Little Things

Summer has finally come. The long days of incessant brain activity, stress, and school drama have finally come to an end. Now, I say, it is time for staying up late at night, waking up whenever I wish to wake up, testing and tasting a thousand different recipes, going out, and having fun. My summer began way earlier than planned. It so happened that I was excempt from ALL of the final exams, which meant that I had every right to skip the last three days of school. Oh, the perks of being a nerd. I would not consider myself fully a nerd, for I definitely have a social life outside of the classroom and text books (hence,the story of my life on this blog). But now that I can forget about all of that crap, these are my plans for the summer.

•  Working out
• Reading
• Blogging
• Baking, cooking, and eating
• Cleaning out my room and my closet
• Learn to drive
• Keep learning French
• Travel

{A mid-morning snack: Homemade Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with a warm cup of coffee. Follow the recipe and then just add about 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips.}

 

{Organizing my closet with all of my handbags. I did the same with my heels but I did not take a picture. You can also hand your bags on a hanger behind a door. I followed Emily's tips on organizing closets.}

{Tong's Thai Cuisine- My new favorite restaurant in town. This was the second time I ate here, and I ordered an appetizer of Summer Vegetable Rolls. The best part was the Peanut Sauce on the side.}

 

{I can finally say I have the luxury to eat breakfast while still laying in bed watching TV. This is heaven. --I had a Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt, a peach, strawberries, I Classici Del Mattino cookies, and coffee--}

{Tickets for the Maleficent premiere. Ironically, I loved the movie but hated the ending.}

{This morning I tried a new recipe for these Polka Dot Brownies. The recipe called for regular milk chocolate chips, but I decided to top them off with white chocolate chips instead, and they are simply marvelous.}

Spring Break in Paradise

The place to be during Spring Break (or in my case, Semana Santa) is the beach. You only get seven days. To breathe. To get away with sleeping 'till late, eating whatever and whenever you want, wearing your bathing suit instead of actual clothes, and running around barefoot everywhere. That was my Spring Break. My family and I decided to travel to the paradise of Roatan in the Bay Islands of Honduras. Traveling with your 50ish old parents is not always fun, but for my benefit, my 24 year old brother, his 21 year old girlfriend, and my 22 year old cousin came along. We left on Wednesday and spent the rest of the weekend on the island. It was my first time there, and I am resolved that I would definitely go back in a heart beat. We stayed in a condo in a small neighborhood called Key Hole Bay. The house was fully equipped with everything from olive oil and spices to board games and books. It was like I had lived there my entire life. 

I spent most of our time leisurely hanging around the beach, the pool, and the house deck with Allegiant on my hand. My cousin and I even jogged 3 miles on the beach to explore our surroundings. My brother, his girlfriend, and my cousin even took me out to my first night club...I practically sneaked in because I'm not old enough for an ID. I've never enjoyed a beach this much, I think. 

{The view from my room's terrace on the condo}

{I know, I know, I just never stop baking. Classic cheesecake with a side of kiwi (when there are no strawberries to make a syrup, you just have to improvise)}

{Roatan has crystal clear water and a sky with all the shades of blue}

{This was my first time banana boating as well. What a rush!}

{The neighborhood's pool was designed to image an "infinite pool" headed towards the ocean} 

{Nothing better than a cool pina colada with a cherry on top (am I the only one who thinks that looks like a heart?)}

{The view of the Bay Islands from the sky. Honduras has the second biggest coral reef in the WORLD. Heck yeah, I'm proud.One of the most beautiful sights you'll ever see.}

{The mini private beach on the neighborhood. The sound of the waves crashing could make me fall asleep in seconds}

{Fruity, healthy breakfast with a view}

Breakfast Inspiration

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. You can mask a delicious dessert and call it 'breakfast'. With my sweet tooth, I most definitely need to find a way to make something that feeds my sweet tooth but is healthy at the same time. On my plate every morning you will most likely see waffles, french toast, pancakes, cereal, or yogurt. These are a few of my favorite breakfast combinations. 

{Typical yet yummy breakfast: Special K cereal, Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk, banana, whole wheat toast with Smucker's Sugar Free Apricot Jelly}

{Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt topped with kiwi, strawberries, and coffee with whole wheat cookies on the side}

{Homemade Whole Wheat Almond Milk French Toast topped with banana, strawberries, and honey}

{Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt topped with banana and slivered almonds, coffee with oatmeal cookies on the side}

{Yoplait Light Strawberry Yogurt topped with Komplete cereal and peaches. Scrambled egg whites with spinach, tomato, and bell pepper on the side}

{Homemade Belgian waffles topped with banana and strawberries with chamomille tea on the side}

{Attempt to homemade Egg Mcmuffins with a healthy twist. Whole-wheat bun with a mini egg omelet with spinach, tomato, and bell pepper; Kraft yellow American cheese, and ketchup. Mango and watermelon on the side.}

{Yoplait Vanilla Greek Yogurt topped with kiwi and whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and jelly on the side}

{Pancakes topped with strawberries and banana with almond milk capuccino on the side}

{Macheteadas topped with strawberries and powdered sugar}

Arab Weekend

WARNING: IF YOU'RE HUNGRY PLEASE DON'T LOOK AT THESE PICTURES. 

