Friday Favorites

April 3, 2015 by Christine Skari

Hi friends! Happy Friday!

I have a productive day today that involves geting mentored by a professional photographer, going to an interview for an internship (more on this late, big life change to be announced), shopping with some of my housemates downtown, and photographing a graduation session on the beach. It’ going to be a fantastic day!

I’ve decided to make Friday a day where I can just share some of the things I’ve been loving. That way, things aren’t just food food food all the time and ya’ll can get a closer look into what I’ve been up to. Onwards!

Bagel Brother’s Banana Walnut Baked Bread

You guys. This stuff. AMAZING. My housemate, Sophia, used to always make their cinnamon bread in the morning and the good smells coming out of the toaster prompted me to go find my own loaf at the local Albertsons. They periodically sell out, though, so a few days ago I decided to try their banana walnut bread and it is out-of-this-world good! It’s not like the traditional banana bread where it’s more cake than bread, so it makes a more hearty breakfast treat without being all that terrible for you. I like to spread some cream cheese on a toasted slice and use my cinnamon sugar grinder to top it off (best Trader Joe’s purchase ever).

Studio Work

I’ve been doing tons and tons of practice in a local photographer’s studio for the last week and have been absolutely loving trying out a new style. While I think my heart is more in natural light, my mentor, Matt, is insanely talented at studio work (all photography in general, really) and he’s been helping me get a better grasp on artificial lights. I’ve been bringing in my housemates to use as model and we’ve all been having a blast!

Current Craves:

NEED.

This monkey…

Because I think we could all use a little extra smile today :).

Hope you all have a great Friday and weekend? I’ll be popping in tomorrow with a yummy & nutritious drink recipe that will help you get into the springtime mood.

What have you been loving lately?

Week In Review!

March 30, 2015 by Christine Skari

Happy Monday, folks!

I meant to get this post up yesterday night, but after driving back to Santa Barbara with Kyle and getting home around 11, all I wanted to do was hangout with my girlfriends before heading to bed. I usually like to have posts up before the next morning, but since I don’t have any lectures on Monday OR Friday that is quarter (PINCH ME), I’m writing this up with a cup of tea before any of my housemates wake up.

Here’s what I’ve been up to during my week in my hometown for spring break!

High Tea at the Botanical Gardens

My mom recently turned 50 (happy birthday, mom!) and some of the girls in the family drove over to Huntington Beach to stroll around in the gorgeous gardens and have high tea at a small restaurant in the rose garden. There’s something so fun about getting slightly dressed up and eating finger food and little delicacies. I probably had around 3-4 plates and left feeling absolutely stuffed.

Photography

I did a bunch of portrait photography sessions over break and it was definitely one of the highlights for me. I LOVE photography and nothing makes me happier. If you want to view more photos, feel free to check out my website!

Korean BBQ

My extended family often gets together on the weekends for food+swimming+general family time every few months. On Saturday, everyone met at our house and we had quite the spread of things to eat. On the menu was korean bbq, homemade sashimi and sushi rice, salad, chicken katsu, fried rbi, tons of veggies, two different ice cream cakes, and more!

Hiking with Kyle

On Sunday, Kyle and I headed out to a local hiking area that has a gorgeous view of the ocean. I only live about 3 minutes away from the entrance to it, so we both like to go on a nice long hike whenever we’re back home. The first half of it was largely downhill, which made for a super sweaty trudge back uphill (my legs are pretty sore), but it was great to just spend some time outside with him. He’s been ridiculously busy with all his engineering things, so most of the time we spend together is in our garage-turned-study-room. Not exactly my date of choice 😉 . After hiking, we got an early lunch at The Yellow Vase. He went with a savory crepe and mocha and I had The Californian egg-white omelet, which came with a house salad and fresh baguette. You better believe I ate every last bite!

After brunch, we drove to Kyle’s house to play around with Tucker for a while. He is getting SO big and is just the funniest little pup ever <3.

And that’s just about it! My week in a picture-filled recap.

What have all of you been up to?

Fudgy Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

March 28, 2015 by Christine Skari

Oh hey there, beautiful. I’ve been waiting for you my entire life. I want to stare into the depths of your chocolate-swirled beauty fooevaaaaa. And by stare I mean SHOVE IN MY FACE.

