Cheesecake recipe & more! March 3rd

Someone asked me a while back if I could post my mom's cheesecake recipe. So I decided to get my own healthier ingredients (like organic, etc.) and make it myself!

Here's the recipe:

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese (I used Organic Valley's brand)

1/2 cup sugar (I used Whole Foods 365 brand of organic cane sugar)

1/2 teaspoon or so of pure vanilla extract

2 eggs (I used an organic, cage free brand of eggs from Whole Foods)

9 inch graham or vanilla crust (I used the Nilla wafer brand, not exactly healthy, but good)

Basically all you have to do is let the cream cheese sit in a bowl until it's room temperature, then mix in the sugar and vanilla extract and blend with a blender. Then add the 2 eggs and blend some more. Pour it in the pie crust and bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes. Cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or more before serving.

Here's the finished product:

And for the berry topping, all you have to do is slice some strawberries and mix it together with a teaspoon or so of sugar and let set in the refrigerator for a bit.

My mom and I also made a great vegan asian inspired dinner the other night. It was featured in USA Weekend not long ago, and you can see the recipe here.

This veggie lo mein has a bunch of veggies (mushrooms, red pepper, onion, etc.) in it, along with extra firm tofu cubes and thin spaghetti in a lo mein sauce that you make. And just as a side note, but the rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil are a bit hard to find... try Whole Foods, I found them there.

One of my simplest recipes I actually found on MorningStar Farms site, that you can see here. It's their maple sausage breakfast sandwich, and I laughed when I saw it because it literally is the EASIEST RECIPE IN THE WORLD!

Just take a MorningStar Farms maple sausage pattie (they make different kinds, but their maple one adds a nice flavor) and put it on bread of some sort (they show a biscuit, but I get the mini bagels and they work perfectly). You can jazz this up with a little cheese (regular or vegan), but it really is good on it's own, and it's SO easy to throw together!

Even though I live all the way in Astoria now, over 7 miles away, I still can't help but visit my beloved Wild Ginger. I went there the other day and got the usual (and the best part is, one waiter there literally just brings out my food when I come in-- I don't even have to ORDER anymore!!! That's what I call service! ;).

In other news, for my birthday I got a purse that I'd been dying to get for a while now from this great vegan handbag designer named Susan Nichole.

I'm ordinarily not even a FAN of red (as purple and blue are my favorite colors), but there is something about the color "candy apple" that I really like. The bag looks more red in my picture, but you can see what it looks like better on their site here. (I broke down and got this because it was on sale for President's Day, and since the holiday happens to be on top of my birthday, it was meant to be! :).

Speaking of birthdays, I know someone who is heading into their terrible two's....

That's right, Peanut's 2nd birthday is on the 13th, so I'll be posting more then! :)

Soho Chic ~ September 3rd

How in the hell did it get to be September already?! That's what I'd like to know! But regardless, fall is my favorite season in NYC. The weather has been beautiful lately, which makes for a nice change, considering it had been so humid in August that I literally wanted to cry. I woke up early this morning and went down to Soho. I'm lucky that it's just 2 quick stops on the subway! I had quite a few errands to run... Here's what I wore...

I pretty much wore this exact outfit. The dress is from the Gap, I wore Spanx reversible tights (these are AMAZING by the way) in midnight (the other side is black), and my brown Steve Madden cowboy boots. :)

First stop was my beloved Apple store on Prince St. In case you are wondering why I love this store, I encourage you to read my experiences with them here!! I went down there to get the new "Snow Leopard" upgrade cd for my computer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one! (Anything new frightens me... lol)

I made a stop for Mom at a hardware store on Broome St., then I stopped in one of, if not my favorite store in all of NYC, Pearl River Mart (on Broadway & Broome St.). Why do I love this store? How about because it's awesome. You'll find some of the most amazing finds here... all these beautiful hand made things for like $5! I've gotten 2 beautiful hand made cat bowls for Peanut there (technically, they are "rice bowls" but they are the perfect size for him!).

I had lunch at a great pizza place on Spring St. (by Thompson St.) called "Famous Ben's Pizza of Soho." I used to go here last fall when I went to the Make Up Designory (since it's so close by to the school).

Then I stopped in Sephora (which is also on Broadway). I got a new Bare Escentuals kit for fall (and with Sephora's new "V.I.B" program I got 10% off my purchase, plus a free gift!). I really believe in getting one new makeup look per season. What I love about Bare Escentuals is that they make great kits, so for $20 or $30 you can update your whole look. Here's the kit I got:

I had to get this kit... perfect shades for fall. Plus you get everything you need... 2 eyeshadows, 1 liner shadow, blush, and lip color. And ironically the navy eyeliner is named after me ("Marina" ;)!

And it wouldn't be a blog entry without Peanut! And guess what he likes to do now? Sleep in the sink! lol And here is the proof...

So what else is going on? Well I "kind of" have a boyfriend now, and I say "kind of" because we still haven't officially gone on a date yet despite all the texts and phone calls! lol He's the HS crush that I told you about... what's funny is that I think he's just as nervous, if not more so than me! I was a geeky freshman when we met (well, maybe not "geeky" per se, but I was sort of a loner I suppose), he was the cool senior... an all star athlete, a great basketball and football player, popular, etc. It's funny how things can change in a couple years!

