The Chic Life

Figure Skating Reunion

It seems almost funny to me that I could have spent most of my life dedicated to a sport and rarely talk about it nowadays.  It all started when I was a kid...When I was about eight or nine, my best-friend-in-Florida took me ice skating with her.  She had been taking ice skating lessons and had a few skating dresses, so, she let me borrow one, and we both wore skating dresses to the rink one day and had a blast just being kids.  When I moved away from FL, we found out there was a new ice skating rink that had just been built in town, and I started taking figure skating lessons, too.  At age ten, I started with group lessons, where you learn the basics (and I mean very basics) of skating and figure out if you want to pursue the sport more.

I had so much fun with the group lessons, I quickly moved on to taking private lessons two or three times a week.  Two or three times a week turned into six days a week, twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  On those days, I'd arrive at the rink between 6:15 and 6:30 am so I could warm up for a private lesson.  Some days, I'd sleep in my practice outfit so I'd have more time to sleep and less time to get ready.  I'd be on the ice at 6:45 am with my coach asking me to "go ahead and work on those double-axels."  

I never did land that double-axel, but the sport permanently changed my life for the best.  I learned about hard work, patience, dedication and so many more things than I can even name in one sitting.  I made some of my best friends through skating practices - through triumphs and tears - through the best and worst of each other.  

Now that we've all grown up and moved away, we hardly see each other.  Some times, we will happen to skate the same sessions over holidays - when we're home visiting family, etc.  It was the coincidence of seeing my old skating buds over holidays-past that prompted me to call an impromptu reunion over Thanksgiving weekend.  

The photo above is one of the few I have from skating days long gone.  My skating-friend's father gave it to me a couple years ago.

Oddly enough, of the five of us who showed up for the reunion, all four of us from the photo were there.  We decided to re-create the photo for fun.  The difference in the years these photos were taken is at least twelve years, though I can't remember when the first photo was even taken.

It has been mostly through the magic of Myspace and Facebook that we've been able to find each other.  I even used Facebook to create an event for the reunion.  I wonder if the original creators of those sites ever imagined how useful their ideas would be.

Either way, we had so much fun at the reunion.  It was so good seeing everyone and catching up.  We're already planning our next reunion and we're hoping that more of our old skating friends will turn out for the next event.  Till then, I'm hoping to hit the ice and get some good practice in and brush up on my skills.  I doubt I'll be skating at 6:45 am in the morning any more, but we'll see where the road leads.

Turkey Day aka Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I fully expected to continue posting over the holiday weekend and though I remembered my camera battery charger, I totally forgot the little cord that connects the camera to the computer, so I couldn't download any photos.  Alas...

So, I'm behind a few posts, but I'll probably just do a bunch over the next day or two to catch up.  I also have some posts from a few weeks (or months) ago I need to work on, and I'm hoping to get those up soon, too.

We pulled up to my parents' house last Thursday close to 1PM, and I was fully prepared to spend the rest of the day in the kitchen with my sister.  See, my mom is a nurse and works every other Thanksgiving (same deal with Christmas), so she was working on Thanksgiving till around 4PM.  Sissy and I planned to cook our Thanksgiving meal, however, when I got to my parents' house, I was informed that the turkey had been prepared by mom that morning, put in the oven by sis at 12:15PM, and that a couple other dishes had already been pre-pared.  Oh, and sis had already baked two pumpkin pies and peeled the potatoes - sweet and yukon gold.  

We did find a nice sweet potato casserole recipe online, which we decided to try out, click here for recipe, and I actually got to help make it this time.

 

I especially liked the recipe because it didn't contain cinnamon, which I'm slightly allergic to.  I can eat cinnamon, but I only go for it when I really, really want something with it...like those cinnamon rolls at the mall...mmm...haven't had one of those in awhile, actually, now that I think about it.  Anywho, this was the BEST sweet potato casserole I've ever had.  It's definitely worth trying, if you're interested.

Mom came home in time to get cozy in some PJs and help wrap up dinner.

We had quite the set-up for our Thanksgiving Dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, two kinds of cranberry sauce, corn...

...and this was our first year trying out the ole Green Bean Casserole.  I have to say...I was quite impressed with the taste of the casserole.  No wonder people make this every year...it's delicious!  The French onions on top really make the dish.  We used the recipe on the back of the French Onion can, in case you need a recipe.  *Update - Just found the recipe online at Frenchs.com (click here) if you want it now.*  For some reason, we had diced red onion in our casserole...not sure if the can had a different recipe than the online one or if mom just added those in for fun.  They tasted good either way.

We, also, had some delicious challah bread, thanks to my friend June who baked me a loaf.  We also had a couple slices of rye bread my sis brought back from Panera...even though I told mom we didn't need any bread since I was bringing the challah with me.  I guess it's good to have options, though.

Even Bails got in on the action.  We snuck a wee-little piece of turkey in his dog food.  He waited very patiently for Mr. Chic to give him the "ok" to eat it.

As seems to be the trend, we ate way too much food, but enjoyed every bite.  I'd like to say we saved room for dessert, but we didn't.  I had a slice of pumpkin pie a couple hours after dinner when I was able to fully enjoy it.  It was the perfectly sweet ending to another amazing Thanksgiving.

What did you eat for Turkey Day?

Chic Knitting Needle/Crochet Hook Storage

I cannot take any credit for coming up with this idea, but can I tell you I saw the cutest way to organize knitting needles and crochet hooks?  I saw this idea when I was visiting my local yarn store awhile back and knew I had to replicate the idea at home to keep my needles and hooks in order and where I could easily find them.

Supplies Needed:

• Glass Container (or whatever type of container you want - clear containers show the glass stones better) - I got mine from Michael's
• Smooth Glass Stones/Pebbles - I got some pretty, turquoise stones, also, at Michael's
• Your knitting needles and/or crochet hooks

To Set-up: 

• Take the glass container, tilt partially to the side, and carefully and very gently place a handful of smooth glass stones in the bottom, releasing the stones near the bottom of the container.
• Continue to carefully add more and more stones to the container being careful to place the stones as close to the bottom of the container as possible.  If you drop them in from high, you risk breaking/cracking the glass container.
• When all the stones are in the glass container and fill the container about 5-6 inches from the bottom, stick your knitting needles, crochet hooks, scissors, pens, etc into the stones.

Voila!  This is currently the "centerpiece" of my coffee table.  I'm sure it will eventually move to the craft room, but it's pretty handy with the crafting season upon me.  

How do you store your knitting needles and crochet hooks?

I'm a Glutton for WIP Punishment

I was thinking today that I should round up all my WIP's and take a photo of them just to show myself how many of them I actually have...and to prove that perhaps I should focus on finishing one of those WIP's rather than starting a new one.

Instead, I decided to start on a new scarf idea I have in mind for a Christmas present for someone.  The scarf is a going to be a simple garter-stitched scarf that I'm planning to add lots of tassels to.  I found this Paton's Melody Quick & Cozy yarn at the yarn shop, Yarns Etc., I visited this past weekend and thought it would make a great scarf present.  Besides being a pretty cobalt blue, the yarn is also very soft and should knit up quickly since it's a pretty bulky-weight that I'm knitting on size 15 needles.

It's been almost a year since I've knit anything, so I stopped by the yarn shop tonight after work to get some quick knitting refreshers from the nice girl working tonight.  Sadly, I needed help to remember how to cast on to make sure I was remembering the right way to knit and purl.  The girl was very helpful and kind and luckily, I hadn't completely forgotten how to do these basic knitting techniques.  It's like you always hear - knitting is just like riding a bicycle - you never quite forget, but sometimes you need a push in the right direction.  At least this garter-stitch scarf should be good practice for me, eh?  And since most of those other WIP's are non-Christmas presents, I'm going to worry about getting to those later...probably after the holidays.

The Foodies Do Lunch at Ratcliffe on the Green

Even though I think we've worked on the same project for awhile now (possibly a few to many months), it's only been recently that I really started getting chatty with my co-worker, June (who baked that festival-winning Almond Cheese Cake), talking about food, crafts, blogs, magazines...oh, and did I say food?  Although I'm sure my pocket is quite happy, it's a shame we didn't discover our love of great food sooner because we could have hit up the town in search of the best work-week lunches.

