bayside picnic

I've wanted to take a little bayside picnic all summer, and last night we finally made it happen (complete with wine!). I'm ready for fall, but not ready for the shorter days. Summer sunsets are the best.

In the next two weeks, Tommy and I are moving and I'm feeling both inspired by the idea of a new space, and sad to say good-bye to this one. This house is the first place we occupied alone together, and it's bittersweet to leave that behind. But hey, this is life and you gotta keep moving. Let's go, let's do this. 

Ice Cream Sunday: Peaches & Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Woah, it's Sunday already? I don't know about you guys, but the past week flew by. I have a feeling the month of August as a whole is gonna be a whirlwind; Tommy and I are moving at the end of the month, and we are going to Bumbershoot music festival on our official moving day. Crazy? Maybe.

But I digress. Let's get to the ice cream. I have been meaning to try making ice cream with cream cheese for a while because I love me some cream cheese frosting. I think it adds just the right amount of tang to super sweet frosting. I figured these tangy-delicious properties would translate perfectly to ice cream, and I was correct!

To me, simple cream cheese ice cream sounds perfectly acceptable and awesome. But, that is kinda boring and I had a few peaches just waiting to be baked/layered with cheese/made into something not really healthy. Well peaches, I didn't let you down...meet cream cheese, honey and whole milk.

I'm not even a huge peach person, and I'm tellin' ya, this ice cream is really good. You can probably use other sweetener if you don't have honey on hand, and vanilla extract will work just fine if you don't have vanilla paste. Also, make sure your peaches are nice and ripe, that juice is gonna make a huge difference as far as the sweetness goes.

Huh, you still don't have an ice cream maker? :). I use this one. Having an ice cream maker doesn't mean an automatic gain of 10 pounds...I made frozen yogurt a few days ago, and it was awesome! Get ready for some frozen yogurt next week.

Peaches & Cream Cheese Ice Cream
4 ripe peaches, skins removed and cut into slices
1 cup milk (I used whole)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tbs. honey
2. tsp vanilla extract or paste (I used paste)
dash of salt

1. Place peaches, milk, and cream cheese into a blender and blend until smooth. Add honey, vanilla and salt, and blend until fully combined.
2. Place mixture into the fridge for several hours until chilled. Once cold, place mixture into your ice cream maker until the texture of soft serve.
3. If you want the texture of ice cream, transfer ice cream into an airtight container and place in the freezer. Freeze for several hours, or overnight. Enjoy!

Hoagie!

Oh hey, is this thing still on? 

Oops, I took a little blogging break. It was a combination of being super busy for the past four days, then feeling super lazy and tired afterwards. But I'm back, and I've got some super cute puppy pictures to make it up to you, haha. 

Last Saturday I drove down to Bremerton to visit friends. I was excited to see them of course, but also really excited to meet Hoagie, my friends new black lab puppy. He was full of puppy energy, and oh so adorable. He is pretty smart as well, Hoagie brought in the huge Sunday paper! 

Oh goodness...I need a puppy now.

Ice Cream Sunday: Green Tea and Almond Ice Cream (Dairy Free)

When I had mono during my last year in high school, all I wanted were green tea flavored things. My diet consisted mostly of green tea ice cream and Arizona green tea. After this green tea binge, I had to take a break from it for a while. To this day, Arizona green tea is just yuck. Green tea ice cream on the other hand? I'll take all you got. I don't think I'll ever get sick of it!

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you probably already know my obsession with green tea. I made a post about all matcha things, I made these green tea cookies with almonds and white chocolate chips, and a green tea coconut latte. So of course I had to make a green tea ice cream!

I decided to go the non dairy route and used coconut milk which gave the ice cream just a hint of coconut taste. I also added almonds, because I really love the flavor combo of almonds and green tea. So yummy. You can't really tell from the photos that almonds are in the ice cream, but believe me they are there and they add a great texture.

Green Tea and Almond Ice Cream
1 can coconut milk
2 tbs. matcha powder
2 tbs. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract or paste
2/3 cups shaved almonds

1. In a small saucepan, add coconut milk and matcha powder. Use a whisk to blend slightly, and turn on the heat to medium. Whisking frequently until blended (mixture will blend easier as the coconut milk warms up).
2. Add honey and vanilla paste or extract. Taste and add more honey if desired (I like mine not super sweet). Transport to a small bowl, and place in the fridge until completely cooled (I recommend overnight).
3. Add mixture to ice cream machine and mix until the texture of soft serve. Add almonds and let fully incorporate. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer for several hours or until hard. Enjoy!

