Monday, July 23, 2012

Flavored Coffee Syrup Recipe



I LOVE delicious coffee drinks, especially when they have fun flavors!  Coffee houses always have tons of options to spice up your drinks like peppermint, cinnamon, raspberry, etc.  So here is a recipe to help you bring  coffee house flavor into your home!

Ingredients:
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. your favorite flavor extract

McCormick has tons of different types of extract so don't feel like you have to just stick to coconut or vanilla.  When I went to Walmart, I noticed that they had hazelnut, caramel, peppermint, cinnamon, raspberry, and tons more!  Also, don't be afraid to get creative!  You can most definitely do a combination of extracts to make your own flavor.

Directions:
1. Start off by combining the water and sugar in a pot and bringing it to a boil so that the sugar dissolves completely.
2.  Remove your simple syrup from heat and add in the extract.  You can add more or less than a teaspoon...it's whatever you like!
3.  Add a few tablespoons of your flavored syrup to take your cup of coffee to the next level!


and that's it!..so so super easy!
enjoy!
-amy gat

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

New Room Palette


Hello Everyone!  I'm so so so excited to move into my new apartment in less than a month :)  I've been planning out what I want my new room to look like and I'm even going to start painting my new (well, new to me) furniture tomorrow.  So here's the color scheme I'm going to use for my bedroom!  I think these colors go together beautifully and I would definitely say that they fit my personality really well.
What do you think?!

I'm planning on decorating my room with some DIY home decor projects so be ready for tons of tutorials!
I'll also be sure to post pictures of my apartment as I fix it up and make it my own.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Weekly Favorites

Hello everyone!
So, obviously it's been more than a week since my last favorites, but I'm really going to try to be better about doing these!  So here are my favorite things this week...

Favorite Movie:
Spiderman!  I saw this on the 4th of July and I didn't think I would like it cause I don't usually like movies of this genre, but I LOVED it.

Favorite Change:
New hair!  I've never changed the color of my hair whatsoever, but I was feeling daring.  I let my hairstylist roomie, Shaina, put a little color on the ends of my hair.  

Favorite Purchase:
Steve Madden cosmetic bag from Ross 

Favorite Song:
Lost in my Mind-- The Head and the Heart

Favorite Makeup:
Urban Decay original Naked palette. 

Favorite Scent:
I got this at the semi-annual sale at Bath & Body Works...It smells very very sweet and I absolutely love it.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Summer Thrift Finds

The other day I went to Goodwill and found three clothing items that I thought were very summery and cute. Here are three outfits I put together using each of the items...

Sleeveless Chambray Shirt
As soon as I saw this chambray shirt I knew I had to get it.  I love that it is very summery and can add a little bit of an edge to a really girly outfit.  In this outfit, I am wearing it with a fitted lace dress and a brown braided belt.

Floral Maxi Skirt
I'm not usually a maxi skirt kind of girl, but I saw this skirt and thought "why not?"  I actually really like it and it is the perfect length for a 5'0" girl like me!  For this outfit, I wore the skirt with a white strapless tank and a brown leather belt.  


Fun Printed Sweater
This outfit is really simple, and I love simple.  This is something that I would wear if I was just hanging out with friends at night or going to see a movie or something like that.  I chose to wear this sweater with jean shorts and brown thick strapped sandals.  

-amy gat



Monday, July 2, 2012

4th of July Fruit Tart

In honor of the 4th of July here's a very tasty and very red, white, and blue dessert recipe!


Crust:
1 c. room temperature butter
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 c. flour
a pinch of salt

Filling:
1/3 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 package room temperature cream cheese

strawberries
blueberries

1. Set the oven to 350 degrees
2.  To make the crust, cream the butter and the sugar together until they are completely combined
3.  Add the flour and salt to the butter mixture until a dough is formed
4.  Press the dough into the bottom and sides of a tart pan and bake for 20 minutes
5.  While the crust is baking, make the filling by combining the heavy cream and powdered sugar and whipping up to a thick consistency (but not all the way to stiff peaks)
6.  In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese until it is soft and smooth
7.  Whip the heavy cream combination and cream cheese together until they are combined
8.  Before filling the tart shell, be sure it has cooled to room temperature
9. Once the shell is room temperature, fill the tart and decorate the top with strawberries and blueberries
10.  Chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours

That's it!
I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July!
-amy gat