COOK | LOADED TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Potatoes are probably my favorite crop...as in thing that is grown in the ground...hahaha. I categorize them as vegetables so that I can fool myself into thinking everything potato is healthy (i.e. french fries, potato chips, crispy hash browns)... you get the picture. 

 Something is missing...

Oh yeaaaaa, fry up that bacon and crumble it up.

 Scoop some potato out before you put the cheese in for your sister and cousin and friend who don't like cheesy potatoes. Then, mix in the cheese!

 Use a cookie scoop to scoop two cute little loaded potato scoops into each potato skin. 

And then use the scoop to smash it down a little because the two little scoops look a little silly.

Sprinkle some more cheese on top because Traci and I love our cheesy potatoes. 

Ingredients

• potatoes
• green onions, sliced thin
• sour cream
• butter
• bacon
• cheddar cheese, grated
• salt & pepper, to taste

1. Scrub the potatoes clean and use a fork to poke a few holes on each side of the potatoes. Bake them at 375 degrees F for about 45 -60 minutes until the potatoes are baked through. 
2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half and scoop out the centers. (Make sure you leave some of the potato in the skins). Set the shells aside (you won't need to use all of them). 
3. Mash the potatoes that you scooped out. Mix in the sour cream, butter, green onions, and salt & pepper (you can also mix in the cheese but since some of my family doesn't like cheese I added it later.) Fill the empty shells with the mixture. I used a cookie scoop and put two scoops per shell.
4. Sprinkle more cheese on top.
5. Bake at 375°F for an additional 15-20 minutes until the tops begin to brown and the cheese is melted.
6. If you want to make them ahead of time, you can cover them with plastic wrap after you scoop them into the shells. Put them in the fridge. Bake them for the final 15-20 minutes right before serving. 

xoxo, allison

EAT | 369 SHANGHAI PLACE

Somehow Joyce and I always lose track of time and by the time we know it...it's dinnertime. And then it's past dinnertime. And then the restaurant we were planning to go to all day is closed and we're hungry and tired and don't know where to eat. Thank goodness for Yelp (Sorry Matty, I still don't have the YP app)! 

So it was Thursday night and we spent a little too long at the two-story Forever 21. And the poke place was closed (#sadface). So Joyce got on Yelp and found this little Asian place right down the street. We ordered too much food and Joyce taught me the correct way to eat Xiao long baos (which make them look like baby volcanoes) and it was a good day.

xoxo, allison

p.s.s is this how you eat them?

TRAVEL | Fisherman's Wharf, MONTERY, CA

I took a trip down the coast of California with my family a couple weeks ago. We stayed in Monterey for a couple of days. The Fisherman's Wharf is one of my favorite places; the Fisherman's Wharf also means mandatory clam chowder bread bowl . We ended up wandering down the municipal wharf first until we realized that it was mostly full of fishing people (this is also where Sandbar & Grill is located). Finally we found the Fisherman's Wharf and the first thing that happened was someone offered us clam chowder samples. And then we walked a little further and the next restaurant handed out clam chowder samples. As we made out way down the wharf we tried clam chowder from every restaurant. It was amazing!

xoxo, allison

BAKE | BLUEBERRY CREAM SCONES

Some days you just don't feel like eating a muffin. I know it seems bizarre, but I'm on my fifth day of eating Costco Copycat Double Chocolate Muffins for breakfast - and, dare I say it, I'm over them (even though I was eating two a night the first coupe of days). Enter these blueberry cream scones - the perfect things to get you out of your muffin rut, especially a blueberry muffin rut. Joy's recipe calls for strawberries (which is wonderfully delicious), but I thought I'd switch it up and add blueberries - which totally satisfies that blueberry muffin craving but with more crispy surface area (#muffintopsforlife).

The process is a little messy, but it's well worth it. And in less that 15 minutes these creamy, sticky disks bake up in the yummiest scones.

Blueberry Cream Scones adapted from Joy the Baker
makes about 16 scones

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 TBS baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/3 cup heavy cream plus more for brushing the top
• 3/4 cup blueberries (I used frozen which gave my dough a purple swirl) 
• turbinado sugar for topping

1. Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. 
3. In a liquid measuring cup mix together vanilla extract and 1 1/3 cups cream. Slowly add the cream mixture into the dry ingredients while stirring.  Add blueberries and mix gently.  Add 2 more tablespoons of cream if necessary to create a moist, but not sticky dough.
4. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface.  Gently gather and push the dough into a dish into a 3/4 inch thickness.
5. Use a biscuit cutter to cut 2-3 inch circles.  Brush each circle with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.
6. Place 1-inch apart on a lined baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
7. Remove from the oven and serve warm.  

You don't have to wait for tea time to eat these scones. They are moist with just the right amount sweetness. Plus turbinado sugar topping adds the perfect crunch. Eat them plain or with a slab of butter! You'll be happy that you made these instead of another dozen blueberry muffins.

xoxo, allison

DIY | CURLING IRON COVERS

Years ago I saw this article on LuckyMag.com and decided that curling iron covers were the best idea ever. But they were sold out. Everywhere. Fast forward two years and I'm at a craft fair where they are selling something similar, but not as cute. Traci and I decide that we're going to make our own. But we often add many things to our "we could make that" list...and guess what? we never do. 

Luckily, we found ourselves at Joann's looking for some faux leather for another project when the lights go out (unlucky) in the middle of the store which is where we were standing. Traci doesn't really do well in the dark, even the semi-dark. So we made our way to the outer walls of the store where their emergency lights were on - and we found ironing board covering! 

