December 12, 2015

My Everyday Life: Week 50

Here’s what My Everyday Life Week 50 looked like:

Our tree in Cooper’s silhouette. I made it in 2010!

Would you believe that these are carrot slices? I edited the heck out of them.

Upside down dreaming.

Sometimes pictures of art are better than actual art.

I saw Police Academy in this old movie theater.

Not in the market for rugs, but I don’t mind standing on a few.

At a stop light.

Gray day.

Cooper had to interview three people for a homework assignment.

“What’s your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?”

I love how he drew that artichoke.

I burned the taquitos. It’s cool, I rectified the situation.

A cozy decanter corner.

We bought a sideboard from Craigslist this week. I immediately put new hardware on it.

LOVE IT. LOOOOOOOOVE.

A tree with history.

Find the cat.

Recipe. Monday. Be there or be square.

For my niece.

MAJ is festive for the holidays.

December 11, 2015

I love lists Friday!

Welcome to I Love Lists Friday! Let’s surf the internet together:

Don’t glorify this tragedy – I appreciated her perspective.
I love trying to figure out which brands are in Trader Joe’s
Modern Christmas decor! I love them all.
Hospital Holiday Decorations. My sister-in-law would be proud.
Calendar porn.
Haters gonna hate Williams-Sonoma
I quite like these little green army men.
Need in on this meatball situation.
Dogs enjoy car rides.
Crystal Pepsi is back?!
What on Earth is this??? And can I try it?
How did your parents embarrass you?
Husband + Sharpie
Waves that look like mountains.
I loved looking through these Paris photos from 100 years ago.
These cats are fluffy AF.
There isn’t a single thing I wouldn’t wear in this Etsy shop.
I would love to do an inventory like this of 24 hours.
The coolest new products from 2015. That suitcase, though.
Talking with teenagers
Always end your texts in exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!
I am currently living in this robe & this dress
Things you should say goodbye to in 2016
My Favorite Things Gift Guide of 2015– if you need some shopping inspiration

I thought this was funny and so did my husband:

recipes

December 10, 2015

Cherry Almond Bark

If you ever find yourself with some leftover melted chocolate, turn it into a very quick chocolate bark! I had leftover white chocolate from a recipe I was working on last week and so I made this Cherry Almond Bark. White chocolate is melted. A little dash of almond extract gets stirred in. Chocolate gets spread on a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle a few dried cherries and almond slivers on top and pop it in the freezer for a couple of minutes. Instant bark! Serving size: ONE.

To see more of my Thursday Snack Ideas, follow my Pinterest Board!

And if you’re looking for some bark recipes for holiday gifts check out:

Crunchy Peppermint Bark

Cookies & Cream Peppermint Bark

Tropical Bark

recipes

December 9, 2015

Bacon Artichoke Dip

When I was a kid there were a few times when my mom took my brothers and I into the city to partake in some good ole market research testing. Yes, I do believe she let us keep all of the money. But I really didn’t need any because I had such a blast testing out different popcorn flavors and chocolate bars. I loved anything related to food when I was a kid and I had very clear opinions of how things should taste (nothing’s changed). Flash forward SEVERAL years and I found myself on a trip to Oregon to visit the Kettle Brand Chip factory. There was a wonderful dinner that was inspired by the Kettle Brand chip flavors and a tour of the facility where we got to see how chips are made from start to finish. I felt like I was in a hybrid movie of Willy Wonka and an episode of How It’s Made (we love that show!). It was fascinating!

Please, let’s not discuss how many potato chips I ate in a 24 hour period.

During our trip, there was a really fun breakout session with their “Flavor Architects” where we talked about all of their chip flavors- the ones that failed and the ones that have stood the test of time. We also got to mix our own flavors for chips. I think I made a wacko lemon pepper combination. It was good fun.

To be honest with you, I am kind of a chip purist. I always make fun of Casey for loving vanilla ice cream because I think it’s so basic, but I understand it now. In the way that you can measure how good an ice cream company is by their vanilla, you can measure a chip company by their base. In this case, I love Kettle Brand‘s Sea Salt. Although their Baked version is also ahhhhmazing and I wouldn’t say no to a bag (or three) of Pepperoncini.

I think it’s good to have a hot dip in your arsenal during the holiday season. When I think about the flavors of Christmas, I get nostalgic for my mom’s Baked Artichoke Squares. I wanted to take that flavor profile and turn it into Bacon Artichoke Dip. Same great taste like the artichoke squares, except it’s super creamy with a smoky infusion thanks to the bacon. Why not push it over the edge of deliciousness and serve this hot dip with some amazing chips?

recipes

December 8, 2015

Cinnamon Sugar Wonton Crisps

I’ve been working on a side gig- taking pictures for all of the recipes cards for my friend Catherine’s new company, One Potato. It’s an organic meal delivery service geared around families. I shoot about 5 new recipe cards each week. It’s been a fun project to work on because I get to make lists (favorite), take photos (hello FAVORITE), prepare great meals, and use my brain in a whole new way. I also really like that it’s introduced new ingredients into my kitchen repertoire like- wonton wrappers.

I worked on a mushu chicken recipe a few weeks ago and had to fry some wonton crisps for the shoot. I only needed a little bit, but I had a whole package of wontons so I fried the rest. I proceeded to eat a bunch and then tossed them in a combination of sugar, cinnamon in salt. Talk about ADDICTIVE. It was the first time I fried wontons and it most certainly won’t be my last!

We used to go to a Chinese restaurant down the street when I was a kid and they served us fried wontons. I always plowed through them…dipping them into Chinese hot mustard. These Cinnamon Sugar Wonton Crisps are like those fried wontons met a Taco Bell cinnamon crisp situation from my childhood. Remember those? Like…the ones from the 80s? They don’t make them like they used to. What I’m getting at is that my childhood dreams have come true. I am an adult who can make cinnamon sugar wonton crisps when I please.

Perfect for a crowd!

People can’t stop eating them.

I can’t stop eating them!

You’ll see what I mean.

Inspiration

December 7, 2015

Homemade Gift Ideas 2015

Holiday cards are ordered, tree is up, mantle is decorated and most of my holiday presents should arrive soon so I can wrap them all up…but what am I giving out for my homemade gift this year? Not sure! I have my on a coconut blondie recipe and am thinking of some type of infusion or something! I don’t know… we still have plenty of time to make homemade gifts. Let’s dip into my archives and brainstorm all the things we could easily make for our loved ones this holiday season!