- Author: Melissa -

Hi there! I'm Melissa & I am a firm believer in taking cookies out of the oven 2 minutes under the recommended cooking time. I also love to travel, cook, shop, craft, and live an all around positive lifestyle. Come say hi!
Dinner, Lunch, Recipe Box

Chicken Noodle Soup- Making Comfort Food Light

So something very unexpected happened to me a few weeks ago- I got pretty sick. One of those sicknesses where I didn’t have a voice for two weeks and went through many bottles of NyQuil. I am very used to getting sick during the winter; something about the constant changing of weather from it being in the 50’s on Monday and by Wednesday it’s 9 degrees and snowing that my (and everyone else’s) body simply hates. HOWEVER, when I moved down to sunny Florida and have been blessed with a winter of an average of high 60 degrees, I thought I had finally beat Mother Nature. I was sadly mistaken. I’m pretty sure that my body was having sympathy sickness for all you up North bearing this polar vortex… ;) One thing that I…

Breakfast, Recipe Box

Simple & Healthy Banana Pancakes- only 3 ingredients!

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had an amazing end to 2014 and a great start to 2015! This year, I went to Charleston, South Carolina to celebrate with my beeeest friend, Amanda. We had such an amazing weekend exploring the city, going for dinner & drinks, and tons and tons of shopping. After all that weekend fun following the overload of activity from the holidays, this sudden downtime is an unusual, but welcomed feeling. I was able to deep clean my entire apartment this week, stock up my fridge with healthy homemade options, and create some yummy new recipes- which brings me to this simple, but great breakfast fix. Pancakes are a comfort food that I always find myself craving. (Especially if they have chocolate chips in them)! This recipe cuts out…

Beauty Products, Breakfast, Dinner, DIY Projects, Drinks, Gift Ideas, Homemade Body/Beauty Products, Lunch, Recipe Box, Snacking, Sweet Tooth

Top 15 Most Popular Recipes to Ring in 2015!

Happy (almost) New Year! Have you all created your resolution list yet? I’m really trying to focus in on living an all around healthier lifestyle. I would like to hone in on working out more, eating better, and putting my wallet on a diet! We’ll see how long that last one will hold up… ;) 2014 was an amazing year filled of ups and downs. I graduated from college, I moved from West Virginia to Florida, met new friends, and started a new job. There’s been a few rough spots, but overall, 2014 was a great year and I have a feeling that 2015 will be just as great- if not better. To help ring in 2015, I wanted to compile a list of the 15 Most Popular Recipes of 2014. To check out…

DIY Projects, Gift Ideas, Spice Up Your Life

Ho Ho Ho-liday Wine Bottles

‘Twas less than 2 days till Christmas and all through the house, were other procrastinators huddled around their [computer] mouse, trying to find the perfect last minute gift for his or her spouse.. All jokes aside, this is the PERFECT gift, last minute or not. It’s just so easy to make, and so cute, that if you are still looking for a gift idea, look no further! All you need: Bottle of wine of your choice (although red is easier for paint reasons). I did one of each Red paint Black ribbon Hot glue Gold or silver glitter White or silver puffy paint Ribbon I used this wine because I loved the gold top. Of course, pick a wine that best suits your needs! Add at least 2 coats of red paint to the…

Breakfast, Recipe Box

Whole Wheat Breakfast Pita Pockets

There’s something about breakfast food that’s just very comforting. Call me crazy, but I prefer eggs, pancakes, and other breakfast goodies over any other meal. (Okay, not including dessert).. On the weekends, we are typically always on the go. To help cut back on eating out so often, I often find myself packing breakfasts to take along with us on car rides to our various outings. This whole wheat protein packed pita pocket is a winner! This recipe is super easy to make and takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish. That translates to a recipe keeper in my book! You Need: (to make 4) 4 eggs ¼ cup of milk (not pictured) 2 strips of turkey bacon 1 small/medium white onion 2 handfuls of spinach 4 whole wheat pita pockets (I…

Beauty Products, Beauty Tutorials, DIY Projects, Gift Ideas, Homemade Body/Beauty Products, Spice Up Your Life

DIY Vanilla Lavender Bath Bombs

It’s hard to believe Christmas is less than 5 days away. Last year, I had no problem getting into the holiday spirit– however, I think it is much easier when you are up north. Down here in Florida, it is currently 67 degrees and I have my windows open. While some may consider this ideal, when it comes to this time of year, I love the seasons! The snow fall, the scarves, starting a fire, drinking hot chocolate.. you get the gist. Of course, Christmas isn’t waiting for me to get into the spirit, so I’m brewing hot tea in my Santa Claus mug and blasting Michael Buble’s Christmas album and hoping for the best. One thing I never need to worry about being in the mood for is baking, crafting, or gift giving!…

Friends & Family, My Life, Travel Adventures

Wedding Time! San Diego Bound

This past weekend, one of my oldest friends got MARRIED! It was so exciting. She asked me to be her maid of honor and I happily accepted & flew out to San Diego for a quick, but much needed weekend getaway to help celebrate her special day. I’ve mentioned before that I have a lot of family out in California, so I was able to spend Thursday night, all day Friday, and Saturday morning with my dad, step mom, and 2 precious sisters. My step mom, DeAnna, made me this awesome cappuccino on Saturday morning before Dj and I headed off to San Diego. Can you believe this is homemade? If she ever needed a new job, I think she has an obvious calling for Starbucks. ;) The wedding was located at a place…

Recipe Box, Snacking, Sweet Tooth

Peanut Butter Blossoms; Christmas Cookie Season!

Hooray for Holiday Cookie season! Can you believe there is only 9 more days until Christmas? Where did the time go! I’m in a scramble to finish up all my shopping, baking, wrapping, and posting all my #DIYChristmas recipes/gifts to share with all of you. First up– probably my favorite Christmas cookies of all time, the Peanut Butter Blossom. I love these little bites of heaven. My mom made these for us all the time growing up, and I have continued the tradition. There is just something about peanut butter and chocolate that just makes my taste buds smile… :) What You’re Going To Need… [makes about 48 cookies] 1 ¾ cup of flour 1 teaspoon of baking soda ½ teaspoon of salt ½ cup of sugar ½ cup of firmly packed brown sugar ½ cup of shortening ½ cup of peanut butter…