Savory Sunday: What could you eat every day for a month?

One of the crazier news stories making the rounds this week is the story of the 17 year old girl in the UK who has only eaten McDonald's Chicken Nuggets since age 2. As one can guess, she was recently hospitalized due to several vitamin deficiency and anemia and "inflamed veins in her tongue." Now, I love chicken nuggets more than the average person my age probably should but I eat them once a month at most.

As I discussed this story with some friends at work, we all tried to come up with a food that we could eat every day for a month (every day for 15 years is ridiculous) and I think we all settled on pizza. Cheese, bread, tomato sauce, is that ever not going to be delicious?

Naturally I was excited to try a recipe this week that was a variation on pizza. A very delicious variation.

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce

(The most delicious dishes never photograph well. It is like a rule or something.)

I had to laugh a bit when I was reading the reviews for this recipes on the Cooking Light website after I had made it. A reviewer commented that her 2-year old called it "Pizza Chicken"! Because that is what I have been calling it all week.  This dish is delicious if you love pizza as much as I do, and if you are 2-years old, apparently.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepan): 5!!!!

Tuscan White Bean Soup

When I try a soup recipe, I am almost always disappointed in the flavor of it. Perhaps I am a Campbell's Soup Kid that never quite grew up but homemade soups always taste bland to me.  Apparently what has been missing in my soups all along was a the rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The flavor this adds blew my mind! I made this soup for a recent Magazine Monday feature on the Whole Foods Bethesda store blog {here} and will definitely be making it again! It is a great vegetarian option and you can load it up with a few extra veggies.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepan): 4.5

Which food could you eat every day for a month?

Winner, Winner, Christmas Dinner!!!

Give me a good craft competition and my competitive side rears its sequin covered side.

So I am currently hopping around, tossing glitter in the air celebrating the news that my Christmas card from won the Paper Source Christmas Card Design Contest I entered it in at my local store.

I am so excited. I feel like I won the Golden Globe of crafting. Next year, I want the Oscar!

Full details on my Christmas card available {here}.

Fab Find Friday: One Line a Day Journal

As much as this blog serves as a diary of sorts for me, over the course of any day there are random little bits of laughter, sadness, annoyance, and every other emotion that happen and that are not really anything that I would write about, they are just life.  But some of them, especially the funny ones, I want to remember.  I have never been one to keep an actual diary mainly because it seem awfully labor intensive. I just wanted something simple. So I was so excited to receive the One Line A Day journal for Christmas!

The concept of the One Line a Day Journal is to write one line a day for five years. So very simple. And you can start it on any day of the year.

I jot down a line every night before I go to bed and even now, I love paging back through and reading them. Especially the funny ones. Walks to Subway with my coworkers on Subway Friday have been provided me with ample comic relief for my Friday entries. And it is such a great place for recording those stupid things you do every day that you can only laugh at yourself for doing.

The One Line A Day journal can be purchased {here}. I highly recommend it!

Fab Find Friday features items that are Rebecca Approved and Beloved. Basically, it is like a weekly Oprah’s Favorite Things without the unlimited disposable income and probably no car giveaways. And hey now that Oprah is retired, maybe my Fab Find Fridays can take over!!! For previous Fab Finds, click {here}.

{my sweet dc} Frosting: A Cupcakery

Each week I play a tourist with a sweet tooth in the city I currently call home, Washington, DC visiting bakeries, ice cream shoppes, maybe even a food truck or two.  I visit a sweet destination in the DC Metro area, tell its story, and review the delicious treat or treats that I tried there. But I will also tell you what else you can do when visit that place: shops, tourists destinations, restaurants, and how you can get there via public transportation. So sit back and enjoy a sweet trip. For more on how {my sweet dc} started, click {here}.

The DC market is so sweetly saturated with cupcakeries that it seems to defy economic logic in this rough of an economy. And yet most of them seem to be not only surviving but also thriving. To be honest, I find it baffling. But if being baffled is the side effect of having a cupcakery in my neighborhood then I think I am okay with that.

Frosting: A Cupcakery is the lone cupcakery in the Friendship Heights neighborhood that straddles the border of the District of Columbia and Chevy Chase, Maryland. And the neighborhood is all the sweeter for having it!

(Yes, it snowed here!)

The small shop is a perfect gathering place

with cute decor inside. Love this built-in!

The Sweet Factor: On this visit, I had bites of two cupcakes, the Elvis Pretzely: The King of Choc & Roll and the Edelweiss. The Elvis Pretzely cupcake has a pretzel cake bottom with white chocolate ganache and chocolate covered pretzel, pretzel crumbs, and coarse sea salt. The Elvis Pretzely has milk chocolate and white chocolate options. Obviously, I picked the white chocolate.

