currently loving ...

- corepower yoga!

i've been going to a new yoga class, a HOT one. well, it's only 85 degrees and like 30 percent humidity but it's simultaneously kicking my butt and centering my chakra. i love it soso much.

bonus:  you get your first week free so come join me!

- my heart-shaped sunglasses

$1, di, thanks go to audrey and shelby ellsworth.

- one too many ipad games ...

- this cover

crossing my fingers i can hear it live tomorrow.

- DASK'S!

i could live there. paige and i have this joke:  after we saw mr. peabody and sherman she remarked "i wish mr. peabody was my dad", which escalated to "i wish my dad was a dog" and eventually to "i wish dask's was my dad." you know those jokes between you and your siblings? you guys think it's the funniest thing ever and everyone else doesn't get it? i love that. also i love dask's.

- wes anderson

but mostly just fantastic mr. fox.

- mad men & vampire diaries

sorry if that last one throws off your perception of me. i just can't help myself.

- eating smoothies for meals

here's my favorite:

1 cup milk

1-2 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp honey

1 teaspoon cocoa

a handful of ice cubes
(sometimes i throw in a banana for health's sake)

- coming up with the "ideal courtney"

she came to me in a dream the other night:  i had just ordered my meal at sarabeth's on the upper west side. i was all alone. but i was really really happy. and then i instagrammed my food.

^^^ DREAM LIFE!

- this quote:

"just let go. let go of how you thought your life should be, and embrace the life that is trying to work its way into your consciousness."

- caroline myss

i want to make and eat this RIGHT NOW!

i bless the day that pinterest was invented. hasn't your life improved so much since ben silbermann founded this great big mass of everything we've ever wanted in life?

but srsly. i found such a gem this morning and i just can't stop thinking about it! if i could i would go home right now and bake it for myself, then eat it ALL by myself. and i would be content and happy. 

then i'd probably take a nap.

this recipe is brought to you via jessica from how sweet it is.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookie pie

make one 9-inch pie

2 large eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature (apparently this is very important)

1/3 cup pureed pumpkin

2 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup chocolate chips

1 unbaked pie shell

preheat oven to 325 degrees. in a bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs until foamy. beat in flour, sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. add in vanilla, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice and mix until combined. blend in melted butter in mixer on low speed, then gradually increase to high and beat until mixture is combined and you have a batter. toss chocolate chips with a  sprinkling of flour and fold into batter. pour into an unbaked 9-inch pie shell. bake for 55 minutes, or until center is no longer jiggly.

the best chocolate chip cookie.

melanie, over at you are my fave, is on the hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie. i thought i'd add my two cents:

many a day of my childhood were spent munching on graham crackers with homemade chocolate frosting or dipped in milk, fruit snacks, or granola bars; but it was always a special treat when my aunt linda would whip up her famous chocolate chip cookies for us. i've been making them pretty regularly since high school. they are are the cookie of my eye and are, in my opinion, the very best chocolate chip cookie.

ultimate chocolate chip cookies

3/4 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanillla

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups (maybe even a little bit more) BIG guittard milk chocolate chips

beat shortening, sugar, milk, and vanilla until creamy. add egg and beat well. stir dry ingredients together separately. gradually add to sugar mixture. dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl; if not, add more flour. stir in chocolate chips. bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. cool on a sheet of foil.

mmm.

enjoy!

sweet land of liberty.

via fashionisareligion.tumblristhebible.

my country, tis of thee

sweet land of liberty, of thee i sing;

land where my fathers died, 

land of the pilgrims' pride,

from every mountainside let freedom ring!

my native country, thee,

land of the noble free, thy name i love;

i love thy rocks and rills,

thy woods and templed hills;

my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

let music swell the breeze,

and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song; 

let mortal tongues awake;

let all that breathe partake;

let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.

our fathers' god, to thee,

author of liberty, to thee we sing;

long may our land be bright

with freedom's holy light;

protect us by they might, great god, our king.

- samuel f. smith

i really like that song. it says all i feel about my country.

plans for today include sleeping in, swimming, firework watching, and making lavender honey custard.  while in philadelphia last year, we went to longwood gardens, or heaven, as i like to call it. i bought a lavender cookbook while i was there and have yet to use it. a shame i know. this weekend i'm changing my ways. 

here's my fourth of july gift to you, the recipe:

lavender honey custard
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender (english lavender is fine)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise
10 large egg yolks (10! i know! but it is custard)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
in a medium saucepan, whisk together the milk, honey, lavender, and 3/4 cup of the cream. add the vanilla bean. heat, stirring often, until small bubbles start to form around the edge; do not boil. set aside to cool slightly.
in a large bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar. beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes, or the misture is a light lemony yellow and forms a slowly dissolving ribbon when the beater is lifted.
slowly beat in the milk mixture. pour back into the saucepan. use a paring knife to scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the pan. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the misture thickens and reaches 175 degress on an instant-read thermometer (don't go above 180 degrees of the eggs will curdle).
strain into a medium bowl. place over a larger bowl containing ice cubes and cold water. stir often until cool. stir in the vanilla extract and the remianing 3/4 cup cream. transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

happy 4th!