this is for la raza

today's entry isn't about anything in particular. i'm in the process of refinancing my house (we close today - woohoo!) and my loan processor is so cute. she sends me emails with exclamation points and smiley faces. at first i was disturbed by this bc if there's one area where you should be all about business it's home loans. but today it's sunny and almost warm and her email accoutrements are cracking me up. did i mention her name is spelled with an "i" where there should be an "a-y"? too cute.

earlier this week i had the most delicious plate of chicken and waffles at last legg in somerset. if i'm being totally honest the waffle could've been a tad bit crispier on the outside but it was still quite delicious. i can't wait to go back to taste the whiting and sides. thank goodness i don't live too close to this place because there would trouble (truh-BUHL). their prices are right and the service was quick and courteous. check them out if you're ever around that way.

boredom begets baking

so like today was a lazy saturday and i'm just putzing around doing not very much when suddenly i was hit with the urge to bake. it's wonderful when u can scrounge up ingredients from your pantry and come up with something yummy. browsing around i came across this blondie recipe and decided to give it a try. i substituted dark brown sugar for the light and hershey chocolate chips for the dove bar. i also used pam butter flavored spray instead of buttering the pan. on first taste they're just okay...not overly sweet (i love overly sweet). they'll probably taste better tomorrow. i prefer my brownies the next day too.

i'm on vacation

i mean, really...i can't be expected to blog while i'm on vacation, right? besides, my home computer is in the basement and it is fuh-reeezing there. at any rate, here i am checking in live from the arctic inner sanctum.

despite it being cold, i've been enjoying my vacation very much. i hosted a dessert swap and made peppermint bark brownies, sock-it-to-me cake, oatmeal raisin choc chip cookies, and also a spinach & turkey lasagna as well as spinach dip. things were shaky at one point but by the grace of god everything turned out delicious. and there is still dessert left. i love hosting parties!

i also got to visit friends and family. my roommate's sisters held a scrapbooking party to collect memories for her daughter (she's such a little cutie!). my aunt made a sunday dinner for us and sent us home with a boatload of food. we spent christmas with my mom at her friend's house and both of them sent us home with food. i think they all believe we're here starving since my mom left. if i play it right i won't have to cook until tuesday or wednesday.

best of all though, i've met someone that i like a lot. like FINALLY! i can honestly say that i'm happy. yay for me :)

oh and i got to hit up woodbury commons for the first time. great outlet shopping. i probably bought too much. i can't (meaning i don't feel like) post(ing) pictures but i'll just say shoes, handbag, jeans, sweaters, blouse, serve ware, springform pans...holler.

found a cure

i'll admit it - i've suffered from roasterphobia for a long while now. but this wknd i think i conquered it.

i'm not really big on cooking - i much prefer baking. i've had the comfort and convenience of living with my mom for the past four years and if i had to choose between my cooking and hers? mom wins EVERY time (except for her dressing, she makes it too dry so i'm in charge of that at thanksgiving). but yeah even in the months before i moved back home my meals had gone from protein/starch/vegetable to turkey pot pie hot pockets (10 for $10 at shoprite). even with the occasional party here and there, it'd been a long time since me and cooking had been acquainted.

now that my mom's gone i have no choice but to cook. when i did cook back in the day it was always something easy like chicken breasts or shake n bake drumsticks. never ever a whole chicken. my biggest issues being salmonella (touch the chicken, wash my hands, touch the chicken, wash my hands © me via filbert) and the chicken not being fully cooked. but i'm a big girl now and it's time to do big girl things. so i perused the grocery flier and saw that oven stuffers were on sale. i called my mom for help and she was so impressed at my attempt. i did what she said and a little bit of my own thing and viola! this is how homie the chicken turned out.


i seasoned it with salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika (i forgot the pepper while caught up in touching the chicken and washing my hands). i also shoved an onion in the cavity for more flavor. i dunno why but it took almost 4hrs for this bird to finish and it was only 7lbs. after the timer popped up i checked by the leg and it was still pink. maybe i'll move the rack up a little higher next time. this lovely little bird was accompanied by fresh string beans from the farmer's market and yellow rice. i brought some in for my lunch today and it was DEEEElicious.

gold star for me!

boo this woman

all week i've been looking forward to having dinner with my peeps tomorrow night at mojave grille. one of my co-workers has raved about this place and i've been wanting to try it forever. so i sent out the evite and got the responses. i called today to make a reservation and all their big tables are booked. i have to do call ahead seating tomorrow and they'll add an extra seat to a four-top (is that restaurant speak?).

