Another Gorgeous Inspiration Board

this is the definition of the word *pretty*

did i mention it has THREE of my most favorite things: figs, peonies (again), and emersonmade!

{*via postcards and pretties}

My Peony obssesion continues....

{via A Creative Mint}

4th of July Collage

{have a very happy 4th of july}

michelle made one too!!

Dinner: Peruvian Chicken and Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers!

alright friends.........I know I ALWAYS say this........but this recipe is the BOMB.COM!!! Seriously, I'd eat this every day! My dad sent me an amazing recipe for Peruvian chicken....and my roommate Ktbo has been requesting it ever since!

I finally decided to make it for our final roomie dinner at current 5501 roommates - and omg, I'm so glad i did! Let me add that it was not without struggle, I went to FIVE stores to find these ingredients! I went in and out of creepy Latin stores, with no luck. Finally, I found them at Grand Mart - a hugeee international market store at Seven Corners (for you Arlington, VA people). So, my advice you would be to A)if you live in an area with a lot of Latin people, call your local Shoppers B) find an international market nearby!

Here is the recipe:

Peruvian Chicken (for use on bone-in chicken, boneless/skinless chicken, wings, steak...anything really)

Either in a Large Ziploc Bag or any container - combine the ingredients below (feel free to add more or less where you feel necessary!)

**I made 8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts - so I added a lot more of each**

2 Table Spoons - Aji Amarillo - Yellow Hot Pepper Paste (more if you want them spicier)
2 Table Spoons - Crushed Garlic
1 Table Spoon - Huacatay Pasta - Black Mint Paste - THIS IS THE KEY INGREDIENT, and naturally, this elusive paste is by far the hardest to find!!!!
1 Table Spoon - Montreal Steak Seasoning - I forgot this ingredient.
1 Tea Spoon - Cumin Powder
1 Tea Spoon – Oregano - I forgot this ingredient, too.
Cup - Olive Oil
Cup - Goya Mojo Criollo (you can get this at most international isles (Teeter, Shoppers, Giant)

below are the three super-latin ingredients:

Marinate overnight for the best flavor.


Grill the chicken for the best flavor! be sure to put foil underneath (not sure why, but my dad said its necessary.) I'd give you grilling advice, but I have none. I have ZERO grill skills, my roommates did this for me. Look it up.

Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers (a la Chef Kate - my roommate! I live with a chef, be jealous)

Ingredients:

1. 14 Jalapenos
2. 10 or so sweet small peppers (I forget what they are called, sorry!)
3. 4-6 oz shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
4. 1 small container reduced fat plain cream cheese
5. 1 small container reduced fat (if possible) goat cheese
6. 4 or 5 chopped sundried tomatoes
7. chopped basil
8. 1 pkg of bacon
   

Combine ingredients 3-7 and stir into a thick paste.

Use a knife to open the jalapenos vertically as shown in the picture. remove ribs and seeds (so necessary). Insert mixture into a piping bag (or for those who dont have that, cut the tip off of a ziploc, works the same) and pipe into the jalapenos. Wrap each jalapeno in bacon (also so necessary). Place 4 or 5 at a time on wooden or metal skewers. Grill for about the same amount of time as the chicken. Be sure to place foil down so the cheese/bacon fat doesn't melt into the grill/catch on fire. Get a good char on the outside of the peppers and Enjoy!

chef kate all ready to put those babies on the grill!

Lessons learned:

• cheese melts into the grill
• jalapenos are hit or miss - some were too spicy to eat - even for the more adventurous roomates - stick with the sweet peppers in the future
• bacon fat causes fires, and reduces down too quickly, use foil

and for those who like dippy sauce for your chicken and french fries and literally anything you can get your hands on:

Peruvian dipping sauce (my way):
4 tbsp of lowfat mayo
2tsp aji amarillo
juice of 2 or 3 lemons
1/2 tsp of cumin
s&p to taste

combine all. dip away :)

Jewelry Organization: Obsessed

currently obsessed over this wall hanging jewelry organization - its such a pretty way to display your gorgeous jewelry (and to remember what you have!). I'm inspired...if I can find the proper frames, this is definitely a project in my new future!

*via LoveObsessInpsire

Day 4/5: Brazilian Keratin Treatment

disclaimer: if you get sick to stomach easily, go away now!!
I present to you, Day 4 of not washing this Keratin shit out of my hair.....


seriously. after i took these, i went inside to my parents house and my mom told me to put a towel down on the couch if i was going to lay down. it.was.THAT.gross. uuuuughhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

But now, Day 5 - I am very happy! I took a shower two hours earlier than I was supposed to last night (fuck those two extra hours, I was SO grossed out that I couldn't take it anymore) - my hair has a VERY soft wave to it! It blow drys in like 5 minutes AND its not frizzy!!!!!!! Miracles DO exist! today I wore it straight to work and its SO soft, and so pretty, and so not frizzy!! I'll try to take a pic of the results tonight when I get home!!

yayyyyyy for BKT - after four days of HELL - I definitely think it was worth the money. Still debating about it being worth four days of filth, will get back to you after further research :)

Day 3: Brazilian Keratin Treatment

ew. let me show you in pictures:
it would have been fine and dandy if i could have washed it that evening.

but no....JUST WAIT for day 4.

You are...

{via Brown Button}

Happy Monday!

