2/29/12

The Marriage of Mrs. Fox

The Marriage of Mrs. Fox

Dorothy Perkins pleated dress
$44 - dorothyperkins.com

3 1 Phillip Lim chiffon top
£175 - brownsfashion.com

Green flat shoes
$147 - bypaige.com

Chain jewelry
$79 - stelladot.com

Pave jewelry
$39 - stelladot.com

It gets better

The Ohio school shooting the other day made me think about bullying. At first, everyone thought the suspect targeted the students that he shot. Even the security footage shows him, T.J. Lane, going straight for the students at one particular table. And that led news agencies to assume the teenage-shooter had some reason to go after them. They thought, because he was quiet and a bit of a loner, that he had been bullied, and maybe this group was made up of the offenders.

That doesn't happen to be the case. Yesterday, he even said that he had done it and that the victims were random.

But I was still dwelling on the idea of bullying, and the depression Lane must have been suffering from. They did say he was from a broken home, both parents had been arrested for domestic violence and he was living with his grandparents. A poem on his Facebook wall was an interesting glimpse into his mindset - completely unsatisfied with his life, lonely, lost and feeling weak and wanting to prove himself. And who knows if he is a psychopath or just a severely depressed kid, I'm sure it's something that will be discussed in his trial and that he'll undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

This 17-year-old will be charged as an adult and three of his five victims actually passed away. Lane will be charged as an adult which means in Ohio will be eligible for the death penalty. What really gets me is how young they all are. How none of these kids have even done anything yet or have gotten the chance to really prove themselves or experience the world. And it's all just so terribly tragic. For the town, for the other students, but most of all for all the families.

And how can high school kids feel safe if they never know when someone might just snap with no provocation?

I've kind of gone through some strange depression issues stemming from different facets and during different times of my life. In high school, I wrote poetry as well. My best poem in creative writing class was about suicide. We were given an assignment to write about something creepy, it was October it only made sense, but instead of a ghost story or a trick-or-treating tale I went with one of the most bone-chilling ideas I could think of. And the reason I was so good at portraying was because I had toyed with the idea. Never seriously, but it was something I had thought about, it had crossed my mind. And at that age, everything feels so hard and so much more intense than it actually might be. When you look back, you wonder what was happening. What the real issue was and why you were hit so hard by it. My Xanga is a good example. Half the time it sounds like my life is the worst, but I can't remember what the problem was half the time.

This teenager had a rough family life, and as always, that greatly affects how a person feels. And there are some, like me, that have no excuses. But God help the families and the people of that town and anyone else who has ever felt the same.

I just wanted to make clear that no one is alone. Whether you are bullied or just insecure within your own mind, it's not that you're abnormal. It happens, and things can get better and it does help when you can talk to people. That may be the most difficult part for some, but before doing anything think about the affect you'll have on others. How sad they would be without you, how sad they would be if you did something to someone else, how good things have the potential of being in the future, how things can always change. I promise it can get better.

Sorry this post is intense, but things like this are so heartbreaking, sometimes it's necessary to actually talk about them freely.

2/27/12

Fashion: Express yourself

I have always loved to express myself through what I wear. Besides covering the bits of our bodies that obviously need covering, I feel like clothes are first and foremost way to let the world know who you are.

I wasn't always good at dressing myself. It actually took me quite a while to start wearing things that I think are acceptable. I love eclectic looks, things that are quite the norm, but still undeniably look good and even if they don't, the important thing is that the person wearing them feels confident.

In high school, the high fashion included North Face jackets and these really overpriced tiny backpacks by...Kate Spade possibly? At the time I was out of the loop. I ended up finally getting a North Face for my 18th birthday but in the interest of saving money my parents got me a child's large. Which, honestly, I still wore all the time, but after a year of college the sleeves being a couple inches too short was just a little too much to handle. But it went to good use, no worries. I do remember wearing high heels to high school sometimes with skirts, and I think I owned every color of blazer imaginable. Now I own almost every color of cardigan but I can't even believe I was wearing heels to school. I'm pretty proud of the blazers, those were different but I rocked them. I was a thespian, you see, it was almost expected. I mean, the year above me in school started a thing in the drama dept. called sweater vest day which was held once a month if that tells you anything about us.

