Things I Love Thursday

My kitchen, I am so excited for summer sunlight to fill it late into the evening

Suicide doors, on any and all cars but especially a Cadillac

My baby girl niece Lottie, the newest addition to our family

Remington, my parents' pup

Old pictures with my bff from high school, we were babies!!!

Totally Jelly

I'm obsessed! I made a new flavor while experimenting: mango jalapeño. It came out so well. We had a departmental breakfast in my office this week and the jellies were a huge success. 

I'll be trying new flavors soon and plan to see how long they can sit out. I'm going to make an empire out of them! Ok-not really but I do want to sell them. 

Jammin'

I made some jelly today. It's so simple and much better for you than most store bought brands.

Ingredients:

Frozen fruit of choice

Chia seeds

Maple syrup (if you want it sweeter)

Put fruit in a pot on medium heat

Cook it down so it defrosts, breaks apart the fruit and becomes syrupy

(it can take between 10-20 minutes depending on fruit/pot size)

Once syrupy, add 1/4 cup of chia seeds

Stir and put in a container

Refrigerate for 2 hours

Things I Love Thursday Friday

Tofu bowls from Beachwood Cafe

'68 Comeback Special leather

Flowers at work

Daily hike sunsets

My Viva Las Vegas cupcakes from Duff's Cakemix



Things I Love Thursday

Marty Robbins' western songs

Experimenting with new foods

Jacarandas in the spring (on my daily hike)

Family photos from Bro & Arin's wedding

Non chemical cleaning solutions

Biking LA

I have been trying to get out on my road bike lately. It has been a great opportunity to see different areas of LA that I wouldn't experience if I was driving. I found my way to the LA River Bike Trail after a friend recommended I check it out and it was an awesome ride. I biked from Silver Lake to Burbank with a beautiful view on one side, and a freeway on the other-typical LA life! I exited the trail in Glendale and found myself exploring small suburbs like the equestrian estates in Burbank Rancho. There were beautiful old homes from the 40's & 50's, horse crossing signs and a large, relaxing park. I also went by the Disney Animation Studios and passed some restaurants that I want to go back to try!

On the way home, I road through Franklin Hills. I had driven past the small neighborhood sign a couple times and thought it would be fun to see what the area was like. I don't recommend trying to bike it, it was made up of really steep hills. Once at the top though, the houses were old and the streets were sweet with tons of character. There was an old estate on the top of the hill names Pendragon Haven that I desperately wanted to sneak up to but I didn't.

I ended up riding just under 20 miles. It was a great afternoon. Then I made a vegan carrot cake. :) What would be a good workout without a bunch of calories afterward?!

Homemade Hummus

Leading up to my move, I spent all of my time packing, sorting and organizing my life so it didn't leave much time for the little things I love. This past weekend was the first in a while where I was able to relax and enjoy some downtime! I hiked, checked out a new church and played around in my new kitchen! Hummus is my current snack of choice; it's easy to make, vegan and really good for you. Here is how I whipped it together:

 hand mash chick peas

tahini

(mix a small amount of tahini paste with water first to create a dressing consistency)

lemon juice

olive oil

water

sea salt & pepper

a hand mixer to make it creamier

  

I enjoyed it as an afternoon snack. It is great plain but I added garlic and soy Parmesan to spruce it up. You can also try: pesto, cayenne pepper, ground jalapenos or bell peppers, tomatoes and more. If you experiment with flavors, let me know what you throw in it!

I also made a red velvet cake.....definitely not vegan!

Note all the milk glass...OBSESSED.

Bad Bargaining!

I have been looking everywhere for a mixer for baking. I had found one that was in great condition at a Goodwill. It was in the original box and I was surprised that someone had gotten rid of it. I asked a staff member if it was used and he proceeded to break down all of the price tag terms. (Stupid me for asking, ignorance is bliss right?) If an item there has COD on the tag, it is new and most likely came from the Target across the street. Most COD items are donated if the packaging is torn, broken or if an item was returned and could not be resold in their store. So this meant I wasn't able to buy the nice, new mixer in the ugly box.

My search continued until recently. I stopped at a yard sale this past weekend and scored some things I had been looking for, one of them being a mixer! It is in good condition but dusty. I was able to test it out before buying it and it works like a champ! I also found some other great items and couldn't help but grab them. While looking through everything, I was given a box to hold on to all of it! By the time I had looked thru everything, I had almost ten items. I asked the owner how much it all added up to and realized she clearly was not a bargainer because she offered everything to me for $5.00! I'm sure most people would consider some of the stuff I picked up as junk but everything was in good condition, items I either collect or wanted for my kitchen and definitely worth more than $0.50 each..so my stupid response was "$5.00?! No way!!! I'll give you $10.00." Who does that? I negotiated up. So I ended up paying $10.00 for everything that could've been half the price. Oh well, I would have felt really bad if I had taken her up on the offer and what's $5.00 more right? Right.