July in Review

One more month of summer down, one more to go! I'm trying not to wish August away, but I'm ready for fall already. A few leaves on a tree in my yard have begun to fall, I can't wait! In the meantime, I'm gonna soak up as much sun as possible. Here is a little look back at the month of July!

Lots and lots of ice cream! This month I made chocolate nutter butter, raspberry and rosemary sorbet, avocado brownie and kahlua chocolate chunk with a caramel swirl. 

Celebrated the fourth of July at Tommy's parents house with lots of good food and relaxation. 

 Played around with a bleach pen and made some super cute triangle shorts! 

I shared my asian chicken salad recipe, which is by far my favorite summer salad. So tasty and fresh.

While on the topic of delicious, I also made this peach, brie, basil and bacon sandwich. Is there anything better than melted brie? Let me know if you find it!

Tommy and I went camping, and I made lots of s'mores using candy.

I wore some polka dots, of course!

Listening:  Even though he is a narcissistic jerk, I can't stop listening to Kanye's new album. So many good songs. 

Watching: Tommy and I have been rewatching Breaking Bad in order to get ready for the next (and last!) season. I'm so excited for the new season to start, it's gonna be so intense! 

Reading: Finally finished A Dance with Dragons, and also finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It's the book that Blade Runner was based on, and it was super interesting. If you like sci-fi at all, you gotta read it!

Instagram // 1. Love my new rug! // 2. Super cute teacups while thrifting. // 3. Atticus loves laying on  my storage cube...he fits so perfectly!// 4. Yay, berry season! // 5. Roses from the yard. // 6. Felt so good to dip my feet in the lake at Tommy's parent's house.

A Few Favorite Posts:

Spoon Fork Bacon // Grilled Peach and Burrata Crostini 

Trends with Benefits // DIY: Dip Dyed Shoes

The Kitchn // How to Make a Pie from Start to Finish

Brit + Co // 16 Fun Photo Backdrop Ideas for Your Next Party

Joy The Baker // Ritz Cracker Ice Cream Sandwich

PopSugar // Artificial Sweeteners Explained

Who What Wear // 10 Shopping Sites Insiders Don't Want You to Know About

Free People Blog // Voluminous Hair in 4 Steps

A Cup of Jo // 10 Surprising Things about Parenting in Japan

Curious Forks // Summer Blueberry Galette

Kale Ricotta and Feta Pie

I've been on a huge kale kick lately. I love making salads, sauteing it in the morning with an over easy egg, and putting it in my smoothies. It's definitely a veggie that grows on you, when I first tasted kale I wasn't crazy about it...now I'm trying to put it in everything! And thus, kale and ricotta pie was born.

Savory pie definitely gives conventional, sweet pie a  run for its money. While of course sweet pies are awesome, savory pies can be eaten in the morning (this pie is awesome with an egg on top for breakfast), for lunch and dinner. It's a super multi-tasker. And even though it's full of cheese, it's also full of kale which is super good for you. One cup of kale has 684% of your daily vitamin K...684%!! wowza.

For this pie I used my trusty store bought pie crust. I know, I'm a terrible food blogger. They are just so easy and fool proof! I used low-fat ricotta, but feel free to use whatever kind you like. It turned out so yummy...I'm actually gonna go have a slice of this right now!

Kale Ricotta and Feta Pie
Pie crust (I used store bought)
6 cups fresh kale, washed and chopped
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
2 tbs. olive oil

2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 eggs
Cherry tomamtoes
1/2 tbs. basil
1 tsp. rosemary
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large frying pan, add olive oil, garlic and onion and cook over medium heat until onions are soft. Add kale and balsamic vinegar and cook until kale begins to wilt slightly. Be careful not to burn the kale! Turn off heat and cover.

2. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and eggs. Add basil, rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Fold in feta cheese and parmesan. Add cooked kale.

3. Prepare pie crust in your pie pan. Pour ricotta mixture onto pie crust and smooth with spatula. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, and push them into filling (inside of the tomato facing up).

4. Cover pie with foil and place in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until crust has become golden brown. Uncover pie, and cook for another 10-15 minutes, checking on it every so often so curst doesn't burn. Let cool for about 1 hour before cutting.

