chocolate – Rooted Gracefully

Yarra Valley Wine Country

Today was my favorite day so far in Australia. We were picked up at 9AM to commence on a full day wine, chocolate, and cheese tour around Yarra Valley. Of our entire group, 14 of us went and we visited 4 wineries, 1 dairy factory, 1 chocolate factory, and a brewery.

The first winery that we stopped at was very low-key and laid back. I wasn’t feeling great this morning (thanks to a cold that will not go away), but I tried to enjoy myself anyways.

The man in charge of the vineyard there taught us the proper way to taste wine, which was interesting. He also taught us a lot about the different kinds of grapes that go into the different types. The one that I liked the most was a very sweet dessert wine.. the others I didn’t really like.

Next, we stopped at the dairy farm. We were able to sample 5 types of cheese and they were delicious. They specialize in goat cheese, but also had their own small bakery inside. I purchased some cheese called “Juno.” It is basically goat cheese in a garlic/olive oil coating. My friend Mike and I also bought a gigantic baguette to split. It was probably almost 2 feet long and we ate just about the entire thing on the bus ride!

The second winery we stopped at was my favorite part of the day. I have never been somewhere with such breath-taking views. I never wanted to leave.

It looked like the perfect setting for a wedding scene out of a movie. The guide actually told us that it is a $35,000 minimum cost to have your wedding there!

This place wasn’t as much of a wine-tasting place. Instead, everybody got to choose between 4 types of wine and have a full glass of one. I picked one that is created only in Australia and is rare in other parts of the world. It was a sweet red wine.

I hope that someday I am successful enough to have a lifestyle that allows me to visit places like this often. A lot of us were saying that as we sat on the back patio and sipped our wine. 🙂

We also got a tour of where they actually make the wine and learned all about it.

The third winery we stopped at provided lunch for us. I was a little skeptical, as our lunch on the Philip Island tour yesterday was nothing to write home about, but it was spectacular. I ordered the Spicy Baby Calamari Salad and it was perfect. We also got a glass of wine with our meal (which I hated) and a coffee.

The last winery we stopped at wasn’t the best. The woman running the place was extremely rude and would not give us the time of day. It was really disappointing but we tried not to let it ruin the great day we were having.

Next we stopped at the chocolate factory!

I don’t think I have ever seen so much chocolate in one place. When you walked in there were heaping bowls of dark, milk, and white chocolate chips that you could help yourself to as you shopped around the store. It was a really fun environment and the chocolate was delicious. I bought a marshmallow truffle.. it was a chocolate cookie with a giant marshmallow on top of it, dipped in milk chocolate.. yum!

Our last stop of the day was at the White Rabbit Brewery. Some people in our group got a beer to try out, but I passed.

Overall, we had a great day. The sun was shining, we had a great group, and we had a lot of fun! Now I am getting my stuff ready for the work week ahead and going to sleep.

xo,

Jaclyn

Samoa Steel Cut Oats

I love waking up early in the morning and having time to sit down with my breakfast and coffee before heading out for the day. Unfortunately, a lot of times my sleepiness gets the best of me and I end up rushing to get ready and out the door to my classes.

On the days that I am able to get myself out of bed a few hours before I have to leave, my favorite breakfast to make is oatmeal. It is so simple and can be prepared so many ways. In the summer, I love to load my oatmeal with fresh berries and cinnamon. This winter, I have been on a chocolate peanut butter kick. It is the perfect comfort food and cozy breakfast for those cold winter mornings.

Over the last few weeks, I have made this samoa inspired oatmeal every time I had the chance. I absolutely love it and it satisfies my sweet-tooth for the entire day. Nothing wrong with a little dessert-like treat for breakfast 🙂

Instructions:

1. Heat 3/4 cups of water on the stove-top until it comes to a boil.

2. Add 1/3 cup of steel cut oats and turn down to medium-heat. Stir occasionally.

3. While the oats are cooking, measure out your peanut butter and coconut in a regular serving bowl.

4. After ~5 minutes, or when the water is mostly evaporated by the oatmeal, add in the salt and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.

5. When the oats have reached your desired consistency, transfer them to the serving bowl and top with chocolate chips.

6. Stir up the oatmeal so that the peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut are evenly distributed and enjoy!

