My Summer in Pics

Hello everyone!

I know I've been MIA for quite a few months and I'm sorry for that. I thought that I would find time to blog while abroad but apparently it wasn't possible for many reasons, the main two being: (1) the internet here is kind of crazy, so it goes on and off for days and (2) I've been quite busy with work and just having a good time with my friends/co-workers that I haven't had much time for blogging.

So for now, I'll just leave you with some pictures of things I've done/ seen since June and I hope I can start posting more often now that work is starting to slow down. Enjoy!

Marked turtle nest...pretty much what my job consists of (marking nests)

Crooked palm tree

Yal-Ku Lagoon

Chillin' at the beach

Tarantula outside my room...eeek!

Loggerhead turtle laying eggs

What I do when I'm bored at work...

Mural outside the ecological center

My new friend I found at the park

 Yummy chicken quesadillas!

Massive mushroom and cheese stuffed burgers I made for my friend's birthday

 

Green turtle laying eggs

Loggerhead hatchling...super cute!

Me with a baby loggerhead! :)

Yet another turtle mural!

Swimming with whale sharks!

 

Whale shark!

Loads of baby turtles!!

Having fun with friends!

What's In My Carry-On Bag: Boston Edition

Hello! For those who don't know, I'm going to Boston today! I'm mainly going for my sister's graduation, which is on Sunday, but we're staying there for a whole week so that my brother, aunt and grandparents who've never been to Boston before, get to know the city and do some touristing. Since I'll be away til next Friday, I prepared some travel- related blog posts that I'll be posting while I'm away. I hope you enjoy them!

 

So you see that pink bag on the top left corner? Well, that's my carry-on bag. It's not the bag I usually use to travel but this time I didn't need my little rolling luggage and I don't feel like hauling a huge tote so this bag was the perfect size for my needs. Now, on to what's inside! (In no particular order).

1. A sweater. It's always cold on the plane so a sweater is a must.

2. A change of clothes. Just in case. You never know what's going to happen or when you're going to get stranded without your luggage. Been there, done that.

3. iPhone and Kindle Fire chargers. To charge my iPhone and Kindle.

4.Kindle Fire (the thing in the green case) and iPhone (not pictured because I took this picture with it). To read and stay entertained during the 3.5/4 hour flight to Boston.

5. Tinted moisturizers. Just in case my lips get dry.

6. Kleenex. I always carry some with me. 

7. Earphones. If I want to listen to music or watch a movie on my iPhone or Kindle these are always useful.

8. Pen. Just in case I need to jot down something.

9. Hand lotion. In case my hands get dry.

10. Wallet. To carry my ID, some cash and debit/credit cards

11. GRE vocabulary list. Just in case I decide to study during the flight.

12. Small cross-body bag. I carry my wallet, tinted moisturizer and iPhone in here.

13. Tylenol. Just in case I get a headache while on the plane.

So that's pretty much it!

Just a Few of Announcements!

Can you believe it's May already? I sure can't! Time is going by so fast! Also, I wanted to mention that I've been blogging for 3 months already! I can't believe it! My 3 month bloggiversary was on April 28th. So thanks to all of you who follow me and read my blog, it means a lot to me. :)

I just wanted to make a few quick announcements because a lot has been going on and there might be a few changes in the next couple of weeks but hopefully I'll keep on posting 2-3 times (at least) a week and sharing fun stuff with you guys! So yeah, this month is pretty busy for me because:

1. I'll be going to Boston in a few weeks for my sister's graduation and will be there for about a week. I'm planning ahead so I'm working on a book review for that week and possibly a tutorial. I'll also post My Week in Pics, which should be fun because I'll be in Boston of course!

2. I'm taking the GRE on May 29th. That week, I'll probably be super stressed and will most likely not post anything until after the day after the exam. As you might or might not know, I majored in Environmental Biology in college and graduated in 2012 but I want to continue studying and get my Master's, for which I'll be applying in the fall, and then my Ph.D. So yeah, wish me luck! :)

3. Last but not least...and definitely the most exciting announcement is... I'm moving to Mexico! Well, only temporarily. But yes, I'm super excited because I'm going somewhere near Cancun and will be working with an organization dedicated to sea turtle conservation and environmental education. I'll be there from June 1st til the end of August. I'm really excited because this is definitely what I see myself doing full-time in the future and I'm sure it'll be a great experience. I'm really hoping this won't affect my blog a lot. There is internet where I'll be living so I'll definitely continue posting stuff. My Week in Pictures posts will probably be way more exciting then, I'll continue reading and posting reviews as always and I'm excited to say that I'll probably be posting more recipes and cooking tutorials because I'll be doing my own cooking there. In terms of  sewing/knitting/crafting DIYs and nail tutorials, I'm not sure how those are going to work out since (1) I'm obviously not taking my sewing machine or any other craft materials, so I might do some tutorials beforehand and post them sporadically throughout the summer and (2) I'll be working outdoors and handling turtles and equipment so my manicures wouldn't last a single day so I might skip those altogether during the summer.

