Tasty and Cozy

Today was not a bad day. I worked in the morning, and thought quite a bit about how when I got home I wanted to be productive. I wanted to clean up the house, and cook some tasty things. But I knew there was quite a danger of my getting home, being exhausted and flopping down to watch tv all night (like I did yesterday.)

But no! I was determined for that not to happen!

What did I do instead?

I made tasty things! and then celebrated by watching a movie I'd had a sudden craving for. But after the movie finishes, I'll start into cleaning.


First, I made some bread. I've been seeing recipes on Pinterest for simple, easy to make bread, but most required a baking container with a lid, like a cast iron pan. I've got the pan, but no lid, so I hadn't made any yet. But then I found this recipe on Alexandra's Kitchen. It only needs an oven proof bowl!

Mine turned out a little lumpy, I think because I used a bowl that was too big.

The other tasty thing I made today was some caramel simple syrup. I've been wanting to make it for a while, and just a few days ago made a basic caramel sauce to start the process. I used this recipe from Crunchy Creamy Sweet. I don't think I cooked it quite long enough, so it was kind of grainy, but still pretty tasty.

To turn it into a simple syrup to put in coffee, I loosely followed A Beautiful Mess's recipe for Caramel Coffee Syrup.


And to top it all off, I am now cozied up on the couch with a tumbler of iced caramel coffee and watching Spirited Away.

la mer.

Smoooothies

Remember that post about eating healthy and drinking lots of water? Well I've been back and forth about it. I've been trying to eat better. Less dessert and crappy stuff like soda and poptarts. Somedays I'm super motivated, some days I'm lazy. It isn't a huge deal to me, just a cool idea.

One thing I have been pretty consistant about is drinking smoothies! I've been having a smoothie probably every other day. I'd have them every day, but I like taking them as my "second breakfast" as I walk to school, which isn't that practical for days I work. On said days, I usually take a fruit salad and yogurt instead.

Today I really wanted a smoothie, even though I worked, so I'm having one after work with my lunch!

Yum yum.

I don't have any offical recipe for smoothies. Its just whatever fruits/veggies/juice/yogurt I've got in my fridge.

Today's includes...

• 1/4 cup bok choy
• 1 cup mixed lettuce
• 1/4 of a cucumber
• 1/2 of an apple
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup hibiscus cooler
• 2/3 cup frozen berries
• 1 tbs chia seeds

It is a pretty tasty concoction. I usually only do one veggie, but I was short on fruits, and feeling uber healthy, so I added some extra. I usually put a banana in as well, we've got none. We go through them super fast here.

Btw. To make this a more lunch worthy thing, I also made a grilled cheese sammich. :)

What do you like to put in your smoothies?

~La Mer.

Five (more) Facts on a Friday.

I've become terribly boring and only post on Friday's, haven't I. When I get set on the new schedule of life and whatnots I'll be more interesting. I promise!

I'm going to try a different format this time though...

1. Ashland has been positively lovely the past few days. Maybe even weeks... It has warmed up to sweatshirt status instead of big old winter coat, and has been mostly sunny with just a smidgen of rain. Today after work the roommates and I went on a wonderful walk along the railroad tracks and this was our view.

2. Last week was the birthday of one of my most favorite people. I made her a tasty cake with a bee on it, because bees are her favorite. This is however, not the cake, it is my test run of the bee stencil, on the cutting board.

3. I'm going home for a few day over spring break and I get to see my best friend from high school! I'm quite excited. :) She is a wonderful thing who I miss quite a bit.

4. I also get to see these lovely faces! Top Left: Rosy, Top Right: Sidonie, Bottom Left: Dexter, Bottom Left: Pongee. Rosy, Sido and Pongee are my parent's dogs, and Dex is my brother's, who spends many a day over to visit.

5. Did I tell you about this beautiful vase of flowers I found on my doorstep? One day, the most wonderful boy in the world asked me "What time will you be at home on your birthday?" I said probably round 5. I rush home a tad after 5 to find these, complete with beautiful heart necklace, waiting at the door.

And that's that!

La Mer.

Five Fact Friday (mostly new job related)

I'm running a little late today, but its still friday!

1. My hunt for good housekeeping clothes goes on! So far the things added to my wardrobe for this job are...

• White long sleeve shirt. I bought it for the first day because they said wear white, and I wanted to cover my tattoo with long sleeves until I knew if tattoos were okay or not. Now I know they're okay and will probably never wear this shirt again. I"m tempted to cut the sleeves off into a tank top or 3/4 sleeve.
• Grey tennis shoes. Something with a little more support than the Merrell shoes I was wearing before, and less smell attracting. (Those shoes get seriously stinky) 
• White sleeveless shirt with some cute buttons and details. When its not 9:30 with no light to be seen, I'll take a picture for ya. :)
• Black capris. Right now they're kind of an awkward length where they could be full length pants on someone short, or capris on someone tall, but on me they're like top of shoe height. I think I'll wear them cuffed and probably hem them eventually.

2. Black Books may impart much wisdom on us, but there is one quote I don't always agree with.

Bernard: Old wine... is good wine...
Manny: Yes... but expensive wine is good wine also
Bernard: But the older the wine... the gooder it is
Manny: Yes... but by the same token, the more expensive the wine... the gooder it is also

Mostly because I'm currently drinking cheap as hell wine, and it is damn tasty.

3. Try as I might, I lost my voice this week. It wasn't terrible, and I never fully lost the ability to speak (though it was nice to have a break from talking during ASL class). I was scared though because last time I lost my voice (over the summer) I had a few days where I could absolutely not speak. Luckily I was living alone at the time and called in sick to work and just sat around alone all day.

4. Oh goodness its good to be employed again. I forgot how nice it is to be able to buy lunch if I don't have time to pack one, or not feel terrible for getting a cup of coffee while I'm out doing errands.

5. Two favorite skills I've learned from my new job thus far: How to do hospital corners on a bed, and how to clean a bathroom super fast!

Swich

Yup. I'm making the swich from Google Reader to Bloglovin.

How about you?!

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A lovely scarf.

I got a lovely package in the mail the other day from my mummy. One of the things in it was this scarf!

I wore it with one of my favorite yet frustrating sweatshirts. It has a big collar and a belt that holds it all together. Its pretty awesome, except the belt slips and slides all over the place and the collar will never lie correctly. 

See, all wonky.

 I also wore some boots I've had for years. I think I got these in 10th grade or there about. They're pretty worn in, and were like $10 from Ross to start with. The color goes so wonderfully with the sweatshirt though, so I almost always wear them together.

The color really does go together, I just over edited. oops. 

There ya have it.

-La Mer. 

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