Summer to Fall

This past summer was not the most exciting time/the best of the year for me but looking back now there were still nice little moments amidst all the life challenges and stresses. Thank you ladies for the warm welcome back messages :)



I sure enjoyed a variety of fresh fruit this whole summer months.
Macaron Class: Yes I finally pulled a trigger and learned how to make these adorable, pricey, tiny sweets at Table Sur La taught by a chef. It definitely is a combination of science and art of baking to get the right consistency. However, I haven't made any ever since that class. Can't wait to give them a try at home. Hope I will be as successful as I was in that class.


Gotta love the succulent peaches. They were SOOO good. It was the first time I made peach cake. I have to admit that I do like peach pie better though.
Continue to eat healthy and hearty by eating all kinds of veggies and fruit. Yum!
Home Décor was in full force. We did a small makeover throughout the house and did a lot of cleaning and organizing. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long for the house to be messy again..sigh.
Jewelry making: found these snowflake pieces at JoAnn. They are just too pretty.

Tried out a new restaurant. How wonderful we don't have to go all the way to Maine to eat the Lobster roll and a clam chowder soup. My mouth is watering just thinking about them right now.



First lunch box for a little one. It was for her first day at school. Wish I could keep up and make her lunch every day to bring to school but the thought of her eating sandwich every day doesn't sound too appealing. I pack her lunch 1-2 times per week and let her buy lunch at school for the rest of the week. Still can't believe she is a Kindergartener now! She enjoys it so far, no complaint or say "I don't want to go" (phewwww!)

Oh hi October & Pumpkin Patch Time

Life has been more hectic than I ever imagined since that very last post in August. Will definitely share more in the future posts but for now let me settle into this cozy little online space one more time by sharing a few photos from our latest pumpkin patch visit. This year is our 5th year at the very same pumpkin patch at church in our area. I don't know about you but whenever October rolls around, the fist thing I think of is pumpkin, perhaps I am ready for some pumpkin pie and bread. For most parents, you can't help but want to snap some cute photos of your little one(s) next to those pumpkins. It sounds crazy but it is true.

Sun, Sand, Sea & Seaweed (a lot of them too)

We completed our summer checklist this past Sunday and wrapped up the summer by taking a little one to the beach. It sure was a beautiful sunny day but HOT..HOT..and super HOT. Despite the cruel heat wave, there came ocean breeze (what a relief!). The little miss had a blast building sand castle and running into water over and over again. Prior to the trip, we had heard about the unusual amount of seaweeds but decided to head out there anyway. They were literally everywhere. Some still fresh and some dried up. I thought they kind of add a special character.
I packed a few essentials such as a beach blanket, a kite (which we ended up not playing), a ball, stuff to make PB & J, chips, water and milk. It was nice to just sit out there, look up in the sky and let go of all your worries for the moment. Can't wait to do this again, perhaps when it is not as hot in about a month.

Food, Fun and Family Time

We had a family gathering this weekend at a restaurant, different from how we usually meet up at my in-laws' house. The food was great, portion was enormous. I can't believe summer is almost over and school will soon start. Next weekend we hope to do some fun activities at the beach like playing a kite, building sand castles, playing a beach ball and having a picnic. Fingers crossed the weather cooperates. Hope everyone have a great weekend.

Treat Yourself with Heathier Chocolate Fudge

In the hot summer month like this, I crave nothing else but cold desserts. While frozen yogurt and ice cream are perfect summer treats, it is easy to overeat sugar. In the past few months, I have successfully unfriended cupcake, cake, cookies and brownie from my life and I don't miss them one bit. However, I still am a good friend with Fro-Yo and pie at least once a week.

Thanks to the talented Healthy Bloggers out there and many inspirations on the Instagram, I am amazed at how you can make healthier desserts without compromising the look and flavor these days. I mean you can't expect the healthier version to taste exactly the same as traditional desserts made with good old butter, margarine and white sugar but hey they satisfy the sweet tooth and that suffices. They taste like ice cream bar + chocolate fudge to me. Definitely satisfy my chocolate craving yet feel light. The husband gave it thumbs down but my daughter and I liked them. Boo..who cares what he thinks, right? He is a hardcore dessert guy so quite impossible to convince him to eat stuff like this.
When I first came across this Healthy Eatmore Fudge Squares, it looked too chocolaty to be true I kept dreaming about them. I lightly adept the recipe by cutting the amount of nuts and add oats instead. Although this is healthier than regular chocolate fudge, you still want to consume them in moderation. Just like everything else, I strongly believe moderation is the key. Too much of something is not good even fruit or veggies. I personally prefer a well balanced diet.
My Version (adept from the original recipe)
Crust

1 cup Pitted dates (soak in warm water for 30 mins)

1/4 cup Almonds, unsalted

1/4 cup Walnuts, unsalted

1/2 cup Old fashioned oatmeal

1/4 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder

Fudge

¼ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Ripe Banana

2 tablespoons Peanut Butter

2 tablespoons Raw Honey

A hint of Vanilla extract

Add Almonds, Walnuts and Dates in food processor (or blender). Pulse a few times

 
Add Cocoa and Oats, pulse a few more times


Now make the fudge, add Banana, Peanut Butter, Honey and Cocoa in a food processor and pulse until well blended
Pour over a prepared crust and store in a freezer at least an hour (I brought it out at 40 mins and it didn't set quite well yet)

Via Instagram

Visit me at Instagram @MaysaAndSunshine

Sunday Funday

It has been two very stressful weeks for me so we decided to get out and did something fun. Something we hadn't done since the Disney trip two months ago. Just to get out there, eat, play, sweat and eat some more.
We went to a popular beach town the south - Galveston. There are tons of seafood places to explore, places to visit. We treated ourselves to some seafood (which turned out to be way to salty by the way), took a little one to the amusement park on the pier and ended our day with refreshing frozen yogurt. The heat wave was brutal (temperature was around 92F but felt like 100F) but we had a fun family time. Now how's your Sunday?
I know I haven't spent a lot of time updating this blog as often as I used to. Work related stress sure has pretty much sucked the life out of me in the past few weeks and seem to continue until about a week longer. Once that part is over, I hope to sit back..relax and have fun with blogging and visiting you all once again.