LC's Barbie Dream Home

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Oh LC: my icon, my girl crush, my muse. Not only did Lauren Conrad just have the most perfect wedding and marry the most handsome man, but she also recently let InStyle magazine take a peek inside her fabulous Beverly Hills penthouse. It's a far step above Barbie, but it does have that dream home feel to it. 
Lauren mentions that she styles her home like she styles her clothes. Lot's of neutrals and investment pieces. 

If only LC and I could sit at that breakfast nook together with oatmeal and coffee and gab about Laguna, Stephen, Teen Vogue and Speidi...

Her touches of mustard yellow have me swooning. I love how she gives this often dated color a sense of glamour and chicness. 

I did a little digging and found some before pictures of her penthouse. She bought the space back in the Spring of 2012, but has completely transformed it since. Proof that LC's taste is as impeccable as ever.

It's safe to say LC gave this penthouse the elegance it deserves. With a view of the 90210 like that, you have to have an interior to match! Bravo Lauren, you have impressed us once again. 

View the full story & video on InStyle or in the current October issue. You can also get her look with inspired pieces from Brit+Co's post!
How would you design your dream home? Mine would defiantly have a breakfast nook just like Lauren, a kitchen the size of Texas, a walk in closet, a bathtub and be decorated in navy, white and gold!
Annie

Get Your Own Box!

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Homemade Cheez-Its - actually so worth it and honestly don't take much effort. 

I have seen recipes for homemade Cheez-Its before, and they have always floated around on my list of things I want to make. I finally put them into action after one of my friends was talking about how they were her favorite food. Ironic that she loves them so much because she actually despises cheese, but I think we can all agree Cheez-Its are delicious and insanely addicting. These homemade Cheez-Its are just as delicious and also insanely addicting. 
Homemade Cheez-Its
yields about 70 little crackers
Ingredients: 
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temp.
1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour*
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. ice cold water
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix your grated cheese and butter in an electric mixer. Add in your flour and salt to combine. Dough will be crumbly. Add your ice cold water 1 tbsp. at a time until the dough comes together. 
Roll your dough out on a floured surface to about a 1/8 inch thickness. Using a sharp knife, cut into about 1 in. x 1 in. squares. I used a toothpick to create the signature hole in the middle of the cracker. The crackers don't really expand when they bake, so I was able to fit all of my crackers on one large baking sheet. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt then bake for 12 minutes.
**You can use 1 cup of all-purpose flour if you don't have whole-wheat on hand. I like the combination of both to give the crackers a more nutty and baked taste!

The end result tasted exactly like a Cheez-It, if not better. Full of real cheese flavor and that salty baked taste just like the real thing. Mine came out a little soft and puffy which I loved! 
My Cheez-It friend loved them and we snacked away Sunday night while I "studied" for a Marketing test. Like the Cheez-It slogan states, you'll want to "get your own box" of these homemade treats!

Annie

Bites of My Life

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Today is my 70th bites post! I love sitting down every Sunday to compile pictures from the week and reminisce on how the previous days went. 
A year ago today, my bites post was a little empty. It's so interesting to look back just year ago and see how different, yet how similar things still are. A year ago I was posting about the return of one of my favorite TV shows, a pumpkin recipe and inspiration for my future room. A year later, my favorite TV show (now Scandal instead of Nashville) returned again, I'm still putting pumpkin recipes to use and I'm now nestled in the bed I was then, only dreaming about. 
This past week I gained two great-grand littles, had a white girl moment and went pumpkin crazy, took a break from school work :0 and enjoyed the coming season, then finished the week by getting a little tropical. 
The evenings are getting darker earlier, the mornings are cool and the air is filled with that yummy fall smell. I can feel the seasons changing. I can feel a change not only in the weather but also in my life. Here's to an awesome autumn and a fabulous fall!
-Being in a sorority allows you to call yourself a great-grandma at the age of 21 and it be completely normal. I couldn't love this Kappa family of mine more! (not pictured are our 7 extended family members).
-First pumpkin snack--Microwave popcorn with white chocolate chips and pumpkin pie spice. The way the white chocolate starts to melt on the hot popcorn and mixes with the pumpkin flavoring takes this late-night snack to a whole nother level. 
-Maple glazed oatmeal cookies! I love baking, specifically for friends so that they can "take a bite." Recipe post to come.
-Now for the other three pumpkin dishes--pumpkin smoothie, pumpkin spice latte, and pumpkin granola. Recipe for the smoothie is on my insta, and the granola recipe is to come. I'm actually enjoying another latte this morning in honor of National Coffee day!
-Cashew butter toast with a thinly sliced granny smith and cinnamon. You should definitely give cashew butter a try if you haven't already. 
-Can't get enough of these cutie ruffled tube socks. Monday's nights big/little pajamas haven't come off since...
-Girls night with two of my best friends at a local fav. Blue cheese chips to start on the patio at Blu.
-The cheese section=the best part of the grocery store. Especially when they have samples out. 
-Some tropical  "trade winds" blew in on Saturday.
-Sunday night's baking experiment was homemade Cheez-Its. They rock. Recipe post this afternoon for a little added pep to your Monday!
Annie


