Little Things

Ok y'all.

There has been a tad bit of drama in my world as of late. And if you know me at all, you know that I do not enjoy drama. In fact, I tend to run from it and avoid anyone/anything who loves it.

This situation could have turned even more dramatic but I chose to accept it (because I could do nothing to change it) and walked away. I'm still angry about how it all went down, but I will spare you the details.

What I will tell you is that my roommate moved out.

Am I sad about this? Not really.

Was I dependent upon her for income, favors, chores, etc.? Not really.

Did I forget how fabulous it is to live alone? ABSOLUTELY!

In celebration of this revisited revelation, I am making a list! (You know I love me some lists.)

What I love about living alone:

1. Being able to walk around naked. Don't lie - you do it too.
2. Laughing aloud at stupid stuff/yelling at the TV... and feeling no shame. I mean, college football and basketball seasons are right around the corner!
3. Not worrying that someone is going to break my grandmother's china or throw my dedicates into the dryer when they really need to be line dried.
4. Knowing that my dog will only get fed when I feed her.
5. Knowing that everything will still be exactly where I left it. Or be moved to wherever Luna chose to move it. (Same difference.)

[cue sigh of relief]

In other news, it has been raining like the dickens in southeastern NC - and I am about over that mess! My gardenia bush, however, has celebrated by gifting me with its first bloom :)

Clean Banana Pancakes

I woke up this morning far too early and starting organizing closets. About an hour into it, of course, I had to stop because I was starving. 

Do I have any prepared food in my house to eat for breakfast? 

Of course not. 

I decided that I desperately wanted pancakes. So, I googled some recipes for clean pancakes, grabbed random ingredients, and mixed them together. 

The result? Clean banana pancakes. YUM!

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Ingredients

2 small ripe bananas

1 whole egg

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 c. rice milk (that was all I had but feel free to use almond or skim milk)

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions

1. Blend/whisk all ingredients together until you have a slightly thin batter. If you want a smooth batter, you will need to mash the bananas before you blend them with other ingredients. I threw in whole bananas so my pancakes had chunks in them.

2. Preheat the burner using low to medium heat. If you have the burner too hot, these won't cook properly. It takes a tad longer than normal pancakes but the result is well worth the wait!

3. Serve with maple syrup, peanut butter, or whatever tickles your fancy!

Clean Banana Pancakes, hot off the stove

Clean Banana Pancakes + Maple Syrup = YUM

Current Obsession: Homemade Pretzels

I don't know that I should call this an obsession quite yet seeing as how I have only ever made homemade pretzels once in my lifetime, but given the fact that I ate SEVEN of the eight pretzels that I baked, I think it's safe to say that I have a problem.

I can't find the recipe to share with you guys right now, but you better believe that I will find it again. So I can share it and, of course, so I can make them again! I think the recipe is saved on my laptop at home. At least, that's what I'm hoping.

Instead you will have to settle for pictures.

Shaped dough. Very exciting!

Completed pretzel, ready for consumption.

Stop drooling.

Doggie Delight

As a Sunday treat, I baked some homemade doggie snacks for Princess Luna and Sir Gabe.

Gabe closely supervising, per usual.

Luna being cute, per usual.

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Doggie Delights

1 cup rolled oats (aka dry oatmeal)
1 cup boiling water
5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules (I just smashed the cubes)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten OR 2 medium bananas
3 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, butter, and boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.

Add the cornmeal, sugar, beef bouillon, milk, cheddar cheese, and egg/banana to the bowl. Mix well. Stir in the whole wheat flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (or wax paper) and knead, adding additional flour if necessary, until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out with a rolling pin to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with a cookie cutter and space evenly on prepared baking sheets. Reroll remaining dough scraps and continue cutting until all dough has been used.

Bake 35-45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Let cool completely before allowing your pups to sample!

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Here are my treats during the process:

Dough ball. Duh.

Princess cookie cutters!

Ready to bake!

The finished princess products!

Gabe

Luna has obviously been keeping me occupied over the past month since I have not posted a blog. I swear that one day I will get better about posting! I really do lead an intriguing/humorous/entertaining life and I want to share all of the nitty gritty details with you. muhahahahaha ;)

So the past month has been insane and I'll have 2-3 more posts about it later (like, this week - I promise!) but for now I must just tell y'all about Gabe.

