Golden Globes 2013

Yep I'm a little late on my top picks, but better late than never right? I thought overall the looks were great, what did you all think?

In no particular order here are my favorites of the evening...

Naomi Watts in Zac Posen...ummm WHOA her body looks amazing and I love the long sleeved look AND she is wearing the "in" color of the moment.

via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Rosario Dawson in Antonio Berardi....I know she didn't make many best dressed lists, but I just really love this dress on her. I've always been a fan of the peplum, and I love how feminine this is. The color is also gorgeous on her skin tone.

via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Jessica Alba in Oscar de la Renta....one of my very very favorites, she just looks like she is having a blast and looks comfortable, but oh so elegant. I love the necklace as it makes the look more youthful and current. However, I'm not obsessed with her  evening bag choice.

via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Katharine McPhee in Theyskens Thoery...OMG, seeeeexy sister. She looks HOT, but still manages to keep it sultry and sophisticated.

via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Kate Hudson in Alexander McQueen...loving, love the long sleeves, love the black and gold, just love. Well done.

via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

And I saved one of my VERY favorites for last. Jennifer Garner in Vivienne Westwood. AH-mazing. First off she looks great, like really great. And second she always does a great job/always seems normal/she is married to freaking Ben Affleck...enough said.

via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

I also have to mention that Hayden Panettiere looked the best I have ever seen her look on a red carpet. She was wearing Roberto Cavalli and looked GREAT. I'm also OBSESSED with her TV show Nashville, you all need to start watching ASAP.

Cinnamon Chocolate Brownies

Funny where I got the idea to bake these...ready for story time friends. Sooo this fall we went to South Africa, and while I was trying not to FREAK about the long flight and FYI I have never been one to be scared of flying, but ever since watching Lost (yes the TV show and yes I realize I'm WAY late to the party) I all of sudden was soooo nervous to fly across the ocean. However, when our lovely (slightly kidding) dinner arrived there was a cinnamon brownie that came with and man, it wiped all my fears away.

So I finally found a recipe on Pinterest and made these for my sweet friends who are celebrating their one year anniversary this week. These were delicious! I think next time I make them I would love to serve them with some cinnamon ice cream and then ditch the icing. However, if not serving a la mode I would keep the icing.

Also, after you ice, slide these bad boys in the fridge to set up if you will.

Cinnamon Chocolate Brownies from Lemons for Lulu

Cinnamon Chocolate Brownies slightly adapted from Lemons for Lulu

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• For frosting
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• ¼ cup milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cocoa powder.
3. In a large bowl, melt butter in microwave. Stir in sugar mixture. Add eggs one at at time until well blended. Add in vanilla. Slowly add in flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Spread in prepared pan.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from pan. Let cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting:
6. In a mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and melted chocolate. In a separate bowl, combine confectioners sugar and cinnamon. Gradually add sugar mixture to butter, beating until well blended. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Carefully and slowly beat in the milk until frosting is smooth.

Who's Killing It

Have you all seen all of Naomi Watts lately? I don't know what she has been doing or where she has been hiding for that matter, but she has been looking stunning. These two looks below are some of her latest ones and I can't wait to see what she wears at the Globes tonight.

Sexy, but still elegant and those Irene Neuwirth earrings are gorgeous, ahhh how I would love a pair.

Naomi Watts in Emilio Pucci via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

I'm loving the relaxed, but still dressy feel of this look.

Naomi Watts in Roland Mouret via Red Carpet Fashion Awards

Who are you all looking forward to seeing on the red carpet tonight?

And oh if your following the Red Carpet Fashion Awards blog than you are REALLY missing it.

Dannijo Spring/Summer 2013

Have you all seen all the goodness from Dannijo's newest collection? As usual a few pairs of the earrings are calling my name. I wonder if my obsession with statement earrings will ever stop, I'm thinking no.

I would LOVE for this pair...

Dannijo Pete

and this pair...

Dannijo Paz

and MAYBE this pair to come live in my jewelry box.

Dannijo Siobhan

Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bars

Yes that title is a mouthful, but your mouth will be SO happy when you inhale one of these bars. Yes there are a lot of ingredients, but they are wholesome, filling and a healthier dessert option. I left off the chocolate drizzle because well lets be honest, I left it off because I was too lazy...there I said it. Either way I think you will love these. Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bars from Health

Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bars slightly adapted from Health.com

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 
  
  
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a large bowl, beat brown sugar and peanut butter until well combined. Beat in eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture. Add barley flakes (or rolled oats), cranberries, peanuts, and 3/4 cup chocolate chips, stirring to combine.

3. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Dijon Salad Dressing

Remember this post last week when I promised you the recipe for the salad dressing I came across? I'm SURE you all have been waiting on pins and needles, right? Well here it is!

I usually always make my everyday dressing, but I would like to branch out and make others and this one didn't disappoint. It was yummy. I paired this dressing with mixed greens, toasted pecans, dried cranberries and a diced apple. The key to a good salad are the mix ins people, so get creative!

Dijon Salad Dressing from Cookie and Kate

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

***Sorry for the lack of picture!

Sea Salt + Chocolate

Happy Monday! I'm currently in Florida soaking up the sun and warm weather, be jealous, be very jealous. Naples is a great town and my family loves it here. If you all have any recommendations for the Naples area please leave them in the comments section.

SO these cookies, SO good. I wanted to bake the hubs a little something something before I left town and the man LOVES salt, like is addicted. So when I saw these in Bon Appetit (same issue that this brittle was featured in, dying to make it too) I knew I had to make these for him. Now let me tell you, the Maldon sea salt is the money maker of this recipe so don't leave it out.

Enjoy! And hubs, save me some!

Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies from Bon Appetit

Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Maldon or other flaky sea salt

PREPARATION

• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°. Whisk flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add egg yolks, egg, and vanilla. Beat, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until mixture is pale and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low; slowly add dry ingredients, mixing just to blend. Using a spatula, fold in chocolate chips.
• Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto 2 baking sheets sprayed with non-stick spray, spacing 1-inch apart. Sprinkle cookies with sea salt.
• Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until just golden brown around the edges, 10-12 minutes (the cookies will firm up as they cool). Let cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks; let cool completely. 
  
  DO AHEAD: Cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

A Healthy Comfort Food Meal

Since it's finally staying cold down in Texas I've been craving comfort food, but if possible of the healthy type. Per usual I had pinned this recipe months ago and finally made it this week. It was DELICIOUS, maybe one of my favorite things I've ever made.

Spinach and Sausage Baked Pasta from Skinnytaste

Spinach and Sausage Baked Pasta
www.skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• olive oil spray
• 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano (I used the fresh grated from Trader Joe's)
• 8 oz fat-free ricotta
• 8 oz part-skim mozzarella, shredded
• 14 oz uncooked hot Italian chicken sausage, removed from casing 
• 12 oz whole wheat pasta (I used a mix of penne and spirals)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cloves smashed garlic, roughly chopped
• 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 4 cups marinara sauce (I used the Tomato Basil sauce from Trader Joe's)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9- x13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, 6 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet, brown the sausage breaking up into small bits until cooked through; set aside. Add the oil to the skillet and sauté garlic about a minute, careful not to burn. Add spinach and season with a little salt and pepper and cook another minute. Return the sausage to the skillet and add the marinara sauce; cookon low about 2-3 minutes.

When the pasta water comes to a boil, cook pasta according to instructions for al dente, but undercook them by 4 minutes less; drain and return to pot.

Put half of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half of the meat sauce. Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce in an even layer. Coverwith the remaining pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 6-7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned.

I served this with two other new recipes that I'll feature later this week!

Happy weekend!