oh my. where do i even begin?

i guess i'll start by welcoming august, twenty sixteen. we are only two days in, but the air is very thick with excitement, change and gd humidity. 

then i'll have to move along to all the reasons this month is awesome. 

yesterday, i sent off my first invoices for images sold. yup. i sold some of my photos. no, that does not make me a sell out. that makes me a paid photographer b*tches! it only took me six years of practice to figure out what the hell i was doing. 

tomorrow, the winner of my first instagram contest with hoffman home & lifestyle will be announced. it has been wonderful to work with the family owned business i have idolized for years! the have been making fabric for almost a century and i'm thrilled they are expanding into home decor. you can still enter to win a stunning napkin + placemat set & gourmet goodies from me by following @newfoodtuesdayz & @hoffmanhome.life and tagging two friends in the comments section of any of our giveaway posts. come on. you know you want to. wink. 

and now, the real reason that this month is so magical... 

thursday morning, wes & i will hop on a plane to > toronto. where we will meet up with my brother albert & his gf kate. from there, we will purchase a bunch of booze in duty free and hop another flight to > rio, where my youngest brother joshua is already preparing to compete in his first OLYMPICS. yup. after twenty years of training, he has accomplished every athletes dream. no matter the medal outcome, he is an olympian. i'm awed by his drive and dedication. he has given his body, his time and his soul to the sport he loves and it shows. he is a true inspiration. 

so in honor of him, i'm going to spend my time in rio soaking up all the inspiration possible. from the food, to the culture & especially the olympic drive & emotion. 

i also plan on doing quite a bit of relaxing and enjoying time with family, since i've never actually taken an eighteen day vacation and family time is hard to come by. well, i guess i did have a three month unemployment vacation, but that wasn't exactly the same. that time was full of wedding planning and was not surrounded by sugarloaf or christ the redeemer. 

in honor of rio's tropical climate, where ironically it is winter but is till going to be eighty degrees fahrenheit while we are there, i whipped up some tasty mango + coconut pops. 

these pops are easy to make, adorable to serve and provide the perfect hot day snack for yourself or your kiddos. 

mango + coconut pops
serves: 6 pops
prep time: 10 minutes
freeze time: 5 hours
total time: 5 hours 10 minutes
ingredients: 1 large ripe mango, flesh scooped out + 2 tbs small chopped fresh mango reserved. 1 c pineapple juice. .5 c canned coconut milk. .5 c coconut water. 1 tbs powdered sugar. 2 tbs shredded coconut. 1 popsicle mold. 

in the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine mango & pineapple juice. blend till pureed.
add in the chunks of of mango and stir just till combined. set the mango mixture aside. 

in a medium sized bowl, combine the powdered sugar, coconut milk, coconut water and coconut chunks. whisk the mixture together well and set it with the bowl of mango puree. 

fill your molds, alternating a little bit of mango puree followed by a little bit of coconut mix until your mold is full. 

if you have molds that don't have fixed toppers, place your pops in the freezer for about 2 hours so the mixture is just slightly frozen. then pop in the sticks so they stay straight up. if you have fixed tops, pop them on and freeze the pops for 5 hours or until firm.

follow the mold instructions to remove your pops (usually running the molds under warm water for about 15 seconds) and serve. 

if you aren't eating all your pops you can reserve them in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

xoxo
a

mango + coconut pops
serves: 6 pops
prep time: 10 minutes
freeze time: 5 hours
total time: 5 hours 10 minutes
ingredients: 1 large ripe mango, flesh scooped out + 2 tbs small chopped fresh mango reserved. 1 c pineapple juice. .5 c canned coconut milk. .5 c coconut water. 1 tbs powdered sugar. 2 tbs shredded coconut. 1 popsicle mold.
in the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine mango & pineapple juice. blend till pureed.
add in the chunks of of mango and stir just till combined. set the mango mixture aside.
in a medium sized bowl, combine the powdered sugar, coconut milk, coconut water and coconut chunks. whisk the mixture together well and set it with the bowl of mango puree.
fill your molds, alternating a little bit of mango puree followed by a little bit of coconut mix until your mold is full.
if you have molds that don't have fixed toppers, place your pops in the freezer for about 2 hours so the mixture is just slightly frozen. then pop in the sticks so they stay straight up. if you have fixed tops, pop them on and freeze the pops for 5 hours or until firm.
follow the mold instructions to remove your pops (usually running the molds under warm water for about 15 seconds) and serve.
if you aren't eating all your pops you can reserve them in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

in my neck of the woods, summer is hitting in full effect. last week, the kikis got out of school and socal gave us a sneak peek at her full summer sun.

and after a few months of heavy internal debate, the 108 degree heat finally drove me back into the pool to teach little kiddos to swim. teaching swimming was always something i loved, but i truly believed when i walked away from the pool that i was closing that chapter of my life. 

but how does that saying go? when you make plans, god laughs. 

well whoever is up there making our plans knew what i needed more than i did. only 1.5 weeks back in the pool and i can't remember why i ever walked away. making an imprint on children that will last for their lifetime is incomparable. plus, i'm super tan. win. 

with the fourth of july in sight, and my newly sunkissed skin, i'm sharing the perfect frosting to help you amp up your patriotic celebration. 

cream cheese frosting
serves: 2.5 cups frosting (enough to frosting for a 9inch cake)
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 8 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 8 oz cream cheese, room temp. 8 oz butter, room temp. 1 tbs heavy cream. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 1 pinch salt. 3-4 cups powdered sugar. 

in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using hand beater, combine the cream cheese and butter. whip them together on medium high speed until they are well combined and fluffy. 3-5 minutes. 

turn the mixer speed down to low and add in the extract, salt and cream. just after they are combined, add in the sugar 1 cup at a time. give the frosting a taste after each cup of sugar added so you can prepare it to your desired sweetness. 

xoxo
a

cream cheese frosting
serves: 2.5 cups frosting (enough to frosting for a 9inch cake)
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 8 minutes
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 8 oz cream cheese, room temp. 8 oz butter, room temp. 1 tbs heavy cream. 1 tsp vanilla extract. 1 pinch salt. 3-4 cups powdered sugar.
in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl using hand beater, combine the cream cheese and butter. whip them together on medium high speed until they are well combined and fluffy. 3-5 minutes.
turn the mixer speed down to low and add in the extract, salt and cream. just after they are combined, add in the sugar 1 cup at a time. give the frosting a taste after each cup of sugar added so you can prepare it to your desired sweetness.