I went through different phases of wanting to look like everyone else, to wanting to look kind of badass, with graphic hooded jackets with crazy patterns you'd find at Hot Topic, to plaid skirts, and then to sweats and running shorts. I'd like to say now I'm kind of a classy, hipster, Southern belle, indie-type of look and damn proud to be anything but a cookie cutter in that front, as everyone should be.

But, I digress, back to fashion. I've become increasingly adventurous with my outfits as I've grown-up. This really mostly started when I was graduating college and has been gaining steam since then. i just bought red pants the other day as an example. Even if you don't like shopping, putting together an outfit you're proud of and wearing something you feel great in is priceless. The outfits I have posted previously and will be posting are sets I put together on Polyvore.

I'm going to continue posting these ideas of outfits, and dear Lord, don't look at the prices of the clothing. These are just ideas, not real things normal people could ever afford. Anyway, you can usually find something that would work instead of the outrageous prices on here.

They are going to be themed as well, so that can always be fun. I figured I'd put modern twists on fairy tales for a start. I'm going to thank Disney Bound for that idea.

Enjoy!

Little Red Riding Hood

2/26/12

Snow White

Snow White

Oasis short sleeve top
$65 - oasis-stores.com

Scalloped skirt
$90 - witchery.com.au

Miss Selfridge slingback shoes
$74 - missselfridge.com

Pink jewelry
$429 - benbridge.com

Fresh water pearl jewelry
$40 - jcpenney.com

Lent: Skinny Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Broccoli

Now, I'm going to tweet pictures of the awesome food I&#... on Twitpic

Happy Lent! Every Friday I am going to try to make a meatless or seafood recipe since I can't have meat those days and I feel like I've been relying heavily on dead animals to carry my recipes recently. I'm going to try to change that up, and here's the first one to try out.

This recipe came from SkinnyTaste.com and is the first time that I've ever made a soup. I know that pasta is actually just a carb and should probably be avoided, but I used whole wheat pasta so I tried to make it a little better for you. Besides, you need carbs every once in a while and think of this recipe as a nice substitute for the all-around fattening mac and cheese. This recipe has some vegetables not found in typical comfort food, but they are disguised well in a pool of cheesy goodness. I was a fan of this recipe if you couldn't tell.

If you serve this with a salad you could have an easy complete meal. I doubled it and that would've been enough for a family, for me it's enough for a week.

Skinny Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Broccoli

Ingredients:
  • 4 oz dry elbow macaroni (I like Ronzoni Smart Taste)
  • 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp light butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
  • 1 cup fat free milk
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • salt and fresh pepper to taste
  • 2 cups (about 10 oz) broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
  • 1-1/2 cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar
  • 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.

Chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic by hand or mini food processor.

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt light butter. Add chopped vegetables and sauté on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and fresh pepper to the pot and stir until smooth. Slowly add chicken broth, milk, nutmeg and dry mustard powder; whisking constantly. Set heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil. Cover and cook on low about 10-15 minutes.

Add broccoli florets, Parmesan cheese, and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered until broccoli is cooked, about 5 minutes or more to your liking.

Add cheddar, mixing well until cheese melts and immediately remove from heat. Add cooked elbows and mix well, adjust salt and pepper if needed. Eat right away so the pasta doesn't absorb all the broth.

Snow White

An easy, casual look worthy of a fresh faced Snow White - eye... on Twitpic
This is my first post about make-up, and how to achieve a certain look. This particular look is modeled for a casual day, it's quick and easy, and looks terrible because the only camera I can use right now is my phone's so sorry about that.

