Little Things

This weekend was definitely memorable.  I ended the longest, most stressful week of partial exams with a roller coaster of emotions. To begin, Thursday night I attended and presenced probably the most beautiful and talented trio in the entire world. Gianluca, Piero, and Ignazio from the famous Il Volo stole my heart with their angelical voices and of course their attractiveness. The night was perfectly lighted by stars; it truly couldn't have been more breath-taking. Having discovered Il Volo that night and falling deeply in-love with the handsome Gianluca, I have not stopped listening to their songs ever since. Before letting go of the cloud I've been on the entire weekend, my family spoiled me with lunch on Sunday at my favorite pizzeria in town: Tito's pizza. And I just want to mention the shocking Emma-Hook kiss on Once Upon A Time and the startling preview for next week's episode of Revenge. So now I can say "bring it on" to what this week has to offer. 

{Gianluca, Piero, and Ignazio flashing their looks, brains, and talents on stage}

{Tickets for the breath-takingly beautiful concert Il Volo presented}

{Stradivarus necklace, Forever21 peplum navy blue shirt}

*more on this outfit coming soon*

{Tito's Pizza personal vegetarian pizza. In my opinion, the best pizza in town.}

**Watch the Revenge promo for next week's episode here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMm2wLUW0YQ

Guilty Pleasures

This week was just one of those weeks. My mom left on a trip to Argentina, leaving me basically steering the wheel of my entire household. On top of that, every teacher decided to assign projects, essays, and tests for the end of the quarter. Even worse, my physical condition was suffering from a slight female issue (if you know what I mean). As I'm sure you all have heard, STRESSED spelled backwards is DESSERTS, and consequently, like any other hormonal teenage girl I tend to binge eat and wipe out anything sweet you place in front of me-literally. But don't worry, I waited till Friday night to indulge on the devilish Hershey kisses I stole from my mother's closet since she wasn't here (oops). I have no regrets. 

{Stress reliever on a Friday night after a LONG week: Hershey's kisses}

{Family lunch at Ruby Tuesday's: New York Cheesecake and Double Chocolate Cake for dessert}

{Best gift from my mother's trip to Argentina: Havanna Alfajores}

Sixteen Going on Seventeen

Once again, turning sixteen seemed like a VERY long way ahead. Now that I finally turned sixteen, I can literally say nothing has changed, except the fact that I am aging slowly. In spite of all the eagerness to turn sixteen, I picked out a pretty romantic yet casual floral dress for my birthday dinner. I made it even more casual by paring  the dress with a jean jacket and a pair of beige flats. It was a night filled with little favorite pleasures and lots of love, gifts, and hugs. (For more details on my sixteenth birthday, read my last Little Things post.)

{Urban Outfitters dress, H&M jean jacket, ALDO shoes}

{Forever21 bracelets, Fossil watch, Vintage earrings and infinity ring}

Fall Colors

This morning I woke up and got right to work. Seven pages and 2,271 words later, I was jumping up and down with joy; I was FINALLY done with that haunting Psychology essay. My Saturday went on as usual: running errands, coffee dates, and watching Charlie St. Cloud (it was the third time I watched it and I never get tired of Zac Efron's charm) with my family. 

Today I decided to dress to match the season, beige and red adorned with a hint of gold. Despite the fact that it's fall, Honduras has its own rules when it comes to climate and it's currently like a hundred degrees outside.

{Forever21 blouse and handbag, Kenneth Cole flats, A'GACI leggins}

{Fossil watch, vintage bracelet}

Banana Bread

This week started off with my 16th birthday, followed by the most amazing and miraculous news I have ever received, and ended with a Honduras-Costa Rica soccer game on a Friday off from school. The bad news, however, is that i have a seven-page essay due on Monday and it is creeping on my conscience. Sometimes, all I need is a little reality break and spend some time being creative in the kitchen. On Thursday afternoon, I walked into my kitchen trying to look for something to treat my sweet tooth. I found a bunch of ripe bananas and what better way is there to save them than making banana bread? So I got to work and made one of my favorite banana cupcake recipes from the one and only Martha Stewart. However, I decided to make the bread extra special and added a few almonds and raisins to her original recipe.

Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
• 2 large eggs
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp almonds 

Directions:

•          Preheat oven to 350 degrees
•          Mix together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt
•          In the center of the flour mixture, mix together butter, bananas, eggs, vanilla
•          Stir together, add cinnamon, chopped almonds, and raisins
•          Bake about 25-30 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
•      Remove from oven and wait approximately 10-15 minutes to remove it from the container you baked the bread in. 
•          Then, you can add cream cheese frosting (optional), Martha Stewart's honey-cinnamon frosting, or enjoy with a nice cup of warm coffee or tea

You can also make a shift to this recipe by adding 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of or along with the raisins and almonds. It's absolutely delightful. 

Little Things

The long-awaited sixteenth birthday I've been mentioning in previous posts finally came. To celebrate my sweet sixteen, I opened the doors of my residence up in the mountain of El Hatillo to my closest friends and families. We enjoyed a wonderful Saturday starlit evening of all of my favorite things. To begin, an exquisite pina colada made by my wonderful mother. To nibble on, chips and salsa, plantain chips and creamy onion dip, and my rich and fudgey brownies. As a main dish, we had a variety of tacos and gringas (chicken, beef, or pork), topped with pico de gallo, guacamole, and spicy sauces. To end the night, we lit up 16 candles on a pastel-colored, ballet slipper inspired vanilla cake with dulce de leche filling. Nothing gets better than this.

{Sweet sixteen cake: vanilla cake with dulce de leche filling, vanilla frosting, and fondant ballet slippers, of course}

{Sunday treat: original flavored frozen yogurt topped with strawberries and blueberries}

Last week was overwhelming and tiring. Lately, that's what sophomore year seems to be going. However, I value every little time I have to spare to do all of my favorite things, like going on movie -dinner dates and shopping sprees with my mom. After watching the hottest man alive, Channing Tatum, on White House Down, we encountered this lovely yet tiny ring and I completeley fell inlove with it. We ended our night with a dinner at our favorite gourmet burger place and split an enormously indulgent burger with a side of crispy and sodium-infused fries.

{Gold-pink tiny infinity ring}

{Last Saturday's craving: In and Out's Bourbon Chicken Burger.}