Gabe is my first foster through GDFRL. He is a sweet boy with a few listening problems... as in he doesn't want to listen to me disciplining him! He knows his basic commands but continues to follow me all over the house. I've only had him for a week so I'm hoping that once he realizes that I'm not going anywhere (nor is he, at least for a while), that he will settle down and just relax. He also has this horrible habit of placing his chin on the counter, which completely grosses me out. (Hi, I'm a germophobe.)

So what is Gabe's story? He was picked up by animal control in TN. They spotted him tied up outside in someone's yard, emaciated and hot. They seized him for a vet visit and the vet determined that he was extremely underweight (105 lbs) and malnourished. After some paperwork and legal mumbo jumbo, he was released to GDFRL at a healthy 135 lbs.! A gang of volunteers graciously drove him from TN to Charlotte to Rockingham to Chapel Hill, where I picked him up and drove him back to Wilmington.

Gabe travels to Wilmington!

Gabe has obviously lived in a house before, because he went straight to the couch. He knows how to counter surf, dig through the trash, sit, lay down, and bark at intruders. (How lucky am I?! :/) While Gabe and Luna do get along ok, he does have some food and water aggression issues. He also barks a lot so that gets her all hot and bothered. Sometimes Luna looks at me and is just like, "Mom, really?! We had such a quiet life before this character came along." 

Let's just say that he is a work in progress. I thank my lucky stars every day that I have him, instead of a shelter. 

Gabe, living the posh life on my cloud of a bed, teddy in paw.

"Rescuing one dog may not change the world, but for that one dog the world will be changed forever."

Luna

Well y'all, I have a new child. She's not really new new, but she's new to me!

Introducing... Luna!

"Mom, will you share your dinner with me? Please?!"

Luna is an adorably sweet 6 year-old female Great Dane who I rescued from Great Dane Friend of Ruff Love outside of Charlotte, NC. This organization is run by volunteers who pull Danes from shelters, owner surrenders, animal control, etc. and foster them in their own homes until the dogs are ready for adoption.

Miss Luna was an owner surrender from about a year ago. Apparently the guy had over 20 large dogs in his house and he called animal control to take a few because he had "too many" dogs. Luna's sister, Sophie, was pulled with her and was also adopted to a lovely family who lives in Charlotte. It's funny how similar Sophie and Luna's dispositions are! Both are super chill and completely content laying on the couch, "helping" you cook, or going for a long walk. Luna is a fan of leaning on you to allow for long petting sessions, and will always make herself the center of attention so she can get some love!

She reminds me a lot of my "old" rescue, Malibu, who I sadly had to put down about 3 years ago due to degenerative hip issues. I like to think that Mali and Luna are somehow related and were put on this earth just for me :)

Anyways, Luna is extremely loving and amazing, and I only hope that I can repay her with a life full of unconditional love and, of course, luxury. (I mean, she does sleep in my bed every night and get yummy snacks!)

Clearly, I need a larger bed. Isn't that obvious?!

Who knows - I may even let her borrow my tiara!

PPOTW: Terms of Endearment

Even though this post will be nothing but a rant, I must say that you readers are very lucky - I did not wait another 3 months to post this time. Only 2. Go me!

Now, back to the topic at hand...

My current Pet Peeve of the Week:

I hate it - I mean really haaaaate it - when women who are younger than I am (in addition to any male that I am not dating) call me "honey," "darling," "sugar," and the like. Really!? I do not know you. I am not a food, nice person, or your friend. Save your terms of endearment for people who appreciate them. I most certainly do not.

Blogging Slacker Wears a Baker's Hat

Well..... I may or may not have been a blogging slacker the past 3 months. But I also may or may not have been busy purchasing my first home, packing, and then subsequently unpacking.

While all of this information is absolutely thrilling, my obsession of the moment is this:

What is "this," you ask? Oh you know... just a peanut butter high hat. I found the recipe via Pinterest and decided it looked too delicious to not recreate. 

On the same day, I also created these bad boys:

I really don't know what they're called, so I have dubbed them "pizza bites." These were so quick and easy to make and they made a great finger food while I was running around the house picking up things and watching NCAA tournament madness.

