My new Life Planner + my crafty sleeve-y thing...

Hey everybody!

So... January is almost over...

Which means it's almost February...

Which means I'm almost 25...

Commence quarter-life crisis.

You think I'm kidding. I'm not. February 24th is my birthday and I have no idea what I want to do because I partly don't want to have this birthday. I realize every time I say that, I offend every person older than I am. Allow me to specify- this is not about you. This is about me. Turning 25 and no longer getting to say I'm in my early twenties. My life is happening as we speak. Am I really enjoying it and experiencing it to its fullest?!? I think I am... in most ways... I suppose there's always more we could be doing. 

Stay tuned as I continue to find fun and interesting ways to live out my quarter-life crisis.

This should be exciting!

Anyhoot!

About a week ago, I got something in the mail that will no doubt change my life forever. I'm sure you've all seen or heard of Erin Condren's Life Planners. They've seriously been featured on every blog. Ever. If you're anything like me, you were transported back to Elementary school with some sort of "But all the cool bloggers have one!" moment. 

I'm here today to report to you-

It is SO worth the hype!!

I was incredibly excited after I placed the order, I seriously checked the FedEx tracking every couple of hours. I actually had a little "AHHHHH" moment when it wasn't updated for like 4 days. When you're waiting for Christmas Day so badly, the thought that Santa got lost on the way- it's frightening! 

Luckily, it came!

It's here, it's all mine, and I am more organized than ever!

Aint she a beauty? I went with the "Favorite Things" design so all that writing is random stuff that makes me smile. So now I get organized AND smile!

I have to admit though- I add things to the goals and to do lists just so I can cross them out.

Whoops! 

No doubt I am NOT the only that does this though!!

Well... now that I had this gorgeous planner, you would have to be crazy to think I was going to just throw it into my bags to fend for itself amongst make-up and hairspray and goodness knows what else is at the bottom of my bags.

TO THE CRAFT ROOM!

I picked out a project for an organizer sleeve from one of my favorite crafty books, One Yard Wonders (Honestly! If this isn't in your sewing arsenal, GET IT NOW!), and just adjusted it to the dimensions of my planner. I also couldn't decide on just one fabric... so I took some liberties with my design on it.

 All the cut pieces- Just took quilting cotton and some batting! 

Proof that my decision making skills aren't so great... 

So thanks to a day off at my sewing machine, my beautiful little planner can safely be thrown into any bag without me worrying about the pages getting bent or gross!

... Is my OCD showing?

:)

I'm still trying to figure out the most efficient way for me to use it to help me get my posts up on time...

Lesson from this week-

Write that a post needs to go up THE DAY BEFORE so you don't get to that day and go- "Oh crap."

Still, I am thrilled to keep filling it up with all the awesomeness 2012 is sure to have in store.

Aside from the whole 25th birthday thing.

Full circle.

Hope this post finds you all well! Don't forget to come back and join in on the Wish! {out loud} goodness on Sunday!

Oh How Pinteresting...

It's Wednesday!!!

And Im extra excited because its my Saturday!!! My first legitimate day off in far too long. I have some things to do around our place but for now, its pjs and couch time! 

Holy poot does that feel good.

I should add, it's in the 30s today in Florida... I understand some of you have MUCH colder weather right now, but for Florida- this is frigid!!! I am rocking my college hoodie right now and cuddling with the puppy while the cats nap on the other couch. Only one thing is missing and he'll actually be home at a normal time tonight!! Thinking I should make dinner. Maybe I'll go check out my pinboards for some inspiration...

Speaking of Pinterest...

It's "Oh How Pinteresting" Wednesday!!! I haven't linked up with Michelle over at The Vintage Apple in quite a few weeks so I'm so excited to be back in it!!

This week, being the first link up of the new year, I thought I'd focus on that. Some good thoughts for the new year and some food/craft ideas- because I fully intend to try some of this stuff in 2012! Enough pinning and saying oh that looks good! Time to get my butt in the kitchen and MAKE it! :)

Enjoy!

Source: laurawinslowphotography.com via Krystina on Pinterest

Source: imgfave.com via Krystina on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Krystina on Pinterest

Source: fakeginger.com via Krystina on Pinterest

Source: iheart2stamp.com via Krystina on Pinterest

Source: vandco.bigcartel.com via Jaime on Pinterest

Here's hoping I ACUALLY follow through with cooking and making things on my boards this year! No doubt, when I do, it will be up here for all of you to enjoy.

