My mom made this cake often when I was growing up and it’s perfect for just about any occasion – birthdays, holidays or just for a nice dessert after a meal. I will admit – it doesn’t really taste much like pineapple. Weird, I know. Instead, the pineapple acts in place of butter or oil in this recipe and makes the cake very dense and moist – more like carrot cake in texture. It’s very easy to make, as is the frosting! Continue reading
Less Bling, More Style
My beautiful jewelry armoir – stuffed to the brim with old necklaces, bracelets, extra watchbands and links, small jewelry boxes saved for gifting but still unused…basically a catch-all space for anything in this category.
Essentially, it’s a mess – and even worse, most of the contents I never even wear! Parting with jewelry was an odd and difficult task, but I did it and in doing so reaffirmed my own personal style. Continue reading
Ethiopian-Style Chickpea Stew
I stumbled across this recipe from Whole Foods, and thought it sounded absolutely delicious. I’ve been trying to eat meatless meals more often, and loved how flavorful this sounded. It wasn’t difficult at all to make, either! Continue reading
De-cluttering: The Dreaded Kitchen Basket
Face it – we all have one of these. It’s probably in the kitchen, or maybe the foyer or dining room, but it’s there…a basket, bucket, drawer or shelf stuffed to brims and overflowing with…STUFF!
I grew up in a house where the basket held mail, pens, calculators, notepads, and receipts to be saved. It was always full and as a result there always ended up being more clutter around the basket. Before we could blink, the entire section of kitchen counter was overtaken with torn envelopes and dried-up pens.
As part of my 2013 initiative to declutter and reduce, I decided that the one in my apartment had to go. For good. Not only was it an eyesore, it actually made me MORE disorganized – some important papers were in the basket, others were filed and I never actually knew where anything was. That makes my life more difficult, not less. Here’s how I did it: Continue reading
3 Easy Ways to Save Money This Year
The Social Security tax credit of 2% has expired. If you’re like me, you feel it in each paycheck – especially since most Americans haven’t gotten a raise at all in the 2 years the tax credit was in effect. This means we are bringing home a significantly lower amount of money. In the interest of being positive in 2013 and trying to take action where I can, I decided to do things on my own to help ease the pain of this lower income. Here are three ways I saved some money on my monthly bills: Continue reading
Reducing and Re-Organizing – A Great Start to 2013
This is the second post in an ongoing series focusing on decluttering my closet. The first post outlined 3 steps I’d be taking to achieve that:
- Reducing clothes in my closet
- Using the items I already have
- Replacing items with quality pieces
I decided that the best way to ring in the new year would be to reduce items I don’t use by donating them to Goodwill. I ended up moving beyond my closet into my bedroom, and eventually into the kitchen. It felt, and stil feels, so good to have made this big of a dent so soon into the new year! Here is what I donated: Continue reading
3 Steps to De-Cluttering My Closet in 2013
I made a conscious effort during 2012 to eliminate dresses from my closet that I don’t wear or don’t need – and to only buy new items that are well-made and can be used for a variety of occasions. I try to buy from small shops and boutiques whenever possible. Continue reading
Pumpkin Donuts with Chocolate Frosting
One of the lovely ladies I work with was having a birthday and so I planned to make treats. This woman had an amazing year – she’s lost a lot of weight, and eats healthfully. I wanted to make something that would be good, but still fit her lifestyle. I found a recipe for pumpkin donuts on Prevention RD and decided that, at about 150 calories per donut, these would be perfect. Continue reading