Friday, November 30, 2012

{2012 holiday gift guide}

Happy Friday Everybody! 
 
Can you believe 2012 is almost over and the Holiday season is officially upon us? This year, I've been making a list of potential Christmas ideas all year long so I would be fully prepared come the Holidays. I thought I would share my picks in case you are looking for that perfect gift yourself.
 
 

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

{what i want wednesdays}

Namaste, Y'all!
 
With the Holidays just around the corner, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for winter (does winter even technically happen in Houston?) duds, pretty holiday hosting pieces & glam accessories to get me through the season. Here's whats been catching my eye lately:
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What are you craving this winter?
 
 

Thursday, November 22, 2012

{giving thanks}

Happy Thanksgiving To All!

Today I'm {especially} thankful for...
 
my darling husband and his mad turkey cooking skills
 
silly moments with my sister
 
a happy, healthy (and hungry!) fur-child
 
patient, culinary artists in the form of sister-in-laws
 
co-workers and friends who will wake up at 6am to run the Turkey trot with you if you bug them enough...
 
quality family time
 
and food!!!
 
 
 
 
What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

10 things you should know about puggles...


1. Puggles are ALWAYS hungry - as in will go to serious lengths to obtain food if they think there is even the smallest chance that it could be in their bellies.

  
2. Puggles are half-monkey. The puggle, whose legs are only about 8 inches tall, and whose bellies are at least 2x that in circumference, can easily defy gravity. Jump from the floor to the dining room in table in one nimble hop? No Problem-o! From the counter to the top of the refrigerator? Easy Squeezy!
 {exhibit a}

3. Puggles LOVE to sleep. In fact, not much wakes them up, especially not their parents trying to move them off of pillow at 3am. Nope, out like a light.

4. Despite puggle trait #3, puggles can hear a refrigerator opening from anywhere, even if they are in the deepest of slumbers, in the backyard mid-pee or passionately trying to find a place to hide their bones {so the humans don't steal them!}. And they will literally stop EVERYTHING to go find out what exactly the human is doing in the fridge (refer to puggle trait numero uno).

5. Puggles are masters in the art of selective hearing. Unless there is food involved, you can bet your ass that Cooper will not sit, stay, lay down or stop howling. In fact, most times, he pretends to not even know his own name when you're calling for him. And if you yell a command from somewhere not directly in his line of sight, he will even go so far as to come up to you to see if you have food or not before he chooses to obey or ignore your command.

6. Puggles are scared {terrified in fact} of random inanimate objects. It’s really quite a spectacle when in the middle of a jog, the hair on the back of your puggle's neck stands up, he starts growling, then howling, then attempting to run in the opposite direction to avoid said object. This can be a trash bin, grill, neighbor's kid's tricycle, anything that he's seen 100 times before but this time decides is definitely evil.

7. Puggles hate photo shoots. Really, in all pictures of the puggle his face clearly says "I hate my humans. Please save me from this ridiculous form of torture from the flashy, click-y thing before I lose it"

8. Puggles LOVE anything furry & fuzzy. Don't wear fleece to my house unless you plan on being seduced by my dog. He will literally make eyes at you, prance back and forth in front of you so you can see the puggle goods, snuggle up real close to you on the couch and then, when you least expect it, grab your fleece covered limb with his puggle hands and begin unapologetically humping the daylights out of you. Not even grandmas are safe.

9. Puggles are very good at training their owners. Cooper has figured out where meals & treats come from, and when he gets them. So now, anytime the puggle decides it's meal time, he sits by the pantry (where his bag of food lives) and barks. Anytime he decides he wants a treat, he puts himself in his crate and howls. How did this happen?!?

10. Puggles are the sweetest, cuddliest, most adventurous and loveable dogs on the planet! Even those who "aren't really a dog person" have admitted to missing Cooper when they left. (Unless they were wearing fleece, in which case they should have read this post before coming over).



Sunday, November 18, 2012

Skinny Banana Nut Bread

Yesterday, I found myself with several browning bananas, cooler weather outside {finally!} & a sudden urge to bake (this doesn't happen often for those of us who are domestically-challenged). In true fashion, I headed over to my go-to for the skinny version of  ordinarily not-so-skinny-jean-friendly recipes, and I was not disappointed! I did substitute regular flour for whole wheat, nixed the vanilla and used 1 less banana. The (slightly) altered recipe is below.

 
Low Fat Banana-Nut Bread
 
Ingredients:
  • 6 ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp butter, softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 3 oz (3/4 cup) chopped walnuts
  • baking spray

Directions:
    Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 8x5 inch loaf pans with baking spray.

    In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

    In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, and apple sauce and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

    Add flour mixture and walnuts, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

    Pour batter into loaf pans and bake on the center rack for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

    Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.
 
Results:

 
 
I must say, this was pretty dang easy to make, and tasted fantastic! J ate 3 pieces before I told him it was the healthy version and he hadn't noticed at all. Score! Check out the original recipe here.
 


And so it Begins!

Namaste, y'all!
After many, many hours of reading {and loving!} so many wonderful blogs, I figured it was high time to start my own.
 
For those of you who don't know me, I'm a 27 year old enthusiast of all things beauty, fashion, nutrition, fitness and travel related. I'm a wanna-be professional pet photographer/yoga instructor {I admit it!}, real-life marketing professional, wife, friend, daughter and puggle mother.

I'm married to the most adventurous guy I know, J, and we have an equally adventurous - albeit mischevious/devilish/hungry(!)/so-wrinkly-and-cuddly-that-he's-forgiven-too-easily - puggle named Cooper.

I believe in having a zest for life, laughing as much as possible, living & loving thoughtfully and purposefully, being thankful for everything beautiful in your life and striving to be the best version of yourself possible on a daily basis.

I'm still searching for that version, but I see her most often when I'm on the yoga mat, laughing with my husband or creating something new. So I try and live there, in those moments, as much as I possibly can.