Food Friday!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I'm so full of turkey, potatoes, casseroles, and everything else that I'm not posting a recipe today. But here are a few pics of Thanksgiving dinner.





Also, I was at Walmart the other day (seems like I'm always at Walmart) and found these -



It's filled with little bits of ice cream, like Dippin' Dots. Add milk and shake, shake, shake. And you have a milkshake! I had to stir mine up a bit, then shake some more, but it was still pretty good. They sell for $1.68 and come in 4 flavors - vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and cookies and cream.

Have a great weekend! Anyone have exciting plans? I can't wait to put my Christmas tree up!

Loreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara

I never did jump on the Cover Girl Lash Blast bandwagon, although I would still like to try it one day. I have been using Maybelline Great Lash for a while, can't go wrong with the pink and green. But, I kept seeing these Loreal commercials that mentioned 'beauty tubes,' and knew that would be the next mascara that I try. The first step is the base coat, which is supposed to protect, nourish, and strengthen. The second step is the mascara itself, "it envelopes your lashes in small tubes that act like lash-lengthening extensions." It claims that lashes will look UP TO 80% percent longer. I guess, that's compared to naked lashes, in which I would agree. But, I don't really know if I could tell a difference, as far as length, comparing it with Great Lash. Maybe. Maybe I need more practice applying it. I do know that it stayed on, and still looked really good 18 hours later. I guess that's why the package mentions that you may need to soak your lashes with warm water for 30 seconds. I really didn't find it that difficult, especially with my makeup remover wipes. All said, I liked it.

Loreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara ($8.87, Walmart)

Pros - nourishing, super long wearing
Cons - 2 steps, just a tiny bit more difficult to remove

What's your favorite mascara?

I've been slacking on my Harajuku Lovers fragrance reviews. The last sample I tried was Baby. It's described as "a powdery musk. Fresh. Clean. Soft." I was looking forward to it, because I was expecting something like Loves Baby Soft. It was sweeter than Loves, but did have a powdery scent to it. I promise I will hurry up and try Music, so I can officially proclaim G as my favorite (still loving the coconut scent!).

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Weekend Recap

My weekend started way earlier than normal. I woke up at 7 Saturday morning and for some crazy reason, I got up. Billy had just got home from work and he had stopped off to get a movie. Now, I'm actually going to tell you the name of the movie, but keep in mind that I did not pick it out. Ok, here I go, it was 'I Know Who Killed Me.' You know, the one where Lindsay Lohan plays a stripper. About 12 minutes in, Billy announced it was stupid and directly fell asleep. I decided to torture myself and I watched the whole thing. It kind of had the feel of a tv movie, and if it was on Lifetime, I don't think I would have trashed it so bad.

After the movie, it was still early so we went out for breakfast - Starbucks and Krispy Kreme. Billy got a shot of espresso in his frappacino and I thought he said 'expresso.' When I asked how he said it, he said, "I don't know, I couldn't even pronounce dismemberment at work this morning.' What?

Ate some good food over the weekend. A cheese calzone at NYPD Pizza and chips and Rotel cheese dip at McAlister's. Oh, and sweet tea. Can not forget McAlister's sweet tea.

I watched some episodes of Arrested Development on Hulu. Can't wait till the movie! And for some reason, I've been watching a lot of the History Channel. And, by a lot, I mean 3 shows. I'm still mad at Comcast for making the Style Network disappear. I miss Clean House. Watched some of the American Music Awards. Seems like there were a lot of performances. Is that normal? And I watched a cute Christmas movie on ABCFamily called 'Snowglobe.' Although, after seeing Christina Milan's cute little body, it made me regret the donuts. And the pizza. And, yeah, the cheese dip too.

Food - check. TV - check. Yep, that's a good weekend for me! Everyone else have a good weekend?


That line between my eyes better not get any deeper, or I will Botox the crap out of it.

Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits

It's Food Friday!

I love dessert. I can't help it. A meal just isn't complete to me without a sweet something at the end. And, as much as I love dessert, my waistline does not. That's why I love these Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits - no guilt. Of course, you can use any fruit, any yogurt, and any granola cereal you want, the possibilities are endless. Here's what I used:

Light vanilla yogurt
Light mixed berries yogurt
Just Bunches cereal
Strawberries
Sugar Free Cool Whip

So simple and easy, enjoy!

