So....it's that time of year. :) I think I enjoy shopping for Christmas gifts more than the average person... The lines and the crowds just add to the thrill of the hunt for me (although I can't say the traffic is all that thrilling on any front.) My primary love language is Gifts which is probably why I take finding the perfect gift for each person so seriously. A gift from me is the utmost expression of love, so I don't take it lightly. I usually like to go shopping with people and pay careful attention to the things that they like...That said, I feel tremendously crippled over here! I feel confident enough waiting to shop for my family back in the states in a couple weeks when I get there, but we're meant to be having "Christmas" with Chris's fam. next week and, so far, the only person we've bought for is Annette! This family is REALLY hard to shop for. In my family, no one is shy about giving a Christmas List of things with varying price points and letting each other go from there, but his family just does not share what they want!! They all say "nothing." I'm just like...hey. I'm going to be getting you something anyways, so it might as well be something you like!
Annette is easy enough to shop for because I've kind of learned her taste over time and I have ideas for everyone else....but it doesn't make it any less tough! The kicker is that I have to do ALL of this online, and Australian e-commerce is seriously handicapped. Chris always gets his mom the same thing: a gift card to the garden shop. But I like to be a bit more thoughtful than that. I like for people to not know what to expect......so, "let the hunt begin" I suppose! His mom's bday is next week as well....maybe we can do a BIG bday/christmas gift for her. Maybe.....Maybe I could go "browsing" with Debra at Green Tree Frog (gardening) and just pay close attention to the things she likes.... she has this whole feature of concrete lizards in her garden...but they look expensive. uggggh. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Pumpkin Bread
Last year there weren't ANY frozen cranberries at Cole's, just cranberries soaked in apple juice....which have a totally different flavor. Like the difference between frozen peas and canned peas soaked in water....anyways. They had cranberries at Cole's this weekend!! Not fresh ones because they're out of season, but this recipe needs frozen ones anyways so HURRAY because I LOVE PUMPKIN CRANBERRY BREAD. I'm gonna make like, a basquillion loaves of a it. That's right JILLIONS.
I think Australians would call this "cake" or a "pudding"....but, by my definition, it's too dense to be a cake and not wet enough to be a pudding. SO it's bread.....'cause I'm American and that's how I roll. hahaha ::boing::boing::boing:: (me bouncing in my seat with glee)
I think Australians would call this "cake" or a "pudding"....but, by my definition, it's too dense to be a cake and not wet enough to be a pudding. SO it's bread.....'cause I'm American and that's how I roll. hahaha ::boing::boing::boing:: (me bouncing in my seat with glee)
Libby's® Pumpkin Cranberry Bread |
 |
Submitted By: Libby's® Pumpkin
|
"Try this festive recipe for a delicious holiday treat!"
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour 5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 3 cups granulated sugar 1 (15 ounce) can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure | Pumpkin 4 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup orange juice 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries |
Directions:
| 1. | Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. |
| 2. | Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil and orange juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in cranberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pans. |
| 3. | Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. |
Bean!
Look! It's Bean! On a necklace!
Merry Christmas to me??
http://cgi.ebay.com/Betsey-Johnson-Black-Cat-Pendant-Necklace_W0QQitemZ110465355764QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b83f8ff4
Monday, December 7, 2009
Seriously
We want to move somewhere where it's cold all the time. Like, fireplace lit every day, rainy snowy "bad weather" kind of cold all the time. Preferably in the mountains. Seriously. Where is someplace where the highest high in the summer is like 65-70 degrees? I want to move there. I hate the heat. I hate the beach. I never want to sweat again. I SO look forward to winter and dread the days I have to pack up the sweaters and boots....so why not have year-round autumn and winter temperatures? So, where is this place? Is it like, Canada? Not like, Alaska or anything....someplace where it's cold all the time but not snow all the time.
Let the search begin!
Thredbo, New South Wales
Okay, so this is like the Aspen of Australia. Situated in NSW's Snowy Mountains, it averages a high of 20*C-22*C in the summer which isn't bad! And in the winter it's, well, cold and snowy. :) Problem? It's hella expensive. Like whoa expensive. $1.5 million for a 2 bed/2 bath. Here's some $2.5 million 5 bed/ 3 bath eye candy:
Okay now, I'm not even joking over here, you know how when you play Sims sometimes you'll build like your dream home? I SWEAR my dream home ALWAYS has this lodge look to it with that huge stair-case and balcony thing in the main room. That said....for 2.5 million it sucks that it's a fixer upper. It's VERY dated and needs a lot of love and sledge-hammering. Anyways, just an inkling of what exists up there! There are places really nearby with reasonable prices (if you can believe $800k for a 4 bed/3 bath is reasonable ;) ) Maybe this will be our retirement dream. :)
Let the search begin!