Have any of you had some great successes from your pins? I've only tried a couple and it always comes out fabulous!!

Alrighty, now for my favorite part- time to go steal some of your pins!! :) Happy Wednesday everyone!

My Christmas wrap-up...

Hello loves!!

I realize posts have been a little scarce these couple of weeks. I don't know how some of you kept up through the holidays! I'm ridiculously impressed. My schedule was so upside down, I could barely think straight. I can't imagine getting my thoughts organized enough to have continued posting regularly. Hopefully- as we head into 2012 (feel free to insert a record scratch there), things will be calming down and regulating a bit so I'll be back to my usual silliness.

How, in all that is good, is 2011 over?!

I can't.

This year seriously flew by on fast forward. No doubt I'm not alone on that. It seems to be the general consensus every time the subject comes up.

Since this is the last day of 2011, I figured this was my last chance to catch you all up on all of my left over Christmas goodness without looking like somewhat of a lame-o. I suppose I technically have through 3 Kings Day to grasp on to my Christmas spirit, but I'm choosing to accept that this year's Holiday season has come and gone. This way, I can welcome the new year with fresh, open, and loving arms!

Lets start with my Christmas present to myself...

:)

I find it SO difficult to spend money on myself (Cue New Year's Resolution... Thats a post for another day though!), however, Black Friday super sweet deals make the blow a little easier. So when Silhouette and Crap I've Made had an amazing promotion going, I couldn't wait any longer to finally get a Silhouette Cameo of my own.

That's right- I am officially the proud owner of my very own Cameo!!

The machine my person so eloquently refers to as "The cricut on crack." I honestly couldn't explain this any better myself! If you're lost, just follow along. You'll want one in a few pictures...

So I was able to justify this purchase because I figured, It isn't just for me! I'll be using it to make things for other people!! Starting with- wrapping my Christmas presents! I made the decision I was going to wrap gifts in craft paper this year and just embellish using cool things I made with my machine. I had no clue how time consuming this would be but I am so proud of how they all came out. 

Everyone LOVED their wrapping so much they didn't even want to open them! And that's saying a lot.

I'm already thinking up so many more projects for my pretty little Cameo, so stay tuned! Much more crafty goodness to come!

So wrapping wasn't my only crafty project this season-

I made Christmas ornaments for each of the couples in our families!

*I used a Martha Stewart paint to make a snowy looking scene as a base around the bottom of the ornament and to add the year

*I filled the ornaments with just a little fake snow and a couple tiny ornaments from Michaels- each ornament got 2 mini snowflakes and a mini Christmas tree

*I printed out pictures of each couple, added scrapbooking corners and tied bakers twine to them and rolled them up to get them in. I had to use tweezers to get them all straightened out (Which was surprisingly easy once I got the hang of it!)

*Finally, I embossed the names on to a Martha Stewart Christmas tag to add a personalized final touch to each ornament.

Check out how the turned out!

Those still make me smile!

And finally- I just thought I'd show you all what a good girl I was this year!

The boy too!

We were both seriously spoiled by our families and each other. Here's a little taste of the hardcore ridiculousness that showed up under our tree this year...

Yup- I got a KitchenAid stand mixer!! I know you're all excited about what this will mean for future food posts... Gahhh!! I can't wait!! And the person has already finished his Lego Architecture replica of Fallingwater and we already have a beer brewing. Such a great Christmas.

I think I speak for both of us when I say the greatest thing was to get to see his family so close to Christmas AND see my family on Christmas. We are so blessed to come from two incredible families and spending time with all those incredible people is what really made my heart feel the holidays.

So thats it for my holiday posts! Did you like it?! I hope you're all prepared to move into a New Year and have some big plans for what the next 365 days will hold for you. I LOVE New Years because I love the idea of giving yourself a fresh start and a chance to be everything you hadn't gotten a chance to take on yet. Here's to everyone being a little better, healthier, more successful, and more loving in the new year! 2011 me took some serious strides, so I can only imagine how much more proud I'll be of myself at this time next year. Do you all make it a point to have extra faith in yourselves at the start of the year? Now's the time to do it!

