Today, I began my new goal: reorganize my clutter. I dont know how it happens, but everything in my room turns to clutter. My desk gets cluttered, my closet gets cluttered, my drawers get cluttered, anything and everything gets cluttered. I believe that there is a clutter magnet attached to everything I own. I know, I know, I know…its my fault. Probably cause I dont pick up after myself right away, I usually let it pile up until I cant stand it anymore. Its such a devasting diease…this thing called clutterness. Signs and symptoms are desks with only a few inches of workspace, drawers where socks cannot be found, and headaches from not being able to locate an item that you had in your hand 5 minutes ago. I’ve never been to the container store, but something tells me that this is what the doctor would order.
Nothing Could Be Sweeter than Cupcakes & Crepes!
Posted in dessert
I know I’ve been MIA for awhile, but I’m back and I come barring cupcakes and crepes! So, to fill in what I’ve been up to for the month in a half that I’ve been gone:
1) Classes started
2) I burnt my hand with hot scalding water giving me my first second degree burn…yay for me!
3) I’ve just been too busy juggling everything that unfortunately my blog suffers for it
Luckily, I’ve still been able to experiment with culinary confections. For Halloween, I made my famously delicious chocolate cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting and recently I’ve been obsessed with making crepes with different types of fillings. I made some savory crepes with chicken, mushroom, and spinach in a creme sauce and sweet crepes with nutella, bananas, and of course whip cream. One day I hope to own my very own professional crepe maker, then making crepes can be easier and faster to make!
My lovely pink KitchenAid
Chocolaty and moist
Before – plain and lonely
After-all jazzed up and ready to be eaten! YUM!
Collage time!
Savory Crepe- chicken, mushroom, & spinach
Late Night Snacks
Posted in cooking
So, once again I set out to try another Everday Italian recipe. This time it was a simple italian snack called a Baked Caprese Salad and surprisingly it’s not a salad, it’s more like bruschetta. This “salad” was very easy to make and if you like mozarella cheese, basil, tomato, and bread then you’re set!
My New Love
Posted in dessert
I’ve been searching for a particular Haagen-Dazs ice cream flavor for a month now. I first learned of it through the food network, when they showed a special on creating a new ice cream flavor for Haagen-Dazs and contestants from around the nation could enter and compete. The winner of the contest created a Sticky Toffee Pudding Ice Cream and after taking my first spoonful of it, I instantly knew why this ice cream flavor won. It was creamy, had the right sweetness, a hint of cinnamon, swirls of toffee sauce and bits of moist brown sugar cake. It tasted like heaven! And I must say not that many ice cream flavors taste like heaven or even come close to it. My roomates and I had agreed that if we were to die tomorrow, we would eat a whole barrel of it. Unfortunately, Sticky Toffee Pudding Ice Cream is a limited edition flavor, so it will only be available until January of next year. So, I’ll be back at the store tomorrow to buy a few more pints and I’m just in luck because Albertsons is offering a 2 for $5 special!
Empty Pockets & Overstuffed Bellies
Posted in travels
Last week, I went on a spur of the moment trip to Viva Las Vegas with a few of my research pals. This trip to Vegas was far different from all the other trips I’ve made to sin city. For three days and two nights, we just took our time to relax, enjoy each other’s company, and lay out by the elderly and obsese infested pool. It was nice to get away from normal life and actually get to know everyone away from the white coat hospital setting. For once, we could just hang out and not have to worry about anyone spying on us (it amazes me how people at the hospital have nothing to do but tattle tale). So, during our trip we took our time walking the strip, photographed the great scenic lights, lost a few dollars to the penny slots, and engorged ourselves at the bountiful buffet. So, even though I didn’t win anything, I think I still managed to gain something from this trip…a few pounds, haha.
Le Eiffel Tower – Magnifique!
