Coconut donuts!

Valentine’s Day Ideas When You Have NO Idea!

by with No Comment bakingDIYholidayslifestylespecial occassionsValentine's Day

I hope today, right now in this moment, is not the first time you’re remembering that it’s Valentine’s day. I have mixed emotions about this holiday honestly – I’m a romantic at heart, but I also think every day should be special right?! I’ll save my love rant for another day, for now, if right now you’re scrambling to find a gas station teddy bear and some chocolates that will pass for the “I totally had this planned out” impression well here’s your guide to ‘fakin’ it ’til ya make it’….to the mall!

Valentine’s day gift ideas for when you have NO idea!

So it’s crunch time…. you forgot the thoughtful gift – you’ve been busy! You skipped out on making breakfast in bed to rush out to get a gift that’s you think will be more personal in gesture than making that breakfast in bed idea. Well there are a few things you can do to make it seem as though you totally had today in the bag! Also, this is for men and women, all of the ideas listed below will work whether it be for your boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance, husband, wife, child, pet goat…..all of them:

  1. Breakfast in bed – before you rush out the door to frantically find a teddy bear that’s larger than life, why don’t you just cook their favorite breakfast meal and serve it to them in bed? This will work every time, it’s so thoughtful! AND it’s budget friendly, just use what you have already in your fridge
  2. Hand picked flowers – great for men and for women, hand picked flowers are the cutest gesture, it’s sweet and Earth friendly and you can find them anywhere in your front yard… or a neighbor’s…PLUS they’re FREE! Unless your neighbor comes after you with the garden hose
  3. Love notes – love notes are great because they’re building blocks! Leave them around the house, in the bathroom (extra points for notes left in heart shapes and smiley faces), on your loved one’s car, all with personalized messages to show them that you care, that you listen, and best part…it buys you time. To either make a reservation or go out and get their favorite icecream
  4. Dinner cooked by a real life chef – yep that real life chef is YOU bud! Nothin’ says ‘”I love you”, more than a home cooked meal made with love. And bacon. Besides, all the restaurants will be over crowded and over priced. Save yourself the cold sweats of having to call around to make a last minute reservation and set the dining table for two
  5. A love basket – this is my all time favorite go-to gift! You get a basket, or a bucket, or a shoe box, whatever – you fill it with their favorite items, trinkets, snacks, and a couple of tickets to the movies and BAM, YOU are the most thoughtful gift giver evaarrrrr!

Now I’m not saying these gifts will blow them out of the water with surprise and romance, but it will make your gift more interesting, and personal to your relationship, AND it’s not super expensive or super over the top ‘buy a star and name it after them’ status. Those are for movies like “The Notebook”.

If all else fails, make them some ‘love donuts’. Picture below along with the recipe. It’s gluten free because… love. And remember, “if you’re a bird I’m a bird”.

coconut donuts
xoxo- Jess

Gluten free donut recipe for my love, Corrine.

What you’ll need: (yields 12 donuts)
For the Donuts:
1/2 cup GF flour or coconut flour
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

– Mix wet ingredients together and then stir in sifted dry ingredients, bake in a donut mold for 15 minutes at 350 degrees

For the Chocolate Glaze:
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot water

– Mix ingredients all together in a bowl and then glaze over the donuts once they’re cooled, top with sprinkles and kisses and you’re all done! Enjoy!
Coconut Donuts!

A GIRL’S GUIDE TO GALENTINE’S DAY!

by with No Comment bakingDIYfoodholidayshostingparty planningValentine's Day

Love it or leave it Valentine’s Day is this Sunday and there’s been a flood of holiday themed treats and DIY posts. Who am I to stop the momentum? We’re celebrating Galentine’s Day today so grab your favorite gal pals, a bubbly drink, and lets start baking!

Today’s menu includes frosted cinna-hearts, pita heart-wiches, and a dessert skewer … not in the shape of a heart. See, we’re themed! Hearts everywhere!

For your frosted hearts you’ll need one package of cinnamon rolls and some sprinkles!


Unravel the cinnamon bun and split it into two halves and then shape the two into a heart!


Bake per the directions on the packaging and then drizzle the frosting over top and sprinkle with ALL the sprinkles!


These pita heart-wiches are super easy and super yummy! Just take 2 pitas and layer them up with turkey, cheese, cucumber, or whatever your favorite fillings are. Then cut them up and enjoy! They’re especially enjoyable when you use a heart shaped cookie cutter!


I sliced a few of these in half which made them look like broken hearts, which still tasted delicious AND fit the theme of my next post ‘the achy-breaky Valentine’.