We decided since tomorrow is my last day on my current project that we would hit up a fabulous restaurant today.  June had the awesome idea of going to Ratcliffe on the Green, a restaurant that supports local farmers by purchasing most of their ingredients from them.  We arrived at the restaurant early and grabbed the best seat in the house - the window seat.  

I started with the side salad, which had fresh greens, nuts (walnuts, I think), bacon (or was it pancetta?) with a light vinaigrette - very tasty.

June had the lentil burger, which was served with the "fluffiest" chips we'd ever tasted.  Yea, I said "fluffy."  An odd description for chips considering most are "crunchy", I know.

I had the Filet Pot Pie, which was served with fresh arugula.  It was very tasty and perfect for the colder-than-usual weather we've been having lately.  The bites of filet and veggies were hot & tender and tasted great with the puff-pastry topping.

 

When the waiter asked us about dessert, we were 50/50 on whether we wanted any or not.  However, we were sooooo happy to have ordered the deep-fried apple pie.  I also had a cup of coffee and June had Earl Gray tea.  Can I tell you they had the coolest cups & saucers?  Aren't they neat-looking?

The dessert was one of the best apple-pies I've ever had.  I normally don't even like ice cream served with pies, but this ice cream was cinnamon-flavored and handmade with some really high-quality cream.  The ice cream was rich & decadent without being overwhelming.  The proof of this delicious dessert truly was in the pudding...er...pie.  Yum!

Oh, and sweet June sneakily snuck her card into the bill before I even got a looksie.  I didn't even see her put a card in the billfold, but the waiter had taken it before I knew it.  Sneaky, sneaky June!  I promised June I'd bake her something...I just need to come up with something good enough for her award-winning-baker's palette.  Wish me luck!  And thanks again June!

Super Simple & Super Healthy Chicken Dinner a la Ellie Krieger

After spending a holiday-style weekend full of overeating indulgent food, I wanted to eat something really healthy for dinner tonight.  I went to do a quick search on FoodNetwork.com, but when I hovered over the "Healthy Eating" tab and saw a link to Ellie Krieger's show, I headed straight there.  I briefly browsed the "Most Popular" recipes and selected the Tuscan Roasted Chicken and Vegetables (click for recipe) from the group.

 

The recipe called for lot of fresh veggies and bone-in, skinless chicken breasts.  The grocery store only had boneless and bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and it isn't exactly the kind of place where the butcher does favors for you, so I just went with the bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and didn't worry about taking the skins off.

The dish came together very quickly.  Except for the fennel bulb, I halved the other ingredients to cook up a portion for two.  Just like one of the reviews said (I always read the reviews for tips, suggestions, and recipe corrections), the slowest part was just cutting the veggies up.  The fresh roma tomatoes, zucchini, and fennel, paired with the lemon zest and juice, gave the dish a light & fresh flavor.  Here's the before...

...and the after.  This was the perfect meal for me today.  I wanted to cook something that wouldn't require too many groceries since we'll be out of town for Thanksgiving and I don't want to let food go bad.  Not to mention, after a long, cold, and rainy day, I wanted something hot and healthy that would be a cinch to cook up and cozy on the tummy.  

Ellie's Tuscan style chicken dish did the trick and a small bowl of red cherries made for a nice dessert.

Dim Sum - A Different Kind of Sunday Brunch

I don't know if you've ever even heard of it, but, for me, Dim Sum carries special memories (see old post here for details) and is quite the treat.  When I found out Mr. Chic's sister, A, was also a fan of Dim Sum, I was thrilled.  It's not very often that you find another fan of Dim Sum, so when you find one, you have a special kind of foodie-bond.  We try to make a special trip to the local Dim Sum restaurant whenever we are in the same town.  This past weekend, we happened to share one day of our vacays together and decided to make a Sunday brunch trip.

We went to Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant, which is one of those hole-in-the-wall places that are little-known secrets.  Their secret - they have delicious Dim Sum!  For those unfamiliar with a Dim Sum meal, you sit at your tables and select dishes from carts that are rolled around the restaurant.  The carts carry a variety of dishes in three sizes - small, medium, and large.  The sizes also dictate the way the dishes are priced - one price per size.

A typical Dim Sum service includes entrees that are baked, fried, sauteed, and (what I consider their signature cooking style) steamed.  The steamed dishes are brought out in the round, silver containers that they were cooked in.  I like the steamed dishes in the back-middle (shrimp dumplings) and back-right (steamed barbeque pork bun).

These are the shrimp dumplings.  They are made with shrimp...and some other stuff...and are wrapped in a thin dough, probably rice-based.  Sorry for the vagueness, but when you go to an authentic Chinese restaurant and you don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese, you're probably not going to know exactly what you're eating.  lol.  Although...come to think of it, I guess I never thought to ask exactly what these are made of.  If I had to guess, I would say shrimp and water chestnuts or bamboo shoots.  Perhaps I'll ask next time?

Now, these are my absolute favorite.  They are baked, barbeque pork buns.

The buns have a slightly sticky-sweet top with a soft, yummy inner bread that almost reminds me of a fresh yeast roll...

...and inside, a sweet barbeque pork filling.  Yuuuuummmmmm....Just looking at the photo is making me hungry all over again!  lol

Oh, and you know I have to have some kind of dessert.  A and I like to share Sesame Balls to fulfill our sweet-tooth cravings.  The Sesame Balls are doughy and filled with a sweet, bean paste.  Yum.

Dim Sum is definitely a different kind of Sunday Brunch, but one worth trying at least once in your lifetime.  Enjoy!

I'm Just Yarning Around

My jewelry business (D Celestine) and love of beads of all shapes and sizes has sent me on many-a-trip to the local bead store of whichever city I'm in.  My new passion for yarns now has me in search of the local yarn shops of whichever city I'm in.  I took advantage of being out of town this past weekend to scout out the yarn shop of my MIL's town and found out about Yarns, Etc. through a quick google search.

Upon entering the store, I was immediately greeted with a friendly "Hello!" from the shop owner, Mary Stowe.  Mary offered me a helping hand more than once while I browsed her beautiful collection of yarns in search of yummy strands for future Christmas presents.  As usual, I fell in love with more yarns than I could get in one day.

I'd love to have a ball or two of this Nashua Handknits Natural Focus in Indigo (color NFW.0085).

I'd also like a couple balls of Nashua Handknits Sitar in Olive Tree (color NST.0771).

Oh, and I'd never heard of the Cuzco by Berroco, but Berroco is the brand of yarn I'm using for my ripple afghan and it's really great stuff!  I'm sure this Cuzco is just as nice.

I'd like to make something nice, and knit, and lacy with this Zara Total Easy Care Merino Extra Fine in color 1653 - a black and white combo that would be so chic as a scarf.

I've been doing really good with the whole "self-restrain" thing and managed to only get three balls of yarn.  Two, which I won't show for now and the one pictured above - Misti Alpaca - Hand Paint Chunky in the color Havasu - a beautiful colorway of browns, blues, turquoises, greens with hints of yellow and pink.  I'm supposed to be making this as a present for Christmas, but I really want to keep it for myself...haha.  At least I know where to get more should I decide I "need" some.

Oh, and can I just quickly share these sample afghans that grace the shop's couch?  Mary knitted these with her own two hands, and I think they are fabulous!  Aren't they gorge?!  

Tea Service for One

Hubby and I were already planning to head to my MIL's for the weekend when we found out hubby needed to be in a town halfway between our city and hers by Thursday evening.  I asked my client-bosses about working remotely Thursday afternoon and Friday-day, and they were fine with it so long as I had something to do.  The problem was I had something I could work on remotely, but I was in the middle of a reconciliation project, which required the use of the company's network, applications, and email so I could check in with my co-worker who was also on the project.  Additionally, my one client-boss, who told me to finish the recon project before starting on the next, would be out of town the entire week, so I wouldn't be able to persuade them to let me go regardless.

