Archives for April 2010

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness 04.15.10

15 April 2010 by

– I am deeply and completely in love with Top Chef Masters. In some ways I like it more than Top Chef (less focus on drama, more focus on food). Are any of y’all watching?

– I just put up my second post for the Tropicana Juicy Rewards campaign, and thanks to BlogHer, you can enter to win a $50 gift card. I’ll announce the winner of the first post’s $50 gift card tomorrow.

– Apparently bacon is now “our national food crush.”

– I love swimsuits from Lands’ End because they’re really well made – nothing flimsy about them. You can mix and match pieces that work best with your body type, and the Lands’ End folks also understand the importance of underwire, CAN I GET AN AMEN, OH THANK YOU.

Anyway, Lands’ End is having a sale Friday through Monday. But if you use a special code and PIN today, you can get the sale prices a day early. The sale is 25% off all regularly priced items (swimsuits, clothes, shoes, whatever) AND free shipping. The promotion code is LESHOP, and the PIN is 6413.

(By the way and in case you’re wondering: I am receiving approximately zero American dollars for sharing this info – I’m just telling you because 25% off makes me happy.)

– This post of Amanda’s made me laugh out loud.

Happy Thursday, y’all!

Filed Under: Daily Awesome

Tropicana Juicy Rewards, Post 2

15 April 2010 by

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tropicana.

I haven’t bought a new pair of running shoes since 2003.

TWO THOUSAND THREE.

SEVEN YEARS AGO.

And while I’d like to think that I held onto my seven year-old running shoes because of some serious frugality on my part, the fact of the matter is that the shoes sat in my closet for about three years after I bought them. I wasn’t exactly, um, inspired when it came to jumping on the post-baby fitness bandwagon.

About four years ago I finally released the shoes from their cardboard cage, and we’ve had some good times, the shoes and I. We’ve traveled together, walked all over our neighborhood, played at the park and kicked many a soccer ball. The shoes are understandably exhausted. And given how much I’ve worn them, I’ve probably kept them for two years too long. Honestly, I’ve just had a hard time gearing up to spend the kind of money that a really good pair of shoes requires.

But then.

BUT THEN.

A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the Tropicana Juicy Rewards site, and I noticed that one of the deals available was a discount at the Adidas store – plus free shipping. I did a little research to determine which shoe would be best for what are arguably the highest arches in human history (seriously. they defy all reason.), and a few minutes later, I ordered myself a sassy new pair of kicks.

Because I’m kicky like that.

And did you know what I did after that? I thought about how I’ll wear my new shoes to kick the soccer ball with my little guy, and that made me think about how my husband and I have never bought portable chairs for soccer games (note: any attempts to follow my disjointed thought patterns could result in serious injury). We’re coming up on our fourth soccer season, and we always just lean against a fence or sit on the bleachers and then afterwards we talk about how much our backs hurt. Our oblivion to obvious solutions (BUY SOME CHAIRS, PEOPLE) is sort of endearing, isn’t it?

Anyway, I looked on the Tropicana site and saw that Coleman is one of their Rewards partners, and I thought, “OOOH! I bet Coleman makes some good portable chairs. And durable! To withstand lots of camping trips!” And sure enough – I used reward points to get two chairs, a great discount and free shipping. I have no doubt that my back will continue to thank me throughout this spring and many soccer seasons to come.

I’m thinking about getting “Mamaw” and “Papaw” monogrammed on each seat. It only seems fitting, you know?

If you’d like to enter to win a $50 Visa gift card from BlogHer, just leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite outdoor activity is. Running? Walking? Pushing your kids in a swing? Sitting on a beach and looking out at the ocean while a private steward serves you all manner of cheese?

Perhaps I’m allowing my personal wishes to infringe on the contest. I do apologize.

And good luck with the giveaway, everybody!

Be sure to visit the other participating bloggers’ reviews on the BlogHer.com special offers page (you have seven chances to win!).

If you haven’t signed up for Juicy Rewards yet, you can earn a free rewards point after you set up your account. Here’s how:

1. Go to http://www.tropicana.com/
2. Set-up your Tropicana Juicy Rewards account
3. Visit the “Enter Codes” page within the site and get started with:
BLOGG-HER11 *
*This one-time use code is valid for new accounts ONLY. Must be entered within 6 hours of creating your account.

You can find more information on the official site, and here’s a link to the official rules.

This giveaway is now closed.

