Tropical Beachy Popsicles Perfect for Summer!

As the title of this post states, we're going to be making popsicles today.  I've been eating soooooo badly lately and I've been struggling to eat anything at all. Thanks hot weather!!!!

These are super super SUPER easy to make. All you need is a blender and some fruit. (and popsicle molds. If you don't have those you can make tiny little pops in an ice cube tray!) These honestly make me feel like I'm on some tropical vacation so I really recommend making these! A cool beachy treat! Or should I say.. peachy... :-)

So I got these popsicle molds from Target. They also have these ones, and these ones as well. 

Now you can use whatever kind of fruit you like, but today I used peaches, pineapples and bananas (and oranges with the orange juice). I didn't measure anything but I used

• a whole banana
• 2 handfuls of peaches
• 1 handful of pineapple 
• like 1/2 - 1 cup of orange juice

If I was making berry popsicles I would've added spinach because that's how I always make berry smoothies!! You won't be able to taste the spinach at all so it's an easy way to get some greens in for the day! 

Like I said before, I didn't measure anything so the amount you use of each fruit is going to be based on your personal preference! If you're using frozen fruit I would recommend using a bit more liquid than normal so that it will blend better. 

Also keep in mind that there are only 6 popsicle molds so be wary of how much you're making. Or you know just make a lot so you can have a yummy fruit smoothie while you wait for the popsicles to freeze!

Once you pour the smoothie mix into the molds, they will take around three-ish hours to freeze completely. When you want to eat one, try holding the popsicle under hot water for around 30 seconds to remove it from the container.

That's all!! This is the perfect summer treat to be honest. Easy to make and will cool you down in this gross weather!

Cold weather plz come back!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading everyone! 

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Birthday Festivities and THREE DESSERTS????

This weekend was allll about my boyfriend because it was his birthday the other day and we finally got to celebrate together!

We had a cute little picnic and played video games all day and it was perfect.

So for his birthday, I made him an apple pie and chocolate covered strawberries! I'm going to share those recipes as well as a brownie recipe that is so good it just needs to be shared with you all.

Okay y'all let's not waste any time getting into this. These brownies are the best brownies I've ever had. I've tried countless recipes and I always come crawling back to this one.

I make these at least once a month. Probably even more than that.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it's by someone named Angie. That's all the information there is unfortunately.

Here's the ingredients!

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1-2 cups candy 

It also gives you a recipe for frosting to put on the brownies but I don't ever make that so If you would like to, just click on the recipe in the link above :-) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour an 8 inch pan (I use a round one) 
2. In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. I find it's easier to heat up the butter in the microwave in a little ramekin! Stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Make sure the butter isn't too hot when you add the eggs or it will start to cook them!
3. Mix in cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder.
4. Now this is where I like to add a little something to my batter. CANDY. Reeses Pieces or peanut butter M&M's are really good in these. Today I'll be adding just regular M&M's which are just as great! Mix in a cup or 2 of your candy of choice. 
5. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. 
6. Let cool before cutting! ENJOY. 

Now for the birthday dessert! The apple pie recipe is from Taste of Home.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie seasoning (instead of 1/4 tsp ginger and nutmeg)
• 6 to 7 cups peeled and sliced apples
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• pastry for double crust (9 inches)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 large egg white
• additional sugar (for crust)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine sugars, flour and spices. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture and toss to coat. 
2. Line 9 inch pie plate with bottom crust, trim to b even with edge. Fill with apple mixture and dot with butter. Roll out remaining dough for the top crust. Place over filling, trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry. 
3. Beat egg white until foamy; brush over pastry. Sprinkle with sugar and cover edges loosely with foil. 
4. Bake at 375℉ for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. 
5. Cool on wire rack. 

The chocolate covered strawberries are pretty self explanatory! All you need are some strawberries and some semi sweet chocolate.

I also (of course) forgot to take a picture after they were dipped but they sure do look pretty when they're drying!

 Directions:

1. Wash and lay out strawberries. (they need to be completely dry before you dip them into the chocolate)
2. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Put a bowl of the chocolate on top of that and stir until chocolate has melted. 
3. Dip strawberries in chocolate and lay on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Let them set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Thank's for reading! I hope you enjoy these delicious, (mainly) chocolatey treats as much as I do! 

July Favorites + some light reflections

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to talk about all of the things I've loved this past July. This year has been flying by! I can barely keep track on what day it is to be honest.. Except for Thursday's obviously since that's when I post on here :-)

So before I get into my favorites, I just want to reflect a bit on the past month. My work schedule was pretty hectic and I wasn't getting much sleep so I've been running on empty all month.

I've been so tired and out of whack but things are calming down a bit and I'm excited to be able to put in more time on the blog and with my other endeavors!

I also recently went on a little much needed vacation (which I just posted a blog about! Check it out here if you missed it!!).

I absolutely love the mountains and being able to be there with my boyfriend and our friends was so incredible. Even though it was totally hot and there was 10 of us staying in a two bedroom cabin, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

Anyways, I won't bore you with everything that happened in July, but just know that I feel recharged, extremely grateful, and almost as if I had an epiphany. Or an epiphery, as Michael Scott would say.

On to the favorites!!!

