Labor Day Bucket Listing

Last year, as Summer drew to a close I shared my bucket list of activities I wanted to tackle before the weather turned cold. In honor of Labor Day in just a few days (tear) I'm bringing you my 2013 list. This version is based off of last year's but only includes the things I really enoyed and/or didn't have time do accomplish. I know it's often hard to make time for summer fun with work, family and life responsibilities but with summer dwindling down, I'm making it a priority. So without further adieu...

Bucket List 2.0

• Have a beach bonfire (a long shot)
• Annual Lewis family trip to Rye Playland
• Eat chocolate italian ices, the real kind
• Go kayaking 
• Spend a day on the high line
• Ride a city bike along the hudson path
• Watch a movie outside
• Have a picnic in the park
• Swim in a lake

What have you done this Summer? Do you feel like there are still Summer activities left undone? It's not too late! Get out there while the weather is still warm and knock those items off your list!

Because you're all dying to see my summer in snapshots, here are a few that make me smile:

  

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend, see you on the other side!

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#trending

As I prepared to write this post I got to thinking...what is considered a trend outside of the fashion world? That's typically where my mind goes whenever anyone mentions, tweets, or hashtags anything to do with trends, trending and the like. To answer the question I turned to my trusty advisor, also known as google, and came up with the following: Trend- The general direction in which something tends to move. Ah, that narrows it down... not! 

So, with ambiguity looming large, here are 3 trends I'm happily moving with this season.

1.  Pumpkin flavored everything. Yes, everything. From latte's (Starbucks' seasonal version can't hit stores soon enough), to candles, to muffins to pies I'm seriously lusting over this Fall Super Spice. 

            

 




2. Nail polish galore. For those in the know, cue anyone with eyes, nail polish has been a hit for the last few years. With Fall, comes new hues, new must haves and new no-no's. One Fall nail color I absolutely love (and wear almost weekly from September through November) is one that goes, dare I say, beyond the confines of a trend and into "classic" territory; Wine, Marroon, Burgundy (po-tay-toh, po-ta-toe). A few of my favorite shades? Wicked, Material Girl, Carry On (all by Essie of course)-  do it, it's necessary.

3.  Large frame glasses. I must say I was a skeptic. I always liked how these statement eye pieces looked on others but when it came to myself, I was jussssst fine sticking with my minimalistic banana republic specs. That is until our dog Lia had herself a little glasses snack. Lia 1; Sari 0. Needles to say, on my glasses replacement trip when it came time to check out I had a rather large frame in my hand. 

Good hair days beg to be documented

Enjoy, and remember: be a pumpkin, wear dark nails and get huge glasses. Life lessons from yours truly.

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Monday Blues

After a long week, the weekend is a welcomed respite from powerpoint decks, travel budgets, event planning and timesheets. But all too often, the 2 days fly by giving way to a Monday morning that beings with one too many snooze buttons and the mumbling of "I don't wanna go".

This cliche was all too true for me this morning. Last week crawled by like a turtle with no where to go and this weekend, while wonderful and filled with family, went by much too quickly.

So, with that said, I'm rounding up a recipe for Oatmeal Cream Pies that I plan to make this coming weekend (wishful thinking much?) when Josh and I head up to the Berkshires to hang with his parents. 

This recipe comes from a fantastic blog, Kitchen Belleicious, where I often find inspiration for homemade desserts that rival their store bought counterparts. The author has recently gone gluten free, which tugs at my heart strings and makes me love her recipes even more. This Oatmeal Cream Pie recipe is pretty straightforward using classic ingredients such as rolled oats, butter, and brown sugar but when combined, are out of this world. This recipe calls for wheat flour, so to alter it and make it Sari-tummy friendly I'm going to substitute with Oat flour (fingers crossed).

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cream Pies (adapted from Kitchen Belleicious)

Ingredients

For the Cookies

• 1/2 cup oat flour plus 2 tbsp
• 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour plus 2 tbsp
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 cups old fashioned cooking oats
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter, unsalted, at room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Cream Filling

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper
• Whisk together flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in oats. Set aside
• Using an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix well. Gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring until well combined.
• Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets (about 2 inches apart so they have room to spread)
• While the cookies are baking, prepare the filling. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until combined. Then, increase mixer to high speed and beat until light and fluffy.
• Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on pan for 2-3 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.
• Once cool, spread about 1 tablespoon of filling over the bottom side of half of the cookies. 
• Top with remaining cookies so that they form sandwiches and the bottoms are facing each other (and the filling).

Labor day is definitely bittersweet for me. As I previously mentioned, I LOVE summer, and while labor day brings new adventures, the promise of pumpkin spiced lattes, leather jackets and scarves it also marks the close of the official summer season. As we bid adieu to white pants, prosecco, cheap raspberries, and longer days some will be celebrating, I'll be sobbing in the corner eating one of these:

Photo courtesy of: Kitchen Bellecious 

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Ramblings

10 random thoughts to carry you into the weekend.

1. This blogging three times a week thing is hard, like really hard.
2. I'm totally obsessing over these at the moment

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Sandwiches a la Erica's Sweet Tooth

3. Golden retrievers are awesome. Fluffy, friendly, amazing.

4. Josh and I are having a movie night with Velveeta tomorrow and I feel a little bit like this about it

5. Confession: I don't wear socks when I run

6. High School was the best 4 years of my life. Judge on.

7. I ate a whole roll of bubble tape by myself last week

8. I need new sneakers (see number 5)

9. True story. I'm addicted to ice cream

10. I never set my alarm to a round number. 7:12, 8:14...you get the idea

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Falling for Fall

I know I'm a day late with my first ever trends post (so I'm my mother's daughter) but it comes with a snazzy blog make-over so get over it.


