Success in the Kitchen!

Last night, my friends and I celebrated our annual Christmas dinner.  We do it potluck style, where everyone brings something to the table, but since I've always lacked any and all skills in the kitchen, I'm usually assigned to bring the drinks.

Well, not this year, friends!!


This year, I've been working very hard to raise my credibility in the kitchen.  And while I'm no Rachael Ray just yet (let's be honest, I never will be), I am really proud of how much better I've gotten! So for this year's Christmas dinner, I volunteered to bring an appetizer and a dessert.  See my final products below for yourself! They were both a hit!
YAY ME!!!!

{Homemade Bruschetta, Recipe by my beautiful friend, Caroline}

{Santa Hat Brownies with Homemade Frosting, Thanks Pinterest!}

I know they're both relatively simple, so if you're one of those great cooks out there, don't judge me for being so excited over these! Baby steps, right? 

XO!

J 

PS. I'll post more pics of the rest of the night later! Just wanted some brag-time for myself first ;)

Dinner Dates to Remember

"We will meet and talk with friends and speak of everything and nothing...We will laugh and reminisce, and no matter how light the conversation may all seem, we will remember that day fondly...forever."

{Anthropologie, "Script & Posy Dinner Plate," $18.}

Have you ever sat down with a group of friends for a dinner that was just perfect in every sense of the word? When I came across this plate today at Anthropologie, I was instantly taken back to such a night(s) this past summer. 

I studied abroad in Valencia, Spain, for 6 weeks this summer (more about that later, when I'm having a "TAKE ME BACK TO SPAIN"-Mental breakdown-emotional roller coaster-kinda days), and literally had the greatest time.  I made friends that I will have for the rest of my life and that I share memories with that are unlike any others.  

We saw the world together.  We ran around countries whose languages we didn't speak.  We submersed ourselves in cultures we had never experienced.  We went on pub crawls, played soccer in the park, saw pieces of history before our very eyes, bought 1 euro bottles of wine (nightly), and stayed up till the sun came out.  The list could go on and on, but some of our favorite memories revolve around our dinners--two in particular that come to mind when looking at this plate:

On our second night in Valencia, we went out to dinner to celebrate a friend of mine's birthday.  A few of us were already friends from back home, but we had new additions to our table.  Over great food and about three bottles of wine, we spoke about everything you can imagine.

  Love. Family. Religion.  Food.  Friends.  Bad Experiences. Good Experiences. Everything.

You often hear that some of these things shouldn't be discussed among company, but on that night, everyone heard each other's opinions and feelings with an open heart and mind.  It was the kind of conversations you only imagine a good dinner party will be made up of, but better.  

The second dinner took place on our very last night in Valencia, six weeks later.  It was the same group that was there on the night of our first dinner, but we were each very different people than we had been at the first dinner.  

We ate great food.  We drank great wine.  We laughed.  We cried.  We gave each other superlatives. We (for some odd reason) predicted the kind of person each one of us would marry. We thanked each other.  We talked about what our favorite part of the trip was.  We talked about what we'd miss most.  We planned the trips we would (and will) take in the future.  We promised to stay friends.    

I'm not only so very grateful for everything that happened in those six weeks, but also for what came as a result of it.  I miss our nightly dinners, each so memorable in its own way.  Nights like that are the kinds that you can't plan no matter how hard you try.  They just happen, and you never forget them.  

So happy that the little plate at Anthropologie today reminded me of such great memories!  

Hope you've had memorable dinners with friends like these in the past, and that many more lie in your future!

My Popas! 

XO

J

    

A Little GLITTER Never Hurt Anybody...

I'm a birthday person.  I love my birthday, I love your birthday, I love ALL birthdays. But I never knew what a celebration was until "The Year of 21" for me and my friends.  I've learned that 21st birthdays really just take celebrations to a whole new level...