 

When my team discussed our recon project, we were all nearly certain the project would be completed well in time, but by Wednesday morning, things were looking pretty bleak.  I called my hubby to tell him that I didn't think I'd be able to go with him, but decided to keep trucking along.  I'm no quitter!  I worked extra hours this week and came in at a shocking (for me) 7:15am Thursday in an attempt to finish everything and would you know it...I did it!!

 

The timing worked out surprisingly well because the next project I had to do I could do without the help of anyone else and even without internet access...meaning, I could work completely and totally remotely (away from the office). 

My MIL had a swimming class Thursday night and plans to have Chinese dinner with some friends afterwards.  She was nice enough to invite me and I lucked out and found a cute coffee/tea/wine cafe in the same shopping center where I could wrap up my Thursday work while she swam.

The shop, 3 Cups, served coffees, teas, and wines.  Since it was almost dinner time, I had a yummy caffeine-free, Lemon-Myrtle hot tea pot, which I thought would be good for my cold and soothing on my throat.  The tea was served like a tea service for one with this cute tea tray complete with tea pot, cup, spoon, plate, and timer (so you knew when your tea was done steeping).  I had my Lemon-Myrtle tea with honey and the combination was light, refreshing, and soothing all at the same time.  The hot tea was great and helped make my two hours of work so much more pleasant.  I'm so glad to have found this cute shop so I could work comfortably until it was time to meet for dinner.  I'll definitely be back at this gem.

Final Team Lunch

They are letting go of many of the contractors at my office.  It's nothing personal...the project's budget has been cut and it's really just business.  Most of the other contractors are looking for jobs, but I am a full-time consultant, so I will go back to my company until I am assigned somewhere else.  Two of us on our team are leaving within a week of each other.  One lady's last day is this Friday, and mine is next Wednesday.

Our team lead was gracious enough to take us out for a final team lunch before we left to thank us for our hard work.  It was a generous and thoughtful gesture and one that I truly appreciated. The company was great and the food was quite tasty.  I had the blackened Mahi Mahi with a spicy creole sauce, rice pilaf, asparagus, and carrots.  Yum!  The sauce was so spicy it burned my mouth while I ate it, but it was one of those burns where you have to let your mouth cool off for just a second with a "phewwwwww" and take a sip of water before going back for more torturous-goodness.  If you like spicy food, you know what I'm talking about...lol.

Leaving a project is always a bit bittersweet for me.  You go into the project, help out a team or a company, meet cool people, learn new things, and make new friends.  I'm not a fan of "goodbyes" so the "leaving" part is always hard because you get used to the environment, to passing the same people in the halls around the office, to getting your morning cuppa joe at the same place and seeing the same friendly faces behind the counter, to your "usual" morning stroll to the office...to so much!  But, if you're lucky, you get to keep some of those new friends you've made and you don't have to say goodbye to them.

Fall Food Festival & a Bake-Off

Today at work, we had a food festival and a bake-off contest.  Since I've been getting into baking recently, I was, initially, super stoked about entering the contest...at least I was until I wasn't feeling so hot yesterday.  

Even though I felt rather unmotivated (read: wanted to lay on the couch all night and cuddle with the puppy), I went ahead and baked another batch of those Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" cupcakes last night.  As expected, I made a bit of a mess, but I had some fun, too.

I just love homemade frosting, don't you?  I really want to learn and experiment with fancy icing decorations, but for now, the off-set spatula gets the icing on there juuuuust fine.

I wanted to decorate these cupcakes with buttercream frosting and the new decorating bags, tip, and coupler I bought the other day at Michael's, but alas...I ran out of confectioner's sugar.  So, I decorated the cupcakes using a sparkly red tube-gel that I had in my pantry.  I wrote peace signs, hearts, and a little text based on the team-motto of the program executive director.  Sadly, the decorations looked much better in my head.  lol.  Good-looking or not, the cupcakes tasted great!

 

There were roughly seven entries and I know you're all disappointed to hear that I didn't win.  Poo-ey!

However, I was happy to find out that my sweet teammate, June, won with her Almond Cheese tart - one layer of almond cake on the bottom...one layer of cheesecake on top.  I have been trying to talk June into starting a food blog, but we'll just have to wait and see if she does.

As for the Food Festival I mentioned previously, we had quite the festival.  Everyone signed up to bring various side dishes, desserts, and drinks.  We even had turkey and ham!  The turkey was home-cooked by a nice lady at work, and the Ham was from one of those Honey-Baked Ham type stores.  Above is the "before"...

...and here is the "after."  Can you believe how much food is still here!?

And let's end this post on a sweet note.  I present to you the "dessert table" in all its glory.  Yum!

Cold Weather Comfort Food: Chicken & Dumplings

It's just after 11pm my time and I'm definitely just starting a blog post whilst munching on a chocolate cupcake.  I know, I know...it's rather late for all this silliness, but I'm already behind several posts behind and don't want to procrastinate.  Oh...and the cupcake?  Well...I made another batch of those Hershey's cupcakes for an event tomorrow...details to be posted at a later day/time.  *insert giggle here*  Anywho, I can't spend all night baking cupcakes and then not enjoy o....errr...I mean...make sure one tastes ok before I let people eat the other cupcakes.  Right?

Today, I noticed that I'm either getting a head cold or I'm just plain getting sick.  I don't actually know what an official "head cold" is, but my head feels a bit foggy and my nose is a bit sniffly and I'm feeling a bit tired and run down.  To combat this, I decided I needed to make something to ward off this potential cold or flu.  My first thought was to make chicken noodle soup, but since I recently had that turkey noodle soup, I decided to go with Chicken & Dumplings a la Rachael Ray.

I couldn't find the small box of Jiffy biscuit mix the recipe suggested, so I just used Bisquick.  I made a batch of the recipe on the Bisquick box for Biscuits/Dumplings, but I think it made a lot more than the Jiffy box would have.  Oh well, I love my carbs, so it's ok.  The dumplings steamed up nicely...

...but they looked so much better all stirred up with the yummy chicken mixture and some peas.

The hot & gooey chicken & dumplings were sooo comforting.  They really did hit the spot for me tonight.  Even non-sick hubby commented how much he liked dinner. 

I guess that's why they call chicken & dumplings a comfort food - because they really are comforting!  If you're trying to combat a cold or just the cold-weather, make yourself a batch of these chicken & dumplings.  I'm not promising you'll be cured, but I bet you'll be happy you made them.

*Update* I've decided to enter this comfort food dinner in a contest over at Shibooya (click to see the contest) Woohoo!

Sew Close to Christmas

Did you know that there are only about forty days left till Christmas?  Yikes!  Just when you think you are starting your handmade Christmas projects early, you find out you are behind!  I'm not sure if I'm going to finish that afghan in time, seeing as how it takes three to four hours to make one square, and I'm supposed to make at least, roughly, forty squares for an afghan.  Yea...that means I'd need to make an average of one square a day.  My stats are not looking good...lol.  But, that's ok...if I don't finish it, I will come up with something else.  I'm not sweating it.  In the meantime, I still have a few other handmade presents I'd like to finish before December 25th.  Something tells me my weekends are going to get a lot more crafty...and I'm A-Ok with that!

Yesterday was my run-errands, clean-up-the-house, and bake-cupcakes day.  With my home newly cleaned and errands out of the way, I was free to let my creative juices run.  I decided to work on a project I really liked from a Sew Simple magazine I got some time last year.  The project was for handmade, quilted oven mitts.  I laid out all my materials before realizing that I needed some blue ric-rac to properly decorate the mitts.  Even though I had a minor set-back, I decided to enjoy a quick trip out of the house to pick up the materials I needed from Hancock Fabrics.  I also picked up a couple other things while I was at HF for some other gift ideas I've been working on.

When I got back from Hancock Fabrics, it was (late) lunchtime, so I decided to make a quick egg-drop soup.  I had the soup with some cherry tomatoes (leftover from the other night's swordfish dinner) and water, while browsing some other crafty magazines for gift ideas.  I also had some hot, peppermint tea and a cupcake...yummy!