Oh, and I haven't heard from the woman I got Peanut from in a while, so I assume that Peanut's brother has found a home, or is in the process of finding a home... so that's why I removed the "Adopt Peanut's Brother!" message on the right hand side. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for him, since he was the last of Peanut's siblings to need a home.

That's it for today, my lovelies. Hope you enjoyed my lengthy post! And I want to thank all of you for the nice comments on my last post. I really appreciate them! xo

Daily Eats ~ August 4th

It's supposed to get really hot here today. :( I'm going to try to run some errands anyway, because at least it's not supposed to be raining for a change! lol Just for something different, I want to show you a dress I got yesterday...

It's from Alloy. My favorite color is purple and the bohemian look is "in" right now apparently. I already have a great plum Hayden-Harnett bag that goes perfectly with this too!

Breakfast:

I had 2 Van's Belgian Waffles topped with maple syrup, berries, and dollops of whipped cream. I had an Apple & Eve organic apple juice box alongside.

Lunch:

I just had an Annie's single serve mac & cheese with a packet of Birds Eye Steamfresh single serve peas mixed in. (I'm out of veggie dogs unfortunately!)

I had a Trader Joe's 100 calorie milk chocolate bar after lunch too. Granted, this was not the healthiest lunch, but it was what I felt like having today.

Snack:

I got a Red Mango frozen yogurt this afternoon... I get the medium original with strawberries & granola. (Note Peanut in the background... he likes Red Mango yogurt too! He's always so happy when I bring one home. ;)

Dinner:

I had an Amy's Bistro Burger on a Rudi's Organic whole wheat bun, with 2 slices of cheese and ketchup alongside. I also made a Birds Eye Steamfresh veggie medley to have with it.

Peanut eyeing my dinner...

Dessert:

I had a Clif Chocolate Almond Fudge Bar topped with Nutella, and a few strawberries alongside.

I have some news about Peanut's "sister." Now I put "sister" in quotes, because it turns out that his "sister" is a boy afterall! The woman that I got Peanut from contacted me today, and she is still looking for a home for Peanut's BROTHER, because she can't keep him (she already has Peanut's mother and grandmother). She told me that she's realized that the kitten is a boy, now that he's more *ahem* "developed." She's going to have to bring his brother to an animal shelter, unless anyone in the NY area is looking to adopt Peanut's adorable little brother! You can obviously see what he looks like by Peanut's pictures (except his brother is solid orange and doesn't have the white on him). So again, if anyone is interested, please contact me ASAP!

Daily Eats ~ July 1st

I can't believe it's July 1st already! I've never been a fan of the summer, especially in NYC... the hot, humid, rainy weather, all the bad smells, etc. Sorry to be a downer, but I can't wait for fall! I am looking forward to going out to the Hamptons though. We can't stay a whole week like we did last year, but my parents and I will be going out for at least a day this month, and maybe next month too. When our lease is up at the end of this year/beginning of next year, we're thinking of moving out there. I really miss Long Island, especially in the summer! Anyways, here's...

Breakfast:

I had an Apple & Eve apple juice box with an Apple Cinnamon Tea Loaf that I got from Fairway Market. I cut the loaf in half and spread peanut butter on each end. I wasn't wild about this breakfast, so I just had a bit.

Lunch:

I had an Amy's Spinach Feta in a Pocket Sandwich with a Mott's Peach Medley apple sauce.

Peanut came running for the apple sauce, as usual! lol

I also felt like I needed a little something sweet after lunch, so I had a small Cadbury "Snack" chocolate bar that I got from Fairway the other day...

Snack:

I finally got my Pinkberry Fruit Parfait! :) To my shock and astonishment, it only cost $3.95 ($4.28 with tax!). I was prepared for the worst-- like $7! Thank God they had the sense, especially in this economy, to charge less for it. And you know what? This is a TERRIFIC value-- better than anything else you could get at Pinkberry. You get a good amount of yogurt, plus granola and lots of delicious fruits! (Considering Pinkberry usually charges $11 a topping, this is a damn good value! lol I'm exaggerating of course, but it is pretty bad.) I thought it was very good and hit the spot on this humid day. (As you can see, Peanut enjoyed a taste as well!)

Dinner:

I've had a bad headache nearly all day (this humid summer weather has always caused headaches for me), and when I get like this I prefer more breakfast type items for dinner. So I made my last 2 slices of Trader Joe's French Toast, spread a thin layer of Nutella on one of them, made a sandwich out of it, then drizzled some TJ's maple syrup over it and topped it with berries. Nutella french toast is the best, folks! I highly recommend it!!

Snack:

I just had a Naked Juice and a handful of Blue Diamond Cinnamon Almonds (not pictured).

Still have a headache... and I was busy self tanning tonight (I'm so sick of being sickly white!). I have my THIRD job interview with Sephora tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be working at their Soho store soon... I got my new Ella Moss dress that I got on sale in the mail today too. :) So I'll be wearing it tomorrow... for anyone who's interested, this is what it looks like (I have some black spanx leggings that I'll be wearing with it similar to the look in the picture):