To make these, I used my rolling pin to flatten a regular biscuit (you know, those Pillsbury ones that come in a can that you have to pop open?), and then filled each one with marinara sauce, half of a "to go" block of cheese, and a few turkey pepperonis. I folded the biscuits around the deliciousness inside, placed them on a baking sheet, sprinkled them with a melted butter/parmesan/oregano/parsley mix, and popped them in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Here they are in the making:

I've also completed a few arts and crafts projects around the house. So many, in fact, that I can't remember to take pictures of projects while I'm working on them. You'll just have to settle for the list below.

- created a fire pit
- laid down grass seed
- repotted 2 plants
- planted a Lily of the Valley bulb
- planted herbs for my indoor herb garden (more on that later)
- painted 2 rocking chairs and 1 rocking bench
- painted patio table and chairs
- painted a fancy bronze mirror black
- painted large clear vase with an opaque design (to store extra TP)
- organized closet
- unpacked
- finally followed through with this excellent salad idea

I promise that I won't wait another 3 months to post again. I'll try not to let y'all be deprived for even 3 weeks, but I can't make any promises. There are so many crazy things going on, which, I will of course post about later.

And I will show you the house too :)

Babycakes Cake Pop Maker

Kristi and I exchanged Christmas gifts last week before she left to visit her family in OH. I thought that I had given her some pretty spot on gifts... until I opened mine. Homegirl knows meway too well!

She gave me a Babycakes cake pop maker, a double tier collapsible cake/cupcake carrier, a cupcake/cake decorating icing kit (with tons of tips, etc. -- pic to come later), and a giraffe wisk!

(Can you guys tell that I like to bake?)

While Kristi is away, I am watching her furry child, Carter.

Sir Carter

Anyways, since it was cold and I didn't really want to do much, I decided to crack into the Babycakes box and make some treats for my coworkers. And boy was this an adventure! I will preface this post by saying that the cake pop making was the easiest part of all. The maker really does make it so quick and easy.

The maker came with a recipe book (other recipes are also found online) and I, of course, chose to make red velvet cake pops. The batter was simple to make and yielded about 3 dozen pops. I also made some chocolate pops but those weren't as tasty as the red velvet, in my opinion.

Chocolate balls, post baking.

Red velvet balls cooling in the tray.

Red velvet balls preparing to be stuck!

Balls become pops.

Notes:

1. It says to place one tablespoon in each divot. I found that to be a little too much so don't go crazy with the batter in there. If it overflows, that is ok. As you can see from my pictures, the overflow easily detaches from the balls.

2. I highly recommend using the removing tool that comes with the kit! It's a little wired prong instrument that doesn't look like it can do much but trust me - it does!

3. In order to get the sticks to stay inside of the balls and not move around when icing (more on that in a bit), dip the sticks in melted chocolate/icing before placing the stick in the ball. Once you have a few balls with sticks, place them in the fridge/freezer for about 5 minutes.

Now, on to the icing...

You can make your own icing if you want. If you're crazy. Or you can just buy the Wilton candy chips and melt them like I did.


In sticking (haha, no pun intended) with the holiday theme, I chose green candy melts (vanilla flavored) to coat my red velvet pops. I placed about 1/3 of the bag into this small little pot that came with my larger crock pot. I'm not even sure what it's called but I know that it was made specifically for me to melt chocolate and candy. It's just so cute!

This pot only has one setting but it doesn't get too hot; just hot enough to melt the candies and keep them melted. I do, however, recommend stirring this occasionally - especially if you're not going to use it right away. Also be sure to keep adding chips as you use the icing. I found that when you only have a few chips in the pot that it gets too hot. DUH.

So now you can remove your pops from the fridge/freezer and dip them in the icing/melts that you have in your pot. Because the sticks are frozen into the cake balls, you won't have to worry about the sticks spinning inside of the balls while you're trying to coat them.

I also added sprinkles to my pops just for giggles. Plus it made them prettier :)

Then I decided that I needed to package these suckers if I was going to distribute them to coworkers. I took pieces of saran wrap and cut them into 4x4 inch squares and wrapped the pop in them. I then took some thin red ribbon and tied a bow at the base of the pop.

