ch-ch-ch-churros!

on this chilly sunday evening, I have a craving for a churro. here's a photo I took of some churros that we ate (or should I say, devoured) on the street in barcelona last year. I seem to have a thing for fried dough covered in sugar...

bubblegum birthday card

I totally copied this former martha stewart editor's idea for an edible birthday card.  my jack & lulu's stationary ran out, so I reused the box. just printed the message on cardstock & stuck it to the bottom. the bubblegum was $1 at target. cute, easy & mailable. happy birthday to a wonderful friend!

macarons the new cupcakes?

adorable pictures of macrons have been popping up all over the blogosphere. I heard this story on npr a few weeks ago about how popular these dainty treats are becoming, and it made me think… will the macron craze replace the cupcake craze?  regardless, cupcakes will always have my heart.

{thanks to my sweet sissy giving me this book!}

happy birthday, mr. president

{illustration by jim unwin}

 

one of the things I remember learning about george washington when I was little, was that he accidently chopped down his father’s favorite cherry tree with his hatchet (don’t make me sing the song). but when confronted by his father, george responded, “I cannot tell a lie, pa” & confessed to the mistake. supposedly this isn’t even a true story, but nonetheless, I am always reminded of good ol’ george when I see a cherry tree.

my mom is a kindergarten teacher, so of course she made us favors to celebrate washington's birthday when went over for dinner last night. she decorate these little bags with cherries, filled with chocolate-cherry candies, & served cherry pie for dessert. I cannot tell a lie- it was delicious.

 

vancouver winter olympics

robert have I have been obsessed with watching the winter olympics. the men's snowboarding half-pipe on wednesday was incredible. did you see shaun white's new move?

I love what google is doing with their homepage each day. the design is beautiful. I have tried googling for the artist, with no luck (a bit ironic, huh?).

which winter olympic sport is your fave?

top-hat cupcakes

I made these delicious top-hat cupcakes last week for valentine's day. they remind me of the chocolate-dipped cone at dairy queen. the directions are on my cupcake blog if you're interested in making your own.

I judge books by their covers

let's be honest- aren't we all more inclined to pick up a book if it has an attractive spine? I know I am. my mom bought me these beautiful penguin classic books from anthropologie for christmas. I'm pretty sure I'll get around to reading them... maybe...someday. but in the meantime, they sure do look pretty darn cute on my bookshelf.

nothing says "i love you" like fried dough covered in powdered sugar

I'm not a huge fan of valentine's day, because (as cheesy as this sounds), I feel like everyday with robert is special.  but I'm always up for a celebration, so I made the famous café du monde beignets for breakfast. I actually found the mix at world market & just fried them up in some oil. very easy & oh-so-delicious. we closed our eyes & pretended to be in the french quarter. ah... love & fried dough. my two favorite things.

cheers to love!

woldy

on this day, one month ago a devastating earthquake hit haiti, effecting nearly 3 million people. I have been praying for the people of haiti, especially this sweet little boy. my mom and I have been sponsoring woldy for the past two years. he attends our sister church in the region of tiburon (the most western part of the island). as far as we know, all of the people in tiburon are safe, which is such a blessing. maybe someday I will be able to travel to haiti & meet woldy face-to-face.

beautiful packaging

I noticed this honey last weekend while browsing the fresh market. isn't the packaging so simple & beautiful? gotta love helvetica. 

superbowl salsa

besides the commercials, the only thing I really enjoy about the superbowl is the food. I'm the type who would prefer to graze on snacks all day instead of eating one big meal. every year we invite our friend brian over & make all different types of finger foods. the hit this year was this delicious mango, avocado & tomato salsa (found on allrecipes.com). I love the fresh, clean taste of cilantro & it works really well in this recipe. 

mango, avocado & tomato salsa

ingredients:
1 mango - peeled, seeded & diced

• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted & diced
• 4 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & minced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (will help keep avocado from turning brown)
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil

directions:
in a medium bowl, combine the mango, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno, cilantro & garlic. stir in the salt, lime juice, red onion, and olive oil. refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

happy world nutella day!

so apparently today the official world nutella day! perhaps I could celebrate by making one of these 400 nutella recipes. or just eat it straight from the jar. my personal fave is the nutella banana crepe. here's a picture of the one that I ate in nice, france last year. sooooo good.

"nutella is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy."

flouncy crops

I'm pretty sure that these adorable workout pants from anthropologie that my mom got me for my birthday are going to motivate me to work out... maybe. now do they make equally-cute tennis shoes?