My Style: Black, White & Stripes All Over

Blouse: Kensie (Macy's)

Skirt: Tee by Big Star (Macy's)

Necklace: Francesca's

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

There are a few reasons why I could never be a "real" fashion blogger. One of them is all my stuff is usually bought on sale, so it's tricky to link back to items. Also, I just don't think I have enough clothes. I would be really interested in seeing fashion bloggers closets...they must be huge! But the main reason is dressing up in cute "blog-worthy" clothing
everyday must be exhausting! I've gotta have jean and t-shirt days every now and then.

Oh, and one more thing. Sometimes it's just weird to see an outfit on your body in pictures. I feel like a picture gives a pretty good representation of how people see you, which can be a little surprising. Sometimes what I thought looked good in the mirror suddenly doesn't look quite as flattering, or the opposite! Any other fashion bloggers have this experience?

It might sound a little boring, but black and white is one of my favorite color combos to wear. It's just so easy and makes mixing patterns really simple. I'm also a huge fan of pops of color, and black and white outfits set that up perfectly. What are you favorite color combos to wear?

Ice Cream Sunday: Kahlua Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl

If I don't have my coffee by 2 pm, I usually get a headache and experience an overall lack of motivation to do anything. Yes, my name is Amanda, and I'm a caffeine addict. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, but believe me, I have no intention to "fix" this problem. Sorry, not sorry.

Coffee is simply necessary, and I will not apologize for that. Coffee flavored anything, and I'm totally on board.

Coffee ice cream is brilliant. Kahlua is just genius.

Wait, Kahlua ice cream? Oh lordy.

Wait, wait...there's also chocolate and caramel? Let's do this.

Okay, yes...these instructions look really complicated. I swear it's not hard, this ice cream just involves making a few different components. Basically you need to make the custard, the caramel sauce (you could always just use store bought caramel) and you have to chop up the chocolate chunks. See, not that hard. You're totally capable! Let's make some awesome ice cream.

**Just a little side note, this ice cream never really got firm, and I'm guessing it's because of the alcohol in the Kahlua. It was still delicious, but was soft and melted fairly quickly. If you want a super hard ice cream, this may not be your thing.

Kahlua Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl 

Custard:

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup kahlua

6 egg yolks

2 large tablespoons instant coffee

1/2 cup sugar

Caramel Swirl (Recipe adaptedfrom Food Network)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup half-and-half

4 tablespoons butter 

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon kahlua

Also Need:

4.25 oz. chocolate (I used one large dark chocolate Hershey's bar), roughly chopped

Custard:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cream, kahlua, instant coffee and sugar. Bring to a light boil and remove from heat and let cool slightly. 

2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks. Once cream mixture has cooled slightly, add one cup into eggs while whisking. Add another cup of cream mixture to eggs, then add the egg mixture back into the cream mixture (in the saucepan). 

3. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

5. Remove from heat and strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer. 

6. Pour this mixture into an airtight container, place in the fridge and let cool completely. 

Caramel Swirl:

1. Mix the brown sugar, cream, and butter into a medium saucepan and turn on medium heat. 

2. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes until sauce thickens. Add salt and kahlua and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so to thicken further. 

3. Turn heat off, and let cool slightly. Transfer mixture into an airtight container and place in fridge to cool completely. 

Let's put it all together!

1. Pour custard into ice cream maker and let churn until the texture of soft serve. Add chocolate chunks.

2. Transfer half of ice cream mixture into a small, fairly flat container (I used a small casserole dish). Using a spatula, smooth mixture flat, then drizzle caramel sauce on top. Cover this with the remaining ice cream mixture, smooth out and cover again with more caramel. 

3. Place in freezer for several hours, or until completely frozen. Enjoy!

fall footwear favorites

Of course summer is great due to the warm weather and long days. But when it comes to style and clothing, I'm all about fall! Layers, deeper tones, scarves and boots are all right up my alley. Here are a few shoes I've got on my fall wish list! I'm not wishing summer away...but fall leaves, fall!

1. Same Edelman "Perron" Boot // 2. A Fine Point Flat in Indigo // 3. New Look Toy Beige Heeled Shoes // 4. Lacy Sandal Swedish Hasbeens // 5. Belle by Sigerson Morrison Waverly // 6. Laceside Oxfords // 7. DV by Dolce Vita