A simple trip to the butcher shop with my boyfriend spawned something much more beautiful than I would have ever anticipated. Driving through Carmel, I noticed something out my window and literally screamed out for him to stop the car. I saw something that I had dreamt about earlier that week – the miniature dollhouse museum my grandma took me to when I was a little girl.

I don’t know how I remembered that building but I think it was a “sign” and I cajoled my boyfriend to venture into the museum with me. I was in love. Later on I got in contact with my grandma and she informed me that my childhood dollhouse was still in her attic and I was welcome to it… I was so excited that we picked it up later that same day!

My dollhouse is as beautiful as I remembered, but also as simple. Shingles are missing and there was life-sized carpet in the rooms… Adorable for a child’s toy but not fit for a hobbyist’s creation. So my boyfriend was recruited again, this time for a trip to Hobby Lobby. After much internal debate, I caved and bought this!

And thus, a hobby was born.

Follow along with me as I got from a pile of pieces to a beautiful seven room farmhouse!

A plain cheesecake and a peanut butter chocolate swirl cheesecake

It’s true, this recipe is seriously amazing. My boyfriend has a dairy allergy and one day he said that cheesecake was his favorite dessert yet he couldn’t ever have it… So I decided to make him a soy cheesecake. I have never made a cheesecake of any kind before but I was up to the task. I think that’s why I’ve had so much success with this recipe – not to mention the fact that it’s just so easy! The biggest nuisance I encountered was how long the cheesecake needs to chill (12-24 hours) but that part is absolutely essential and the results are well worth the wait… People who aren’t used to soy are often quite suspicious when they hear of this dessert but I promise, it’s impossible to tell!

My first idea was to look for a soy or vegan cheesecake recipe online. I quickly realized that avenue would be tedious and most of all, EXPENSIVE. Vegan ingredients are not cheap and many of the recipes I came across required ingredients that I would never use again. No, thank you. So then I looked at regular dairy cheesecake recipes and it hit me… Use a dairy recipe and simply subsititute the dairy cream cheese for THIS:

I have been able to come across this product at every Kroger I’ve been to and of course stores like Earth Fare and Whole Foods carry it or a similar version. That is pretty much where the vegan/soy ingredients end for this recipe as I still use eggs and unsalted butter.

My recipe was inspired by Ina Garten’s Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe which I found on FoodNetwork.com… Here is the original. I picked this recipe mostly because it does not require a water bath, a step which many traditional cheesecake recipes require. I skipped that mostly out of laziness but it has paid of ten-fold considering I get lovely, fluffy cheesecakes every time with not a single crack yet. Conclusion? Water baths are for the birds.

I have only ever baked my version of her recipe but there is a lot of room for substitutions wherever you might see fit. For example, the original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of lemon zest but per my boyfriend’s request, I have reduced it to 1/2 tablespoon. Much of this is personal preference and taste.

I have baked a peanut butter chocolate cheesecake and a blueberry cheesecake with this base recipe so I will go over both of those toppings but you could top this cheesecake any way you wish – it is very versatile… Let’s begin!

Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 9 inch springform pan, greased

For the Filling:

• 3 8oz. containers of Tofutti Cream Cheese
• 1 1/4 cup white sugar
• 5 whole large eggs, room temperature*
• 2 large egg yolks, room temperature*
• 1/4 cup Tofutti Sour Cream
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest (1 lemon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

*To get room temperature eggs, I cracked the eggs and put them in two separate bowls – one for whole eggs and one for egg yolks. I then covered both of the bowls with plastic wrap and let sit out on my kitchen counter for about 30 minutes.

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2) To make the crust, I put the graham crackers in a freezer bag and crushed them using a rolling pin. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter and pour into your 9-inch springform pan. Spread the crumbs evenly all along the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8 minutes and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

3) Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

4) To make the filling, mix the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs 2 at a time followed by the egg yolks. Mix well and scrape down the bowl and beater as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

5) Place pan with cake batter on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes then immediately turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes.

6) Turn the oven off and open the door wide. Do not be alarmed that your cake is not completely set in the center. If tapped, it will wobble a bit. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. This part is very important for those who wish to avoid cracks. None of my cheesecakes have ever cracked and I considered this step vital since I do not use a water bath.

7) Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature on a wire rack for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Gently go around with edges of the cake with a knife to loosen it from the pan. Wrap loosely with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate 12-24 hours (36 is fine, also, I have found.) The bottom of your springform pan will most likely form some condensation or leak a bit so I recommend placing your pan on a baking sheet, foil or some other surface when you refrigerate it.

