Oatmeal raisin cookies

Mmmmm gooey chewy oatmeal raisin cookies. That is all I have to say. What follows is from this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. 

1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream the butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until smooth.

Separately, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Combine the mixtures and add oats and raisins (if desired).

Either chill the dough for a few hours or bake the cookies immediately (if you are impatient like I am), for 10-12 minutes or until they are slightly browned on the sides.

Relaxing start to the weekend

Went for another round of hot yoga today which completely wore me out. Enjoyed a nice hot bath with a magazine, soothing Sigur Rόs music in the background, and a grapefruit. Perfect way to start my weekend.

Palmer Lake hike

Took a break from the city today, ventured into a small town called Palmer Lake on the side of a mountain. The weather was fantastic here in Colorado so my boyfriend and I enjoyed a hike in almost 70-degree weather. 

The pawprints of the cute puppies we hiked with

The beautiful view

Us

Marbled nails

Have always wanted to try water-marbling my nails and today I finally had the time to do it!

Now that I have finally figured out the whole process, it probably wouldn't take me very long to replicate it. However, it took me almost an hour of trial and error today.

Here's what works:

Start with a small cup of warm water (the smaller the cup, the less nail polish wasted)

and nails with a basecoat and one layer of a neutral polish (I used a Revlon basecoat and an Essie polish)

Choose at least two colors of polish for the design

Drop dots of polish into the water, each inside the last (the circles will expand as more dots are added)

Drag a toothpick or orange stick through the polish, carefully avoiding dipping it into the water

Tape around your nail (if desired) for easier clean-up then submerge the nail into the cup. Aim for the part of the design you want on your nail. Dip your entire finger into the water and use a toothpick/orange stick to circle your finger and pick up excess surrounding nail polish. Repeat the process for each nail

The end result! Honestly not as hard as it looks, just make sure to keep the water warm and use relatively new nail polishes. I tried with older ones and the drops just sank into the water, not spreading out like necessary.

Yoga

Registered for a free week at the new gym by my house and have been taking daily yoga classes as part of this. Went to hot vinyasa today and wow am I feeling it! Every single muscle in my body protests with every single movement I make, especially my shoulders. So many downward-facing dogs!

Once my week is over, I will have to come up with my own yoga routines to keep up with my strength and flexibility. I have used the YOGA Free and Yoga Stretch apps for a while and like that you can create your own routines. Also, yogatoday.com offers a free class each week online.

Sometimes all it takes is good music to get me in the mood for yoga. Yogitunes.com and Omstream.com help with this, and offer free online streaming and free downloads. Also, I have found that yoga goes well with Cirque du Soleil music accompanying it. For example, the Cirque du Soleil Pandora station.

Now back to guzzling down huge amounts of water in the hopes of waking up less sore!

Foldover elastic hair ties

Bought some knotted hair ties made from Foldover elastic (FOE) at the beginning of the school year and I never wear a ponytail without one now! They are a fantastic way to dress up a simple hair style. My hair is pretty thick so I usually wear one over a normal hair tie, but for something like the bottom of a braid just the one is enough. 

I have these colors, the four on the left are from Forever21 (now sold out) and the six on the right are from Anthropologie. Seems like Emi-Jay is the place to go for the original product.

Found some FOE at Joann Fabrics and bought a few yards for a few dollars per yard. Now that I have done my online research, it seems that FOE generally goes for less so in the future I would go that route.

With my new FOE I made a headband! Super easy, just measured it around my head, added about an inch and a half, cut it, and made a knot with the ends. Super comfortable, cheap, and unique.

Also found this great tutorial to tie dye FOE for an even more unique look, and a great gift!

The first of January...

...is my Dad's birthday! 

We celebrated with fondue, an annual tradition.

First course: emmenthaler and appenzeller in one; cheddar and crab in the other.

Second course: shrimp, beef, and vegetables in beef broth or vegetable broth.

 

Third course: chocolate! With strawberries, bananas, and pound cake to dip.

Yum! Needless to say I am full enough to not eat for a week!