Hot Dog!

Gourmet hot dogs (Thai dog and the Italian boot), a new party dress, a brisk walk in 58 degree temps, spending the evening with one of my most hilarious friends and planning a trip to Moscow in September. This Friday is really shaping up.

A Major Adult Moment.

Today I paid off my car.. one month early.

WAHOO!

No one takes me to bed and to the cleaners in the same night!

So when we wore gratuitous holiday flair for opening presents this year, my sister and I chose sweaters with shoulder pads.  The whole night we were making Dynasty references (poses, evil looks, etc.), despite never having actually seen the show.  As the Dynasty jokes remained long after Christmas, we decided to educate ourselves on the ways of the rich Carrington family as to actually understand the jokes we were making.

Thus the Dynasty weekend was born:

Mother dearest.

Sisters.  Bitter Rivals.

Contempt.

Cat fight!

There was food: cheese ball, bruschetta, and best of all: chocolate/caramel fondue.  Mom made this by combining chocolate chips, caramels, and sweet and condensed milk.  We dipped marshmellows; bananas; strawberries; angel food cake. 

At some point we changed into PJs since sharp sequins on your rib cage aren't conducive for slouching on the couch and stuffing your face.  Below is sister breaking down whether or not Michael was actually pointing at Fallon or flipping her off.

It was hilarous.

7 inches of snow.

..time for cute rubber boots!

Beep Beep, Who's got the keys to the Jeep

I don't drive a Jeep.  I do enjoy Missy 'Mistameanor' Elliot songs from when I was in middle school though.  What is she, on felonies now?

Driving home for Christmas, my metal key chain flew off into the crevice between the driver's seat and console, never to be heard from or seen again.  Then serendipitously, I got a family crest key chain in my Christmas stocking that very evening.  Except that it broke after only two days of use.  Fail.

I went several days without key flair before I realized I had a fabulous one sitting in my jewelry box.  My Great Grandma's return-to key chain for their cute little house next to the church on the hill that I vaguely remember visiting. 



Phone number 5.... as in they were the fifth phone in town?  That can't be it, but I don't know what else it could mean.

I love having this with me every day now.  I'm sentimental like that.  :)

Nawlins

Remember when it was so hot and muggy outside you couldn't breathe? Sigh. I do.  It's -7 degrees right now and as with all post-Christmas snowstorms, I'm over it. 

Back when it was warm I went to New Orleans for work, and thanks to work was able to gorge myself on local cuisine.  Remembering that helps to offset the regret for not becoming a teacher to get snow days.  

Fried goat cheese salad with mixed greens.  

Gumbo.  Extra stars for presentation.

The best part of traveling for work? Ordering fancy food from room service to eat on the bed while watching cable.   

I was watching 'Bringing Up Baby', and man was that girl spoiled.  What about his fiancee? 

Red Beans and Rice.

Frog Legs!!!!! I DID feel guilt about potentially eating a Disney character (hello, Princess & the Frog). Would it be cliche to say it tasted like chicken?

A pit stop from walking around to get self serve yogurt and look out over the river (FYI this was prime oil spill time and the 24 hour news networks were reporting from this riverfront). Two seconds after I took this photo I spilled all over my chambray dress. Messy eater, party of one.

 

Talk about serendipitous, a college friend of mine was traveling through New Orleans solo one of the days I was there.  Bourbon street it so much more fun with a buddy. 

Buttery oyster, fried pickles, fried alligator, the works.

Eggs benedict, my favorite breakfast.

Alligator Ravioli

Flight of moonshine.  Can you believe we did this for a work dinner? I can't.  Nevermind the fact that I was supposed to sip it politely isntead of tip my head back and down it.  I knew that.

The world's best BLT

Homemade salted caramel popsickle.  Mind altering.

You must visit this place in the warehouse district.  It's fancier next-door neighbor (same owner) 'Butcher' was equally phenomenal.

Is that a strip club sign in that picture? Eh, probably.  Oh New Orleans, I think of you fondly as I turn on the space heater next to me.

Delivery!

A circle's round, it has no end...

that's how long I want to be your friend.

Man versus Machine

My television remote has not been working for five days.  It is driving me crazy.  Somewhere someone in the building unplugged something and my screen went fuzzy for an hour.  Paranoid it was me, I tried to reset the remote (bonus, I still have my manual), except doing so made it totally inoperable.  Even after multiple attempts to restore it. 

I now have to walk up to the television to change the channels.  What am I, a cavewoman?

