Dining In: Maple Cheesecake

I don’t know about you, but I have a crazy sweet tooth (as in like all of my teeth). So what better way to feed my sweet tooth than by making some tasty tasty cheesecake?! My love of cheesecake is so strong; this dessert is the perfect combination of smooth and crunchy (definitely one of my faves). Did I mention it’s SUPER easy to make?! Because it is.

 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Mix together greek cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla

3. Incorporate eggs

4. Add sugar free maple syrup to taste (I estimated that we used 2 tbsp, a little will take you a long way)

5. Eat at least 2 spoonfuls of batter

6. After eating a good amount of batter (you have to make sure it’s delicious, right?!), pour the mixture into pre-made crust

7. Place on highest rack and bake for 35 minutes (check on it periodically to make sure the crust doesn’t burn)

8. Don’t freak out if you take it out and it looks like it inflated on the top, it will settle. Let it cool for 20 minutes and then refrigerate for 1 hour (or until you just can’t wait any longer)

Enjoy your super tasty treat, I sure did!

P.S. We had originally planned on crushing up those Cadbury mini eggs and sprinkling them on top, but decided the cheesecake was delicious enough on it’s own.

 

Fashion Friday: Selfie Edition

 

But first, lemme take a selfie. My selfie game is pretty strong, especially if I want to show my favorite twinny, Kayla, what I’m wearing from 100 miles away. It’s been a pretty crummy week weather-wise in the good ol’ midwest. We had a ton of rain mixed with cold and wind, so I thought it would be fun to show you all my wardrobe via selfies for this week (instead of taking pics outside)!

I’m definitely going through a vest phase at the moment; it’s the perfect winter to spring transition piece. I’ve been wearing this denim one nonstop.

Selfies in the bathroom, selfies in my messy dorm room; I cannot be stopped *MUWAHAHA*! Check out that super adorable garland Kayla made for me, she’s a crafting animal. I’ve had that white floral shirt since 8th grade. Yeah, I obviously have a problem getting rid of my clothes… #sorrynotsorry

 

This marks the return of the denim vest, I told you I was a bit obsessed with it. Notice my Hunter rain boots that I got for my birthday *thanks parents!* They’ve definitely been loved this week, as it rained almost everyday. I don’t know how those Seattle people deal with the constant rain because my little heart can’t handle gloomy weather much longer.

How strong is your selfie game?

Outfit details:

1. Forever 21 Jacket // Urban Outfitters Denim Vest (similar) // H&M Striped Sweater

2. American Eagle Chevron Tank // Forever 21 Cardigan // Old Navy Booties

3. Mega Old Blouse // Target Cardigan // Charming Charlie Braided Necklace

4. H&M Gray Sweater // Urban Outfitters Denim Vest // H&M Coral Beaded Necklace (similar) // Hunter Rain Boots

Adventure Time: MKE, Beer, and a Giant Pretzel

Logan and I go to school in a pretty small Wisconsin town. We love our little town, but we also love exploring all the wonderful Wisconsin cities around us! We are smack dab between Milwaukee and Madison, among other smaller cities. You know what that means?! Lots of mini weekend adventures! This weekend we went on a mini spring road trip to Milwaukee (only an hour away from us).

Our first stop was the Public Market! Inside it has tons of little booths with food, wine, and home goods. We both ordered these really amazing pita wraps *soooooo tasty*! While I wanted to try somethings from every booth, and by every booth I really mean the dessert ones, I somehow managed to resist.

 

 

The Public Market is in the Third Ward of downtown Milwaukee. The Third Ward has a lot of little boutiques, really nice apartments, and endless coffee shops. We went into a little paper goods store (my fav because they have all the little adorable trinkets I want, but absolutely don’t need) where I stumbled across these adorable friendship cards! Perfect little reminders to give to your favorite humans.

 

The next stop was my favorite stop of the day, Lakefront Brewery! Logan found out that Lakefront gives the best brewery tours in the country, so we obviously had to go. It was our duty as American citizens…I always thought I would be a wine person, but my love of beer is very real. For $7 we got 4 glasses of beer, a pint glass to take home, the tour AND a coupon for a free pint of any Lakefront Beer at a restaurant. My favorite beer was a rice beer (S/O to all you gluten-free people out there); I liked it so much I used two of my tokens on it…

We ended our evening at Upper 90, a sports bar located in the Third Ward. We were both stuffed from our tasty beer, but made room for a giant soft pretzel appetizer and cashed in our coupon for a pint of beer.

