Energy Bites

So, before I get into the real post, I just want to mention that a ton of people found out about my blog at school. It seemed like all of a sudden people were mentioning that they liked my blog or had seen my blog, and it was kind of weird at first. It’s not that I didn’t want people at school to know that I have an “internet life,” it’s just that it felt kind of separate. I’m not any different on my blog than I am in real life, but I do think of my blogging self as a whole different part of me. Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you have a hobby or extracurricular activity that you’re passionate about, don’t worry if people find out about it. It’s who you are and it’s a part of you, regardless of what other people think about it. And, if you happen to be from school and you’re reading this… lemme know (;Ok, sorry, moving on to the real post now...

One of my friends from school brought some peanut butter balls to swim practice and she let me have one. Not only was it absolutely amazingly tasty, but it was the perfect snack to have right before a workout. She told me that she found the recipe on Pinterest so I did some digging and found it myself. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand so I kind of changed it around a little bit and I happened to really like the way they turned out! Here’s what I did, but if you want the real recipe to make these energy bites, click here.

Ingredients:

1 cup of dry oatmeal (old-fashioned oats) 3/4 peanut butter (I tried almond butter, but it wasn’t sticky enough) 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/3 cup honey 2 table spoons chia seeds 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pour everything in a bowl and mix it together. I found that using my hands to mix was much easer than using a spoon or whisk. 2. Put the mixed bowl into the fridge for at least half an hour 3. Roll into balls about 1” in diameter (or however big/small you want them)

Seriously, that’s it. These energy bites are so simple to make and so easy too! If you make them be sure to post a picture on Instagram or Twitter and tag us so I can see!

xox, Chloe

Chocolate Bark Recipe

I have this problem where I want to be healthy when it comes to food, but then I see chocolate and I eat it. It’s like my brain doesn’t work with me. But who am I kidding, chocolate is worth it. And this chocolate bark recipe? Yeah, it’s more than worth it. My brother and I always cook when we are bored and we decided to create our own chocolate bark combinations earlier this week after seeing some drool worthy combinations in the chocolate aisle of our grocery store. We had some crazy ideas in mind (think seaweed) but we decided to keep the combinations rather simple. And they’re all beyond amazing I might add.Here are the combinations we went for, but you can seriously add anything you want. That’s the beauty of this recipe. -Croissant Crumbs (try saying that in a French accent) -Peanuts and Banana Chips (Chocolate Chimp) -Popcorn (kettle corn would also be amazing) -Banana and Coconut (a tropical sweet) -Potato Chips (the perfect salty + sweet combo)

Here’s what you do. It’s painfully easy.

1. Melt a whole bunch of chocolate chips. We melted ours over a pot of boiling water so that we could make sure they didn't burn.
2. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and then pour your melted chocolate onto the baking sheet.
3. Evenly spread all your chocolate.
4. Add toppings as desired. We placed ours in strips but you can create any pattern you want.
5. Stick your chocolate in the fridge until it’s hard.
6. EAT. (the best part)

I’d say the whole process takes about 30 minutes (not including the chocolate drying in the fridge.) It’s easy and delicious. A killer combo in my book.

If you make chocolate bark then we want to see! Tag us in any pictures that you post (@popcosmo).

xox, Chloe

Free Computer Background Images

It's been so long that I've done any free computer background images for you. It's time I created something besides phone cases, right? So I started drawing, but thought why not ask what you wanted? So, I turned to my Twitter friends and asked what words you wanted their computer to say to you all. {Hey, why not, soon our computers will be talking to us - since our phones already do, haha!} And after hearing what you said, I got inspired and started creating a few designs. Thanks for the inspiration, y'all! Enjoy your free computer background images and let me know what you might want next....

Here are the images you can select:

ONE:

TWO:

THREE:

To download, click here:  HELLO  |  DARLIN'  |  BELIEVE |

Mac Instructions: In Safari, simply click and drag the photo to your desktop and right click. Scroll through choices and select "Set Desktop Picture".

Enjoy and let us know what you think in the comments below... & what would you like to see next time?

xox ~chloe