Saturday, August 6, 2011

Sydney day 2

Since Brooke and Scott are still sleeping (they are way more adjusted to the time difference)I figured I would blog about yesterday. We began the day by walking to Paddington Market. There are a lot of markets here, especially on the weekends. They are just local street vendors selling all kinds of stuff like jewelry, clothes, art, and all sorts of other randomness. I saw some cute things but everything in Sydney is soooo expensive! You can't eat for less than 10 dollars and a beer can be 5-8 dollars!

After the market we took a bus down to the harbor to catch a ferry to Manly Beach. The beaches are nothing like we have at home. They are very small (you can walk from one end to the other in just a few minutes) and full of surfers. They aren't a lot of people laying out in bathing suits since it is Winter here but lots of people just hanging out. We sat and watched the surfers for a little bit and then walked around the streets where there are so many shops and all kinds of food. They have some normal restaurants but mostly just little to-go places where you can get food from every culture. I ate Thai for lunch and it might have been the best thing I have ever eaten! It was something called Pad Mee that had Singapore noodles, chicken, vegetables, curry, and peanuts. Sooo good! We took the ferry back which has great views and dropped us off right by the Opera House.

The Opera House is pretty amazing and has cute restaurants and bars with live music overlooking the harbor. I would have liked to hang out there for a mid-day cocktail but it was like 15 dollars for a drink. No thank you. In front of the Opera House are beautiful botanical gardens that we walked through for a long time. There were all sorts of trees and animals. There were "water birds" that walk around everywhere which have this long skinny black beak. In one part of the gardens there were hundreds of giant bats (also known as flying foxes) hanging upside down. They were even wild cockatoos flying all around. I really loved these gardens and might need to go back.

After the gardens we went back to our room and cooked dinner and then headed out to some of the bars. Everyone is really into rugby and footy and were watching the games. I have no idea what footy is or how it differs from rugby but it is apparently very popular. I was exhausted and didn't last very long out before I had to come back and go to bed. Ready for today!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Finally in Australia!!

After several days of trying to get here- I finally made it to Australia to visit Brooke and Scott! I left Raleigh on Tuesday and got here on Friday (time difference and  a LOT of delays) still in the same clothes and a bit of a hot mess. My body has no idea what day it is or time it is and my sleeping schedule is extremely off. Its 7 am now and I've been up since 4:30 but I went to sleep really early last night because I was so tired.

Sydney is a lot like NYC- extremely busy and crowded. Yesterday we went on a double decker bus tour to see the different areas including the famous Bondi beach. We are not really sure why it's so famous...it's pretty small but very nice. It's shaped like a horseshoe which has something to do with a volcanic eruption. There were lots of surfers and people laying on the beach. We also saw the Opera house, the Sydney harbor bridge which we might climb at some point, and lots of other interesting places. I really liked looking at the houses. Some were really nice and big but they are extremely close together and have no yard. People dress weird here. It's winter so they are in winter clothes...but it's like 75 degrees. Brooke and I are in tank tops and the local people are in boots, sweaters, and coats. Aren't they hot??

So I think the plan for today is to to visit some of the local markets they have on the weekends, walk around the opera house and botanical gardens, and maybe take a harbor cruise.  I have not seen any koalas or kangaroos. Loving the accents! Pics soon.




Sent from my iPad

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Feather update

I am still currently obsessed with feather hair extensions although I was totally ripped off by going to the salon to have them put in. I am ashamed to even admit how much I spent. I have now learned that you can order feathers online for wayyy cheaper and they are really easy to put in. Lots of people on Etsy sell them as well as Amazon and Ebay. I just got 6 feathers for about $20 and put them in myself. Some places might try to sell you the little hook but you don't need it. You just need feathers, microlinks (the bead that holds it to your hair), and a piece of fishing wire. They are lots of tutorials on YouTube that show you how. It's really easy and takes like 2 minutes. Anyway, I just returned from Montana where everyone has feathers in their hair! Fly fishing is huge there so there are lots of feathers around. Feathers are used to make the little flys in case you arent familiar with fly fishing. There was even a tent set up at the local farmers market where you could get them put in your hair. I went into one of the fly fishing stores and the feathers were sooo cheap. I bought a couple bags of small feathers because I wanted to make my own feather earrings. One bag was $1.80 and I can probably make 50+ earrings out of it! Ive made a few pair (again by watching YouTube tutorials) but still need some practice and to get creative by adding different colors and charms. Here are a few I have made so far (hanging on the earring holder I crafted up a few weeks ago).

