Some new highlights and a dreamy oatmeal recipe :)

So today is another one of those “bad days” but instead of dwelling on that subject, I much rather share the accomplishments and new highlights in my life. Such as finishing my internship last Friday and being in the process of graduating, Michael and I celebrating our 1 ½ year anniversary and getting closer and closer to my sister’s wedding. Having my internship finished before summer ends is really splendid! The experience was awesome though, I had a great time helping with the prep work for a month and learning more about running a business. It was a laid back atmosphere and the staff was very helpful. I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to whatever God leads me to next.

I know you’re probably like “who in the world celebrates their 1 ½ year anniversary?” but, we do. At first we probably wouldn’t even have thought twice about it, but I looked at my calendar one day and realized it would be our last anniversary before we get married. Michael and I love to savor the little things in life, so we spent the day doing things we loved to do together! We went to the gym (chest day!), explored Rutgers gardens and went back to his apartment to make a fabulous dinner together. Shrimp with cauliflower, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms and a divine sweet potato mash! We then ate dessert consisting of chocolate and cuddled a bit, if you must know! It was a great day despite the garbage disposal incident… Which is another story for another day but we were able to enjoy ourselves and that’s what’s most important, right? I think so :)

Lastly, I can’t believe Aria is getting married in two weeks! Seems like her and David just got engaged the other day, though at the same time it feels like time is going slower and slower during this time as she works on her final details. I have a funny feeling the same thing is going to happen to Michael and I, and speaking of our planning we just finished a template for our wedding invitations. That’s our project right now: finish the invites, send them out by the end of the month and wait for people to respond. Then of course tackle on more d.i.y. fun! For Aria’s wedding, I’m really looking forward to seeing her and David’s ceremony and being a part of their special day. Weddings are awesome! I never thought I’d say that, or that I would be getting married in the same year as my sister. But life surprises you and marriage is going to be so wonderful for all four of us!

In other news here’s a delicious oatmeal recipe that I made a couple of mornings ago. It’s my kind of oatmeal: creamy, smooth and thick. I learned that steel cut oats are the way to go on a relaxed morning. If you’re more of a “get up and go” type of person, I recommend you make the oatmeal the night before and add the fruit + nuts in the morning. But if you’re like me, you’ll sacrifice waking up early just because you love indulging in a no rush, comforting breakfast. 

                                  

dreamy creamy oats

• 1/3 cup coconut milk + 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ¼ cup steel cut oats
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup almond milk 
•  ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom
• Optional: 1 pitted date, chopped or 1 teaspoon maple syrup // Personally I find the date method the best, it not only sweetens the entire bowl of oats, but it adds texture and more fiber!

First, make chia infused milk! Stir coconut milk with chia seeds and set aside. While chia seeds thicken the coconut milk, heat oats with almond milk, water and salt on high heat. Once it begins to boil lower the heat, throw in the spices and chopped date and begin to stir the oats frequently. Allow the oats to cook for five minutes and fold in the chia-infused coconut milk. Stir this gently for another five minutes or until desired consistency. If you’d like you can top your oats with fresh fruit and garnish with more cinnamon.  Enjoy!

it's monday and things are starting to fall into place!

Hi!

These past two weekends have been pretty busy and pleasantly productive! I baked three different dessert breads on Friday morning: marble pound cake, banana nut bread and coconut bread. I baked them as favors for Michael and I's engagement party. My parents threw us an engagement party on Saturday at a local Portuguese restaurant last weekend, and we both had an awesome time! The highlight of the evening was hearing our parents share their views of our relationship and a fond memory they had of us. We also enjoyed eating, mingling with our family and playing fun “ice breaker” games. I feel really blessed and relieved that our families get along so well, and am excited to gain awesome family members. After the party we played pool which I failed miserably at, and then on Sunday went to church followed by fish tacos and chicken fajitas back at the house. It was good times! Over the week, I got my internship situated and start on June 3rd! Michael and I also booked our flights to California and plan on staying at a private home through AirBnB for our honeymoon. SO EXCITING!

playing around with different table settings at the rental place.

Moving onto this weekend on Saturday we went to Pennsylvania to pick out chairs, tables, linens, silverware, napkins, etc. for the wedding. Michael and I made sure we picked things we both liked and definitely were satisfied with what we came up with. It’s great because Michael is really hands on with our wedding which makes the decision making so much easier! We’re currently waiting to hear how much everything is going to cost, but we’re not too scared since we make a budget in the beginning of our planning. And on Sunday we nearly finished writing addresses for our save the dates but aren't sending them out til we finish our website. I am proud to say we're almost done with the site! We just have to finish a few more sections and of course check for grammatical errors, because those always seem to creep up on me especially! Now back to the old grind ;)

-Jessica

Pizza I love you

I've always been a huge fan of pizza and always took it pretty seriously. Pizza is one of those simple comfort foods that are either hit or miss. For me the crust has to be thin and crispy but still have some bubbles, the cheese has to be fully melted and the sauce better not be too salty! The bad news is I can't eat traditional pizza anymore due to lactose intolerance and the grease messes with my tummy in more ways than one… No hard feelings to vegans but I’ve had my share of vegan pizzas and could not get over the funky taste of the vegan cheese alternatives. Sure they melted well, but they were incredibly hard to like and looked + tasted a bit artificial. After failing to love the vegan cheese options I gave up on pizza for a while and didn't think a pizza without cheese would be something I could accept.

