The BEST Irish Coffee

I really didn't find the time to write any Thanksgiving posts, so today I'll try to make up for it. We absolutely love Irish Coffee, probably because we are obsessed with whiskey and Bailey's (preferably together)! These are pretty over priced at most restaurants, so we went to Costco and bought huge bottles of both. ;) We also found a set of coffee mugs for $1 each, at Ross (talk about a bargain).

We try never to skimp on our coffee, grinding only as needed and freezing the whole beans to keep them super fresh. Adam and I love World Market & Trader Joe's coffee best, as both are really yummy and affordable. Also, we don't own a coffee maker, we press it each time and I promise you, with these 3 steps (freezing, grinding, pressing), you will absolutely taste a difference and may even obtain a new appreciation for the stuff! So here are the proportions we found to work best for Irish Coffee:

Pour yourself a healthy cup of coffee. Add 1 tablespoon of whiskey (we use Jameson because that's what the Irish do!) and 1 tablespoon of Bailey's. Top with whip cream. (you can make your own using heavy cream which we didn't do in the photo below, but have before). There you have it. Super easy, the proportions taste just perfect, definitely not too strong but just right. This just reminds me of the holidays so we've been drinking it most Saturday mornings for the last few weeks now. Hope you like it too. :)

current playlist

It's a rainy Sunday here in San Francisco today. Crock pot dish cookin as I type, and a little bit of cleaning is what I'll be doing. Here are a few songs on my playlist.... Enjoy :)



Create a MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Apple Crisps

   These are such a healthy and easy snack. All you need are apples and cinnamon, bake at 250 for 2 hours, maybe more, since not all ovens are exact. Be sure not to slice the apples too thin, as they will burn and cook much quicker than the rest. Cut out the center core, sprinkle cinnamon and bake!
   As always, I try give credit back to the original blog when it wasn't my idea. BUT, I have been searching everywhere and can't find the original recipe! Silly Pinterest, with all it's recipes that we love so much;) Some call for a higher baking temp for a shorter time or white sugar to be mixed with the cinnamon. I will admit that this is harder than it looks and I attempted this 3 times before getting it right. Here are a few hints that I wish I knew first: *Don't slice too thin, even though some recipes suggest to. Mine burned right away and cooked much faster than the thicker slices. *Don't add butter or even oil... it burned mine almost instantly, and that just adds way more calories. *I didn't add any white or brown sugar, as apples are sweet enough and cinnamon is pretty overpowering. (And, I'm a dental hygienist).

And I promise they taste much better than they look ;)

fav things

*Necklace/Earring hanger I bought in Barcelona. Just the right amount of color ;)

*Moroccan Oil- This is an absolute Godsend. It makes your hair smell like you're on a tropical island and keeps it's super soft after you straighten. I apply it before I blow dry and after I straighten for shine;) 

*Bio Oil- I watched an interview by Jessica Alba when I was in high school talking about her flawless skin. She said her secret was to simply apply oil to her body every single day after she took a shower. Go look at her skin and see how radiant and healthy it always looks! She didn't give a specific brand (I know Neutrogena is much cheaper and works well), but I love Bio Oil. It claims it works against wrinkles, stretch marks, scars, dehydrated skin, and uneven skin tone. I wipe it all over my body every single time I get out of the shower, and sometime blot it under my eyes before bed. It's especially good in place of a lotion, to be rubbed all over your hands. They age quick, you know!

* Silver bracelet from the North of Africa. Our 2005 trip to Tunisia, Africa to be exact. I bought this for the equivalent of 50 cents for me and a girlfriend; it goes with just about everything;)

*Nirvana Candles~ they come in lots of scents, sizes, and encouraging words. I have a couple on my bedside table and if you light a few, it's just the right amount of light for reading. 

Shabby Chic

Excited to show you all our new purchase! There are only 2 items of which I have spent a lot of money on, but felt 100% happy and satisfied I did. There is nothing worse than splurging on something way too over priced, not being able to take it back, only "sorta liking it", and living with the guilty feeling of "I never could have afforded that in the first place, WHY did I buy it?", and now you're eating rice until you get paid again. Well, this is the 3rd item I've spent that was probably a bit 'out of our budget', but that I know I will take to every home we move to, and will keep forever:

