YUM Jar {DIY gifting}

I am not creative. I am not proud to admit it but this is a truth that I am willing to share with you all. At the very least I am an excellent copy-cat with the smallest capability to tweak something to make it "my own". My view is take what you have and make a gift without having to buy more, but really it adds more love/luv/ruv when it is handmade with care.

 Everyone can make these albeit quick&easy gifts without too much stress on the brain. Also, like everyone else, I keep mason jars on hand under my bed at all times. Most likely I am alone in the world in this practice then step 1 for you would be go get some mason jars! Honestly, you can put anything in a mason jar & give it as a gift. I happen to love cooking, baking, and snacking so I made my YUM jars, as I like to call them. But I have also seen cocoa mixes, pie, and small trinkets packed sweetly as gifts as well. If you follow my Instagram then you would have seen the image above of homemade chili roasted almonds that I gave as gifts. Another one that I did recently for some neighbors were mini cranberry chocolate chip scones YUM jar.

Make little tags out of brown paper bags to give it a more rustic feel or use luggage tags to write a small note. Tie a ribbon or some rafia around the top. Put a bird bow on it. Voila! Simple, easy, thoughtful DIY gifts for those creative individuals. Let me know how yours turn out!

lots of lovee

pear mascarpone muffin talk

Let's talk about muffins. If you follow me on Instagram you previewed my obsession one early morning. I love them. I honestly am not sure how anyone can not love muffins because essentially they are heartier healthier cupcakes, and if you can't appreciate and fall in complete love with the subtle art of baking bread in cup shapes then perhaps you are missing out. i digress. My point is that muffins have the potential to take such a variety of flavors, components, and sizes that my adoration has been solidified. Needless to say, when I came into mascarpone and beautiful pears my heart knew the direction that this combination would take: MUFFINS.

After much scouring I found a recipe for ricotta and pear muffins which sounded amazing, but ricotta is no mascarpone. For those who aren't aware mascarpone is like Italian style cream cheese with a slight sweetness and saltiness flavor. Whereas ricotta is a different variant of cheese that also has a slight sweetness but is used more for lasagna or mixed with other creamier cheeses like mozzarella. After slight tweaking of the recipe, I present :

Pear and Mascarpone Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. Mascarpone
- 2 large pears
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c. butter (melted)
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- brown sugar for sprinkling atop

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream together mascarpone and eggs.
3. Peel and cut pears into small cubes. Then add to mascarpone-egg mixture.
4. Add melted butter to pears-mascarpone and combine well. Then add white sugar and mix well.
5. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients (flour+baking powder+baking soda+salt)
6. Combine dry ingredients and pear-mascarpone until all dry pockets are gone
 **be sure not to over mix or muffins will turn out hard and not as fluffy**
7. Dole out batter into muffin pan & sprinkle brown sugar atop to create crust.
8. Bake for 15-20 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Then take out of oven and rest for a few minutes before devouring them with jam :) enjoy!

I am going to try to do a short DIY gift post for those of you that have not had time to go shopping..like myself. Have a beautiful Saturday!

lots of lovee

on a lighter note

Why yes I am still alive. After much consideration, Uni finals week was kind enough to let me survive with only slightly impact on my sanity and stress limits. Anyways now that I have a terrible amount of free time on my hands I decided to dream of warmer days in LA when if the sun came out it meant warmth. If you can't tell by other posts my native SoCal self can only dream of warmer days during these winter months.

Much love and luck to my friends taking their finals this week. YOU GOT THIS.

lots of lovee

rainy thursdays

A little over two weeks ago I was in a car accident. It was a dark, rainy Thursday evening and I was driving home from school. The story is long and painful to retell so I will just say that there are hardly ever a time when sitting in a car is completely relaxing for me now. Whether it was the other guy's fault or my own, it takes 2 to tango. After the accident I thought a lot about the choices I made before it happened. Why did I drive on that street home that day? What if I had gone home right after I had ended work and not lingered? Would I have okay if I had stayed at school longer like I had originally planned? ...and then God said to me " what if you had died? what if the other man had died?"

A small accident but I am rethinking the aspects of my life that I am truly grateful for. My pastor preached recently about verbally giving thanks & not just thinking praises in our minds. Salvation is bright and shiny to me once again. The urgency of life's timeframe has never been more evident. I know I didn't post a typical thanksgiving foodfestblackfridayshopping post, but the thing I am most thankful for is God's never ending grace and mercy. I am alive to eat too much, laugh with friends, and see my family all together.

To Him be the glory, Amen.
lots of lovee