• Fruit - this feels so weird to put as a favorite but it's true. I've been eating so much fruit lately and I can't get enough of it! I put it on oatmeal, I make tons of smoothies, I'm eating it by itself. I just can't stop. 
• Living Proof by State Champs - THIS ALBUM RULES. THIS IS. THE BEST ALBUM OF 2018. POSSIBLY EVEN EVER. this shit SLAPS. 
• Animal Crossing 'New Leaf' - okay I know this game is like super old but ??? It's incredible. I bought a 3DS a few months ago and I'm not kidding when I say I play this game every. single. day. 
• Amali Multi Strap Sandals - These slide sandals are so friction cute I can't even stand it. They are from Target and they have them in red (the color I got) and in black. The straps are sometimes annoying because you have to fix them if your foot slips out even the slightest bit. I purchased these for Fourth of July and they were perfection!!
• Cooking - I've just really been loving cooking lately! I want to cook all the time and I want to create new recipes and try other people's recipes as well! It's very relaxing to me (even though I get frazzled while I'm actually cooking.) I love learning new things and I love eating so this has been a really fun thing for me to explore. Of course I'll be sharing my cooking journey here on the blog with all of you as well!
• Mamma Mia - This is one is kind of embarrassing honestly. I've watched this movie (the first one) more times this month than I care to admit. Sometimes even watching it more than once a day.. I'm so obsessed with it and the soundtrack. And if I'm being honest, the movie itself is all over the place. It's not even like a 5 star movie, but I just can not stop watching it. Here I go again! 

Sorry if this is boring y'all! I got more to come to the blog soon so keep an eye out! 

As always thanks for reading!!

Camping Photo Diary + Essentials

Hey guys! Over the weekend I went on a little trip with my boyfriend and a group of his friends!! We stayed in a cabin up in Big Bear and it was such a much needed break from work and from the interwebz. It felt so nice to not use my phone and just relax.

Now originally this was going to be two separate posts, but between work and things I needed to get done before we went on our trip, everything just got away from me. I didn't have much time to take any pictures of my bag with the exception of a few outfits (that I didn't even bring).

So below I included those pictures and some photos I took while we were up in the mountains! Now again I didn't take much pictures because we were only up there for a day and I kind of just wanted to enjoy my time without any cell service!

First things first, some of the clothes I brought with me.

Some camping trip must haves;

• Baby wipes for cleaning, wiping down tables, your body if theres no shower. 
• Sunglasses + a hat - gotta keep that face protected from the sun
• Snacks - for the car ride up there and back 
• A cooler - for in the car to hold food/water if it's going to be hot on the car ride
• First Aid Kit - my boyfriend sliced his foot open literally an hour after we got there so it's good to be prepared

Now here's all the photos I took while we were there! My boyfriend also got some cool shots of our trip so go check out the video he posted on his instagram!!

Thanks for reading! New post up on Thursday!!

Making Instant Ramen Healthier and Tastier!!!

I've got a recipe coming your way in 3...
2...
1....

Now who doesn't like ramen? Honestly? Its so good and hello instant ramen is QUICK + and hits that salt craving head on. But if you're like me then you're probably like uhh hello there's too much sodium in this and it's kinda boring... So if you want to spice up some cheap noodles then this is the recipe for you!

This is actually my favorite way to eat ramen so I'm really excited to share this with you! And obviously real authentic ramen is going to be better but this is good for when you need a quick meal at home and you don't feel like doing too much.

Ingredients:

• Bag of ramen noodles
• 1-2 green onions
• Water
• Soy Sauce
• Sesame Oil
• Pre-cooked + shredded chicken (optional)
• Spinach
• Kale

Directions: 

• So first you are going to start out by cooking the noodles like you normally would. While these are cooking, go ahead and cut the green onion. 
• When the noodles are done, pour like 3-4 drops of sesame oil in. But be careful because it's very strong. Now throw some spinach and kale in there. The amount you use is up to you. I like a lot so I'll do a few handfuls of each (and they shrink up so even that isn't enough) 
• Once they've wilted a bit put in the onions and the chicken if you're using it. Then add the seasoning mix that comes with the noodles, but DON'T use the whole packet. Only use like 1/4 of it. Stir it all together. 
• Put it in a bowl, pour some soy sauce over and enjoy! 

If you want it to be little spicy you can pour some sriracha on top as well!

Thanks for reading and let me know if you like my recipe!! 

I'M BACKKKK!!!! + summer music playlist

Hey y'all! Long time no see! It's me, Sammi. I decided take a break from blogging last summer due to me not being inspired and confused about the direction of my blog.

Over the last..year almost, I've been trying to better myself and figure out if I wanted to continue on in the blogosphere. Obviously me writing this post tells you that I have in fact decided to return! I'm really excited to get back into things and put out better content than before!!

Today's blog post is going to be very simple and pretty much a transition post for what's to come. I have here a summer playlist full of fun summer tunes, mainly new but some oldish stuff to getcha in the groove.

I hope you enjoy! I'm hopefully going to have a new post up next Thursday! Not sure what my posting is going to be like as my schedule changes every week but I will try to be as consistent as I can! Thanks for reading (and listening.. hehe)

A Week in the Woods - camping photo diary PART 2

As promised, here's the other half of camping photos!

Thanks for reading!! ♡

XO