I Like Nail Polish... A Lot

At least it's not an expensive habit, right? I think you can still get Love My Nails, WetnWild, and N.Y.C. for around a dollar. In fact, I was checking out some N.Y.C. colors today at Walmart. Skin Tight Denim was a nice blue, and Polyester Pink was a pretty bright pink. Actually, I think I was drawn more to the names than anything. There was a brand called Pure Ice, and they had a really nice red called Nasty Girl. I was totally prepared to bash them in this post until I discovered that China Glaze has a color called Nasty. Still, call me a prude, but I'm not a fan of the 'nasty' names.

Some of my favorite names from Nicole by OPI -
Ink a Dink a Pink
I Like You a Latte
Really Really Red

I don't know why that last one is funny to me, but it is. And some more of my favorites from OPI -
Don't Socra-tease Me!
My Chihuahua Bites!
I'm Not Really a Waitress
Nice Color, eh?
Not So Bora-Bora-ing Pink
Oh... To Be 25 Again!

And according to my favorite nail polish site - All Lacquered Up, OPI is coming out with a 90210 collection with names like -
Queen of West Web-erly
Sweet as Annie-thing!
Pretty & Priviledged

I could go on and on with all the funny, crazy names out there, but I'll leave you with one more by OPI -
Who Comes Up With These Names?

I think I've asked this before, but I want to know again! What's your favorite nail polish? I think my favorite is still OPI Bubble Bath.

Monday Meme

How mean of me, I'm forcing them to spend quality time together.

My weekend was totally not exciting, so I decided to steal a meme from Robyn to put in place of a weekend recap post. I'll do my best to liven things up around here next weekend! Hope everyone else's was great!

[Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says] They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far (Twilight - finished it Saturday!)

[Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?] Bedroom door.

[What is the last thing you watched on TV?] The Pickup Artist (Not my idea, yet I couldn't look away)

[With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?] TV (Billy's watching something on the History channel - fire and space, or something)

[When did you last step outside?] This evening when I came back from Kroger.

[Before you came to this website, what did you look at?] Twitter.

[What are you wearing?] Pajamas

[Did you dream last night?] Probably, I almost always do.

[When did you last laugh?] Just a little while ago. Billy was on the phone with a buddy talking about shower doors. I found it amusing.

[What is on the walls of the room you are in?] Not a single thing.

[Seen anything weird lately?] I saw 2 dead raccoons today. Each one was on exit ramps off the interstate. One had it's little paw up in the air. Poor things.

[What do you think of this quiz?] I like it!

[What is the last movie you saw?] DVD - Get Smart. Theater - Wanted.

[If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?] A house.

[Tell me something about you that I don't know.] I hate for anyone to see me eat while I'm driving. If someone passes me, I put the food down and stop chewing.

[If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?] I just think everyone should be a lot more considerate.

[Do you like to dance?] I like to jump around, I don't think it would be considered dancing.

[George Bush.] I'm seriously not political.

[Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?] I used to like Julianne. Haven't thought about it in a while.

[Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?] Maybe Jacob. I really have no idea.

[Would you ever consider living abroad?] I can't imagine a circumstance where I would need to consider it. I'm quite happy here!

Now I Have 2!

It's a special Sunday post!

The lovely Kristen gave me this award! Isn't it fabulous? It's seriously the cutest thing I've ever seen. I met Kristen through my sister's blog and she was nice enough to start reading mine and commenting very early on. So thank you, Kristen, for that too! She makes awesome jewelry and I absolutely love her Product Junkie posts! Everyone go check her out!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Pretzel Sticks

It's Food Friday!

I always make these this time of year and I always intend on giving them as gifts. Think how cute they would look in a holiday tin or with colorful cellophane tied with pretty ribbons. But, I'm embarrassed to admit that they never make it that far. In fact, I made half a batch one night with plans to take the picture the next day. Well, the next day I ended up having to make more because I didn't have enough for the picture. Hope everyone else enjoys these simple, easy treats as much as I do.

