April 30, 2018 by Nicole Collins It's Margarita Monday!!! Mondays are notoriously known as being icky. But, when a margarita is involved, Monday might just be my favorite day of the week. I know. That's a very questionable statement. But that, my friends, is the power of a good margarita. So far this spring, we've had one Saturday where the weather hasn't been cold or rainy. Just one. It's been awful, really! So, on that one rare day, we had a margarita party on a friend's back deck. And, while we were enjoying the weather and our watermelon margaritas, we totally talked her in to having a Cinco de Mayo party starring a variety of margaritas. It didn't take much convincing actually, because.

April 29, 2018 by Nicole Collins It's time for our next challenge! It's Cinco De Mayo Week! And, this year, we're lucky enough for Cinco De Mayo to fall on a Saturday. So, we're partying alllllllll week long! Cinco De Mayo is an important day in Mexican history, because it celebrates the day the Mexican armies had an unlikely win over the French armies in the 1800s. But, in the US, we celebrate Cinco De Mayo as a way to honor the Mexican-American culture. The endless tacos, and guac, and margaritas are just a perk of all of the celebrating and honoring! So, this week, we're going to get ready for Saturday's fiesta by enjoying different Mexican staples every day but with an American (and very

April 27, 2018 by Nicole Collins Isn't it funny how sometimes you start with one idea and end up with a finished product that's nowhere near the original plan? I think they call that a happy accident. That's 100% what happened with today's recipe. And, a happy accident it was, for sure! So, here's how this went down... A few weeks ago, I planned a trip to a farmer's market in the city that I hadn't been to yet. I scoped it out all last year, but I never actually made it. Let me tell you...this market was EVERYTHING! My friend and I spent almost 2 hours just browsing and chatting with vendors. And, of course, shopping! So, my original intention at the market was to buy some fresh, local veggi

April 24, 2018 by Nicole Collins Would you guys still like me if I told you I don’t love pizza? Before you unsubscribe…I like pizza. I just don’t love it. I feel like pizza is one of those foods that everyone craves at all times. I just don’t fall in to that category. I’d rather faceplant in a plate of tacos, for real. But, when I crave pizza, I crave pizza. Like, “can’t stop thinking about it until I get some” crave it. Truth be told, I think it’s the tomato sauce that turns me off. I’m really picky about tomato sauces, and it’s just not my favorite thing out there. But, give me a white pizza loaded up with cheese, and I’m TOTALLY there! I go to this “build your own pizza” quick serve resta

April 21, 2018 by Nicole Collins Guys, I think I have a problem. Apparently, I can only dream up new dessert flavors by sniffing Bath and Body Works Candles. If you remember, that’s also how we ended up with these Salted Vanilla Cupcakes. Is that bad? Well, if the result is cupcakes that taste like today’s treat, I think I’ll take one for the team. So, here’s how today’s recipe came about… I was burning a Cinnamon Pretzel Twist candle one Saturday night, and the flame was starting to weaken. You know how sometimes you have to pour the wax out of the candle because the flame gets too low? Well, that’s what was happening on this particular evening. So, I poured the wax in to some foil, but dec

April 17, 2018 by Nicole Collins Remember the days when toast used to be boring? Toast used to be the dud on the breakfast table, in my opinion. How could you be excited about butter slapped on cardboard (essentially) when you’ve got the choice of gooey eggs, crispy potatoes, fresh fruit…the list goes on and on. And then there’s the fact that toast is nearly impossible to get right. Everyone likes their bread toasted to different degrees of crispiness, so you’ve got to constantly change the knob settings to try and please all of the toast eaters. Then, it’s inevitably too light, too dark, too crumbly…not Goldilocks worthy at all. It’s crazy how the easiest recipe in the world: “Put bread in

April 13, 2018 by Nicole Collins Have I got a treat of a salad for you today! I bet you never thought you’d hear salad and treat in the same sentence. Here’s the thing…salads get kind of a bad rep. People talk about salads like healthy is a bad thing. So many people assume that salads are flavorless and boring. Or, there’s the misconception out there that eating a salad as a meal will never leave you feeling full. I totally disagree! I LOVE eating salad. And, I really try to make it a point to make my salads special. Lots of colors. Lots of flavors. Lots of the good stuff. At the same time, it’s really easy to go down the wrong path with a salad. Once you load it up with fatty salad dressing

April 9, 2018 by Nicole Collins It’s my 1 year blogiversary!!!!!!!!!! OMG! 1 year! We made it through a whole year together!!! I still can’t believe it. I’ve told you guys this before; but when I first started this journey, I really wasn’t sure I could keep it up and running for a whole year. I wasn’t sure I had enough content. I wasn’t sure I had enough to say. I just wasn’t sure. But, the way I ramble at you guys, we all know I definitely have enough to say! I’ve learned a lot about blogging already, but I know there’s still so much more to learn. We’ve got plenty of room for growth! Lots and lots of new challenges to tackle. But, from the bottom of my heart, thank you guys so much for you

April 6, 2018 by Nicole Collins Is it crab season yet?!? I wish I could describe how badly I’m craving some steamed crabs and beer. But, we’re getting close folks. We’re getting close. My mom has a friend that got crabs a couple of weeks ago from a local spot (that has amazing crabs), and she said they were great. They’re not Maryland crabs yet, but she said they were heavy. That’s one of the telltale signs of a good crab! Well that, and some bright yellow mustard! And, drooling… I’m also ready for farmer’s market season which kinda unofficially kicks off this weekend in Baltimore. It’s opening weekend of the big market in the city that opens every Sunday until December. And, this girl is go

April 2, 2018 by Nicole Collins CHOCOLATE! First and foremost, can we please give a HUGE “welcome back!” to chocolate for a sec? It’s nice to see you old friend. I’ve missed you. I know the end of Lent season was yesterday, (Happy Easter by the way!). But since Lent started on Valentine’s Day, I cheated a little and started my Lenten sacrifice a day late. Therefore, I added an extra day on the end. Though, yes I’m aware, that’s not how that works. I do have a small confession to make. I was not chocolate free for 6 weeks. I had a little fumble on St. Patrick’s Day. I was just snacking away at the second party I attended, and there was this dessert dip with mini chocolate chips and chocolate