After lunch, it was back to business.  I decided to make two oven mitts, so I doubled the materials, cut fabric, and machine-quilted some rectangles.

Then, I had to cut out the pattern and sew the oven mitts together.  I went slightly away from the instructions by sewing the ric-rac onto the mitt-halves and tucking in some extra ric-rac for a simple loop prior to sewing the two halves together. (The instructions said to sew the mitts together, then add the ric-rac around the outside and hand-sew the loops)

The mitts came out less than perfect, but that's what makes something handmade-special.  Right?  :)  I'm still fairly new to sewing, so I'm very happy with the results.  

I did make one pretty big error - do you see it?  I sewed the loops for the mitts on opposite sides...oopsie!  Guess I'll be fixing that later tonight.  Either way, I had fun, learned some new lessons, and I now have one Christmas present (almost) ready.  

I'm off to have a cupcake and work on some crochet while watching one of my fave shows - Cold Case!

Dinner & a Movie...And Cupcakes...Yum!

Mr. Chic picked a casserole recipe from that Taste of Home Casseroles mini-mag I got the other day for dinner tonight.  He even picked up the groceries for dinner, the sweetie.

He chose the "Crunchy Beef Bake", which was actually quite similar to the Marzetti recipe we tried from the mag earlier.  The recipe started with fresh green pepper, garlic, and ground beef.

The beef mixture is stirred together with canned tomatoes, cooked pasta, and cream of mushroom soup.  Then, everything is poured into a casserole dish and topped with those crunchy French Onion pieces.  I wasn't sure how I'd like the French Onion stuff, but it really did make the dish.

We'll definitely be making this dish again and I may try doing something with those yummy French Onion bits again in the future now that I know how tasty they are. We enjoyed our crunchy casserole while watching The Breakup.  The movie was kinda sad, but the casserole kept up pretty happy.

I recently saw the most yummy-looking chocolate cupcakes over at A Year in the Kitchen and immediately printed out the recipe.  I wanted to make these babies on Veteran's Day, but I ended up being pretty busy that day.  Or at least, I was busy trying to not be busy...if that makes sense.  lol

The recipe was for the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake, but like A Year in the Kitchen, I decided to make cupcakes.  It probably helps that the recipe called for 2 9" cake pans or 3 8" cake pans and I only had 2 8" cake pans, but cupcakes are easier to share anyways, right?  My cupcakes weren't quite as pretty as those I saw on A Year in the Kitchen, but they tasted pretty darn good, which was good enough for me.

Hubby helped me decorate the cupcakes with the homemade frosting and some sugar sprinkles.  We made quite a mess, but had a lot of fun.

I think we had the most fun just eating the delicious fruits of our labor, though.

Yum!

Morning Errands & a Treat

No sleeping in for me today...I had a meeting with the manager of Maddi's Gallery, a boutique that sells my handmade jewelry designs, this morning and had to rush about a bit to get ready.  

I still managed to get a healthy breakfast, at least, even though I felt quite pressed for time.  I've upped my oatmeal combos recently after having met Kath from Kath Eats.  Her interesting oatmeal combos have inspired me to try adding some new ingredients to my oatmeal, rather than just sticking to the box mixes or simple sugar & milk with plain oats.  Today I had regular quick-cooking oats with some sugar, milk, blueberries, flax seed, and sliced almonds.  It was super good...sort of my version of blueberries & cream (I used to eat the version in the multi-fruit & cream-quaker-box all the time growing up).  Anywho, I wanted to make another jewelry set before leaving for Maddi's and still had to package all the jewelry up and type up my list of designs I was bringing - all of which I did while taking a bite here and there of the oatmeal, chased with sweet & milky coffee.  

We swapped out some old designs for the new ones.  It was interesting to see which designs she wanted to keep and really liked.  I think I dropped off some good stuff today, so I hope it sells well.  We shall see...

After my meeting at Maddi's was over, I decided to walk over to the Barnes & Noble in the same shopping center for a quick treat - coffee & a magazine - woohoo!

I browsed the craft & home magazines and was quite proud that I was able to exert considerable self-control by not buying the twenty-something magazines that caught my eye.  I was hoping to find a Marie Claire Idees, but ended up getting my first copy of Artful Blogging.  I've heard a lot of people mention this magazine in their blogs, so I figured I'd see what the buzz was all about.  I have to say I was happily surprised to see that the magazine not only had a boatload of visual goodies, but had great content, as well.  I really enjoyed reading about the bloggers and seeing the things they had to say about their blogs that they may not have thought to post in their blogs (why they started, where they dream up their posts, etc.).  I think I'm going to enjoy reading this magazine for the next couple weeks.

Will Zumba for Great Food

Today was a yucky day.  It rained all day, and it was quite cold.  We're definitely headed for winter now.  We have some more "fall" time left in the season, but today was just dreary.  Is it just me or is it harder to work and feel motivated when it looks like this outside?

Here's a photo from the uptown area of town.  I thought it was interesting how the tops of the buildings faded away into the foggy sky.  You can't even really see the tops of the buildings from here.

 

Even though the week was long and the weather was tiring, I forced myself to go to a workout class today. I've been participating in this type of workout called "Zumba" for the last year or so (off and on).  The video above is a snippet the instructor, Angie (in the blue sports bra), created awhile back when she worked with a different company.  She's on her own now, but I've followed her from the Y, to B Risque, to today...she now works freelance on her own.  You go girl!  Angie has one of those special gifts that makes her an amazing person to be around.  She is sooo energetic (as I'm sure you can tell by the video), upbeat, and happy.  She makes working out fun, which is no easy task.  Needless to say, I had a blast and was soooo glad I went.  It's amazing that no matter how exhausted I am from the week, I always feel so much better after a good workout with Angie and her helpers.

After a nice, long, and (most importantly) FUN workout, Mr. Chic took me out for a little date night to a local, semi-upscale Mexican restaurant in town called Cantina 1511.  I had a "traditional" sangria while we waited for our table, and then with dinner, I had the most amazing pomegranate-orange margarita on the rocks.  I wish I had taken a photo of the second drink because it was quite spectacular.  The restaurant infuses the tequila with pomegranate seeds for over a week and then creates the most delicious concoction with it.  Yum!

For dinner, I ordered a chicken chimichanga and helped hubby eat some (read one) of his chicken fajitas.  Everything was so delicious and I didn't feel too-too bad eating such awesome food since I had kinda worked for it.  Perhaps I should make a sign for Mr. Chic.  "Will Zumba for Great Food."  Yea?

PS I updated my Flickr...fiiiiinally.  It's been too long.  I have more photos to add, but you guys have seen them all anyways...lol.

Giving Thanks - Thankful Thursday

I think I accidentally signed up for a contest over at There is No Place Like Home before I read the rules...oopsie!  Rather than ignore the contest, I'd like to take this opportunity to participate in the challenge by talking about what I'm thankful for.  Remember that post about the Real Simple article on gratitude I posted awhile back?  One thing I forgot to mention in the post is that (in addition to the stuff I mentioned in the post), I'd also like to work on being more thankful for what I have rather than looking at what I don't.  It's easy to point out things you don't have or things that could be better, but I don't want to take the gifts I do have for granted.  I'm thinking of trying to do a daily or monthly post about gratitude.  What do you think?  Maybe Thankful Thursday?  I think someone already does this, but it's for a good cause, right?

One thing I'm thankful for is Freedom.  It's amazing to think that so much of the world has lived without freedom in history.  When freedom is something you're born with and grow up with, I think it becomes almost an expectation...a constant, if you will.  It's hard to imagine it not being there and that's if the thought even crosses your mind.  I think freedom is something that is easy for people to take for granted, when it really is a precious gift that should be appreciated.

What is something you're thankful for today?

Btw, I just re-read Kelli's blog a bit and it looks like I'm supposed to do a daily or weekly challenge that she specifies.  I thought I was supposed to pick from the bulleted list she had in a previous post, but I'm still going to post this blog. :) I've been meaning to blog about gratitude for awhile now anyways...ever since I read the Real Simple article, at least.  Now, for the contest...I'm thinking I'm going to have to dig my paper-crafting supplies from my mess of a craft room and put something together.  This could be fun!

