DIY: Glittery Triangle Manicure

 My mother bought me these beautiful silver cap toe pumps in the perfect shade of mint for Christmas.  They were the inspiration for this glittery triangle manicure...

Base color: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in Mint Sorbet and Art Club Nail Art Lacquer in Silver Glitter

Paint your base coat

Cut painter's tape into small strips and create "X"s on the center of your nail.  This is what's going to form the triangle shape.

Paint the silver glitter into the triangle and let dry.  Gently pull off and...

...Ta Daaa!

Triple Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

  I know your first reaction when you read the title of thisrecipe was more than likely, “EWW!”, but trust me you wouldn’t know these brownies had black beans in them.  The beans cut the fat of a regular brownie in half and add fiber.  Believe me you can’t even taste them.  These are perfect for the days when you want something sweet, but don’t want to do too much damage calorie wise.

Just an FYI I added a 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts and 1/4 cup of toffee bits to the mix.

Make Today Better Than Yesterday...

{photo from under the curtain at The Event of a Thread}
Sometimes the best moments in life are left unplanned.  That’s my motto for this coming weekend.  Having no official plans, I hope to bake, cook, and spend time with my family.  On a rather random note I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.  What do I want to do, what do I want to be, how the hell am I going to get there?  I don’t have all the answers, YET, but I can feel it in my bones things are going to change.  Things have to change.  I never like to get too personal on here, but I just felt like I had to get that out.  That being said I hope you have an awesome weekend and you make today better than yesterday, every day.

Green Monster Smoothie

Like most people one of my New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier.  This is a tough one for me because I LOVE food; cooking it, watching it get made on tv, photographing it, serving it, and of course eating it.  Everything in moderation, right?  I started my day with this healthy and delicious smoothie.  I hope it will even things out on the days I decide to not to make the healthiest of choices.  Here's what you need for 2 servings:

 

2 cups of spinach

1/2 cup 0% Greek Yogurt

1 tablespoon chia seeds

2 cups of almond coconut milk

1 frozen banana

1 tablespoon peanut butter

touch of honey for sweetness (optional)

 

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  You can add in some ice cubes to make it extra cold.

 

On a side note my non-veggie eating husband loves these!
 

The Event of a Thread

 

Last Sunday Chris and I attended Ann Hamilton's installation at the Park Avenue Armory, The Event of a Thread.  We had never been to the armory before.  The atmosphere was straight out of Gangs of New York.  The exhibit itself pretty amazing. If I could only use one word to describe it, it would be whimsical. Ladies in cloaks read from these super long scrolls. You couldn't hear a word they said until you found these random paper bags scattered across the floor of the armory. Inside the bags were speakers to hear the readings. My favorite part of the installation was the swings, duh! All the swings were connected to strings which were connected to this huge piece of fabric in the center of the exhibit. As everyone swung the fabric would move and create these beautiful shapes. We also laid underneath the swaying fabric while listening to the ladies read. It was awesome to say the least. 

 

Polvorones

  I made these polvorones (also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies) for Christmas.  The feedback was extremely positive so I knew I had to make them for New Year’s Eve as well.  Tender, buttery mounds of walnut freckled cookie goodness are tossed in confectioner’s sugar while they are still warm.  This creates a delicately iced yet powdery cookie with the perfect sweetness.  So good, so very good.

Well Hello There, 2013!

 

{Chris and I freezing our butts off while waiting in line for The Event of a Thread}

Happy New Year, guys!  Here’s to positive changes, prosperity, health, wealth, and all the best during 2013. 

 {had delicious Mofongo con Bistec at the Coconut Latin Caribbean Grill}

 {made Momofuku's AMAZING Compost Cookies for New Year's Eve}

 {we passed along mini bottles of Verdi right before the ball dropped}

 {Jada had a little power nap before midnight}

{Happy 2013!}