Alright everyone- lets get this started off right! Time to tackle another year. I'll see you all there! :)

My Thanksgiving/November Recap...

Happy December, loves!!

May I be the first to say- what the hell happened to this year?! Seriously people, it has flown by and its making me feel all philosophical. (Go with me on this...)

You know how when we're young, a year seems to last an eternity? But then the older we get, time just starts moving faster and faster until it's this unstoppable snowball? Does our mind legitimately register time differently as we get older and our thoughts are filled with an endless amount of concrete information, and worries, and memories? Are years so long when we're young because there seems to be an endless amount of possibilities and imagination? 

No? Just me?

...Very well then.

What with it being a week since Thanksgiving and officially the start of December, I figured today was my last chance to post my Thanksgiving recap!

For the new followers- Hi, welcome, I'm Cuban and my holiday meal included black beans and rice. 

:)

Feel free to be jealous because when Abuelita (Grandma in Spanish) hits the kitchen for holiday meals, the result is nothing short of DELICIOUSNESS. This year being no different. 

I thought you all might appreciate my family/ Thanksgiving warm fuzzies in a lovely little photo drop!

Enjoy!

My Pumpkin Pie cupcakes- literally just my vanilla cupcake recipe with the entirety of a pumpkin pie filling mixed in!
Came out so delicious and served with whipped cream on top!

Step 1 of my first homemade Pecan Pie! Used my Williams-Sonoma pie crust leaf shapes to jazz it up...

The ridiculously yummy finished product... In hindsight, I should've made two pecan pies.

My full addition to the meal- the desserts! A whole lot of pumpkin and pecan goodness.

Me, showing off my goodness once I set them out at my sister's house

The lovely ladies of my family- Me, My Mommy, and my gorgeous sister

And of course, all our generations so far, we added in my Abuelita on my Mom's side

So, I swear my dad was there too!! I didn't realize I hadn't gotten a picture of him on my camera... :( But he does exist and he is an awesomely handsome rockstar of a Daddy.

Sadly, my sister's husband and my person were missing from the festivities. Mickey Mouse had other plans for them and required they both make other families have awesome Thanksgivings. I promise we saved them leftovers!

So, you may remember my picture a month I did for October? Well I repeated it again this month! Check out how November looked in my life-

And finally- My giveaway winner!! I can't thank you all enough for your awesome participation in this giveaway! I wish I could send you all some delicious hot chocolate. Hopefully, as I keep coming across appropriately themed goodies, I'll do more fun things like this. But this time, the winner was-

Which was.....

Alyssa from Ten Feet Off Beale

Congrats lady!! Make sure you send me your info so I can hopefully get your goodies sent off to you ASAP! :) 

So... November wasn't too shabby in my world. But- I'm really looking forward to it being the Christmas season. 

I love the first day of every month. It's such a refreshing new beginning... Whatever may have made you stumble the month before- screw it! This month has no idea what you did or didn't do last month! It's another shot to show the world you can be better than you've been. Like a mini New Year. 

Happy New Month, everyone.

Let's take December by storm and finish up 2011 on a high note.

:)

Window Shopping Spree- "Extreme Craft Room/Blog HQ Makeover" Edition!

Thursday! :) Mmmmm... It's silly how much I love looking forward to the "sunday" of my weekend. You'd think, it means I have to go back to work tomorrow, why would I like it so much? I don't know how it works for all of you- but "sunday" is the most relaxing day of the week! It's almost always the stay in your pj's all day kind of day. Today in particular, I am going in to work at the '30s style dinner theatre I perform at. But until then- you couldn't pry these pj's off me if you paid me! Plus- a certain someone made French toast this morning... :) I am a lucky, lucky lady.

As if that weren't exciting enough- it's Window Shopping Spree Thursday!! When I went to start perusing the internet for this post, I felt a little stuck. I have so many great ideas for post Halloween shopping sprees that I cannot wait to get to!!! Sadly... we are still in October... 

That's a little unfair of me to say to October- 

October, you're a lovely month! I thoroughly enjoy celebrating you in all your spookiness. Please understand, I'm just a little anxious to get to my favorite time of year. Nothing personal!