One Year Ago Today...

...it was Veteran's Day and my months of brainwashing had finally worn off on my then-fiance who took me puppy shopping - one of the best decisions he's ever made, may I add.  Based on lots of research, I had narrowed breeds down to two types - Corgis and Shiba Inus and now-hubby went so far as to research pet shops to see what kinds of puppies they had.  He found one pet store just north of us that had both breeds we were considering.

I'll never forget...we walked into the store and I bee-lined for the corgi.  I think the Shiba Inu was sold or sick, but they weren't out.  A small black & white corgi puppy was in one of those round bins, not along the wall, but in the center of the store with an open lid.  I leaned over for a closer look and the puppy stood up to greet me and kissed my nose.  It was love at first site and from that day on, Bailey has been a proud member of our family.

Wasn't Bailey an adorable puppy?

Long Day And Still Time to (Force Myself to) Cook

Today was a looooooong day.  I am having such a hard time getting used to the time change.  It's not the difference in wake-up or bed time...it's having to leave work in the dark, walking three scary blocks through downtown without a lot of people around, and hoping I get there safely that really bothers me.  

Anywho, I've been trying to see the upside of the time change by using it in an attempt to both go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.  Today, I work up at 6:30am, got to work by 8:15am, took an hour lunch (which I don't usually do...I usually eat at my desk) and got Chick-Fil-A with a co-worker from my previous project and didn't leave work until 6:30pm.  I got some good OT in, which is good b/c my company's quarterly meeting is this Friday morning, and I'll probably have to make up the time I miss from my project.  See, I'm a consultant and we bill in 15 minute increments when we're assigned to a project.  I'm currently assigned to a project at a major bank, and I always try to get 40 hours a week...even if I have appointments or whatever else.  I'm not sure if we have to get 40 hours on a quarterly meeting week, buuuut...I like to try to always bill a minimum of 40 hours.  A lot of clients don't want you to work more than 40 hours, but that's something I like to talk to them up front.

Anywho, I only had a quick couple of minutes to try to look up recipes for the swordfish I bought at the grocery store yesterday, and I found two that looked interesting in the short time I had to research.  One was by Ina Garten and one was by Giada DeLaurentiis.  Of course, on my way home, at 6:45PM, I was reconsidering those recipes and really thinking of just ordering pizza.

I called my parents to ask them how long the swordfish would be good in the fridge because I am super-sensitive to the idea of eating expired foods.  I mean, milk a couple days after the expiration is one thing, but fish?  I didn't want to risk it.  My dad suggested I cook the swordfish tonight or freeze it (since I bought it yesterday), so I decided to suck it up and cook the fish.  I chose the Giada recipe - Sicilian Penne with Swordfish and Eggplant b/c it had less ingredients and picked up all the groceries on my way home.  

I decided that even though I didn't really feel like cooking, I was consciously going to use making tonight's meal as a way to wind down from the long work day.  I think there really is something to having the right attitude with things, ya know?  So, I poured myself a glass of wine, turned on the radio, and enjoyed my cooking.

The meal came out just okay, but at no fault of Giada.  See...I'm actually not a fan of seafood.  We hardly ever ate seafood when I was growing up, so I think I'm just not used to it.  My mother is a bit of a seafood-snob.  She grew up on the coast of the Philippines where they had fresh fish all the time.  Apparently, when she saw fish in the Americas (in-land), she called them "nasty fishies."  lol.  You have to see my mom saying that...She's a tiny 4'10" tall Filipina lady and you can't hardly judge her for saying that because she looks so darn cute saying it.  She doesn't ever really say it around us anyways...apparently, that's just something she said to my dad back in the day, but he likes to tell us the story and make her say it for us so we all get a good laugh.

Oh, and did I mention I'm not all that in to eggplant?  Yea, my mom used to make some weird Asian eggplant dish when I was younger, and I always thought it smelled funny.  I think today is one of the first times I've eaten eggplant...that I can remember, at least.  Anywho, I'm still quite happy with tonight's meal.  We tried two new things - swordfish and eggplant.  You know, I sometimes wonder if I'll get stuck in food-ruts, sticking only to things I know I like, etc.  I hope that is not the case, and I hope our occasional experimenting gives our eating nice variety.

Is there anything you're afraid of or not used to eating?

A Relaxing Spa Day

Hubby and I just finished eating dinner, and I figured I'd continue working on posting my blogs at a more "current" rate and talk a little bit about today.  If you didn't already know, today was Veteran's Day, which is a federal and state holiday typically celebrated on today's date, November 11th, unless the holiday falls on a Sunday (in which case the next Monday is the celebrated day) to honor veterans.  Veteran's Day is also a bank holiday, so I had today off.   I like to spend holidays as relaxed as possible...even if I have a million things to-do, I don't let myself worry about them (at least ALL of them) for the day.  I did have a lot of things I wanted to accomplish with an entire "free" day, but today ended up being, for the most part, a spa day for me. 

See, sweet hubby of mine got me gift certificate to a local spa for my birthday last fall and with all the wedding madness going on this year, I forgot I had it and let it expire (they only last a year for this spa).  I didn't remember when he had purchased the gift card, so I called into the spa and would you know it...it expired in September.  Lucky me, though, the girl on the phone had pity on me and extended my card through the end of November.  Today was the only day I could fit an appointment on such short notice (and with the last two weekends being spent out of town for the holidays), so today became my spa day.

I wanted today to be fulfilling as possible while still being relaxing as possible, so after sleeping in a wee bit, I started the day by getting dinner ready with one of the easiest recipes I know (I even planned far enough ahead, I got the groceries for this meal yesterday).  My mom gave me her tried and true pot roast recipe awhile back, and we've enjoyed making it for cozy comfort food meals for cold nights.  

Mom's Slow-Cooker Pot Roast
(this may be based off of another recipe, so if this is copywritten, I'm really sorry...just let me know and I'll take it down)

Ingredients:

• Eye of Round (2-4 lbs.)
• Baby Carrots (handful) 
• 1 Onion, peeled & quartered
• Potatoes (I like to use 3-4 large-ish red potatoes), peeled if you like, cut in chunks
• 1 can of beef consomme 
• 1 can of french onion soup
• salt, pepper, garlic powder/salt   

Instructions: 

• Spray inside of slow-cooker with non-stick spray
• Place Eye of Round in slow-cooker 
• Sprinkle Eye of Round with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (about 1 teaspoon of each) 
• Add potatoes, carrots, and onion to slow cooker 
• Add french onion soup and beef consomme to slow cooker
• Cover slow cooker with lid and set to low - cook for about 7 hours 
• ...OR...you can cook your roast for about 4 hours on high, if you're in a hurry 

I like to serve with pot roast with rice, but you can serve with pasta, too.

After preparing my stress-free dinner, I was ready to de-stress my body with a nice, long massage.  I headed to the spa and was greeted with a nice, hot cuppa Aveda tea and a sunlit lounge.

 

A nice girl showed me the changing/shower area where I got my spa-robe and my locker for my stuff.  I had no wait time and only got a couple sips of my tea down before my massage, which was just fine with me because my shoulders were aching!  The massage was great!  The masseuse, Amber, really worked out a lot of kinks in my upper back and used some cool peppermint oil that made my skin all tingly and smelled great, too.  The dark room, candles, soothing background music and natural smells of the massage oils were uber relaxing...aaaahhhhh.  She even warmed my tea up for me when my massage was over.

When the massage was over, I had a pedicure next, so I had to change back into my "regular" clothes (goodbye spa-robe).  I took the opportunity to try out some of the awesome Aveda products they had out for guests and used the face cleanser and moisturizer.  Back in the changing area, they had a full normal shower and a full steam shower, too, which looked veeery enticing.  Next time, I will consider not getting a pedi so I can try that steam shower out.

  

Today, though, I was very happy to have a pedicure.  I used to get pedis about once a month or every other month till I really started cutting back on my spending earlier this year, so I haven't had a pedicure in months (one other since the wedding).  It was nice to have my toes prettified again.

