Post Holiday

We all know that it is kind of inevitable to gain a couple of pounds around the holidays. But it is also not too hard to take it back off! Detoxes and cleanses don't ever sound very easy to do, but you don't have to do the EXTREME ones. There are many simple ones to do and some of them are only two days. The simplest and cheapest one is just cutting out sugar and grains for a week. The key is drinking a lot of liquid and eating fruits and many many vegetables. Try to drink four 16 ounce water bottles, and two cups of tea a day. Also when you drink a lot of liquid it curves your hunger. A very good tea is "get lost, brand The Republic of Tea" from World Market. It has banaba leaf, cinnamon, and carob which provides craving control. You can also make it fun by making a dinner date for the end of your cleanse and a reward. After the detox is done you feel so rejuvenated and it's needed after the holidays!

The best soup!

I have to share the recipe of the best soup! It is my favorite and my family's favorite as well. It's called Wisconsin Cauliflower soup, don't let the cauliflower part be deceiving you can't really taste it. Here is the recipe, make it and give me feedback. I can promise you will enjoy it!

2 tbsp. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. water
1 can chicken broth (13-14 ounces)
1 head cauliflower, cut
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 c. colby jack cheese, shredded

In a large saucepan melt butter, add the onion and cook 10 min. Whisk in flour and salt, then gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water. Add cauliflower, bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer 15 min. Blend cauliflower mixture on low till smooth texture. Return mixture to saucepan, boil then stir in mustard and cheese. Serve while hot!

P.S. It's also really good as leftovers for the rest of the week!

Simple Christmas

It is so close to Christmas and I know there are some of us out there that still aren't finished with our Christmas shopping and maybe don't have the time. Why not do something simple? Family loves when you make them something for Christmas, I have a couple simple ideas for Christmas gifts to make.

Mason snow globes:
Get some mason jars, Christmas trinkets, sparkles or mini snowflakes, and e-6000 glue.
Glue mini Christmas trees to the lid of the mason jar, let the glue dry, put the water and sparkles/snowflakes in the jar, screw the lid on and flip it upside down.
It is such a fun simple idea.

Making ornaments isn't very hard! You can go to Michaels and get plastic or glass ornaments that you can  paint on and add fun craft stickers to them, they turn out cute.

One  more idea is to bake some fudge and peppermint bark. There are some great recipes for Betty Crocker. Baking is fun and friends will enjoy it! Have fun!

Spring 2012

The Spring 2012 runway shoes were great. I'm really impressed with some of the designers lines. Badgley Mischka is one of my favorites and has a phenomenal line. Pastels are still in this spring and there is a lot in Badley Mischka's line. It also ranges with all different colors and metallic. I cannot express my appreciation for Burberry Spring 2012, it is phenomenal. There is so much range between patterns, textures, and colors, and their all distributed so well. Chanel never fails. This line has such elegance and beauty. There is also a little funk if some of the items but they do it well. Go to this link, every designer's line is avaible to view http://www.elle.com/Runway/Ready-to-Wear/Spring-2012-RTW

Spring brings on the color. It's time for the lighter use of color in your wardrobe. The big in right now is pastels with white, it portrays such delicacy and gives off such a glow. Ann Taylor and J Crew have some really pretty light hues in right now, and if you don't know what to put the items with they always have a stylist in the store!

Dih-lish-uh s

Good morning! I made very good rice krispies last night, my little secret to perfect the simple recipie is to put one less cup of rice krispies in the marshmallow mix and then spread them really thin, they are stickier and delicious! (I was giggling, in the dictonary this is how it tells you to pronounce delicious, [dih-lish-uh s] and when you pronounce it slowly it makes the word all the better!) I would say that I bake too much, but I don't think there is such thing because there will always be someone that is willing to eat. And what better thing to do than share the delectable recipies with others.

I've heard many times from people that they want to do something really badly like learning to play the guitar or learn to sew for example, and then they say, "but it's just to late to start now." We're still young and I feel that it is never to late to start. Why not start something new? Take on a new hobby. There is no doubt that it is hard to learn a brand new thing, but what in life is handed to you on a silver platter? When you conquer something challenging it feels very good in the end, you feel accomplished. And if you don't want to start that hobby by yourself, take on a new hobby with your friend. It's always good to have that extra person with you to keep you going. So go on, try that thing you have been wanting to for a long time. Have fun!

Oh Babe. Babe Paley is one of the best fashion icons of all time. She was not a celebrity but a socialite. Her style is so classy and I sometimes see that runway fashion gets some inspiration from this era. I really like it. The classy and more modest look is coming back, it's great that it's coming back in a modernized way.

Sweet Tooth

Okay I was looking at the blog; yourcupofcake.com (check it out) and I just had to make these cupcakes because they have eggnog in them! I was in the holiday spirit and I love eggnog. That are SO good.

Eggnog Cranberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Spiced Buttercream

Cakes: 1 ½ cup sugar ½ cup butter, softened 3 eggs, room temp 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 cup eggnog ½ teaspoon almond extract 1 ¼ cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon allspice ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1 cup cranberries, chopped

Buttercream:

¼ cup while chocolate, heaping ½ cup butter, softened 4 oz cream cheese, softened 2 cups powdered sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg 2 tablespoons eggnog

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Chop cranberries, or use a food processor, and set aside. 3. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. 4. Add eggs. (You can run them under warm water before you break them to help them reach room temperature.) Mix until well combined. 5. Add vanilla, eggnog, and almond extract. 6. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. 7. Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients. 8. Stir in cranberries. 9. Spoon into cupcake liners and bake for 13-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 10. Buttercream: Over LOW heat, melt white chocolate chips stirring constantly. Set aside until it has cooled for a few minutes. 11. Beat butter and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes, then add white chocolate. Beat again for a few minutes. 12. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, spice of your choice, and eggnog. Beat for 2 minutes. 13. Refrigerate buttercream in Tupperware or a piping bag until stiff enough to frost.

The Beginning

Hello readers. I'm guessing there aren't many of you at the moment or not even any yet! But that is okay because I am just getting started. I have always wanted to start a blog I have just not found the time to start one until now. I am quite excited for this. My blog is going to consist of just about everything because I like to do and try many new things and I like to share my ideas. There will be a lot of fashion, cooking, music, and DIY crafts. It's always a lot more fun to make things yourself, I think. The purpose is to share my knowledge with others who are interested and hopefully learn some things from my readers as well. I really hope you enjoy my blog and come back to read more!

Kelsey Sharae