i'm sure to any normal person this isn't a big deal. but now i'm scrambling to find a back-up restaurant in case they can't accommodate us. and i had my mouth FIXED for a chorizo & chicken empanada.

but yeah basically i fkd up. i should've called the restaurant earlier but who knew this place was poppin like that? i mean it's byob for goodness' sake. there are four other ppl with their mouths fixed for mojave too and i let them down!

this post is about food

let me preface this entry with the following: i am an emotional eater.

last month i had a formal event to attend in a dress that *just* fit so i was on restriction during the couple of weeks leading up to said event. however, on my way home from the event i high-tailed it to wendy's to check out their new frosty shakes, which i read about on lex's blog. much to my dismay the shakes were not yet on the menu so i ended up leaving with only a small fry.

in the weeks to follow i would attempt to fill my strawberry frosty shake void with other food. shakes from all the majors (arbys, white castle, mcdonalds, and bk), coke floats, five guys burgers and fries, dairy queen blizzards, pizza hut, chick fil a, mickey d's chicken biscuits and this little baby here that i discovered by chance and desperation at walgreens.

oh nemo! thank you for your delicious single serving of real cake. unlike that nasty lemon pound cake with rubber icing, these little cakes taste like something i would bake. so far i've only tried the red velvet and banana cake but they also have carrot and chocolate.

i ended up seeing my long lost friend, qdoba's ancho chile bbq burrito, for lunch today. no pico de gallo to be had due to a tomato recall but i paired it with a smoothie from maggie moo's. the triple berry pomegranate smoothie had raspberry sorbet, blueberries, strawberries, and pomegranate juice and it was SO GOOD. like i want another one right now. i though the burrito/smoothie combo would rip right thru me but it didn't. thanks, digestive system!

i think i've satisfied all my cravings for now. although after seeing donald's birthday cake i really really want a slice of chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. but i weighed myself yesterday AND i'm kinda sorta constipated so it's back to my regularly scheduled program. plus it's about to be too hot to eat.

speaking of regularly scheduled programs, curses to panera bread for discontinuing the BEST salad on their menu! of course i'm referring to the fuji apple chicken salad. i'm gonna have to try to recreate it myself at home because i haven't found a proper substitute for it yet. i tried the bombay chicken salad at cosi but it didn't make me weak at the knees (their mojito lemonade is GLORIOUS though and would be even more so with some rum or vodka).

oh and i did finally get that wendy's shake. two thumbs up!

out of the mouths of babes

so yesterday i hosted my alumnae chapter's monthly meeting at my home and one of the women brought her daughter along. she's a precocious child, so tall for age that i can't remember if she's 4 or 5 or 6 and blessed with the gift of gab. i ended up sitting with her in the kitchen during meal time to keep her from 1) stabbing my chocolate cavity maker cake and 2)dropping food on my hardwood floor.

we conversed about a myriad of topics including what i put in the cake, what i put in the rest of the food, her neighbors, and my neighbors. she asked if my neighbors have any kids ("no") and are they getting any kids ("no"). then the conversation turned towards me...

do you have any kids?
no.
are you getting any kids?
no.
why not?
because i'm not married yet. you have to be married to have kids.

at this point her eyes opened real wide and rolled to the back of her head. then her neck swung to the right and came 'round back to the left as she sighed, "gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl..." (she moved in close to my face)"...you mean you're not married yet?!"

this little girl sonned me in MY OWN HOUSE THAT I PAY FOR!

i couldn't do anything but laugh.

mark of the beast

so a short while ago i'm in the cafe deciding on what to get for lunch and i see they're offering small cookies for $0.50 (before there were only large cookies for $0.85). i think to myself, "hey! why not?" and pick one out of the cookie jar. after she rings me up, sylvia exclaims "UH OH!" because my whole lunch totals $6.66.

clearly, small cookies are the devil. i'll only be buying large ones from now on.

vacation - part 2

food

yeah so you know i ate everything on vacation that i had missed so dearly. chick-fil-a, wendys, mcdonalds, white castle (3 times but two of those times were onion rings only and i still haven't had a milkshake), some other stuff i had no business eating. but it's cool i'm back on track with my regularly scheduled healthy living program. i feel like i've gotten it out of my system.

i made my cookies but i didn't send any out. here's the recipe (courtesy of 101cookbooks.com):


chocolate peppermint bark cookies

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chopped peppermint bark

Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler placed over but not touching barely simmering water in the bottom of the pan. Heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate and butter begin to melt. Remove from over the water and set aside to cool slightly.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the eggs, granulated sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light in color and thick, about three minutes. Reduce speed to low, add the melted chocolate mixture and beat until blended. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll into balls, about 2 hours.

