New Recipe: Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork

So heres the deal, if I could eat one unhealthy meal for the rest of my life I would choose pulled pork. It's one of those things I always treat myself to whenever I go out to dinner and I have really wanted to try and make it at home but I never got around to it. However, my friend Meg told me that her mom makes the best pulled pork around and after she sent me a picture of it, I knew I had to share the recipe with you guys. Oh and did I mention that it's only 3 ingredients and requires no work whatsoever, score! Plus with all the upcoming barbecues and summer picnics this would be a great dish to bring to a party.

Ingredients:

• 1 full pork loin
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/2 bottle of water

Directions:

• Combine pork, bbq sauce and water in the crock pot.
• Cook on high for 4 hours.
• After the 4 hours, take the pork out and shred it with a fork.
• Enjoy!

**Thanks again Meg for sharing this recipe, I can't wait to make it!**

xoxo

While I'm Away...

Happy Sunday Friends!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I'm still in Cape May until Wednesday so pardon my absence from blogging for the next few days, I really wanted to step away from the computer for this trip and focus on spending time with my family. I made a promise to myself that I would never blog while on vacation and instead, live in the moment. I do however have a scheduled recipe for Tuesday so you'll be able to check that out. So I hope you all have a fabulous beginning of the week and I'll be back on Thursday.

xoxo

Weekly Outfit Recap

Hi friends!

If you're reading this right now I'm most likely in Cape May (10am arrival). So while I'm soaking up the sun on the beach I will share with you my outfits for this week and hopefully by next weeks posts I'll be rocking that ocean sun glow!

Skirt Banana Republic (old) // Top J Crew Factory (old) // Sandals Steve Madden (old)

Necklace Macys (old) // Bracelet J Crew (old)

Misa hates that she's not the star of these weekly outfit posts...

(After seeing this photo I immediately called to make an appointment to get my hair cut, I'm starting to look like a Duggar.)

Dress J Crew Factory (old) // Necklace Macys (old) 

Arm Candy Bracelet Kate Spade // Sandals Chinese Laundry (old)

Top Ann Taylor // Skirt Ann Taylor (old) // Bracelet Kate Spade (old)

Sandals Steve Madden (old) // Necklace Dogeared

Skirt H&M (old) // Tee J Crew // Necklace Ralph Lauren (similar)

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?

xoxo

Currently Loving...

TGIF!

Boy this week was a rough one. Between it being the first week back after a holiday weekend and the fact that tomorrow I leave for the beach, it felt like my work days were going at a snails pace. However,  REJOICE because it's over. Side note: how funny is this e-card... this seriously describes my office, they have the AC cranked up to high and I spend my days wrapped in a blanket.

Here is what I'm loving this week:

Cape May

I'm heading to Cape May, New Jersey tomorrow with my family. We make this trip every year and I cannot wait to sit by the beach for the next couple of days. We never do anything exciting on this trip, just plenty of rest, relaxation and plenty of food. It will be nice to get away from the office and my computer for a few days, so I hope you don't mind my blogging absence to much. 

The Leftovers

I definitely have some serious loyalty to HBO. I'm a huge fan of so many of their series (Game of Thrones, Girls, True Blood, Sex and the City, etc) so when I saw they were introducing a new summer series called The Leftovers starring Justin Theroux (Jennifer Aniston's BF) I decided to give it a try. I'm two episodes in so far and I'm still not exactly sure what's going on but I'm definitely intrigued. The main theme of the show is that on October 14th, three years ago 2% of the population vanished into thin air. If you're a fan of shows like Lost then I definitely recommend checking this out. 

Misa

As much as I'm looking forward to vacation this week, I'm dreading leaving Misa behind for the next couple days. I know she is going to be well taken care of and spoiled by my uncle who will be watching her but I will miss her so much while I'm gone. Does anyone else feel super guilty leaving your fur babies behind when you travel?

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley

The new addition to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened this week and it looks awesome! I'm in full Harry Potter obsession now that I'm reading the books (I'm on book 3). It's got me so excited for our trip in November. If you're a fan you should definitely check out the interactive map on the Universal website.

7 terrible things that could happen if Netflix paid you to watch TV

Have you heard that Netflix is looking for people to apply to a job where the only requirement is to watch Netflix? Talk about dream come true! Basically it would mean I would get paid for something I do all the time anyways. Entertainment Weekly had a funny article about the terrible things that could happen to you if you got hired by Netflix (ie: not being assigned to Orange is the New Black).

What are you loving this week?

xoxo

What's In My Bag

I did a 'What's In My Bag' post a little less than a year ago and I thought it was time for an update. I always enjoy reading these posts from other bloggers, mainly because I realize that other people hoard just as much as I do! During the summer months my bag hoarding tends to get even worse because I'm jumping from one event to another and I never want to forget anything. Luckily for me my Kate Spade purse that I picked up at the outlets a few months ago is huge and has plenty of pockets to hold all my "necessities."