I've had my eye on these 2 side tables for our bedroom at my fav store, for at least 3 months. When I went back to find them about a month ago, Donna the owner, told me they were already purchased and on hold in the back. Well, last weekend, Adam and I saw them in the window again and got really excited but I knew they were out of our price range (the pair for $400). We went in anyway, looked around, and decided we really couldn't spend that much. So today, a week later, we went back and saw them still sitting in the window. I told Adam how much I still loved them and could picture them in our bedroom. Adam decided to bargain with her since we have already spent so much money in her store, his girlfriend really loves them, blah blah. Well, it worked! She took $100 off . She informed us that the woman who put them on hold, never came to pick them up, and that she felt they were meant to be in my hands since she could tell how much I wanted them. Sometimes it's hard to not let money get in the way of something you really love, but we decided to cut back on other things in order to make the splurge. I hope to be able to distress furniture as well as this artist did, but we sure did a good job HERE, when I go back and compare. If you're a shabby chic loving person like me, good luck in your search! Try inputting "shabby chic" in your craigslist search and see what you come up with... we have had good luck with that too, but that's another blog spot.... ;)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Our rainy and chilly Friday night included us eating a delicious bowl of chicken tortilla soup, Adam playing "Call of Duty" (his bday present to himself;), and me blogging and sipping on pinot! Sounds pretty perfect to me. This soup is so yummy and super easy, but you'll need a crock pot. We finally bit the bullet and bought an 8 quart for around $60, which is about middle range. There are so many recipes you can do in this thing, we are obsessed!

I knew I wanted to try making chicken tortilla because it's always been one of my favorite soups. After searching on Pinterest and google, this recipe came up the most. So we gave it a try and it was amazing. Yes, AHHHHmazing. Click on the link for all the ingredients and how to make the tortilla strips. We started ours when we woke up, went out and ran errands, and it was done it about 7 hours when we got home. We added a mexican cerveza to the mix, from Trader Joes, appropriately called Trader Jose's. Enjoy!

getaway

   It's been awhile since I just rambled, so tonight is the night. (Lucky you)! I don't know how many times I've wandered off into lost thought about dropping all of my priorities and taking off. Escaping and making a drastic change of scenery to a place I've never been and where no one knows my name. My absolute dream would be to spin a globe around in a circle and lightly drag my finger on it until it stops; booking that plane ticket wherever I land. (As long as it's nowhere near the middle east or North Africa, Nepal-ish area, or North Korea of course;) I'm sure I could x-nay a few more countries where single women should not be traveling alone, but you get the idea). No cameras would be allowed, because this trip would be for my memory only. A journal would be the only way to document anything, and when I got home, I wouldn't share it with anyone. As you can see, I've mapped this out a few times.

   I'm so fortunate to have a man who allows me to have these far fetched ideas while still knowing how much I love him as well as holding onto his own confidence. Our bond is stronger than anything and he knows there's nothing that could ever break us. Adam gives me a sense of security, confidence, comfort, and just that feeling that "we can do anything as long as we're together". I'm blessed, and thank God every single night of my life, for giving this perfect man to me. None of that takes away however, the pure fact of just how independent I really am. I'm extremely self sufficient and have never had the feeling of dependence on another person. My parents taught my sister and I to be strong women and that "no man will make you happy, if you're not happy first!" I have found a world of truth in that.
   I have no problem going to a bar in the middle of the day, ordering a drink and sitting alone with a really good book. (cough cough -aussie land)! I have definitely hopped in my car while being bored, with absolutely no where to go, listening to my favorite CD, while heading north on PCH 101. Being totally alone is a necessity for me, and a part of me that I enjoy tapping into at times.
   Although my getaway plan is highly unlikely to happen at this point in my life, it is still fun to get lost in day dreams. But we think it's really important for each of us to have our space and alone time, not referring to girls or guys nights, but just being totally solo. There are heaps of things you can figure out about yourself when both your computer and cell phone are turned off. A book, or a walk to a new place, no music or distractions... now I'm going into my happy place again. Where's yours? Try a media off approach. We've made a pact to start doing this once a month, for at least a couple hours. May sound odd to others, but to us, we're actually really excited about it. :)

DIY: Floating Vase

This is by far one of the most practical DIY projects for our apartment! I have 2 cats, just over a year old, with an insane amount of energy. Every time Adam brings me home flowers, the cats will ALWAYS knock over the vase or chew on the petals. I was blog-browsing one day and saw this from one of my fav sites. So, I made it! It took less than 5 minutes and cost less than 5 bucks!

First, I found a piece of scrap wood at the hardware store. I had some paint lying around but didn't really like either color, so I mixed a dark greenish with an off white.

I dry brushed (barely dipping the brush in paint and wiping off most of it, to get a light dry coat), the wood piece sloppily. Dry brushing dries really quick, and I wanted some wood to show through.

Center a mason jar in the middle of the wood and drill 2 holes on either side. 

Wrap metal wire around the lip of the jar a few times until it feels snug. Slip the wire through the 2 holes and secure it in the back by twisting it really tight. Cut excess wire.

Drill 2 more holes on the top of the wood and slip wire through them, creating a hanger. I just twisted the wire to secure it in place and it worked. Find a wall in your house that needs a little color, and hang!

Remember, you can click on the photos to enlarge them:)

Happy DIY-ing!