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Extreme Makeover! (well not that extreme)

My house has been for sale for at least 6 months and I haven't had a single person want to look at it.  There are so many houses around mine for sale and they are just not selling either.  So I have accepted that for now I am going to have to stay here but needed to make some changes so that I don't hate it.  I hate clutter but definitely have hoarding tendencies (I'll be on the show in 20 years for sure).  I also REALLY hate cleaning.  Now my house was not a pigsty or anything but it needs some sprucing up and updating.  Some of my furniture and stuff is from my freshman year in college..which was..well...a while ago.  My mom came down to help me today because I have a tendency to procrastinate, wander off task, and/or have complete meltdowns.  Mom keeps me focused...for the most part.  Our first mission was to recover my dining rooms chairs which were a light beige that showed all sorts of stains (like the big one where a cat threw up).  Here is the before and after.  I had never used a staple gun before so that was fun.                                    

We also got new placemats, napkins, napkin rings, and put some lights in my tree.  Here is my new (and a bit Christmasy) dining room!


We also found this super cute fabric and I am going to recover this bench seat.  Right now it is just folded because neither me nor my mom can sew at all.  Mary- this is your project.


In between stapling I was tying knots for my new wreath.  I want to start making lots of wreaths but figured I should start with an extremely easy kind as I am not very crafty (although I really want to be, darn it).  It turned out ok for a first attempt.  I stole the idea from this blog: Ribbon wreath.  I think it might be a little small but that was the only size wreath mold the store had and it could be a little neater  My next wreath is going to be one where you loop lots of different ribbon together. 

While we were out shopping I stumbled across a few other fun things like this adorable pillow from Pier 1 which was 50% off.  It was meant to be on my bed!  I also got a cool fluffy purple one for my couch downstairs. 












And then there was this.  I have no explanation other than I needed it. 












Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Zucchini!!

It is zucchini season and I have been getting a lot in my Produce Box (see previous blog for Produce Box info).  What I love about my Produce Box is that is challenges me to find new recipes to cook stuff I may not normally buy at the store.  The other week I got some very large zucchini and made zucchini parmesan which was quite delicious.  Will considers himself a carnivore and was a little skeptical because there was no meat but he really liked it.  I got the recipe from the allrecipes app which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!  Here is the link to the recipe I used although I made some small changes.  Zucchini Parmesan

Last week I got like 6 more zucchini and groaned a little.  What was I going to do with MORE zucchini?  Zucchini bread!  I have had zucchini bread before but never tried to make it.  I found a recipe (on allrecipes of course: Zucchini Bread ) and made a couple small changes based on some of the reviewers comments and personal preferences.  Here is my recipe:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsps ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsps vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini (grating the zucchini was not nearly as hard as I though it would be)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

  1. Preheat oven to 325
  2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a large bowl
  3. Beat eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla, and sugars together in large bowl. Add sifted ingredients and beat well.  Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined.  Pour into 2 greased and floured (or spray with PAM with flour) bread loaf pans
  4. Bake for 40-60 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes our clean
Someone (thanks for the tip Lauren John Russell) suggested I put blueberries in it so I tried this in one of the loaves.  I had some blueberries from my Produce Box so I threw those in before putting the batter in the pan.  About 1/4-1/2 cup. This is the one that I tried and it is delicious!  I put the other one in the freezer.  Here they are cooling. My sizes were not so even.  The small one took about 45 minutes to cook and the bigger one took closer to 60.
YUMMMM

Easy curled hair!

If you are not using Pinterest you need to be! It's kinda like one giant public blog where people post or "pin" up their favorite things. It's things like pictures, clothes, crafts, decorating ideas, recipes, and much more. It then links you to the original source. I am pretty new at it so there are probably lots of other things it can do too.

