The 10-day forecast is downright depressing with chilly winter temperatures showing no signs of rising. My online shopping carts on the other hand, are feeling that crisp spring vibe. I have warmer weather, walks to the beach, cocktails on the patio, and bright spring colors on the mind this week to help me get through these last few weeks of the winter. On my radar for the change of the seasons is a palette of hot coral, chambray stripes, and just a touch of mint! Shop all of my spring wish list picks below (almost all of them are under $50!). 
read more
I had such a good weekend — it was my birthday and I had the best time relaxing, celebrating with friends and family, and of course indulging in some birthday treats. I have been craving Thin Mints lately, some subliminal Girl Scout messaging must have seeped into my brain and sure enough the Girl Scouts were waiting at the top of the subway platform on my way home from work last week and the cookie gods had given me a sign that it was time for Thin Mints. Now serving a bowl of Girl Scout cookies would probably have been a welcomed dessert by my family that came over to celebrate my birthday, but you know I don’t roll that way. So I crushed up the cookies and layered them in glasses with brownies and whipped cream, the flavors melded together into a minty, chocolatey sweet treat — it was delicious! Full recipe below:
read more
This hot, steamy, humid weekend called for a serious cool-down concoction. I’ve seen this idea of adding popsicles to cocktails on Pinterest before, and this felt like the perfect time to try it out. In a wine glass I muddled a few mint leaves and sliced peaches, poured in some chilled vodka, and topped off the glass with half an IZZE sparkling peach. Then for the finishing touch, a peach popsicle dunked in to keep things cool! And the best part is that you get to snack on the popsicle while you enjoy your drink! Cheers! 
Blueberry mint simple syrup is super easy to make, I whipped up a batch this weekend to top off prosecco for a sweet, seasonal cocktail. To make the syrup, combine one cup of sugar, half a cup of water, a handful of fresh mint leaves, a few pieces of lemon rind, and two cups of blueberries in a saucepan. Bring all of the ingredients to a boil, and let them cook down for about 10 minutes. Next, strain the berries, leaves and rind and leave the liquid in a bowl to cool down. I was impatiently awaiting a cocktail, so I cooled mine in the freezer for a short time. After cooling, strain the syrup one more time. To make the cocktails, pour a glass of champagne or prosecco three-quarters of the way full, and then add the simple syrup to taste– I like mine a bit sweeter, so I added about one full tablespoon to my drink. Then garnish with lemon, mint, and fresh blueberries — and cheers! I’m thinking ways to use the leftover blueberry mint simple syrup — perhaps on a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream?
Last year after my birthday I wrote up a “30 before 30” list of things I wanted to accomplish and do — and the tastiest of goals on that list was to learn how to bake macarons. This weekend I tackled both by taking a macaron baking class at Sur La Table with sister and our friend! My greatest takeaway from the class was that now I understand why macarons are so expensive — it ain’t easy to make them! But our awesome teacher gave us lots of tips to perfect this tricky baking skill. We made some delicious flavors: mint with chocolate espresso ganache, strawberry with champagne butter cream, and then the wild card… bacon macarons with maple cream filling. I will totally try making them again (on a less humid weekend!) and am already hunting for my next cooking class to take because we had so much fun. And bonus: I now have 2 dozen macarons to snack on this week! 
Whenever I see pictures of a mint and white bathroom I tear them out for my ‘someday’ inspiration folder. There’s something fresh and clean about these colors in a bathroom — what do you think of this color scheme?
images via House Beautiful