Then- inspiration struck! October is a very topsy turvy month around here. Things get insane and well, a mess. It was probably about the end of September that I realized I would have to dedicate a weekend to a cleaning frenzy. Once the person's event was over, spend some serious time deep cleaning and organizing. So thats what this past "weekend" was for. Everything turned out great!! Everything except his "man cave" and my "craft room." Those rooms still need some serious work... 

I haven't been able to work on any craft projects in a while because I find it hard to be inspired in an unorganized space. Said craft room has yet to be fully set up... So "Cup 'a Hot Chocolate Headquarters" has been the couch... **wahh wahh** (Which is actually the Debbie Downer sound, not a cry... I wish there was a better way to explain that...)

So this weeks shopping spree- A Craft Room/ Blog HQ makeover!!! UGhhhh if only!!! Even when everything in there finds it's home, the room will not look anything like this... A girl can dream though, right? Oh- and this makeover is brought to you almost entirely by the Pottery Barn website... What can I say, I'm a sucker for pretty and slightly over priced home decor. 

1. Drool worthy craft room furniture- Little odds and ends with a bunch of random drawers and shelves? Yes please! If you go to the page of that collection- just scroll down and include EVERYTHING on the page. And my room's furniture is complete! Seriously though- how perfect is that set for a craft room?

2. Wheeley "Craft in progress" chair- I find that as much as I always want to have a big comfy chair in there, I constantly have to roll around to grab random thingss while I try to finish a project! So a matching chair with wheels is a must have.

3. Blogging/"visitor in my hq" chair- But I obviously need a big comfy accent chair too! Sometimes people stop by while I'm crafting. And, I do all my best blog writing from a comfortable position. 

4. Color pop organizational boxes- I dont know what it is about greens, gray blues, and yellows that I love so much right now. Still, seeing these all nestled into the cubby holes with all my random crap neatly organized in them- be still me heart! Such a sucker for neatly organized stuff.

5. 13" MacBook Pro- A new MacBook? How the hell did that get on there... I mean if it's there I shouldn't delete it... And I mean, the computer is getting a little slow. I can't very well blog in a new hq with a laptop I can't depend on! :) That's a reasonable excuse, right? 

6. Multipiece wall organizer- I LOVE these things!!! A way to set out and organize all my thoughts and plans right up on the wall in front of me. I pin this sort of stuff every time I come across them. I'm sure If I worked at it, I could piece something like this together slowly but surely thanks to HomeGoods. But that's the logical and sensible, cost efficient way to do it. Thursdays are not about that!

Le sigh! My dream room... Do you all dream of having a perfect room like this too? What are your must-haves when you sit back and imagine that perfect room to inspire you? And where do you guys normally find those pieces that fit perfect in those rooms? 

Excuse me while I continue to imagine I'm writing this from that room I just made in my mind... :)

Lots of love and energy to all you lovelies!

100+ Followers?!? Ay que rico!!!

About 2 years, ago I started Cup 'a Hot Chocolate.

A year ago this November, I was inspired to wipe the blog clean and start fresh! I didn't keep any of my old posts. I wanted a brand new blog under the same name.

6 months ago, I actually started learning about blogs. Design, communities, and I actually started looking around and following blogs I loved and liked to visit regularly.

Just 3 months ago, I felt like I finally started making my blog my own! I started writing how I wanted to and about whatever I wanted to and for the first time was proud to be able to say this is fully a reflection of me! Here's the post where that really took off...
For one thing, this makes it so difficult to decide on a blogiversary... but that's a subject for another day!

Today, I'm celebrating reaching 100+ followers!
I cannot express to you all enough what rockstars you guys are!! I LOVE getting comments from you guys and the constant support in everything I do. It's funny but so true how you can "meet" such amazing people through blogging. Such incredible and inspirational people have come into my life through this adventure in blogging I've started and I love it! I'm so excited to see what comes next...

I wanted to do something special to celebrate, so I decided to share something with you all! Most of the time, when I share something I've cooked, the recipe comes from some random source that I link back to. 

Today, I'm actually going to be sharing a family recipe!
 That's right my lovely followers- 

time for some Cuban deliciousness in your lives!!!

