Just What the Doctor Ordered

I've had a tough start to this week. But yesterday afternoon my husband and I sat outside, savored the sunshine and ate gelato. No worries, no stress. And sometimes, that's all a girl needs to feel better.

Too Pretty Not to Share!

My Mom is amazing! Among several other incredible dishes she made for Easter brunch, she also created this beautiful Triple layer Coconut Cake (via Cooking Light). Her patience is second to none. She actually baked, cracked, drained, shaved and toasted the coconut (I saw it with my own two eyes). And don't get me started on that heavenly, homemade meringue! It was truly a work of art!

Just a little shout out to my Mom because this cake was simply too pretty not to share!

Birthday Week Bliss

Happy Monday, lovelies! I hope you had an absolutely delightful Easter weekend with friends and family!

On top of all the joy and blessings that come with the wonderful celebration of Easter, this weekend also held some major spoiling by my sweet husband! That's right, my birthday week has begun and I am all kinds of happy!!

We spent a good part of Saturday afternoon shopping for birthday clothes, because with four days of birthday fun this upcoming weekend, a girl's got to have some new outfits! And because I was able to score some awesome deals at Kohl's and Marshall's (including Jessica Simpson bag and Steve Madden pointed toe flats), I had more room in my birthday budget for some accessorizing at Anthro! You know, I've always thought my birthday landed perfectly at the start of Spring, just in time to spruce up my wardrobe!

I have a very good feeling about this week... After all, short work weeks that end in pampering, lunching and fun with Mom are always lovely!

Have a wonderful day and in case you missed this post, check out our new "recipe" tab at the top of the page!

A Little Update

First of all, it feels extremely weird to be blogging on a Saturday night, but I just wanted to share an update about our little blog for you lovely readers and friends. This morning, among making my coffee and bringing me breakfast in bed since I decided to do the very unusual and sleep in, my sweet husband helped me create a separate tab to categorize all of my recipes! Exciting, right?! So now, navigation through all of our kitchen experiments is right at your fingertips! We even took time to highlight "Hansen favorites" :) I'm still tweaking things on the page to get it just right, but feel free to check out the "Recipe" tab underneath our header and do some experimenting of your own!

Happy Saturday!

Hello, Coffee Cake

As of tomorrow, my dessert fast is over! And I may be a little too excited about the coffee cake I am bringing to Easter brunch tomorrow! When I was deciding what to make, I really wanted it to be superb. You know, the kind of thing you bite into and say, "That was worth the wait!". So I am putting all my eggs in one basket and counting on this to be the coffee cake of all coffee cakes. Because really, I want to be more intentional about the splurge choices I make and be sure they are worth their calories. Though, based on the reviews this recipe got, and not to mention how divine it looks and smells, I don't think I will be dissappointed! Cannot wait to try it!


Sour Cream Coffee Cake

recipe from Cooking Light

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (about 2.5 ounces), divided
Cooking spray
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1 ounce whole-wheat flour (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) carton light sour cream (such as Daisy)
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spread oats in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 6 minutes or until oats are barely fragrant and light brown.
Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray; set aside.
Reserve 1/4 cup oats; set aside. Place remaining oats in a food processor; process 4 seconds or until finely ground. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine processed oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir with a whisk.
Place granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed for 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. (Batter will be slightly lumpy because of oats.) Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly.
Combine remaining 1/4 cup oats, remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until well blended. Sprinkle top of batter evenly with nut mixture. Bake at 350° for 38 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, top is golden, and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes; remove from pan.

Happy Weekend!

via

Thank goodness for weekends full of family, brunching and coloring easter eggs (because we're cool like that)! Hoping you have a wonderfully relaxing and joyful Easter weekend!

April Happenings

I know you can only read so much into my tone, but know this: I am completely and overwhelmingly giddy when I say, HAPPY APRIL! It is after all, my very favorite month! And not just because my birthday is next week (although it does contribute quite a bit), but Spring is in full swing and I am running my first half marathon on the 18th (and hoping to finish in 2 hours)! And something I haven't mentioned yet, I am currently becoming a certified yoga instructor(!), something I've always wanted to do and am finally pursuing at the request of several clients at the studio. In just a few months I will be teaching my very own yoga classes (which you should totally come to if you're in the area!). Clearly you can see, this excitement is legit.

And as for today, I'm just watching my back for suspicious April Fools' play:) Have a lovely day!