1 28 oz jar of peanut butter (I like Jif extra crunchy)
1 pkg chocolate almond bark
1 bag of pretzel rods (about 34)
crushed peanuts (you could also drizzle white chocolate)

So the chocolate is easy to work with, I usually do these in half batches. Melt half a package of chocolate almond bark in the microwave for about 90 seconds. Stir. You can do 15 seconds more if you think it needs it. And the process is simple: spread peanut butter on pretzel rod, spoon chocolate over it, lay on aluminum foil, sprinkle with nuts, and repeat 16 more times. Easy! And, of course, you can stop there if you don't trust yourself with a full batch in the house!

Enjoy!

Look What I Got!

It's a surprise Thursday post, because I got a surprise! Lump gave me my very first award and I can't tell you how excited I am. One of the rules is to give it to 6 other bloggers, but I'm fairly new to the blogging world and I don't know if I can come up with 6! Also, because I'm new, this has done wonders for my blogging self esteem. The other rule - name 6 things you love. I'm going to do it in picture form (I'm Kreativ like that!), half smooshy and half not smooshy.

I don't have a Coach obsession...seriously...

I got online about 10 last night and started looking at purses. I should know better, because I was still at it 2 hours later. Here are some goodies:

I still like this Bleecker Patent Leather Tote ($398). When I went to Victoria's Secret in the mall the other day, I purposefully passed through Dillard's so I could look at it. And touch it (sorry to sound so creepy).

I love this. It's the Signature Stripe Studded Lurex Tote ($328). I'm wanting a black tote and I'm torn between this and the Bleecker. I really wasn't planning on getting anything signature, but look at those silver studs!
This was on the website - Lurex Capacity Wristlet ($98). I have this, but they say it's new on the site. They also don't say which line it's from, mine's Madison. I'm guessing this is too since I don't see a difference, although there must be one. Hmm.

Polar Bear Charm ($38). I'm not into charms, but I am into polar bears lately. Cute. I think they made a beagle at one time. The site also has poodles, bulldogs, and foxes right now.


And finally, this is the Op Art Julianne ($378). I'm not a fan of the bag itself, but I wanted everyone's opinion on the Op Art C's. I know it's been around for a little while now, but I'm still trying to get used to it. What do you think?

I'm not saying I'm obsessed (although Billy would say differently), but what website can you lose all track of time in? Blogs in general? Or can you sit and 'stumble' for an hour or 2?

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Weekend Recap

That's my favorite scarf that I mentioned last week. Also, that outfit is going to become my 'winter outfit' because I have no clothes. Seriously. I went shopping this past weekend and tried on at least 10 tops at Khol's and left with nothing. I need Stacy and Clinton. And $5000.

That poor girl in the picture has no idea that in a couple hours she will be fighting back tears outside of Victoria's Secret. I'm sure the past 20 bras I've had, have come from Walmart. In fact, I just bought one from there a few weeks ago. I like everything about it, except you can see the top lines of the cups through my shirts. I decided to go to Victoria's Secret because I wanted a 'professional' to pick out the perfect bra for me that meets all of my criteria (secret criteria will not be divulged for the whole internet to see!). Also, I have never been fitted and I'm always hearing about all these women wearing the wrong bra size. I think even Oprah did a show about it. I couldn't find anyone to help me (it was so crowded in there), so I grabbed one I thought I might like and stood by the dressing rooms. Someone finally came by to open a door for me and she gave me a quick measure - same size I thought I was. The one I picked out was fine, I just didn't know if there was a better one out there, so I went to look. I guess the fact that it was so crowded, there were a zillion choices of bras, and no one was available to help me just sent me over the edge a little bit and I walked out feeling completely frustrated. That's when I had my mini-meltdown. After talking to Billy I decided to try again. We both went in, I grabbed a few more bras, Billy caught a sales lady passing by and asked if I could get a dressing room. I'm going to assume that she didn't know what he said because she just kind of chuckled and moved on. I said, "See how hard it is? No one is paying attention to me!" Long story short (too late), I ended up getting the first bra I tried on. This thing better last because I'm not going bra shopping for a long, long time.

That was the low part of my weekend. The high was laying on the couch in my pjs, eating popcorn, and watching Sex and the City reruns.