Of course this could be the Universe's way of telling me to turn off the TV and go expand my horizons by reading Moby Dick.  However I'm going with the much-more-logical possessed remote theory. 

Peppermint Patties!

It's Snowmageddon outside and I even wore rubber boots to work today... with flats to change into.  I'm like working girl meets Annie Oakley.  That is if Annie Oakley represented cold weather roughing it instead of wild west and guns.  Working girl meets... the Abominable Snowman? I'll work on finding a more accurate reference.

The fact that I chose lounging around yesterday dreaming of being picked to be the new 'Quality Girl' and whisked off to Paris seems now like a pretty ineffective use of time compared to getting groceries, gas and preparing for seven inches of snow that has dumped itself on my fair city.

I wish I had chains on my tires. Here's hoping I'm not marooned or starve to death this week. 

Although I have a healthy supply of chocolate and 99 luftballoons playing in my head, so what a way to go.

I used Jenna's recipe to make homemade Peppermint Patties for my Boss.  These are his favorite candy and his Birthday was Friday.  Too bad I ran out of peppermint extract and .... wait for it.... discovered that corn SYRUP is not corn OIL.  *slaps hand on forehead* Why do the grocery store powers that be not even put them close together? How am I supposed to know these things without assistance?  This revelation and resulting baking fail delayed the gift to Monday delivery.

 

The first batch I made looked and tasted like crusty dried toothpaste.  The second batch I made tasted like heaven.  The key was to be heavy handed with the wet ingredients.  Although I have yet to figure out a way to coat something in chocolate and make it look smooth and delicious.  They always kind of look like they were visciously attacked and smothered to death to recieve a chocolate fauxhawk.  Ratio of peppermint to chocolate favors the chocolate.  Bad thing?

Practice Makes Proficient.

These say 'Hey I'm a Great Employee Who Deserves a raise for 2011', right?  I thought so too.

Get excited Emily, you get the leftovers!

Lazy Sunday

S'wonderful, S'marvelous

No touching, Read the Sign

Enjoying a Whoopie Pie at the art museum with Uncle Paul & Aunt Anne.

I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to eat this, even if I'm still not sure which chairs are for sitting (read: proceed through the sculpture exhibit with caution).

A New Year

Happy 2011! So I've never been a big one for resolutions (mostly because I have the self discipline of Ricky Lake) but I love a good craft project.  After seeing this collage project on the fitnessista, I figured I would squeeze in a little more QT with the two foot tall stack of O! and Self Magazines before I finally threw them out.

The result: an Inspiration Board for the new year.

Happy thoughts, encouraging messages, even a few things to which I aspire.  A little hokey, but so am I.

Some things are just pretty pictures and should not be taken literally.  For instance I don't necessarily want to try to float across the city in helium balloons, I think we all learned our balloon boy lesson. 

I've also decided I'd like this blog to be a place where I post more frequently, more randomly, less formally and about whatever strikes my fancy. You can rest assured that food shoes and booze will be included. :)

Next year could be a great year, right?

Fur pillows are hard to actually sleep on...

Ending in a preposition? Worth it. This video has been the highlight of my day.

A Holly Jolly Christmas

It's a hard act to follow Bill Clinton.  Just ask W  (I kid I kid).  But my holidays were lovely, filled with family, friends and food.  As if there is more to life.

One of my hilarious college friends had her 30th birthday party.  The theme was the death of her twenties.  I did a terrible job of keeping the secret that I was bringing surprise guests in from St Louis, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Bowling Green KY.

There were at least two dozen of my college girlfirends in town, all dressed in black and laughing and dancing to all our old favorite songs.  It was my everything.  My mom even took an old handkerchief of my dad's, added lace and had it monogrammed with the birthday girl's name. It was a hilarious prop. 

Dirty Christmas Cookies

Dirty as in graphic decoration, not as in dropped on the floor.

And introducing Emily to the movie white Christmas.  I think she especially loved when I sang all the parts and told her what was going to happen before it happened. 

There was also holiday gift crafting.

Scrabble played via ipad/iphone

 What you see is brother about to totally give up.. Mwahahahahh

There was fancy experimental food

Like Pumpkin Fondue. 

• Pumpkin
• Gruyere Cheese
• Bacon
• crusty bread
• Heavy Cream

Unhealthy. Delicious.

A Tacky Sweater Tapas party for the fam.

Ridiculousness

And finally figuring out the camera timer.  It's a delicate balance.

Happy New Year!