FOOD - FLEUR DE SEL CARAMELS (SALTED CARAMELS)

I have been doing a lot of cooking this holiday season! I plan to do a few DIYs before I start up school again in late January, but for now, lets talk about how to make candy!

I love love love salted caramels.  I have one of those grandmas that always carries Werther's butterscotch in her purse, so I have loved that smooth buttery taste of caramel almost all my life.  (I saw my gma yesterday, and now she carries around the coffee Werther's, also very delicious, I'm glad things in Hawaii don't change too much.)  As I grew older I switched to Rolos, and then as my palate matured I ditched my love of store bought candies, and moved onto fancy salted caramels (I do still enjoy Werther's with my gma).  Salted caramels are often a bit expensive in stores so I do not get to enjoy them very often.  Then, I found out how simple it is to make homemade caramels!

I followed this recipe from Ina Garten, and it is beyond delicious!  It also has really helpful step by step pictures.  One major thing I did differently was I only heated the sugar to 300 degrees F before adding the cream mixture.  If you follow the recipe closely you will yield a very dark candy, I wanted mine to be a lighter color and found out that is due to how long you cook the sugar.  Also, this recipe says to heat the caramel mixture to 248 degrees F for firm ball, you do not need to have it exactly at 248, but for firm ball candy it must be between 245 and 250.  Lastly, I cut my caramels into much smaller bite sized pieces!

P.S. I cannot stress how important it is to watch the thermometer the entire time.  The first time I tried to make these I walked away for 2 seconds and the temperature shot up and my caramels were very hard, almost inedible.  I saved them by putting them in some cookies.

Now I'm off to the beach! 

BEAUTY - CUTICLE CREME

I hate having dry, peely hands!  Even while growing up in Hawaii, a very humid place, I have always had dry skin.  It might be from too many beach days as a kid without any SPF (I used to lie to my mom and tell her I put it on, but didn't cause I wanted to tan more) or it might just be the way my skin is.  Regardless, my skin gets unbelievable dry and gross in New York winters.  My hands especially take a beating.  To make matters worse, I have a horrible habit of picking at my nails and cuticles, which gets worse the dryer my hands get.  I carry lotion with me everyday and moisturize at night, but haven't found a good way to keep my hands moist, until now!

I know I'm not the only person with this problem and have seen many solutions from various sites, so I decided to up my nightly moisturizing routine and give some new products a try!  I researched different cuticle/hand creams and decided to try Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme (it was the most economical with positive reviews).  This one is a Vitamin E based creme.  I also invested in a pair of moisturizing hand gloves.  They are really just a thin pair of cotton gloves to wear at night to lock in your moisturizers.  So before I went to bed the other night, I massaged the cuticle creme on my cuticles and nail beds, applied a generous amount of lotion to my hands, put my gloves on and went to bed.  It was only one night, but my hands were significantly improved from the night before! If one night worked that well, hopefully I can keep my hands nice and supple for the rest of winter!

Some other more luxurious options I want to try are L'Occitane Cuticle and Nail Cream, this one is made of shea butter, and Dior Crème Abricot Fortifying Cream For Nails.

Have you tried any cuticle creams? What do you do to combat winter dryness?

ART - DIA: BEACON

Today I traveled up to Beacon, NY to visit the awesomely cool Dia: Beacon museum.  Since the museum is upstate (where there is endless space) and housed in an old Nabisco factory it can hold a lot of large scale art work that can't really fit or work with the spaces here in the city.  It was a never ending maze of installations, some awesome and some not so much.  (If we have ever had a conversation about art you would know I am not a lover of most contemporary art.)  I did however find a lot things I enjoyed at Dia, especially a large spider by Louise Bourgeois.  I wasn't supposed to take any photos in the galleries, but it was so cool, I had to!

Dia: Beacon is a perfect mini day escape from the city.  Its only a short ride way on the Metro North!    