On the eye lids is a shadow called Millennium by Brazen Cosmetics, look to the right for the banner to buy Brazen yourself. It's a soft, light shimmery pink. I then used a bronze shadow in the crease between my lid and brow bone. I brushed Millennium on my brow bone too because it works as a highlighter. The eyeliner line can be whatever look works with your particular eye shape, or whatever look you favor. I used a navy pencil, which just gives a little different look than the standard black, but it's not a dramatic look. It's softer and more subtle. You can brush on your favorite mascara and your eyes are good to go.

For the blush I used an angled brush and just swiped bronzer across my cheeks up toward my temples.

The lips are just a Brazen lip gloss called La Femme. It's a pinky, orange gloss that is going to be absolutely perfect for the warmer Spring and Summer whether, but is neutral enough to go with this look.

2/23/12

Macaroni and Beef with Cheese

Now, I'm going to tweet pictures of the awesome food I&#... on Twitpic

Essentially, what I made was Hamburger Helper without the box. The recipe came from Michael Ruhlman's blog and it is actually incredibly simple. I used a box of those rigatoni whole wheat noodles instead of macaroni because I'm cheap and didn't want to buy more pasta. If I make this again, I'll probably just use actually macaroni. Also, I would change the recipe to add some cheese right into the mixture instead of just on top. I'd mix it in before you bake it.

I have really tiny pots and pans apparently, so cooking gets difficult when I am supposed to put large amounts of ingredients into one pot. As a result, I didn't let the meat and tomato and spices simmer for an hour. That would have greatly enhanced the taste. And don't be afraid to add spices to the meat and then the tomato mixture to simmer. It'll soak in. I neglected to do this and everything turned out a little bland. One full box of mac is going to be too much but if you make the whole thing you can put as much as you want in without over doing it, and then make a cold pasta salad with the rest. That's what I did. I'll include that recipe next.

I bet this could be made a little healthier my using the whole wheat pasta, low fat cheese and ground turkey. You could also add other veggies in besides just an onion if you wanted.

Simple Macaroni and Beef with Cheese

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon canola oil

salt to taste

optional seasonings: black pepper, oregano, cumin, coriander, chopped garlic, hot smoked paprika, chilli powder—whatever you’re in the mood for (I just used black pepper, garlic and a tablespoon of fish sauce, which gives it depth)

one 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, pureed in the can with a hand blender or in a blender blender

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 box macaroni

1 cup each grated cheddar and mozzarella cheeses

Sweat the onions in the oil with a three-fingered pinch of salt. Add the beef and cook it, breaking it up as you do. (Because my beef was very fatty, I cooked it separately and added it to the pot along with the tomatoes. Also an option, but uses an extra pan.) Add another three-fingered pinch of salt or two, along with any dry seasonings you want. Add the tomatoes and any fresh seasonings you may be using, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour.

Cook the macaroni in boiling water till it’s half done. Drain it andadd it to the tomatoes. (I wanted this to stretch into two meals, so I used the whole box, but if you want your dish to be very tomatoey and beefy, you might want to add only half the macaroni). Stir it into the sauce. Taste it. Add more salt and other seasonings as needed, and cover. When it’s cooled and the pasta has absorbed the tomato juices, transfer it to a large baking dish and cover it with foil. It can sit out for several hours like this, be refrigerated for up to two days, or frozen a few weeks.

Sweat the onions in the oil with a three-fingered pinch of salt. Add the beef and cook it, breaking it up as you do. (Because my beef was very fatty, I cooked it separately and added it to the pot along with the tomatoes. Also an option, but uses an extra pan.) Add another three-fingered pinch of salt or two, along with any dry seasonings you want. Add the tomatoes and any fresh seasonings you may be using, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour.

Bake it in a 400 degree oven till it’s piping hot (about 45 minutes if it’s cold to room temperature). Just before you’re ready to eat, remove the foil, cover macaroni with the cheese and broil till it looks beautiful.