Did everyone else have a good (no-stressful-bra-shopping) weekend?

Pasta with Capers

It's Food Friday! I need some garlic bread next to that bowl of pasta, don't I?

Somewhere around the age of 30, I was at an Italian restaurant and ordered the chicken piccata. Normally, I'm all about the butter, but this chicken was drowning in it. You know what saved the dish for me? I had tasted capers for the very first time and was in LOVE. I realized I had been missing something in my life for 30 years. Why didn't anyone tell me how good they are?

Here's a very simple pasta dish made with all of my favorite things, especially capers. Use any pasta you want, but I like penne because the capers sometimes get stuck in the pasta tubes.

1 stick of butter
garlic
penne pasta
1 jar of capers (drained)
parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions. Leave pasta in the colander so you can use the same pot. Melt 1 stick of butter and saute as much chopped garlic as you want. Add capers and when heated through, add pasta and toss. Serve with cheese on top. Also good with sliced grilled chicken on top.

Holiday Gift Sets

One of my favorite things about the holidays is looking at the gigantic aisle of gift sets at the store. It was being set up the other day, so I didn't get a chance to look. Plus, I wanted to wait until they were done, so I can look at every single thing. I should probably go late at night, because I seriously don't need people in my way when I'm trying to look at everything. Darn other people while I'm trying to get my joyous holiday cheer on. So, I've been looking at the Target site and I found some goodies!This isn't Christmas-y, but I like it! Pumpkin Patch Delight, $39.99, 1 dozen cookies from Mrs. Field's. I know I could buy a zillion cookies for $40, but it's cute!
This happens to be the 1990s Classic Candy Gift Box, $29.99. There were also sets for the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. I just thought it was funny that they used the word nostalgic in their description.I like this one. Simply Indulgent Gift Set, $89.99. It has a little bit of everything - chocolate, cookies, candy, salami, cheese, crackers, etc. Am I the only one who thinks it would be so much fun to sit in the middle of the floor and sample everything?And then there is the most expensive one at $249.99. It's the Lasting Impressions Gift Set (please insert some sort of 'at 250 bucks it's a lasting impression on your wallet' joke here). Looks like pretty regular stuff, except this one has caviar.

Look what I found! Giant Smarties! Smarties Mega Candy Rolls, 24 pack, $24.99. My nephews would love this. Maybe I should get this for them, so I can keep out about 12 rolls for myself.

All these gift sets are pretty blah as far as packaging goes (baskets), but I love all the mugs, bowls, and towering boxes some come in. I saw the cutest girly girl mug last year. I can't remember what was in it, but it said something about not having enough shoes. I still kick myself for not getting it, although it's not like I need another mug in the house.

Anyone else loving the gift sets this year? Or is it too early?

Weekend Recap

Of course, the weekend started with Halloween on Friday. I got off work a couple hours early so I could drive to my parent's house. That night, I got out the old alien costume and went trick or treating with my nephews - Big pup and Little pup. As much as I wanted to get a ton of Halloween candy, I was too nervous to try and pull it off. Oh yeah, I'm a grownup, I guess I could just buy my own.

Saturday was a lot of fun. I went to Big pup's last soccer game of the season. The kids got medals and there was a picnic afterwards. That's where we found out that the Boy Scouts were having a fundraiser - plane rides! Since my sister and her husband had already left for Texas for a Nascar race, and my dad said no way was he getting on one, it was up to me to go with them. I was kind of nervous, these were little planes with 2 seats up front and a little back seat. Although, I think my biggest fear was that Little pup would freak out while in the air - it was his first time (and I was with him - yay!), his brother did it 2 years ago. But he had a good time - we all did.

I drove back Saturday night since I worked on Sunday. The store has started playing Christmas music. I think I might be the only one enjoying it this early. Went out for Mexican food after work and then to Walmart for weekly groceries. Does anyone else's Walmart have Rock Band 2 set up? I think my fudge pops melted while waiting for Billy to stop playing drums. He played 2 songs and was going to play a 3rd, but thankfully, some kids had started walking toward us. There's no telling how long we would have been there if they hadn't.

So it was a great weekend. I'm already looking forward to the next one so I can relax a little and do absolutely nothing.

Everyone have a good weekend?