Everything's Great When You're Downtown

Even though I only live about 15 minutes away from downtown, I never really venture out there. Maybe it's because of how busy it always is and the parking is not always easy to find. But every now and then, I'll get the urge to drive around, or stop to do some karaoke (my favorite place is Max Karaoke, for the record). Today, Chris and I took a trip to Little Tokyo. I'd been hearing about a cafe called Cafe Dulce and how they're know for their donuts and great coffee, so we found it and I immediately went for their strawberry jelly donut and dulce latte, which is a latte but with condensed milk. The donut, of course, was amazing (and pretty), and the latte was ok (but I'm not big on coffee in general, it gives me a stomach ache), so I had to throw most of it away. :( After that, we strolled around and found ourselves in a shop called Fairytale Fashion Boutique, which is a clothing/accessories store for any girl who loves Japanese Lolita clothing. I bought the cutest pullover sweater that's pink with baby blue bats all over it. They also sell cute little plush donuts that I was tempted to buy, but realized I would have nothing to do with them once I brought them home (except try to eat them), so I put them back. We also stopped into the grocery store so I could stock up on Pocky. All in all, it was a fun day and I'm glad we left home for a little escape downtown.

  

 

 

 

Ringo was kind of mad at us for being out so long, so he yelled at us with a meow

Little Johnnies

I knew as soon as I saw this shirt on Modcloth's website that I had to have it. It's a little pricey for just a t-shirt, but the quality of the shirt is what makes it worth the price, and of course, the little Johnny Depp's all over it! I normally pair it with my favorite trusty black leggings and favorite denim jacket. It's simple and comfortable, which is how I like to dress most of the time. I think this shirt could also be cute tucked into a pinafore or a pair of overall shorts, too!

 

 Denim Jacket - Forever 21 (no longer available)

Johnny T-shirt - Modcloth

Shoes - Kate Spade x Keds (no longer available)

Ice Cream Pin - Sweet & Lovely

Elvis Pin - Ebay

Countdown to Memphis

Time has been going by so quickly lately! It's already towards the end of May, and in 14 days, I'll be on my way to Memphis to visit Graceland, Elvis' home, as well as all the other Elvis-related attractions in Memphis and Tupelo, Mississippi. It's a trip that's been a long time coming. I've loved Elvis since I was a little girl, and now I'll actually get to see with my own eyes where he grew up and spent his life. I've already seen his homes in Palm Springs, and have taken a few trips into Beverly Hills to drive by the homes he lived in there throughout the 60's and 70's, but nothing beats Graceland. So as I patiently wait my southern arrival, I will proudly wear my gold embellished Elvis Presley sweatshirt that I purchased from Bow & Drape, and plan the most fun itinerary ever.

Custom Made Sweatshirt - Bow & Drape

Polka Dot Collared Blouse - Forever 21 (no longer available) 

Leggings - Nordstrom

Black Strap Sandals - Vamp Shoes

Gold Bow Headband - Ban.do

Pizza Pizza

Yesterday I posted a recipe for homemade tomato sauce, and now here I am posting a recipe for homemade pizza! Yay! This pizza is probably the best pizza I've ever made, and I think mostly it's because I made almost everything myself. The crust is a cornmeal crust (which I did not make; I bought it at a local grocery store) but you can use whatever dough or pre-made crust your heart desires. You can also customize this with whatever you want, i.e. bacon, pepperoni, other veggies, etc. I happen to love caramelized onions as well as sauteed mushrooms, so I incorporated both into my recipe. One thing that really makes this pizza extra special is that it's ALMOST vegan! If I switched up the cheese to something like Daiya, it could be. I'm definitely going to try that as I love experimenting and trying new things. I hope you enjoy this as much as I love making it!

