Little things

I'm an university student that lives alone, so the home decor has to be on a budget. I want to show you a few glimpses of my apartment and some little details that make it feel more cozy :)

------------

Eins og margir vita er ekki alltaf mikið milli handanna hjá háskólanemum, hvað þá ef þeir búa einir. Mig langaði að sýna ykkur lítil brot af heimilinu mínu og nokkur atriði sem mér finnst lífga upp á íbúðina :)

Pretty vases for my make-up brushes / keypti þessa sætu vasa í söstrene grene :)

Pretty little candles from Ikea

My favorite furniture :)

Pretty watches in a display box 

Jewelry trees are useful to keep things organized :)

My little fridge piggies (I have a thing for pink and pigs!)

You might have seen glimpses of my kitchen piggies! They sure lighten my mood while cooking :)

The one thing most university student can't live without..a coffee maker! 

Dr. Organic are my favorite products. They are organic (duh), don't test on animals and only include natural ingredients. I have sensitive skin that doesn't handle perfume in creams well (hello rashes and outbreaks), and these feel really gentle on my skin. I also have very dry skin that the cold weather here in Iceland doesn't help with. That's why I use Vitamin E facial cream and body butter :) It's the best moisturizer for dry skin, you can say bye to itching skin and dry spots, yay! :)  / Þessi krem fást í ýmsum heilsuvörubúðum eins og Lifandi markaði, en mesta úrvalið fæst þó í Holland & Barret í Smáralindinni. Dr. Organic framleiðir línur sem henta ýmsum aldurs- og húðgerðum svo ég mæli með að skoða og fá jafnvel aðstoð við val :)

Everybody have a nice weekend :*

- Amanda <3 

Cozy zucchini bake

It's march already with its hope of spring, yet it's freezing outside. March never fails to remind us we live in Iceland  and there is still some waiting to do ;) I made this bake one day when I really wanted something warm and comforting, like lasanja. I didn't feel like having heavy pasta however, so I decided to change it up with zucchini :) This tasted great and felt like real comfort food. So warm and cozy. Lentils are high in protein and a good source of iron, as well as having the advantage of cooking in 15-20mins and no need to soak overnight! Good for the daily busy bee :)

What you need:

- 1,5 small zucchinis or 1 big

- Red lentils, I boiled 500g but had lots of leftovers, 250g is probably enough for this dish alone

- Any veggies you have in the fridge (I used tomatoes, red bell pepper, mushrooms)

- 1-2 cups (1-1,5 dl) Tomato puree

- Grated cheese (used aprox. 250g)

Start with boiling red lentils. Took around 20mins :)

Cut up veggies while lentils are boiling. Heat the veggies on a pan and mix with the lentis, as well as tomato puree. Portion can be optional, depending on how thick you want the filling to be. Season by taste, I used around a tablespoon of cayenne pepper and chilli pepper each as well as a tsp of lemon pepper and ground ginger. 

I cut up the zucchini in fairly thick slices (around 1cm) and placed on the bottom of an oven proof deep dish

Add the lentil filling :) 

Add cheese. Repeat as you would do with lasanja: zucchini, filling, cheese

After the second layer, add another layer of just zucchini to add a little extra crunch. Bake at 180°C/350°F for aprox. 30minutes.

So good :) Red lentils are the sweetest type of lentils and really mix well with the zucchini. 

-------------

Virkilega mæli með þessum ljúfa og bragðgóða rétti :) Rauðar linsur eru svo sætar, mjúkar og góðar. Í bland við ost og kúrbít kemur út frábært bragð sem yljar manni í kuldanum. Mæli með þessu eða gulróta- og sætkartöflu súpu nú þegar frostið hefur aftur látið sjá sig. 

- Amanda <3 

Instagram 1

Here are a few recent photos of my instagram :)

1. Green make-up. 2. New gym wear, yay!

3. Black milk works for the gym too :)  4. New plate for my cupcakes and other goods

´

5. Skittles relaxing while we watch tv.   6. Live.Love.Carnaval

7. Baked a new batch of oatmeal muffins :)  8. Giving my little pug some belly rubs 

- Amanda <3 

Black galaxy

You've already seen the black galaxy leggings in a previous post but I haven't introduced them yet! These are of course black milk leggings. The galaxy print is very popular and for a while seemed like their signature print. It came in many colors as dresses, swimsuits, skirts as well as leggings (not all available anymore). To check out what they have in stock just press here. The jacket is super fluffy, I kind of felt like a gray cookie monster but in a cozy way :)

 I also wanted to show you what I brought with me for work the other day. It doesn't have to be complicated or take a long time to put together snacks or a meal when you're on the run. I put together broccoli, cucumber, carrots, hummus, cottage cheese with applesauce and fresh dates. 

