Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almond Clusters

Yes, I put sea salt, chocolate, and almonds in the title of this post. Yes, this is a recipe I tried this week and let me tell you....it is amazingly delicious and very easy to make with only 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:
2 cups of whole almonds
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolates
sea salt

Directions:
1. Place almonds in a single layer on a baking pan covered with parchment paper and place in oven for 10 minutes, stirring one time, at 300 degrees.
2. Melt the chocolate either using a double broiler on the stove top or in the microwave. If using the microwave, use a medium size safe microwavable bowl. Melt the chocolate in 30 seconds increments, stirring between each time. It took about 3 minutes for the chocolate to melt.
3. Stir the almonds into the chocolate, making sure to coat almonds completely. Scoop a spoonful of almonds out and onto wax paper. If wanting large clusters using a larger spoon and scoop 10-12 almonds at a time, if wanting smaller clusters use a small spoon and scoop 6-8 almonds. Continue till all almonds are used.
4. Sprinkle sea salt on top of the clusters and allow to set. For mine to set quickly, I placed in the fridge.
5. Enjoy! You can s
tore clusters in fridge for up to four weeks.
 

Bubbly & Brunch Bridal Shower

This past weekend, I, along with the four other bridesmaids, hosted a bridal shower in honor of my sister and her upcoming nuptials. The theme was Bubbly & Brunch and I chose to carry her wedding colors into the bridal shower. We used navy and white as the main colors with pops of red here and there. 

The invitation was inspired by a design on Pinterest and I re-created it using PicMonkey.

To add some color to the walls and additional decor, I made these paper flowers using a tutorial I found on Pinterest.

The mimosa bar was a huge success. We provided blue champagne flutes to match the colors of the shower and it was also used as the party favor. There was champagne with three different juice options and four different garnish choices. We also provided some sparkling juice for some of our younger guests and our guests who are expecting.

To determine who's glass was who's I used my Cricut to cut paper rings and then had guests write their name.

The food choices included mini quiches (some with meat and some vegetarian), french toast & smoked sausage kabobs, waffle bitty bites, mini hash brown casseroles, fruit pizzas, fruit kabobs, veggie pizza, and sliced honey ham. For dessert we offered two different donut cakes, a powdered donut cake and a variety of homemade donuts from a local donut shop.

We played Guess the Bride's Age. Guests had to look at the pictures and guess what age the bride was according to the photo. It was a ton of fun to find the pictures and play the game.

My sister, the bride (3rd in from left), and her bridesmaids. 

Baby Shower Cake

For my cousin's baby shower, I decided to make the cake at home. We aren't sure what the baby is going to be so I decided to use both pink and blue colors. I got the idea for the cake from Charm City Cake's Cake Tattoos. You can purchase them at any Michael's and they are simply pieces of icing that have print on them. So I baked two cakes an 8in and 6in round cake. For the 8in I had to stack two cakes together so I placed a Nutella butter cream in the middle. Once Stacked I iced both cakes with homemade butter cream icing. Then I placed the cake tattoos on and added some more butter cream decorations. I think it turned out great! And it was delicious.

Burnt Cherry Pop-tarts and Orange Juice!

So as I was trying to think of things to do on my computer I realized that I wanted to blog about burnt cherry pop-tarts and orange juice. I love them and they are a great combination. It is one of those things that many people say gross to but then when you ask them if they like peanut butter and pickles they are all for it! That to me is gross. I love cherry pop-tarts though and when I eat them if I can burn them, then I burn them. The crust on the outer part must be almost black and the filling inside needs to be boiling out! Then I know that I have perfected my pop-tart treat and I cannot wait to eat them. The best thing that goes with them is a glass of orange juice with no pulp. It is just FABULOUS!!!! So I wanted to share my fun treat with you while I ate them and decided what to do :)

Fall, oh Fall :)

Fall is my favorite season in Ohio and so far it has been one of the best Falls I have ever experienced. It is only seven days into October and I am loving it. This past weekend, my niece, one of my roommates, and I went to the pumpkin patch. We went to the one that I have always gone to and we had so much fun. The patch has not really changed since I was little, they have just expanded their play area for children and my niece loved it. We had so much fun deciding on pumpkins and playing with her. She went down this one slide almost thirty times. We got homemade kettle corn, the first sip of Apple Cider and then we went back to my dorm and painted them! We painted all kinds of colors and used glitter, they turned out fabulous, all the while we watched my roomies', my niece's, and I's favorite movie: Beauty and the Beast! After painting pumpkins and eating some of our delicious popcorn we went out to eat. Now one of my roommates and I are making homemade applesauce! So far the process is going well. My recipe calls for 6 apples and since we did not think it was enough, we decided to quadruple the recipe. Well lets just say we have apples overflowing the pot. Right now the apples are simmering and we are almost done, and boy does it smell delicious! I cannot wait to taste how good it smells. If you would like to make your own applesauce I have posted the recipe along with pictures of this past weekend at the pumpkin patch! Happy Fall :)

Homemade Applesauce
Ingredients:
6 apples (preferably McIntosh)
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel and core apples and cut into quarters. Place in an enamel sauce pan with water and lemon juice. Bring to boil then turn heat down slightly. Simmer 30 minutes to break down and get them to thicken. Take off heat and stir in sugar and cinnamon. Enjoy!

Travel Report: Chicago

So this past weekend I had the opportunity to travel with my school's volleyball team to Chicago for a tournament. We left on a Thursday afternoon and ended up in Chicago around 11 at night by taking a bus. We stayed in Hyde Park which is probably 20 minutes away from downtown Chicago and it was a complete and different experience than I had had the first time I visited Chicago. We got very little time outside of the Volleyball Tournament, but what we saw of the University of Chicago was really fun. The first night we spent in Hyde Park and we ate at some amazing restaurants. We started our food exploration at Medici (sorry if spelling is incorrect) and it is similar to a local hang out. Had food that ranges from grilled cheese to salmon, the prices were very reasonable and I would recommend to anybody. THe second place we ate at for dinner was a pizza restaurant. They have amazing deepdish and the toppings are stuffed inside the pizza. It was absolutely delicious and we topped the night off with triple chocolate cake :) The final day we were in Chicago we had breakfast at a Greek Restaurant which was only a block from our hotel. They had a great American variety of breakfast food and they were very speedy with their service. We ate the Tavern at the Park in downtown Chicago that night for dinner and we were stuffed with how much food we received. We ordered two or three appetizers and each one was fabulous, I order their house cheeseburger with straw fries and they were amazing. The food in Chicago is top of the line and can either be super cheap or super expensive and we witnessed that all. Our hotel looked a little on the sketchy side of things until you are in the room, but then they seemed okay and very secure on the outside. The weather was not so great, it rained all weekend but that did not stop us from having a good time. Overall I give this trip 4 out of 5 stars.