Feelin’ It 🍎

I just recently started listening to podcasts while I work out and really love these two in particular. Good Company – with Grace Bonney founder of Design Sponge, best-selling author and founder of the Good Company magazine.

The Dave Chang Show – hosted by famous chef/restaurant founder/owner Dave Chang of the Ugly Delicious Netflix series. Both podcasts explore creativity in business while talking about the struggles and success of it all. It’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff which I love.

Jamie Cooks Italy 🇮🇹 – YouTube

 

I’ve watched many cooking shows in my life but I’ve never watched a cooking show that made me salivate the whole entire time! Jaime Oliver and his friend Gennaro explore Italy’s heritage through the richness of its people and their food.

The 90’s are back and I’m excited to revisit some styles from my youth! Bring on the caboodles, scrunchies and big clips! Let’s pretend the butterfly clip phase never happened. I nabbed this caboodle online from ban.do. They have a variety of cute caboodles in a varying sizes and styles. Big clips and scrunchies my recommendations are from Amazon.

 

 

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Fall Hygge Style

Last year I was watching a show talk about this new trending word ” hygge.” Some pronounce it hoo-ga well others say it’s hue-guh. Either way you say it, it’s the Danish word for all things cozy! Curious about it I decided to do some research and learned that it’s a whole culture surrounding relaxation rooted in nostalgia, indulgence and comfort. It’s something that’s meant to be felt and have that at home touch often, involving family and friends. Recently with the changing of weather I thought to myself there’s no better time to prepare a hygge atmosphere then now. I love fall scents they remind me of home (spices, pumpkin) so they were the first thing I wanted to incorporate into creating a hygge atmosphere. I’m into healthier natural smelling scents so I decided to make a simmer pot. This was my first time trying this and it turned out better than I could have imagined. I just thought of smells I like that would pair well together and came up with this.

Cranberry Orange Spice Simmer Pot

Ingredients 

1/3 of a cup of whole cloves ( I really like cloves)

2 oranges

cinnamon sticks (2-3)

cranberries 3/4 cup

a couple of sprigs of rosemary

water

4 quart pot

Prepare oranges. Peel and safe skins. Take 1 and a half oranges and cut each wedge into 3rds. Reserve 1/2 an orange for squeezing juice. Throw everything into a 4 quart pot.Squeeze remaining 1/2 orange over it all and add water at least half way or more. Then turn pot on low and stir. Let it simmer all day or for a couple of hours occasionally stirring and the essence it creates is simply delightful. If the water evaporates just add more. Also, I found that these specific ingredients if refrigerated after cooling last for days. After I made this batch I went away for a couple of days and when I can back I popped it back on the stove with more water and it was as good as new.

 

 

I’m also using Wax and Wool candles this fall season. These soy candles are made by a local merchant in small hand poured batches. Right now their featured scents for the fall are cinnamon chai, pumpkin spice and brown sugar & fig. These candles come in really cool amber and mason apothecary jars. I highly suggest checking them out!

 

 

A Summer of Firsts

This summer has been very memorable full of a lot of firsts for me. I made it through my first busy season in the real estate business and survived. I worked harder than I’ve ever worked and feel a great sense of accomplishment. As a result, I haven’t been able to post as frequently as I would have liked to. So, I wanted to in a sense catch up and share some highlights of my wonderful summer.

I was blessed enough to purchase my first new, new car! Beep! Beep! I got to see one of my childhood heroes Edgar Martinez receive the highest honor a club can give a baseball player (retirement of his number). It was super cool!

I got to see one of my favorite artists Bruno Mars perform live. He’s amazing!!I totally recommend seeing him anytime you can.

I went to Emerald Downs racetrack for the first time and bet on some horses. It was super fun!

Amongst the hustle and bustle of work and the inviting playful days of summer I’ve become somewhat of a procrastinator! I always feel with the ending of summer and the beginning of fall things just fall back in line! Speaking of fall, it’s my favorite season! I’m super excited especially for this fall. I have lots of changes and new things planned for the blog so stay tuned. I hope you, your family and friends have a blast this Labor Day weekend! Remember to keep those affected by Hurricane Harvey in prayer.

