Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

Care to make the delicious cookies pictured below? Read on to find out how! 

Ahh Pinterest. You never cease to inspire when it comes to my next baking venture. Recently, cookies of all kinds have been popping up on my feed and I couldn't resist the temptation any longer. The cookie of choice: Oatmeal Cranberry cookies. I'm not much of a fan of raisins and the cranberries add a nice twist to the traditional cookie. Caution: this recipe makes over 2 dozen cookies, so be sure to share (although that is easier said than done)! You can find the full recipe at the bottom. 

Here's what you'll need.

This is what the mixture should look like when all the ingredients are added.

This is just 1 tray of cookies, but the recipe makes at least 2 dozen.

The finished product!

Full Recipe

Ingredients:
     1/2 cup (1 stick) & 6 tbsp butter, softened
     3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
     1/2 cup sugar
     2 eggs
     1 tsp vanilla
     1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
     1 tsp baking soda
     1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
     3 cups old-fashioned oats
     1 cup dried cranberries (sweetened)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat butter & sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until             creamy
2) Add eggs & vanilla; beat well
3) Add flour, baking soda, & cinnamon; mix well
4) Add oats & cranberries; mix well
5) Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets
6) Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown *tip: take out once the bottoms of cookies are a golden           brown; otherwise, they are likely to burn*
7) Enjoy!

Monochrome: Green

The weather lately has hit record-breaking lows. It has been ridiculously cold these past few days in August. So none the less, when the sun finally came out today, I was eager to go out and enjoy the weather (even if id did eventually rain). Today I decided to go for a more monochromatic look and the color of choice: green. I grabbed a dark green pair of shorts that I rarely wear & decided to pair it with one of my favorite tops, a bright green, sleeveless button up. I added a braided white belt to add a little contrast and white & silver sandals to finish off the look.

Shirt: Forever 21
Shorts: Papaya

Packing for a mini vacay

 

My family decided to take a short trip to Hilton Head, SC. We use to go all the time when I was younger and decided this was the year to go back. So we booked a place & headed out this morning. I am notorious for over-packing, but this time I was determined to avoid the unnecessary load. I packed something to wear for our shopping day, to the beach, dinner, an outfit for the ride back, and an extra top just in case. Hopefully my minimalist packing didn't cause me to forget anything!

Dinner + a movie

 

Today my family decided to take in dinner and a movie. My mom had been talking about seeing the new movie Fruitvale Station, so we decided to give it a try. While the movie was good and thought-provoking, it's ending was rather sad. But perhaps that's what made the movie so good? It's brutal honesty and depiction of a true-life event did not give way to a happy ending, but rather the harsh and sad reality. Afterwards, we decided to eat at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Toki. 

I chose to wear one of my more recent purchases. The dress was one item I found during my bargain-hunting spree. I chose to add a black belt to add a bit more structure/waist-definition to the look. To compliment the red in the dress, I added a red, coral necklace. To finish off the look, I slipped on a pair of simple, black sandals. 

Dress: Marshall's 

Necklace: Pink & Blue