Author: Leigh

Online Media - Writer - Soon-to-be Mom

Recipe: Hot Cider

1 Comment

It’s easy to say here in San Francisco that we have basically skipped over fall and plopped right into winter. The weather is chilly, yet sunny, and there’s a bite to the air. After having a great homemade hot cider at a friend’s house last weekend, I thought I’d give it a shot today since Sundays are usually my cooking days. After getting all my ingredients at the grocery store, I busted out my crock pot and started prepping.

Photo Nov 29, 5 12 17 PM.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium navel oranges
  • North Coast Organic Apple Cider 64 fl oz
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 3-5 cinnamon sticks
  • Whole cloves
  • Whiskey or bourbon of your choice *optional*

To Prepare:

  1. Make sure your crock pot is 100% clean.
  2. Pour entire bottle of North Coast Organic Apple Cider into the crock pot and add the two tablespoons of brown sugar.
  3. With a whisk, mix together the brown sugar and apple cider.
  4. Poke holes in the top half of one of the oranges and add whole cloves (1 to 1 1.5 inches apart).
  5. Take the second orange and slice it up, 1/2 inch thick slices.
  6. Place the whole orange (with cloves in it) in the crock pot, as well as the orange slices, and add in the 3-5 cinnamon sticks.
  7. Turn the crock pot on and let it simmer for 4-6 hours.
  8. Ladle into mugs, and if desired, add another cinnamon stick as well as a bit of whiskey or bourbon.

This turned out great and will definitely be a staple in my household from here on out.

Did you try this recipe? Tell me how you liked (or didn’t like) it in the comments below.

xoxo,

Leigh

Leigh’s Favorite Black Friday Finds

Leave a comment

It’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving and my food and shopping coma has finally subsided. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday.

Per usual, my mom and I took to the Black Friday madness and literally came out with a substantial amount of loot. While I purchased the winter essentials, I also purchased some of my favorite winter pieces that will easily last through early spring, when it’s still chilly. My favorite items were from Express, as they had the best deal Thursday night – the whole store was 50% off and Old Navy had the same deal but through Black Friday. Here are seven of my favorite pieces:

1. Bare Traps Delrose Rain Boot, $69.95 from DSW

Screen Shot 2015-11-27 at 4.40.39 PM

2. Rampage Bram Slouchy Boots, $19.99 (Black Friday deal!) at Macy’s

3046557_fpx

3. Feather Print V-Neck Bell Sleeve Dress, $49.99 (purchased for 50% off that price) at Express

new_74_794_3994_026_12

4. Lace Inset V-neck Tunic Sweater, $49.99 (purchased for 50% off that price) at Express *it is sold out online, therefore no link to sweater*

new_82_832_5652_787_21

5. Grey Bunny Flannel PJ Bottoms, $16.94 (purchased for 50% off that price) at Old Navy

cn10456867

6. Swing V-Neck Sweater-Knit Top in Grey, $24.94 (purchased for 50% off that price) at Old Navy

cn10392522.jpg

7. Curvy Boot-Cut Jeans in Blue Reeds, $24.95 (purchased for 50% off that price) at Old Navy

cn9948272

Also purchased but not pictured for him (aka my husband): two fleece-lined zip ups in grey and black from Old Navy.

There was more accessories purchased from H&M (socks and a belt) and Forever 21 (two pairs of leggings) that were also a bargain. I purchased a coat-sweater from Macy’s that was originally $100 brought down to $20 for Black Friday. I had a hard time finding the photo, otherwise it’d be on my favorites list.

Hope you enjoyed my roundup and if you scored any great deals like I did, let me know in the comments! 🙂

xoxo,

Leigh

 

Recipe: Sweet Potato-Carrot Soup

1 Comment

On a rainy day like today nothing beats a hot bowl of soup to ease the chill of the cold weather.  In honor of the cold weather upon us, here’s an easy sweet potato-carrot soup to prepare. One thing you’ll definitely need to get this soup to the right consistency is an immersion blender. I purchased my Kitchen Aid blender from Target.

SweetPotatoSoup

Ingredients

  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled
  • 1 medium yellow squash, peeled
  • 1 small onion, peeled
  • 1 small bag of peeled baby carrots
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 can pumpkin purée or one small squash, peeled and de-seeded
  • 2 tablespoons of Osem Chicken Soup Consomme
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • Israeli soup croutons (optional)
  • Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Place all sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin (or squash), onion and garlic in a stock or soup pot with water.

2. Bring the water to a boil.

3. Once all the ingredients have boiled and are soft to the touch, blend all the ingredients together until no lumps are found in the soup.

4. Add your seasonings: salt, pepper, cayenne or any other seasoning you enjoy in soups.

5. Serve hot with Israeli soup croutons.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know in the comments.

xoxo,

Leigh

SIPPO Smart Cup

Leave a comment

While scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I came across a sponsored post for the SIPPO smart cup. Sure, it sounds like sippy, but still caught my attention. What is SIPPO? Well, it’s a smart cup that monitors how much water you have consumed throughout the day. For me, this is a true necessity. Why? Because I sit at a desk all day during work and tend to not hydrate quite enough. You pair the cup with the app on your smartphone via bluetooth and it alerts you when you need to drink more water.

Screen Shot 2015-11-22 at 1.23.13 PM

Courtesy of comingsoon-tech.com

Staying hydrated is a key ingredient to weight loss and appetite control, so why not have something monitor it for you so you are consuming all you need? As a self-proclaimed techie, this is awesome. I will definitely be purchasing one for myself and my husband as he needs to hydrate more as well.

The product hasn’t launched yet, but if you sign up for the launch alert and follow some fun social media sharing steps, you can get points toward a discount on the product when it does become available.

*Editors note: SIPPO is now available to purchase on Indiegogo!

xoxo,

Leigh