Fire Roasted Tomato Soup (Vegan, Gluten Free)

I know this is probably blasphemy, but I've never had tomato soup before.

I know, I know. My mom hated it growing up, so she just never made it for me when I was a kid. I, however, am a professional grilled cheese maker/eater. I will seriously find any excuse to make a grilled cheese; It's Wednesday or I bought new red lipstick or Yay! I washed my car.

I guess you could say that I have a problem.

Anyway, when my boyfriend found out that I'd never had tomato soup before, not to mention never had it with grilled cheese, he about died. Then promptly proclaimed that tomato soup with grilled cheese would change my life. I can't say I bought that, but I was curious.

Upon his arrival back into town Sunday night, I decided to surprise him with tomato soup because he had gotten sick in CA and I really wanted a grilled cheese (to celebrate his return, obviously). I found this recipe from Muir Glen (my favorite canned tomato company ever), but I adapted the recipe to be vegan.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 Rapunzel Sea Salt and Herbs Bouillon Cube
• 14 oz of water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup plain unsweetened almond milk

Directions

1. In medium saucepan, warm olive oil on med-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until onion is crisp-tender.
2. While the onions and garlic are cooking, microwave the 14 oz of water and the bouillon cube for 1:30 minutes. When finished remove from microwave and stir the mixture until the bouillon cube is fully melted.
3. Add tomatoes, the bouillon, 1 tablespoon of the cilantro, the sugar and pepper flakes. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; pour mixture into large heatproof bowl; cool slightly, about 15 minutes.*
4. Add the cooled soup, almond milk and remaining cilantro to your blender and blend until pureed. One pureed, pour the soup back into the saucepan. Heat over medium heat until hot. Remove from heat and enjoy!

I really must say I was pleasantly surprised. While tomato soup cannot be replaced by ketchup, I will definitely make this again. Especially with the weather cooling down.

Five Friday Favorites

I've decided to start doing a recap of my week with "Five Friday Favorites" from now on.  I usually scan through my Instagram photos at the end of the week to remind myself what I've been eating up to.

1. I purchased local raw organic honey from Hawaiian Fresh Farms earlier this week to help with my allergies. I've recently developed this annoying thing where I have massive sneezing fits.  I honestly can only attribute the sneezing to allergies because I'm not sick - nor am I on my way there. I heard that local honey was the au naturel and effective way to go. So far, it's been working.
2. I helped my sister plan her best friend's bridal shower and it turned out amazing! The decorations were simple yet gorgeous. The food was yummy and the guests all had fun!
3. At work we entertained some VIPs and this was just a snapshot of the yummy juices we served: watermelon and passion orange guava.
4. I get to see this trail about once a week. I just love it. It looks so magical and it's even cooler that there are horses waiting at the end!
5. I'm addicted to stationary. I scored a box of 50 blank note cards for $5. I was out of my mind with joy! Chevron! Stripes! Flowers! I'm pretty convinced these were designed for me.

What have you been up to this week?

P.S. Here's something to make you laugh. :)

How to Decorate your Bathroom for $26

Yup, you read that correctly. I decorated my bathroom for $26.  

I know, I was pretty amazed myself. When I moved into this house, I was pretty dismayed to see that my shower had GREEN TILES.  Initially I decided to just go with the flow and do a coastal design, but when I fell in love with a Moby Dick shower curtain from Urban Outfitters that cost $60, I knew I had to rethink my whole design concept.  

I started dropping by Ross and TJ Maxx every time I was nearby. Eventually I found the animal print shower curtain you see below on the right for $6.  I thought it looked pretty cool, but I had no idea how I was going to tie everything together.  My bathroom is tiny; I knew I had to keep everything else light and airy to balance out the dark curtain.  What you see below is the final product.

This pretty ceramic vase was my splurge for the bathroom at $14.  Normally, I wouldn't spend $14 on a vase to hold a toilet brush, but it was perfect and I had only spent $12 on the rest of the bathroom

The glass cylinder vase has been sitting around my house for ages and I thought it would make a perfect candle holder.  I also had this candle (plus 2 more) that I bought for a photo shoot - couldn't believe they had the perfect colors!