 Anyway, I couldnt sleep (probably due to the fact I slept until 10 am and then took a 2 hour nap later) and was looking at Pinterest about 1:30 am when I saw this crazy technique to curl your hair.  All you need is a large elastic headband. I watched the video tutorial and had to get up right away and try it. It was so easy...took like maybe 5-7 minutes and then I just slept on it all night and when I woke up here is what had!    I didn't use any product and didn't wrap very tightly (that will make sense after you watch the video). I just got up so excuse the no makeup.




Here is the video tutorial.






Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Book review: Sing You Home

If you have not read any of Jodi Picoult's books, you are really missing out. She has been one of my favorite authors for years and I just finished her latest book, "Sing You Home." I love her books because they are about current, relative, and usually controversial and ethical issues. Her personal view probably affects the endings but I think she does a pretty good job of staying neutral and portraying all sides of the subject matter. The amount of research she must conduct for each novel is unbelievable. While they are fiction stories, she uses real information and is very knowledgeable about each of her topics. I always feel that I have learned a lot after reading one of her books. Over the last few years she has written books about teen suicide, autism, Columbine, religion, medical issues, and many many others. "Sing You Home" is about a couple who is desperately trying to have a baby but not succeeding. The fertility treatments and miscarriages take a toll on their marriage and they divorce. Zoe ends up falling in love with another woman and wants to use one of the remaining embryos (which are still being stored at fertility clinic)to have a baby with her new partner. Her ex-husband becomes a born- again Christian who is against this and wants to give the embryos to his brother to be raised in a "proper Christian way." They both have equal contributions to the embryos so who should get them? A whole court case ensues but I won't spoil the ending. There are several other little side stories as well. The story is really well written and you will love the characters (well most of them) Read it! And her other books!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Feather hair extensions

So I think I am going to become obsessed with feather hair extensions. I am always getting bored with my hair and especially right now. It is long, blond, and blah. My friend Erica has recently had colored extensions (just a small piece) put in and they are lots of fun. I was going to copy her (she lives in Charlotte so its ok) but she suggested I try feathers. I was picturing Steven Tyler's which is a little wild so I started looking around and I'm officially obsessed. I am going next week to get something like this.

Cooking Class

So I recently signed up for a cooking class called "Cooking With Summer's Bounty" and this Monday was my first class.  It is through Wake Tech (which has sooo many other cool classes) and is held at Knightdale High School.  Our teacher is Chef Brian and he makes up all the recipes that we use.  Here is his website: Love at First Bite.  We began class with an overview of the 6 week course and basic procedures and then  went over the terms: natural, organic, sustainable, locavore, and heirloom as they relate to food.  I will not bore you with all the details but you should be reading labels to see what yucky stuff is put in your food! They inject colored dye in meats to make them appear brighter and salt water to make them appear larger.  Gross!

Anyway...the first half of class was spent talking and then we broke into groups to make the recipes for the night.  Two groups, including mine, made two Strawberry-Basil drinks and the other two groups made Blueberry Pie.  The first drink we made was the “Strawberry Basil Fizzy.”  I did not love this drink but it is supposed to be made with champagne and we had to seltzer water because we are on a high school campus.  It might be much better with champagne…things usually are!  The second drink was Strawberry Basil Lemonade and this was pretty good.  The strawberry-basil combination is interesting but yummy!  They were pretty simple to make except my partner and I had no idea what the term “chiffonade” meant.  I quickly googled it on my phone so we could appear knowledgeable.  It is when you stack and roll up leaves (basil in this case) and then cut the roll. 
The other two groups made the blueberry pie and it came out of the oven just a few minutes before class ended.  We HAVE to be out at 9:30 so that the janitor can clean so we all had to take a piece in a to-go container to taste later.  Even so, we were still a few minutes later than 9:30 which apparently chef Bryan got yelled at for.  So…I had to drive home with this warm blueberry pie tempting me on the seat next to me and then I got wayyyy lost.  30 minutes or so later I finally made it home and enjoyed my blueberry pie with some milk.  YUMMMMMMM. It’s really good although it had a little too many almonds in it for my taste.  I am going to make it for my school’s brunch next Monday and try it with a little less almonds.  I got blueberries in my produce box today too so this works out well. 
Here are the recipes.
Makes 1 pitcher