My 21st birthday was a few months ago, and my friends did the GREATEST job in the world of making sure I had the best. day. EVER.  It was not only my favorite birthday of all time, but one of the greatest days of my life.  It really proved to me that all birthdays are not created equal.  You only have ONE 21st (yes, I know...you only have one of every birthday...but you know what I mean), and it's really an occasion you need to go all out for and enjoy like no other!

Last night, we celebrated the 21st birthday of one of my greatest friends in the world. We showered her with a surprise glitter/confetti downpour at the strike of midnight and then went out to celebrate in our lovely city of Miami.  The party continued when we returned back to our hotel at the end of the night (early morning), and new stories have seemed to keep arising throughout the course of the day.  (Don't you just love nights like that?)

 Here I am with the birthday princess herself...Just before it started raining glitter...

Do you think the birthday girl had a good time? 

If you're 21, I hope you had an amazing and unforgettable (or forgettable, if you know what I mean) celebration! Whether it involved finding glitter all over your body the next day or waking up the next day with the worst headache of your life, I hope it was filled with lots of love and beautiful memories (and a handful of funny stories you'll never live down) that you'll look back on forever!

XO!

J 

PS. Just a casual view of Miami Beach at 8 AM on a Monday morning in the middle of December...So calm and quiet, and oh so beautiful! If you're shoveling snow, sorry! 

Girl Power

I’m not any sort of extreme feminist.  I’m ever-thankful to the badass women who stood up to adversity to get us the rights we deserve, but I still want a man to open the door for me (yes, I know I can do it myself…but a little chivalry never hurt anyone!). 

That being said, I think it's a necessity for every girl to be surrounded by strong, fabulous women to look up to.  How’d I get so lucky as to be surrounded by so many?

Had a great time today with all the women in my family celebrating my aunt’s 60^th birthday! Good food, good drinks, great company!

Go tell the amazing women you know how much you appreciate having them in your life! 

XO!

J 

Reunited (& it feels so good)

Going away to school is the best decision I have ever made.  Hands down.  I've gone from being the "baby" of the family at home, where (I admit it) I was pampered for that reason, to living in a dorm, then to now living in an apartment with three of my best friends (where there is definitely no pampering!).   I've learned to "cook," clean, and to truly just take care of myself.  I've had no choice but to mature, and have had a blast along the way.  There's really very little that hasn't changed in the last three years.  Except for one thing: my best friends.  

Throughout college, I've had so many amazing people come into my life--people that I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life.  But I'm also really thankful that my tight-knit group of best friends from high school are still my go-to girls.  In a nutshell, that's what this post is about.

We're a group of 10.  A few of us stayed home for school, most of us went away but stayed in-state, and one of us even ventured out up North (to bravely face those wild Winters we Floridians dread!).
But for now, I'm happy that we're all back home for Christmas break!  We met for lunch today (missing three-tenths of the gang) & caught up on each other's lives.  We even had a special guest join us--the honorary 11th member of the group, Isabel (my friend's 7-year-old little sister)!

Can't wait to enjoy the rest of our break together and with those who were missing today! Hope you have a group that you can always come back to no matter where you've been!

XO!

J 

Take 2

This is the second time I attempt to start and keep up with a blog.  The first was an epic fail..In my first two posts, I ironically promised I'd keep it updated. What's the irony, you ask? Those were the only two posts the blog ever had...

So why am I trying again?  Well, I've actually developed a little something that I think will help me be a little more successful this time around: INSOMNIA. Sure, it's self-diagnosed (thanks, WebMD), but as a future MD (here's hoping), I'm pretty confident with this diagnosis.

You want proof? It's currently 3:14 AM, and I have enough energy to run a couple of miles (not that I will...I said I had the energy, not the willpower).  Unfortunately, snoozin' is nowhere in my near future, despite the fact that I have to be up at 8:30.

 So instead, I plan to use this time (tonight and on future nights) when all is calm and everyone is sleeping, to keep this updated!


Hope you'll stick around and root for me!..To keep writing, not to keep being an insomniac, that is...

XO :)
J