BOOKS - CORALIE BICKFORD-SMITH (THE GREAT GATSBY)

I love decorating with books!  Over the years I have been trying to collect beautiful books to display around my apartment that both reflect my style and are interesting for our guests.  My boyfriends has a thing for buying "conversation pieces", but we usually don't agree on those so right now our apartment is a combination of comic books (we all have to compromise sometimes), fashion, craft, and these books.

I know these books have been out for a while now, and I do have a few, but I just needed to write about how beautiful they are.  Coralie Bickford-Smith is the mastermind behind these books that have been featured all over the blog-sphere.  I found her covers on Amazon when I was taking an initiative to read more classic books like Pride and Prejudice.  She also designed hardback covers for many of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books, including The Great Gatsby!!!  I had been looking to purchase a copy of my own, and finally bought it for myself as a tiny Christmas present so I can re-read the book over my winter break!  Hopefully I'll get some of the others ones in my stalking!

PS. Even though the movie keeps getting pushed back, I'm really excited to see it.

LIFE - AHH FINALS

I haven't been out of school long enough to not remember that horrible time of the semester known as finals.  And although I have gone through them 8 times in the past, I am still incredibly unprepared for the two weeks of intense reading, studying, paper writing, and test taking I am about to endure.  I'll be back to awesome stuff like blogging and fun when I finish my finals on December 19th and get to fly back to beautiful Hawaii for a white sand beach Christmas!

But for now I'll be cuddling up with these books, a lot of coffee and of course Earl Grey (the cat).

Here's whats been going on in instagram land!

My childhood stalking and a DIY felt ball garland 

This was my attempt at being a scary hockey player, PS I can't skate at all

Lots of kale! Getting in some healthy eats before yummy holiday food!

Earl Grey looking adorable as always in some of Eric's comic books 

FOOD - APPLE BUTTER PUMPKIN PIE

Thanksgiving has always been a semi-sad and joyous time of the year for me.  Sad because I never get to spend it with my family (Hawaii it too far and expensive for a long weekend), but happy because I get to experience the holiday in cold weather with friends or with my boyfriend and his family like I did this year.  He's from upstate New York, so although its not a super long way for us, its difficult to bring a lot of food up with us.  This year I made an apple butter pumpkin pie, rosemary parker house rolls (recipe here), and salted caramel chocolate chip cookies.

The pie was definitely the star of three!

This picture does not do the pie any justice :(

What you will need:

- 1 9 inch graham cracker pie crust (I used store bought)

Pie filling:

- 1 cup apple butter (from here)

- 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

- 3 eggs

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp ginger

- Pinch of fresh nutmeg 

- 3/4 cup evaporated milk

Crumble Topping:

- 1/2 cup flour

- 1/2 cup brown sugar (I used dark, but I would recommend using light)

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 stick cold butter

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  In a large bowl or stand mixer whisk eggs thoroughly.  Add in pumpkin, apple butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Add evaporated milk.  Pour in pie shell and bake for 10 minutes.  Lower heat to 350°F and bake for another 40 to 45 mins until the center is no longer giggly.  Cool at room temperature for at least 30 mins then transfer to the refrigerator.

While cooling make the crumble.  Combine dry ingredients.  Add cold butter and work with hands into small clumps.  Spread evenly onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and bake for 15 mins at 350°F.  Let cool and sprinkle on pie.

FASHION - WILDFOX: GRANNY'S CLOSET

I usually don't post about fashion stuff, but common... this collection totally speaks to me.

Wildfox always has really cool animal sweaters and edgy tees, two things I love, but now their new collection is pretty much everything I wish my closet could be.  Its called Granny's Closet, enough said.  The shoot for this collection is beyond fabulous and captures what I could only dream my life would be.  It involves lots of knitting, antique decor, and The Pill Book (I'm what your might call a hypochondriac).

Take a look at a few of my favorites and the whole thing here!