Now, aren't those just the cutest things that you've seen in your entire life?!?!

No? Ok, well, I bet they're at least close.

I've only talked to one worker about these pops and she was pretty excited about them. I don't think she ate it yet but she at least liked the packaging. If I weren't such a dessert fanatic, I would think that they were almost too pretty to eat.

Tonight I plan on icing the chocolate cake balls with white Wilton candy melts. I'll be sure to let you know how those turn out (because I know you'll be up all night wondering...).

Happy holidays, y'all!

Crock Pot Pulled Buffalo Chicken

I forget where I saw this recipe (probably through one of my friends on Pinterest) but it was a great find! Fairly common sense when you think about it but we all know that sometimes I just don't think about it.

I have amended this recipe slightly based on my observations but what works for me may not work for you. Be sure to read the notes section at the end before you jump on this recipe!

Crock Pot Pulled Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. chicken breast, frozen

1 package ranch seasoning

1 jar of hot sauce

Cooking Instructions:

1. Turn crock pot on highest setting and place frozen chicken breasts inside.

2. Mix together hot sauce and ranch packet and apply directly on top of frozen chicken breasts.

3. Cook for about an hour or until chicken is cooked thoroughly enough to pull apart.

4. Remove chicken from crock pot and pull apart using two forks.

5. Place pulled chicken back into crock pot and mix with liquids that were in the pot from before.

6. Turn crock pot to "low" or "warm" setting and allow to simmer for another 1-2 hours.

7. Serve pulled chicken on tortillas, bread, etc. Garnish with desired toppings.

Notes:

1. I chose to use chicken tenderloins but only because that was all that was in my freezer! This is also a great option when you are cooking for one, which I am.

2. If you are cooking for one, I would only use half of the package of ranch. I used a whole package and it was way too salty for the amount of chicken that I used.

3. This recipe will probably work best if you were to mix together the hot sauce and the ranch. I chose not to do that and had chunks of ranch throughout my chicken. That was fine by me but again, it was rather salty at times.

4. The longer you let the pulled chicken sit in the sauce mixture, the thicker the sauce will become. And the spicier the chicken will become!

5. This chicken would also be great on nachos, garnished with some sour cream, jalapenos, shredded cheese, beans, etc.

Enjoy!

Happy Pawlidays!

Happy Pawlidays, from the furry friends of my friends!

Sir Carter

Miss Haley

Current Obsession: Pumpkin

The pumpkin obsession has spiraled slightly out of hand. Seeing as how it is now closer to Christmas than Thanksgiving, the pumpkin products that I have found in the grocery have drastically decreased. (I know, my waist and pocketbook just released sighs of releif!)

Here are a couple of my very exciting [and delicious] purchases from the fall. And yes, I am rationing them so that they last into the spring :)

Cream cheese AND butter?!?! Yes, please!

Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts. You're welcome.

I also baked another round of whoopie pies at my parents house over Thanksgiving. I forgot my original recipe at home and ended up using one that I found via Google. While I was not impressed with the recipe (it wasn't red velvety enough), the pies still disappeared like cupcakes. Probably because they actually tasted like cupcakes! This recipe called for about a cup of cocoa powder - whoa!


Anddddd, I made baby versions of the pumpkin & cream cheese cupcakes that I have been so obsessed with this fall. I'll post the recipe later. Someone please remind me!


Baby cupcake pans are the devil. It is far too easy to create tiny morsels of deliciousness in a bite size form. What did I do during the 6 hour drive from my parents house back to my house? I popped baby cupcakes into my mouth.

Odd Facts

I'm about to share some odd facts about myself with you. So, if you don't want to read them (or if you just don't care) then please ignore this post.

For those of you who don't care - you really should read this. It's going to be entertaining. I promise!

So, here it goes...

Every time I sneeze, my hips pop. My right hip always pops. My left hip only joins the party about half of the time.

Also, I've noticed that the older I get the skinnier I get. Is that normal? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Now, I'm not complaining about these 2 facts at all. The hip popping is a blessing in disguise because it makes my work outs much more enjoyable. And I don't have to stop in the middle of a run to do my crazy kick stretch in an attempt to make those suckers pop out. And the skinny thing... well, I mean... what girl doesn't want to be skinny?!

