together we go around

Super cute PLATE from Etsy shop lepapierstudio.

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I really like all the different activities the couple is doing around the plate!

          

starbucks peppermint mocha ice cream

First off... the Dryer's Peppermint + Chocolate ice cream was tasty!  But not like awesome because I think... it was minty sweet + chocolate sweet instead of minty + chocolate bitter which I feel what "real hot chocolate" is more like.  I think introducing the coffee aspect would make it even more delicious but it wouldn't be the ice cream version of the liquid peppermint mocha, if that makes sense.

Secondly... appearently I wasn't such an Einstein.

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Peppermint Mocha ice cream already exists!  Made by Starbucks no less.  haha.  In your local grocery stores they say.  Drats!  I guess I'll have to make my millions the honest way!  ;]
               

ninTENdo bed

Currently our bed is adorned with this lovely Ikea Alvine Kvist duvet cover and pillowcase cover set, over some grey Gaspa sheets, courtesy of my mother-in-law:

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But clearly... our bed should look like this!

Awesomeness.  :-D  (Source)

            

random stumble

Random front-page stumble onto lulubugjewelry's Etsy shop.

Why are these so cute?

Little bird in the tall grass

Sea turtle

Tiny autumn leaf

Little hedgehog

Tiny raccoon

It's neat that the coloring in the inlaid of the animals and leaf is made from tinted concrete!

* I'm just oogling and lulubugjewelry has no idea who I am.
                              

Genius in a bowl

I have an idea!

So currently in our freezer we have Dryer's Chocolate ice cream and Peppermint ice cream.  We aren't normally ice cream pigs but it just so happened to be a buy one get one free deal, so we were forced to buy two cartons.  :-P

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Yay seasonal ice cream!  (Source)

We kind of love all things minty and chocolatey.  :-D

Now file that information away.

If you didn't know already, yesterday (Thurs) through Sunday is buy one get one free holiday drink at Starbucks between 2-5pm.

Holiday drinks include: Caramel Brulee Latte, Peppermint Mocha, Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha, Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Gingerbread Latte, Eggnog Latte, Caramel Brulee Frappuccino blended beverage, Peppermint Mocha Frappaccino blended beverage.

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I went with some co-workers on Thursday and got my peppermint mocha.  It's basically what I look forward to every year in terms of their holiday drinks (even though I know you can order them any time of the year).

And you should go get one (or two).  Bring a friend.  Treat a stranger/homeless/gas attendant.  It is worth noting that this offer is not valid at all Starbucks.  The one closest to work is attached to a Doubletree Hotel and they claim it is independently owned.  Boo.  (So we walked 3 blocks to the next closest one.  haha)

Anyway.  Retrieve stored information you just filed away.

Remember how we have chocolate and peppermint ice cream in our freezer?  It just occurred to me sometime around 5:30pm today that... if we got some coffee ice cream...

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... we could have PEPPERMINT MOCHA ICE CREAM. 

Yeah see, I told you it was a genius idea.  :-P  I probably should have tried this out before proclaiming my geniusness but... I thought I'd share!  :]  Unless Dryers stumbles upon my blog and steals my idea...  O_O

I was thinking we could currently mimic a peppermint hot chocolate maybe?  Since we don't really need three cartons of ice cream.  (My cousin would probably disagree with that statement.)  But then I found out they have Dreyer's Hot Cocoa!

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So using that plus the peppermint ice cream might be more legitly peppermint hot chocolate.

It's 11:45pm right now but I think I will go try chocolate and peppermint ice cream!  :-D

                  

clean clean clean!

Since Penga blogged about her clean and tidy craft room, I will blog about how I cleaned the shower (which took like... 25-30 minutes since it was so dirty.  hah.), the counter, swept the kitchen, and vacuumed!  I also made Thanksgiving cards, watched the latest Grey's Anatomy, Family Guy, and The Simpsons.  I ate breakfast today, lunch twice, and made chicken strip snack wraps (for on the go!) for dinner since we had worship practice at 645pm (and Tim gets home at 6:30pm).

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I am probably most proud of the clean shower since it's AH-SPARKLING.  I can't see the grime really well when I'm in the shower since I don't have my glasses on, so it's easy to ignore.  However, a whole 35% of our shower is glass, so it displays the grime really well when I'm not in the shower (and have my glasses on).  Vinegar is the key to cleaning glass showers!