Thredbo, New South Wales
Okay, so this is like the Aspen of Australia. Situated in NSW's Snowy Mountains, it averages a high of 20*C-22*C in the summer which isn't bad! And in the winter it's, well, cold and snowy. :) Problem? It's hella expensive. Like whoa expensive. $1.5 million for a 2 bed/2 bath. Here's some $2.5 million 5 bed/ 3 bath eye candy:
Okay now, I'm not even joking over here, you know how when you play Sims sometimes you'll build like your dream home? I SWEAR my dream home ALWAYS has this lodge look to it with that huge stair-case and balcony thing in the main room. That said....for 2.5 million it sucks that it's a fixer upper. It's VERY dated and needs a lot of love and sledge-hammering. Anyways, just an inkling of what exists up there! There are places really nearby with reasonable prices (if you can believe $800k for a 4 bed/3 bath is reasonable ;) ) Maybe this will be our retirement dream. :)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Bday Cake
Everyone's asking about The Birthday Cake!!
It was not as good as I thought it would be.... ::tear:: But I tried! I made it with coconut Italian buttercream frosting and covered it in coconut....it's really good, just not like mind blowing or anything. I'm just not good at cakes! lol I tried to write "happy birthday" on the cake...only the dessecated coconut kept pulling up and it turned out looking like a squiggly "hoopy" and so I gave up and just wrote "happy 24." lol ohhhh well. I was too embarrassed to take a picture. At least it tasted yummy. :)
It was not as good as I thought it would be.... ::tear:: But I tried! I made it with coconut Italian buttercream frosting and covered it in coconut....it's really good, just not like mind blowing or anything. I'm just not good at cakes! lol I tried to write "happy birthday" on the cake...only the dessecated coconut kept pulling up and it turned out looking like a squiggly "hoopy" and so I gave up and just wrote "happy 24." lol ohhhh well. I was too embarrassed to take a picture. At least it tasted yummy. :)
What Not to Wear
People have been saying things to me this past year like "your hair always looks so good," "you always look so cute when we go out," "I know I have to make an effort when I'm around you or else I'll look rediculous." I've officially become High Maintenance. I've become That Girl. I ALWAYS have my hair done, I ALWAYS have some variation of makeup and I ALWAYS put a lot of thought into my appearance even if it's just to go to the grocery store. Why?? I blame What Not to Wear!!! Seriously!! Stacey London and Clinton Kelley have changed me for life and I don't think there's anything I can do about it. People ask me "how do you get your hair to look good all the time?" Um...I style it EVERY DAY. It's not like I roll out of bed looking like it took me an hour to get ready....it probably did take an hour. Or more. lol
Oh, can I just say that the UK What Not to Wear is HORRIBLE???? I don't know WHAT possesses those women to think that the things they are dressing their guests in looks good but it's painful to watch! So I don't. And I miss Stacy and Clinton. :(
One of the things that's been hard on me moving here to moranbah is that NO ONE makes an effort! Everyone is so low-maintenance when it comes to their appearance and I just stand out like a sore thumb. I always feel over-dressed and over-done. So I've been trying to play it down a bit lately... This is why, just for fun, I've made a What Not to Wear special for myself. Even if I can't play in a dressing room every week anymore I can still try to have some fun!
________________________
Okay, so one of my fave things is mvm.com . It's tons of fun! You get to make a 3-d model of yourself and then try on all these clothes and it REALLY gives you a good idea of what NOT to wear and I have actually been very very surprised by some of the things that look really good on me. I love studying shapes and fabrics and how a ruffle here or a pouf there can really add balance and shape in a good way and how a metallic sheen or a shoe strap in the wrong place can look just HORRIBLE.
Here's some fun What Not To Wears and What TO Wears that I put together for my model. :)
What NOT to Wear: On a Date
WHY would I wear this?? Maxi dresses are REALLY popular right now. I think some of them are great and some of them are awful....the one I tried on here is one I actually really loved on the model; it doesn't have a dust-ruffle hem, it's belted at the waist, it has a lot of movement instead of being your typical sheath style, and the colors are REALLY pretty. I think this one is also a little more dressy and wouldn't be out of place at a nice al-fresco cafe at the harbor which is a place Chris would likely take me out. It would also be nice and cool which is important in summer here.
But apparently I just can't pull off the Maxi look. I'm not even going to try...they ALL look frumpy on me. They look frumpy on a LOT of people actually...I wonder if they know how bad they look... The accessories I chose are things I actually really like, but the pendant necklace combined with the length of the dress is just too much going on. I love those bangles too, but they bring attention to my wide hips which is not what we want at ALL!