Ingredients:

1) Half a white onion (sliced longways and thin)

2) Half cup of your favorite mushrooms (cut up into slices)

3) Olive Oil (to drizzle on top of the pizza before it cooks, and to cook the veggies in)

4) Your favorite cheese (I picked shredded mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan)

5) Salt + Pepper

6) Rosemary (to add on top after it's finished)

* Pre-heat Oven to 425 degrees *

Step One: Cut up the onions into long, thin slices and add to the pan. Be sure to sprinkle some salt on top to make them sweat

Step Two: Once they've caramelized (about 5 min depending), add the mushrooms and cook until both are a little browned and are soft

Step Three: Add tomato sauce to the crust

Step Four: Add the cooked veggies all over the top of the pizza. Don't miss any open spots! :)

Step Five: Cheese! Add as much cheese over the top of the veggies as you'd like. Some people put some cheese on the crust before they add the veggies, but I like to do the opposite, having the cheese get golden brown on top as it's cooking in the oven. Mmm.

Step Six: Drizzle some olive oil on top of the pizza to help it brown a little on top in the oven, and some pepper

Step Seven: Cook the pizza for 12-15 min or until cooked. The cheese will be a little browned on top and the crust will be crunchy on the edges

Step Eight: Sprinkle some sprigs of rosemary on top, let cool for a little bit, and then serve! Yum!

 

 

 

 

Homemade Tomato Sauce

This is a fairly new recipe that I just picked up from my boss! It's so unbelievably simple to make. You can save it and use it for many meals after that (I have another recipe coming to the blog soon where I'll be using this tomato sauce). You can also add whatever you like to make it your own. I opted to use three cloves of garlic which is not what the original recipe called for, as well as Dry Italian Seasoning. So cook up a pot of this bright orange deliciousness, and give some to your friends, too!

Ingredients:

Half white onion
One celery stick
One carrot
One pinch Dry Italian Seasoning
Three Cloves Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Ten Tomatoes (I use Roma Tomatoes on the vine)

Step 1: Set your stove to medium-high heat. Take your trusty cast iron pot and drizzle enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan (not too much)

Step 2: Once you've chopped up your onions (diced thin), drop it into your pot to fry for about five minutes (add salt to make the onions sweat).

Step 3: Once it's been around five minutes and the onions are looking soft, add in your celery and carrot (also diced thin) for another 7 minutes. Once it's been 7 minutes, add your tomatoes (I dice them into cubes first)

Step 4: I always like to add a little salt again so that each layer is flavored. Stir the veggies around and then put the lid on your pot

Step 5: Let the veggies get nice and cooked for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure the veggies don't burn

Step 6: Once it's been around 20 minutes, add everything in the pot to your blender

Step 7: Add your pepper, your garlic and seasoning

Step 8: Blend away! I always like to check the flavor and see if it needs anything.

That's it! Serve it with your favorite pasta, make Chicken Parmesan with it, or use it as the base on your favorite homemade pizza and voila!

 

 

 

 

The Best Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've always considered myself to be a pretty skilled baker. It comes naturally to me (unlike cooking, which can be hit or miss). But the one thing that I always felt that I could just not get down was cookies, plain old simple cookies. And now I can say proudly that I've finally made the most perfect batch of soft, chewy, chocolate-y doughy cookies that are delicious! It took a bit of tweaking as I went along, as the original recipe found here didn't seem to be consistent. I added one extra egg and water to the batter to make the dough more wet (it was incredibly dry, almost like the consistency of making your own cookie crumble pie crust) and added course sea salt on top at the end for an extra punch. I also didn't use nuts, but feel free! The cookies should come out of the oven soft, pillow-y and on the thicker side. I like my cookies to have a cake-like feel which is why I use heaping tablespoons for each scoop :)

I hope you enjoy these with a big, cold glass of milk or tea! I also highly recommend letting the cookies cool and then sandwiching your favorite ice cream or gelato between two of them to make the yummiest ice cream sandwich.  I used Talenti "Caramel Cookie Crunch" gelato flavor, but any would be good!

 (I've decided to not write out the recipe as you can find it in the link above, but please do like I did and use TWO eggs, not one like the recipe says, and add water if the dough is too dry. I also used a tiny bit of canola oil as well.)