Filed Under: BlogHer Reviews

An Unexpectedly Happy Cooking Moment

14 April 2010 by

I’ve never made a loaf of homemade bread in my life. IN MY LIFE. The mere mention of starters and kneading and rolling and rising and etc. is enough to send me into a cold sweat. It’s just always seemed like a whole lot of trouble considering that I can pick up a loaf at the store and never even have to turn on my oven, thank you very much.

Lately, however, I’ve had a little bit of a change of heart. For the last few months I’ve been trying to eliminate “convenience” foods from our meals – with the exception of the occasional box of Cheez-Its, DON’T YOU JUDGE ME – and I’ve been looking for ways to make things I would ordinarily buy. That’s why I can now make a pretty decent homemade pizza crust, and it’s why my favorite new smell in the world is a pot of black beans simmering on the stove (oh, cumin – you do marvelous work).

ANYWAY.

Last week I picked up the May issue of Food Network Magazine (I LOVE IT), and I noticed a recipe for No-Knead Peasant Bread. I read the directions and thought it sounded do-able, but I wondered if it was way more complicated than the recipe indicated. After a little research, though, I discovered that Jaden at Steamy Kitchen has a similar recipe on her site, and for me that was confirmation that I needed to try it.

All that to say: I finally worked up the nerve to make my first loaf of homemade bread. And I used Jaden’s recipe, just FYI.

Sunday afternoon I mixed the dough together, covered it and let it sit tight for 24 hours. Monday afternoon I floured the dough, turned under the edges, then wrapped it in a floured dishtowel and put it back in the bowl. Two hours later I flipped the dough into a Dutch oven (SO BRILLIANT, THAT METHOD), followed the instructions, and 45 minutes later my house smelled like heaven.

It tasted better than anything ever should. Alex just ate buttered bread for supper, in fact. Couldn’t be bothered with anything else.

But the grown-ups kicked the bread up a notch, oh yes we did.

Sunday night I made a batch oven-dried tomatoes and stored them in the refrigerator. These tomatoes are DIVINE and have so much flavor – which is a bit of a wonder considering the state of tomatoes in April. I also made a big pot of homemade black beans (2 cups soaked beans, sauteed onion and garlic, salt, cumin, chili powder and red pepper brought to a boil in 6 cups of water, then simmered for 2 1/2-3 hours – with about half a teaspoon of red wine vinegar added after they’re done).

Well.

Once the bread was ready Monday night, I made a little Feta yogurt sauce (1 cup plain nonfat yogurt, 1/2 container crumbled Feta, 1 teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh). David and I spread some yogurt sauce on our homemade bread, then topped it with black beans and oven-dried tomatoes.

OH MY WORD THERE ARE NO WORDS.

(And please excuse the shadow of my phone in the picture.)

(Remember, I am a reliably dreadful photographer.)

We absolutely loved the combo of the bread with the other stuff. It was fresh and tasty and crunchy and hearty. We decided to call it International Bruschetta (a little Greek, a little Italian, a little Mexican) – except that it wasn’t really bruschetta because I didn’t toast the bread, but that is merely a technicality. And you could do all sorts of toppings: a favorite cheese, roasted eggplant, roasted garlic, shredded parmesan on top of pesto sauce, a Caprese salad on top of the bread – I could go on and on and on. There was actually a walnut-pepper spread in the magazine that looked delicious, not to mention glazed figs – but I think my people would revolt if I served them either of those options.

Regardless, I still can’t get over how easy it was to make bread in a Dutch oven. I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS POSSIBLE. I think my life is changed forever. In fact, I think this is going to be the spring of eating Homemade Bread With Some Stuff On Top Of It for supper.

And I can’t wait.

Filed Under: Cooking

American Idol – Top 9 (Again)

13 April 2010 by

Well.

I see that Casey is wearing his hair in a ponytail tonight.

The evening feels full of promise and possibilities.

Crystal Bowersox – “Saved” – Every time I hear Crystal sing, I can’t help but think that she’s doing exactly what she was put on this earth to do. And tonight’s performance? Oh my word. I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Great song choice, great delivery – and great things ahead for Ms. Bowersox.

Andrew Garcia – “Hound Dog” – I definitely think that the version he sang tonight was way better than what we saw from rehearsal with Adam Lambert. Once again, I liked what he did with the bridge (I always do), but I think he’s not a strong enough vocalist to just stand on stage and sing. A funky arrangement and an acoustic guitar go a long way in terms of making him someone who’s fun to watch.

Tim Urban – “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” – He sounded a little hesitant at the beginning of the song, but he got stronger as the song progressed. And besides the fact that I REALLY wanted to cut his hair, I actually liked this performance. He didn’t oversing and came across as utterly sincere – not to mention that the arrangement was absolutely beautiful.