Common findings in my bag include:

• Multiple pairs of sunglasses because I never know what my mood will bring and I like to switch it up.
• Extra pair of prescription glasses-- Can't risk ever being blind!
• Plenty of coupons, the second I get something in the mail it immediately goes in my bag for impromptu shopping sprees.
• Granola Bars -- I tend to get 'hangry' so it's important to keep a snack in my bag to prevent the she-hulk from coming out.
• Flip flops- I normally have a comfy pair of flip flops with me in case I'm somewhere and my feet start to hurt.
• Advil/Band-Aids/Sewing Kit/Lip Balm/Pens -- I need to invest in a Minimergency Kit
• A book-- now that summer is here I'm frequently by the pool so I need something to read while I'm lounging.
• Bathing suit (not pictured), it's always good to be prepared in case a pool magically appears.
• Jewelry-- when I leave work I can't wait to take all my jewelry off and sometimes I can't wait until I get home so I end up with quite a collection sitting at the bottom of my bag.

What are you purse necessities?

xoxo

One

Today is the one year anniversary of my first post on Monster Misa. Realizing that it's been a year since I started this blog reminded me how much time really does fly because it feels like yesterday that I was navigating blogger for the first time trying to figure out what I was doing. I've seen this blog grow so much in the past year and I can't thank you all enough for being a spectator to my life. The fact that you all take time out of your day to see what I'm up to and read what I have to say is mind blowing to me, and I'm incredibly grateful. 

I started this blog in the first place as a creative outlet. Flashback to July 9, 2013 I was finished with my Masters degree and unemployed. I had planned on taking a few months off to enjoy myself before I entered the workforce full time to travel and relax but I was still looking for jobs and applying (which was super discouraging). I realized that for the first time in my life since childhood I had nothing to do. For the past 6 years I was used to balancing school, homework, internships and a job(s) and now suddenly I had all this free time on my hands. Now don't get me wrong, lying by the pool for days at a time was amazing but I was still looking for a hobby, some type of project I could work on while I was hanging out. It sounds strange, but I really wanted to find a way to keep my mind fresh especially because with all my free time I was consuming reality television at an alarming rate, haha.

 I've always loved fashion and believe that my closet is my pride and joy (after Misa of course), so blogging about style and clothes seemed like the perfect way to tame my bored-ness. Thus Monster Misa was born, named after my pup who I was spending some serious quality time with. In addition to starting my blog I began experimenting with different recipes in the afternoons and found that I really enjoyed cooking. I quickly realized that I could add a food element to my blog and Tasty Tuesdays became a Monster Misa staple. Slowly I found my footing and found a balance between fashion, food and personal experiences. It's been really awesome to go back and see how much I've grown throughout the year. There are so many wonderful memories captured within the pages of this blog and when I go back and look at past posts, I can't help but smile.

Misa on the day I got her, she was a monster from Day 1.

 Starting Monster Misa has truly been such a fulfilling experience.

Again, thank you again for supporting me this past year! 

Cheers to many more years of Monster Misa!

xoxo

New Recipe: Stuffed Peppers

Happy Tasty Tuesday!

The past few weeks I've been on a bit of a writers block when it comes to recipes. I'm normally pretty creative when trying new things for dinner and it's not uncommon to find me spending my Sunday afternoons searching Pinterest for recipes ideas for the week. However, since summer has started I've spent most of my weekend time by the pool and my dinner creativity has suffered. Not to mention the fact that my diet has mostly consisted of hot dogs and hamburgers since the start of June. I could easy just post any old recipe I find, but I really pride myself on posting recipes that I have first hand made myself (or have seen a family member make). It feels more authentic that way and since this blog is all about my life, I want the recipes I post to be more personal. Fear not readers, I have some excellent recipes coming up in the next few weeks that I believe you all will love starting with these delicious stuffed peppers!

Ingredients:

• 4 large green peppers
• 1lb ground beef
• 2 tablespoons chopped onions
• 1 cup cooked rice (I buy the minute rice you can microwave)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp basil 
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• Fill a large sauce pan with water and bring to a boil.
• Cut tops of peppers out, removing the seeds and insides so they are hollow.
• Place peppers into boiling water and let boil for 5 minutes, drain water and set peppers aside.
• In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onion, and drain remnants of water.
• Add microwaved rice, salt, pepper, ketchup and tomato; mix well.
• Spoon mixture into cooked peppers and place peppers in a shallow baking pan (I use those aluminum throw away pans).
• In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, sugar and basil together and spoon sauce mixture on top of peppers.
• Bake in over for 30-40 minutes, take peppers out and sprinkle with cheese then bake again for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted on top.
• Enjoy!

**Side note: my friend Megan made my buffalo chicken enchiladas the other night and I wanted to share the picture because they looked great! You can find all my recipes at the top of my blog under the recipe tab! If you ever decide to use one of my recipes, take a picture and send it to me I will feature you on Monster Misa!** 

xoxo