 

Thanksgiving

It’s almost time for Thanksgiving!!!I don’t think it could have come soon enough for our country this year. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays not only does it take place at my favorite time of year but, it literally involves everything that I love family, friends, food and football! I know it can be stressful especially for those of us that are hosting so here are a couple of décor and recipe ideas to make your Thanksgiving planning easier.

Pumpkin Succulent Arrangements

Anybody who really knows me knows I really love succulents so when I came across an easy DIY pumpkin succulent decoration I had to do it.

Supplies

Pumpkin(s) (the ones used in the pictures were sparkler pumpkins)
Spray adhesive
Glue gun & glue sticks
Moss
Succulent cuttings (assorted colors & types)
Scissors or pruners
Disposable gloves
Disposable paper surface – newspaper etc..
Pencil (acting as a holder)

Note: Succulents can often be purchase at hardware stores, Fred Meyer and depending on the season and location Wal-mart & nurseries.

The day before assembling the pumpkin succulent arrangements cut your succulents so the ends have time to dry out.I suggest wearing disposable gloves and spraying the pumpkins with adhesive outside. First, spray a pumpkin top with adhesive than top with moss pressing down securely to create a good flat moss bed for your succulents (more will be added later). When assembling succulent arrangements I think its best to approach them like a floral arrangement preplacing and experimenting are how to create the perfect arrangement.Some vital things to consider when arranging is the style, color, height and size of each succulent for each placement and how it complements the overall look. I had some pumpkins that had long stems and others with no stems at all. For the pumpkins with no stems I chose the largest succulents and glued them to the centered of the pumpkin and then continue to work my way out from the center. It’s a little trickier to start an arrangement for pumpkins with long stems but start by placing bigger feature succulents around the stem you can even tilt them against the stem of the pumpkin working again from the center outward. I used the flat side of a pencil to hold whatever I’m gluing in place for a good amount of time. Use your good judgment to glue additional moss where needed making sure that no ends of the succulents are exposed and ensuring your succulents with have a good moss bed to take root in. These pumpkin succulent arrangements can last for a long time (months) if properly taken care of start by using a spray bottle to spray them every other day, a day after they’ve initially been assembled. When you get sick of looking at the arrangement or the pumpkin starts to go south just slice the top of the pumpkin off (with the succulents) and plant in your garden or in an adequately sized pot.Note: If you live in a colder climate where it freezes and it’s currently fall/winter you want to plant the pumpkin top with the succulents in a pot inside and then transfer outside when it becomes warmer.On the other hand, if you live in a climate that is warm most of the year and is currently warm go ahead and plant it outside.

I took so many beautiful pictures of various angles. I just love these!!!Please bare with me just a few more.

Make Ahead Breakfast Dish Recipe

My family loves this recipe and its great for the morning of Thanksgiving or the morning after Thanksgiving when you just don’t want to cook anymore. This simple overnight breakfast dish will save you time and energy and still be a big hit. I suggest doubling this recipe and making it in a 9×13 pan.

Blueberry Croissant Puff

(Serves 10)(Vegetarian)

Ingredients

1 cup Blueberries, fresh or frozen
2 Eggs
2/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tbsp. of cinnamon
3 Croissants, cut up (about 5 to 5 1/2 cups), large (I use the Costco ones!)
1 package Cream cheese
1 cup Milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place croissant pieces in a 9 inch square pan. Sprinkle with blueberries.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon, eggs and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Gradually add milk, beating well after each addition. Pour evenly over croissant pieces. Let stand 20 minutes or soak overnight.
Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until set in center and golden brown. You may want to cover it with foil for the last 10 minutes if the tops are getting too browned.
Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Source:

The Girl Who Ate Everything

http://www.the–who-ate-everything.com/2013/02/blueberry-croissant-puff.html