I liked the crunch factor that the pretzel crumbs added and the sweet and salty contrast was amazing!

And the Edelweiss might be the best cupcake I have had in recent months.

The almond cake and almond frosting combination was heavenly and I had to stop myself from eating it all and going into a sugar coma.

The DC Factor: Is there a greater DC factor than the fact this is my beloved neighborhood of Friendship Heights?! Kidding, of course! But this is where I live and I can recite everything I love about it for hours and hours. But the Cliff Notes version: shopping, shopping, shopping: Neimans, Saks, Bloomingdales, Anthropologie, BCBG, Sephora, World Market, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, Loehmans, Cole Haan. It is all right here.

Frosting and sprinkles and other things of note: Small orders of cupcakes are placed in paper bags. Larger orders are put in pretty blue boxes. *** There is seating available inside and on the patio (when it is not covered in snow). *** Cupcakes are available for sale after 11 a.m.; prior to that, coffee and breakfast treats are served. *** Frosting now has a Saturday morning running club (the owners are both runners) which includes a three-mile run from the bakery and ends with a breakfast treat and coffee at Frosting. Hmm, almost enough to make me want to run. *** The menu flavor menu varies by day and can be viewed {here}.

Getting there: Frosting is located at 1 Wisconsin Circle in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Take the Red Line to Friendship Heights and take the Western Avenue exit. When you get to the top of the big escalators, there are four possible exits. Continue straight ahead to the Western Avenue and Military Road Exit. At the top of that exit, turn right and walk through the bus stop. Frosting will be right in front of you. Such a detailed description, right? This is my daily commute, minus the daily Frosting stop. If only my metabolism allowed for that....

The Sparkle Factor: I first visited Frosting when it opened nearly two years ago and I am so pleased to see the improvements in cake and service it has made over that time. It is just nice to see a little cupcake shop survive and thrive. When I walked into the shop on Saturday, it was bustling with activity. Four middle school boys sat on the barstool attacking their cupcakes post-soccer practice while one of their moms kept a watchful eye on them. A mother and her young daughter sat coloring at another table. And a couple looked to be having a very serious conversation at another table. It has become a neighborhood hangout and I think that just sparkles.

Visit the Frosting website {here} for more information.

DIY Bracelet Bonanza

On my trip home over Christmas break, my dad mentioned that he was going to start making bracelets. Given that my parents are two of the most talented and craftiest people on the planet, I had no doubt he would be crafting up some perfect bracelets in no time.

When he asked what color bracelet I wanted, naturally I replied pink! And a pink bracelet arrived in my mail box last week.

It is made from parachute cords and I love it. And as one of my coworkers told me, parachute cords are super strong so if I ever find myself in a situation where I am wearing the bracelet and need to repel down a wall, I now totally can.

(And yes, that is the sleeve of my leopard print bathrobe. Please don't think that I am not someone who lounges about in a bathrobe all day; I need to snap some pictures before dashing off to work one morning and had not quite gotten dressed yet so it had to be done.)

Inspired by my dad's new found bracelet making skills, I was inspired to try making this bracelet that I spotted on Pinterest. (That picture is from the original maker of the bracelet, Henry Happened. Obviously, it is not me since there is no leopard print bathrobe sleeve anywhere to be seen.)

Pinterest has a magical way of making something so easy! And in reality, not so easy! FInding the cord ribbon proved to be the first challenge. None of my usual craft stores carried and my mom couldn't find it anywhere either. So I turned to ebay where I discovered that this type of cord is known by the completely klassy name of rattail.  And I purchased a few different colors from this seller who quickly shipped it my way.  Bead and rattail in hand, I was read to make bracelets!

When you graduate college and grad school, your professors encourage you to keep all of your textbooks for your professional library. I have been a professional for about 8 years now in my actual field of study and never once have I used my textbook library for professional use. I have, however, used them to anchor down craft projects, quite frequently actually. My professors would be so proud.

Now I am not sure if the original maker of this bracelet had a special kind of beads or magic fairy dust but my ribbon kept slipping off the beads instead of circling it like hers. Reading through the comments on the original post, I was not alone in this problem. So I turned to that which I always turn in times of crafting failure: my hot glue gun.

A tiny drop or two on each bead kept everything in place. Sure it also left some hot glue strings on the bracelets but picking those off will be like free entertainment the next time I find myself in a boring situation: It's a bracelet and an activity!

The final bracelet does not look as perfect as the one pinned on Pinterest but I still like it!

What Pinterest find have you made?

Take Note {and Write a Note} Tuesday: The Anti-Valentine's Day Card

I had every intention of putting together a second post of Etsy Valentine's Day cards to complement last week's selections because there are just so many creative options. But then I stumbled upon all of the Anti-Valentine's Day cards and after I stopped laughing at all of them, I knew I had to share them.