Wear THIS: On a Date
The second look is probably a little bit shorter than I should wear, but the style is awesome! I think a lot of people make the mistake of wearing drape empire-waisted dresses thinking that they hide their fat, but they can really add a LOT of pounds that are not there (see my maxi dress for an example.) This style has a lot of structure and emphasizes the fact that I really do have a waist. The necklace I chose brings attention to my top half, the smallest part of me, instead of dragging the eye down to my middle the way a longer necklace would. I love this
What NOT to Wear: Shopping With Girlfriends
WHY would I wear this?? Hey now, this would be a seriously comfy outfit to wear on an outing for holiday Starbucks lattes and maybe shopping and a movie after! The whole 80's look is really on-trend and the ballet flats would be super comfy if we were doing a lot of walking. The tights would keep my legs warm and are usually worn with these tunic dresses which is why I chose them. I wouldn't have to think about weather my rolls were rolling out when I sat down and I would be SO cozy and comfortable and that's important when your with you're girls!
Okay, okay, so looking at this you're probably thinking "WOW. That is REALLY bad." BUT people wear stuff like this all. the. time! As you can see, the whole Oversized look is BAD if you are not seriously skinny! It does make us feel safe because we can let it all hang out and no one will see and yes it would be sooo comfy....but it just looks awful. It's an all around bad idea. I love the sweater, it's very festive and metallic but the empire waist and chunky knit just add 20 lbs that I don't need and in all the wrong places. The tights cut my legs off at the ankle and draw attention where they would otherwise just blend and this adds a lot of heft and makes them look really short. The pendant necklace just drag the visual interest down down down to my tummy and hips which just isn't a good idea here at all. The bell sleeve would normally be a good idea for me, but not even they can save this serious fashion disaster.
Wear THIS:Out With Girlfriends
Okay now, THIS is something that I love and do wear absolutely all the time. I've got my fitted tank with a wool shrug to emphasize my waist and also to add balance between my shoulders and hips. I've got my dark-wash boot-cut jeans because I KNOW light washes and whiskering just make my hips gain weight in the worst way. The scarf does all kinds of awesome things here visually; besides adding a pop of color, it draws the eye up and in which automatically slims and trims because people are looking at the smallest parts of me instead of my hips where I carry all my weight. The metallic flats aren't doing anything special other than looking cute and fun as opposed to a boring black flat or WORSE running shoes.
Tangent:
For some reason people in Texas think it's okay to wear running shoes with absolutely any outfit. I don't know if people do this everywhere but it is like a PLAGUE in Texas. I used to be guilty of it when I was growing up, but I was young and clueless....I assume that everyone who continues to do this just doesn't care or couldn't be bothered putting on other shoes. I think you can get away with it if you're doing the J-Lo track-suit look and your shoes are clean and fresh....otherwise it just looks messy. Maybe if you're going to the grocery store for like, 5 minutes because you're in the middle of a recipe and they were the first shoes by the door....but really it's not hard to throw on a pair of cute flats or sandals instead. Make an effort people! You never know who you're going to meet....
Okay, I have to admit, the outfit I feel SAFEST in is just t-shirt, jeans and tennishoes:
I used to wear some variation of this EVERY SINGLE DAY until I got sick of being mistaken for a 16 y/o at 20 and decided I should probably start dressing more appropriately for my age. I always had a few things ready for when I wanted to dress up...when I worked at David's Bridal I had to buy a lot of business casual type clothing which allowed me to start seeing myself as an adult. I can confidently wear heels with jeans now and not feel like an idiot which is saying a lot. But I suppose I shouldn't judge those who just aren't there yet, should I? At the same time, we all have to grow up at some stage if we want our peers and society to take us seriously so I'm glad that I've made that leap now rather than trying to wrap my mind around a heeled shoe at 30. lol
Oh, can I just say that the UK What Not to Wear is HORRIBLE???? I don't know WHAT possesses those women to think that the things they are dressing their guests in looks good but it's painful to watch! So I don't. And I miss Stacy and Clinton. :(
One of the things that's been hard on me moving here to moranbah is that NO ONE makes an effort! Everyone is so low-maintenance when it comes to their appearance and I just stand out like a sore thumb. I always feel over-dressed and over-done. So I've been trying to play it down a bit lately... This is why, just for fun, I've made a What Not to Wear special for myself. Even if I can't play in a dressing room every week anymore I can still try to have some fun!
________________________
Okay, so one of my fave things is mvm.com . It's tons of fun! You get to make a 3-d model of yourself and then try on all these clothes and it REALLY gives you a good idea of what NOT to wear and I have actually been very very surprised by some of the things that look really good on me. I love studying shapes and fabrics and how a ruffle here or a pouf there can really add balance and shape in a good way and how a metallic sheen or a shoe strap in the wrong place can look just HORRIBLE.