I made Thanksgiving cards because... I didn't want to pay $5 for 6 cards in a pack.  I found some "Thanksgiving/Fall" 3D scrapbooky-like stickers on sale for like $1.60 at Target (with like 25 pieces or something), slapped them tastefully onto some cardstock and ta-da!!  I has me some Thanksgiving cards.  :]  Just because I like making/sending cards and who doesn't like mail? (That isn't a bill?)  I may share of them tomorrow or sometime this week.

I trimmed all my nails, but failed to paint my toes like I planned to and I did not pick up something I ordered from Crate & Barrel since I was going to go out around 4pm, looked outside, and realized it was almost DARK.  And it's about a mile there and a mile back (and I would be walking).  It will still be there tomorrow.

What productive things did you go today?
        

shopping extravaganza

It was kind of a big win on the shopping front this weekend!

This past Thursday, after work I decided to pop into DSW (no luck there) and TJ Maxx downtown.  At TJ, I was looking for shoes but swung by the other sections and found this Talbot Cabled pima cotton v-neck sweater for $13!  (Annnd it makes it an even better deal that I actually found it on the website for $26.50.  :oP)

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There is/was Gap/Old Navy/BR Give & Get Program 30% off anything this weekend, so on Friday I went to CambridgeSide Galleria and hit up Gap, Old Navy, H&M and some other random stores.  Can you believe there are no Gap's or Old Navy's downtown?!  Otherwise I would've gone on Thursday!  At H&M, I found this scarf.  For $3!  The plus was that Abby & Justine had gifted me with a coat for my birthday ---- which didn't fit, so I hauled it from SF to Boston, returned it, and thanks to high San Francisco tax, I got the coat and a couple extra dollars.  :oP  So with the couple extra dollars put towards ths scarf, I only had to pay 76 cents.  :D

Gap was terribly disappointing.  Nothing good on sale.  Nothing really good not on sale.  They were trying to move some 80s-esque, baggy merch.  No thanks.

I never used to shop Old Navy much but I feel like I have a lot more this year.  I think it's because 1) Gap has been disappointing and not cheap, 2) Old Navy has gotten better style, and has stopped printing their name/logo on everything.  I used to also not like Old Navy as much cause I didn't fit their stuff!  Their sizes were too big but I've since learned to pick and choose.  Sometimes their smalls are really small and sometimes they're too big!  Hardly consistent but that's what fitting rooms are for.  :]

I got three things.  All for $15 after the 30% off.

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I found this ruffle-trim henley (for $7 after 30% off) which I thought was okay.  I need more long sleeves shirts (ahhhh winter!!) and it had some texture/design to it (that you can't really see on this black) so it wasn't just a plain long-sleeve tee.

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Imagine this shirt... with my self-edited white stripes but in TAN.  For my other half, for $6.

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For our nephew!  For $2.  :]  Gotta make sure he has some orange gear, yeah?  :]

I've been looking looking looking for some new flats and boots.  No success on the boots yet but I took advantage of DSW's 30% off coupon code (DSWSAVE expires 11.14.10) and their free shipping over $35 (SHIPR, requires free DSW membership) and got these Naturalizer Calva's for $34.99!  (I know I know.  Naturalizer, I'm such an old lady.  But hey, I gotta walk a mile to and from the train station!)

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Yesterday, we went to Costco, Famous Footwear, and Old Navy (which were all in a plaza).  I found this purple shirt for $3.50 (after 30% off) and picked up a stocking stuffer item for the mother-in-law.

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Randomly found this Matty M ladies tunic for $7.  SEVEN DOLLARS at Costco.  :]  Mine is a black/white/red combo and it doesn't come with the belt.  Sweet deal and it cinches at the waist (elastic) so it's not one of those babydoll pregger tops.  (Though I'm sure you could wear it if you're preggers too.)  It's kind of long... like it looks like a short dress?  So I suppose you could wear tights/leggings under and call it good.

Imagine a different print in black/white/red.  (Source)

I don't usually shop this much and considering the clothing purchases ranged between $2 and maxed out at $13, I think I did okay! 

So what did you do this weekend?
     

Birthday adventures!

Last Saturday, Tim took me to Cape Cod for my birthday!  :-D  It was great fun.  Even though we didn't really have a plan... and kinda just went.  For our first stop, Tim just eyeballed the coast and picked some random person's house for the GPS!  haha.

They had THE coolest rocks there!

Lunch at Alberto's Restaurant

Nauset Beach, Orleans, MA

It was a fabulously fun day!  I love going on adventures and visiting new places.  I ALSO got to squeeze in a little shopping at the Cape Cod Shopping Mall since we were looking for a bathroom before heading out of town.  :-P  It was pushing 8:30pm by the time we got back home, so we went to The Kebeb Factory for dinner, which is literally down the street for us!