2/20/12

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

Brought these beauties to work today. Berry cream filled with... on Twitpic

This recipe came from Your Homebased Mom and I made them for Valentine's Day to bring in to work. They were really good for being so simply. Really, the topping was just powdered sugar and that worked out really well. The only thing I had an issue with was the cream filling. I think next time I will use Whipped Cream and just added the berries to it to see how that works out. It should be fluffier, less work and probably less calories too. I'm sure for everyone that didn't mess the cream filling up, this was delicious. I think I added too much powdered sugar or something and it go thick, so my filling ended up just being a kind of icing. Still good, but not as fluffy and when it was icing-like I couldn't get as much onto the cupcake. Anyway, try these out, they're pretty and allow you to add any kind of berry to the cream. I used frozen mixed berries I just put in a pot on the stove and then mashed. But really you could do anything fresh or frozen.

OH, Oh, and the chocolate decorations are super easy to make. The hearts stay together the best out of experience. I tried to make the ends of arrows ( get in? like Cupid?) and I tried to make XO ones and ones that said LOVE. The "love" one stayed pretty well but everything but the hearts are brittle and basically fall apart. That just gets frustrated.

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

1 white cake mix (I like to use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe)
1 1/3 C water
3 large egg whites
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 (6-ounce) containers fresh raspberries, or one bag of frozen raspberries, thawed and drained
1 C heavy whipping cream
1/3 C powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting

Makes between 18-20 cupcakes. Line muffin tins with liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In your mixer beat the cake mix, water, egg whites, melted butter, and extracts in a large bowl for 2 minutes, or until the batter is well blended. Place about 1/3 C of batter in each cupcake liner. Should be about 2/3 full.

Bake the cupcakes until they are very pale golden on top, about 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely.

Using a fork, coarsely mash 1 1/2 containers of raspberries in a medium bowl.In your mixer beat the cream and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar until firm peaks form. Fold the mashed raspberries into the whipped cream.

Remove the muffin papers from the cupcakes and cut the tops off of each cupcake, about 1/2 inch down. Spoon the whipped cream mixture onto the cupcake bottoms. Place the cupcake tops on the cupcakes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with the remaining berries if using fresh.

2/17/12

Shepherd's Pie

I made this recipe last night and I must say, I was really impressed with myself. It came from this blog, Recipes Under 400 originally.


Granted, my mashed potatoes would have come out a little more mashed if I'd had, you know, a masher or a hand mixer. But whatever, it came out delicious. I know it says weight watchers, but don't mind that. It is really really tasty. I ended up not having all the spices so I substituted everything I didn't have with garlic powder. I know that sounds weird, but garlic powder can go in literally anything as long is it's not a dessert. Try this baby out, it has tons of veggies and stuff so it keeps you full and makes a lot, and it isn't absolutely terrible for you. Also, if you want to be a little more of a fatty, you can add some cheese over the taters. I mean, add reduced fat cheese and then maybe you won't feel so bad.


Weight Watcher’s Shepherd’s Pie

  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup nonfat sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-calorie margarine
  • 1/8 teaspoon table salt
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 cup onion (chopped)
  • 2 medium carrots (diced)
  • 2 medium celery ribs, diced
  • 1 lb uncooked ground turkey breast (or morningstar farms recipe crumbles)
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups canned chicken broth or 2 cups beef broth (or vegetable for vegan)
  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
  3. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.
  4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  5. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
  6. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes.
  7. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat.
  8. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
  9. Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top.
  10. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes.
  11. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.
Six servings, 275 Calories each

2/15/12

My obsession with make-up

I absolutely love make up. It's an issue, and I know how vain that is, but really it is so fun to play with. And even if you have complexion issues, like me, make up magically covers them up! That way, I can go around outside without people wondering if I've just hit puberty and without teenagers calling me pizza face. Seriously, it's that bad. But with make up I look normal!

