Two weeks ago I had the chance to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium while I was down in Carmel for the holidays. Whenever I have the chance to visit a museum, aquarium, or exhibit of interest, I always jump at the chance. Personally, I really enjoy walking around and learning about the different things that are on display. Initially, I visited the aquarium the day after Christmas. Let me tell you- IT. WAS. PACKED. Granted, I went around 12 p.m., however, there were SO many people it was barely enjoyable. Each and every exhibit was filed with people. More than that, there were so many children, it was ridiculous. After trying my best to brave the crowd for about an hour, I finally gave up and left I decided to go back the next day right when they opened. Granted, there were still a lot of people, however, I was able to walk around and see everything that I wanted to see before the huge crowd came once again. Overall, the exhibits were pretty neat and I enjoyed myself. I'll let the pictures I took speak for themselves. Pure, amazement.
Elise's Monthly Obsession: Lululemon Holiday Bags
Hi loves!
If you love Lululemon like me, you should know that every year they make a special holiday edition bag. Don't get me wrong, their red bags are super cool and are extremely versatile when it comes to usage, BUT a little change is always nice. I love using their bags for almost everything; reusable grocery bags, lunch bags, gym bags, garbage bags, and whatever else I can think of! This fall I noticed that their new holiday bags were a bit dark. They kind of reminded me of galaxy print things. They are mostly black with white speckles all over the bag. They are made out of the same material so they are the same durability, but I just think the pattern is extremely cute. On top of the holiday bags, Lulu decided to also give boxes for gifts this year. THE. BOXES. ARE. AMAZING.!!! I'm talking about Kiehl's style boxes people! They are all black and their logo is gold. I am so impressed with Lulu this year! The only thing is, ever since they started to add more "lifestyle" type clothes, they don't have as many cute things in my opinion. Anywho, I still spend way too much money there- at least i'm in their R&D program 😬. If you haven't checked out Lulu's holiday stuff you should definitely stop by!
Happy Holidays!
xoxo, E
Homemade Applesauce
I hope all of you had a nice Thanksgiving! I have to say, I think Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! I look forward to spending time with family, and eating all of the yummy food each year. More specifically, the turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie are my FAVORITE! This year, I learned how to make homemade applesauce, and to my surprise it was really easy!
Ingredients: At least five different kinds of apples, cinnamon, a SLIVER of butter,and water (or apple juice).
Things you need: A food mill.
First, I sliced up all of my apples. I was making a lot so I used about eight different types of apples. Make sure you get some that are sweet, and some that are tart. Next, I put them in a large pot with about two cups of water (or apple juice) and constantly stirred them until the apples stared to get soft. Again, I was making a lot of apple sauce and you don't want to soak you apples in the water- you just want enough to cover the bottom of your pot. Also, I want to add that you can put the whole apple into the pot because the food mill will filter them out (seeds, core, etc., however, I did not do this). After the apples start to soften you can add your cinnamon and butter. Once you see your apples begin to peel away from their skin, you can then process the mixture in the pot to the food mill. I did several scoops so my food mill did not get clogged. After, I let the apple sauce cool down for about thirty mins until I was able to pack it up in mason jars and refrigerate them. It's so easy to make, and I really like it because I knew exactly what I was putting into it. Even though I didn't put additional sugar or use apple juice, I thought the end result was sweet enough for me.
If you try it out, leave a comment and let me know if you like it/ how yours turned out!
xoxo, E
