cupcakes and smiles

The other weekend the boyfriend and I had the pleasure of babysitting his adorable nieces. We played at the park for hours, then rode the lightrail to this adorable cupcake shop (yum) then got Chinese take out from our favorite place and fell asleep under our blanket- made tent. All in all, it was such a fun adventure and we would be happy to lend our services anytime. :)



you try saying no to them..



After finishing the babysittin' gig we headed out for the Central Valley, because my boyfriend had some work to do- and I love to tag along. I do some very serious people watching when in the Central Valley, everyone is just... different. Our drive over was beautiful and calm, and we had some delicious BBQ. Unfortunately, we didn't check the weather and an unexpected rain storm caught up with us.




this....



turned to this..



 





 







delicious sweet potato/carrot salad from Whole Foods and my favorite Turkey Meatballs. Kale Chips for snacking.

Have you tried Kale Chips? This brand is my favorite because they come in such great, tasty flavors. It's about 300cals per bag and for the flavor- the Sodium is not high. Between the two of us, we finish off a bag usually before we even get home from Whole Foods, lol.



look to the right and you'll see a wedding chapel on wheels.
I guess if you're a trucker you might want to 'get hitched' in more ways than one.



Outfit Post take at Bear Creek Inn



glasses- Dior, sweater- Obey, shirt-Gap, belt- vintage, jeans- Butter, shoes- Toms

Fun Food for your Friday



While I was at Starbucks this morning, the barista asked if she could tweak my usual latte a bit. When I accepted her offer she told me "it's OK to indulge a little on Fridays." and you know what... it is.

This post has been sitting in my queue for a while and because of my Starbucks visit from this A.M. I think it's high time to post it. This sandwich in so indulgent, and when I say indulgent I mean "not diet friendly"

But if you split it with a friend/ pawn the other half off, it's a great treat for lunch.

Recipe for my favorite sweet sandwich

I bought a small round loaf of sourdough (ultimate cheat) and toasted it a pan.



After your bread is finished toasting on each side, get ready to spread!

That's a little packet of Justins Hazelnut butter
That company makes the yummiest nut butters and they are always introducing new flavor combinations.

As you can see from the photos, just spread each side with some hazelnut butter and layer the bananas right on top. Then top your sandwich, and dot forget to smoosh it together so sticks really well. ;)



Maddie hoping for a bite




gone :)

not your typical wine glasses
from Sur La Table



have a delicious weekend!!

P.S. don't forget about the S.F. flea tomorrow and Sunday

REAL veggie lasagna :)

This recipe came about because I am trying to eat less wheat products... but at the same time I really like Italian food. Well, I know what you're thinking... Italian and low carb doesn't really go hand in hand. So I decided to make my own version of the classic dish. And when I plugged all the ingredients into my calorie counter I found that each slice is only 235 calories (if you make the dish for 8 servings).

I will list the ingredients I used, but the nice thing about this recipe is that you can stack as much or as little of each as you want. I made mine with asparagus veggie junkie and served a nice red wine with it. Because, really, what is Italian food without a nice glass of vino xo

hmmm... just realized that this was sideways oops

• 1 2/5 lb Ground Turkey Breast 99% Fat Free
• 2 cups Zucchini (fresh)
• 2 cups No Salt Added Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes
• 1 med Whole Eggplant
• 1 medium Red Onion (whole)
• 4 Garlic Clove
• 1 cup Mushrooms, White, Raw
• 1 1/2 cups Artichoke Hearts, Canned
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper
• 5 tbsp Fire Roasted Diced Green Chile
• 10 tbsp Organic Tomato Paste

Saute the onions and garlic and turkey in a pan.
Slice all the veggies the long way.
Layer a baking dish with the eggplant first then layer all the other ingredients in whatever order you like on top.
plop the tomato paste randomly throughout the slices.
drizzle a little olive oil on top.
bake for 30 mins @ 405 degrees.
let it rest for 10 minutes.
serve and enjoy.
I used a 9x13 glass baking dish. it made 8 GOOD SIZED servings.



eggplant and green bell peppers




pear tomatoes add the right amount of "sweet"




it's all comin' together




I topped the entire dish with sliced zucchini, but this is a side picture w/o the topping so you can see what it looks like.



10 bucks from Trader Joes, cant beat it for the flavor and price!

asparagus green always POPS after you cook it

While on a Walk- Lazy Monday

Having your Mondays off deffinetly has its perks. I don't have to go to bed early on Sunday night. I have never had a "case of the Mondays". And I get to have the entire grocery shop to myself in the middle of the afternoon, while everyone else is at work. I can't complain, it's a good set up. The other morning we took the pups and walked down to the Market coffee shop. We continued through the streets and had a delightful morning watching the rest of the city move at a much faster pace than us.

 Here are some of the snapshots from our walk.

 Going on a walk is always a favorite pass time of mine. When you're bored at home, there is nothing better than a change of scenery. I often clear my head and organize my thoughts while on a stroll, sometimes I get inspired to start a new project or think of a new activity to do. I get inspired from objects, people, buildings, sounds, animals, colors, smells, food, the sky, cars, nature, construction.... you name it- I can pull something from it. Sometimes I wonder if everyone's brain works like mine... or am I just unique?

