I am loving Maxi dresses.

Maxi dresses have become my favorite go-to for almost any occasion. They are very sophisticated, elegant and comfortable at the same time. Sandals or heels go with it perfectly. They are appropriate for a date night, a day at the beach, a stroll around the park, a social gathering, and I've even seen girls wear them in church. I will share with you a couple I found on the Internet. These pictures have not been taken by me personally, but they are inspiring! 

Mini vacation.

I was in Key West last weekend and after visiting Savannah two months ago, I didn't think I'd fall in love with another place, but I did. Key West is amazing! It definitely holds its own unique culture. I heard so much French, Spanish, Slavic and even a bit of English. We left early on Saturday morning because we didn't want to spend more than one night there since the hotels were expensive. It took us seven hours to reach the Southernmost Point. Up until we hit Miami, the roads were fine and there was no traffic, but when we got off I-95, there was one and only road leading down to KW, so imagine how slow we were driving at 55 mph...with people going no more than 50. It was kind of irritating and it took us an additional three and a half hours to get there, but when we finally did, we were exhausted! We took a nap, I dipped into the pool (which was very warm), and off into the city we went. It was our first time visiting, so we were clueless as to what the island offered. After about an hour, as the dusk was approaching, I was amazed at the crowd, the nightlife and the energy that little place had! As old, dingy and dirty as it was, it was one of the most amazing places I had ever been. And cats...oh, my, so many cats! It breaks my heart to see a homeless cat, but these kitties were well fed, so it made me happy to see that. And what else, they were extremely friendly, too! I also had time to visit the Ernest Hemingway house, where he spent about eight years of his life, and wrote about 70% of his work. He occupied the house from 1931 to 1939. I learned so much about the home and about his polydactyl cats (cats with six or seven toes). What was amazing was all the cats that currently reside in the house are direct descendants of the cats he owned in the '30s! Upstairs there was a large collection of the books personally owned by Hemingway when he was alive. I could go on and on about the house, but instead, I will show you a few pictures of yours truly. 

We walked around, took pictures, people watched, ate Mango ice cream, drank lots of water, played with kitties, drank more water, visited the marinas, observed the ships dock, watched the sunset, window shopped, saw the beaches, snooped through Ernest Hemingway's house and had the best time. *smile*

Mushroom sauce!

I have always loved eating mushrooms, and recently I discovered a fresh, new recipe involving onions, mushrooms and Half & Half creamer. (A great combo!) Anything we make at home is sure to be much safer, healthier and it will save us in calories. And since it involves only vegetables, you can't go wrong. 

What you will need:

1. One large onion (or two, if you prefer). The onion will eventually dissolve in the oil.

2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO).

3. Four or five medium sized leeks.

4. One large package of mushrooms, or two small packages. (Make sure they are sliced.)

5. Vegeta. (A delicious Serbian spice you can purchase in Wal-Mart. It comes in a blue package with a picture of a chef on the front.)

6. Mrs. Dash spice.

7. Oregano.

8. Onion powder.

9. Garlic powder. (The latter two I consider very important, because they give you that prominent taste.) 

10. Few chopped up garlic cloves. 

11. Half & Half creamer. (Yes, that is the missing ingredient! When I was told about it, I couldn't believe it. I was skeptical at first, but it makes for one amazing sauce!!!)

In a frying pan, add a small amount of oil, wait a few minutes until you are sure it is hot. (If necessary, you can always add another pinch of oil.) Toss in the onion, leeks and the garlic and stir fry for about seven to ten minutes. Bring the heat down just a little bit because you do not want the onions and the leeks to burn so early in the process. When you see the onion turning brown, add the mushrooms and continue to stir...preferably with a wooden spoon. *adjusts glasses, looking professional* AHEM. 

Next, add just a touch of spices. Sprinkle a few tea spoons of onion, garlic, Mrs. Dash and Vegeta powder. You may add a bit of pepper and Oregano, too. Just keep stirring, just keep stirring, just keep stirring, stirring, stirring. *sings* 

Gosh...I feel like I forgot to mention something. Gah! This always happens to me!!!

After another fifteen or so minutes of stirring (and remember, if the food begins to stick to the pan, tone down the temperature), add another round of spices, and do not hold back on the onion and garlic powder! That is the main ingredient, aside from the mushrooms, of course. In another ten minutes, when the mushrooms have shrunk, changed to a brown color, you may begin to pour the Half & Half. Be generous, and do not pour it in all at once. I used the small carton, but I always leave about 20%, unless you want a very watery-like sauce, which is totally okay. As you continue to add the cream, stir the vegetables and bring down the temperature if necessary. Let the substances simmer and get acquainted with each other and allow it all to absorb into one. By then, the onion, leeks and mushrooms should all be blended into one. Add a last round of spices, but make sure to test try your food, because some people do not like it when it is too salty! 