Preheat an oven to 325. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

To form each cookie, roll a rounded tablespoon of dough between your palms. Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Press 2 or 3 pieces of peppermint bark into each cookie (hs note: more!). Using the bottom of a water glass, flatten the cookies slightly. Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the tops are puffed and firm, 13 to 17 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the racks and let cool completely. Dust the cookies with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes 30 cookies.

now, between the time i found this recipe and actually made the cookies, the website updated the recipe. maybe i should've gone with the new one because this dough was not easy to roll. i left it in the fridge for more than two hours and while i was able to roll it, a lot of it was wasted sticking to my hands. maybe my hands were too warm, maybe i should've used a frozen ice cream scoop...i dunno. but i think the next time i make these i'll use my own chocolate cookie recipe. these were quite delicious though and were a hit at home.

i made my own bark too, which was pretty simple. i used a bag of semisweet chips, a bag of white chocolate chips, and peppermints. the chocolate layer spread smoothly but the white chocolate not so much. probably because i added the crushed mints to the white chocolate before spreading. next time i'll crush the peppermints a bit finer and sprinkle them on top. there was leftover bark and i was going to try regular chocolate chip cookies with it but we kinda got to just eating the bark by itself. YUMMERS!

sittin' on blades like kristi yamaguchi

the feet of a champion

a friend of mine asked me to help chaperone his youth group on a day trip to the city this past saturday. since i love the kids i happily obliged. our excursion included brunch at maroons, ice skating at chelsea piers, and crowd navigation at rockefeller center.

maroons is still yummy as ever and they've increased their portion sizes since the last time i was there (over a year ago). the waffle entree comes with four waffles which no one in our group was able to finish. and i don't know how they make their grits but they are the creamiest i've ever had.

now, i hadn't been ice skating since 1990 maybe so i am proud to say i didn't fall once. i'll even venture to say that i had FUN. i still don't know how to stop so i did a lot of skating to the wall, but i was able to take the curves and i managed to turn a couple of times too (purely by accident since i was trying not to fall). i only wish the rink had been a little less crowded with small children. i really wanna go again in the near future.

i hate crowds immensely so i'm not even gonna talk about rockefeller center. here are a couple of photos instead.

rah rah rah

i have to give a presentation on sunday.

yep. sunday.

i might've mentioned previously that i'm chairing my alumnae chapter's annual benefit this year. well, sunday is our holiday mixer/membership drive and this is where we kick off the push for the benefit. it's my job to get these ladies excited about selling tickets. so i'm taking it back to 8th grade book reports for mrs. reed. this basically boils down to putting my best foot forward.

the only way these women will be excited is if i'm excited too. so i'm pulling out all the stops. i've written my speech and i'm working on accompanying visual aids. i've developed a ticket-selling strategy that seems simple. i'm going to be a ppl person!

bleh...to know me is to know that i am not a ppl person. however, i am the same girl who cried on the stand for mock trial while i testified about killing my unborn child with cigarettes and alcohol, so i might be able to pull off "ppl person" for a couple of hours.

in other news, i have a much needed hair appt tomorrow. i wanna cut it some more but i'm gonna have wait until i can afford regular maintenance. tomorrow is also game/fight night at my bff's house. i'm looking forward to playing taboo and eating chicken!

are you there, blog?

it's me...

things are winding down at work so i have a bit of time to talk. i've had a lot of things on my mind so i'll just chat about them randomly (cuz that's what i do).

lately, fear has been getting the best of me regarding several (ok maybe just a couple) situations. i have to keep telling myself it's not a big a deal and i don't need to put so much pressure on myself. but i'm a virgo, i can't help it.

i did some shopping last month that i probably shouldn't have. my guilt has caused me not to wear any of my new purchases yet. i mean, honestly i'm not gonna return them but i have to believe the option is there. consequently, i've been very disciplined with my budget for the past couple of weeks. unfortunately,it's wreaked havoc on my diet. i haven't had a salad since last tuesday. (*sadface*)


i'm participating in a toy drive this year and i have to buy a gift for 14 yr old male foster child. it has to be under $25 and he didn't provide a wish list. last year i had a teenage boy and i got him a watch and a book. he probably hates me. this year i have no idea what to get and less than a week to shop. i saw some inexpensive mp3 players on walmart's website but with my janky home computer i probably wouldn't be able to put any music on it. can't buy clothes because i don't know his size. please leave ideas in the comment section or homie will be getting a hat/scarf/gloves set.