 

one: Snarky Valentine's Day card by Foglio Press

two: Anti-Valentine's Day card by adelynStone

three: Valentine's Day Bacon by 4/Four

four: Happy Singles Awareness Day by Vixens Empire

Each Tuesday I feature the most adorably delightfully beautifully stunning notebooks and stationery that I can find. I love love LOVE notebooks. I have a vast collection of notebooks that I either own or admire from afar. And stationery is just as fun. Because writing sweet notes is fun. Because getting mail is even more fun. Previous Take Note Tuesdays can be found {here}.

Have you seen or bought a notebook or journal  or stationery that you love love LOVE?  Send a link to it to me at iwbadg@gmail.com and it could be featured in an upcoming Take Note {And Write a Note} Tuesday!

Snack of the Week: Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Spicy Black Tea

Every time I read a magazine where a celebrity the key product to their diet/fashion/fitness/beauty routine, I roll my eyes in a major way. Because, yes, of course we'd all be thin/fashionista/fit/gorgeous if we had a meal delivery service, Christian Louboutins, daily personal trainers, and/or $200 tiny tubs of Creme de la Mer. But over here in average person land, those things are not reality.

So I really cannot think of anything I bought because I read or saw that celebrity had it.

Until now.

I was paging through Lucky magazine and on the last page of the magazine they always profile a celebrity and their favorite things, generally eyeroll central for me. This month's issue featured Hillary Scott, the lead singer of Lady Antebellum. I like Lady Antebellum's music and like most country music singers, they seem nice and real, like they could be your neighbor.

The first item Hillary listed was that she never leaves the house without 5 packets of Harney & Sons Cinnamon Tea.

She raved that it tasted so good and for some reason I trusted her.  Given that I am coffee's number one fan and generally find tea to taste solely like warm gross water and hate that it stains my teeth so much when coffee does not, I surprised myself when I found myself Googling the tea.  When I discovered that unlike Creme de la Mer, I could afford this celebrity's favorite product. Amazon.com had it and it was Prime-shipping eligible so with a click of the computer, the tea was on its way to me.

And friends, this tea is amazing!!! It is like drinking cinnamon red hots. I love it!

I spent a snow-covered Saturday morning sitting in my comfy chair with a stack of magazines, a book, and a mug of tea.

A perfect morning! This tea gets both a celebrity endorsement...and mine.

Who knows, maybe I have turned a tea-drinking corner? I do have a trip to London coming up pretty soon and I really want to do a few afternoon teas so I better get some tea drinking practice in beforehand!

Purchase the tea on the Harney & Sons website {here} or from Amazon {here}.

Snack of the Week is a weekly feature where I profile the best snack that I am eating. Equal parts healthy and indulgent are how I aspire (and sometimes fail) to eat my way through life and I try to reflect in these snacks. All snacking is done with a budget-friendly mindset as well. To read previous Snacks of Week, click here.

If you have any suggestions for snacks you would like me to try and profile, please email me at iwbadg@gmail.com. Unless it is super weird or expensive, I will probably try it.

Savory Sunday: A not so good hummus among us

A watched pot never boils. And a watched microwave redefines the length of a minute.

Or three minutes as the case often is when waiting in the lunch line to use the office microwave. Without fail, I watch the seconds tick down for the meal of the person in front of me in line: fiiiiiiiive, foooooooour, threeeeeeeeeee, twooooo, one! Victory is mine! Well, maybe not. But at least the microwave is mine. Wait, the person in front of me pulls his or her dish out, stirs it a little, glances over at me, gives a nervous giggle, and says with smile "It needs a few more minutes, I think."

Office microwave rage, it's the new road rage in my world.

Onto this week's Savory Sunday, one of which needed only 30 seconds in the microwave. The other of which is fish, which should never ever see the light of day in the office microwave. There is no exception to this rule.

Baked Asiago Hummus

I am a Sabra Hummus girl through and through. But when I spotted this baked hummus recipe in the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I was intrigued enough to try it. (And I loved that it didn't have tahini in it, mainly because tahini is expensive and I hate buying it for recipes that I am not sure about.) The recipe calls for a chickpea puree topped with caramelized onions and cheese. I was super excited about it. And well, I should have known better and stuck to the Sabra. The texture was weird and the flavor of the caramelized onions absolutely dominated which I was not so wild about.