This breakfast goes along with my belief that everything is okay in moderation! For me, I enjoy having a little treat for breakfast and keeping the remainder of my meals mostly clean. This works because I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself of anything and I don’t end up craving sweets for the rest of the day.

Enjoy!

xo,

Jaclyn

Friday’s Fabulous Five

Thank God It’s Friday!! This week has been extremely long for me, so I truly mean that! This weekend won’t be very relaxing though as I have tons of homework to catch up on… but that’s okay. I least I can do it from the comfort of my warm apartment rather than trudging up to campus!

As usual, here are the five things that I am loving most this week. 🙂

1. Vigoss Skinny Jeans

I just love these! I bought myself a pair from Nordstrom Rack after Christmas using a gift card, and I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. I had read so many rave reviews about these jeans, but never tried them myself because of the price. When I saw them on sale at the Rack I couldn’t help but buy a pair and I’m so glad that I did. These are jeans that I can just tell will last forever due to their high quality and construction. They also have the perfect amount of stretch. My only complaint is that I ordered a size up based on reviews, and they are a little big. Next time I will get my normal size – and trust me, there will be a next time!

2. Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai Snacks

I am so addicted to these little chocolatey snacks it is not even funny. What I love most though is that they are pre-packaged into single serving sizes. What I hate most is that a single serving is only EIGHT TO NINE of these tiny pieces.

Thank God for these little bags or I would probably be eating at least 5 servings per sitting 😉

3. Bean Boots

When Cfab and I went away for our anniversary this year, we went to Freeport, ME – home to LL Bean. We both absolutely loved it and could not have asked for a better weekend. In the spur of the moment, we both bought a pair of Bean Boots for the winter!

He wears his constantly, but I have only recently begun wearing mine more. I had a hard time breaking them in, but now that I have they are one of my favorite shoes to wear. Especially with the gross weather that we have been having lately. The best part about these shoes is the lifetime guarantee that they come along with.

Not to mention that there are so many cute ways to wear Bean Boots!

4. Scandal

Do I even need to say more? I have watched every episode TWICE at this point and am so happy that it is back on TV this month! It never fails to leave me on the edge of my seat and counting down to the next episode. I may have gotten my mom and step-dad addicted to it too… If you don’t watch it, you should now!!

5. This quote…

For some reason this really resonated with me today. I think it speaks for itself.

Enjoy the rest of your Friday!

xo,

Jaclyn

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Before I start on today’s post, I want to take a minute to mention an inspirational, beautiful, and kind woman who passed away earlier this week – my great grandmother. While we no longer have her here with us on earth, I know that my family has gained another guardian angel.

On another note – we got bombarded with THREE FEET of snow today! If you know me at all – you know that I will always prefer the warmth of summer to the cold and miserable New England Winter. There is something to be said, however, for the first snow day of the year! I love nothing more than cuddling up on the couch with a big cup of coffee and watching movies all day.

Cozy, cozy, cozy 🙂

Another thing I love to do when snowed in is bake. Today I attempted coconut oil based coconut and chocolate chip cookies. They came out alright, but I am going to continue perfecting the recipe before I share it. Instead, I am going to share one of my favorite cookies of all time – Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Every year at Christmas time my mom, brother, and I bake tons of cookies. We make enough to give to family members, bring to parties, and of course eat ourselves. We all choose one type of cookie that we want to make for that year and are in charge of that one. This year, these were the cookies I chose to make!

I love how festive these cookies are for Christmas, but they are still delicious year round! I hope you love them as much as I do.

Preparation:

1. Combine butter, brown sugar, and granular sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

2. Stir the egg and vanilla extract.

3. Finally, stir in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt until a dough is formed.

4. Next, fold cranberries and white chocolate chips into the dough using your hands.

5. Wrap the dough in saran wrap and refrigerate for a MINIMUM of ONE HOUR. This will create the light and fluffy cookie texture that we all love.

6. After an hour, pre-heat the oven to 350 F and roll the dough into tablespoon sized balls. Place them approximately 1.5″ apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake for 8-10 minutes before removing from the oven. The cookies might appear to be undercooked, but they are not! Let them sit on the cookie sheet for about ten minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

8. Enjoy!

xo, Jaclyn