Lee DeWyze – “A Little Less Conversation” – I say this every single year, but this is my all-time favorite Elvis song. And I ADORED Lee’s version of it. If I heard it on the radio, I’d turn up the volume. In fact, I just rewound the DVR and listened to it again. Right up my musical alley, it was. Definitely my favorite of the night (so far).

Aaron Kelly – “Blue Suede Shoes” – It was actually a lot better than I expected it to be. He has a great voice, and I much preferred tonight’s performance to hearing him sing a Touching Ballad. That being said, it was very traditional and expected…it was good – but it wasn’t special.

Siobhan Magnus – “Suspicious Minds” – She definitely stayed on pitch better than she did last week, and she cranked up the volume at the end of the song, she sounded great. Unfortunately, the first part of the song sort of reminded me of some sort of mellow Dionne Warwick album, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it didn’t exactly feel current.

Michael Lynche – “In The Ghetto” – Well. I thought that was just beautiful. Well done.

Katie Stevens – “Baby What Do You Want Me To Do” – For me Katie is the most improved singer in this whole competition. I feel like we’ve seen a little bit of a transformation in her performances over the last four or five weeks, and I like how she takes charge of the stage. I don’t know if this was the best song choice for her, but she did a good job with it.

Casey James – “Lawdie Miss Claudie” – At first I was totally into it. But it lost me a little bit about midway through – where it should have gotten funkier, it got slower and more predictable. That being said, Mr. James was totally in his comfort zone, and I think he’ll definitely be back next week.

I really enjoyed tonight’s show – it seems like the older songs always work better for Idol contestants. I also thought Adam Lambert gave them really good advice – that part was fun to watch.

Best of the night: Lee
Worst of the night: It was a strong night overall, but I think Andrew was the weakest.
Should go: Andrew, ???
Will go: Andrew, ???

What did y’all think?

If you’d like to add your AI post to the Mr. Linky, please leave a link to your specific post and not just your general blog URL.

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

New York State Of Mind

12 April 2010 by

So I really have tried to start a post about fourteen times in the last five days, and every single time I wind up staring blankly at the computer. Thursday night I almost just posted some pictures with the caption “So this happened,” but then I felt guilty for subjecting y’all to such staggering new levels of boredom. It’s bad enough that you had to read my detailed account of cooking for a crowd last week.

Quite frankly I have exposed you to more mediocrity than anyone possibly deserves. I have no idea why you put up with me.

Anyway, last week took a little turn towards DECIDEDLY NOT THE NORM when I hopped on a plane Wednesday afternoon and met Melanie and Ree in New York City. Honestly, I was as surprised as anybody that it worked out for me to go; at first I thought that there was no way in the world I could make it because of family and work and stuff that was already on the calendar. But to my utter delight, the dates for the trip landed on a perfect little window of travel opportunity. WHAT ARE THE ODDS, I ASK YOU?

I landed in New York around 6:30 Wednesday night, and I decided on the ride to the hotel that I will never, ever overcome my fear that Death Is Imminent when I’m in the back seat of some sort of big city cab. And while I can’t say for sure that my cab driver was annoyed by constant OH MERCYs and sharp intakes of breath, I’m guessing that he wanted me to pipe down and let the professional handle the no-look lane changes and the barreling through tunnels at white knuckle speeds. As well it should be, I reckon.

Once I got to the hotel and met up with the girls, we walked around the corner to a great Italian restaurant. Melanie and I told Ree that we would consider it a sweet privilege to hunt down the worst Mexican food in the city (remember: we have a gift), but tasty Italian food prevailed. We sat next to a family that I christened (in my head, at least) the Shouty McLoudersons, and THEY MADE ME SO HAPPY. One of the kids kept saying, “CAN WE GET SOME APPS, DAD? CAN WE GET SOME APPS?,” and I really wanted to ask if he was angling for some fried calamari or if he just wanted to download a new game on his father’s iPhone. You never know these days.

Thursday morning, while Ree was tending to some bloggy bidness back at the hotel, Melanie and I walked to a nearby salon for some (much-needed, in my case) pedicures. I told Mel and Ree beforehand that I was a little hesitant about the whole thing because I was afeared that my post-winter feet would frighten and perhaps even emotionally scar the salon personnel. But it turned out to be a great – albeit competely and totally atypical – way to spend a Thursday morning, especially since Mel was there to listen to me analyze the pros and cons of different nail polish colors. After all, indecisive overthinking is one of my most favorite hobbies.