The macaroons  were from Trader Joe’s and after you thaw them out it’s as if you picked them up fresh from the bakery! Salted caramel is my favorite!

For the dessert skewers just take a paper straw (I got these from the dollar store) and stack your favorite pastries, alternating between them. I chose snickerdoodles and blueberry muffins! Almond milk and another straw for sipping and we were set!

That red glowing drink you see in the background is cherry-cranberry juice spiked with our favorite vodka!


I hope this inspires you to enjoy a holiday with your friends, Valentine’s day ins’t just for lovers! It’s a day to celebrate all the loves! If you really don’t feel like celebrating and you just hate the holiday all together, then I have a post for you on Sunday (yes ON Valentine’s Day, see what I did there) with menu items like Bleeding Heart Brownies and Sour Cherry Puckers, so stay tuned for that!

Here is my most recent video, our first installment of Pinterest DIY-Not! I made Melt My Marshmallow treats and Cherry Whiskey Smashes! They were just as delicious and they sound!

Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day? A Galentine’s day celebration perhaps? Share with me your plans so we can all live vicariously through one another and P.S. if you aren’t Subscribed to me on YouTube please do, I post videos twice a week! See, so much sharing! xx

EASY VALENTINE’S DAY DIY – INCENSE HOLDERS! LOVE, CORRINE

by with One Comment artDIYholidayshome decorValentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day! If you’re a last minute gift giver . . . ahem it’s TODAY, than this DIY will not only save you time and money, but it’s also personalized and super unique! AKA it will cover up your last-minute-DAY OF-gift-giving tendencies LOL! All will be forgiven!

So whether you’re making it for your special one or with your ladies for Galentine’s Day festivities, it’s a lot of fun and super minimal. Don’t be afraid to get messy and make some mistakes, that’s where all the fun is at! All you’ll need is the polymer clay of your choice, an x-acto knife or mold, and gold paint. Before you begin, set the mood with this Valentine’s playlist I created just for you!

Directions:

1. Roll your polymer clay into a ball. I used beige because it resembled more of a light pink to me. Once you’ve rolled it into a ball, flatten it out with a rolling pin (can also be done with a cup or jar! )

2. Now that it’s flattened out, use your x-acto knife and/or mold to shape your clay. (For the circle, I used the rim of a candleholder) Don’t be afraid to get creative and make all kinds of wacky shapes!


3. Now that you have the shape you want, poke a hole in the middle of the clay with an incense stick, just enough so that it can wiggle around a bit.

4. It’s time to bake! Preset your oven to 275°F and let your creations bake for 15 minutes.


5. Once they are done baking, let them cool. When finished cooling, grab your gold paint and begin painting the sides and around the outer rim. Imperfections and uneven lines will make it look even more authentic and effortless, so have fun with it! You can also paint the entire thing gold or create a pattern on it. You’ll most likely have some extra clay sitting around, so you can make more to give to your friends and loved ones. ?

Altogether, the supplies for this tutorial cost me a grand total of $10 and I made almost a dozen holders! They’re the perfect gift for your bestie, room decor, or housewarming present and are super sweet!


I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and high five for saving the day <3

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Love, C

 

FROM ME, TO ME – A VALENTINE’S PLAYLIST, LOVE CORRINE

by with 2 Comments holidaysmotivationmusicValentine's Day

Now that we’re mid February and Valentine’s Day is inching nearer and nearer, aka TOMORROW, it’s time to get in the groove of being appreciative, generous and loving not to just those around us — but also to ourselves <3 I think we can all agree that self love is among the best types of love out there, and is something that just isn’t promoted enough to young women.

When I’m feeling down and out, I’ll throw on the dreamiest tunes I can think of and groove the blues away, which is exactly what you can do with ‘From Me, To Me’. To start, I incorporated “Try” by Molly Burch because it creates this aura of ethereal weightlessness whenever I hear it. To add a bit of playfulness, “Lovely One” by Ty Segall follows with it’s rugged, garage rock sound that’s bound to get you movin and groovin. Up next is “Teenage Girl” by Cherry Glazerr which cleverly confronts the frustrations of societal standards with the lyric, “internalize so much but so little, don’t make us feel belittled, World,” which is a feeling we definitely have all experienced at one point or another.

I feel like no playlist is ever complete without a little Angel Olsen sprinkled in, because her music is powerful and emotional, and it’s easy to be introspective while listening to her. You’ll hear her serenade you with “You Are Song” which will definitely get you feeling some type of way. To finish, “Everything is You” by Empress Of is a dancy uptempo tune from her album “Me” which sums up the theme of this playlist perfectly.

