The Darling Life is now live!

Hello, darlings! 

We're super excited to share our new blog with you! Darling Disposition is now The Darling Life! 

Head over THERE to check us out! 

Can't wait to see you there! 

We're moving!

Hello, darlings! 

We have some exciting news! We are rebranding our blog! We will be expanding to include fun posts, not just on DIY, but health and fitness, fashion, beauty, and just the fun things we do that we think you'll like too! 

Stay tuned- we'll be up and running on Monday, March 30th! Can't wait to see you there! 

XO, Sonali &Anika 

DIY Healthy: Fudge-y Chocolate Brownies (with black beans!)

Okay, darlings, let's be real.Who doesn't LOVE chocolate? We've all had those  days, when after a long day full of work, all we want is to crash on our couch and enjoy chocolate. But after getting our fill (and then some), we inevitably feel bad. With this recipe you can enjoy all the goodness without the guilt! These brownies are a snap to whip up and they are primary made of black beans! Yes, black beans. BLACK. BEANS. We were a little skeptical at first too, but with the rich brown color, mixed with cocoa, coconut oil, and chocolate chips (don't leave these out!)- we got a batch of unbelievable, tastes-just-like-the-real-thing brownies! Instead gushing about these for longer, we're just going to go right ahead and cook up another batch. And we suggest you do too!

Ingredients (recipe adapted from here):

1. Black beans (1 can)

2. Quick cooking oats (1/2 cup)

3. Chocolate chips (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp)

4. Coconut oil (1/4 cup)

5. Almond milk (1 Tbsp)

6. Cocoa powder (2 Tbsp)

7. Maple Syrup (1/4 cup)

8. Stevia packets (3-4)

9. Vanilla extract (2 tsp)

10. Baking powder (1/2 tsp)

11. Salt (1/4 tsp)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8x8 pan.

2. Wash and drain the black beans.

3. Put all the ingredients, EXCEPT the chocolate chips, into your food processor. Process until smooth.

4. Fold in chocolate chips.

5. Pour batter into pan and sprinkle 2 Tbsp of chocolate chips on top.

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

7. Let brownies cool for at least 10 minutes.

8. ENJOY these scrumptious brownies!

DIY Eats: Two-Ingredient Strawberry Fudge

It's almost Valentine's Day, darlings! Or in our case, Galentine's Day! Whether you're spending it with your sweetie or with your bestie, V-day is always the perfect occasion to indulge your sweet tooth! You might just need a break from all that decadent milk chocolate (a very short break, in our case!), and this quick fudge is the perfect sweet treat for that. It's just two ingredients (yes, two!), and you can be creative with your presentation. Be careful, this fudge is pretty darn sweet!

What are your V-day plans? We'll be spending our night in our silky pjs, surrounded by chocolate and watching our favorite hollywood heartthrobs! Follow along on Instagram and Facebook to see how we're enjoying our night.

DIY Eats: Banana Nut Oatmeal Bake

Today was a self-assigned snow day (if our local high school as a two-hour delay, we count that as one for us, too!), so we wanted to go full-on cozy with a Banana Nut Oatmeal Bake. It was delicious and gooey and added a warmth to our lazy breakfast, which we had looking out over the snow-- some quality AM infomercial watching may have been involved, too.

How was your snow day? Did you get buried? Nothing? Go sledding? Let us know in the comments!

Bonus: While it was in the oven, it made our whole house smell like Banana bread, so, you know, if you like the scent of vanilla and cinnamon: it's free air freshener!

DIY Eats: Easy Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

Let's talk about breakfast, baby! Yes, it's easy to skip when you have already skipped three-point-five alarms and only half-straightened your hair and are still two minutes late. But another few minutes and you can have yourself a complete, nutritious, metabolism-boosting breakfast to-go! 

This smoothie is sweet and creamy (but can be vegan!), and will give you the energy to power through to lunch without feeling that mid-morning lull. Or the loud, embarrassing grumbles that make your intriguing new coworker have to avoid eye contact. 

DIY Eats: Oatmeal Burrito Bowl

Want to hop on the breakfast-for-dinner trend, but sick of pancakes and waffles? (That was a trick question, no one gets sick of waffles. Ever.) But mix up your oatmeal by doing a savory version: Mexican oats in a burrito bowl! 

Quiz time! What will having these delicious oats for dinner save you? a. the walk to Chipotle, b. the delivery cost to get Chipotle delivered (does Chipotle deliver?), c. the carbs from eating rice or a tortilla at Chipotle, d. cash money. 

Another trick question. The answer is all of the above! 

Add some avocado slices and shredded lettuce for a fresh mix of textures, and refrigerate your leftovers for a quick and easy breakfast tomorrow! 

DIY Eats: Oatmeal Cinnamon Roll with Frosting

Remember the gooey, sticky sweetness of biting into a Cinnabon? Or, rather, remember yesterday at the mall when you walked by Cinnabon and almost caved but didn't? (Or, you know, did?) 

Today's oatmeal recipe is the solution to any guilt, nostalgia, or sticky fingers you may have experienced: cinnamon bun oatmeal-- with icing! 

This recipe mixes healthy ingredients like whole grains from the oatmeal, metabolism-revving cinnamon, and protein-filled tofu (yes, tofu). 

The best news of all? You can have cinnamon buns for breakfast without actually having cinnamon buns for breakfast. 

DIY Eats: Tropical Sunrise Overnight Oats

It's Day 3 of Oatmeal Week! And we have a quite the recipe for you today.

Are you suffering through a cold winter this year? We sure are! An easy way to escape the cold is to add a bit of the tropics to your meals. The combination of mangoes, pineapple, orange, citrus- you name it- will transport you right to the sunny and warm beaches of world (even though you're sitting at your kitchen table bundled up in sweaters). 

We're HUGE fans of Overnight Oats! Anything that we can prep the night before (so we can sleep in those extra few minutes), we love. But you'll be so excited to open up this delicious tropical oatmeal recipe that you're gonna jump right out of bed. 

DIY Eats: Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Oats

We're going a little indulgent for  Day 2 of our Oatmeal Week.  Who doesn't adore chocolate covered strawberries? Seriously! What better way to start off our day with a delicious breakfast that is equally parts nutritious and delicious! You're getting all the healthy benefits of steel cut oats plus the antioxidants and vitamins of strawberries, all while tricking your mind because we promise you'll think you're biting into a juicy chocolate covered strawberry. Try it out and tell us what you think! This also makes a perfect breakfast for Valentine's Day (hence these adorable napkins we got for $1 from Target).

DIY Eats: DD's Oatmeal Week Starts Today!

Hello, darlings!

How many made their new year's resolution a few weeks ago to become healthier, eating clean, or working out? We did! We've stayed on track (for the first time! and we'll share our workout and eating tips soon), but even if you haven't, it's never too late to get BACK on track! One of the easiest changes for us was to start eating a super healthy breakfast: it tastes delicious, puts you in a good mood, and fuels you up for the rest of the day. The biggest diet changes for us was OATMEAL. We absolutely adore oatmeal!

Oatmeal is a whole grain that helps reduce the risk of many diseases. Just remember to try and avoid the prepackaged instant oatmeal that is full of sugar and may not have whole grain oats. It's very heart healthy and can even help with weight loss. You can't go wrong with oatmeal.

Today is the start of our Oatmeal Week! We'll share one of our favorite (and taste-tested) oatmeal recipes every day this week, so keep  checking in. Today we're starting with Blueberry Muffin Oats- the blueberries and cinnamon combo packs in a delicious bakery-fresh taste without the sugar, fat, and flour. We promise it tastes just as delicious!