½ cup fresh strawberries, chopped fine
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
Zest of 1 lime or lemon
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
2 cups ice
Seltzer water

In a small saucepan combine strawberries, basil sugar and water and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Let cool. Place in a blender and blend until smooth. Place puree into a pitcher and add zest and juice of lime or lemon, 2 cups of ice and fill with seltzer water. Mix well and serve garnished with a strawberry or lime or lemon wedge.



Makes 1 Large Pitcher

1½ cup of sugar
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and quartered
10 lemons, halved and seeds removed
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup fresh basil leaves , chopped fine
15 -20 cups of water

Juice the lemons and set aside.

In a medium non metal bowl, mash the strawberries, sugar, zest and basil until a smooth paste forms.

In a large pitcher, stir the lemon juice, strawberry paste, and water thoroughly.
OR
Add the lemon juice, strawberry paste, and water to a blender and blend until smooth.

Crunchy Blueberry Pie

1 C sugar, plus 1 Tbsp
4 C fresh blueberries
8 oz sour cream
3 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 - 9 inch pie shell
¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
¼ teaspoon salt, divided
½ cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced


Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, toss 1 tablespoon of sugar with all of the blueberries. In a separate large bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar, the sour cream, 3 tablespoons of flour, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt until well combined. 

Fold the blueberries into the sour cream mixture. Spread this filling evenly into the pie shell.

In a medium bowl, toss ¾ cup of flour, the brown sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, oats, almonds, and butter. Using only your fingertips, crumble the mixture until it comes together into pieces no bigger than the size of a pea. Sprinkle evenly onto the top of the pie.

Bake until golden brown on top and the filling is bubbling, about 45 to 50 minutes.
 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Cake Pops- Take 1

You may have seen these bite-size delicious little things called cake pops. They are popping up everywhere and are so freaking cute. Apparently someone named Bakerella came up with them. Here is her website: Bakerella.  Basically it is a little ball of cake and frosting on a stick. 

Anyway...my friend Mary is a bit craft/hobby/project obsessed like I am and suggested we make these little bites of goodness.  We both probably spent hours researching these things online and watching countless youtube videos and tonight we were ready to try them out!  Mary made a yellow cake and crumbled it up before I got there and then we mixed in vanilla frosting. We formed them into balls and put them in the fridge for a few minutes while we got pink candy melts (those little disks you get at craft stores) all melted.We dipped lollipop sticks in a little pink candy and stuck them in the cake balls. So far this was easy and everything was going exactly as planned. Now...according to all the videos we watched, we were now supposed to just dip in the candy melts, pull them out, give a gentle tap, and BAM- a perfectly round nice looking ball.  Well that did not exactly happen.  When we tried to dip the balls in the candly melts they either fell off, got lumpy, or got a ton of the candy on the outside.  You were supposed to gently tap the excess off but we had to bang and bang our sticks on the bowls to get get off the extra. Our sprinkle decorations were not so hot either.  Some research revealed that the brand of candy melts we used were not good for this project so we'll have to get a different brand next time.  But in the grand scheme of things, they turned out pretty cute for a first try and we will definitely advance to more difficult projects soon.  I just tasted one for the first time and YUMMMMMY!!  Here are some pics of the finished products. 
If you work with me, stop by for a sample tomorrow.  I have lots!



Next time they will probably look something like this. 

Monday, May 30, 2011

A blog for breakfast

This morning I made a summer yummy Egg Nest for breakfast. Heres the recipe.

1)Separate the white and yolk. (I just made one)
2)Beat egg white until soft peaks form.
3) The recipe called for gruyere cheese but I used Parmesan. Fold the cheese (1/8th cupish) into the fluffy egg white being careful not to deflate.
4)Pour on a lined baking sheet. I used a silpat mat. Form so there is a little hole in the middle.
5) Cook 3 min at 450
6) Put yolk in the little hole, and cook 3 more minutes.

