Food Friday

Yep, here it is Food Friday and I don't even have any recipes today. Actually, I knew I would be making a few things this weekend, so I didn't make anything interesting during the week. Tonight, I think I'm going to make pies. Maybe a lemon meringue and a lemon icebox. I'm not a fan of lemon pies, but tomorrow is Billy's birthday and that's what he requested. I already bought him his present - contacts. I have a little freckle (ok, a little mole) by my left eye and the other day he said,"What's that by your eye?" I'm prettier when I'm blurry - no flaws.

But, since it is Food Friday, I am going to post a couple pics of food.



This is a cake I made a few years ago for my parent's 40th anniversary. I used boxed cake mixes (red velvet), and made my own buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant. I'd like to try something like this again, without the fondant. I like the look of a smooth cake, but I don't think I could smooth my buttercream exactly how I would want it, so maybe I'd use coconut or nuts next time to camouflage that.



Apparently, I haven't been to a Super Bowl Party since 2005. But, this Sunday, I'm going to my sister's house to enjoy the game. Actually, I really mean I'm going to eat good food. I'm not even sure what I'm bringing yet, I was thinking fruit dip since that's something I've been wanting to try to make, but I don't know yet. I do know that the baklava (made by Ali!) on that table looks really good right now. And the boneless wings, and potato skins, and the muscadine hot sauce over the cream cheese, and even the veggies and grapes.

Hope everyone has a good weekend! Are you going to watch the big game? Or, are you going to be like me and use it as an excuse for a party?!

Wordless Wednesday - Yep, That's About Right

More Random Stuff

1. Billy went to Oklahoma last week to see his dad. The weather for last Thursday and Friday was in the mid 60's, so he took the motorcycle. On his way back home, a car hit him. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it could have been and he was even able to ride the rest of the way home. He's got some scrapes and he's still pretty sore. Every time he'd make a noise, he'd say that he doesn't mean to be a baby about it. I'd have to tell him that it's ok, he GOT HIT BY A CAR! The bike isn't too bad, the crash bars did their job, but the saddlebags are awfully roughed up. Now he's got the fun job of getting estimates and dealing with insurance. Ugh. I'll have to show him this picture again, since it was the left side that went down.



2. Remember the purse I've really, really been wanting?



The Coach Bleecker Patent Leather Tote in Black. No way was I ever going to pay $398 for it, so I checked Dillard's a few weeks ago to see if it was on clearance. No black, but there was a blue one for $250. I really wasn't going to go above $200, so I figured my perfect black tote was completely out of my reach. I even tried on a Dooney & Bourke Black Patent Cindy Tote, $210, not bad if I could get it on sale. At least I could count on it not disappearing like Coach stuff does. But, I just couldn't stop thinking about the Bleecker Tote. So, I went ahead and texted my brother in Orlando and just told him to be on the look out for one since he works at Dillard's. Well, he went above and beyond and tracked one down for me at another store near him! And guess what the price is?! He can get it for about $90!!! I seriously can't tell you how excited I am about this! I know in the picture it just looks like a regular purse, but when I saw it in person, it just made me happy. And because I'm a bit of a pessimist, I keep thinking that the other store is confused and it's not the one I want. Ok, I'm going to stop, I've jinxed it enough already. Here's a picture of me and my awesome brother. I'm not good with photoshop otherwise I would've done something about the weird color. Everything looks kind of yellowish green.


3. Ali did this once before, so I'm going to do it. Here's the first 5 songs that came up on my iPod in shuffle mode.

Express Yourself - Madonna
Morning Calls - Dashboard Confessional
Rapid Hope Loss - Dashboard Confessional
Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
Screaming Infidelities - Dashboard Confessional

Ok, that was embarrassing. I promise I have more than just DC and Madonna on there. Well, not much more, any suggestions?

Pretzel Peanut Bark

It's Food Friday!

I've had Paula Deen's recipe for Pretzel Peanut Bark bookmarked ever since I saw her make it on her show. It looked so easy, quick, and delicious. I didn't use the exact ingredients because I really wanted to use up the half a package of vanilla Almond Bark that was in the cabinet. So I made a mini version.