Here's some fun What Not To Wears and What TO Wears that I put together for my model. :)
What NOT to Wear: On a Date
WHY would I wear this?? Maxi dresses are REALLY popular right now. I think some of them are great and some of them are awful....the one I tried on here is one I actually really loved on the model; it doesn't have a dust-ruffle hem, it's belted at the waist, it has a lot of movement instead of being your typical sheath style, and the colors are REALLY pretty. I think this one is also a little more dressy and wouldn't be out of place at a nice al-fresco cafe at the harbor which is a place Chris would likely take me out. It would also be nice and cool which is important in summer here.
But apparently I just can't pull off the Maxi look. I'm not even going to try...they ALL look frumpy on me. They look frumpy on a LOT of people actually...I wonder if they know how bad they look... The accessories I chose are things I actually really like, but the pendant necklace combined with the length of the dress is just too much going on. I love those bangles too, but they bring attention to my wide hips which is not what we want at ALL!
Wear THIS: On a Date
The second look is probably a little bit shorter than I should wear, but the style is awesome! I think a lot of people make the mistake of wearing drape empire-waisted dresses thinking that they hide their fat, but they can really add a LOT of pounds that are not there (see my maxi dress for an example.) This style has a lot of structure and emphasizes the fact that I really do have a waist. The necklace I chose brings attention to my top half, the smallest part of me, instead of dragging the eye down to my middle the way a longer necklace would. I love this
What NOT to Wear: Shopping With Girlfriends
WHY would I wear this?? Hey now, this would be a seriously comfy outfit to wear on an outing for holiday Starbucks lattes and maybe shopping and a movie after! The whole 80's look is really on-trend and the ballet flats would be super comfy if we were doing a lot of walking. The tights would keep my legs warm and are usually worn with these tunic dresses which is why I chose them. I wouldn't have to think about weather my rolls were rolling out when I sat down and I would be SO cozy and comfortable and that's important when your with you're girls!
Okay, okay, so looking at this you're probably thinking "WOW. That is REALLY bad." BUT people wear stuff like this all. the. time! As you can see, the whole Oversized look is BAD if you are not seriously skinny! It does make us feel safe because we can let it all hang out and no one will see and yes it would be sooo comfy....but it just looks awful. It's an all around bad idea. I love the sweater, it's very festive and metallic but the empire waist and chunky knit just add 20 lbs that I don't need and in all the wrong places. The tights cut my legs off at the ankle and draw attention where they would otherwise just blend and this adds a lot of heft and makes them look really short. The pendant necklace just drag the visual interest down down down to my tummy and hips which just isn't a good idea here at all. The bell sleeve would normally be a good idea for me, but not even they can save this serious fashion disaster.
Wear THIS:Out With Girlfriends
Okay now, THIS is something that I love and do wear absolutely all the time. I've got my fitted tank with a wool shrug to emphasize my waist and also to add balance between my shoulders and hips. I've got my dark-wash boot-cut jeans because I KNOW light washes and whiskering just make my hips gain weight in the worst way. The scarf does all kinds of awesome things here visually; besides adding a pop of color, it draws the eye up and in which automatically slims and trims because people are looking at the smallest parts of me instead of my hips where I carry all my weight. The metallic flats aren't doing anything special other than looking cute and fun as opposed to a boring black flat or WORSE running shoes.
Tangent:
For some reason people in Texas think it's okay to wear running shoes with absolutely any outfit. I don't know if people do this everywhere but it is like a PLAGUE in Texas. I used to be guilty of it when I was growing up, but I was young and clueless....I assume that everyone who continues to do this just doesn't care or couldn't be bothered putting on other shoes. I think you can get away with it if you're doing the J-Lo track-suit look and your shoes are clean and fresh....otherwise it just looks messy. Maybe if you're going to the grocery store for like, 5 minutes because you're in the middle of a recipe and they were the first shoes by the door....but really it's not hard to throw on a pair of cute flats or sandals instead. Make an effort people! You never know who you're going to meet....
Okay, I have to admit, the outfit I feel SAFEST in is just t-shirt, jeans and tennishoes:
I used to wear some variation of this EVERY SINGLE DAY until I got sick of being mistaken for a 16 y/o at 20 and decided I should probably start dressing more appropriately for my age. I always had a few things ready for when I wanted to dress up...when I worked at David's Bridal I had to buy a lot of business casual type clothing which allowed me to start seeing myself as an adult. I can confidently wear heels with jeans now and not feel like an idiot which is saying a lot. But I suppose I shouldn't judge those who just aren't there yet, should I? At the same time, we all have to grow up at some stage if we want our peers and society to take us seriously so I'm glad that I've made that leap now rather than trying to wrap my mind around a heeled shoe at 30. lol
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