Thursday, April 28, 2011

a note on leopard

Confession: I’m not a big fan of leopard prints.
I know some girls that live for them. And I’ve seen instances where more often than not people look cheap and trashy. Too much, too much.
But sometimes leopard prints can be fun, funky, and just right.
These shoes have been in my closet for years and I still love them.


Shoes: Mossimo for Target

They add instant fun and interest to any simple, casual outfit.
I can throw on a pair of jeans and a tank and the shoes can instantly make the look feel complete.
And as you can see, the shoes have seen better days. A little faded, but that’s just because they’ve seen so much love! (and the visit of an outdoor bar one rainy night with its floor covered in wet paper napkins. The napkins practically disintegrated into my shoes and it was a bitch to clean. But I digress!)



Tuesday, April 26, 2011

an eat shop love special report: when bananas go bad

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. (and/or add lime and tequila and make margaritas. Just sayin'.)
But when life hands you bad bananas, you make mini chocolate chip banana muffins!
The mini is optional, but they’re so much more fun to eat!



I get excited just looking at them! They’re so darn tootin’ cute!
(and delicious! We must not forget delicious).

Can you tell how excited I am by the abundance of exclamation points you've seen so far?

The husband buys lots of bananas to throw into his protein shakes. Well, lo and behold the bananas started to go bad.
This is where I come into the picture…to the rescue, if you will.
Bad bananas equal good muffins. Period.
The health benefits of cinnamon and bananas are wonderful (lower cholesterol, increased energy, brain power) , the vitamins and minerals are practically endless, and this recipe in particular is low in calories and fat.
They’re just the perfect little healthy snacks.
And delicious! Did I mention delicious??

Mini Banana Muffins
Makes about 24 mini muffins. You can make regular sized muffins, too. This recipe would make about 12.
Make sure not to over mix the batter or you will have tough muffins.


1 cup flour
6 T sugar
¼ t baking soda
1 t baking powder
¼ t salt
½ t cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed
2 T low-fat or non-fat milk
1 egg white
½ t vanilla
Handful chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60% cause I’m obsessed)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl, mix the bananas, milk, egg white and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix - 10-15 strokes at most.
4. Scoop into muffin tins. Drop 1 or 2 chocolate chips into the center of each muffin.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool,. Or if you’re like me, eat warm. I love warm muffins!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

afternoon delight

take a look at this melting beauty!


i almost regretted choosing the double-scoop cone over the single-scoop cup. almost.
after a wonderful day soaking up the rays and playing with the jellyfish at the beach, we took a little walk and grabbed some ice cream at the ice cream club.
the husband went with a coconut and key lime ice cream milkshake that he thoroughly enjoyed. (and let's be honest - how could you not??)
i went with the double scoop in a waffle cone. who doesn't love a good waffle cone?!
scoop #1: mountain mocha. coffee ice cream with swirls of fudge and almonds.
scoop #2: reese's. vanilla ice cream with reese's cups.
it was heavenly!
even though i had to eat it faster than i would have liked due to the scorching sun slowly killing my cone.
and while the cone may be slightly blurry, check out the background of the 100 celebrating the city of ft. lauderdale's 100 years.
lookin' good, ft. lauderdale. lookin' good!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

beachy keen!

While we’re on the topic of color here’s my color-filled beach wear!
Fun! And hot. (Literally).


Shirt/dress/skirt: TJMaxx. Flip flops: Old Navy.

The beach dress was actually a shirt I found at TJMaxx years ago I believe. As you can see it’s pretty ridiculously long in shirt terms. I considered shortening it, but by that point I found it to be a great pj/hang-around-the-house kind of dress. A muumuu for the new generation.
From there it just easily transitioned into a beach dress. The color is fabulous. It’s not fussy and it’s easy to just throw on with some brightly colored flip flops and a towel.
And just to throw in how accepting it is of change, I turned my shirt-turned-dress into a skirt.
That’s right people, a skirt!


A beachy keen SKIRT.
I know you must be thinking “Wow, she’s a genius”.
Well, sometimes, I am.
Time to sizzle and swim!

Also: apologies for the crappy photos. my camera died and so my iphone came to the rescue.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

color blockin'

Gucci? Puh-leeaze.
Color blocking is so 1993.
Just ask the cast of Cool Runnings.



Love it!

Monday, April 18, 2011

the bargain hunt

I cannot walk into a Marshall’s (or in my case the Marshall’s/HomeGoods superstore) without walking out with something.
I just can’t.
As soon as I pass those doors everything is fair game and everything becomes something I absolutely need.
But I need that hot pink flamingo wall décor!
I did not take home the hot pink flamingo wall décor, sorry to say, but I did walk out with a couple of useful and fabulous pieces….at a bargain!
Homegirl loves a bargain.
I’m more a fan of denim shorts for the spring and summer time, as boring as that may be,
but every now and then I love a nice flowy skirt and this one I happened to find at Marshall’s is perfect.