 

Foil Packet Salmon and Roasted Aspargus

Courtesy of the little meal planning kick I have been on, I have pretty much eliminated the weeknight trips to the grocery store to get ingredients or dinner as needed. But when I saw that the Friday one-day-deal at Whole Foods was the Alaskan sockeye salmon, I made an exception and stopped in to buy my Friday night dinner. I put my piece of salmon in a aluminum foil packet with some olive oil, basil, oregano, and garlic and baked it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. When that finished, I roasted some asparagus that I tossed with olive oil and a bit of garlic at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. It was a most perfect dinner!

What recipes are you loving this week?

Fab Find Friday: Bissell Nano Vacuum

I am a bit of an expert in living in a small space. My tiny palace measures at just 450 square feet and I really could not love it more. I love being able to step through the door and survey my entire kingdom with one simple glance.

And I really love it when it comes to cleaning. One it really forces me to keep things clean because even the tiniest of messes in a small space looks like a big mess. And two, it is not a lot of space to clean. Granted, cleaning still sucks but at least there is less of it.

Recently I was desperately in need of a new vacuum cleaner, one that actually worked well on my mix of carpeting and hardwoods, was not too expensive, and did not take up much space at all. I spent a week researching options and ultimately landed on the Bissell Nano Compact Bagless Upright. I saw the word Nano and my Apple product-brainwashed self immediately thought, "huh, it must be small." And the reviews on Wal-Mart's website from other buyers confirmed that many of them lived in tiny palaces like mine and loved this thing.

When the vacuum arrived, I would not necessarily call it tiny but it also isn't huge.

I keep it tucked away in a corner of "dead space" so it is not really an eyesore. Bonus points that the vacuum matches my area rug.

But good gracious, this thing can clean! Apparently my old vacuums were terrible because the amount of stuff I have cleaned up since getting the Nano is incredible.  it has made me rather addicted to vacuuming.

I also really like that to empty the canister where all of the vacuumed up particles go, all I have to do is press a button on the canister over the garbage can

and the base of the canister opens and drops its contents into the garbage can.

And I do not have to touch anything!

I am certain that there are more amazing vacuum cleaners on the market but for $58 (and 97 cent shipping) and a small space, this thing is perfect for me.

Now, you must excuse me, I am sure there is a particle of dust waiting to be vacuumed somewhere around here.

Fab Find Friday features items that are Rebecca Approved and Beloved. Basically, it is like a weekly Oprah’s Favorite Things without the unlimited disposable income and probably no car giveaways. And hey now that Oprah is retired, maybe my Fab Find Fridays can take over!!! For previous Fab Finds, click {here}.

 

Hockey game fashion etiquette and other things I've thought about this week.

My Metro commute often overlaps with that of Washington Capitals fans heading to Caps games at the Verizon Center. Is there a hockey fan rule that instead of wearing a coat you must wear a hockey jersey over four hundred layers of clothing?  Because I never see them wearing coats but always see them looking like the Pillsbury dough boy with their jerseys over what I assume are seven sweatshirts. I have been to the Verizon Center; I have even been there for Caps games, in fact. And I wore a coat. I do not remember it being an issue. Then again, I spent the whole first period cheering for the wrong team because I got the jersey colors mixed up. So clearly I am not the expert.  But I was on Metro on Sunday and it was COLD outside and none of the Caps fans were wearing coats! One guy was even wearing shorts!

Why is a roll of parchment paper so much wider than the average baking sheet? Is there a standard use for it that I am overlooking that requires it to be so wide? I cringe every time I have to trim it to fit and waste paper. (My counter is normally not that cluttered!)

A few weeks into the new year and I holding true to most of my resolutions "Simplify. Slow down. Say no. Make time for my workouts. Write more. Read more. Shop less."  And collectively that means I have had a lot of much cherished quiet time and I adore it and am actually really quite selfish with it. Which is probably why I have been so crafty as of late.  Because I actually have time for it! And it is why I have had so much time to listen to my full iTunes library on shuffle. Which is a bit like walking down musical memory lane. I love how a song can take you back to a moment in life, a scene in a movie, a television show.  And it also has me wondering a few things like Whatever happened to Five for Fighting? Or Everclear? And more importantly, why do I have a HIllary Duff song?

I was obsessed with John Grisham books with I was in high school. A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief, and The Firm, I really did not love any of his other book but these three books are some of my favorite reads. My well-worn paperback copies of these books still sit on the bookshelf in my room at my parent's house.  And now I am absolutely loving the NBC series The Firm that picks up ten years after where the book ended. I love this idea! (And I also love Josh Lucas as Mitch McDeere so much more than the movie's Tom Cruise in the role). So many times when I finish a beloved book, I take time to think about what would happen next. I have a vivid imagination so I love the tales I can spin. But also love watching this concept on television. Can we do this with The Pelican Brief too? And in like ten years, maybe with The Help too?

Happy Thursday everyone!