Mine deflated at the end but was still very good. I'll be working on keeping it fluffy since I now am going to eat them every morning.

This is what it is supposed to look like.
  It's sorta close..ish.  I also need  photography on pretty plates.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

My two newest kitchen obsessions

I should be doing report cards but am procrastinating as usual and need to express my true love for my JUICER and my weekly PRODUCE BOX!  If you do no have these things, you need to!  I have been eyeing juicers for years and watched a million infomercials, but have always worried that they wouldn't really work like they say.  I recently had some high cholesterol issues (thanks mom and dad !) and was trying to up my fruit and veggie intake and thought that it was the perfect time/excuse to buy a juicer.  First stop: Bed Bath and Beyond (20% coupon-duh), second stop: famer's marker for some fresh fruit and vegetables.  My first attempt was straight carrot juice.  It tasted exactly like carrots (I expected different for some reason)which I am not a huge fan of but more importantly, it was super easy and worked!  Since then I have become quite creative with the juicer and have loved everything except for that straight carrot juice.  Tonight for dessert I had orange, apple, and blueberry juice.  Just throw it all in the tube, give it a little jab with the jabber thing, and yummmminess appears! It also creates pulp that you can use for things.  I used the carrot pulp to make a carrot cake!

 The Sharper Image® Super Juicer
This is the one I have by Sharper Image

Also during this healthy time of fruit and vegetable obsession, I signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.  I had heard of these before but did not know much about them and started doing some research.  Basically you get fresh produce (or even meats and dairy) from local farms delivered to you weekly.  Actually, you have to pick most of them up from some location but the company I am using delivers right to my door.  The company is called The Produce Box and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.  Every Friday I get an order form emailed to me and I have 3-4 different boxes to choose from and order by Sunday.  The box arrives on my doorstep on Wednesday and I am always so thrilled with its contents.  Everything has always been great but if ever something was bad they will replace it for you.  It also comes with a cute newsletter that has information about the farms and farmers, recipes, tips on how to store stuff, etc...  Some weeks there are free samples of stuff too. The owner is Coutney Tellefsen and I picture her looking like Courtney Cox and I want her to be my BFF.  Obsession might be approaching creepy status.  Anyway, it’s a great way to support local farmers and to challenge yourself to cook with things you normally wouldn’t buy (like cabbage for me- I am coleslawed out though).  The Produce Box just expanded to Wilmington and Charlotte and plan on expanding to Winston-Salem area soon.  There are many other companies around Raleigh and other cities as well.  SIGN UP! 

Saturday, May 28, 2011

My blog is back!

I started a blog several years ago but it has unfortunately disappeared.  It had really interesting stuff like how I cut my cat's tail off (complete with pictures) and how I was going to become a runner (still working on that) and look like Nicole Richie (this was when she anorexic looking).  I guess after not accessing it for 3+ years, it went away.  Now I have to re-figure this whole thing out. 

So...why am blogging?  Answer: because I am bored and have nothing better to do.  I just recently finished graduate school which has consumed my life for the past three years and am not sure what to do with myself.  I have been in school since...hmm...kindergarten pretty much.  So now I am bored and finding to find hobbies.  Blogging was suggested as a hobby so here I am!! 

I have no idea what one actually puts in a blog and feel like it is slightly narcissistic to think that people would want to read about my rather boring life but am doing it anyway because it gives me something to do.  I think I will mostly blog about cooking because it has become my newest obsession.  I have always liked to cook but am doing a lot more of it these days.  I have even signed up for a cooking class called Cooking With Summer's Bounty which starts in 2 weeks and I am super excited except for the part where I will have to be around knives.  Anyone who knows me knows that I have a weird phobia of knives (and other sharp edges) but I will save that for another blog. 

Maybe QVC should become another hobby.  I just turned it on and am pretty sure I need this Josie Maran Argan Oil which comes from some special Moroccan fruit.  Need to go look into this...

Josie-Maran-Deluxe-Argan-Oil-with-Bonus-Color-Stick