New Products

So.... I got some new mascara. Let's just say it was Dior, and let's just say it cost slightly less than the annual GDP of one or more small African nations. However, I do not fell at all poorly about spending my entire paycheck on one small .38 fl oz tube of mascara, and this is why. Andrew totally noticed. Mascara must be absolutely amazing if a man is going to notice your eyelashes. The miracle happen in church last Sunday. I, having already had the mascara for approximately 3 days, had already sung the praises of what could possibly be the best mascara in the world. I realize that it was on my lashes, so how could I miss the luxurious length and devastating thickness provided by my new mascara. But the thing that really sealed the deal, and that will forever prevent me from going back to regular mascara, is the fact that Andrew totally noticed!!! He turns to me and says,"Your eyelashes look really good today." Ha ha ha ha! He was right of course, they did look amazing. After I told him of my purchase, he was less than happy to know that because of his acknowledgement, I will probably continue to buy the fancy mascara, no matter the cost, until the come up with something better, or I get lash extensions, which I would so do. 

So ladies, save you pennies! In fact start hording some lose change, and any cash you may find, so when you finally save enough to purchase it, your significant other won't be able to check the bank statement and see how much it cost. In fact this is one of the many tricks I use, to thwart Andrew's attempts to curve my spending. Oh he knows I do it, he is just helpless to stop me. Why? Because I have many different locations to hide the spare cash, that's another hint, spread it around. Therefore if your man does come upon your stash, he won't know that you have another one hidden two drawers down. Okay, just kidding, I am totally not encouraging anyone to lie or deceive. However, that isn't going to stop me. 

In fact more than one of these little tricks, allowed me to purchase this super cute bag, at the Provo Farmer's Market this weekend. 

    

It is hand made and has the cutest little pockets inside. Basically I blame this purchase on Mandy, because she pretty much pressured me into it. Which is the second time she has pressured me into buying something, if you head on over to her blog, you will find out she also pressured me into buying some marzipan last Friday. What can I say? I am a sucker for peer pressure. But that's okay, because I love love love my new bag, and I couldn't be happier. What you can hopefully tell from this picture is that there is a totally fierce dragon on the side. I like to pretend he is my protector. Oh and don't you love the purple? Ahh.... I know I do. 

And now for a little aside on my beloved husband. Other than the fact that he turns the other way when I want to spend outrageous amounts of money on beauty products, he is making great headway into the attorney job market. So far he has had a number of call backs, in a variety of exotic destinations, such as D.C and Dallas. So he is well on his way to a summer associate, which could end in an actual job offer from a firm. I am finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Barely, its faint, but its definitely there. So good job Andrew, with everything that you do, I am just glad you still find time to practice your golf swing and for me and my eyelashes!!! 

Apples and Bananas....

... Or actually it should be bananas and zucchini. Are you ever faced with the question of what to do with leftover produce? Well, I'm not. In fact I had to steal 4 bananas and horde them downstairs until they were ripe enough to make some banana bread. Actually that's not true. I got three already ripe bananas from my friend Jan at work, so I only had to steal 1 banana from upstairs. With those 4 bananas in hand, this is what I created:




I only had three mini loaf pans, so the left over batter was made into cuppy-cakes. I like to mix things up like that. So this banana bread was out of this world!! I got the recipe from the Picky Palate blog, which makes the score 2 for 2, which is pretty good. What makes this banana bread extra special is the white chocolate, and cinnamon chips, as well as the coconut, and butter frosting glaze. It was supposed to have toasted coconut on top, but I was too lazy. What is a cinnamon chip you ask? Well...its like a chocolate chip, but cinnamon flavored. Not cinnamon flavored chocolate, just the cinnamon. I though they would be a little bit hard to find, seeing as how the options in Utah grocery stores is a little low, but boy was I wrong. All it took was 1 trip. A single trip to Harmon's and I was set. So thanks Harmons, for fulfilling all of my culinary needs. Needless to say the 1/2 package of vanilla pudding was the mositure maker. And you thought that regular banana bread was moist. Well just imagine regular banana bread, with all of that ripe banana moistness, and add to that the moisturizing power of pudding...and you have one exceedingly moist banana bread.

