Wednesday, May 4, 2011

nuevo digs

Cinco de Mayo is upon us... and another great occasion for some new digs. These ones are brought to you from Anthropologie.

Poppy Mallow Bobbies $15 

Perpetual Ponies $15 

Friendship Bead Headband $32 

From the Center Caftan $98 

Embrace Scarf $38 

With a Twist Tank $78 

Balanced Ring $58 

Strung Packages Sandals $98 

Nomad Scarf Bag $88 

Nyanza Skirt $88 

Espadrille Sneakers $45

Cute finds at Anthropologie + all for under $100 = Festive Cinco de Mayo '11

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

full + happy tummies

The recipes this weekend were major success stories! They were both delicious! We started out with the scrumptious Oatmeal Pumpkin Bakes for breaky, compliments of The Edible Perspective.
 Bake 'em
Top 'em
Indulge!

They were so good... and SO filling. I couldn't even finish mine. And it kept me full all morning. We fudged the recipe a little, with the limited options and ingredients we had. We ended up substituting egg whites, instead of flax egg and flaxseed meal for the chia seed. All in all: very tasty, very filling, & quite a bit of pumpkin flavor (I may only be able to take in small doses).

For dinner, we made the Salmon Bean Burgies, from Fit Foodie Finds. These were also very tasty. It was a completely different spin on the traditional burger. I haven't eaten red meat in about 15+ years, so I've definitely tried my share of 'burger' spins: turkey, veggie, salmon, bean... But these were different than any of those.
 Fresh salmon, topped with a little fresh ground pepper.
 The patties...
& the finished product.

The salmon was fresh, the burgers were very filling & hearty. They went very well with the light salad we paired with them. We picked the Lite Gingerly dressing from Annie's line... perfect match for the salmon patties & salad!

Friday, April 29, 2011

newbies

I'm not sure how many of you were up for the big wedding last night/early this morning... I was not one of them. I am well rested and perfectly happy just looking at a couple of the pics from the event. My overall thoughts:

• Great dress-Classic and elegant
• Holy hats!
• Tasteful first smooch...
But the best part is the little girl in the photo! haha That is the same reaction I have to all this hype!

Moving on...

I have picked a couple fabulous recipes to conjure up this weekend. I hope I can make them taste as good as they look- because I'm pretty freaking excited for some brand new eats! For breaky, the bird and I have chosen 1 (of many!) delicious looking buckwheat bakes from The Edible Perspective. Her blog is awesome! Tons of good recipes and house tips, which is a major plus since the bird and I are in the market! :)
Her food always looks so good... how could I not want to make this myself?!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Bake [serves 1]
  • 1/3c rolled oats
  • 1/4c pumpkin
  • 1/2 banana
  • 1 flax egg
  • 1T chia seeds
  • 1/4t baking powder
  • 3T unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2T vanilla extract
  • 1t cinnamon
  • 1/4t ginger
  • pinch of nutmeg/cloves/all spice
  • 2T nuts [optional]
  1. Preheat oven to 350*
  2. Whisk flax egg together and set aside for ~3-5min.
  3. In a small bowl mash banana until egg-like.
  4. Mix in almond milk, pumpkin, + vanilla with a fork.
  5. Mix in rolled oats, spices, baking powder, and chia seeds.
  6. Mix in flax egg.
  7. Lightly grease a small oven-safe dish, add mixture, smooth, and bake for 30 minutes. [I used a personal size soup crock ~2” deep by 5” diameter]
Cant wait!

Next newbie... Dinner.

The next delicious meal-to-be comes from another one of my favorites: Fit Foodie Finds. She has a fantastic blog with a lot of great healthy options and delicious looking recipes. The one we will attempt to concur this weekend is Salmon Bean Burgies: (yes, burgies... I love it!)
Salmon Bean Burgies
  • Makes 4 hockey puck sized patties: serves 2
  • 3/4C garbanzo beans, canned
  • 1/4C cooked quinoa
  • 4 oz. steamed salmon
  • 1T egg whites
  • spices: garlic salt, cumin
Directions: In a medium sized bowl, mash together all ingredients. You may need to add a bit more egg white depending on how well your mixture is holding together. Separate mixture into 4 patties, packing each one together in the palm of your hands. Next, heat ~1/2T olive oil on medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan and saute you patties for about 2 minutes per side.

Looks so good... even the bird, who is a little less ecstatic than I am about healthy new recipes, gave the go ahead! I will let you know how they both turned out! Have a fabulous weekend!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

study partner

Nothing says 'study partner' like a large iced coffee with a splash of almond milk...
YUM!

I have been the worst blogger. I have been over my ears busy with life lately... School being my biggest stressor! I might have taken on a little too much this semester. I will get myself back on track soon. xoxo

Thursday, April 21, 2011

finally!

I recently ordered three books from Chronicle Books. I received a discount code from a fun blog I follow: Black Eiffel. Just the motivation I needed to finally take the plunge and purchase some much desired design books. And although it took them a couple weeks to get here... it was SO worth the wait. I was anticipating them everyday. Waiting and hoping for a package everyday when I got home!
I wouldn't dare keep you waiting as long as I had to...
Just wanted to offer a tince of anticipation.
My order:
Paper + Craft by Minhee and Truman Cho
Letter Press by Charlotte Rivers
Creative, INC by Meg Mateo Ilasco & Joy Deangdeelert Cho

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

meet granola.

This weekend I made my first batch of homemade granola... YUM! I acquired the recipe from an awesome blog I've been following: Paiges of Style. She has a lot of great recipes I've been dying to try. And my list isn't getting any shorter... so without further ado, meet Granola.

Homemade Granola
  
10c   old fashined rolled oats
  2c   whole wheat flour
  2c   wheat germ
  2c   coconut
  2c   dried cranberries (I substituted raisins)
  1c   chopped pecans
  1c   chopped almonds
         
 mix above ingredients in large bowl
    
         4T   vanilla
      1/2c    water
         2c    honey
         1c    oil (I used Safflower)

         mix wet ingredients in separate bowl
         add to dry ingredients
         spread in shallow pans


         bake at 250° until deep golden and almost dry for approximately 2 hours
         stir gently every 15 minutes or so while baking
         remove, let cool.

A serious bowl of nuts & grains.
Mixed in the wet ingredients.
This recipe was spread out on 3 large cooking sheets; completely covered with a thick layer of granola.
Waiting patiently and stirring often.
Seriously... look how much granola I have. Pretty dreamy actually. And it is so yummy. I had it bright and early on my cottage cheese breakfast bowl.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Easter Best

 Easter Best by birdie to be

Dorothy Perkins Coral Dress 50 GBP

Long Sleeve Madewell Striped Cardigan $125

T by Alexander Wang Tencel Placket Tank $105

I dont like Mondays: Improvd Sheer Top $98

J Crew Lace-over tank $52

Hollister Co San Clemente Crop jeans $50

Miss Selfridge cream lace skirt 28 GBP

Tory Burch Lurex and Straw Ballerina Flats $235

Pelle Moda West pumps $150

Miss Selfridge Magnolia Plait sandal 25 GBP

Forever21 Mixed Bracelet Set $6.80

TopShop Nude Lace Corsage Headband $8.00

What better holiday than Easter to bring out your inner pink!