Chill out!

Do you ever wonder if we take this life too seriously? I often catch my self freaking out or making a big fuss if something doesn't go my way or go just right. Like, if I'm planning on going somewhere and its changed last minute on me, or even something big changes in my life. I think I need to tell myself, "What's the big deal?" The circumstance might actually open up a different opportunity up that wouldn't have been open to me previously.
Maybe that's why I like "The Office" so much.

Jim and Pam, (And especially Jim) make a fun time out of a stinky situation with a stinky manager. He makes up jokes and pranks to pass the time and make the day fun. I'm so down for that. Just like how Jim looks at the camera when something ridiculous happens as if to say "Yup, that just happened." I look up to the skies and say the same to God. It's so awesome because He gets it, He gets me, and He has a sense of humor. Just make light of the situation. Don't take life and its circumstances so seriously, brush stuff off quickly. What use is it to be offended all the time.
Laugh often. Life life to the fullest. As much as you can live at peace with people around you...don't argue. Even if you are right, if the person won't listen, what use is it to argue with them, other than to make yourself upset. Just shut your mouth and be satisfied to know that you are right.
Love others. Live selflessly. Put others before you. You really can't go wrong with these things. You feel better, and make others feel better. Killing with kindness really does work.

So, today is the first day of Autumn. The season of change and chill. I say it marks the same for me. No longer letting life or other people get me down. Relaxing and moving my life along at the same time. Why get upset? When I die, I want people to say about me, "I never heard a negative thing come out of that woman's mouth." Thats something to live up to.
I'm so ready to relax this Fall, take in nature. The leaves change so fast. The colors are here and they're gone in the blink of an eye. I'm going to go on a walk, and come back in for a warm cup of cocoa. See ya.

Fail cake

So, I obtained a cookbook awhile back called "Chicken and Egg." Pretty much every recipe i've made from it has been a success. I recently got another cook book from Anthropologie. Its called "Seasons:The best of Donna Hay magazine." It has a lot more recipes but the only thing i've made so far from it was an epic fail. A cake, called the "Honey-cream sponge cake." I made it for Jarod, and even he said it was pretty terrible, the first I've ever heard badly from him. He said it tasted like "cornbread soaked with honey." Stink.

  

 The Cake of Infamy

 My failed attempt at the cake of infamy

And here is the cook, along with her new apron. Also from anthropologie. The cook happens to like that store!

So although I hope to get better at cooking, I think its a good thing to post my mistakes, as well as my victories. It this way, you all may know that I am still human, and not a goddess, though I know that it is very hard to believe. ;)

Happy Cooking this fall season! Stab a pumpkin!!

Summer

"It's funny how one summer can change everything. It must be something about the heat and the smell of chlorine, fresh cut grass and honeysuckle, asphalt sizzling after late-day thunderstorms, the steam rising while everything drips around it. Something about long, lazy days and whirring air conditioners and bright plastic flip flops from the drugstore thwacking down the street. Something about fall being so close, another year, another Christmas, another beginning. So much in one summer, stirring up like the storms that crest at the end of the day, blowing out all the heat and dirt to leave everything gasping and cool. Everyone can reach back to one summer and lay a finger to it, finding that exact point when everything changed."

- Sarah Dessen

Do I really have to put a title on this?

Several things. First: why o why when you see a shoe on the side of the road, there is only one?

Also, I have another wishlist.

1. I wish I had the movie 500 days of summer in my possession

2. I wish I had this awesome plush headboard from Urban Outfitters

3. Aaaaand I wish that I had a sweet gun so I could be as hot as these BA women! Yes.

Cooking noobness

 Due to the overwhelming demand of my...reader... :) I am going to post another blog on... Da da da daaaaa!! Cooking. I realize that I am such a cooking noob. I really don't know what i'm doing, and I'm afraid to risk. It's probably because I'm afraid that all the money I spent on the cooking items will go to waste if I screw up. And If I'm under pressure, like if I am cooking for someone else, I feel like they will think I suck. So there are doubts all around. BUT I finally decided to buy my first cookbook at Anthropologie on Wednesday. Look at its glory:

I finally feel a touch of confidence. This book focuses mainly on chicken and egg recipes, but they are tasty. I figured that eggs are cheap, and chicken is healthy for you, so how could i go wrong? They also incorporate a variety of fresh herbs in their recipes, which I love. I've been cooking up a storm. My main problem though, is that the recipes are family size, and though I try to cut them in half...I still make too much for just me. My roommate doesn't eat much that I make, so my friend Jarod has been graciously taste-testing for me. Lol. Such a chore I know. Check out this amazing recipe I just made for brunch yesterday:

Greenmarket Scrambled Eggs in Ciabatta

Ingredients:

One 14 ounce loaf ciabatta bread, halved horizontally (I substituted a wheat loaf)

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

I medium onion , chopped

I small zucchini, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, deveined, and chopped

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon

1/8 freshly ground pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon

8 eggs

1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled (my favorite part)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or chives

Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the bread from the inside of half of the ciabatta, making a shell for the eggs. Place the halves side by side on a baking sheet. Brush the inside of the loaf with 2 Tbsp of the olive oil.

Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes or until it begins to soften. Stir in the zucchini and the red bell pepper and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp tender. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Remove the vegetables to a plate.

Beat the eggs with the 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl or until frothy. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil to the same skillet and cook the eggs over medium heat, stirring consistently until until curds have formed but the eggs are still moist. Remove from heat and stir in the vegetables, cheese and basil.

Spoon the egg mixture into the bread shells and bake for 5 to 8 minutes or until the bread and vegetables are hot. To serve, cut each bread shell crosswise into thirds, for a total of six pieces.

So there you have it! Its pretty easy, and the goat cheese made it delicious. Jarod couldn't even tell it was in there. (For those of you who unfashionably dislike goat cheese. lol ) Try it yourself!

Terrariums

Now I know that not everyone gets excited when they see greenery in the plant section of Cashwise...but I do. I like plants! Not ashamed. I especially enjoy putting plants together and making a "landscape" of sorts. I got a bonsai tree and put fake moss around it. I then put a toy dinosaur at the base of the tree. Just something random. I also put a ninja in one of my succulent terrariums. The best thing is that you can't do wrong! Its your house, you can do anything you want with it. And how can you mess up what you do with a plant? You can shove it in a pot and call it good, or you can get a little more creative with it.

 Tillandsia is a lot of fun. It only needs some light, no soil, and brief mistings. You can even glue it on wood!

              




Check out this Link to see some cool things you can do with plants. I enjoyed it, you probably will

Also, to find out how to make your own tillandsia terrarium in a light bulb follow this to the Hipster Home

Amelie - La Valse D'Amelie (Piano)

An absolutely beautiful instrumental piece, from the French movie "Amelie". Give it a listen!