2014 Gift Guide

We all have those hard to shop for people, but I've compiled a list that hopefully will make your last minute shopping a breeze!

1. These boots from Bear Paw are on my wish list. Being from the Midwest, snow boots are a must and these are just too cute to pass up.

2. How ingenious is a microwave bowl mitt? TCKitchen nailed it with this product. Through a bowl full of food in this mitt, through it in the microwave, and don't burn your fingers on the bowl when it's time to take it out of the microwave!

3. For all of those coffee loves out there, get them a personalized coffee cozy! Their hands won't smell like the gross cardboard cozy that Starbucks gives you. And even better, it's reusable!

4. This facial mud mask is all natural. It detoxes your pores leaving your skin bright and glowing. Need I say more?

5. Beanies are huge right now. What better than a handmade beanie and supporting small businesses?! I can't get over how cute and cozy this hat is.

6. Northeast Nutmeg makes amazing smelling soy candles! Let's be honest, if I bought one for Christmas it would be under my tree for myself. Whether you're looking for a gift or want to pamper yourself, Northeast Nutmeg is definitely worth looking into!

Colored Pants and Cozy Scarves

I don't know about you but I get tired of wearing jeans every single day. With the cold temps I stick to pants this time of year to save myself from bare legs! One way I like to switch it up is with colored skinnies: my fave!

I found this sequined sweater a few years ago for $5 and all of the friends I was with made fun of me for liking it but guess what...I still love it!

I like to coordinate my pants and my scarves :) This is one of my warmest scarves, its huge!

Luck of the Irish

St. Patrick's Day happens to be my favorite holiday and all time favorite day of the year! Not only am I an Irish dancer, have Irish ancestry, love corned beef and (not so much) cabbage, and have traveled Ireland twice I also celebrate my birth on St. Patrick's Day.

I can't imagine a better way to spend my weekend than eating corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes, and soda bread! This weekend I'll be doing just that as well as teaching an Irish dance workshop at a friend's dance studio. I want to give the kids a little something after the workshop and these are a few of the little goodies I'm considering making:

 

For some actual food:

Tortillas for chips, you could also make quesdillas!

 

Shepherd's Pie

 

Corned Beef&Cabbage

 

What are your plans for St. Patrick's Day?

Spring is in the Air

The weather began to warm up a tiny bit and my hopes were high for spring. Unfortunately the cold has struck again. I wont let mother nature keep me down, my wardrobe lately has been bright and springy. Maybe if we all wear bright colors mother nature will get the hint huh?

 

I just looooove the colors of this tank top but the fabric is God-awful! I ironed it, drove to school and it was instantly wrinkled again! So awful, but so cute! The embrodiery is so tribal and festive, I couldn't pass it up for spring and/or summer.

 

Tank top// Maurice's

Cardigan//Old Navy (old)

Jeans//Maurice's (old)

Healthy Pancakes

As I will soon be participating in a pageant I've been trying to be good and eat a little bit better. I was really carving pancakes but know that they're way out of my calorie allowance so naturally I took to pinterest. I was a little skeptical of the promises of delicious but healthy pancakes, until I tried one of the reoccurring recipes.

Now I didn't take pictures of any of this because I honestly wasn't expecting these to turn out so well (I will definitely be making these again so if anyone would like pictures let me know!)

This recipe is more simple than the box mix! And way fewer calories!
What you need:
2large eggs (70 calories a piece)
1medium banana (100calories)
Optional: chocolate chips (I could only use 7 to stay within my calories)
Optional (and highly recommended): strawberries (50 calories)

How to make them:
1. Mash banana (or puree in a blender)
2. Add the two eggs to the banana
3. Beat eggs and banana together (or puree in blender)
4. Spray a small skillet with cooking spray
5. Add just enough banana/egg mix to cover the bottom pd the pan
6. It only takes a couple minutes on each side and tada!

 I managed to make three cakes out of this mix for only 240 calories. Since I'm allowed 300 I topped my cakes with 50calories worth of strawberries (which ended up being around 6 berries) and 7 chocolate chips which o chopped up to make them go further! Now I expected these to be big fluffy pancakes, don't get your hopes up! Mine ended up more like a creep or Swedish pancake. obviously the cakes were quite banana-y but it was a nice change from the heavy floury tasting pancakes I'm accustomed to.
P.S. how cute is the pan handle guard? Its such a blessing for my pans because the handles of my pans always heat up while I'm trying to cook and then its impossible to touch the pan! You can find these HERE

What are some of your favorite low-cal quick and easy recipes?

Valentine's Day

Ahh the lovey-dovey holiday is upon us. Although I blogged about planning early for gifts, I have once again found myself last minute rushing to find a gift for my man. It seems no matter how much I plan these things, they never fail to sneak up on me.

Such cute tights!

Hunter boots have my heart!















Too cute

If only the weather were warmer

















Unfortunately I have to work tonight so I will not get to spend the evening at a fancy little restaurant. Even though Valentine's Day isn't necessarily the biggest holiday for my boyfriend and I, we still wanted to do a little something to celebrate so we decided to go out for brunch on Sunday. What are your plans for the holiday? Cheesy movies and pounds of chocolate? Sounds good to me!!

Happy Valentine's Day all of you love birds!

Keeping it Simple

Keeping it simple in these freezing winter temps. It can be really hard to stay warm yet stylish and keep it a simple outfit.

I'm truly in L-O-V-E with Old Navy's vintage v-necks like this grey one. I have three of them and would wear them every day if  I could, thats how much I love them! I've been participating in a FabInFeb challenge on instagram and the other day was "pop of color." Now in person my necklace is muuuch brighter (its lavendar) but it refuses to photograph properly (stubborn accessories!) and for a little extra warmth I added a grey jean button down and my warm and cozy black jeans!

black jeans // old navy

grey v-neck // old navy

grey jean button down// OLD