                  

poloroid magnet frame

It's not too early to talk Christmas, is it?  :-P

Stocking stuff idea #475.  Isn't this a neat idea?  :]


"Snap Magnetic Frame by Umbra is designed to mimic a Polaroid® print while displaying your favorite snapshot. Below the photo opening is a place to write a caption (you can use a dry erase marker or a permanent one). It has a magnetic backing so it can be used on a steel surface such as a locker or refrigerator."  (Source)


But at $3 a piece, I'm thinking I could just cut out some white paper to do the same thing.  :-P  DIY project right there!  But if you're too lazy and want something "sturdier," they are from The Container Store.

We need magnets.  We don't seem to own any.  So there hasn't been anything on our fridge.  Until this past week when my sister-in-law sent us pictures of our nephew.  :-D  I had to use tape to put them up.

{adds magnets to my Christmas list}

          

orange and green, still reigns supreme

I mentioned these Gradful Mod Thanksgiving Fall Printables back in October.  Now see them in action on Hostess with the Mostess Part 1, The Table.

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You can click this link to see other pics of the tablescape

BUT CHECK OUT THAT AWESOME ORANGE AND GREEN ORNAMENT TREE. 

I LOVE.

That's all.

          

Chicken Pot Pie

Helloooo.  This is my second try at making chicken pot pie and I think it turned out the same but better.  :-P  There was hopefully a little bit of improvement in sort of knowing what I was doing.

EAT ME.

I basically used this Chicken Pot Pie recipe from Pillsbury and halved it.  And used a different baking dish.  (The recipe was for individual pies so they used 10-oz ramekins.)  I thought it'd be easier so use some dish, so I used a Pyrex pie plate.

Season your chicken and cook it!  I think I put some pepper, some onion powder, and some apple cider vinegar.

So I kinda didn't take pictures of the newly-improved-butter-flour-goop-ness part... but it's in the instructions.  :-P  Combine all your ingrediants and simmer until it bubbles thick.

Spread evenly in your baking dish of choice.

Open some Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Biscuits!  *POP!* Or... some other variation of Grands or the store brand.

Distribute biscuits on top!  I split a fifth biscuirt to fill in the cracks.  Then shove into the over at 350° and bake for 20-ish minutes or until the biscuits are a golden brown.  (Everything but the biscuits should be cooked and basically edible already.)

SEE!  :-D  All finished.  Pretty easy.



Chicken Pot Pie

4 servings (Half of orginal recipe)

2 tablespoon butter

2 table + 2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Dash of pepper

1/2 can (5 1/4 oz) condensed chicken broth

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk

1 cup cubed cooked chicken

2 table + 2 teaspoon chopped onion

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2+ can Pillsbury® Grands!® Flaky Layers refrigerated original biscuits

Additional milk, if desired

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease baking dish.

In 10-inch skillet, melt butter; stir in flour and pepper. Cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in broth and 3/4 cup milk; cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Add chicken, onion, mushrooms, peas and carrots; cook until hot and bubbly.

Spoon mixture evenly into ramekins. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press each to make 4 1/2-inch round. Place biscuit rounds on tops of filled ramekins. Cut slits in biscuit tops. Brush biscuit tops with additional milk. Sprinkle with sesame seed.

Bake 17 to 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

       

CUtie CUpcakes

Whhhaa!  How cute is that?  :]  Martha (Stewart), you're so creative.  :]  (Source)

This is so cute too!  And more doable, I think!  I was thinking of making these for my small group, since we signed up for the first week of December.  hehe!  (Though I hope the snow stays away for as long as possible.)  But decided... apple oat cookies (or something less distractinly cute) might be better.  :-P  (Source)

          

so that's what that icon is for

Guess what I just learned to do??

Ok... so it's a little early-90s-esque and... not something I'd consider as classy, modern photography.  And I may have laughed at photographers who do this but I learned something new ok?

Miss Giraffe did a short tutorial on how to do black & white with effects and I learned what the History Brush Tool does!  Lets just say there are many buttons, icons, and features in Photoshop I don't use.  Because I don't know what they do.  :(  I have so many resources and websites bookmarked on Photoshop tutorials but... I always forget to look through them and try stuff.

What are some of your favorite Photoshop effects?  What cool Photoshop tips can you share?

                       

too cold for flats?

I'm pretty sure it's too cold to be wearing flats on this coast... but these caught my eye!  I definitely could use some "office" shoes though... and while I iron out my boots issue.

