Thursday, August 30, 2012

Try this! Honey-caramelized figs with yogurt

As much as I love yogurt and granola for breakfast, sometimes it can get boring.  Plus, John Stamos has been encouraging me to try Greek yogurt for awhile now, so I figured it was time to change it up.  I found this recipe for Honey-Caramelized Figs with Greek yogurt, that was simple and only 163 calories.

I cut two figs in half and placed them cut sides down into a tablespoon of honey.  The honey caramelized before the figs did, so I ended up having to add another tablespoon.  About five minutes later they were perfectly done.

Beautiful and delicious!
I added a couple dollops of Greek yogurt to a bowl and added the figs.  I chopped up some pistachios and sprinkled them on top with a dash of cinnamon.

I loved the color-palate used for this dish.
Instead of drizzling honey over it to finish, I spooned the caramelized honey from the pan.  It was infused with the fig flavor and added a special touch.

Gooey, tangy, salty and sweet.
While I'm not totally sold on Greek yogurt, I'm glad I gave it a try.  I think I'll test this recipe out on regular plain yogurt, or even on ice cream.

What new foods have you tried recently?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Maine-iac for the weekend

Over the weekend, I road-tripped up to Maine with my family to visit colleges for my younger sister, which we obviously turned into an excuse for a vacation.  We spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Ogunquit lounging at the pool and beach, visiting all the adorable shops and feasting on lobster. 

Our three favorite places to eat in Ogunquit are The Egg and I for breakfast (it's family run and always busy - great food and great atmosphere), The Rose Cove Cafe for lunch (they make all their own bread, which is delicious, but is even better when they pile on chopped lobster for a roll!), and The Ogunquit Lobster Pound for dinner (self-explanatory).

We spent Sunday in Bar Harbor, again, just perusing shops and enjoying the beauty of Maine.  We enjoyed a final seafood dinner on the water at the Fish House Grill before visiting colleges on Monday and heading home.

It was a low-key and lovely vacation - a perfect way to end the summer!

Our view for lunch when we first arrived in Ogunquit.  What a welcome!
Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine.
There were dozens of sailboats in Bar Harbor.
Basically my diet for the weekend.

What was your favorite trip that you went on this summer?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

De-potting products

Makeup can get expensive, so I use my products until there's absolutely nothing left.  Tubes make that a little tricky though.  I've been running low on my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer and wasn't sure how to get out the product that I knew was hidden in there.  Luckily, my sister is my go-to source for makeup questions and she suggested de-potting it (a.k.a. busting the container open like lobster to get to the good stuff).

I cut off the bottom of the container with a knife because I was sure there would be some at the bottom.  Sure enough, there was and I used my application wand to scoop it up.

Obviously well used.


What the cut looked like.
Popped!
Then, I used a screw driver to wiggle the stopper out of the top.  Again, I used my wand to reach in and get out the rest of the product.

I'll be all set for another few months!
I knew that I would get a bit of product out of doing this, but I had no idea that there would be this much.  Thinking about how much I would've wasted by just throwing this away blows my mind!

P.S.  If you don't use eyeshadow primer already, go out and get some!  I thought it was unnecessary when I first heard about it, but now I can't put makeup on without it.  It prevents creasing, improves pigmentation and helps your makeup last all day.

What are some of your makeup tricks?

Friday, August 17, 2012

All fired up about paint your own pottery

I love painting ceramics so much that my first job was working in a paint your own pottery studio.  It's such a relaxing, easy activity and you have so much to show for it afterwards!  I went with my mom about a week ago and painted a flower pot, while she painted a small box.

Here are the finished pieces:

It reminds me of Starry Night.
The base for my flower pot.
Some stencil work.
Which activities relax you the most?

The problems with mini golf

I love miniature things.  In addition to being cuter than full-size items, they also have a knack for making you feel less guilty.  For example, mini Snickers are totally healthier than the full-size bars.

My favorite mini obsession though, is mini golf.  It's just like real golf... kind of, so it counts as exercise... kind of.

Always using the smallest putter.

Unfortunately, my family and friends are always a hard sell when it comes to planning mini golf outings.  I was able to persuade my dad and sister to go with me last night, but fear that we won't be going back any time soon.  I can't say I blame them because as much as I love mini golf, there are several problems that need to be addressed.

Bugs
Mosquito bites are the casualties of summer fun, but being swarmed is just not okay.  The decor of a majority of courses would actually look good with some citronella tiki torches, so why I've NEVER seen one is astounding.  In a perfect world, mini bottles of bug spray should be handed out, but that's just me being a diva.

Lights
I love mini golfing at night once the temperature and humidity have gone down.  The only problem is, how am I supposed to hit the ball when I can't see it?  Most courses only have one or two street lights to illuminate the course, when that's simply not enough.  Again, tiki torches.

Water
If you're going to have water on your course, then do it right or don't do it at all.  Murky lagoon water is an eyesore and a probable breeding ground for bugs.

Fabric
I can only describe one of the holes last night as psychedelic regurgitation because of the patchwork of fabrics used to replace holes, etc.  Just replace the whole thing.  It can't cost much, plus we all know you overcharge us anyway.  Even as a mini golf superstar, I struggle to overcome all of the seams when trying to play courses like that.

I think we'll go bowling next time.

What are some of the best and worst mini golf courses you've been to?

Monday, August 6, 2012

Tasty three day detox

I love feasting on grilled foods during the summer as much as the next person, but lately I've been feeling a little bogged down from all the meat I've been eating.

I'm an avid reader of Whole Living and while browsing old issues I came across the Three-Day Action Plan Reboot (to start of each new year the magazine features a three week detox plan).  I decided to try it and get my August started off a little healthier.

Photo courtesy of Whole Living.

The three meals remained the same each day, which made preparation really easy.  You can just make a big batch and divvy it up each day.  There were also several snack options to add in, which made it a little less boring.

Breakfast consisted of a strawberry, apple, grapefruit and ginger smoothie that was fantastic.  The combination of sweet and tart fruits worked really well with the zing of the ginger to wake you up and leave you feeling full until lunch.

However, lunch was not my favorite.  It consisted of a beet, avocado, arugula, cucumber and celery salad that was pretty difficult to force down.  The purpose of such a dense salad was to sustain you until dinner but it just felt like too much.  Plus I'm not a big arugula fan, so next time I might try it with spinach and see how it goes.

The delicious dinner got me through lunch though.  Dinner, was a carrot, spinach, green bean, dill and lemon soup.  It was a bright, warm end to the day that filled you up just enough to give you a cozy feeling.

I definitely felt refreshed and lighter after my cleanse this weekend.   Hopefully I can start making this a more regular habit.

What do you do to reboot your healthy habits?