I picked a pretty, berry color for my toenails to go with the fall season.  

After my nailpolish was dry, it was time for some shopping.  I spotted a nice lingerie store from my window seat at the salon and decided to head over for a bra-fitting.  See, I've been watching Tim Gunn's Guide to Style a lot lately and one thing they always stress is getting a bra-fitting.  Apparently, most women wear the wrong size bra.  Apparently, after my consultation, I found out I was one of them...haha.  I ended up getting three bras, 2 bottoms, and 1 Christmas-y night gown set - all 60-75% off.  I normally shop Victoria's Secret, but it was nice to get more personal attention at this smaller boutique, plus the prices were very comparable to Victoria's Secret and that's before the sale.  I think am converted from Victoria's Secret to this place forever. 

Next, I stopped at Panera for a light lunch of my fave soup of theirs - Chicken and Wild Rice with a piece of baguette and water.  It was nice to take a loooong lunch and browse my Home Companion Magazine at my leisure.

After lunch, I picked up a couple groceries for later this week, including two swordfish fillets.  I have no idea how to cook swordfish.  I've never cooked swordfish, in fact.  I'll be searching for a recipe tonight on foodnetwork.com...lol.  Anywho, when I got home, I tried on my new PJ bottoms, started some rice in my rice cooker, and waited for dinner to finish.  I managed to work a few stitches in my ripple afghan, too...even started a new color...woohoo!

Hubby hassled me a bit about dinner while I calmly crocheted, but we were both excited when it was finally ready.

Mom's Pot Roast was the perfect meal for my relaxing spa day.  Simple & tasty...this meal hit the spot and saved me plenty of time I can spend on something else relaxing, like working on my crochet projects.  In fact, I think I'm going to go get started on a new Willow square and round out my day of relaxaction.  Ta-ta!

Turkey Leftovers Day #3 - Turkey Noodle Soup

The funny thing about making food from leftovers is that you are sometimes left with leftovers from your leftovers.  Even though we had some Turkey Tetrazzini leftover from the meal before (yea...even after I took some in to work for lunch), I had to do something with the turkey we still had leftover from that roast.  Soup was sounding pretty darn good for dinner the other day...

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved cooking.  My favorite thing to make, when I was younger, was soup because I could raid my mom's well-stocked pantry and toss in a little of this and little of that and I didn't really need a recipe to make something good.  I remember watching Food TV waaaaaay back in the day (before it became so mainstream) and picking up a few tips there.  The only chef I can remember watching was Martin Yan on Yan Can Cook (what a great show, no?), but I'm nearly certain I must have watched someone else because I knew to start my soups with the mirepoix.

You may not recognize the word "mirepoix" straightaway, but you know what it is.  "Mirepoix" is the term for the combination of carrots, onion, and celery commonly used as a foundation for many soups, stews, etc.

I started my soup off by sautéing some mirepoix till the onions became clear & translucent.

I hand-shredded my leftover turkey and when the veggies were done, I added this turkey, some fresh herbs, some chicken broth/stock, water, salt, pepper, and some other herbs I had in the pantry.

I brought the soup to a boil and meanwhile, cooked some whole wheat rotini pasta.  I simmered the soup for just a few minutes...maybe 5-15 minutes to let the flavors mesh.  I added the cooked pasta to the soup just before serving because I don't like "soggy" pasta...

...and Ta-Daaaaa!  We have a hot &healthful dinner.  I like to serve my meals with bread and we especially love the bread you can store in your freezer and bake when you're ready to eat - they are quite helpful to have around and though they probably last for awhile in the freezer, they don't last long in our house.

I even got to use a lot of items we already had in stock in addition to my leftover turkey breast...woohoo!

Leftovers & Pantry Items Utilized:

• Turkey Breast
• Chicken Broth (used to make cream sauce for Turkey Tetrazzini)
• Celery (from previous recipe, but I can't remember which one)
• Fresh Herbs (yup, I grow them!)
• Frozen demi-baguette (from freezer to oven to my tummy...yum!)
• Dried Herbs & Spices (from my pantry) 

I'm seeing lots of soups in my future since they seem to be a good way to utilize pantry items and leftovers...lol.

Turkey Leftovers Day #2 - Turkey Tetrazzini

*Updated for Thanksgiving 2009 - Click here to view the healtified Turkey Tetrazzini recipe I cooked up with my family*

Even though I got what I thought was the smallest turkey breast in the grocery store for my roast turkey the other day, we had tons of turkey leftovers.  I decided to make one of my favorite casseroles - Turkey Tetrazzini.  This is the second Tetrazzini recipe I've tried...the first was Giada's (Chicken Tetrazzini) and it was quite tasty, as all her dishes seem to be.  For this meal, I went with the recipe I found in the classic Fannie Farmer cookbook.  FF is a great cookbook to have in your collection if you're into cooking.  The book features lots of classic dishes and goes into many basic cooking tips. 

I made my Tetrazzini using an assortment of yummy stuff.  I even added the required mushrooms, even though I don't like them because I do actually like the flavor of mushrooms...just not the texture.

The recipe calls for another simple cream sauce (found in a separate section of the cookbook) and I swear, it just doesn't seem to be enough sauce for the amount of pasta and turkey in the dish.

See, you layer the pasta, then the turkey, then the mushrooms, (I added peas) then you top everything with the sauce and parmesan cheese.  The sauce just doesn't seem to be enough for everything under it, though.  In Giada's recipe, you are instructed to toss everything together with the sauce, then pour into a casserole dish, then top with cheese.  I think I will be mixing everything up next time I make a tetrazzini, no matter which recipe I use.

Still, the dish came out very nicely.  Our cozy casserole was the perfect comfort food for a cold, fall night and was pretty stress-free to boot!  I especially liked being able to utilize my leftovers rather than wastefully tossing them - I'm really trying to work on using all the food in my kitchen before it spoils...quite the challenge at times - I'm sure you can relate!  Anywho, so far, so good!

Leftover & Pantry Items Utilized:

• Turkey Breast
• Spaghetti (leftover from a previous "spaghetti-night") 
• Frozen Peas 
• Fresh Parsley (from my fresh herb stash) 
• Flour 
• Butter 
• Sherry Wine 
• Frozen Demi-Baguette (freezer to oven to fresh baked bread) 

What's your favorite leftover-turkey recipe?

Jane's Yummy Fairy Buns

So, just before starting last night's casserole, I decided to do a little multi-tasking and start up a batch of Jane's Fairy Buns.  I've been ogling the fairy buns on Jane's blog, Yarnstorm, for awhile now, so, I was thrilled to find the recipe in The Gentle Art of Domesticity book she wrote and which just arrived in the mail last week (even though I just found the recipe online - I am still very glad to have purchased the book).

I think I was supposed to cream the butter and sugar by hand, but I am so infatuated with my "new" (I call it "new" since I've only used it a handful of times since getting it) toy, I had to use her.  Note I called her, "her", b/c I still haven't named her...though, the name Betty just popped in my head, and I'm thinking that's kinda cute.

Anywho, I very carefully followed the directions to a Tee.  I didn't have any cupcake liners, so I just used that Cake-Release stuff I used on my Halloween cake, but I did everything else exactly.  I creamed the butter and sugar, sifted in the flour, folded the mixture together very carefully, but...

...Ack!  I still managed to burn them!  You see, when I put the fairy buns in the oven, I started on the casserole, and I accidentally reset the timer for the pasta.  As I stirred the noodles around every couple minutes, I started to wonder why my timer hadn't gone off for the fairy buns when it hit me...the timer wasn't going to go off for the fairy buns...it was going to go off for the pasta...doh!  There I go trying to do too many things at one time instead of working carefully and trying to enjoy the "doing" and not just trying to get it "done."  I took a bite out of one of them nonetheless and it was still rather tasty...just a tad crunchy.  Still, case in point that I really do need to slow down once in awhile.