I know I have been absent for a while but it was definitely not for a lack of inspiration. In the past 2 weeks or so, I have thought of and come across a multitude of recipes to try out so I have a lot on the horizon! I’m starting things off with another Recipe of the Week segment and this one is well worth the wait! My boyfriend actually gets artistic credit on this one, which I think is fantastic. As you may or may not know, when I make a recipe that calls for dairy products, I just automatically substitute in the dairy-free equivalent (sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt, milk, shredded & sliced cheese etc.). I haven’t always been a lactose-free person – but then I met my lovely boyfriend. He is extremely lactose intolerant so instead of trying to juggle dairy and non-dairy cooking, I have embraced the world of soy. If you do not like soy ingredients, fear not – this recipe can definitely be made with regular dairy products.

So good - it will disappear quickly!

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust (can be store bought like mine, or homemade)
• 1 cup lactose-free sour cream
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 (3 3/4 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 (8 ounce) container whipped topping (optional)

How To Make It

1) If you are using a store bought pie crust, bake the crust according to the instructions on the packaging. If you are using a homemade crust, like a graham cracker crust for example, baking is not necessary unless you so desire.

2) In a mixing bowl, mix together sour cream and milk until smooth.

3) Gradually add contents of pudding packet and beat until thoroughly combined and slightly thickened.

4) Fold in 1 1/2 cups whipped topping into the chocolate mixture.

5) Pour mixture into pie crust and top with remaining whipped topping.

6) Place in the refrigerator and chill until firm, about 2-3 hours.

For my second Recipe of the Week, I’ve decided to feature a recipe I literally just found. It’s fall so of course our fridge is full of apple cider (2 gallons to be exact!) and lots of apples. The baking mood hit me and I decided I wanted to make an apple based dessert or snack. Then I found Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Crisp. Extraordinarily easy and quick to assemble and throw in the oven and it is just absolutely delicious. As an added bonus, your whole house will smell like cinnamon!

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup white sugar (Optional, I think it makes the recipe too sweet but you may want it if you are using tart apples)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2-3 large apples, cored and sliced

How To Make It

1) Lightly grease a 9 x 9 pan (can vary depending on if you double the recipe or not) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Melt the butter in a large bowl for about 40 seconds in the microwave.

3) Then add brown sugar, cinnamon, oats and flour to the butter. Mix until crumbly and set aside.

4) Wash and core apples. Cut into small slices.

5) Put apple slices in a large bowl and toss with lemon juice and cinnamon. I didn’t use any exact measurement, just enough to make sure that the apples are coated.

6) Evenly cover bottom of the pan with the apple slices.

7) Pour the crumb mixture over the apples, making sure they are thoroughly covered. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Coming up with new, yummy dinner ideas is a never-ending battle. In an effort to keep dinner interesting and break away from my routine, I decided to try this lemon-rosemary chicken recipe. I love cooking with chicken and this was an absolute joy to make. A very easy-to-follow recipe with lots of room for variations… Enjoy!

Lemon-Rosemary Chicken with Red Potatoes

Ingredients

3) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken. Cover and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.

4) Turn the chicken; add potatoes to the skillet and drizzle with the juice of the remaining lemon.

5) Add the rosemary sprigs (again, optional) and the squeezed lemon halves to the skillet (I didn’t do this, but I’m sure it would be delicious); transfer to the oven and roast, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes at 450 degrees.

I’ve decided, in an effort to train myself to get into the habit of blogging more often, to start a Recipe of the Week series. I had absolutely no trouble picking out my very first recipe to debut… Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies. This recipe is perfect for many reasons but mainly because the cookies are phenomenal and the recipe is easy to follow and leaves a lot of room for customization. If you’re looking for that perfect sweet to bring to a holiday party, look no further!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (room temperature or put in the microwave for 12-15 seconds)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk (I use soy milk)
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup powdered baking cocoa

Batch of small cookies with 4 mini marshmallow halves on each...

How To Make It 

1) Cream together butter and sugar.

2) Add egg, then vanilla and milk.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

4) Slowly stir in dry mixture into wet mixture until a rich, chocolatey batter forms.

5) Drop cookies onto cookie sheet with parchment paper (I use silpat baking mats, love). Make cookies whatever size you desire. You can also flatten them, as opposed to simply dropping them, for a flat cookie that makes great cookie sandwiches.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Shorter for a softer, more gooey cookie and longer for a more solid cookie. Either way, they are brownie-like and delicious!

7) After this point, there is a lot of room for improvisation. You can cut mini marshmallows in half and press the cut side down onto the cookies and bake an extra 2 minutes. I have also tried sticking whole mini marshmallows onto the cookies and that yielded nice results, too. A lot more messy marshmallow goo, though. For my most recent batch, my boyfriend and I decided to get huge campfire marshmallows and cut them in half, then put the cut side down and top it with another cookie… thus making a sandwich… There are a ton of other variations for this recipe so play around! You could add walnuts, peanuts and even berries.