remember that budget i mentioned? yeah that means no christmas gifts. but i will be baking cookies. i found a great recipe for peppermint bark cookies that i cannot wait to try. it's actually pretty simple you just substitute peppermint bark for chocolate chips. i'm gonna make regular and chocolate ones. i'm making the peppermint bark too. woohoo.

the only reason i'll have time to bake is because HELLO work is winding down. i am counting down the days until vacation. 11 more business days in case you were wondering.

why is there still thanksgiving cake left at home??

i finally finally applied for my passport. i'm hoping to get it stamped as soon as march. keep your fingers crossed for me!

and i'm spent.

my devastatingly exciting life

after yawning throughout cardio on saturday morning, the ladies joked that i must have been out all night partying. really i had been up until almost 3am trying to finish book 5 of harry potter (i actually finished after i got home from class). after sharing this with the class my instructor deadpanned, "we need to work on getting you out the house."

i could go into a long diatribe about how there's nothing to do here and the crowds suck and blah blah blah. but the truth of the matter is i don't particularly care to go out unless it's to socialize with ppl i already know and i'm not really into spending money for a mediocre time. i'm cheap and the last thing i need is to waste my money on wackness.

anyhoo, this entry is about me finishing book 5. i started book six and i'm excited because i have NO idea what happens. i've seen all the movies so i had a pretty good idea of what happens in books 1-5 - book six is completely new. i've avoided spoilers from everywhere (even the office...thanks schrute! i had to change the channel) and i hope to finish up with it this week or next.

other things i did this wknd:
-watched degrassi (is it wrong to lust after 20 yr olds?)
-shopped for my halloween costume
-impromptu philly trip (what's the big deal about tony luke's anyway?)
-started & finished the rise (it's for a book discussion)
-attended a pie crust technique class at williams sonoma (the pie wasn't great but i'll be attempting my own from scratch this holiday season)
-stopped laverne's oil light from flashing
-bought a framed matisse print for $5 at a yard sale (it's going up over the sofa)
-tried on a lovely coat that i will covet until it goes on sale and will no longer be available in my size.

and laverne passed inspection this morning (clap for her © mizrahi)

since last we spoke...

...i've lost at total of 10.5lbs and my booty is rounder. all that kicking and stuff has made it a bit more firm. awwww yeahhhhh © barry & lavon. my sister called me muscle butt. sizzle, sizzle. speaking of muscle butts, have you seen janet on this season's antm? i'm enamored with her booty. i can't find a picture so you're gonna have to watch the show to see for yourself.

...i celebrated my thirtymumbled birthday.



and i actually got gifts!



...i got my hair cut (and colored). i was bored and it was long overdue. it's asymmetrical and reddish brown now.

...i got to test drive the new c-class mercedes.



luxury driving was always a concept that eluded me (ironic considering the amount of time i spend behind the wheel). it never dawned on me that i could have a car where i didn't feel every pothole or roll back on hills. the first one i drove was navy with tan leather interior and it was just okay. the second one though was black on black with a sunroof...just damned sexy! if i could afford it (and the overhead) i'd buy one with no hesitation.

...i've finished the first four harry potter books. i'm not looking forward to reading the 5th because the movie make me feel some kind of way and i know the book is much more in depth. plus i'll probably only read it at home because it's too heavy to be lugging around with me.

...i bought four new tires for laverne. hopefully she won't need anything else anytime soon.

...i attended my ex-roomie's bridal shower. it was a lingerie brunch so i got her a white nightie and a whip. it went over well and i want one of my own (the whip, not the nightie). the wedding is this wknd and i’m kinda sorta excited about it.

...i had the best salsa EVER at this spot called tequilas in philly. i mean, it was so fresh and the taste was so clean. as much as i like mexican food i barely eat salsa; i usually just dip my chips in the juice. but the tomatoes omg they were perfect. i also had a raspberry margarita (on the rocks) that was bomb. yum yum yummy.

things have been a bit confluffled around these parts so i really haven't had a lot of time blog. rashad called me out so i felt obligated to update. so *wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wikki wik THERE IT IS!*