My Weekend According to my iPhone

This past weekend I took a road trip with my family to the small town of Phillipsburg.

We...

ate at an old fashioned soda shop and diner.

stoked up on cady at The Sweet Palace.

and browsed countless antique shops.

(more pics to come!)

Finally...

...I made time to tell you about the yumminess that's been going down in my kitchen lately!

Kim's recipe for Coconut- and Almond- Crusted Tofu with Spicy Mango Chutney was to die for.

It took all the restraint I had to not eat the entire pound of tofu! And the chutney- oh the chutney! The recipe made more than I used, which allowed me to put the chutney on toast for breakfast over the next few days.

Tip: When measuring out the almond meal, cocunut milk, panko breadcrums, and flour for the tufu cut Kim's measurements in half. I found that I had so much left over that I had to dump much of it out. I was not a fan of wasting that much food.

Peanut Pasta Salad with Fried Tempeh Bits was on the menu for my Super Bowl Sunday at the begining of February. The recipe had me blanching veggies for the first time in my life. I have no idea how I got away with not learning how to blanch a vegetable before, but I'm soooooo glad I have now. It may be my favorite way to cook/eat them! I loved how crunchy the veggies were, while still tasting cooked.

The peanut dressing was simple to make and can easily be whipped up for another salad or dressing for stir fry.

Is there anything that cures winter blues like a big bowl of soup? Nope. Especially if that soup is Curried Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup! This soup was simply delicious. I have no other way to describe it. It was just one my favorite spices paired with great winter veggies- simplicity at it's finest. This soup will easily become a staple in my fall and winter must-haves.

Coconut Banana French Toast

Today was the start of The Skinny Bitch Project!

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. So naturally, the first recipe I tried was from the breakfast section of the book- Coconut Banana French Toast! Let me tell you, it was good. The batter was very simple to make with a very light texture to it. I am also happy to report that even though the recipe says it serves six, there was enough batter left over to refrigerate and make again!

It was a slight struggle to keep the bread from sticking to the bottom of the pan, however. I found I had to use far more Earth Balance in the pan than the recipe called for (approx. 2-4 Tbsp more!). Unfortunately, I think all the extra Earth Balance added an unintended buttery flavor to the toast. It could have simply been that the cast iron skillet wasn't the best choice for the recipe and that's what caused to sticking. I think I'll try using a griddle next time I make this.

Kim definately did good with this recipe though! I had three delicious pieces covered in banana slices and maple flavored agave nectar :)

Photo Love

Yesterday, I stumbled upon Laurn Randolph's lovely photography.

Her work is amazing.

You should really check out more of it here.

Somebody's Hero

This was part of my Christmas present to my momma.

And yes, it made us both cry.

(music by Jamie O'Neal)

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very

Merry

Christmas!

Tummy Full of Cookies

Yesterday, I made some of the best cookies ever.

Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite dessert! However, since becoming vegan over a year ago, I had yet to make myself a vegan batch. I bought this wonderful book and have made several yummy things out of it, but had yet to make cookies from it.

If you're like me, cookies are a big part of the holidays for you. So tonight I whipped up a back of chocolate chip cookies! And let me tell you, the are delicious! So soft and chewy and mm mm good!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas Eve!

Baby Fever

Baby fever is not something I have in any way shape or form. However, three of my friends have now married and all got pregnant with lovely little girls! While I'm not interested in having children anytime soon, I do enjoy living a little vicariously through them.

This weekend I got to celebrate a baby shower for one of my oldest friends (we go back to pre-k t-ball days!).

Enjoy the tiny bit of vicarious baby fever with me :)

Sharpie and Studio Lights

A few months ago I had the greatest opportunity to model for Raechel Hawkinson, who also happens to be my best friend of nearly 17 years.

She had this idea of taking words often used to describe strong women and placing them on a woman in interesting ways. This is her beautiful result.

Sunshine and Leaves

Eleanor Rigby and I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday. We...

Played in the leaves

Took these fun photos

Eleanor Rigby chewed on sticks...and then mommy got mad at her for chewing on sticks

And it was a lovely, fall day :)

Little Things I Love

Taylor Swift lyrics.

{lyrics above from "Never Grow Up"}

I love, love, love Taylor Swift. And I'm kind of in love with her new album.

Isn't this photo of Anne Hathaway by Mario Testino stunning?

And if you think it is, you need to run out and buy the November issue of Vogue and immerse youself into move insanely gorgeous images of this cover girl.

Once you're done with that, move onto the fashion spreads and pour over more amazing photos and incredible fashion. They were only taken by my hero, Patrick Demarchelier, after all.

Cabin in the Woods

Remember these beautiful photos by Lauren Evans?

Well these lovely photos above were taken at the same photo shoot I modeled for by Jennifer Mooney.

And I kind of love them.

I hope you do too.

Meet Eleanor Rigby

This is my pup, Eleanor Rigby.

And I love her.

But Mommy's mad at me for chewing on her favorite pair of heels last night.
I might have to buy her a new pair!

Little Things I Love

Getting new issues of Lucky in the mail :)

Lucky is by far my most favorite fashion magazine.

As much as I love the high fashion of Vogue, I love Lucky for the simplicity. The feature very wearable clothes that fit perfectly with my own style. I take more inspiration from Lucky than anywhere else when it comes to my wardrobe.

It's also kind of my dream to work as a photographer for Lucky :)

My Life As a Model

{photo by Lauren Evans}

Ok, so I'm not really a model, but I had the amazing opportunity to model for some of my former classmates at Rocky Mountain School of Photography.

It was a great day consisting of five photographers (plus me) obsessing over the beautiful medium format camera used for the shoot, lighting techniques, and wisdom handed down to us by photographer and instructor, Joe Lavine. I was promised all the photos would be sent to me once they've been edited and I promise to post them when I can.

In the meantime enojy more beautiful photos from the shoot by Lauren Evans.

Eat. Pray. Love.

Eat Pray Love is one of my favorite books. Ever. Seriously, if you haven't read it you need to go buy it right now.

I haven't made it out to see the movie yet, but I am obsessed with these photos of Julia Roberts from the September issue of ELLE

{photos above by Tom Munro}

{photo by Carter Smith}

If you're like me and can't get enough of these beautiful photos you need to go visit ELLE or buy the newest September issue!