While the casserole baked away, I started up a second batch, and when the casserole was done, I started baking the "round two" fairy buns.  Would you know it, though...I still managed to overcook these even though I set my timer up for a minute less than the suggested baking time.  I think I must have done something wrong b/c my fairy buns seem so much smaller than the ones I see on Yarnstorm and in her book.  Hmm...

I didn't mind, terribly, overbaking my fairy buns...those babies were going to be enjoyed one way or the other.  Hubby and I waited anxiously for the fairy buns to cool completely (as explicitly directed by the recipe) and when it was time, I got started on the icing.  I ended up using 1 1/2 lemons and a pretty sky blue color that reminded me of my fave color - turquoise.

I decorated the fairy buns with sliced almonds b/c...well, they were all I had on hand.  Hubby had secretly eaten the remainder of our M&M's and I had no other candy in stock.

After all was said and done, I was quite happy to have lots of adorable fairy buns that were not only bright, cheery, and pretty-looking, but quite tastey.  I'll be making these again, for sure, but next time I will have cupcake liners, more icing colors, and more time to enjoy the process.  

Thanks for sharing your recipe, Jane. :)

Cozy Casserole - Marzetti

So, I think I mentioned before being newly fascinated with slow-cooked things.  Dishes that seem to go hand-in-hand with roasted foods are casseroles (since people seem to use cooked leftovers in casseroles quite often), and I've been on the look-out for family favorites.  It seems like the ones you grew up with are the best ones, so I'm looking for the ones other people have grown up with.

I recently purchased the Taste of Home Casseroles magazine b/c Taste of Home features recipes sent in from their actual readers.  I believe some recipes are from the TOH kitchens, but it seemed like all the recipes in the Casseroles magazine were sent in by regular people.  Each recipe even featured a photo and a blurb from the person who sent the recipe in, which gave a little more insight into each recipe.

I decided to try out the recipe called "Marzetti" for dinner last night.  (I am heating up the leftovers in the oven as I type b/c we all know what huge portions casseroles seem to make).  "Marzetti" is basically comprised of beef, onion, green pepper, canned tomato products, and a couple soups...with noodles.  I reserved some of the uncooked onions and green peppers for breakfast today.  The recipe called for only 1/3 of the green pepper, so I figured I'd set aside some onion, too and try to utilize my leftovers.

The dish was pretty easy to throw together.  I served it with garlic bread (we love the frozen kinds you can get at the grocery store) and it turned out to be a nice, simple, weekend dinner.  "Marzetti" was pretty nice on the pocket, too!  

Ok, I'm off to get ready for the work week while my casserole warms up.  Toodles!

Dog Walking in Nature's Confetti

Hubby and I decided to take advantage of the unusually warm weather and we took Bailey for a nice walk this afternoon.  

The sky was a rich, azure blue color - so bright and clear!

The trees were the most amazingly bright colors - golds and reds that seemed to light up the streets like lamps.  The sun cast long shadows across the sidewalks and the streets.  Every now and then, the wind would blow through the trees, casting leaves about like confetti.

We passed through a local park where it seemed like everyone else in town had the same idea as us.  

Bailey was having such a blast - he was literally grinning the whole time.

Just at look at that face - that is the look of pure happiness!

Aww...he's giving us one of those "thank you" looks again.  You're welcome, puppy-face.

It's a Beautiful Fall Day

It was another beautiful fall day here in the Carolinas, so I decided to take full advantage of it.  I slept in a little - till about 9:30am and decided rather than making a pot of coffee first thing, I'd go straight to the yarn shop.

Of course, part of my reason for going straight to the yarn shop was b/c I could get my morning cuppa joe at the coffeshop next door and then head to the yarn shop.  I ordered a pumpkin spice latte, which was so yummy and hot and what I thought to be a very fall-like drink.  

With coffee in hand I found a cozy spot near two very nice ladies and my fave yarn instructor, Sandy.  I say "yarn instructor" b/c she is an expert with all things yarn-y - knitting and crochet, mostly.

Here's a quick photo of one of the walls of yarn from my fave yarn shop, Charlotte Yarn.  They recently moved to a new location and it's just so open and airy and warm and inviting.  The shop has large windows that let in tons of natural light and there are chairs set-up through out the shop, welcoming yarn fans to kick back and work on their projects with other knit and crochet friends.

I gabbed quite a bit and made some new friends...I must have been there a couple hours...phew...how time flies when you're having fun!  At least I managed to get some good progress done on my ripple afghan.

I also exerted extraordinary self-control by not buying a single ball of yarn the whole time I was there, even when this lovely basket of yarn was staring me down just next to my chair.  I think the turquoise one on top was screaming at me a bit, but I put them all out of my head and kept rippling along.

But, alas, I knew I couldn't stay at the yarn store the entire day, so I headed off to a local shopping center to run errands.  I picked up icing gel colors (for a baking experiment I made tonight - photos to come later), a couple donuts from a local bakery (b/c I just can't resist them), groceries for tonight's dinner, and a quick lunch from this hot dog vendor who I found out is a retired IT guy.

I ended up taking a couple hot dogs home to the hubby, too.  The hot dogs were angus beef...have you ever heard of such a thing?  Either way, they made a nice, quick, and cheap lunch for us today.  It was $6 for three hot dogs, and we had some chips and mini-cokes back at the apartment.

After letting our food digest for a bit, we took Mr. Bails out for a walk.  I must have taken about fifty photos from just our walk today, so I'll be posting those in a separate email...I'll try to get that up tonight.  I'm going to work on posting stuff closer to when they actually happen - not sure how that's going to work out, but I'm going to try.  

Crochet-Me-Calm & Some Changes

One of the things I really like about making things by hand, is that it really forces you to take your time and do things with care.  I feel like I've lost myself a bit over the last couple years - lost organization - lost focus.  I feel like I've spread myself so thin that I flail about and can't commit the time to everything I want to do, to do it all well.  Sometimes, it seems like crochet is the only thing I can take my time with.  I don't mean to complain - I'm sure you understand exactly where I'm coming from.  It seems like everyone is so busy these days - we are all in the same boat.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have some plans in the works to switch this blog up a little.  Don't worry - I don't plan on making any huge changes, but rather, I'd like to add to what I've got going here.  Let me explain some more...

I don't know if you get Real Simple, but I started a subscription with RS earlier this year, and I love it!  RS has such good content and so many thought-provoking articles.  I feel like they offer lots of good tips to help people stay grounded.  In the November 2008 issue, they featured a story about gratitude - why it's good to be grateful and what other people are grateful for.  They featured excerpts from the journals of four readers who wrote for a month about gratitude, which were all quite inspirational.  I especially connected with Diana Geffner-Ventura's story.  Diana said, "I feel like I'm not giving 100 percent to my business or my family," and her goal for her journal was to "regain equilibrium and feel inspired again."  Wow, I'm right there with ya girlie!  Her story made me think that perhaps I should use my blog to help with my quest for balance.  So, that's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to attempt to add a bit more content here and there related to regaining and maintaining balance.  I think this will be a fun experiment...wish me luck!  Oh, and in case you were curious about the RS Gratitude story, I found a piece of it online here (click).

Back to the crochet - I know you must think I put Bailey in all these couch-shots, but he is really just such a cuddler.  When I get on the couch, he jumps up and lays down on my lap or right next to me.  He likes to lay between me and the cushions when I'm crocheting.  He'll even step over or even knock over books if they're "in his way."  lol.  The square pictured above is from 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match.  I'm using the "Willow" square pattern and the new Red Heart Designer Sport yarn (with colors by Candi Jensen).  I'm hoping to make enough of these to make an afghan for a friend for Christmas.  I thought I started early on this project, but now it seems like Christmas is right around the corner...sheesh!  Where does the time go?  Anywho, before I freak out and try rushing through this project, I'm going to take a breath and take my time.  Like I said, that's the good thing about crochet - you simply can't rush through it (at least I can't).  I will carefully work my stitches, one at a time and work on enjoying doing things slowly.  Ahh...I feel a little more relaxed just thinking about it.  Ok, enough talking, I'm off to crochet!

