Bocaditos with a Twist

 

If you ever find yourself in a situation where a good friend of yours is throwing a Havana Nights themed birthday party and you're not sure what to bring...boy, do I have a solution for you-- Bocaditos!

These tasty, little, cuban party sandwiches are perfectly small (and filling) and are sure to be real crowd pleaser. I found the recipe here on Mmmm...Cuba and made a couple of changes to add some more flavor and spice.

BOCADITOS (makes 24 sandwiches)

3/4 lb smoked ham

2 (8 oz) packages of Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese 

1 bottle Mezzetta Hot Chili Peppers 

1 bottle or can of Sliced Jalapeño Peppers

2 dozen soft dinner rolls (I used mini-bun or slider rolls which are pre-cut)

1. Slice & Dice

Slice the ham and dice the amount of Chili Peppers and Jalapeno Peppers you'd like to use depending on how spicy you want your sandwiches to be. I used about 6 Chili Peppers and 7 Jalapeno Peppers.

2. Mix

Mix the sliced ham and diced peppers with the cream cheese until smooth.

3. Spread the Love

Spread mixture on rolls.

I'm so glad I learned about these little gems-- they make for great small bites to bring to a party or picnic. I'm sure I'll be making a lot more of these this Summer.

Enjoy!

A Minute in the Life: 5 Fabulous Things from My Weekend

You know those weekends where you get to catch up on all the things on your to-do list that you somehow never get to? Welp, I finally was fortunate to have one of those! Did I get to everything on my to-do list like 'buy a shoe rack' or 'sell iPhone' or 'decide on a bridesmaid dress'...no, I didn't. But I did get to some things like organizing my Pinterest Boards and sleeping in 'til noon.

Other cool things/findings/experiments happened this weekend as well, let me share...

1// Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Frosting + Maybelline Super Stay 14-Hour Lipstick in Fuchsia Forever = Simple Summer Look

2// My fiance made these irresistibly hot, gooey and delicious, Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread Poppers for a friend's Chili Cook-off....so good. Thinking he'd add a little spice, he left in a couple (too many) jalapeño seeds resulting in some party guests searching the kitchen for something to cool their mouths off with. Key finding: Ice Cream will cool off a mouth set on fire by various hot peppers.

3// My yoga teacher shared these words which really resonated with me. I paired his words with a work in progress of mine to create this as a reminder.

4// Have you ever been to Cafe Gratitude? Everything about the Cafe Gratitude here in LA is different than the one in San Francisco, except for the delicious factor. Basically, they took the Cafe Gratitude from SF and LA-ized it. Stopped in here for some dinner on Friday night with some girlfriends and throughly enjoyed the 'I Am Whole': Macrobiotic  bowl with sea vegetables, stewed adzuki beans, raw kale, butternut squash, house-made red cabbage kim chee and sea whip and black sesame seed gomasio with your choice of quinoa or local brown rice, tahini-garlic sauce and teriyaki almonds. You see this big bowl? I ate it all-- without regret. 

5// Brussel Sprouts are said to lower cholesterol, are packed with antioxidants, are full of fiber and loaded with Vitamin C. I had a bag of brussel sprouts from Trader Joe's and made these delightful little bites in no time at all. Cut off the stems and halve the sprouts. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle sea salt, black pepper and any other spices you fancy, bake at 400 for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Did you have a wonderful weekend, too? Make any new discoveries?

2013, You're Spoiling Me

Two months and twenty days...that's how long it's been since my last post-- yikes! So incredibly much has happened in these last two months, it's surreal. I rang in the New Year in Japan with my 96 year old Grandmother, bathed in the natural hot springs of Shimoda with my Mother, made my first international sale, witnessed a mother whale teach her baby how to breach while sipping a cocktail on Lana'i, saw two shooting stars, the moon for the first time through a telescope and went to Hawaii with my boyfriend and came back his finance.

I am one lucky girl.

// Lana'i //

// Oahu //

// Lana'i //

// Oahu //

// Sun Silhouettes //

// Sunrise on Lana'i //

// Sleepy Town of Shimoda //

// Shimoda Shore //

// Tempura Udon //

// Shinto Shrine on New Year's Eve //

// My Beautiful Obachan //

Fashion Trends: 12 Pretty Ponytails

 In case you need one, here are five good reasons to rock a ponytail.

1. You awake to what's about to be a really horrible hair day

2. You're late for work...again

3. It's raining/snowing/windy as hell outside

4. You're so over your 'do

5. You want to update your look without paying $400 to get your hair did

Ponytails are so quick and easy yet they always look amazing. Messy, sleek, side-parted, braided or bouffant-boosted, a ponytail will clean up your look in minutes. What's your favorite kind of ponytail?

// Part-Happy Pony via Refinery 29 //

photo credits to: Glamour Magazine UK, All Best Hairstyles.com, The Beauty Department.com and Love Hairstyle and The Perfect Line.com

Christmas Time is Here

// Festive Kitty Christmas Card //

December!? When did that happen?!? I took my car in for an oil change this weekend and to both my mechanic's and my horror, the last time I had had my oil changed was...wait for it...January 2012!!! (I hope my Dad doesn't read this) It really seemed like I had it changed 4 months ago-- ok, try 12 months ago. Time. Flies.

Every year since I can remember, I've made a Christmas card that I send out to family and friends. I just updated a few of my favorites and put them up for sale in my Etsy store, i make pretty. Take a look!

I also wanted to share a super simple no-bake recipe for Date-Nut Coconut Squares that I found in Martha Stewart Home Living. I've been making these healthy treats on the weekend and bringing them to work for breakfast. They go so well with a cup of coffee. Recipe below.

 // Rocker Girl Christmas Cards //

// Dreamy Christmas // 

// Girls in White Dresses Christmas Cards //

// Simple 'No-Bake' Date-Nut Coconut  Squares //

Makes 12 Squares

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup unsalted raw cashews or almonds

- 1 cup pitted dates

- 1/2 cup dried unsweetened shredded coconut

- pinch of cinnamon

1) Pulse 1/2 cup of nuts of your choice until coarsely chopped.

2) Add 1 cup of pitted dates (the softer the better), 1/4 cup of dried coconut, and a pinch of cinnamon and purée until smooth.

3) Place 1/4 cup more of the dried coconut on a plate. 

4) Take date mixture and form into 1-inch cubes. Dip all sides of the cube in the dried coconut to cover.  (I dip half and leave the other half plain as they are already quite sweet from the dates).

Cubes can be stored up to 1 week at room temperature in an airtight container.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: Fenton, California

 

 Every time I go home to visit my family, it has become tradition to take a hiking day trip some where new. This past trip home, we decided to go to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. This beautiful park located in the Santa Cruz mountains has over 20 miles of self guided hiking trails that weave guests through centuries-old majestic Redwoods, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Oak, Riparian and rare ancient marine deposits called Santa Cruz sandhills.

We took the Fall Creek trail which was about a 5 mile hike along the creek bed. Some of my favorite sightings on this trail were banana slugs and a patch of small springs that have popped up out of the forrest floor-- simply magical.

I took all of these pictures with my iPhone using an olloclip. Did I get carried away with the fisheye lens? Yes. But that's okay because it was my first time using an olloclip and, if I do say so myself, I think the pictures came out great!

 // K and O in awe //

// Olivia & Mr. Banana Slug //

 // Happy Accident in Full Effect //

// she'll be comin' round the mountain //

 // Leaves like Glitter //

// So Enchanting //

 // 2 Creeks converging (or reuniting?) into 1 //

 // i was here //

// shrooms galore //

 // Daredevil Dad //

 // uprooted //