I know some of my readers are based in the lands of ice and snow, and I wish I could reach through the screen and offer up a condolence cupcake because California is lookin’ migghhhtttyy fine these past few weeks. I’m talking mid-70s to mid-80 degrees and nothing but sunshine. Spring is here! And you know what that means… I need to start preparing myself for all the healthy Spring produce that’s coming my way! With cupcakes! Because I wouldn’t want to be toooo healthy and a balanced diet for myself often includes a Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing in one hand and dessert in the other.

And yes yes yes, I know that strawberries are technically not quite in season yet, but can you blame me for wanting to spruce up a boring (albeit delicious) chocolate cupcake with some strawberry flair? They’re the food equivalent to sparkly sequins on a new dress. Who am I kidding. TOTALLY NECESSARY.

So let’s chat a bit more about these.

First, you start off with a decadent fudge brownie cupcake base that comes from the lovely Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Then, you cleverly make and separate a quick buttercream frosting, adding diced strawberries in one part and cocoa powder in the other. Now, STOP! Put that spoon down and try your hardest to not eat half of it. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Moving on to more good things!

Here comes the fun part. Grab a trusty piping bag and tip (which can be found in must grocery stores for a very reasonable price) and stuff those cupcakes with the strawberry frosting, top them with a gorgeous swirl of the chocolate buttercream, top them with a strawberry, and sift powdered sugar/cocoa powder for garnish. BOOM.

And voila! Share or save them all for yourself. No one will ever know 😯 .

5-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Fudge

March 25, 2015 by Christine Skari

CHOCOLATE. PEANUT BUTTER. SEA SALT PRETZELS.

Someone please hold me as I pass out, because this is my kind of food.

The last few days have been nothing short of glorious. I finished my last final on Friday and am currently back at my parent’s house doing all my favorite things (read: photography, cooking, Netflix binge-watching, petting Kyle’s new puppy). Glorious, I tell ya. I know I’ve been MIA for the last week, but prepare to have recipes start to rain down on you. My goal for the next few months is to get 3 recipes up each week, along with more personal posts so I can add some more of myself into my little site.

Andddd here’s the first of the plethora of recipes coming! Meet my newest love, Peanut Butter Pretzel Fudge.

This recipe packs all my favorite things into a delectable bite-sized treat. With a fudgy chocolate base, thick peanut butter layer, and pretzels sprinkled with sea salt to lend the perfect crunch, this fudge has it all. Seriously, meander (and by that I mean RUN) to your kitchen and make this ASAP.

This recipe comes from Bake for the Border. One look at her mouthwatering photos, and I knew I had to try out the recipe for myself!

Best-Ever Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

March 19, 2015 by Christine Skari

It turns out that California has decided to completely skip out the “winter” part of the year and here on the coast of Santa Barbara, we have had almost nothing but sunshine and 70 degree weather. This translates to me wanting to post aalllll the warmer-weather food (fruit! salad! light & scrumptious combos!), but I’ve held back since I didn’t want to tempt all my readers who are still battling snow and cold with ginormous produce-filled photos like THIS.

*proceeds to swoon*

I know I’ve been a bit bad about posting this last week, but I promise I have good reason. I’m just ending the last of my finals (just have my genetics one at 8 am on tomorrow morning!) and then I’m FREEE! My lecture schedule for next quarter is insane in the best possible way, and I only have class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Someone please pinch me 😯 . I have big plans on amping up my blogging, photography, and overall quality of recipes and posts on the blog during that time, so please bear with me as I give everything I have to this last final.

So on to the food! The credit for this recipe goes to my close friend and housemate, Darinne, who has adapted this dish from the one here mama gave to her when she left for college. Her mom used to make this salad for her when she was growing up and it was the ONLY salad she would eat. Darinne is a bit of a picky eater (we call her an alien because she doesn’t like chocolate 😯 ), so her mom wanted to make sure she had an emergency recipe to help her get her greens in. And let me tell ya, this is the perfect healthy and nutrient-packed recipe!

Just think: vibrant and fresh spinach that just screams goodness, plumb and ripe strawberries, toasted almonds for that perfect crunch, and an amazing poppyseed dressing that is full of flavor. My mouth and heart are happy.