Turkey Dinner - The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Call it practicing for the future (when & if we ever host Thanksgiving dinner at our place), but for some reason, I've become newly fascinated with roasting things...slow cooking things in the oven, mostly.  First, I cooked a "practice chicken" for my Halloween party.  I tried the recipe from Martha's Halloween special magazine that was out last year - the chicken recipe with all the spices on top that make the chicken look black.  Sound familiar?  Anywho, it was quite tasty, but we decided to go with the meal we made last year - beef brisket (note - another oven-slow-cooked meat).  

Last Friday, my husband and I stared aimlessly in the meat aisle of the grocery store trying to think of something to cook for dinner that night.  Our minds were blank.  We saw the big bins of turkey just next to where we were "thinking" and went with it.  I picked up a 3 lb. boneless turkey breast, and we also grabbed red potatoes and asparagus...only to find out, when we got home, that you're really supposed to let the turkey thaw in the fridge for 1.5-2 days.  Doh!  I put the turkey in the fridge and ordered Outback take-out as our Friday Night dinner became Sunday Night dinner.

The thing that's really intrigued me about roasted meats is that the recipes tend to make large portions of food, thus, leaving lots of leftover, cooked meat behind.  I'm nearly certain the majority of Americans have enjoyed their Thanksgiving turkey leftovers for at least a day or two after the holiday, but the really interesting thing is how they are enjoying said leftovers.

I've been flipping through my November magazines a lot lately and have seem some mouth-watering "leftover" recipes.  I especially want to try the Turkey Croquettes from Martha Stewart and the Creamy Mashed Potato and Leek Soup from Real Simple.  Yum!  In general, though, these recipes inspire me because I think that I've gotten into some bad habits with my foods.  I'm not so great at utilizing leftovers to their full potential, and if I use half of something for one night's dinner, I often have a hard time working the remnants into a different meal.  I've decided to work on fixing this bad habit of mine by trying my best to use all my food to the best of my ability.  I've been researching lots of soup and casserole recipes for ideas, but another great resource is Robin Miller.  She is the queen of "morphing" food from one meal to another, and she has some really great recipe ideas.  I have both her books: Quick Fix Meals: 200 Simple, Delicious Recipes to Make Mealtime Easy and Robin to the Rescue: Quick & Simple Recipes for Delicious Home Cooking

As far as desserts, I've recently grown quite fond of making things from scratch.  After the very challenging but successful Devil's Food Cake dessert for Halloween, which took alllllll day to make, I feel like I can bake anything!  My biggest lesson learned is how easy frosting is to make from scratch.  I read recently (somewhere random) that box mixes are ok to bake with, but frosting made from scratch is key.  The cookies pictured above are leftover from a dinner party my friends had.  I made the cookies from a bag mix, but the frosting is a yummy buttercream tinted with orange gel coloring (the coloring trick is another lesson learned from that Halloween cake).  I based the frosting off of a recipe I found on cooks.com (click here for recipe) - it's so good - you have to try it!  I'm anticipating lots of baking this holiday season, so all these tricks will be super useful.  These frosted sugar cookies were a big winner and soooo easy, I'll definitely be making these again...but who knows what other yummy recipes I'll stumble upon?  Hmm...

Rippling Along

I don't know if you've ever made a ripple blanket...or if you even crochet for that matter, but word on the street is that I will be sick of ripples by the time I'm done with this afghan.  I think I'm in the honeymoon phase right now (on row 11 - 2 rows per ripple, that is) - so far, so good.  I'm enjoying playing with the colors - watching one boring gray row get matched up with some other fun colors - seeing how they all mesh together.

I'm making my ripple blanket with Berroco Comfort yarn - a super soft yarn that is really nice to work with.  The pattern I'm using actually calls for a DK weight (Comfort is worsted), but I figure maybe my afghan will just be slightly larger than it's supposed to be.  I'm not a fan of measuring...and really...does an afghan have to a precise size if you're just going to cuddle with the puppy (or the hubby) on the couch with it?

I've been buying the yarns for my blanket during random trips to the yarn store - trying to remember each time what I already have in my stash and to visualize how the new colors I want to get will go with the ones I already have.  I'm so glad I finally combined all my yarns into one bin so I can really see how everything is going together.  I've actually carted the entire bin into the yarn shop the past two weekends so I could see where colors needed to be swapped out or added.  If you're working on a blanket with lots of colors, I highly recommend bringing all your yarns into the store so you can see if that new pink color really does go with all the other colors you've worked into your creation.

Anywho, you guys know I've been working on organizing and getting things together.  I think I'm going to take a bigger step towards attaining some sort of harmony in my life...or perhaps, even several small steps towards bettering myself.  One simple thing I'd like to do is work on "me" time.  I've been trying to do a wee bit of crochet or reading every day...just to wind down from the day's craziness.  I've been trying to work on this task for the past couple weeks, but some days just seem to slip away from me with to-do's and what not.  In fact...it's getting late here, so I'm off to work a few ripply-stitches and hit the sack.  Nighty-night!

Beautiful Weekend

It was a beautiful weekend here in the Carolinas!  I took Bailey for a quick walk yesterday to enjoy the warm weather and beautiful, golden leaves.  Bailey enjoyed the fresh air and all the sticks he found on his walk.

He, of course, gravitated towards the largest stick on the lawn.  He just loves sticks - the bigger, the better!  It's especially funny to see him trying to carry the ones he can barely lift.

He was having a blast w/ that stick!

He found a bunch more sticks just next to the creek.  Too many to choose from, eh Bails?

It's so cute to see Bailey all "smiley" like this.  It's almost like he's saying, "Thank you, mommy!"  You're welcome, puppy...glad you had a good time.

Giada's Winter Minestrone - Cold Weather Comfort

I don't know about you, but the cooler weather has been making me crave comfort food like mad, so the other day, I searched foodnetwork.com for a great soup recipe.

When I found Giada's Winter Minestrone recipe (click here for link), which had 181 reviews and five stars, I knew I'd found a winner.  It probably helps that I'm a big fan of Giada and have had success with several of her other recipes.  Anywho, her recipe starts with lots of fresh veggies (see above).

The veggies are cooked with pancetta.  And while we're talking about pancetta, can I tell you that hubby found a cute little container of pancetta all nicely cubed up into itsy-bitsy pieces?  What a time saver?  He found it at Trader Joe's.

Add some tomatoes, potatoes, and some fresh herbs...smelling good now!  Then add broth and a parmesan cheese rind (and some other stuff...check out the recipe link above).  The parmesan cheese rind isn't exactly a staple in most people's kitchens, but luckily for me, I've been watching Giada's shows for a couple years now and noticed how she often mentions saving her parmesan rinds in the freezer so she can toss them in soups, so I had one in stock.  Save those parmesan rinds, people! :)  They add a lot of flavor to soups.

I like to serve soup with big pieces of crusty bread.  We're big fans of Rachael Ray's Garlic Bread recipe - it's a staple in our house and super easy.  I like to add a pinch of salt to the oil/butter mixture used in the recipe whenever I make it.  Yum!  If you're looking to make a big pot of comfort soup, these two recipes are sure to fit the bill!

Joining the Ripple Bandwagon

Earlier this year, I fell in love with the gorgeous ripple blanket I saw over at Posy Gets Cozy and decided that when my crochet skills were more up to par (or when I felt daring enough) that I would try to make one for myself.  

So Bails and I curled up on the couch with Alicia's suggested ripple pattern in the Vintage Crochet book and got started.

Here's what I do to my crochet projects because I can't count.  I mean, I can count...I'm just not good at it.  lol.  I like to say I have the memory of a goldfish.  (You think this is messy...you should see me playing tennis!  lol)  Anywho, I think just don't pay attention when I'm counting, and I lose track of what number I'm on and it's just not pretty.  So, I came up with a solution.  Here's my trick to counting crochet stitches: I count in smaller numbers (10's and 20's) and mark those groups with stitch holders.  I add up the stitch holders and multiply by the number of stitches in each group and I have all the stitches counted - easy as pie!  It really is easier - especially when you've got a lot of chain stitches to start with.

Not a bad start...just a couple more hundred rows to go...woohoo!