Pink Flush

I love when February rolls around, the sun peeks out more often, and the trees seem a bit less bare. It seems cheesy but I also love all the Valentine's Day decor, the shades of pink and red are so cheery (and festive for Chinese New Year!). 

I made these vanilla cupcakes topped with strawberry frosting and they brought my day to a sweet end.

I am what I eat

I must be made of butter, sugar, flour, and rice! With a side of veggies of course! A few weeks ago I watched the uber frightening and eye opening Food Inc. and I felt like I should be more conscience about what I choose to eat. I have always been an advocate of eating whats in season, reading labels, and avoiding high fructose corn syrup, but I also had a penchant for eating grapes all year long (even if they traveled from across the globe and picked when unripened). It's also very hard to stray away from convenience and be budget friendly at the same time.

Maybe I should run away and start a farming community! Who's in?

Okay maybe I'll just cut my meat consumption and shop a bit more wisely.

I'm dreaming of Miami

I'm going perusing through my favorite places to (browser) window shop (I prefer firefox--har har), and found a neat little sale at Gilt. Through their Jettsetter mini site you (yes you) can snag tickets to the Superbowl! How fun does that sound?! I have always wanted take my Dad one day. He's a big fan and I think he would be over the moon if he ever went.

Current Packages start at 13,500.00, which gets you at least the following:
Two Super Bowl tickets for adjacent seats between the 20 and 50 yard lines, on the Lower Level.
One room for three nights (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) at the Standard Spa hotel, in Miami Beach.
Two passes to the official NFL Tailgate Party the day of the game.

A girl can dream right?

If you don't currently have a gilt account, please use this link (also listed in the sidebar).

Picnic on the tile....

This dreary weather has been getting to me. This past weekend I wanted to do something that did not involve the tv, wifi, or an oven ( I need to stop baking to save my waistline!).

Rob and I set up a picnic in our living room complete with picnic blanket. We picked everything up from Trader Joe's: cheese, wine, baguette, valrhona chocolate, and salami. It was fun to sit and chat (and eat!) for a little while.

My plate is full...and the rain persists

Work has been super busy and it seems to be invading my dreams nightmares! I had visions of to do lists and excel spreadsheets! It's oh so depressing!

The weather does not help either! I crave a big bowl of noodle soup and my warm bed and magazine!

I commend everyone out there that lives where winter really exists!

This Piggy went to sleep in a slow cooker

Southern Pulled Pork Sliders

January is continuing to drag on and to make my life a bit easier I took a few shortcuts when it came to a weeknight dinner. 

I slow cooked some pork in my hybrid steamer/rice/slow cooker for 8 hours using Martha's Southern Pulled Pork Sandwiches recipe, stir fired some spinach and garlic and we had a feast! Other short cuts:
-Trader Joe's Garlic Fries (baked)

-Pilsbury biscuits (for slider buns)
-Bullseye bbq sauce (no high fructose corn syrup!)

P.S. notice the change in font size? It's easier to read- no?

Retro Wedding

You guys know I love the show Mad Men right? Well I caught an article on Christina Hendrick's (aka Joan)wedding. I love it! She got the show's stylist to help her with the wedding! See more at Instyle . I love how they all look like they stepped out of a vintage photo album!

If you find the groom familiar, he was in the movie Super Troopers and more recently 500 Days of Summer (as Tom's work friend). I would have loved it if they filmed Summer's wedding in that movie. Her style is so simple, girly, with a retro feel.

Twenty Ten: Absolve, Resolve, Procrastinate... Repeat?

Hello everyone!

Sorry no updates for awhile! Who reads this anyway?  I've been in a funk lately. I think it's a hangover from the holidays. That time of year is full of everything: food, fun, festivities, fluffy- cake, friends, family, and fromage (if it doesn't start with an F its no fun). Come January, you're stuck in the cold.

When the actual new year rolls around people feel the need to turn over a new leaf and change. I think its great that our culture encourages self reflection, in some small way. As I write this post gyms are a bit more crowded, someone out there is applying a nicorette patch, and a donut was passed over. Progress in baby steps, I say! I hope everyone out there sticks to their resolutions!

Many moons ago I resolved to not have new year resolutions. I prefer to call them hopes or goals. I like to think about things I would like to do in the course of the new year. Like

-Save Money!

-Buy less crap I don't need--- Buy only things I love!

-Be less materialistic (this is really hard when you really love clothes, maybe I'll try thrifting this year)

-Make more stuff (cook, sew, etc)

-Save for a DSLR (aren't you tired of my crappy photos?)

-Volunteer More

Things I'm looking forward to in 2010

-Concerts: Muse and JayZ
-Trips: Hong Kong and (one other destination: Japan or Taiwan)
-Trying new things

Go out there and do something people!

"We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime we should all go shopping to console ourselves."

 -Wall and Piece

Holidays treats in review

Sweets!

 

 Sorry Gingerbread Man!

One is just not enough!

I love you Tartine Bakery!

  

 Home made ice cream

Savory!

 

NYE meal: Bo Ssam

Cabin Fever

The weather has been wet and dreary for the last week, and the rain will continue this week!  I've been trying to find indoor activities that do not involve a tv, wifi, or an oven (yes, I'm not baking in efforts to save my waistline).

We decided to have an indoor picnic. We gathered the basics at Trader Joes: salami, cheese, nuts, valrhona chocolate, wine, and baguette. We sat on the living room floor and ate like little piggies! It was nice to sit and chat while imagining we were somewhere else!