FOOD - APPLE BUTTER

This year was going to be my first year (finally) going apple picking.  I was SO excited, but then I found out that the apple harvest this year wasn't good enough to pick, and I was devastated.  I had been looking forward to homemade apple pies and apple butter all summer long, so I decided I wouldn't let a lack of apples get me down so I making apple butter any way!  Since I couldn't use apples picked by myself, I bought the apples and cider at the Union Square Farmers Market! (I was even lucky enough to score some free apple cider doughnuts!!!)

What you'll need:
- 5 or 6 large apples (if using smaller apples add a few more, I also like to use a variety of apples), peeled, cored and cut into medium sized pieces
- 1 cup of apple cider
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- Half a lemon juiced
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- a big pinch of fresh nutmeg
- a big pinch of ground ginger

Turn on your slow cooker to high while prepping the apples.  Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and stir a little so that all the spices are distributed evenly.

Put the lid on and cook for 1 1/2 hrs or until the mixture is bubbling vigorously.  Mix a few times so it doesn't burn.  Change to the low setting and cook for another 7 hours with the lid slightly ajar.  At this time the apple butter should be a delicious dark brown, if its not, turn the heat back to high and cook another hour.  Jar and process to keep your apple butter delicious for a while or keep refrigerated up to 3 weeks.

Makes 5 to 6 4 oz jars.

Slightly adapted recipe from Martha Stewart.  Watch her helpful video here!

Enjoy!

PS. Latter this week I will be making an apple butter pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!

Earl Grey was really excited for apple butter too!

DIY - HEART ELBOW PATCHES

This DIY was super easy and fun to do!  I love sweaters and blazers with elbow patches and have been lusting after a few online.  I didn't want to buy a new sweater, plus its more fun to remake an old one, so I googled how to needle felt and did it!

What you will need:

- Sweater (similar)

- Red felt (from Michael's, but any craft store will carry)

- Felting needle and foam block (kit from Michael's, online here)

- Fabric scissors 

- Tape

- Sharpie 

- Iron with steam function (or spray bottle)

How to:

Measure where your patches should go.  Place a piece of tape on each arm to mark the bottom of where the patch should go.

Draw two hearts on your felt and cut out.

Place the foam block in the sweater arm.  Position the heart about the tape.  Punch the heart with the needle in an up and down motion, keeping the needle very straight, and the punches as close to each other as possible.  

When finished with the needle punches, your sweater will look like this! (Left side - Outside, Right side - Inside)

Iron both sides of the patch with steam or a spritz of water on the wool setting.

Finished! Enjoy your new sweater!

DIY INSPIRATION - HEART ELBOW PATCHES

Guess what my DIY is going to be this week!

1//2//3

FOOD - BANANA BREAD

I LOVE banana bread! My grandma used to make it for my sister and me all the time growing up, and now either my grandma or my mom will make it for me whenever I visit home.  I have the recipe that they use (and make it all the time), but somehow when its made for me it feels like it tastes way better.  This recipe is by far the best banana bread I have ever had, its unbelievable moist, not too sweet, and super easy to make.  Here's the recipe, try it out!

Banana Bread 
(Makes 1 large loaf)

- 1 stick of butter (soft)
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 medium/large bananas (a little older/bruised works best)
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In one bowl mash bananas with a potato masher, set aside. 

In another bowl or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Next, add one egg at a time, beating well after each egg.  Beat in the mashed bananas.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda, mix only until flour is moistened.  Be careful not to over mix.  Add in walnuts.

Bake in a large greased loaf pan for 35-50 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack for a while, then cover before it is fully cooled.  This will give the top a really yummy texture.

MONSTER PARTY

Since last Halloween was such a bust (lots of snow), Eric and I reused our costumes from last year cause we were super excited about them.  A hotdog and fries is pretty much perfect for us!  We got a lot of interesting comments while we were out in Bushwick and Williamsburg last night... people were asking really specific questions about the kind of hotdog Eric was (Kosher? A Crif Dog?) and I got "Can I get some fries with that?" more than a few times.

