 'pinning world'; and I've been obsessed since. Actually, you can now call me the pinning queen because it seems that's all I do lately... sign in to Pinterest and pin my little heart out. For those of you who live a sheltered life and are not sure what Pinterest is, well you are missing out. It's basically a way to create mini inspiration boards of whatever your heart desires. Check out a few of mine here!

Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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This past weekend consisted of terrifying storms, peaceful rain, and good laughs with friends. My lovely sister came home this weekend to work on her senior capstone paper, which is probably one of the most stressful papers to ever accomplish. Since the school rarely provides her with ‘home cooked’ meals, I decided to make her breakfast on Saturday morning. The morning was gloomy and reminded me of fall, and longed for something warm with hints of spice. After scouring the pantry I found some pumpkin puree and milk chocolate chips, which must be used together. I used this recipe to create fluffy* pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes that melted in your mouth. I highly recommend you try this recipe, because who says pumpkin is only for the cooler months?!

*The key to fluffy pancakes is to leave the batter lumpy with bubbles. Just fold together the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients until just combined, no more than that. Enjoy!

Honey, Honey

Although, I’m terrified of bees and every other type of insect, I find this honeycomb cake pan adorable. The pan comes with a Honey-Almond cake mix that looks divine; the only thing that would complete the cake would be some sort of sugary glaze. Yum-O. I have been in a baking mood lately, which isn’t ideal since bikini season is right around the corner. Only if desserts didn’t have calories!

 

Uninspired

For the past few days I have been a little uninspired. Sorry for the beyond boring posts, but I believe my lack of inspiration is because I need a MAJOR vacay right now. Maybe to somewhere like here...



With a little bit of this...



and then finish off with this...



Any one want to go?!

Five Happy Things

Today was 74 and breezy and I was in heaven. Beautiful weather means windows down and music up, which makes everyone smile. So since it has been a smiley kind of day, here are a few things that are making my smile!



My current nail polish, Essie Lilacism. This lavender-gray color makes me long for Spring.



My homemade trail mix which is made of dry roasted almonds, peanuts, dried cranberries, and pieces of dark chocolate.



My new nude pumps that I'm beyond obsessed with.



I'm not a huge fan of vanilla because it can be so overpowering, but this body wash mixed with blackberry scents is perfect.



My pearl headband that I can throw on to make any type of hair day a good one.

Sugah, Sugah

I recently discovered that I have an addiction to sugar and I'm not kidding. It's like I can't get enough of the stuff! So I have banned pretty much anything with an obscene amount of sugar in it, and I'm hoping to continue this trend for at least a couple weeks. Though this has been one of the most difficult tasks for me, I have noticed I'm not as sluggish and don't tire as easily mid-day; But that doesn't mean I don't long for a taste of chocolate every once in a while. Below are a few tasty treats that I would like to try in the near future, you know once my couple weeks of sugarless life are up.



Moravian cookies are delightfully thin and when they're dipped in chocolate it's ultimate bliss.



You can never go wrong with raspberry and chocolate for dessert.



I love Twix bars and I can't wait to try this homemade version.



My aunt makes a caramel cake that is to die for. Hers consists of several layers of cake in between a delicious caramel glaze. Although her recipe is a secret, I found this similar recipe I can't wait to try!

P.S. I'm sorry for the lack of posts this week... Life tends to sneak up on me.

Simple Things

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I believe the simple things are the sweetest gifts in life; you know like playing in the rain, sweet notes, and honey and butter. I could name a thousand simple things that thrill me, but one in particular surfaced today... peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I usually go for creamy peanut butter and apple jelly, but a sandwich shop in New York has me reconsidering my usual. Peanut Butter & Co is known for making 10 delicious flavors of all natural peanut butter, including Mighty Maple and White Chocolate Wonderful, but it’s the sandwich shop that’s creating quite the buzz. With peanut butter based sandwich creations on the menu such as Fluffernutter, Pregnant Lady, The Elvis, and Cookie Dough Surprise, I've come to the conclusion I must make a trip to this delightful spot; but since the drive is quite lengthy I'll be making my own delicious versions at home in the mean time!

Sandwiches aren’t the only menu items, there are many peanut butter filled desserts and milk shakes. A fluffernutter milkshake with dark chocolate drizzled on top, yes please!

P.S. I am extremely sorry if you have some sort of peanut allergy and had read about all the peanut butter goodness.

Sugar Heart Sandwich Cookies

Want to know the real reason Valentine's Day is so popular?! The sweet treats, duh! While browsing for a cute Heart Day recipe I found these Sugar Heart Cookies, and I promise they are beyond delightful. With two sugar cookies sandwiching pomegranate cream cheese filling this dessert is just enough sweet for a snack or an after dinner treat. I hope you enjoy, lovies!

Tea For Two

Have you ever heard of Celestial Seasonings tea? If not, you need to check it out. It's probably the best tea I have ever had. It's line of herbal teas is definitely my favorite and I tend to buy Tension Tamer and Sleepytime teas more than any other. Usually, I drink one or two cups of the tension tamer tea during the day, and with a strong aroma of peppermint, ginger and chamomile and a natural lemon flavor, this tea has easily become one of my favorites. As cliche as this sounds, Tension Tamer really does what it says. I notice I handle the daily work stress much better after a cup of the yummy tea.



And if you have trouble sleeping, try out Sleepytime tea. It helps calm and relax you right before you hit the sheets. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Fudgey Brownies

You know when you have those couple of days in your life where something goes wrong EVERY day. Although, the 'wrong' isn't necessarily tragic, it sure does feel like it at the time. This afternoon when I arrived home from work the master chef (my father) had received the newest addition of Bon Appetit in the mail, and on the cover was the most yummy looking brownies. With very little convincing from M&D, I decided to try out the recipe. I thought to myself, "This would be a great blog post, let me get my camera." Much to my dismay, when I turned my camera on it made this awful noise (sort of like a car engine) and wouldn't take a normal picture. Awesome. So- here is the recipe straight from the website, and I promise this is a keeper for your recipe book.

Salty Sweet

The frigid weather I'm experiencing is just a reminder that I'm made to live in a much warmer climate, preferably near the ocean. While I bundle up and try not to wince too much as the wind pierces me through my thick coat, I try to locate the nearest coffee shop. Where I work this is usually Starbucks. I love to wrap my cold hands around a warm beverage, my choice usually being the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. There is nothing like the mix of sweet and salty, especially in the form of hot chocolate. I highly recommend this sweet beverage during the snowy days of winter.

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