Someone get me a cupcake.

Wedding Bell(e)s

There seems to be a lot of talk about wedding dresses as of late.

One of my best friends, Cassie, recently became engaged. For a couple of weeks we talked about wedding dresses, scouring countless ads, pins (via pinterest), and websites for the perfect dress. Turns out, she found an almost $4,000 dress at a flagship store in Raleigh for.... (wait for it)... under $400! It's the perfect fit for Cassie, as she could wear it right off the shelf, minus a few inches that need to be hemmed off the bottom for Mrs. Short Stuff ;)

I also stumbled across this website today: My Ex-Wife's Wedding Dress. Apparently, this guy's wife left him after 12 years of marriage and 2 kids. Did I mention that they were high school sweethearts? I'd say that finding 120 uses for her old wedding dress is excellent payback. And therapy.

He has also written a book about the wedding dress experiments, which is available on amazon.com.

You're probably wondering how I stumble across such things. Well, there are a variety of interesting ways but today it was via an MSN article.

On another note...

I think that, if I were to get married, I would wear a completely ridiculous dress just because I could. Kind of like the ones that Carrie Bradshaw wore/modeled in the first SATC movie.

The Target website

The Target redid their website, y'all!

I pulled it up to look for something and became so immediately enthralled by this new user friendly site that I completely forgot what I was looking for in the first place.

OH, but I just remembered! Leg warmers to wear as "long socks" under tall boots.

Thanks for the help! Now go and check out this new redesign.

Random Updates

I must update y'all on a few random bits. (I swear that a post with some depth will be coming soon.) These are absurdly random items and completely unrelated, so please forgive me now.

1. The goldfish obsession continues. I went to Sam's Club and purchased over 4 lbs of these delicious baked snack crackers. Three large bags came in one large box. I just opened my last bag of goldfish about 5 minutes ago. It will, of course, be devoured come the week's end. So if you need me this weekend, I'll be at Sam's Club!



2. Two weekends ago, I went on a baking charade. I made red velvet whoopie pies and pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I didn't want to eat all of these so I dispersed these delicious treats amongst my friends and coworkers. Needless to say, everything was gone come Tuesday afternoon.





2a. Those whoopie pies called for an entire 1 oz. bottle of red food coloring! While that doesn't seem like a large amount, it really is. And look at how red the batter was!



2b. I also made homemade chicken noodle soup before I started baking. I didn't have any bow tie pasta or macaroni noodles so I used angel hair pasta. I stuck a box in the crock pot (uncooked) with 4 cans of chicken broth, seasonings, celery, carrots, and chicken and let it cook overnight. Talk about heaven! mmmm

3. Kristi and I had our first bonfire of the season a couple of weeks ago! Her shed blew over during hurricane Irene so we had a few pieces of wood and sticks to burn. And it was actually quite chilly so the fire was needed and enjoyed. (You know I was out there in a hoodie, sweats, and Uggs.)



4. Speaking of weather - this past weekend's weather was absolutely fabulous! I hope that wherever you reside had weather that was equally as perfect :)

Update: Halloween, Doggie Style

YOU GUYS - I have discovered more Halloween outfits for your dogs. And children, apparently. Check out this website courtesy of the Animal Planet.

Here are a couple of my favorites:



And then this random one, Harry Pupper (haha):

Current Obsession: EOS Lip Balm

If you know me at all, then you know that I am constantly applying chapstick. I just like to have lips that are moisturized! (Have you ever seen someone whose lips are peeling?! Ew!)

Normally, I'm pretty loyal to Bert's Bees. But a good friend/coworker of mine turned me on to Evolution of Smooth Lip Balm.

The EOS balms look like little eggs. They are cute and colorful! These would be great gifts in an Easter basket (because of the shape, obviously) or as a stocking stuffer.


I have two flavors: summer fruit and sweet mint. Both are in the picture above.I keep one on my night stand and one in my purse. But I fully intend to snag every color/flavor when I see them. I saw the lemon drop, also pictured above, but did not purchase it when I saw it. I must have been preoccupied with food or something.

I'm collecting all of the flavors just to sample them. Not because I'm obsessed or anything...