So yeah, I think that pretty much covers everything that's been going on/ will be going on during May and the rest of the summer. Thanks for reading and hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

My Week in Pictures #3

I  hope everyone has been having a great week and is enjoying their weekend! I'm so glad it's finally Saturday, I've literally been waiting for the weekend since Monday. I guess it's mainly because this week has been a bit hectic so I had been really looking forward to catching up on some ZzzZzzZzz. Yeah, that and finishing up some sewing projects. Now, I'll leave you guys with my week in pictures.

Sunday: Easter cupcakes!!!

 

Monday: Mug for the giveaway.

Tuesday: Passion tea lemonade, my fave! :)

Wednesday: No pic. :(

 

Thursday: Picking out my weekend read.

Friday: Being a responsible person and studying for the GRE on a Friday afternoon.

Saturday: Ironing fabric for a project.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

<3, Martha

My Week in Pictures #2

Hi! Sorry I haven't posted much this week. I have extended family staying over this week for their Easter Break and therefore haven't had much time to finish any DIY projects I was working on or books I was reading. I promise I'll have something for you guys next week but in the meantime I'll leave you with my week in pictures.

 Monday: Thor.

Tuesday: I didn't take any pictures. :(

Wednesday: Spinach and cheese lasagna rolls for dinner. Yum!

 

Thursday: What a dreary day....

 

Friday: Haul from my shopping trip on Thursday. 

Hope you have a great weekend!  And for those of you who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

<3, Martha

My Week in Pictures

Hi everyone! So I decided that every Friday I'll be posting pictures that I took during the week. Keep in mind that they'll be pretty random but I just wanted to give you guys a peek of what happens in my life. Have a great weekend! :)

 

 Sunday: My supper- a pasty and coffee.

  

Monday: Sasha's first swim of the year! :)

 

Tuesday: My uncle's birthday cake.

 

Wednesday: Flowers outside my house.

 

Thursday: New nail color for spring! (Mintilicious by Rimmel)

 Friday: Fish tacos for lunch. Yum! :)

 <3, Martha

Pink Ombre Swirl Birthday Cake!

It's my 23rd birthday today! Yay! I'm pretty excited to see what this year of my life will bring. 

As a gift to myself, I decided to bake a birthday cake. I actually don't have any pictures of  the process except a phone pic of the colored batter but here's the recipe for those who would like to try it out.

Ingredients:
-1 cup of unsalted butter
-2 cups sugar
-4 eggs
-1 1/2 cups self rising flour (or 1.5 cups regular flour + 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder + 3/4 tsp. salt)
-1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
-1 cup milk
-2 (or 3) teaspoons vanilla extract
 *1/2 cup vegetable oil (to make it moist, otherwise it turns out a bit dry)

**I doubled up the recipe because as you'll see shortly, I made a pink ombre cake.

Directions for cake:
-Grease & flour cake pan
-Cream butter til smooth
-Add sugar and beat til fluffy (about 2-3min.)
-Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition
-Combine the flours and add in 4 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla extract. beating well after each addition
-Divide batter in bowls and add different amounts of coloring to create different shades of pink
-Pour into baking pans
-Bake 20-25 minutes at 350F
-Let cakes cool
-Stack layers together "gluing" them together with a thin layer of frosting.

The recipe for the frosting can be found in this blog. Now let me tell you, this is hands down the best frosting recipe ever. I've used this recipe countless times and have gotten so many compliments on how good it is.
*The only change I made was that instead of 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, I used 2.
*Also, I doubled the recipe (I would actually recommend to triple the recipe so you won't run out of frosting like I did)
*I also divided the frosting into 4 bowls to create 4 different shades of pink

 Directions for frosting the cake:
-Frost the entire cake with a thin layer of light pink or white frosting (I didn't do this because knew I would run out of frosting if I did, and I was out of butter and powdered sugar to make more frosting. So, if you look closely you can see little brown gaps).
-Using a Wilton 1M tip make big rose swirly shapes by swirling the frosting starting in the middle of the rose, going outward in a clockwise direction.
-Make the bottom row the darkest shade and make the following rows lighter as you go up.
-Once you reach the top, do the same for the top of the cake using the lightest shade of pink. And that's it! Hope you enjoy your ombre cake as much as I did mine!

P.S. This is how it looks on the inside. Pretty, huh?