Now, before you chastize me for wishing away my all time favorite season, read on.

I'm a Summer girl through and through. I live for warm weather, iced coffee, sun dresses, deeply tanned skin and flip flops. Not to mention no makeup (see deeply tanned skin), weekends at the beach, pedicures, cocktails with hints of citrus, and the endless number of evenings outside.

That being said, I can't stop the changing of seasons. Trust me- I've tried. I've tried to hold on to Summer not letting the leaves change but every year without fail, Summer slips into Fall. So what have I learned with all of this hanging on i.e. denial? When Fall arrives I'm never prepared and I always hate my closet.

So in the spirit of learning from my mistakes, I'm soaking up every bit that's left of Summer but also preparing for when my sleeveless dresses look a tad out of place and my flip flops are forced to be retired.

Here are 3 trends I'm adding to my closet in preparation for Fall:

• Leather Infused Pieces- Leather made a big debut last Fall and while many were afraid of how far to take it (or how long it would last) with this year's September issues in full swing, and Leather a star, I'd say it's here to stay. I'm loving the look of leather mixed with other fabrics and textures. (1. Zara, 2. Piperlime)

                         

                             

• Studded Flats- Flats are a Fall staple. When it's too cool for sandals and too warm for boots, I always reach for flats. My problem? I only own two pairs (ok, two I'd actually wear). I'm aiming to change that this year and I'm loving the look of studs to add a bit of an edge to an everyday shoe. (1. Gilt (Sale has ended), 2. Sam Edelman for Piperlime, 3. Piperlime)                  

• Short mixed-texture jackets - You heard me. Everywhere I look, structured jackets stare back at me. Online, in store windows, off the pages of look books; From Gap to Nieman's, they seem to be the season's hot commodity. These jackets are the perfect way to add a flare or pop to an outfit and many are very affordable. Note to self: pick-up mom's houndstooth version from home closet.     (1. H&M for under $50, 2. Intermix for a pretty penny)

                   

          

So there you have it, three of my must have trend for the impending Autumn season. I could go on, but frankly, my photoshop skills are not good enough to add any more trends #rookiebloggerproblems.

Check back in tomorrow for an update on life, love and the pursuit of happiness.

xoxo

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Recipe Roundup

Good afternoon! For the first installment of Recipe Roundup I figured I'd go with a classic. I'm an avid baker, always looking for a new recipe, new tip or trick to take things to the next level. I often find inspiration on pinterest and have collected more than a few dream worth recipes (if you're interested you can check them out on my Decadently Devine board here). Although I wish I had all the time in the world to sift through these recipes and actually bake them all (gasp, sugar overload!)... I don't. So, in deciding what to bake in my tinycrampednostorage darling kitchen, I try to go with a mix of recipes that feature unique ingredients or combinations, something with a wow factor or a basic that will improve my "classic" arsenal.

This weekend I opted with the latter. While I'm a diehard Toll House girl, their chocolate chip cookie recipe never quite does it for me. They often wind up too thin, over baked (no matter how under-time I cook them for), and a bit lackluster.

In perusing the world of pins a few weeks ago I stumbled across a recipe promising to be the most chewy and delicious recipe out there. I knew I had to try it.

Since yesterday was a rainy Sunday, it was the perfect day to give this recipe a whirl. A quick look in my cabinet revealed that I didn't in fact have everything needed for this recipe so I hopped to the store and immediately set to work.

I found the recipe on pinterest, but it's original comes from a baking blog I truly admire Sally's Baking Addiction. I doctored the recipe just a bit (duh) and the end result is to die for. The cookies are light in color, super thick, chewy but not overly so and give a nod to the best part of cookies: the dough.

Here is the recipe with my adjusted proportions.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract



Photo credit: Sally's Baking Addiction

• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

• Combine the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until no brown sugar lumps remain. 
• Add in the egg, then the egg yolk. Finally, add the vanilla. 
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon. Cover the dough and chill for 2 hours (don't skip this step).
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease two baking sheets- set aside.
• Roll the dough into balls, about 2-3 Tablespoons each. Roll the cookie dough balls so that they are taller rather than wide. Put 8 balls of dough onto each cookie sheet.  Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. 
• They will look soft and underbaked (light in color). They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
• Try not to eat them all! But if you do, it's ok I wont tell anyone. 

Enjoy! If you try them, I'd love to know what you think, what you liked, didn't like etc. I'm always looking to improve "perfection".

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Structure...we all need it. We don't always like it.

Happy Monday loyal followers. Over the weekend I started to think about all the ways my life (and I) have changed over the course of the year and half that I've been writing. I've moved twice, I'm no longer single, I've changed careers and I've officially entered my "late" twenties. With these personal changes, it seems only fitting that my blog make some changes as well.

With that being said, I've decided to add a bit more structure to my posts. I'm going to try and post 2-3x per week on a variety of topics. The schedule I'v landed on is as follows:

• Mondays: Recipe Roundup. Food inspiration that's got me itching to cook.
• Wednesdays: Trends I'm Trending. Fashion, food, exercise, decorating..you get the idea. All things trendy that I'm hitching my wagon to (and think you should too)
• Fridays: Weekly Musings. Life happenings, trip recaps, family drama...the works.

This will be the best kind of structure, I promise.

Can't wait to see you all later for this blogs first installment of "Recipe Roundup". 

Xoxo,

Sari

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