Where do you pull inspiration from?

garden art

overexposed... as my boyfriend puts it

jeans- Butter, top- RVCA, sweater- Abercrombie and Fitch, flats- Ellie Tahari, glasses- Dior

Treasure Island Flea in San Francisco

Ok, I just got the email about this fantastic flea market that is held at the end of the month- February 25 and 26. It sounds fabulous and fun, so of course I had to share it with you here. Im a sucker for a good flea market and I'm sure many of you are too. If you are a member of Guilt Group you can buy a pass for two for only $20 and it comes with so many other great goodies, including...

• Admission for two to the Treasure Island Flea indoor pop-up boutique
• Free parking
• Two specialty dishes at featured food purveyors (chef’s choice)
• Two vouchers for $5 off a single purchase of $25 or more at participating exhibitors
• Two glasses of Ask Alice wine (rosé from The Winery SF, Revolutionary limited edition series), to be redeemed at The Winery SF exhibit
• Two vouchers for $2 off a single purchase of a bottle of wine, to be redeemed at The Winery SF exhibit
• One voucher for two wine flights (with each flight featuring four different wines to taste), to be redeemed at The Winery SF located behind building one

Hope to see you there. XO

Oh for the L♥ve of Louboutins

I don't know why I am so in love with these shoes. Maybe it's the exotic designs or the beautiful materials and colors... orrrrr maybe its the sky high platforms or the fabulous red sole that just screams "you need to look at my feet now!" Whatever it is that makes these shoes so coveted; has obviously caught up with the rest of the world. Everyone from celebrities, to executives to fashion bloggers have been seen in the famous red sole.


I just got the new Marie Claire March issue and there is a great article about the man himself, Christian Louboutin. I also got the new Rachel Ray magazine and its full of great DIY projects. One, I like in particular is a paint project for painting the bottom of your shoes. Even if you wouldn't want to paint your shoes red in order to try and pass them for the famous brand. It's still a fun idea for spring- bright colors are all the rage right now.  wow, using that phrase makes me think of the 80's. Well, they say fashion always repeats itself, so I guess I'm keeping all my Spice Girl shoes.

Please enjoy this great article, but don't let it "inspire" you to embezzle money and buy a few pairs at Neiman's. you'll understand once you read the interview 

Have a great 3 day weekend everyone!! Yay for Presidents and Banking. xo




Marie Claire spread





Rachel Ray article





Valentines Day

I hope you all had a wonderful valentines day. I thought I'd share some photos of my evening... plus I'm wearing my new dress from Forever 21. I have never been one to shop at Forever 21 but I always admire peoples clothes when they're wearing it. So instead of going to the store and dealing with a mess, I shopped their website- super easy to use and has a convenient pairing system with other items. love it

our table at the wine bar

The boyfriend and I went out for a glass of champagne down the street at this adorable wine bar. Then we walked home and I wined him and he dined me. And Boy, did he make a good dinner. He grilled lobster tails and rib eye steaks. We also had Brussels sprouts and of course a cupcake after dinner. We shared a bottle of Conundrum- white. Light, air-y flavor with sweet undertones. I thought it went great with our surf and turf. yum!



delicious butter spread for the lobster



me, figuring out that the cap was a twist off... not a cork

supper time

just because I'm girly



dress-Forever 21, necklace-Dogeared Good Luck charm, belt-vintage,
tights-nordstrom, shoes- Nina, bracelets- Hawaii and Garage Sales



I stole the idea for the flower from her.





Cupid shot me...

Happy Valentines Day <3

A conveinently placed street sign



New sugar lettering from Michaels



I know they say that this holiday was made up by the candy company and Hallmark- so that they could sell a lot of sappy cards. But to tell you the truth, I like this phony Holiday. I like having sweets and planning time to spend with my better half. Even though we don't go all out and buy each other life size stuffed animals and pay too much for a bouquet of flowers- we still play into the tradition of having a valentine.

I made some Red Velvet cupcakes tonight for my sweet heart because they are his favorite. I have tried like four or five times to made red velvet from scratch but to no avail I have failed each try.'Till one day I stumbled upon the Dunkan Hines mix, well actually my sister told me to buy it, and it stomps out the competition. Numerous times it has been mistaken from home made... and I didn't correct them, oops!



Makes 24 Cakes



For a little Valentines Cupcake surprise.

Make the cakes like the directions say on the box. Fill your paper cups.

In a bowl. Take 1 8oz. packet of softened cream cheese.

mix in 1 egg, 2/3 cup of Brown sugar, 1 cup flaked coconut.

Mix everything and then spoon some into the middle of each filled cup.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

For delicious Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting.

Brown 8 TBSP of butter in a saucepan.Take 1 1/2 packets of cream cheese and one container of store bought cream cheese frosting and mix with butter using a blender. Fill a large Ziploc bag with the frosting and snip an end for the point. Fill each cooled cake with frosting and enjoy with your Valentine or yourself or a friend tomorrow!!

xo Ciao



Ready for tomorrow with Chamapgne.