Perfect lightweight fabric that makes it easy to just slip on and head out the door, that lends itself well to the scorching Florida sun and the breezier (as rare as they may be) days.
A breezier day called for a simple white shirt (and my new favorite necklace).




Shirt: Derek Heart via Marshall's. Skirt: American Eagle via Marshall's. Necklace: Forever 21. Sandals: Rampage via DSW.

A hotter day called for a sunshine yellow cami and some wedges.




Cami: Forever 21. Wedges: Italian Shoemakers via DSW

No hot pink flamingo wall decor, but I think I did pretty good otherwise.



Friday, April 15, 2011

my toenails are so bright, i gotta wear shades



toes: sinful colors in i miss you. also, don't mind the little cut on my left toe. beach chair accident..these things happen.

Nail polish of choice: Sinful Colors.
Not only are they available at just about any drugstore and inexpensive, but the colors are just wonderful.
An array of lovely!
And if I may add - they have quite an array of glittery as well. I’m partial to the glittery.
Because when that South Florida sunshine hits those toes, you better hope someone around you has their polarized shades on.
Wa-pow! Talk about a ray of light!
I love that the most: when the light hits and reflects off those bits of glitter.
Loooove it.



Now sure my toesies are slightly reminiscent of grape soda - the most unloved of flavors - but that’s ok. If you can get past that, you my friend, have got some snazzy, sparkly toes.

Ready for their close-up! From left: gorgeous (which I also affectionately refer to as ‘summer skank’ - this color is brilliant in the summer time), ufo, coco diamond, dancing nails, and I miss you.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

decisions, decisions

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: the cookie for people that can’t make decisions!


I actually made, and wrote about these, many moons ago in this blog when I reported that I hoped I had found a recipe that would duplicate a co-worker’s mother’s famous, fabulous baked delights. While I failed in that aspect, I succeeded in finding a great cookie recipe.
These bar cookies (which I always find to be much more fun to eat) hit all the notes you could possibly want without clashing, without overpowering.
Nutty, chewy, peanut buttery, chocolatey, oatmeal-y!
Say whaaat?!




And while I am very anti baking mixes, they really are great when you’re in a pinch or when you’re just too lazy to mix and measure and blah blah blah.
I just want to eat something sweet and ooey gooey and delicious already!
So I made these.
The first time I made them, I added a layer of caramel to duplicate the aforementioned co-worker’s mother’s cookies. This time I just kept it simple with a layer of 60% Ghirardelli chips sandwiched in between .
(I’m a sucker for those 60% chips).
Talk about delicious!
And a perfect treat when you’re stuck in between I don’t know what I want and I want it all.
though I must warn you these pack quite a caloric punch. Eat too many and you'll be rolling around, so I don’t exactly recommend eating the whole pan in a sitting. But who am I to stop you? These are highly addictive.

Peanut butter Chocolate Jumble Bars
Adapted from Betty Crocker

1 pouch Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup oatmeal
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips (I love Ghirardelli 60%)
1/2 cup slivered almonds (or any nut of your choice)

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Mix together cookie mix, butter, oatmeal, and egg. Reserve 1 cup of mix.
3. Press remaining cookie mix into 9x9 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Add remaining 1 cup mix on top. Sprinkle with almonds.
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

These are super delicious warm out of the oven or completely cool. Maybe I'll go bake another batch right now. I'm kidding.
Maybe not.


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

necessities




Take a look at those babies!
Sparkly! Sexy! Fabulous!
Christian Louboutins they are not.
Let’s be honest here - my broke ass can’t afford Christian Louboutins.
But my broke ass can afford these gorgeous Steve Maddens that I happened to luckily snag in the DSW clearance section for $40.
$40!


Time to go out on the town and flash some leg!
And hopefully not eat the pavement.

Monday, April 11, 2011

right to bear legs


And arms.
And whatever else.
Spring has sprung!
And with it has come the time for shorts and tank tops and skin.
Granted, as a South Florida girl, yes I could have worn shorts back in January, but it just didn’t feel right.
The rest of the country was covered in snow and I was out frolicking in a pair of shorts?
I’m not that much of an asshole.
Besides, it got substantially warmer once spring hit. The past couple of days have been scorching hot. Skin has been begging to be flaunted, tanned.
These shorts are one of my favorite items in my closet right now.



shorts: forever 21. shirt: charlotte russe.

Talk about fabulous! In all of its high-waisted, pleated glory!
Every time I wear them I feel instantly chic.
Possibly man-repelling, but when I wore them out the husband thought they were great. He also compared me to a soccer mom. I shot him a look that made him wish he had never ever said that.
But I digress.
If you’re a curvalicious lady it can be hard to pull off high-waisted anything, but I think these work for a couple of reasons: the dark color slims the bottom half and the belt accentuates the waist.
Win-win!
And so perfect for spring.
Hello sunshine!