We bought it and whipped up four curling iron covers in one night. Fastest DIY sewing project ever. Of course we also made one for Joyce! We must be secretly obsessed with polka dots because we found all these cute prints in our fabric scrap box.  

Supplies

• Ironing Board Covering (18.5 inch cut will make four covers)
• Fabric of your choice for the outside of the cover
• Canvas for the flap (but you could use other fabric as well)
• Hot glue gun or E6000 glue
• Velcro
• Scissors
• Quilting mat and shears (optional)
• Sewing machine

First cut your piece of ironing board covering into 4 pieces. They each should measure about 18.5'' x . Then cut out a piece of patterned fabric (about 1/2 inch taller and wider than the ironing board covering piece. 

Sew a line down the top side of the fabric to make it easier to sew the two pieces together later on.

Then fold the fabric in half with the shiny silver on the inside and sew the bottom and side with a 1/2 inch seam. 

Flip it inside out and then sew your patterned piece the same way. 

To make the flap we used canvas because we wanted it a little more sturdy. Cut out 2 00x00'' pieces. Sketch rounded corners and sew them together with a 1/2 inch seam. Cut out little triangles around the curved edges.

Flip the cover inside out and sew a 1/4 inch seam across the open edge.

Place the ironing board covering inside your patterned fabric, making sure the right side of the fabric and the shiny silver side of the ironing board covering are facing each other/touching.

Stick the flap between the outside & inside pieces.

Sew around the top starting on the side with the flap. make sure to leave a gap to flip it inside out. about 3 inches

Sew around the top to close the hole. I sewed all the way because I liked the way it looked.

Handstitch or use a sewing machine to stitch on the velcro pieces. (We tried a hot glue gun and E6000 glue which held for a while but eventually fell off.)

Aren't they so cute! We only paid $1.20 for the entire piece of ironing board and found the rest of fabric scraps at home! 

xoxo, allison & traci

p.s. we made a penguin one for Traci's mom since she's obsessed with them.

DIY | 14 DAYS OF FEBRUARY

I know Christmas is now weeks ago, but the twelve days of Christmas song randomly popped up in my head. You know, the song- on the first day of christmas my true love gave to me... Which got me thinking.... Hmmm valentines day is coming up... How about a valentines day song?! Thus the February valentine day song/project was born and it goes like this: On the first day of February, my valentine gave to me...

The idea is that for every day from February 1-14, there is a bag with a special treat inside that correlates to the day. Joyce came over yesterday and we both decided to do this for our special someone. Which meant off to target we went! 

It took some time to figure out the most meaningful treats to put inside without buying too much junk. We wandered around the store aimlessly for awhile but gradually found the perfect things! We drove straight to Allison's house afterwards to assemble our bags and we put a valentines day card in each bag with the lines to the song.

Here is how my song went... (I included some side notes for your reading pleasure)

On the first day of February, my valentine gave to me... 1 POUND OF SHRIMP (we're going to boiling crab that day!)

On the second day of February, my valentine gave to me... 2 CLEAN HANDS (a bottle of soap since I always tease him about needing to wash his hands more)

On the third day of February, my valentine gave to me... 3 INGREDIENT SALSA (fav college food)

On the fourth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 4 ROBOTS (well, robot socks. Hehe)

On the fifth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 5 HI-CHEWS (who doesn't like these?!)

On the sixth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 6 PACKS OF OATMEAL (trying to start this year off healthy)

On the seventh day of February, my valentine gave to me... 7 CHOCOLATE HEARTS (because the box it came in was just too adorable)

On the eighth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 8 CANS OF SPARKLING WATER (way better than soda)

On the ninth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 9 GRAIN CHIPS (because you need chips for the salsa!)

On the tenth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 10 WEEKS OF SHOWERS (his favorite bottle of shampoo haha)

On the eleventh day of February, my valentine gave to me... 11 boxes of raisins (again, trying to be healthy)

On the twelfth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 12 OUNCES OF PEANUT BUTTER (the perfect snack to dip your fruits and veggies in!)

On the thirteenth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 13 GUMMY HEARTS (because he loves gummy candy)

On the fourteenth day of February, my valentine gave to me... 14 REASONS WHY SHE LIKES ME (aww!)

The great thing about this fun project is that you can personalize it as much as you want. I can't wait to give this to Matt! He's going to have 14 presents to open! Doesn't get any better than that :)

xoxo, traci 

lessons learned

brother's graduation photoshoot, 2014

1. Being single means being confused.
2. You can make your own Bulgogi Beef Jerky! Say what?
3. Also, you can make giant pancakes in your rice cooker! You're welcome.
4. Need some summer reading inspiration? I'm excited to re-read The Giver since the movie is coming out in August!
5. "And there’s no place where He isn’t. He is with me. Always."
6. Summer brings all new opportunities for napping. How long should you nap?
7. I always bake my bacon in the oven (because splattering oil makes me nervous!), but I've never WHACKED my butter to soften it.
8. I received my first real paycheck this week (!!!), tax deductions and all. This has definitely been on my mind.
9. Joy the Baker + nail wrap collab? This might be the best thing ever. (P.S. I'm super interested in monthly subscription packages because I'm going to be moving to the middle of no where pretty soon)
10. It might come as a surprise to some, but I can really relate to this article.
11. God wants all of me.
12. I need to stop being afraid. 

xoxo, allison