Friday, March 29, 2013

5 Things I Love - Amelia Island/Fernandina




Beach walks with my Gussie. Cameron & Rosie are not big on long distance walks.


Plans to visit the Ritz, where we had our wedding reception, for shopping and lunch.




Downtown
Great food, drinks, shopping, and even better memories. 

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Favorite "Low" Calorie Lunch

Lately, Cameron and I have been starting our mornings with a healthy smoothie.
Quick, good for you, and a great way to begin your day on the right track.

BUT...

A little after lunchtime, I am hungry and want something warm.

I recently purchased a stove-top grill pan. Obsessed.

Now I'm a grilling machine.

I grilled chicken a bunch of chicken strips earlier in the week.

I shredded about two ounces of chicken but I think I only used about 1 1/2 ounces.
Weighed it with my kitchen scale.


I put the shredded chicken on top a whole wheat tortilla.


I top it with a 1/4 of a cup of low-fat, shredded Monterrey jack cheese.


Then I put it in a skillet that's been heated to medium-high. I use one of the tops to a pot to melt the cheese and kind of get everything going.

Once the cheese has melted, I place a tortilla on top. 


I frequently check the bottom to see if it's getting brown and crispy.
I flip it once the bottom looks good.


Cook the other side to your liking.


I eat it with two tablespoons of Frontera salsa and low-fat sour cream.


OOOMG. yum.

It's the perfect warm lunch to keep me going.
It's just enough to fill me up but not drag me down.

It's becoming a daily thing.

In love with a semi-healthy quesadilla...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Chess Squares

First time making these and they have been a hit so far!

I asked Cameron what dessert I should make to take to the beach this weekend.

He suggested chess squares. I had never made them before. I was reluctant because I don't usually like to test out recipes on a crowd. 

But I went ahead with, found an easy recipe, and here we are!

Here's what you need:

1 Box of Yellow Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1-8 oz. Block of Cream Cheese
1 Stick of  Melted Butter
4 Cups Powdered Sugar


1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Grease your pan. 

2. Add the cake mix, melted butter, and one egg to your mixer. Mix until dough forms.


3. Use your fingers to press the dough into the pan. 


4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and 2 remaining eggs. Mix until well blended.

I could of just stopped here and ate this stuff. 

Pour it on top of the crust.


Bake for 45-50 minutes. Mine took a little longer but I think it's because I had two pans in my oven. 


Allow the squares to cool completely! Let them sit longer than you would normally think to.

Delicious!

Easy!

Cheap!


Holla!


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Flamingo Fever

Untitled #35
1/2/3/4/5/6/7


Flamingos are popping up everywhere and I am loving it.

Seems they are going to be playing a big role this spring and summer. 

They're pink, happy, and make me think of the zoo or summertime.

Not sure why they make me think of summertime. Maybe because they live in a tropical climate...I don't know.

Seriously, I am dying for the Tory Burch iPhone case.

It's such a fun, girly print. 

Kind of jumping on the flamingo band wagon. 

I even like a couple of good flamingos in a house.












And if you're just REALLY crazy about flamingos, you can turn your baby into one. 



I am loving the flamingo craze and hope to add one or two to my house soon. 


Are y'all loving flamingos too?




Monday, March 25, 2013

Monday's Must Have - New Fave Beauty Products

1. Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Eyeliner 


I have successfully made the transition from pencil eyeliner to liquid eyeliner. Woohoo!

I am very, very pleased!

I have tried several different liquid eyeliners and types of wands, brushes, to apply it with. 

This product is BY FAR the best.

It is so easy to apply and lasts all day long.

You hold this eyeliner like a pen or pencil. It makes application so much easier for me.


This video and a lot of practice also helped me get used to liquid eyeliner.

Now I'm in love with it!




I don't typically have dry skin except for my legs. Especially during the winter after I shave.

I love using Cetaphil after showering or bathing but this stuff helps you out before you even get out of the shower.


I received a sample in my March Birchbox and could not wait to try it. 

I shaved my legs on Saturday using this product. 

You don't have to use a lot. It goes on like a lotion not like foam or shaving cream. 

After I dried off, my legs were SO soft. 

They are still SO soft.

I think it has also helped keep stubble from growing back on my legs too.

I really enjoyed this product and will definitely be ordering more before summer.  