Half a package of vanilla Almond Bark
1 cup broken pretzel sticks
1/2 cup (heaping) salted peanuts
1 package of M&Ms

Melt almond bark for 1 minute 45 seconds, stir, add the rest of the ingredients (I was just eyeballing it really, add more or less, whatever looks good) and stir. Spread on foil lined baking sheet and let set. I did put mine in the fridge for a bit. Since it's almond bark it didn't take long to set up. Break it up and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Don't Laugh - I Helped Paint It!

Random Stuff

This is going to be such a scatterbrained post today. Nothing I'm talking about has anything to do with each other. I'm not even sure that sentence made sense. Maybe I should number my topics. It won't make it make more sense, but it will make me feel better.

1. Yay for me! I got another award from Pooba! I know I've mentioned her sidebar before - I'm watching, reading, enjoying, etc..., but I'm mentioning it again because I seriously love that. Go check it out. It's one of my favorite things about her blog.
2. It's been a couple years since I've used the Schick Intuition razor and even though I liked it, I stopped using it after I ran out of cartridges. So, I was in the razor aisle at Walmart this past weekend, wondering why the frick razor blades cost so much and decided to pick some up. Surprisingly, I still had the razor handle part underneath the sink, so I got a box of 3 for $8.32. All I can say is, "I missed you, dear Intuition. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize how perfect you are. Please, forgive me." I love this razor. It's great during winter since I don't show my legs that much - just some quick swipes takes care of things. It's great during summer when I wear capris - just want to touch up the ankles and calves. I even used it under my arms, even though I consider that area just a bit more delicate, so I was afraid of irritation - but it was fine. I love it - go buy it.


3. I'm not really into art that much, and most sculptures make me angry. The weird abstract ones, I mean. But, there are some things I like. I haven't gotten around to framing, or even hanging mine yet. I'm waiting till I get my own bedroom (weird dream of mine that probably will never happen). But, I was reminded of it when I heard that Andrew Wyeth had died last Friday. I believe this one is called Master Bedroom and is a 1965 watercolor. It reminds me of Maggie.

4. And lastly - I finished the Twilight books! Still haven't seen the movie. And because I still want Edward to be my boyfriend, 'movie Edward' better not disappoint me. I borrowed my next read from my sister - She Got Up Off The Couch by Haven Kimmel. I love free reads.

Snowman Cookies

It's Food Friday!

I'm convinced that Arkansas still has a big snow fall in it's system before winter is over. Yesterday, I got my hopes up when the sky spit out a few flurries. Nothing came of it, but it was still pretty. It may not happen until March, so in the meantime, I made these cute snowman cookies. I got the idea from Ingrid's ghost cookies back in November. But, instead of waiting until Halloween, or even until a Ghost Hunter's marathon, I improvised.

Nutter Butter cookies
Vanilla Almond Bark (half a package made 13 cookies for me)
M&Ms
Orange Tic Tacs
Black Decorator Icing

After melting the Almond Bark for 90 seconds, I used a spoon to help cover the cookies when I dipped them. The spoon helped to get them on the foil too, since I didn't want fingerprints. I didn't put the Tic Tacs or the M&Ms on until I finished dipping all of them - I wanted the Almond Bark to set a little bit. As for the icing, I just squirted some in a ziploc bag and cut the tip just a tiny, tiny bit.

Easy!

Notice that my glass even has snowflakes on it!

Time For A Girly Post!

It's been awhile since I've browsed the Juicy Couture site - they have some really cute things! I'll try not to use the word 'cute' too much, but I really shouldn't promise anything.

This is a ceramic dog treat jar ($45). I totally wouldn't use this for dog treats, but it would look cute in a girly girl room. There's is also a cookie jar (sale, $39) that's really cute too. Oops, I said cute again.

Monopoly ($58). Who knew?!

Crown Bank ($48). I would look so stylish carrying this into Kroger to empty my change into the Coin Star machine. Ha ha!

Chain Inlay Enamel Bangles ($88). I like this. I've been searching for a bracelet like that really thin one on the bottom. Coach has one, but it's way more expensive. I like the fact I would get 3 for this price, especially since I would probably wear them separately anyway.



Holiday Cards (sale, $16). I can't imagine sending Juicy Couture Christmas cards to my grandma's, but - I love them!

Girls Logo Binkies (set of 3, $31). Juicy Couture Pacifiers?! I think I may have squealed when I saw these!

Ok, I better stop, or else I will just end up posting the entire website on my page.

So, what do you think? See anything you like?