I just became a Brazen Beauty, essentially me helping promote this awesome make up I stumbled upon. They have vegan make up and the colors are really interesting and unique, and I am pretty much in love with them. If you want to visit Brazen Cosmetics, click on the banner off to the right.

Right now, I'm totally obsessed with the tipsy glosses. They are so pretty and shiny and they are flavored like drinks. I'm completely in love with them. There's a Red Headed Slut flavored one, and it's the prettiest bright pink color that would be perfect for Spring into Summer. I have the La Femme gloss, it's really nice and smooth, not too thick and sticky.

Fierce + Flawless HD power is my favorite product right now to help cover the tiny, angry bumps on my face. Currently, I use it as a primer to even out my skin tone, but maybe someday I'll have a nice, smooth complexion and I'll get to use it as a finishing powder.

I think from now on I'm going to add a few make up tutorials to my blog as well. In college one of my favorite things was to do make up for my sorority sisters. I like how make up can make people look a little different and boost confidence. If you're a make up doubter and think I'm being shallow here, I totally understand and in my defense I didn't really start doing make up until high school and I definitely wasn't into doing hard core doing it until college. I'm not one of those people that thinks Toddlers and Tiaras make up is a good idea.

Also, if anyone wants any tips on techniques, let me know! Off to the right there you can find some of my favorite blogs. Productista reviews different...well products, this includes make up, I highly recommend checking her blog out if you're looking for some advice on which stuff to pick up.

2/13/12

Happy Valentine's Day

The past weekend was really the time to go all out for V-Day. Tuesdays are kind of inconvenient days to stage a really romantic night out, especially if you or your special someone have work or class in the morning. I spent my birthday/ Valentine's weekend in Virginia with my sailor. Not that this has anything to do with my post, but it was fantastic besides how I forgot warm clothing and was cold the entire time. Virginia is indeed for lovers and that's why I haven't posted in a couple days.

Hints for the day, if you don't have a Valentine, that's OK. Things will still be fine, no worries. Mine is in Virginia so I understand that feeling. To make up for this I am bringing children's Valentine's for my coworkers. These are complete with hamburger erasers. That's right.

Also, I'm bringing cupcakes! Which is sad because today two people brought cupcakes in and tomorrow I think me and another coworker are. I mean, you can never have too many cupcakes. Right? Well, hopefully the work crew can choke down multiple tasty treats or we are going to have an insane surplus on our hands. The point was, you can bake treats! Baking things from boxes or scratch, it makes no difference really. And you can give them away, treats always make a person's day.

Send e-cards to friends. These tend to be funny and occupy time. They tend to be adorable and who doesn't like to get a nice little message in your email that isn't about work or a sale and a store that you don't need to go to.

Take your friends to a movie. The Vow is out, that's the most popular lovey movie to see. This Means War is more action packed and less tooth-decay inspiring. I'm sure other movies like The Iron Lady and such are still out. Go see whatever you want, entertainment is a nice escape.

Don't get too bummed out. I know Valentine's Day can seem a little too lonely and a little too harsh of a reminder that you aren't with your true love, but it should just be a reminder that romance exists. So, don't run from the heart-shaped pizza and donuts. If cowokers bring in desserts that are going to go straight to your thighs, dive in. Calories don't count on St. Valentine's Day, and anyway it's good to indulge every once in a while. V-Day is a decadent holiday with chocolate and wine, fancy dinners and jewelry. It doesn't have to be that way for everyone. Even a quiet night with Lady and the Tramp a bottle of wine and a pint of ice cream can be enough for a good night.

No worries, it's one day of the year, if it makes you too bitter, it'll be done and over with soon.