This basket was laying around my house as well.  I have beauty products inside that I use frequently, but they're too tall for the medicine cabinet and I ran out of storage space under my sink.  The candles and the candle holders were in the living room and I just moved them to the bathroom.  This curtain was in the to-go bin and on a whim I decided to try in the the bathroom.  I loved it, so I went out and bought a curtain rod for $6.

You'll see my mason jars and sugar jars peeking out on the bottom self.  I had extra mason jars in the kitchen that I'm using to store/display q-tips, make-up sponges and cotton balls.  The sugar jars hold hair ties and hair clips.

This is the view from the toilet. Thank goodness there is above-the-door shelving.  The basket on the right holds extra clean towels.  The basket on the left corrals my flat iron, curling iron, wax pot, hot rollers, etc.  There's another basket up there that holds all extra bottles of shampoo, body wash, etc.  Not going to lie, my mom had those baskets sitting in a pile and I asked her if I could have them. Luckily she said yes.

And of course, this little basket keeps my wash cloths and hand towels all neat and tidy.  I also stuck a bottle of hand lotion in there. I hate it when I'm out and about and I can't moisturize my hands after washing up.  I've had this basket in my bathroom for several years now.

I know a lot of people dread decorating when they're on a budget.  I do a lot of thrifting and repurposing different objects when decorating.  You can do what I did and ask close friends or family if they have any "fill in the blank" that they're getting rid of/selling.  Maybe you can do a trade or pick it up from them for a couple of bucks.  The only thing you should splurge on in the bathroom is a good set of towels and a 100% cotton bathmat.  And let's be real, I've had my cotton bathmat for over a year now and I picked it up for $6 at Ross.

How do you save money when decorating? I'm working on my bedroom next!

May Favorites

01. Clarisonic Mia  

If you don't have a Clarisonic, I highly recommend that you go buy one! I never had acne during those awkward teenage years, but I somehow developed an awful case about 2 years ago.  I wanted to die. I tried everything short of wearing a paper bag over my head everyday.  I've been using this Clarisonic for 3 months and my skin has vastly improved. I think with more time my skin will return to normal.

02. Essie in Power Clutch

I just love this color. Every time I try a new nail color I end up going back to my bottle of Power Clutch.  It's edgy without being office-inappropriate and it matches with everything.

03. Femme Couture Lip Luster in Copper Frost

I bought this in the beginning of May for a special occasion.  I don't usually wear lip gloss. In fact, I haven't bought a tube of gloss in over 3 years. Lip glosses are a huge turn off to me because they taste funky, they're sticky and they don't last very long.  To my surprise this one tasted (mildly) of vanilla and there was no sticky feeling.  This color adds a nice sheen to my lips and I've used it so much this month that I've almost gone through half a tube.

04. Mineral Fusion Lengthening Mascara in Graphite

I've been having allergic reactions to drug store mascaras for ages. I honestly thought I was developing allergies, but then I realized that I only clawed at my peepers when I was wearing mascara. Once I realized that I tried a million mascaras from the drug store, all to find that my eyes were itchy beyond belief.  My all time favorite mascara is Giorgio Armani's Eyes to Kill, but it's pricey.  I found this Mineral Fusion Lengthening Mascara at Whole Foods and I decided to give it a try. It's 100% natural and guess what? MY EYES AREN'T ITCHY.  This mascara doesn't do anything extraordinary to my eyelashes like the GA Eyes to Kill, but it's half the price and NO ITCH and no clumping. So I am very happy for now!

05. Live Love Dream fragrance by Aeropostale

I came across Live Love Dream when I stopped in Aero to grab some camis and decided to give it a try.  This perfume is yummy, light, fruity and floral.  It's the perfect scent for Spring/Summer.

06. Yes to Cucumbers Calming Shower Gel

I love the Yes to line of products, which you will soon discover.  I started using their cucumber shower gel end of April/early May and I LOVE it.  It has a light, clean scent and is really gentle on my skin.  This shower gel is a winner.  If you have sensitive skin and/or like to use natural products, definitely check out Yes to!