I have never used anything similar to this before so I'm pretty obsessed.

I think you will be too.




Friday, March 22, 2013

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Sally's Festie Playlist

A guest post from my sister/music guru, Sally. 


This playlist was inspired by the recent lineup releases of several festivals taking place this summer that I would die to see. The bands featured on this list are playing either Bonnaroo, Forecastle, Shaky Knees Fest, or Sasquatch. Music festivals are truly a one of a kind experience filled with outstanding music, great vibes, genuine flower children, hula hoop professionals, and delicious festie foods such as arepas and funnel cakes. If you haven't yet packed up your tent and your tie dye gear to get to check out a festival, I highly suggest you do so this summer!







*Make sure you scroll down to the bottom. There are 16 songs on the playlist.\

Susannah's fave: Janxta Funk - The Pimps of Joytime

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Nutella S'mores Bars

Absolutely delicious.

I loooooove s'mores but don't love having to have a fire to make them.
 Using a microwave just isn't the same to me.

Nutella S'mores Bars = Problem Solved

Pretty easy and kind of different type of treat than what would I usually make. 

I doubled the recipe so that I would have enough to share with family and friends.
Don't let the pics confuse you. 

Here's what you need:

1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/4 Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/3 cups Flour
3/4 Graham Cracker crumbs
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Nutella
7 oz Marshmallow Cream/Fluff


1. Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease an 8x8 pan. I used a Pyrex and greased it with butter.

3. Add the butter and both sugars to a mixer. Mix together.


4. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the mixer and beat until well combined.


 5. Add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt to the mixer. Beat until all of the ingredients are well incorporated.

*To make the graham cracker crumbs, I simply put a handful of the crackers into a Ziploc and beat it on the cabinet. 


6. Take half of the dough and press it into the bottom of your greased pan. 
I used my fingers.



7. Spread the cup of Nutella over the dough. 
Spreading Nutella is not very easy so you have been forwarned. 


Try not to let feisty spaniels knock you over while cooking.  


8. Carefully "spread" the marshmallow cream.
Here's a tip: Marshmallow cream does not spread well. Or at all really.
I just kind of "dolloped" the marshmallow fluff on top of the Nutella layer and tried to connect the dollops.
Just do the best you can :)


9. Top the fluff with the remaining dough. I flattened my dough out into smaller pieces with my hands and then laid it on top.

Then I just pieced them together like a puzzle.

Much easier!



10. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins.


Let it cool for a LONG time before cutting it into bars. The fluff takes a while to cool completely and will make your bars very messy if you cut it too soon. 


They were gone in TWO days. TWO days people! 

They are the answer to my s'more cravings.

yum.yum.yum.


Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Mandana's Wedding

My unending love for Rachel Zoe is no secret but I have now fallen hard for Mandana.


Her look is dark, edgy and completely opposite of mine. 

She's the VP of RZ Inc. and she's so fabulous.

I recently stumbled across her wedding feature on WeddingStyleMagazine.com

Ba-na-nas.

"In May of 2009, Peter coaxed Mandana to hop a red-eye for a pilot taping. When he woke her at New York's The Plaza hotel with a gift—a vintage doll—she was overwhelmed. Afterwards a knock portended a startling surprise: Cheeto, who'd been left with a dogsitter, sporting a red bow. Mandana remembers "holding my puppy and my Barbie and freaking out" as she asked Peter, "Why are you kneeling?" She had no recollection they'd swapped embarrassing childhood tales the night they met, but he remembered her obsession: she insisted friends call her Mandarella and dreamed "a boy would propose with Cinderella doll in hand and give her a little dog."


Seriously? That isn't dreamy or anything at all!

Obviously I'm joking. 

Even her proposal was fabulous!

Here are a few pics from the feature.

Click here to visit the original article.

Her dress...........no words.







 A little more on RZ Inc. and Mandana

Mandana's twitter...
A Tour of RZ HQ...
Mandana's career & success...
and more wedding pics from what I think is Mandana's FB page

Happy Tuesday readers!!

I'm back to blogging now. Thanks for your patience!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Be back soon!

Sorry for the lack of posts but I'm taking a little break from Susannah Styles.

I will most likely be back to blogging in the next week or so!

Thanks for your patience!