2/5/12

Mizzou Game Day Cookies

Did I mention that I made these for the watch party tonight? ... on Twitpic

In honor of our last game against kU in Mizzou Arena, I made some cookies to bring to a little watch gathering down here in Alabama. I really didn't have much time to prepare anything and I didn't want to spend any money (I was planning on using the money to buy Jason Wu clothes...that turned out to be a bust. Target apologized to me online though.) So, I remembered that I had yellow cake mix in the pantry, and I made those red velvet cookies from cake mix once, so I figured the yellow color would be good for Mizzou. As we're black and gold and all. I mean, you could make these if you're an Iowa fan, Steelers fan, Alabama State University fan and so on.

Here's the recipe, it's the easiest thing ever.

Yellow Cake Cookies
1 yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 c. Crisco oil
1/2 c. sugar

Mix all ingredients. Roll out small amounts on pastry sheets. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 5-10 minutes.

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter, but I think round would've been cute, too. Maybe pennant shaped if you're going to a tailgate. Basically you could shape them like anything. I had some bitter sweet chocolate chips hanging around so I melted those in the microwave, put the melted chocolate into a little plastic sandwich bag and snipped a hole in the corner. I used this to decorate the cookies with different phrases. See? they kind of turned out black and gold! Essentially, they were the cutest things I've ever made and apparently delicious. I ended up giving them all away at the end of the party because the dough made quite a few.

2/2/12

Valentine's Day gifts

I know that Valentine's Day can be an awkward time for people trying to give gifts. If you're new to a relationship you don't know what's acceptable to give. If you've been in one for a while you wonder what the other person expects, should you give something to your best friend?

I know these things are confusing, but it's kind of like Christmas but less of a big deal. If you have a significant other definitely get them something. Guys can't go wrong with flowers, chocolates or jewelry depending on the length of the relationship. Girls can't go wrong with baking treats and possibly something else. Guys are a mystery to me with gifts sometimes.

Homemade gifts are always good. You know, painted frames, a list of things you love about the person (try this craft), or maybe a nice old school mix tape. But you know it will have to be a CD because God knows none of us have the knowledge anymore of how to make that, and who knows if the recipient would even have a tape player? There's this one, a fabric love note in a frame, which looks a little too complicated for me. But on a similar note to that you could just get a frame, but lined paper in it, possibly decorate the frame a bit, and then use a dry erase marker to leave messages to each other on it. Get it? You'd write on the glass!

I'll give you a little example of a Valentine's Day CD I made for my parents. I themed it from the 60s because I remember my mom playing these songs on the radio. This could work as a theme for anyone. I mean, who wouldn't want a 90s love song CD? I'm sure everyone would appreciate that. Or if you have a friend that likes country...you could theme it by genre. I would want that CD, not going to lie.

Vintage Valentine's Playlist

Pre-Valentine's Day dangers

I bought a little box of chocolates for my parents at Walmart. It was so cute. It had a little panda on it with a karate outfit and it said "I get a kick out of you." How cute is that? Especially since my dad and I have this weird thing for King Fu Panda. I don't know why exactly, but we both think it's the funniest thing. He tells me to "Have a dumpling" sometimes, it's a line that the little sensei with the huge ears said. I figured you wouldn't know that if I didn't tell you.

So I was going to send this tiny box of candy to my parents, the thing cost a dollar, and then I realized it would cost me, at least $5 to get it there. Now, I'm not usually cheap, but I made them a CD instead with old love songs from the 60 and slipped it into their card. Don't judge be for this, but I kept the box of chocolate myself.

Needless to say, I've been eating on it. Eating on chocolate originally intended for my parents. Lord. That has to be a new low.

There are so many things to watch out for, the candy being one, before Valentine's Day. The chocolate and heart-shaped treats are so hard to avoid. They're staring at you from every aisle at Walmart. Confetti cake with pink and red sprinkles, cupcakes decorated with little plastic ring hearts and those Pillsbury cookies that have the little pictures on them. Commercials on TV have red and pink Hershey's kisses that are dancing with each. How adrobs and fattening all at the same time. Seriously, I can feel my thighs widening from the entire box of chocolates I ate. And I still want more, maybe I'll make hot chocolate...

