Strawberry Shortcake

Summer means strawberries, which means another excuse to make a dessert. Or, something like that. This strawberry shortcake is easy to whip up  and will definitely be a crowd-pleaser for your summer get-together...or just for yourself.

Ingredients:
3 cups strawberries (rinsed and sliced into bite-sized pieces)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp corn starch
3 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp Triple Sec (orange liqueur) or orange juice
1 can crescent rolls (I used Pillsbury Reduced Fat)
1 egg white, beaten
2 tbsp white sugar
Whipped topping (About 1 cup or however much you want. I used Fat Free Cool Whip, could also use regular whipped cream or make your own)

Directions:
Puree 1 cup strawberries and water in blender or food processor. In a saucepan, mix corn starch and 3 tbsp white sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (about 5 minutes). Mix in liqueur and let cool. Stir remaining 2 cups of strawberries and refrigerate.

Pre-heat oven to 325F. Grease cookie sheet. Unroll and separate crescent rolls, press 2 triangles together (so 8 pre-cut rolls become 4 big rolls). Roll up as directed on package. Brush top with egg white, sprinkle sugar. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool for a few minutes then cut rolls in half. Stuff with strawberry mixture and cool whip. Less is not more, here, so pile it all on!

Enjoy :)

Adapted from this recipe

Randoms and My Jams

Holy wow. This weekend was a whirlwind of just about everything. I haven't had much time to share, so I thought Random Wednesday would be the perfect time to share a few highlights...

1. Tyson's Corner (read: huge, amazing mall) with my friend Katie! We had so much fun at the American Girl Doll store... we basically turned into little girls again. I better give birth to a girl someday, because these dolls are amazing- so much more than they were when I was little!
2. Chris and I went on two bike rides over the weekend! One was over 12 miles...considering I'm out of shape and we just started biking, I'm proud of us! 
3. I read a whole book over the weekend. "Gone Girl" was amazing. I'd heard mixed reviews but I guess I like dark and twisty fiction because I couldn't put it down.

1. Loving this yellow polish! (Butter-fly stroke from Sally Hansen). It's the perfect golden yellow.
2. Why is there nothing better than strawberries and (non-fat) whipped cream? So yummy.
3. I made freezer breakfast sandwiches from Pinterest. I'm not a fan of the way the eggs cooked but they'll do for quick "in a pinch" breakfasts.

It was so nice to have a long weekend, and I have a super short 3-day work week. That means I'm trying to cram everything into 3 days which has been a little stressful. I'm off work Friday because it's my little brother Jake's Bar Mitzvah on Saturday! I'm so excited for him, we have family coming into town and it'll be a great weekend. 

Now, to share my playlist for Day 29 of the challenge! Here's a mini soundtrack of my life right now.




There are so many more songs I could use, but these are the ones that came to mind. 
The first two songs are songs that just make me happy, always. The next two are songs that describe where I feel I'm at in life right now. Yes, T-Swift is right, I'm feeling 22 again. The last song is "Our song" :)

Linking up with Jenni and Shanna

Flaws and Craving Vitamin D

Thankfully it's Friday before a long weekend. The week has actually flown by... I feel like with school ending soon time is just flying. I work at schools a couple days a week and have to say I'm really going to miss that during the summer! Well, I won't miss getting up super early. At all. Here are my favorite five things from the week...

1. Cute new shirt from Loft Outlet. Hello sale going on right now! I haven't shopped for clothes in months and although I went in looking for black capris (found some!) I couldn't resist this top, and another in a different color, for only $12.99 each!
2. We had cheese fondue and homemade beer the other night. Chris started brewing beer and this is the first batch. I proudly admit that we store the beer in the guest bathroom tub. Redneck beer brewing? {The joys of apartment living}
3. Gorgeous stargazer lillies from the grocery store, of all places! These are my all-time favorite flowers. They smell amazing. I WILL use these flowers in my wedding.
4. We purchased a bike rack and picked up our bikes from our parents' houses over the weekend. We've been riding a couple times and are looking forward to going on longer rides over the weekend. BWI airport has a 12 mile loop path and I'm excited to get my butt in biking shape {literally. it's a good butt workout}
5. This is not good for my butt.... but who cares? Chris' Spaghetti Pie. It was ready when I came home from work the other day. Yum yum yum.

Now for today's challenge... My 3 worst traits. Easy.
- I take on other peoples' problems. This is something I'm really working on lately. Clients, family, friends, I take it all on as my burden. It's okay to a point, because I guess that means I care. However, it's terrible for my well-being and destructive.
- I'm way too self-conscious. I worry about what others think about me. This has improved since I've gotten a little older, but it's still a flaw for sure.
- I have a terrible memory. Terrible. I don't remember anything unless I write it down. I'm horrible with names. I can have a conversation and literally forget all the important details of what was said. I think it's impacted by stress, because sometimes I can remember the most mundane details. Like peoples' dog's names, what nights my favorite tv shows are on, and where my favorite stores in the mall are. Wait, maybe those are the important things ;)

I'm hoping to get my pale self in the sun {with sunscreen} during this upcoming long weekend. I need that Vitamin D! What are you getting into this weekend? 
Linking up with Lauren and Jenni

Best of Sweet Shangrila

Oh, where to begin? I've been blogging a while now and I definitely have some favorite posts to share with you for today's challenge.

Some of my favorite recipes include Cheerio Treats, Key Lime Pie, and Spice Cookies. You can't forget about my Healthy Stuffed Shells, Light Penne Alfredo, and Twice Baked Potatoes, though. 

When you're done making all those recipes, you might need to clean up the kitchen. You can use my DIY Cleaner (not only for showers!)

If you're wondering how I started, you can always check out my very first post.

If you're looking for foods with no calories, look no more.

Do you have a favorite post of mine that I didn't mention? Tell me below!

Do You Believe in Magic?

I was in 5th grade. My parents decided we could start looking for our first family dog. We hadn't had dogs before...only cats. We were so excited, so my family along with my bff Liz headed off to PetsMart on one of those adoption fair days.

We arrived at PetsMart, there were several dogs and many cats just waiting to find their forever homes. Liz and I stood outside one of the pens which housed a couple of the dogs. 

Then he picked us.
They called him "Chip". He jumped up on me (my, what great manners he had). Another dog had caught my parents' eye, but "Chip" caught mine. He had to be part of our family....and so he was. 

Our family was about to take our first trip to Disney World so we had to wait 10 days to bring our new family member home. In the spirit of Disney, we decided to name him "Magic". 

Magic joined our family and fit right in. He was skiddish and afraid... we figured he was abused by his previous family. He picked us as his forever family and lived a happy life. He loved chasing squirrels, jumping on people, and cuddling. He was terrified of thunderstorms. He wasn't the smartest puppy but he loved us and we loved him.

Magic passed away in 2010 and we miss him so much. I'll always remember the day he picked us as one of my fondest childhood memories.

Linking up with day 18 of the challenge.