Hot Kiss Black Women's Corina from Famous Footwear

They're nothing spectacular but I thought that little piece of plaid fabric at the front with the bow was extra cute!  I definitely need another pair of black flats, and I wouldn't mind these!  (Looks wise... don't know fit wise.)

Flake Ballet from Payless

These just look... comfy.  :-P  Though I'm not sure how well the fur lining will hold up to sweaty feet!  I assume it's meant for going sockless?  And Payless shoes always seem to look cuter online than they do in person.  :o\

Flats are so much easier to deal with than boots.  {sigh}

           

Snack-oh was his name oh!

I know it is past Halloween.... but I just found these.  Aren't they cute?!  They're called Snack-o-Lantern Fruit Cups (no, not lame at all...)  :oP  But it's ok since they're so cute.  :]

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In other news... it is dreary, grey, yucky, rainy, cold here!  Ugh.

I had to walk a mile in it to get home.

On a full bladder.

It was highly uncomfortable.

That is all.

               

Bell Pepper Pesto Tortellini

Bell Papper Pesto Tortellini tossed in garlic and red chilli pepper flakes-infused EVOO is the proper name, but it seemed too long for this blog title.  :-P  But basically... that is what it is!  I'm kind of proud of this recipe since I came up with it all on my own and it was really tasty!  It's so suuuuper easy... it might not count as an orginal recipe.  O_O

First, run to Trader Joe's and pick up a bag or two or three of their dry tortellini.  I accidently discovered them when browsing the aisles.  (So dangerous!)  I got the pesto filled ones... though only cause I couldn't find any of their three-cheese ones on the shelf.  :(  I suuuuppose you could use fresh/real tortellini but mini ones that have shelf life is like... so much better.  Especially for a GREAT quick, ahhh-I-have-nothing-to-cook! emergency, meatless (nothing to defrost/thaw) meal.  :]  Plus, it was only $3 for the pesto one ($2 or $2.50 for the three-cheese one, I believe) and I used it for two meals.

Trader Joe's Tortellini with Pesto Filling

Boil water, cook tortellinis according to instructions.  Remember (something I don't...) the cute little mini tortillinis will EXPAND.  :-P  So about half the bag (1/2 lb) was good enough for the TWO of us for one meal.  (Though it might help to have a side dish or some garlic bread.)

Then dice up (little square bits) some red and green bell peppers.  (Both mostly for color.)

Add EVOO to a pot, enough to toss the pasta in (not for it to swim in).  Don't put too much oil and keep the heat low (about a simmer) since you don't want to fry your tortellinis or have oil speckle/splatter on you.

Add garlic and red chilli flakes (optional but so delicious if you can handle a little spicy) and let simmer for about 5-7 minutes.  You can also throw whatever spices you want in.  :oD

Tip: If you don't own or want to buy red chilli flakes, save some little packets from the next time you order a pizza  :-P

Throw in the bell peppers and let that simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until you decide it's ready!  :oP  Mostly let the garlic and chilli flakes infuse their flavors into the oil, and to soften the bell peppers (and get good flavor into them too!)

Red and green bell peppers chilling out (though I'm sure it was very hot) aka simmering in EVOO.

Hopefully by this point, your tortellinis are ready, drained and waiting!  Try not to overcook them since they kinda start to unravel and the filling falls out.

Combine the tortellini and bell peppers with EVOO.  Toss.  Eat.  Enjoy!  :-D

Bell Pepper EVOO Pesto Tortellini!

The above picture might look a little dry since all the oil probably dripped underneath the tortellinis and... I might've started eating before I remembered to take a picture.  It.  Was.  Really.  Good.  If I can say that about something I cooked.  haha.  Easy peasy and delicious!

I'm not good at the whole measuring bit (at least when I come up with recipes)... and good thing this one doesn't have too much of that... so I'll say... you should just do it.  As in... just make it up.  :oP  Or if you absolutely need some numbers for guidence... to prepare this dish for two people:

- 1/2 lb TJ Tortellini w/ Pesto Filling (adjust accordingly if you're using bigger ones or another kind)

- Half a green bell pepper, diced

- Half a red bell pepper, diced

- 1/3 cup of EVOO

- 3-4 cloves of minced garlic

- FATTY pinch of red chilli flakes, maybe two  ;]

You could probably include chicken or other veggies to bulk it up.  Like I  mentioned before, I definitely suggest having some garlic bread to go with it.  Extra deliciousness.  :-D