Weekly reflections 3.2

Happy March!

It's hard to believe a new month is ahead of us, February flew by!  I'm especially excited for March because it's my birthday month and it means spring is near!  I'm so ready for warmer weather, flowers and No. More. Snow.  I love the snow, but this winter has been particularly brutal.  

This past week has not been a very exciting one.  I caught a terrible cold and was pretty much a hermit until this past weekend.  I'm feeling much better and looking forward to my birthday week!

- March words of wisdom 

- lots of homemade veggie soup - soup cure for the win! 

- I celebrated my 1 year of managing this past Friday.  It's been an exciting, challenging, rewarding and at times overwhelming year, but I've done it and I'm proud of myself!  I'm very excited to see what's in store for the future.

-One of my favorite parts of my week was watching my cousin, Arielle, perform in a hip hop dance competition with teams Static Noyze & Project Nailz.  The performances were all incredible - I was I blown away!  It was especially wonderful to spend time with my family.  The highlight of the night was that Arielle's teams won both first and third place! So exciting!!

- Let's be real, I watch the Oscars mainly for the dresses.  These are a few of my favorites.  Cate Blanchett is dazzling in this nude Giorgio  Armani gown.  I absolutely love the simplicity and the icy blue color of Lupita Nyong'o dress.  Her supporting actress speech almost brought me to tears, I always get excited when new people win.  Kate Hudson looks beautiful all the time and this dress is no exeption.  The pleat, the drape, she looks flawless.  I have a list of movies to watch, but I've only made it through a few.  I saw Blue Jasmine recently and Cate Blanchett was incredible as usual.  I also watched Captain Philips, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time.  If you haven't seen these I'd definitely recommend them.

- oh Ellen, you always make me laugh. Best dresses award 2014.  She should host all award shows - along with Tina & Amy of course!

Have a wonderful week!

Xx Sara

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate are a match made in sweet tooth heaven.  They're the perfect mix of salty and sweet, rich and creamy.  There's just really nothing that compares.

That is, until now.  Move over peanut butter there's a new nut in town - almond butter.  I may or may not have a slight obsession with almond butter.  I put it on my oatmeal, in smoothies... Pretty much anything I would eat with peanut butter.

I just bought a jar of almond butter and was craving cookies (duh) so obviously I decided to make almond butter cookies with chocolate chips!  I stumbled upon this recipe and it looked so easy I had to give it a go, sweet success!

Currently Coveting - Birthday Edition

Hello & happy Wednesday!

With my birthday next week, I've been doing online 'window' shopping more than usual.  Spring is just around the corner and I'm being drawn to color - especially pastels.  Here's a round up of a few things I'm currently coveting.

bag // blouse // dress  // dress //

 bag // necklace // planter // polish 

 // candle  //necklace // jar // book

Smoothies

Lately I've been craving smoothies like crazy.  I've been having one every morning next to flat bread with almond butter or eggs for breakfast.  They're energizing and keep me full until lunch.  Maybe it's because it's been so cold in the city & I've wanted something fresh & fruity and smoothies do just the trick!  I like to add chia seeds because they're high in omega-3's & fiber, plus they give a bit of a nutty crunch.  I add spinach to most of my smoothies but didn't have any on hand at the time.  I've been experimenting with different flavors and here's a round up of a few I made last week.

Weekly reflections

Last week was full of fun activities!  During the winter I tend to hibernate and not go out that much, but it was really wonderful to catch up with friends & family.  Cheers to bundling up and being social!

- I started off the week trying out a new recipe - apple, leek & butternut squash gratin, yum!  The recipe was from the "Meatless" cookbook.  It was especially delicious the next day for breakfast with an egg on top!

Life Happenings

Wow the weekend really flew by and now it's already Tuesday.  I almost forgot yesterday was a holiday (retail life, sigh)  I just figured it was like every other Monday until I realized the buses were on a Saturday schedule, and running 20 minutes behind - nothing like being rushed on a monday morning.  Oh well, nothing a big toffee latte couldn't fix (and it was my 10th one so it was free!)  I wanted to slow down a little bit before another week passes and take a look back at a few of my favorite things that happened last week.

1.  Wedding planning with Kelly - and having a blast in the photo booth.

Almond Coconut Macaroons

I love cookbooks.  When I'm at a book store the first area I check out is the cookbook section.  I read a few recipes and check out the pictures.  Once I actually buy a cookbook,  I read the whole thing cover to cover - including the introduction.  I love reading about different ingredients, how to measure certain things and new techniques.  I've acquired quite a few cookbooks in the last few years, but the really special ones are gifts from people who rave about their cookbook, and want me to try out a few of their favorite recipes.  

Recently, my Aunt & Uncle sent me the Standard Baking co: Pastries cookbook.  They know my love of baking & told me this was their favorite bakery in Portland, ME.  They recommended the fruit & nut granola bars -- which look absolutely delicious.  After reading though the cookie section, I saw a coconut macaroon recipe that I just had to try.  Macaroons remind me of my brother because growing up, we'd try to sneak them into our grocery cart every time we went to Henry's Market -- along with those champagne cookies with sprinkles.