Then there's the previews on TV for The Vow - the newest Nicholas Sparks film that makes everyone want to just explode from the overload of lovey dovey sweetness. Explode in a bad way, not a good one. It's enough to make the happiest couples doubt their relationship. How can a real life couple ever really compete with a dude trying to get his wife to fall in love with him AGAIN. Its hard enough the first time. And for everyone else that gets bitter around V-Day, that whole mushy story is just one big slap in the face. It's saying "Don't you wish you could find this? I know you're jealous, but how sweet!" I hate that.

You spend a lot of money you still have quite earned back from the holidays on gifts for your significant other, Valentine's Day cards and treats for the office. I definitely bought some old school, elementary style Valentine's Day cards for the office. They come complete with a little eraser. I'm not going to lie, I think they're going to love them...or think I'm crazy but I'm not going to trip on it.

I don't think Valentine's Day has to be this fluffy, cotton-candy-esque holiday. I think it can be sweet and sensual without overloading the senses and causing sugar decay and a need to buy a gym membership. Let's just focus on the love and friendship aspect shall we? Be nice to one another and all that. Show them you care about your friendships and loved ones if you neglect to do that on a regular basis.

Let's be real though, those heart-shaped Dove chocolates taste the best don't they? I'm totally making hot chocolate for myself this second as it's the only thing in my apartment right now that's chocolate flavored. Curse you Cupid, I know it's all you doing this and I have no will power of tasty delicious things.

UPDATE: I have no milk to make hot chocolate. I had to settle for wheat bread with apple butter and honey. So disappointed right now.

2/1/12

I'm turning 23...yikes

In two weeks, I will be 23 years old. That sounds very young when I apply it to people that aren't me. I've been alive for two decades plus three years. I was born in the 80s, was around for the entire 90s and the dawn of the 2000s. I survived Y2k. Y2k, for God's sake, and now we're heading into what could be the end of the world, or where the Mayans ran out of space ... or just got bored.

I'm constantly getting confused for a college student, which is nice because it makes me feel like I look youthful, granted I graduated less than a year ago, but it gets old telling people that I actually have a real job, and a real apartment and real bills. The thing I'm most sick of is getting ID'd at bars. I've been 21 for 2 years now, and yes that is me, I know my hair is a different color now, do you want my social security card, too?

In the future, when they stop asking for my ID, I'm going to be embarrassed and invest in ridiculous creams for crow's feet and laugh lines. But, for real, I already have wrinkle creams and makeup that won't settle in the lines on my 22-year-old face. What is this world coming to, right? It's those air brushed models, but I digress.

Having not even reached my mid-twenties yet, I understand that this portion of my life is for self-discovery. I need to find who I am and start to understand her and be happy with her.
As we can discern from my previous statement, I haven't done this yet, what with the wrinkle creams and all.

In the past year since I graduated from college I've made sweeping improvements but I'm just not there yet. I don't know where I want to go, what I want to do and what I ultimate want out of my life. And as often as this makes me feel crazy, I know there are so many of you out there wondering the same thing.

If I can give those that are younger than me a little advice I'd just say, give it time. As much as you want to understand things, you just won't be ready yet. Eventually things will click. Don't worry too much. Just keep doing the things you love, and try your best.

To those older than me, I'm sorry if this all offends you. I'm sure you're thinking "What does she know, she's still a baby." You'd be correct and I am thoroughly open to you giving me free advice. Seriously, there's nothing like learning from other's mistakes.

And to everyone: Don't stop acting immature. I'm not saying stop paying your bills and run away to the circus. I'm just saying, a little immature fun is what keeps us going. Pulling out that Disney movie you love when your sick is the best medicine. Whipping out that *NSYNC CD to jam to some "No Strings Attached" is completely worth the risk of someone seeing you.

I'm thoroughly planning on going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter with my girl friends next year for my 24th birthday. So, Peter Pan it up, in the non-creepy way. It's the best advice a 22-going-on-23-year-old can give.