But then it hit me, goat cheese is real cheese and it melts too! At the time I had been eating a little goat dairy every now and then because it didn't bother my stomach. It's known to be more tolerable for those with lactose intolerance and comes in butter, hard and soft cheeses, yogurts and milk. (I can write for days how many recipes I've revised with goat dairy but, I will keep it short and keep my focus on pizza!) I don't remember my first experience eating goat cheese pizza but I just remember Michael being with me and we both found it to be the best thing ever. With that said we made our share of hearty tortilla pizza's which consisted of homemade sauce, lentils, goat cheese and basil. We also made a hummus and goat cheese pizza which tasted smashing, and once we open up a café we want to have a tortilla pizza menu.  A few nights ago we made a real winner; the crust we used isn't homemade or a tortilla, it was this brand which I really love. The crust added a real nice crunch, sauce added smoothness, the duck bacon added umami and the basil added color and a nice spicy and sweet flavor. It was my first time trying duck bacon and I was pleasantly surprised by its deliciousness!

Until next time,

Jessica

A week in Puerto Rico...

El Yunque

On Wednesday I came home from a weeklong trip to Puerto Rico with my parents, grandmother, Michael, Aria and her fiancé David. The trip had a few negative moments but overall we all made the best of our time in Puerto Rico. By "negative" I am indeed referring to the villa we stayed in. There were a lot of issues coming in and out of the villa which made it impossible for all of us to leave the house together as a family. Someone had to stay behind to let us in because between the five of us, we had one button and one key to open the gate! Michael and David were in a different villa which was about ten minutes away from us and fortunately for them they had no issues with getting in and out of their villa. The only issue they had was when they came to our villa. They had to wait for my dad to walk outside and open the gate. (Sometimes they both grew impatient and would just hop the gate!) Another hassle was finding access to quality food. The least processed foods we found were the tropical fruit and organic spring mix at the local Wal-Mart. Unfortunately my tummy paid the consequences of eating processed peanut butter. Not to mention I had no access to lactose-free yogurt or organic probiotics. The lesson I learned was to plan better when I'm traveling by bringing my own food and researching grocery stores with healthier options. Last but not least the pillows were a nightmare and I had a horrible crick in my neck the last few days we were there.

The good news is we got to drink coconut water out of a coconut:

Other exciting events:

1. The tropical weather was much needed. I was feeling pretty depressed by the weather being unnaturally cold back home, so this was definitely wonderful and I loved effortless wearing shorts & sandals in the evenings.
2. Spending time at my grandparents’ house, eating grandma's delicious arroz con gandules and hanging out with cousins. It was a nostalgic moment for me because it reminded me of when we all used to visit my grandparents when they lived in Brooklyn. Those were the days...
3. Visiting Old San Juan at night with Michael. I know it's cliché to go to Old San Juan, but it will always have a place in my heart. Perhaps it was the cobblestone roads, colorful houses, the live music or the yummy foods of the island. I don't know but I do know that it'll always be special to me!
4. My grandmother's 80th birthday party was another highlight of the trip. Though, the party seemed to go by quick it was such a delight seeing family I haven't seen in years! I loved that Michael got to meet other family members and we could celebrate together. The live music and slideshow of old pictures was also a treat!
6. Lastly Michael and David’s fascination with cracking coconuts open. On the second day we walked over to the villa’s “beach” it was actually not the real beach but the guys found a lot of coconuts that fell off the tree. After some time Michael finally cracked open a coconut and we were all able to try fresh coconut water. It was raw and yummy.

It was nice to leave the cold air of Jersey for a week, relax and get nice tan, but nothing beats the taste of natural peanut butter on toast and a comfy bed.

-Jessica

Tired

Dear Sleep,
Without you I become a neurotic mess. I feel more of an urgency to take on my daily routines, my head is clouded and I tend to forget what I am doing. I become crabby and believe that the whole world is supposed to be considerate of the fact that I haven’t gotten enough sleep. I realize how imperfect I am. I see that I don’t handle stressful situations on low-energy. Let’s face it I need you sleep in order to stay positive in my environment.
Sincerely,
An Exhausted Jessica
And lately I haven’t been getting very much of sleep.  I’m really thinking it has a lot to do with my incisions and all the stress my body has been through during surgery which I had a little over four weeks ago. (Time flies!) I also think it’s all this wedding talk. It’s not stressing me out at all, but I am always thinking about it and somehow repetitive thoughts tend to haunt my sleep. Like last night for example, I woke up at 4AM because I couldn’t stop thinking about caterers… Then my other thoughts have been based on Michael and his job. He’s been very distracted by it lately and it’s definitely been on my mind too. It’s been such a long journey for both of us so we were praying for good news nearly every day. He heard some bittersweet news yesterday but I’m not fully sure what all the details are. I trust that God will provide clarity for the both of us and I’m also praying that we’ll be close together once again. It’s been really hard and it sucks to see him so frustrated. I just want all of this confusion to end and to end in clarity.
And those are my thoughts.
-Jessica