New in! This cute and summery color is from the O.P.I. Brazil collection, called live.love.carnaval. 

Anyway, hope you all are having a good week. Time is flying, it's almost march and everything is super busy at school :)

- Amanda <3 

Carrot cake cupcakes

These were absolutely delicious! I was going to meet a few girlfriends for a cozy evening and brought these crunchy yet moist and tangy carrot cake cupcakes. The walnuts and coconut adds crunch without being overbearing, and the tangy greek yogurt cream works perfectly with the cupcake. I highly recommend trying this out :)

ingredients:

- 3 eggs

- 2 bananas

- 15 soft dates, pitted 

- 4 tablespoons oil (I used olive oil)

- 1 cup (1 dl) whole wheat flour

- 1,5 tsp baking powder (notaði vínsteinslyftiduft) 

- 3 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 4 medium carrots (or 5 small)

-1/2 cup coconut flakes

- 1/2 cup walnuts

Cream:

- 1 cup (1 dl) greek yogurt

- 2 tablespoons agave syrup

- Grated zest and juice from half a lemon

- 2 tablespoons coconut milk

-------------

Um dagin ætluðum við nokkrar vinkonur að hafa það kosy saman og því tilvalið að taka með sér einhvern góðan bakstur. Fyrir valinu voru þessar gulrótakökur sem brögðuðust ótrúlega vel. Ég mæli með að prófa og ekki sleppa kreminu, það vinnur mjög vel á móti kökunni :)

Mix together banana and dates until smooth

Mix together the banana date mash with eggs, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg and oil

Then add chopped walnuts and coconut flakes, as well as grated carrots 

Bake at 180°C/350°F for 30mins. 

While the cupcakes are baking, mix together the cream :) just whip together greek yogurt, agave syrup (or any other sweetener), coconut milk, lemon zest and juice. Refrigerate while the cupcakes are cooling

The recipe made 14 cupcakes

Shirt: Vero Moda    Leggings: Black milk clothing

- Amanda <3 

Follow me on:

facebook    instagram    bloglovin

Cherry blossom

It was actually not as cold as today, as when I took these photos. The sun had been shining for the past days and I felt really inspired to do a summery look with my black milk cherry blossom leggings. These are my first piece of black milk and one of my favorite. They are so cute, girly and versatile. You can totally rock them in a bad ass outfit, or work it like a princess if you feel like it.

Dress: Zara   Shoes: Manía   Leggings: Black milk clothing

Just look at these beauties!

I hope spring comes soon :)

- Amanda <3 

Follow me on:

facebook   instagram   bloglovin

Oatmeal breakfast muffins

I used to hate eating oatmeal. When I was a kid it was impossible to get me to eat it, but with time I've learned to make it more Amanda approved. Nonetheless, I wouldn't say it's my go to breakfast. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for the mushy oatmeal. My solution? Baked oatmeal!

What you need:

- 1 ripe banana
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups (4,5 dl) unsweetened applesauce (til frá Sollu)
- 5 cups (9 dl) rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tsp baking powder (ég notaði vínsteinslyftiduft)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (1 dl) almond milk
- toppings of choice

Mash a ripe banana and mix with eggs and applesauce. Add oats, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Lastly add milk :) If you think the consistency is too thick, add a little more milk. Use any toppings you like, I used chopped almonds. Bake at 180°C/350°F for 30min. Makes around 18 breakfast muffins. 

--------------

Ég þoldi ekki hafragraut, og reyndist það mjög erfitt að koma honum ofan í mig, foreldrum mínum til mikillar mæðu ;) Það var gefist fljótt upp á því en með tímanum lærði ég þó að aðlaga hann smekk mínum. Samt sem áður er ég ekki alltaf í stuði fyrir blauta hafra í morgunmat, þannig mín leið var að baka hafragrautinn í staðin! Þið megið minnka uppskriftina ef þið viljið ekki gera svona mikið en mér finnst mjög þægilegt að geyma hafra múffurnar í litlum pokum í frystinum og eiga svo 2-3 stk í ísskápnum til að grípa í :)

Carrots, hummus, oatmeal muffin, cottage cheese with strawberries and grapes.