Day 2.5: Brazlian Keratin Treatment

alright folks, my hair is as smooth as a baby's butt. but it's greasy. I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled with the process.

I thought that I had done enough research (no hair behind the ears, no ponytails, no braids, no headbands - aka ALL of my go-to's for dirty hair), I was under the impression that you can't wash your hair for 72 hours. Fine. I'd manage.

Little did I know, it was 96 hours. NINETY-SIX HOURS?! I DO NOT live in a third world country, nor am I trekking across the dessert with a messy bun. My hair is down. in my face. in my FACE.

And I still have until Sunday night to wash it! uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

On a better note, I am really impressed with the results so far. It's humid as hell here in D.C. and I'm totally happy with how frizz-free my hair is!!!

I'll take pics tonight and show you the greasiness in all it's glory :)

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs

Glee Season Finale = big night at 5501!

Clearly, I had to make something special. Little did I know, not only would this be special, it would be THE EASIEST THING EVER!!

If you have a 24-tin muffin tray, you're golden! So Simple, seriously!

I found the recipe here* on Gimme Some Oven and eyed it (by eyed it, I mean DROOLED over it) for days! Seriously, EVERYTHING I see on that site makes me hungry! I just love her blog!

Pepperoni Pizza Puffs Recipe
(Adapted from GimmeSomeOven)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 4 oz. reduced fat mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) - I used 4Cheese Italian, delish!
  
• 4 oz. mini turkey pepperoni, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely diced.

Method:

Preheat oven to 375^o. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and oregano; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Warm the pizza sauce, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Do yourselves a favor, and make these :)

Brazilian Keratin Treatment: Today!

HI long lost bloggy friends! Apparently, I don't have time to step up my blogging game, but I am trying to, I promise!

Today I am getting Brazilian Keratin Treatment in my humidity-stricken, curly, frizzy, crazy D.C. head of hair. I am SO excited and SO nervous! Normally, I am not one to complain about my hair, considering how much I REALLY love it (ask anyone, I touch it way too often, and tell people i'm having a good hair day more often than not in the fall and wintertime) However, the summer time has taken its toll on my soft, usually shiny, curly locks so I figured I'd do something about it this year!

I'll be sure to take pictures (thank god I have two cameras, got a litttttttle too drunk this past weekend and misplaced one of them...i will be getting it back shortly :) judge away) and share with you my adventures over the next 72 hours of not washing my hair - sick! - as well as the results! Can't wait!

wish me luck!

Obsessed! ::headbands::

how adorable are these sequined flower headbands?

buy them *here at Old Soul New Heart

Corn and Tomato Salad

so many amazing salads have been in my life recently - summery and refreshing :)

This one is one of my own creations including everything I loooove:

package of frozen corn (you can also use corn cut off the cobb, grilled corn....your choice!)
1 or 2 packages grape tomatoes, halved (or you can use a normal tomato, diced)
1 or 2 red onions, diced
1 bunch of basil, in a fine chiffonade, or just roughly chopped in my world
lemon juice of 3 lemons
3 tbsp red wine vinegar (you can also use rice vinegar!)
s&p to taste
optional: fat free feta on top!

place all ingredients in a bowl and toss! so simple!

gaaaaahhh, i could eat this all day, every day.

Snap Pea, Radish and Goat Cheese Salad

this was sooooo refreshing! I suggest you make this yourself for a crisp, healthy snack or salad!

Snap Pea, Radish and Goat Cheese Salad
adapted from *here

A package of frozen sugar snap peas, trimmed and thinly cut on a slight bias
A couple radishes, shaved thin
A handful of mint leaves, cut into a fine chiffonade
A small package of goat cheese (i used low fat)
A few tbsps of rice wine vinegar
A tbsp or two of evoo
s&p to taste

Happy Monday!

dang, i have been seriously lacking at all things creative and post-able recently!! This week i need to get back on it!

Last week - I made some DELICIOUS middle eastern turkey meatballs with a creamy tomato sauce and Israeli (not to be confused with the extreme real-life issues they are having.) couscous! I hope to be able to share that recipe with you guys this week!

Here are some pictures to start your week off right:

{i've been seriously craving nutella on french bread}

{pretty balloons for a pretty monday morning via *brown button}

Happy Weekend!

Happy summer weekend, my friends!! Enjoy it!


picture and what looks to be an amazing drink recipe via *design*sponge

GORGEOUS Summer Palette

wow, this color combination immediately brightened my already sunshiney day! Enjoy!

via *postcards and pretties

T-O-T-S! TOTS! TOTS! TOTS!

Came across this today - the recipe for the best.drink.ever. --- The TOTS Rail

Heaven in a cup for about $9 dollars :)

Gin

Vodka

Bourbon

Triple Sec

Rum

Whiskey

Sprite

Cranberry Juice

Grenadine

Sours Mix

Ice Cubes

(add a little redbull and it's AMAZING)

Insert ice into a 24 oz cup. In cup, mix Gin, Vodka, Bourbon, Triple Sec, Rum, and Whiskey using the 2 count method. Add in a ½ cup of Sprite and ½ cup of Cranberry Juice. Add Sours Mix for taste and a splash of Grenadine. Insert straw into cup, stir, and enjoy!

Cupcake in a Jar

This idea is adorable and great for people on-the-go with their cupcakes :)

(via *cakies)