Allow the sauce to cool down for another fifteen minutes and enjoy! It is perfectly delicious by itself, but you may also have it with spaghetti, macaroni, in a sandwich as a spread, or anything else you can think of! Allow your imagination to run wild. :)

Tip: I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on my spaghetti as you can see in the picture below. 

That's it for now. *brings down a red curtain*

Sincerely yours,

Betty Not Really Crocker

Beach day.

Summer is here and I have officially started going to the beach! I enjoy going to the pool, but the beach is an experience, an adventure, and so much more interesting. Not only do you have many, many places to visit and see, but also to be among people that have come to experience the same atmosphere, too. Unlike most visitors, when I am there, I am too hyper and too excited to sit around and lay in the sun. I walk along the beach, with my feet in the water. I could walk like that for miles....

Everybody Loves Somebody Sometimes...

I enjoy listening to Oldies, and lately I've been listening to Dean Martin like crazy! It really puts me in a good mood and it calms my mind. He is truly one of the most talented artists of his time ... or any, for that matter. :)

Makeup brushes.

I should really clean my makeup brushes more often. Especially since I use them almost every day. It wasn't until yesterday when I decided to clean them that I realized how many I acquired over the past few years. I will never spend a "fortune" on my makeup, and these brushes did not cost much. However, they work just as well. I still put my makeup on like a pro. If you're familiar with the EcoTools brushes, made from bamboo, I bought those at Walgreens couple years ago. I mostly use the big one to apply powder, and the small black ones for eye shadow.  

 

 

 

 

 

Out of my comfort zone.

As much as I love fashion, I'm one of those girls that tends to hold back on trying a new trend or adding a new color to my closet. I'll stick to the same old, and I was very surprised that I wanted to try these purple/pink pants. Plus, they're leggings. I've tried on a few before and they didn't flatter my body type. But these seem to look very nice on me. They're from Kohl's, and I am planning to go back and purchase a few more! :)

 

 

I was on my way to Tampa, and I always stop at the Starbucks on Exit 33 on I-4. :) And there I met a puppy a lady adopted. He was so sweet. She was in line ahead of me and ordered a spoonful of whipped cream just for him. Haha.

 

They went great with these beige espadrilles!

 

An unexpected visitor.

It's been raining here lately, and a few days ago, I woke up to the sound of frogs. My window was open, but it sounded like it was coming from inside. And this morning, I woke up to this little fella, all nestled and comfortable on my window.

 

 

He's still here, but hid, thinking I can't see him. His big frog eyes keep looking and blinking at me, and I am hoping he will hop away on his own. :)

 

Picture night. :)

A friend of mine took this photograph. I think it's lovely.

 

 

Just a random thought of the day.

I've been stressing over this for some time now.

 

I really need...need to stop feeling apologetic for who I am, what I look like, what I say and what I feel. Who doesn't like me for me can just deal with it. It isn't my problem.

 

That's all. For now.

 

I thought I'd throw in some Irish countryside. Ain't it lovely. :)

 

Dairy-free pineapple & rum muffins! ♥

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, this idea to make cupcakes/muffins popped into my head. I always get the best ideas as I am falling asleep. Since I am on lent until Easter, I don't eat meat or dairy, therefore I had to improvise and use dairy-free constituents.

 

 

Basically, you can use any kind of batter. In this case, I had to read the ingredients and make sure there was no milk derivatives in the mixture. In my pantry, I happened to have a pineapple batter, hence why I named the specialty pineapple & rum muffins. :)

 

A few months ago, perhaps longer, I was in the store, in my baking mode, and I bought sprinkles and decided to add it to the mixture, along with a few drops of rum. Then, I added organic, unsweetened soymilk. I poured in little by little until I felt it was enough. However, to make only the ten muffins that I did, I only used half of the batter. Since I practically live by myself, there is no one in the house that will eat them. My mother might have one or two just so she doesn't hurt my feelings. :) (Love you, Ma....)

 

Here is a doozy! Since I also had these beautiful paper baking cups (I found some from Thanksgiving and Halloween which I can't wait to use) I was terrified to have them in the oven. Thankfully, I googled it and found out they are oven-proof!

 

I put the oven to 450 degrees, and occasionally I took it down to 350 degrees or so. In about fifteen to twenty minutes, they were brown and delicious, ready for consumption.

 

 

These look delicious, too!

 

♥♥♥♥♥



Healthy Eating.