While in Bushwick we stopped by this really cool space call the Big Snow Buffalo Lodge where a few of Eric's friends were putting on a "Monster Party".  It wasn't that everyone dressed up as monsters but most of the guests made art pieces of monsters... pretty awesome.  I found out Big Snow has a bunch of art/ music events so we will probably be checking it out more now that we know about it.

Here's some of Eric's art from the party!

WISH LIST - CRAZY CAT LADY

First wish list post! I haven't used photoshop since my brief studies at Parsons, so my boyfriend was kind enough to re-teach me and help me get started with this.

Since I have started school again, I have been doing more wishing and less buying. Whenever I take a break from school work, I online shop and put things in carts I will never check out.  Now I will be able to look back at these when I can finally buy myself a little gift!

1//Cat Mug 2//Cat Sweater 3//Kitty Mews Dress 4//Kitty Earrings 5//Cat Watch

OH MY, FIRST POST SINCE JUNE!

I have been extremely busy with school a new internship and my new kitty, so sadly I have been neglecting HAPPY FRY-DAYS.  It makes me really sad that I haven't had time for it, so I am going to try to make it more manageable for myself by making a schedule for my posts.  Having this outlets keeps me creative in a time where I can easily forget to craft or bake for months, and thats just no good for my sanity.

From now on (I'm going to try really hard to stick to this) my posts will be once a week (Thursday or Friday probably) with a specific topic:

-Week 1: Food
-Week 2: Craft/DIY
-Week 3: Life update
-Week 4: Wish list
-Week 5 (if there is one): Surprise!

Here's what I have been up to lately with Instagram!

Beautiful Wedding Upstate

Home Cooked meal by my bf

Lips at MoMA

My new kitten Earl Grey! I'm so in love!

Earl Grey being smiley!

Some fall knitting!

Pumpkin picking in Queens

Awesome find at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

CAKE BATTER RICE CRISPIE TREATS

(They were so beautiful I had to instagram {kayleekc} it)

I absolutely love Rice Crispie Treats, I mean who doesn't? (My boyfriend doesn't, it breaks my heart a little every time it comes up ).  Last week when I was perusing Pinterest I saw these magnificent treats then went looking through tons of recipes to see what a good amount of cake mix to use is.  I had to make then right away so I went down to my corner store and found adequate ingredients (if I had planned this out, I would have chosen a few things differently).

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of rice cereal (I like Kellogg's Rice Krispies {snap, crackle, pop})
• 1 10.5 bag of mini marshmallows ( I prefer Jet-Puffed, the deli didn't have it)
• 1/3 cup of dry yellow cake mix (My deli didn't have yellow so I used the Fudge Marble and didn't add any of the chocolate)
• 3 oz of butter
• Sprinkles (I prefer Non-Pareils, but your favorite will do!

Directions:

• Melt butter in a large pot
• Add in marshmallows and stir constantly while they melt
• Right before all the marshmallows are melted, add in the cake mix little by little and continue to stir
• When the marshmallows are completely melted, take off the heat and add in cereal
• Mix in the cereal until completely coated and transfer to a brownie pan (make sure to butter or spray with pam first so it doesn't stick)
• Lightly butter or spray a spatula with pam then press down the Rice Crispies till they are even in the pan
• Sprinkle with sprinkles!
• Wait till they are cool to cut, then...

ENJOY! 

I'M BACK

I haven't blogged in while because I have been a little overstressed with life (job, finding a new apartment, preparing for the move, planning a trip to Minnesota to get a car 4 days before I move, and preparing to start school in the Fall).  This past month has been a little overwhelming, but I started June with a nice trip home to Hawaii with Eric, which really took the edge off.  I have a bunch of DIYs and fry reviews coming soon!

Check out some of what Eric and I did in Hawaii!

Hike to the Pillboxes to see the Mokes 

Art from POW WOW 2012

Hike to Manoa Falls

Awesome shave ice graphic

Being silly with my sister at Sunset Beach

It was a really great trip and as always I am sad to have left my home and family, but glad to be back in NYC!