We had so much fun exploring Milwaukee! It’s hard to believe in a little over 6 weeks we’ll be graduating and moving back to Illinois.

Have you been on any fun weekend mini trips?!

Fashion Friday: Taste of Spring

 

Welcome to the first installment of Fashion Friday! Those of you who know me, know I love clothes; some would even say my closet is a little out of control… but what’s better to invest in than cute clothes?!

Nice weather has finally hit the good ol’ Midwest, and I could not be happier! Winter in Wisconsin this year was an absolute nightmare.

 

This outfit was the perfect way to welcome in the springtime sunshine! Comfy, bright, and just warm enough.

Jacket: Forever 21, Floral Shorts: Rue 21, Shirt: Cross Roads, Shoes: Old Navy

 

Happy Friday!

Dining In: Salsa Chicken Tostadas

 

Of all the cousines out there, Mexican is my all-time favorite by a long shot. Honestly, I could eat a burrito, quesadilla, or straight up taco anytime, anywhere, anyday. So it shouldn’t surprise you that Logan and I make a TON of Mexican dishes. These salsa chicken tostadas are easy, healthy, and cheap (can you say trifecta?!).

 

Step 1: Lightly season chicken with whatever spices your heart desires. We used salt, chilly powder, cumin, and garlic. Bake chicken for about 40 mins at 400.

Step 2: Once your chicken is done, start shredding it. The easiest way to do this is to take two forks and work with the grain on the chicken, pulling it apart into small strips.

Step 3: On medium heat, mix together salsa and greek yogurt. Stir until mixed completely and warmed. Add your chicken to the sauce and mix together.

Step 4: While mixing your chicken, put four corn tortillas into the oven for a few minutes until they’re nice and crispy (about 7 minutes).

 

Add your chicken to your baked toastadas and enjoy! This meal comes in at about 325 calories, so eat up my healthy friends.

What new and tasty recipes have you tried out?

5 Highlights from New Orleans

Its hard to believe that just a week ago we were enduring a 15 hour car ride back from New Orleans. I am obsessed with southern states; warm weather, tasty food, and southern hospitality. What’s not to love?! If you get a chance to make it down to New Orleans here are a few of our personal favorites.

1. Food! *duh*

The food in New Orleans was all delicious, and mostly fried. I think we all took an unspoken vow to eat seafood every single day, because how could we not!? Logan is the yelp master so he was able to find a ton of great places for us to eat.

A “Medium” Shrimp Po Boy, a po-boy is just a fancy nawlins term for giant sandwich, from a local restaurant

 

Seafood tacos from The Rum House and the best oysters in the world from Acme Oyster House

Beignets from Cafe Du Monde! (An absolute must)

2. Drinks!

Let me tell you my favorite thing about New Orleans: NO OPEN CONTAINER LAW! That means you can buy a bottle of beer at a grocery store, and then proceed to drink it in the street! Sounds pretty crazy right? This was especially convenient when we went out on Bourbon St. In the bars, a bottle of Miller Lite can run you $6 (Thats even more than Chicago!), but if you buy from the street venders you can get a 20 0z. cup for just 5 bucks *bargain*. The side street vendors also offer shots; if you’re looking for the worst tasting shot in the world get a Cherry Bomb. Those suckers are only $1 but consist of Maraschino Cherries soaked in Everclear.

3. Live Music!

What’s better than live music in New Orleans?! Practically nothing. Almost all the bars on Bourbon St. had bands playing, and the best part was you could take your drinks from the street and listen to the bands while enjoying your $4 22 oz. Miller Lite. No cover! Check out Shannon’s Vine account for videos

4. Parks/ Scenery!

We went to one gorgeous park when we were in New Orleans. The park was gorgeous, and had so many trees covered in Spanish moss, which is my favorite *so pretty*. The park also had an outside sculpture exhibit fo’ free! The whole park was really pretty; my favorite piece had four corgi’s arranged in a cube. So cute!

5. Tours

New Orleans offers more tours than I can even list. Unfortunately, they are all a little pricey. We wanted to do a Voodoo tour and a swamp tour, but ultimately had to choose one (you can read more about our vacay on a budget here). So we chose the swamp, mostly because all of us are avid nature lovers. It was a little cold on our tour, but that didn’t stop us from seeing so many animals. At one point our guide pulled the boat over and fed marshmallows to wild piglets! If you have never seen little piglets with their mouths full of marshmallows, you’re totally missing out.

***BONUS*** Here are some extra pictures from our trip!

 

What are some highlights from your spring break?