HELLO!!! :)

Hello, everyone!

Well, I know that I have just kind of dropped off the map all of a sudden. My life just got really busy and really crazy. I just wanted to make a post and reach out and say  ‘ hello ‘ to everyone that has continued to pop in over here the past few months.

So, what happened? Are you curious? 

Change. Change has been the name of the game these past few months.

Well, first of all , all  of a sudden in July my father just gave me the family business. He doesn’t want to do it any more. And, since that is how I make my money, I have taken it over completely, even though it was never anything that I actually wanted to do. So, as you can imagine, I had my hands full with chaos in general. It is never easy owning a business, especially when you have emotional ties with family, so that has just been…..overwhelming – that’s probably the nicest way to put it. 

There is so much going on with that that it has really changed alot of my plans, so secondly, I have decided to stop building my other web page. I just am not up to dealing with all of that and I’m not the most tech- oriented person anyway. Oh , well.

There is much much more, but I’m sure you get the point.  Things have been busy.

I hope everything has been going well for all of you.

 

Well, this is iLusciousLife, so here is a little list of things that I have been loving recently.

Nora Jones’s new song Chasing Pirates.

Michael Buble’s New song I Just Haven’t Met You Yet.

Benjamin Sharkey is a singer on You Tube that I found the other night. Check him out. Very, very talented.

The movie The Proposal with Sandra Bullock -  I don’t know if I mentioned it before, but it is very funny.

Tonight I watched So You Think You Can Dance and the couple that danced to Two Steps Away from Pattie LaBelle were just absolutely amazing. I love dancing so much! Dancing or watching it is so wonderful.

I love my new candle from Restoration Hardware, it’s pomegranite scented and it’s lovely. Ooo, on my next year list I think I’m going to add a big leather couch from Restoration Hardware – that’s a nice wish, right?

I just bought a sample of perfume from Lucky Scent that I’m really excited about. It’s called Madera. It is supposed to smell like a fine caramel – I will let you know how delicious it is  for anyone who who wants to smell like dessert. :) Which is one of my favorite ways to smell.

Well, I guess that’s enough for now. Thanks, for your continued support and interest in my blog. I hope everything is going well for all of you. Feel free to share any thoughts on….. all of the above. As always,  I’d love to hear you ideas.

Love ,

Arielle81

xoxoxoxo

Quote of the Day….

” The most beautiful discovery that true friends can make is that they can grow seperately without growing apart. “

-  Elizabeth Foley

This is true for the very best of friends.

Here is to the one who has your back, gives you the best advice, laughs when you do, spends the whole day doing nothing with you, brings you brownies, answers the phone when you call, is actually interested in what you did today, yesterday, and will be doing tomorrow, who will share their lunch with you, who remembers your birthday, who’s on your speed dial, the ultimate confidant.

Friends for life.

Family by choice.

xoxoxo

Roasted Plantains with Cheese and Guava

 

 

This past winter my friend from Columbia made a great tradional dish for me with plantains, guava, and cheese. In Columbia it is made with queso blanco, a fresh white cheese. It was really good and unusual. Since then I have made my own twist to the original recipe for all of those of  us who don’t have access to a local dairy.

My rendition uses cream cheese with finely chopped jalapeno for an extra layer of flavor. The result is a sweet, smooth, and creamy bite sized morsels that are really filling. Great for a side dish, appetizer, or a snack. All the ingrediants are easy to find and inexpensive so you can serve something unique and stretch your entertaining budget .

Fast, easy, and delicious!

 

Recipe:

4 plantains, peeled

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp. jalapeno, finely chopped

3 oz. guava paste, chopped

Peel the plantains and cut  a deep channel length wise along the plantain.

In a bowl combine the cream cheese with the finely chopped fresh jalapeno ( you can add the jalapeno seeds if you would like to increase the spicey heat). Blend well.

Finely chop the guava paste.

Place the guava paste and the cream cheese mixture side by side into the channel that you cut into the plantain along its entire length.

Wrap the stuffed pantains individually in parchment paper.

Bake the four wrapped plantains in a preheated oven at 300 degress for 30 minutes. When it is finished carefully remove the plantains from the oven. Let rest for 2-3 minutes. Unwrap the plantains from the paper, cut into one inch pieces, and serve.

Enjoy!

 

xoxoxo