From the bar: Watermelon Gin Punch
Happy Friday friends! What are your plans for the weekend? Evan’s on a boys camping trip so I’m having dinner here with a girlfriend tonight and I’m looking forward to catching up over pizza and several glasses of wine. On Sunday, I’ll be serving up this refreshing minty watermelon gin punch at the Joy the Baker & Bottle Stock Pop-up Shop and Bake Sale!! If you’re in LA and want to come, RSVP at BSBakeSale@gmail.com for the secret location (Space is limited, so hurry!). If you’re not able to stop by, don’t worry I’ve got you covered. Happy Weekend!
From the kitchen: Bourbon Peaches ‘n Cream Popsicles
Stone fruit season is here again! And that makes this girl very happy. It means a season of pies, tarts, and frozen desserts galore – starting with these bourbon peaches ‘n cream popsicles. I was inspired by some close friends of ours who were brewing tasty bourbon peach beer recently. This grown-up popsicle is delicious, refreshing, and just a tad boozy. Bourbon kissed peaches are blended with greek yogurt and sugary syrup, then frozen for a cool summer treat. And since I used low fat yogurt in lieu of milk or cream, they’re actually quite healthy too! Win win! Enjoy!
Weekend Bits
I’ve had a pretty rough time feeling motivated in the last few weeks. I’m finding myself procrastinating even though I’m working on fun projects. I’ve been neglecting my fitness and spending far too much time watching bad reality tv shows online (which, I’m kinda okay with). But something clicked this past weekend. I worked out, ate well, completed work projects and craft projects, and even had time to relax by the pool and have dinner with good friends. It was the perfect balance of productivity and pleasure. And now, I feel excited and ready for the fun things happening in the weeks to come. It’s amazing what a little balance can do for your soul.
above are a few pictures from my Instagram feed all taken with the new VSCO app, which I was skeptical about at first but I’m now loving!
1. Champagne crafternoon with Sarah from The Bocket Store. DIY coming soon! 2. Evan made me a delicious grilled dinner after I worked all day on Saturday…he’s so good to me! 3. Tasty homemade hummus that I made for our first Sunday supper of the summer, a new tradition we’ve started. 4. Our favorite breakfast, papaya boats! Recipe here.
If you’d like, you can follow me at @loveandcupcakesblog or here! Hope you had a nice weekend too. -xo
Peru in Pictures: The Sights
Thank you all for playing along this week and putting up with my photo overload. I’ve loved all of the comments you guys have been leaving and I’m happy that these images are inspiring some of you to plan a trip to Peru! It truly was one of my favorite trips of all time and it left me wanting to visit more parts of South America…Galapagos and Patagonia are way high on my list. This last set of pictures are of the places we saw (plus some gratuitous selfies just because). It seemed like everywhere we looked, we could see ruins or intricate agricultural terraces carved into mountains. We had great weather, but throughout the trip large, dark clouds would roll in and out creating these eerie overcast moments every so often. The clouds were amazing and moved so fast. Our main purpose in traveling to Peru was to visit Machu Pichu and it was, by far, the highlight of our trip. It’s an amazing feeling to see a place or thing in person, that you’ve only known from pictures and stories all your life. It’s like putting a face to a name. And it didn’t disappoint. Machu Picchu was more glorious in person than I would have ever imagined. We climbed the peak of Machu Picchu Mountain, a 2-hour trek up 12,000 tiny stone stairs! We were so tired by the time we reached the summit, but the view alone was worth all of the trouble. See more of our favorite sites below! Happy weekend! Read more…
Peru in Pictures: The Cuteness
Traveling to a new country, we naturally expected to see local animals here and there, but we never expected to see the large amount of cute creatures we actually encountered – dogs, llamas, alpacas, pigs, sheep, (you name it) they all run wild in Peru. At first, my heart would break every time I saw a stray dog in the streets. They looked so dirty and hungry. But the chef that we took our cooking class with assured us that most of the dogs we see roaming the streets have homes, it’s just customary in Peru to let your dog roam free during the day. At night, the streets clear and you rarely see any animals hanging out. Being the crazy dog lady that I am, I befriended as many pups as I could. I fell in love with one in particular, Venice, the flower clad Great Dane mix I’m smooching with above. She lived at one of the hotels we stayed in and was so lovable, I miss her! Below are some of our favorite cuddly Peruvian creatures. -xo
Peru in Pictures: The Food {!!!}
Part of what I love most about traveling is eating new and exotic foods. Peru had so much to offer in the exotic department. We tasted guinea pig, alpaca, fermented corn, at least five types of quinoa, teas galore and the best Pisco sours we’ve ever encountered. One of the highlights of our trip was taking a cooking class with Chef Erick, owner and executive chef of Cusco’s, Marcelo Batata and Uchu. He took us to an open market and gave us a tour of Peru through its native fruits and vegetables. We went back to his kitchen and learned to make a traditional potato dish called Causa and Alpaca Saltado, a Peruvian stir fry. I can’t recommend this cooking class enough if you ever find yourself in Cusco. Erick is entertaining and so informative, we had such a great time ! To make reservations, you must email him directly at erick@cuzcodining.com. Below are some pictures of our food adventures if you’re interested. xo!
Peru in Pictures: The Colors
I finally got through the 1,400+ photos from our recent trip to Peru. There were so many that I loved, so I’ll be sharing a few (or 40) each day this week if you’re interested. Throughout our trip, we were constantly mesmerized by the beautiful colors we encountered in this country – from the textiles, to the people, to the city and countryside, everywhere you look there’s vibrant color . Read more…