Copper Boom

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If you know where Stars Hollow is, who Amy-Sherman Palladino is and what a Gilmorism is, then stick around. If you can't answer yes to any of these questions, then this blog post probably isn't for you.
After the announcement of Gilmore Girls coming to Netflix October 1st, the Gilmore fan base has really come together and re-established our obsession with our favorite Gilmore Girls. There have been various BuzzFeed's, quizzes, articles and ABC Family marathons getting everyone ready for the brilliance that Netflix is about to bring us.
I grew up watching Gilmore Girls everyday after school at 4 o'clock on ABC Family. I'd sit on the couch eating a pint of Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream, "doing my homework," and having my mom roll her eyes and say, "Annie-I've even seen this episode 100 times, turn it off and do you homework." Then I'd have to assure her, "Yes mom I have too, it's just background noise, I'm not watching, I really am doing my homework." haha jokes on you mom. 
The fact that I'm about to have access to Gilmore Girls 24/7 hasn't really set in yet. My life is about to be filled with numerous Gilmorisms, Lorelai's life lessons, episodes with Jess and Logan on repeat, watching "You Jump I Jump Jack" over and over, skipping most episodes where Dean and Rory were together, wondering if the coffee at Luke's is really that good and finally wishing I could stay the night at The Drangonfly Inn. 
Gilmore Girls was my life all of middle school and high school and it's about to be apart of my life again. I can't wait. GG was so apart of my life, Kathleen and I even dedicated a whole day one summer to pretending like we were in Gilmore Girls. We had coffee at Luke's (our house), took a trip to the video store (Blockbuster), had a cafe lunch at Westin's (McLaren's, for all you Edmonites), and, Kathleen help me if I'm making this up but I'm pretty sure we paid a visit to Grandmother's and referred to her as Emily. 
Did you know you can take a tour of the Stars Hollow set at the WB studies in LA? Ya I want to do that. 
Like most Gilmore-crazed fans, I've taken all the quizzes, read all the BuzzFeeds and taken advantage of all the ways to brush up on my GG knowledge before it airs next Wednesday. 
Some fun facts I've learned along the way...Rory actually hates coffee and would drink Coke out of her coffee cup while filming. There was almost a Jess spinoff show after he ran off to visit his dad in California. And the worst, Paris originally auditioned for the part of Rory, can you imagine?
Kathleen challenged me in the Vultures quiz yesterday, she beat me, wha wha, but we both got "Luke," as our result. I have to be honest, I was never a Luke fan, I was especially never a Luke and Lorelai fan.
Some of my favorites are:
Favorite boy from Lorelai's life...Christopher. Yes, I know, but for the sake of Rory I always wanted them to end up together.
Favorite boy from Rory's life...Jess, ah Jess!
Favortie episode...You Jump I Jump Jack. In omnia paratus.
Favorite gilmorism...Copper Boom! It comes from the episode when Rory moves into college. I just think it's a fun phrase and I surprisingly can find ways to sneak it into everyday conversations. 
In my research for this post I came across quite the collection of Rory and Lorelai pictures. Entertain yourself with seeing how they changed throughout the seasons. 

cute...

cute...

cute...

BAM! weird...what was this photoshoot for??

and this, what?

and again...Rory, you a little tired?
Sing it with me now, 
"If you're out on the road
Feeling lonely and so cold
All you have to do is call my name
And I'll be there on the next train
Where you lead, I will follow
Anywhere that you tell me to
If you need, you need me to be with you
I will follow where you lead"
Annie

Double Chocolate and Coconut Cookies

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This was one of those, let's see what's in the pantry then check Pinterest for something using only ingredients I already have on hand so that I don't have to go to the store, kind of baking adventures.

I woke up at my parent's house Sunday morning after house sitting for them while they are galavanting around London and Paris (Happy 30th Anniversary Mom and Pops!). I always take advantage of their kitchen and food when I'm home. After watching a solid hour of Sunday morning Food Network shows, I was itching to bake something. I walked to the pantry and found a random abundance of chocolate chips. This was only random because no one bakes at home now that I'm gone. 

Regular chocolate chip cookies were not going to cut it, so I checked the chocolate recipes I had pinned and decided on these Double Chocolate and Coconut cookies. They are described as having a brownie like texture, and use cocoa and coconut. It wasn't going to take much more to convince me. 

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Double Chocolate and Coconut Cookies: Recipe adapted fromToday's Mama
yields 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp (straight out of the fridge then microwaved for 20 seconds also does the trick)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded coconut, extra for sprinkling on top  

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350º F.  Line 2 cookies sheets by with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides as needed. Switch the mixer to medium speed and beat in the brown sugar and white sugar until combined. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Turn the mixer off and pour the sifted dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until combined.  Slowly add in the chocolate chips and coconut.  Beat until well combined–do not overmix.

Form into about 1 1/2 Tbsp. size balls and place on cookie sheet.  Flatten the balls of dough slightly and sprinkle with a little more coconut. Bake for about 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies (1 Tbsp of dough will take about 8 minutes, 2 Tbsp of dough will take closer to 12 minutes). 9 minutes was perfect for me!

Let cool for about 2 minutes on the sheets and then slide the parchment paper off the cookies sheets to finish cooling on the counter. Eat and enjoy! Store extras in an air tight container for up to 3 days, store in the freezer for up to one month.

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The cookies were baked and Food network was still going strong on the TV, but it was time to pack up these chocolate and coconut sweet treats and head back to Norman. I brought these to my Homecoming pep rally dance practice for a Sunday pick-me-up. The cookies went over swimingly. I heard someone compare them to an Almond Joy, and I got a "these are actually amazing."

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I love when random deliciousness can be stemmed from ingredients already in the pantry. I also think these would be cute at Christmastime because the coconut kind of resembles a dusting of snow. These may be a repeat offender come Decemember.

Annie