So as you listen, think of each song as a little gift. Something to dedicate to yourself in the process of your journey to radical self-love. CLICK HERE to give From Me, To Me a listen. If you’d like to create a fun Valentine’s Day DIY click over to this post for some personalized and super unique incense holders!

Here is the tracklist:

1. Try by Molly Burch

2. Lovely One by Ty Segall

3. Teenage Girl by Cherry Glazerr

4. Cosmic Dancer by T. Rex

5. You Are Song by Angel Olsen

6. Lovelier Girl by Beach House

7. She’s So Bad by TOPS

8. You Are The Right One by Sports

9. Theme for a Taiwanese Woman in Lime Green by Devendra Banhart

10. Tears of Joy by Slow Club

11. Teenage Years by Sui Zhen

12. Everything is You by Empress Of

Your funny lil valentine,

C

BLEEDING HEART OREO BROWNIES – A VALENTINE’S BEST NIGHTMARE

by with No Comment bakingDIYfoodholidayshostinglifestyleparty ideasValentine's Dayvideo

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’ve been enjoying all of the themed recipes and videos that I’ve been posting lately, all in the name of love! Well this is for anyone who thinks today’s celebration is more of a corporate holiday … anyone who thinks today can suck it … and anyone who loves oreos. And brownies!!! We’re making “Bleeding Oreo Brownie Hearts” because everyone deserves a reason to love Valentine’s Day. Even if it’s for desserts and ‘the day after’ chocolate sales!


Imagine a brownie filled with oreo cream filling … yes it is just as mouth watering as it sounds! We ate 6 of them! SIX and zero regrets were had. Your mission should you choose to accept: make these, eat these, thank me later!

For the brownie part I just got a box of brownie mix (family sized) and made it according to the directions. I sprayed a 10×16 brownie pan with oil, lined it with parchment paper, and then sprayed it again just to make sure the hearts didn’t stick once I removed them. No one wants a crumbly broken heart, in life nor in theory.


Let the brownies cool before taking a heart shaped cookie cutter to it, and in the meantime make your oreo filling, the ‘bleeding’ part of it. You’ll need:

3 cups powdered sugar
ABOUT 1/2 vegetable shortening
5 tablespoons hot water (you will eye ball this when you make it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red food coloring
1 teaspoon sugar


♥ Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and save adding in the water for last. Start with 4 tablespoons of hot water and if your mixture is too thick then add in 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency. Which is pretty thick yet smooth, like an oreo filling would be.

Once you’ve added the red food coloring (I used about 7 drops) you get this really pretty pile of sweetness! I had about half a cup of this just from taste testing! Note: This makes a lot of filling, enough for 2 batches of brownies if you’re using it in this ‘sandwich’ style.


Once your brownies have cooled, take your cookie cutter and remove the shapes until all of your brownie pan has been used up. The brownies will be fairly thin, this is a good thing though because you’ll be stacking them once they’re filled.


Spread a dollop of the filling between two hearts and then close the heart sandwich by placing the other half on top (smooth side down). Continue with this until you’ve used up all of your heart brownies. You can make the filling part as thick or as thin as you’d like depending on your sweet tooth preference.



The combination of these two flavors is indescribable, you have to make them for yourself and indulge in order to believe me. It’s a cream filled brownie and the cream is OREO FILLING! Did I say that part enough? Ha! Try it, so so so good!

I paired this deliciousness with a “Sour Kiss” cocktail, keeping with the whole ‘Valentine’s Day Shmalentine’s Day’ theme here. It tastes like sour patch candies in a glass! Mix together an ounce of each of these ingredients and enjoy!

Sour Kiss Cocktail:
Vodka
Grenadine syrup
Blue curacao liqueur
Sweet and Sour Mix
Limes

Here is my Pinterest DIY-not Valentine’s Day episode, and if you missed my Galentine’s Day post you can read it here!

What are your plans for this weekend ?!