So my lovely boyfriend and I are going on vacation in June and I was entrusted with the planning and preparing. Once hotel booking and places-to-go-searching was checked off of my to do list, I was left with: work out at least 5 times a week, buy a bikini (preferably without crying) and find a good daily sunscreen/moisturizer. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a swim suit but whatever, I’ll get there eventually. Unlike some women, I do not embrace the sun and its harmful rays. I don’t exactly enjoy being pale, but I figure I’ll thank myself when I’m 50 sans leathery skin. So my quest for a “good” sunscreen and daily moisturizer began. My idea of a good sunscreen is pretty simple: UVA and UVB protection, waterproof and at least SPF 50. Most important to me, however, is price. And I have finally found the perfect combination in two products:

Charlie says hi!

First up, we have Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock Lotion. High SPF? Check (55 to be exact). UVA/UVB protection? Check. Waterproof? Check. And at $9 for a 4 oz. bottle, this product is a flat out steal. It has a pleasant yet not overwhelming scent and I swear it leaves my skin softer than any lotion I’ve tried. Next, we have a knock off of Aveeno’s Ultra Calming Daily Moisturizer (Meijer brand). While I will not buy generic sunscreen, when it comes to moisturizer I think it’s okay to save some cash if you can. This moisturizer was only $7 compared to Aveeno’s $15 but the real reason it was okay to skimp here is because the active ingredients were exactly the same as far back as I cared to read, so the formulas are very similar, if not the same. I also get UVA/UVB protection and SPF 15. After applying sunscreen followed by moisturizer, my skin feels fresh, soft and not at all oily or clogged. I’m only a week into my daily routine, but so far no break outs and no new patches of freckles so I’d say this is pretty official.

Any DIY project that actually makes me excited to go to the gym is one that I’m all for! This project isn’t necessarily quick but it’s easy and the results are so fabulous and useful. If you’re like me, keeping headphones untangled is a never-ending battle and daily nuisance. Luckily, that problem is now a thing of the past. Convinced? Let’s get started.

Things You’ll Need

• headphones
• embroidery thread
• clear nail polish

First of all, you need your headphones. The most important part of this project is picking which colors and how many you would like to use. There is no real limit on the number of colors you can use but I definitely would use at least 2. I went to Michael’s and found an entire aisle dedicated to embroidery thread so I went a little crazy and grabbed every color I liked, which was lot of them but at 35 cents a piece how could I resist? Anywho, I struggled at first the knot you need to do in order to produce that cool, spiral effect with the thread. If you made friendship bracelets in elementary school (who am I kidding, I still made them in high school), you are already familiar with that knot, I believe it’s called the 4.

So, I decided to use a total of 3 colors. For the length of the headphones, I used green, blue and white. Green and white thread was used for the left ear bud and blue and white for the right. I proceeded to use the 4 knot, which is incredibly easy to do… once I looked at one of the countless friendship bracelet tutorials online. What I learned was that trying to measure how much thread I needed by multiplying the length of headphones, dividing by 4.5 cubic centimeters blah blah blah was too much, just guesstimate. The lovely thing is is that if you overestimate, it’s no problem because you can just trim off the excess. Also, if you underestimate, simply tie off the thread and start again. It won’t give you a seamless look, but I found that didn’t bother me at all. Finally, to finish off the knots, you obviously have to tie them but to be sure, I also applied a small amount of clear nail polish to make sure the knots don’t come undone.

All in all, I finished this project in one sitting. I was pretty focused and very excited but I don’t recommend doing this if you need your headphones soon and are a known procrastinator. But seriously, this took me 2 hours tops and the next day, I took my “new” headphones to the gym (tangle free, by the way) and enjoyed gazing at them while hating every minute of working out! What more could you ask for?

For those of you that don’t know what Miu Miu is, I will gladly inform you. Miu Miu is a high fashion brand from the Prada fashion house. It opened in 1993 and is headed by Miuccia Prada… I think you can figure out where the name came from. Vanessa Paradis (Johnny Depp’s ex girlfriend/baby mama), Kirsten Dunst and Katie Holmes have all been spokeswomen for the brand. Anywho, Miu Miu released a completely fabulous heel that can’t really be described, you just have to see it… and considering the heels sell for anywhere from $500-$1,500, a cheap DIY is essential.

Miu Miu Jeweled Heel Platform Pumps, retail $537

Things You’l Need

• a pair of high heels
• rhinestones in a variety of sizes/shapes
• tweezers
• pliers (optional)
• e-6000 glue
• small dish
• toothpick

Your first step will be finding the pair of heels you are going to decorate. Literally any kind of high heel will work. Next, you need to pick out rhinestones. I recommend using loose, flat back rhinestones as opposed to pre-set rhinestones which you will have to pry out of their settings with pliers. Squeeze some glue into a small dish or container. Pick up one of the larger rhinestones with the tweezers and dip the backside into the glue. Regular glue will NOT properly adheres the rhinestones to your heels, they will fall off! So a strong glue like E-6000 would be best.

Now you are ready to press your first stone into the top of the center of the heel. Add several other large stones around the top, gradually working your way down to the middle of the heel with smaller stones. If you notice any bare spots, you can fill them in with small stones later. There is no right or wrong way to decorate but planning out your design first would not be a bad idea.