My New Obsession....

I will be the first to admit......

I am a girl. 

A very girly girl.

The girly girl who's favorite color is pink and red, 

loves make-up, nail polish and headbands

has a closet full of shoes (you don't need to know the number) 

smelling good is essential,

believes that every occasion is a dress-up occasion,

and did i mention sweating is not cute, for any amount of time.

With that said you probably know that girly girls tend to be crazy and change their minds with no forewarning.

Last week I tried Hot Yoga for the first time ever.

I've had friends tell me to try it and that I would love it...

I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

As I walked into the heated room with my borrowed yoga mat I couldn't help feeling a little intimidated, nervous, petrified, hot and already sweaty.

Needless to say I made it through the class without dying, (even though every inch of my body was sweating including my eyelashes) I couldn't wait to go back because I felt like I did something really good for my body, energized and relaxed.

So.... even if you think you wouldn't like Hot Yoga, you should at least give it a try and if you don't care for it, at least you tried something new.

But you will love it, I speak from experience

Sometimes...

When you look into the camera,

this is what happens.

Texas

Last week I took a trip to see my Asher, finally, this trip got canceled not once but twice. 

We drank lots of frappuccino's since Starbucks was having their happy hour half off deal going on that week, went on adventures in search of cool things for me to take pictures of for my photography class, ate amazing Thia food, took long walks, laughed a lot and oh yeah he flew me to San Antonio!

We didn't get to stay in San Antonio for very long because of the mean lady at the airport that didn't want to let us use the courtesy car but we made the most of it and had a lovely lunch on the Riverwalk at Michelinos Italian Bistro.

 To bad weekends have to come to an end and we have to go back to work or school or whatever. Can't wait for summer time when Asher will be home and we will have a whole month together!

 

Baby Shower Cupcakes

Last weekend I helped my very pregnant friend and her sister make cupcakes for her baby shower. We had loads of fun baking, talking, making blue frosting and toasting coconut, most of it we ate because it is that yummy. 

 These little guys are super cute, time consuming and drove me crazy with their little beaks that looked soooo easy to do, not.  We were so happy with the out come.

Thank you Martha Stewart for the idea!

Nuts for Nutella

Nutella is a downfall for me. I love it's creamy chocolaty unhealthy goodness. With the jar almost empty what better way to finish it off then in a batch of cookies. The recipe has been floating around the house for a couple weeks now but I couldn't bear to empty out the jar. I don't buy it that often because I don't like having it in the house, I have little self-control when I open the jar of happiness and kid myself that it's not that bad if I'm eating it with bananas and strawberries.

So here we go..... 

Chocolate Nutella Cookies
  1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon hazelnut extract
1/3 cup Nutella
1/3 cup milk

1. Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the vanilla and hazelnut extract and beat until extracts disappear. Add the Nutella and mix until batter is smooth.

2. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternately with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes before baking. You can make the dough a few days in advance, just wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

3. When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Take a tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place on lined baking sheets and gently press down on the dough ball. Continue making dough balls until the cookie sheets are filled-leave two inches in between cookies.

4. Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until soft, but starting to set. Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Yummmm

Anthro Fashion Passion Update

Here's the latest addition to my summer wardrobe and I might add, the smallest size too!

Hot Day at the Beach in April?

A beach day with Carissa is just what I needed to end a disappointing and depressing week of a much anticipated trip being canceled and work being crazy slow didn't help either. 

Any day at the beach will cure the blues for me but with the high being in the 80's it made for an even more lovely day.

Picnic lunch of  lemonade, grapes and homemade chicken avocado sandwiches :) 

 Carissa had a little to much lemonade and sun, hehehe