Before moving on to the next selection of produce, I feel I should just let you know that I am listening to Christmas music. Right now. Its so great. I almost feel like if I look out the window it'll be snowing. Just for tonight, let's pretend its December. I know I am.

Now, on to the zucchini:

Zucchini = another moist maker. These are some zucchini brownies, and as far as alternate ingredient desserts, this may be one of the best. This is an old recipe from the farm in Idaho. I've personally never made it before, but I know its a fav of Kara and Mama K. Thanks to Suzanne for the zucchini. Or actually thanks to Suzanne's friend who gave her the zucchini in the first place! Sorry that the frosting was lumpy, but the whisk was in the dishwasher. I had to take an picture of the empty pan, just to prove that they were eaten, regardless of the vegetable hidden within.

These are two very basic things to do with left-over produce. Nothing super fancy. But its better than just letting it sit there and rot, which I am going to admit, I am prone to doing. A mere two weeks ago, I bought some raspberries, and peaches, thinking that I was going to make some peach muffins. Well that didn't happen, as it turned out the raspberries went bad, and the peaches started hosting a colony of fruit flies. However I did eventually use the peaches to make some cupcakes, but I had to go out and buy new raspberries, so that was like 5$ done the drain. Not cool. And half of the peaches were waaay to ripe, so let this be a lesson. A lesson I learned, and am sharing it with all of you, so you don't have to make your own mistakes. I feel that's a really nice thing to do. It must be the Christmas music....

Forced Update

This is a forced update, not one that I am doing by choice. With that in mind, it probably won't be very interesting. Because the fact of the matter is...nothing is going on in my life right now that needs to be updated on. Nevertheless here it is:

So according to Andrew the most exciting update in our life is the fact that we finally got new tires on our explorer. I am pretty sure the previous ones had been on there since the dawn of time. With the new tires on, its like a brand new car! Really, its amazing.

While Andrew's Dad was gone we just happen to have a treat extravaganza!!! Just to spite his absence, not really, it just happened that way. But I do feel very bad for him, missing all of the deliciousness.
This monster is partaking of some oreo chocolate chip cookies, complements of the Picky Palate Blog. The monster eating the cookies, is complements of... I am not sure actually where it came from, but it is constantly hanging around the house, and it looked hungry so...


Below is an Arepa. A sort of corn mealy sandwich that Andrew used to eat every day on his mission. I was introduced to the arepa in London, at Camden Market, strange to find a Venezuelan food in London, but it was there, and it was incredible. So upon our arrival home, I happened across an arepa recipe in one of my many cookbooks. So Andrew challenged me to a arepa cook off. He was making his from memory, and I was following a recipe.....and they turned out the exact same. The filling is made from roast chicken, avocados, and I had cilantro in mine, but Andrew feels this is the devil's own weed, so it was left off his.

These to the right are Red Velvet Cake balls, that I found on a blog..... the name of which I cannot remember. But if you really need to know, call me and I will look it up for you. These were super fun to make! The blog is super cute with tons of different ideas! You can put the RVCB on lollipop sticks or make them with chocolate cake, the list goes on and on. The possibilities are endless.

Here are two more treats that were made:
Strawberry mascarpone mini cupcakes, thanks Giada!


And this is impressive display of fruit was created by Suzanne! Great job.

And this last one is a picture of me holding a newly born infant. Keep this one for the records because its never happening again! Its baby Cambria, and she's really cute. I know what you are thinking.... I look really good holding babies. I agree, but unfortunately not enough to produce my own.

So now we are back in school, and having a great time. Remind me again while I am still going. Pretty much because its my only excuse, for not having to work full time. And because I love love love school supplies. It gives me the excuse to buy all of the supplies I need, such as color sharpies, cupcake and hello kitty note books, a pocket atlas. Tell me, when is the last time you needed to purchase a pocket atlas?

So there is the update, and now I am off to watch the new 90210 series! What kind of trouble can those kids from Beverly Hills get into now? Stay tuned to find out!