The pleasures of Christmas: eating, eating, and eating! Whenever we travel to San Pedro Sula to visit my other half of the family, they greet us with banquets of exquisite Arab food. This time was not an exception. The motive for our trip was my cousin's new born baby's beautiful baptism. My godmother or "madrina" organized the whole event for her grandson and whenever you put my madrina's name with "celebration" in the same sentence, you can bet it's gonna be priceless. The moment I saw this baby I fell inlove with him. He was so serene and peaceful. He did not moan about everyone trying to hold him. Instead, he seemed to enjoy all of the attention. His older brother, who is turning three in January, is impossibly adorable too. Sometimes I wish I had a little brother...or maybe even better-a sister. 

Day 1 

 {Hotel Breakfast: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, mini cinnamon-raisin roll, a banana, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the baptism: Jumbo shrimp, Fettuccine Alfredo with salmon, salad with mixed greens, green apple, cucumber, and pomegranate seeds...May I add, my godmother made ALL OF IT}

 {I could not stay away from the dessert table. Why choose one when I can have ALL OF THEM? (muahaha). I had a brownie, a lemon bar, a mini red velvet cupcake (not in the picture), and about a hundred yogurt covered raisins and pretzels (I could not stop. They were amazing)}

{For Dinner at my aunt's house that night we had "marmahon" also known as "couscous" with chicken, "hojas de uva" also known as "dolma", and salad}

Day 2

 {Hotel Breakfast round 2: Whole-wheat toast with fresh strawberry jam, fresh pineapple jam on the side, two cranberry-orange biscuits (one I ate afterwards so it's not in the picture), a small alfajor de dulce de leche, watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and a cup of coffee}

 {Lunch at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat Arab buffet: "Marmahon" or "couscous", chicken, "hojas de uva" or "dolmas", hummus with pita bread, and salad}

{Dessert table at the "Club Arabe"'s all-you-can-eat buffet: Pecan bar (I had two), banana bread, and strawberries with whipped cream (not in the picture)}

I'm not even sure my clothes fits anymore. And I know this doesn't end here. Christmas is coming! 

Little Things

The reason I started this blog was to create a safe haven for any teenage girl that can relate with the ups and downs, beauty and ugliness of adolescence. Many things have changed my perspective since my first post, but thankfully my hopes and aspirations have not changed. As the year has gone by, I have come closer to the realization that under any circumstance, as it was with the miracle of my uncle being cured from cancer, God never leaves my side. Even if I am so fed up with hormonal periods or sophomore year stress, setting my eyes on God gets me through the day with a thankful heart and a peaceful smile. As Thanksgiving approaches, and Christmas gets closer, the time to reflect on one's life is completely essential. 

{My mom spoiled me with one of my favorite seasonal treat: Hershey's white chocolate with mint candy cane}

{Honduran pride: the gorgeous Basilica de Suyapa} 

{Delicious breakfast before a typical Monday at school: Yoplait vanilla greek yogurt with kiwi, chamomille tea, and a slice of toast with peanut butter and jelly on the side} 

{Friday night out's hair-do: a classic half braid}

Childhood Reminiscences

As a child, waking up to the smell of "Macheteadas" or "Fritas" on a Sunday morning was the best feeling in the world. Whenever my friends slept over, we were absolutely having Macheteadas for breakfast the next day. My grandma passed on this typical honduran recipe to my mother and I recently attempted to learn how to make them. Making them is a step by step process, but  I can assure you it's not hard. When we were younger, my brothers and I used to make all sorts of deliciously, unhealthy, sugary inventions to top our Macheteadas. Some of these inventions were the following:

• sweetened condensed milk
• sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup
• whipped cream
• honey or maple syrup
• dulce de leche or caramel (not as easy to find back then as it is now)
• powdered sugar and strawberries (my personal favorite)**

Macheteadas

Makes approximately: 12 macheteadas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp oil
• approximately 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together. 
2. Add the egg and oil to the dry ingredients. Mix them well. 
3. Slowly add in the milk until a firm dough is formed. 
4. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. Then divide the dough and make 12 even balls. 
5. Use a roller to stretch out the balls one at a time, adding flour regularly so that the dough does not stick. 
6. Cut 3 lines on the flattened dough. Then add to a heated skillet with oil
7. Let the dough fry until golden. After they are well cooked, remove them from the skillet and let them rest on paper towels to reduce the excess of oil on them. 
8. Serve and enjoy!