Go enjoy these recipes and Happy Valentine’s Day from stupid cupid <333

 

love these girls

How To Throw The Best Bachelorette Party For Your Best Girls!

by with No Comment adventureDIYlifestyleparty ideasspecial occassionstravelValentine's Day

It’s wedding season! For the type A/planner in me, I couldn’t have been more excited about gift giving and surprise planning than I was for this bachelorette party! My girl Linz is getting married in 3 weeks and I’m the maid of honor!!! This past weekend we celebrated her with a fun filled weekend in Vegas with the best group of girls you’ve ever seen, and I wanted to share with you all the fun things I did that you can use for your next Bachelorette/birthday/celebration! Also I suck at surprises and it was SO hard for me not to send the girls photos of everything I was doing.

giftbags
So I had these ‘Who Doesn’t Want That‘ totes especially made for Linz’s bach party  with the date, because it’s the best party favor … cute and functional! Yes it was over Valentine’s day weekend and we had THE best ever Galentine’s day I could even have imagined #girlpower

bachbags
So in the bags I put together a lil ‘survival kit’ for the weekend complete with a hangover kit:

  • smart water because dumb decisions
  • a ‘cheers bitches’ tank since this was our theme for the weekend
  • Reese’s candy, Linz’s favorite
  • Kind bars because we were meanies to our livers
  • a ‘no ugly crying’ hankie filled with my favorite products to ensure no faces fell off
  • Moscato wine because never enough
  • a pack of polaroids for the polaroid camera I brought because polaroids are lyyyfe
  • le mieux eye masks (didn’t fit in the photo)- best evaaar for dark circles & puffiness!
  • handmade tiaras that I made…with my hands thus they later fell a part!
  • and “I regret nothing” survival/hangover kits!survivalkitsIn these kits I put all my go-to items that you just NEED the morning after any kind of partying because survival mode:
  • my FAVORITE part of the gift bags: temporary tattoos that read “I belong to Linz’s bachelorette party. If I’m lost please buy me a drink!” (I mean….genius Etsy just genius)
  • ginger tea (aids in belly aches and nausea)
  • raspberry Emergen-C (tastes delicious and you need all the vitamins you can get)
  • nausea chews (these really do work!)
  • alka seltzer
  • kissy bandaids for any booboos (kissing a booboo makes everything better)
  • “To have and to hold….your hair back” hair ties with Linz bach note on it (cutest ever)
  • altoids
  • advil
  • glow in the dark rings so I could find my girls in dark clubs! We were likePower Rangers!

hankies

The ‘no ugly crying’ hankies folded into the perfect envelopes to hold some of my favorite ‘don’t let my face fall off’ products. Weddings will make you cry so I didn’t want anyone’s beautiful face to melt off:

  • Inglot blotting tissues (my favorite brand)
  • Blinc mascara that turns any mascara into a waterproof/ cry proof/ smudge proof magic-ness
  • my favorite lip liner that can double as blush and is perfect to layer or wear alone
  • Skindinavia’s setting spray (hands down the best) it’s time released and temperature controlled so when you start to sweat it kicks in high gear, hello dancing! (oh technology)

tiaras
These were the ‘cheers bitches’ tiaras I made….after about 3 attempts, 2 trips to Michaels, a return to Marth-freaking-Stuart, and gluing 2 of my fingers together…. here they are! Post on the how to’s coming soon! I did so much DIY for this party that you’d all be so proud of me…because DIY is not my friend!

linztiara
Linz’s bag had a few extra special items that I threw in there since it’s her big day I wanted even her martini cup to be wearing a veil! I got this tank from Etsy, and the tiara and matching cup veil cup came from Party City.

linzbag
I think what makes a person a good friend is different from person to person, and what makes Linz a great friend to me, consists of too many words that deserve their own post. So I wanted her to feel just as loved, so in her bag also went her favorite Lollia Wish body wash and lotion, a bridal emergency kit, a quirky drink sleeve (because truth), and the something ‘blue’ I got her was this garter I had made for her that matches the same blue as Tiffany’s, and has Swarovski crystals surrounding the center bow. I fell in love with it when I saw it and I wanted her to have one to keep since one goes to a lucky bachelor! Every girl deserves a Tiffany blue something!

Some things I couldn’t make and bring with was the traditional penis cake….what an awkward conversation to have to the hotel concierge about baking such a cake and delivering it to the room! But it was so fun and their cake was delicious! I brought along with me the penis straws, cups, shot glasses, and all things penis I could find on the internet and it made for an amazing time!

Do it big ladies! Go ALL out and laugh until you’re swimming on a flooded bathroom suite floor with girls you absolutely adore, while having a communal bath and rubbing one another’s feet! haha yup that all happened! I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better more beautiful and supportive group of girls to be around than Bailey, Linz, Ashlee, and Meghan who I spent an incredible weekend with (Dani you were missed girl!!!)! I got so much closer to them and I’ve known them for years! There was no drama, it was all love, all laughs, and all dancing! Top night ladies!!! #buttsout

polaroids

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week and party til ya need an IV in the mornin 😉 We did that too!

 

xoxo- Jess