View of Caesar’s Palace across Lake Bellagio
Sweets Galore at The Wynn Buffet
Ruby Red Candied Apple
Every Once In Awhile Italian
So, my boyfriend and I decided to find a recipe on the Food Network website and become iron chefs for a day. We settled on a chicken carbonara recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. Giada hosts the show Everday Italian, where she prepares and cooks some of the most appetizing and delicious Italian or Roman dishes. This show is definitely my favorite, especially because she actually makes food that looks and tastes great, and she’s not corny or prone to making strange faces like someone else on the food network (hint: this particular chef likes to say “Yum-O” repeatedly on their show, making me want to shoot myself). Moving on, our chicken carbonara turned out great! We halved the recipe and added some sliced mushrooms to make it even better, and in the end we gave it a 5-star rating!
Super Sweet 22!
Posted in life
It’s that time of the year again, my birthday! Happy birthday to me and all the other September 14 babies around the world! So, how old am I? 22. It’s an odd age to be, you’ve already surpassed all the ages where the law hereby states that you are old enough to do certain things, watched R-rated movies, officially become an adult, drink alcohol, gamble, and whatever else I missed. When I was little I would start singing the Happy Birthday song to myself a good three months before my birthday. My birthday was always something to look forward to when I was younger. I couldn’t wait to celebrate my birthday, have a party, eat cake, and most of all open my presents! Now, in the back of my mind I don’t look forward to my birthday as much, mostly because of the “getting older” part, but hey it’s life and 22 isn’t so bad, we’re still young or that’s what people older than you say haha. Now off to feast, drink, and be merry!
September Baby Boom
Posted in life
Seems like everyone’s birthday is in September…in one week I have already celebrated two birthdays, mine is coming up very soon (too soon), and another birthday is coming up next week. Although celebrating birthdays is a always a joyous occasion, it can get pretty exhausting especially when all your friends have birthdays close to one another. So many parties to attend, dinners to eat, and alcoholic beverages to drink. But in the end, no matter how many birthdays there are to attend, celebrating with friends and having a great time is always worth the overstuffed bellies and the morning after hangovers.
Farwell, Boston Creme Pie
Posted in dessert
So, the other day I went to Marie Callendar’s with a few friends to have lunch and also to make use of my birthday club freebie (see previous post). I ordered my favorite, artichoke and mushroom chicken …this is a dish everyone must try! It’s chicken breast on top of a bed of rice covered with this great creamy sauce with plenty of sliced mushrooms and artichokes. When it came around to dessert time, I ordered a slice of my favorite, boston creme pie, but as soon as I said my order to the waitress, she immediately gave me a what the hell are you talking about, you must be crazy look. I repeated my order again, thinking that she must have just heard me wrong and then she tells me that they dont have that kind of pie. I tell her that there must be some mistake because I always order this particular pie here, and so she tells me that she’ll ask just incase she was misinformed. She comes back and tells me the worst possible news, they don’t make boston creme pies anymore and they dont know if or when they might carry it again. So, I just settled with a chocolate silk pie and with every bite, I thought to myself it’s just not the same.
Birthday Freebies
Posted in shopping
So, my birthday is coming up…September 14 to be exact, and besides birthday cake and gifts to look forward to, birthday freebies that come in the mail are always great too. So far, I’ve already recieved a few in the mail:
1. $10 off any purchase at Victoria’s Secret (on top of the free panty and $10 off any bra coupon they sent simultaneously…haha, I love V.S.)
2. $5 off my entree at Marie Callendar’s plus a slice of any freshly baked pie of my choosing (I think everyone should sign up for the Birthday Club at MC’s, pie might not be the same as birthday cake, but hey it’s free! And my favorite pie is Boston Creme pie, which is a cross between cake and pie…yum yum)
3. $100 off all eyeglasses at Lens Crafters (which is great because I lost my only pair of glasses 2 years ago)
As for now, I’ll just have to wait until Labor Day is over so I can get more mail and possibly more freebies on Tuesday! I cant wait, haha.