Once our toes were all purty, we walked back to the hotel and changed clothes so that we could go to The View with Ree. Even typing that is sort of strange, seeing as how I’ve never visited the set of a talk show, well, EVER, but oh my word it was a kick and a half to get to see just a tiny bit of the behind-the-scenes stuff. In fact, while Ree was getting her make-up done, Elizabeth Hasselbeck stopped to say hi to the guest who was in the dressing room next door, and Mel VERY STEALTHILY crept to the doorway so that she could oh-so-casually get an up-close glimpse of our very tiny blonde pretend-friend.

Mel tried to look like she was checking her text messages while she stood a few feet away from our stranger-BFF, and I may or may not have whispered “THIS IS A DEFINING MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE” through clenched teeth to punch up the melodrama of the moment. Fortunately we did not succumb to the internal pressure to take MANY, MANY PICTURES, because a few minutes later one of the staff members walked in the dressing room and said, “You’re not taking a picture, are you? Because that’s not allowed back here.” And then we laughed nervously because WHO, WHO WOULD EVER DO SUCH A THING, CERTAINLY NOT US, MY WORD!

Finally it was time to go down (up? down? I’ve lost all directional memory) to the studio, and once we got up (down?) there, we went to the kitchen where all they were keeping all the food warm for Ree’s segment (see how I’m acting like I know TV lingo? by using words like “studio” and “segment”? please feel free to roll your eyes frequently). At that point the View folks gave us permission to take pictures, and as usual, I seized the photographic moment in the lamest way possible.

I totally took a picture of the pantry. Specifically, I TOOK A PICTURE OF MEASURING CUPS.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Let me know if you’d like for me to photograph your wedding or some other special event. I’ll be certain to take pictures of coats and also purses.

Melanie and I got to sit backstage while Ree did her segment (THERE I GO AGAIN WITH THE LINGO), and we were so stinkin’ proud of her. She did such a great job, and everybody raved about the food (AS WELL THEY SHOULD). And in addition to the fun of seeing a sweet friend make her View debut, I also had a bit of a moment when I realized that All My Children used to film in that very building. It was the soap opera of choice during my teenage years, and I couldn’t help but think of all my buddies in Pine Valley when we were walking through the halls.

I’ll never forget you, Myrtle Fargate.

Once we were back at the hotel we grabbed a quick snack, then rested for a few minutes to gear up for Sushi Night. We had reservations for 5:45 because 1) we are a bunch of mamaws and 2) we wanted to get back to the hotel in time to watch Real Housewives of New York City (PRIORITIES, PEOPLE). A few of Ree’s friends met us for dinner, and listen: it was one of my favorite meals of my life. The food and the company were divine, not to mention that I actually took two whole pictures.

Sushi platter before:

Sushi platter after:

I think you’ll agree that our collective sushi-eating ability was nothing short of frighteningly impressive.

Ree left earrrrrrrrrly Friday morning, so Mel and I slept in and then did a little sightseeing. We enjoyed a special cupcake blessing and made a quick loop through a couple of stores (I may have seen a single tear roll delicately down Melanie’s cheek when she saw the wonder of the three-story H&M) before we shared a cab to the airport and said our goodbyes at terminal C.

Long story long: the trip was such a blast. As y’all know, it’s great to be able to talk and text and email with friends, but being able to hang out live and in person – well, that’s just a whole different level-o-fun.

And in case you’re wondering, we didn’t run into any of the real housewives while we were there. But if we had, I would have totally taken a picture of their knees. Or maybe even their elbows.

You’re welcome and the end.

Filed Under: Rambling

Quick Saturday Update

10 April 2010 by

I’ve been out of town for a few days and am about to settle in with the family for a spring day filled with yard work and soccer and maybe even pointing at the trees and screaming “LOOK AT ALL THOSE GREEN LEAVES!” But before I embark on all of that, I wanted to tell you this:

– Amy Grant “Somewhere Down The Road” winners will be posted later this afternoon – I’ll update this post with a link to the giveaway winners’ page are posted right over here.

– You can win a free leader kit for Vicki Courtney’s Five Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter Bible study over at AllAccess.

– I’m going to make it my goal for next week to compose coherent paragraphs again. We’ll see how it goes. I have a crazy case of blogger’s block. I feel like I have so much I want to say, and yet: NO WORDS. Just a lot of staring. VOLUMES of staring. Which, surprisingly, is not the most effective means of communication.

Hope y’all are having a great weekend!

Filed Under: Rambling
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