Some sabor!!
***My Abuelita's Fricase de Pollo***
y arroz con frijoles
aka My Grandma's Chicken Fricassee
and rice and beans

A couple notes before I start though- Cuban cooking is all very much a gusto, or to taste. Just as my grandma taught me, there are next to no specific measurements in this recipe! But I promise, it's so easy!! You just have to try it as you go and decide what you want more or less of. If you trust yourself, it'll turn out delicious!

Also- this is the easy way to cook it all! I like to call it "The poor girl's Fricase de Pollo" because I use onion powder alone instead of real onions and canned black beans instead of dry ones. I almost always have all the ingredients I need for this at home, so I don't need to depend on those extra items! Plus, if we decide we want Cuban food last minute, it's actually doable!

Aaaaand cooking time!

Ingredients, for the whole shbang-

1 pkg chicken tenderloins

White or brown rice, your choice

Corn oil, I use Mazola

Spanish Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

1 can Hunt's tomato sauce

Onion powder

Garlic salt

Ground Cumin

White Vinegar

1 can black beans (no seasoning added)

Cooking the arroz-

1. Add your desired amount of rice to the rice cooker and add just enough water so there is a thin layer sitting over the rice (about half a centimeter above for white rice and a full centimeter above for brown rice).
2. Add 1 cucharada, or tablespoon, of your corn oil and add as much salt as you'd like. I go a little salt heavy... But it's how I was taught!

Making the sofrito-

(This is the sauce that acts as a base for alot of Cuban and island cuisine. In this case, it'll be used to cook the chicken!)

1. Empty the contents of the tomato sauce into any deep pan you have a cover for! Fill the can 1/3 full with water and add that to the pan too.
2. Now, all the goodies- add a cucharada of corn oil (tablespoon), 2 capfuls of vinegar, and then a ridiculous amount of garlic salt and onion powder. Those are the tricky amounts to describe both here and in the beans. What I normally do is legitimately add enough onion powder to just coat the mix in the pan and then add a little less than that of the garlic salt.
3. Bring this to a boil and then reduce it to just above medium heat.

Now, cut down the tenderloins into little chunks. You can use chicken breasts or even cutlets here- I've just always done it this way because it seems to cook so well and it gives me the look I want to come out just like Grandma's... I also get crazy anal about cutting out all the nasty parts of the tenderloins.

Add the chicken to the sofrito and make sure you mix it so the sauce is really getting all over the chicken. Cover the pan and let it cook! I like to check back and mix it up a few times periodically while it's cooking. That way it all soaks up the delicious sauce!

On to the frijoles!!

1. With the stove on medium heat, empty the can of beans into a sauce pan. Then fill the can 1/3 of the way with water and add that in too. I've started adding even a little less water than that because I like for the beans to get as much of the seasoning as possible. If you're cooking for anyone that just likes the soup without the actual beans, more water makes it a little easier to do that.
2. Add just a splash of the spanish olive oil and corn oil  and then it's on to all the seasonings. Just like with the sofrito, make a coat almost of the onion powder, this time about the same amount of garlic salt, and just a dash of cumin and pepper.
3.  Bring this to a boil, and then add 2 capfuls of vinegar. 
4. Lower the heat and just let it simmer for 10 minutes. During all that I like to mix it up and sort of smush the beans as I go. It makes it a little thicker and that's how I like it!

By this point, your rice cooker should've popped, your chicken should look like the above picture, your beans should be harmoniously cooked and seasoned, and your kitchen should smell like you died and went to heaven!!

Aaaaaaaand dinner is served!! I like to make sure I get a good amount of sofrito on my chicken and even toss some over onto my rice too. 

Yes, it is that good.

Some people are a little scared to try Cuban food but I'm telling you now, this will become a staple in your regular menu! It really isn't too out there as far as flavors go. I often hear "How come it's not spicy?" ... I hate to break this to you all, but, Cuban food is NOT SPICY. It is in deed full of spices and we're known for our flavor! We don't really do the "hot" stuff.

I really hope you guys try this out! My grandma is the greatest cook I know and having her recipes now could not make me happier!!

So thanks again, my 100+ followers! I'm so happy to be sharing in this journey with all of you and I hope you keep coming by!

Lots more laughs, craftiness, deliciousness, and all around awesomeness to come!!

Till then...