Most of my teenage life and now that I have entered adulthood, I have struggled with weight. I have been slim, super skinny to overweight so many times in my life that I have nearly lost track. Most (slim) people cannot fathom what yo-yo dieters go through, therefore they proceed to judge what they do not understand. It is hard, especially growing up in the Serbian culture, where people as they greet you will bluntly point out your flaws, such as "Wow! You have gained weight!" Or, "You are too skinny! Eat, eat, eat!" Not many people will reserve themselves and remain polite, thinking it is in their right to criticise you. And the people that often make those comments have been and are much heavier than me.... I'd like for them to take a good, hard look in the mirror and begin to fix their own flaws before they find faults in others. Now then, I've been trying to eat healthier. Now that summer is here, I started going to the pool to get my tan, I felt that it was more appropriate to eat lighter foods. I am not fat, so there is no strict diet and exercise program that I have to follow, but the better I eat, the better I feel about myself.

1. Sauteed vegetables: one of the common foods that I make. Since there is oil involved I have switched to EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil). First I chop up an onion, allow it to sautee for a few minutes, or until it turns a light brown color. Then, I add whatever other vegetables I decided to cook. To this dish, I've added asparagus, brussel sprouts chopped in three or four halves, and finally, mushrooms. I didn't dice them as usual, I wanted to be able to crunch into them.
2. Salads! Lately I've grown an appetite for salads. I fried up some hash brows the other day and I had one leftover, so I tossed it into the salad, along with one half of an avocado. On top, I drizzled some low-fat Italian dressing I buy at Aldi.
3. Lastly are fruits. Bananas have become my favorite in the past few years. Although I have to be careful in what store I purchase fruits, because not every store has the best and tastiest quality. Bananas, pineapples, apples, oranges are some of my faves. I've been unsuccessful at finding good strawberries. They're always too sour for my taste and they end up rotting in my fridge.

Loving Instagram!

 

I don't know what it is about Instagram, but I am enjoying it very much. I am the type of person that doesn't get Twitter or Tumblr. I barely know how to function with Facebook.

 

Me again! :)

 

Book Review!

Reading is a big part of my life. I read because I love to immerse myself in a fictitious web of events (preferably romance...), but I also do my share of reading for research purposes. I write and therefore sometimes I have to study subjects that aren't particularly an interest of mine (at least not at first).

One of the recent novels I read is called Family Man, by Jayne Ann Krentz. I have never read this author's novels before, so this was my first. I like her style of writing very much. She did not use any flowery, tangled language. She got to the point, plain and simple, and it was easy to read and lose myself in the characters' lives. But when I have to read, reread and reread and ponder over and over again what it is the last sentence was supposed to mean, I have a strong urge to shove the book out the window, or better yet, toss it into my fireplace. There is an author (very well received, rather, whom I do enjoy occasionally), that pops into my mind that uses every obscure word in the English dictionary, which makes me, as the reader, feel stupid for not knowing what the word onerous means.

Family Man...

The book is about a young woman in her late twenties that cares for a rich, elderly woman who owns a successful chain of restaurants. There is suspicion that somebody is embezzling the money from the restaurants. The old woman has an estranged grandson that she feels would be capable enough to pull the business out of its hardship. Katie, the main character, with the woman's insisting, meets the grandson and practically begs him to rekindle his relationship with his family. Reluctant to do so at first, Zach agrees to get to the bottom of the embezzelment scheme. He claims the only reason he is sticking around is to help rebuild his family's business. However, the more time he spends with Katie, the more he becomes intrigued by this angelic girl who took care of his grandmother for years. Katie cannot wait to end her position as the personal assistant and begin her own business, but one event leads to another, and Katie soon finds herself tangled in Zach's family affair....

P.S.: Onerous means difficult. :)

Yankee Candles!

These are my favorite. Their scent reaches every corner of my house. No wonder they're pricey. :)

It's hard to choose a favorite!

My weakness is that I love cats too much.

The love of my life. I came across this picture as I was going through my photos, deleting whatever wasn't necessary. This was taken a few years ago of Suski and me. 

He just loved boxes!

LOL! I think I woke him up. His morning face. :)

 

My Saturday.

My Saturdays are always somehow "planned" so we end up running errands and I never actually spend the day at home . . . even though sometimes I want to. This morning I went to my friend's house because I missed her birthday party last weekend since I was in Tampa at a concert. We decided to go out later in the afternoon. 

At Pizzeria Valdiano in Winter Park Village. 

Sharp-tongued Miss Nana. 

In Black & White boutique. 

Technically, I wasn't supposed to take snapshots in the store, but I didn't know at the time. Whoops. :)

Yours truly. 

My Nature Walk.

On my way to the store, I took a few pictures because a.) I live in Florida, b.) It's so gorgeous outside, I couldn't resist! c.) I am pretty good at taking photos of nature, don't you think...? Lol.

The Park is my place of residence. I have enjoyed my stay so far.

My black and white view. 

I hope you enjoyed. That is my neighborhood. :))