End of Summer Scones

Oh, scones. You are the food of my childhood tea party dreams. These are best right out of the oven, with a dollop of clotted cream, or a quick smear of softened butter alongside your favorite black tea.

Scones are ridiculously easy to make, and you can substitute this or that when you've run out of something (milk for cream, butter for shortening). I'd never tried layering my scones like this, which I thought was a pretty neat experiment, and they look so darn pretty this way. I had this lonely peach left over a few days after the famers market which was on its way to peach heaven and decided to slice it up and utilize it before it was inedible when I stumbled onto this recipe from joy the baker (everything on her site is just ahhmazing).

I don't know if I would layer the peaches again next time, but I certainly enjoyed the experiment, and they came out tasting oh-so-yummy with my cup of english breakfast when I made them that morning.

No - Nut Maple Granola

No one in my family has it worse than my baby brother Aidan. He is 10 years younger than me, and a twin to my sister Aoife. Unfortunately he suffers from more allergies than any other person I have ever met. Pets, Seasons, Food, you name it, he's allergic to it.

Which is why I decided to make this granola. The poor kid loves the idea of having granola for breakfast, but has to avoid every major brand because they almost always seem include nuts in the ingredient list. Granola is not hard to make, but finding a recipe you like can be a little more difficult.
The great thing about this recipe though is that you can add/omit whatever you like -- which is good if you aren't allergic to nuts.

the stuff: 

3 cups oats
1/3 cup unroasted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
1/3 cup unroasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. honey (or sugar if you really want)

directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees
2. Mix together all  dry ingredients, and in a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients until fully mixed.
4. On a baking sheet use parchment (or a silpat if you have one) and spread the mixture evenly across the sheet.
5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until lightly golden.
6. Once cooled the granola will be crispy, mix in 1/3 cup raisins or dried cranberries (if you'd like) and store in an air tight container (like a mason jar).
7. Serve with milk, yogurt, etc., and enjoy.

*recipe adapted from a house in the hills -- all pictures are my own* 

Who do you know that is allergy sensitive, and what do you make for them? 

Garlic Green Beans

There is almost no side dish I love more than garlic and green beans. It's sort of a classic side dish, and when I started dating my Spanish boyfriend it was on the table at least once a week.

The method for making these is super simple and you can genuinely adapt the recipe for probably any vegetable.

stuff: 
1 lb of green beans (or a prepackaged bag)
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil


directions: 

1. Peel the garlic and thinly all 3 slice cloves.

2. Add a small amount of cold water to a pot (just enough to cover the bottom), add green beans, cover and set to medium-low heat and steam for 10-15 minutes or until beans are just slightly soft.

3. Remove beans from pot and set aside.

4. In a nonstick skillet heat the olive oil until shimmering and add garlic, cooking until lightly browned but not burned, once the garlic is just barely browned toss in the green beans you set aside earlier and sauteé with the garlic and olive oil until the beans are slightly blistered.

5. Remove beans and garlic from a skillet, sprinkle lightly with salt and serve.

A Quick Trip & Labor Day Weekend

Sorry for the week long hiatus!

I just got back from a well deserved vacation to Las Vegas. Originally I had intended to take like a million outfit posts and attempt to dress really stylishly, but once I got to Sin City my original motivation disappeared and the idea of lugging around my DSLR in the high 90°s lost its appeal immediately.

Instead of capturing every moment to share with everyone I decided to sit back and kind of enjoy my vacation a little less connected.

The boyfriend and I lost more money that we would've liked gambling, but got to try some amazing new (to us) restaurants including Gordon Ramsay's Pub & Grill, The Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan, Babystacks Cafe, and this awesome locals spot for burgers Bachi's.

Now that we're home it's back to more (ish) home cooked meals and a month of frugality to recover from the money we spent on vacation.

I hope everyone had an awesome Labor Day Weekend and enjoyed the sun and sales that were going on.

confessions of a conceal-a-holic

Garnier / MAC / Clinique / Tarte

It's true, I am a conceal-aholic. When I look into my makeup bag it tells a story of said addiction. For the most part, I feel like I've tried them all, from drugstore to designer. 

That being said I am not into concealers for their blemish covering powers (that should match your face) but instead for the highlighting miracles they can perform over the rest of my face. 

All of my favorite concealers don't actually break the budget, and run roughly in the same price range. The Garnier concealer would be my absolute favorite if it lasted longer, but I feel like it works best when you're in a hurry and not looking for long lasting full coverage. (I have used it with a really sticky primer (benefit's stay don't stray) which made it last significantly longer, but that is almost twice the work of just applying these other concealers. 

What are some of your favorite concealers?