Weekend Recap And A Monday Meme

I had a great weekend! It actually started Thursday at 3 pm. I loaded Maggie up and we headed to my hometown. I enjoyed seeing my family, especially my two nephews.


And Maggie enjoyed playing with my sister's huskies, Howard and Lexie. Even though they wouldn't let her sleep on their bed.


I know that wasn't much of a weekend recap, so here's a meme! Don't ask me where I got it, for some reason I just wrote about 15 questions down on a sheet of paper instead of bookmarking the page. Maybe I can search for it again, because I think it actually had about 50 questions in all.

1. Do you get nervous before doctors appointments? Yes, that's why I never go. And I'm great at putting stuff off.
2. Age? 35. I should probably start making regular doctors appointments now.
3. What's in your pocket? No pockets.
4. How many TVs in your house? 1.
5. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? I should have gotten up 10 minutes ago.
6. What are 3 drinks you regularly drink? Diet soda, water, hot mint green tea.
7. Do you own slippers? No. Actually, I do! Purple fuzzy ones, but I only wear them when I get out of the shower.
8. What shirt are you wearing? Blue sweater.
9. What's 1 trait you dislike about yourself? I'm not good at responding quickly to people. I second guess everything I think to say and so I end up not saying anything.
10. Favorite candy? Gigantic gumballs are a treat. I'm on a Skittles kick right now.

Your turn! Pick a question and tell me about yourself!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my mom's birthday, so I'm actually in my hometown today. But, I wanted to put up a few pictures of what my sister and I got her.



OPI Nantucket Mist (hope she likes the color), Orly Bonder, and Seche Vite dry fast top coat.

I've heard awesome things about Seche Vite. I don't know how I've missed it at Sally's before, but I found it when I stopped in to get the Orly Bonder. So, of course, I had to buy a bottle for myself too. I going to write this down - no more polish for me until February. Promise. Anyway, they had a deal - buy 2 Seche Vite, get a bottle of China Glaze free. Since I got a present and our mother got a present, then Ali got the China Glaze. She likes OPI Bubblebath, so I picked out Innocence. Side by side though, I think this might be pinker. Can't wait to see these new colors on.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - My Addiction Collection Keeps Growing

Weekend Recap

I don't know about anywhere else, but the weather was so nice on Saturday. Almost up to 80 degrees! Billy and I went on a motorcycle ride in the afternoon and he didn't even have to use the heated grips I got him for Christmas. It was just me for the rest of the day and night, so after doing a little grocery shopping, I started on my cleaning list. I decided to be more organized with my cleaning chores so I made out a schedule - what gets done at the first of the month, what gets done on my days off, etc. - as part of my New Years resolution. Yeah, it's not working out so great. I do love making lists and checking off everything I've done, so maybe I'll just stick with that. One resolution down, let's see how many more I can break!

Little Miss Sunshine was on tv Saturday night. I'm glad I got to watch it again - I had forgotten what a good movie that was. I know it's a bit crude, but I think it's hilarious when they are on the bus and the grandpa is telling 16 year old Duane to "date" girls his age now because in a couple years it would be jail time.

After work on Sunday, we had Jason's Deli for dinner. I had the salad bar, which I would honestly get even if I wasn't trying to eat better. I did have a couple bites of Billy's barbeque potato - really good. Afterwards, we went to JCPenney's and I bought Billy a early birthday present - a remote control helicopter. I think the purpose was to torture Maggie and Studley with it. And I got a late Christmas present! He bought me G - the coconut scent from Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers line of perfume. He actually got me Music for Christmas (the only one I hadn't tried at that point). I don't mean to complain or be ungrateful, BUT I made a list for him and even underlined G. Men.


The night ended with a pedicure for both of us! He used my PedEgg, I poured sugar and baby oil in his hands to make a scrub, and then into the foot spa, and lastly - lotion and socks. He skipped the polish though. I did not - I got an awesome new color. I'll try to post a pic Wednesday.

Did everyone else have a good weekend? And speaking of polish - what are you wearing?

Wait! One More Thing...

It's Food Friday!

I just had to use my 'after Christmas clearance' Santa at least one time before I packed it away with all the other Christmas things. So, instead of chips and dip or crackers and cheese, I made mini cupcakes and frosting. Perfect to pig out on before my New Years resolution to eat better begins. And when I say I 'made' them, I mean I used a box of cake mix and a tub of frosting.


Have a great weekend!