are you brave?

A couple of nights ago L & N and myself were discussing the question "what's the bravest thing you've ever done?" And it really got me thinking. The next evening I watched 127 Hours and I was more convinced that is not a word I would use to describe myself. Not only could I not saw off my arm, I don't think I would survive 48 hours in a canyon. Shoot, my biggest fears in life are deer and after that is the dark.

Speaking of 127 Hours, it was a good flick and I enjoyed the story as well as James Franco. It did leave me wanting a little more when it came to the background and more details surrounding his personal life and what went on while was trapped.

I still don't have an answer to the question but I'll let you ponder it for yourselves.

sprinkles

I love Sprinkles cupcakes, I'll even admit I'm slightly obsessed. They're known as the "original cupcake bakery." They use premium ingredients and simple decorations. I first read of Sprinkles in a gossip magazine (if you're a celeb, it's the hot spot when you have something to celebrate) and begged my brother-in-law to take me on our next trip to LA. When we showed up in Beverly Hills I knew I was in for a treat, there was a line out the door with a one-in, one-out policy.

Another reason I love Sprinkles is if you follow them on twitter or facebook they have a daily post with a secret word that you whisper to receive a free cupcake. It is thrilling to walk in and see if you made it in time, the first word I ever whispered was "La Jolla" and just like that I received a cupcake, free of charge. Here's an example of a status update:

It's peanut butter Tuesday! The first 50 people to whisper "chip chip hooray!" at each Sprinkles receive a free peanut butter chip!

They even offer an at home version, this isn't your typical cake mix. It is the most complex cake box recipe I've ever followed. I've even tried mastering their signature frosting technique. The at home result is good, but nowhere close to as tasty as the real deal.

While $3.50 might seem like a lot for a cupcake, it is worth it because every bite is pure perfection.

Last week while in Scottsdale I sampled the following flavors:

chai latte
strawberry
milk chocolate
carrot
mocha
vanilla
brown sugar praline

My two favorite were the chai latte and brown sugar praline.

And yes, I know that's a lot of cupcakes to have eaten in four days, I plan on hitting up the Y this week.





I've already started counting down the days until my next Sprinkles cupcake...86 days to go!

a prayer for owen meany

I FINALLY finished A Prayer for Owen Meany while on vacay this week. It was a long read and it took me way too long to finish but I'm happy I made it through to the end. The story of Owen's faith is inspiring and I enjoyed that portion much more than the politics and history lesson.

"Owen Meany believed that “coincidence” was a stupid, shallow refuge sought by stupid, shallow people who were unable to accept the fact that their lives were shaped by a terrifying and awesome design – more powerful and unstoppable than the Yankee Flyer. (a train)"
— John Irving (A Prayer for Owen Meany)

4 years

Time to celebrate an anniversary! It has been four years since J-rod and I have been married, crazy how time goes by so quickly.

Every day I wake up knowing that we are truly blessed and I am lucky to be married to my best friend. Okay, no need to gag, I'll stop.

Cheers to the next four and many more.

ambulance ride

While in Scottsdale I got to experience my first ambulance ride and I hope I never have to do that ever again. I spent most of Wednesday in the sun without much water and no food, not the smartest combo. While at J-rod's cocktail party that evening I started not feeling so hot (for the record I had two sips of my drink, so don't go blaming the a-a-alcohol.)

Even though the talk of underwriting was thrilling, I excused myself from the conversation and headed toward the lobby. Things started going fuzzy, I found a cleaning lady and asked her to escort me to my room, once again she probably thought alcohol was to blame for my strange request. And that's the last thing I remembered before waking up on the ground.

Apparently I had passed out in the entry way to the party, when I woke up I thought I was in my bed but was startled when all sorts of random faces started appearing before me. I was only out for 15 seconds or so, but it didn't take long before an ambulance and firetruck were waiting to escort me away. The first thing out of my mouth was "I'm sorry" and the second was "Where are my sunglasses?" I then quickly looked to make sure my dress was down and I wasn't exposing myself to all of creation. I then started thinking about our recent switch to the high-deductible insurance plan and asked someone to take me to my room and give me a bottle of water. I didn't win that battle and they were persistent about taking me to the hospital.

Once in the ambulance I made a comment about how small it was, would not recommend making that comment because they then assumed I was having a panic attack and thought I was claustrophobic. Not the case at all, just stating a fact.

After doing several tests and pumping a bag of saline through me, I was released and made J-rod take me to In-N-Out.

Don't worry a $3,000 lesson has been learned, make sure to drink lots of water and eat something if planning on a day of fun in the sun.

scottsdale

J-rod had a work trip planned to Scottsdale and he invited me to tag along for the week. After our fall trip to Arizona I swore I would never go back to that horrible state but I am so glad I changed my mind. Scottsdale was great. I could maybe even like it more than LA...gasp!

They have some of my favorite things in Scottsdale, beautiful weather, excellent shopping, great restaurants and Sprinkles cupcakes. We got to stay at a nice resort and even though it was a work trip for Jared, we got to spend a lot of time together.

The weather was perfect everyday, sunny and 89 degrees, I even managed to get my first sunburn of the season, despite my effort to lather up with sunscreen.

The restaurants we tried will have to get blog posts of their own, because they were so fantastic.

Despite getting sick and a trip to the hospital (another blog post may be in order) it was still a relaxing trip and a nice spring getaway.

the big move

We now have a new address, it seems surreal. I really did love our condo, it was cozy and fit us so well but it was time to move on. I'm looking forward to finding all sorts of new things to love about our new house. The packing and move went so smoothly, everything went according to plan but we couldn't have done it without our friends and family. Everyone was such a great help! And we are extremely grateful.

I am excited for home improvement projects, decorating and gardening. Sounds like a lot of future blog posts to me.

no menu

I am sad to report there will be no menu post this week. It is going to be a crazy week and I will be happy if I can make two home-cooked meals with the remaining items that aren't already packed up. Big thanks to my family for packing all our stuff in record time this weekend! Now that everything is in boxes, things should move right along next weekend, no pun intended.

plane etiquette

Things that are unacceptable while on a plane:

1. Clipping your nails. Gross anywhere but your own bathroom.
2. Sucking every last drop out of your complimentary drink with a straw. Think you got it all.
3. Farting. There are no windows to open on a plane.
4. Clapping after the plane lands safely after a uneventful flight.

mr. bachman

It's no secret, I love Channel 13 and this week I was excited to find out I have something in common with John Bachman. The bronzed skin? Nope. Love for golf? Nope. We both sit in a cubicle! Can you believe it? This guy makes 100K more than I do and he sits in a cubicle. Maybe hanging out in cubeville isn't so bad after all.

Menu Posting

Here is the latest and greatest posting for the week. I did much better with my grocery budget this week, less than $43.00!

Monday: Meatloaf sandwich & chili carrots
Tuesday: Spinach & pea risotto
Wednesday: Lemon poppy seed chicken, brown rice & corn
Thursday: Pasta with homemade marinara sauce & spinach salad
Friday: Smokey D's BBQ with my fam
Saturday: Chicago dogs, baked beans & roasted potatoes
Sunday: Beef stroganoff over egg noodles

A few people have asked me how I come up with menu ideas and I wish I had a simple answer but I'll do my best to explain. I spend 15-20 minutes every Sunday and look through my pantry for ingredients I already have and then flip through magazines, my recipe box or cookbooks to come up with ideas that utilize what I already have and items that just sound good! Also, way too much time is spent watching Food Network in our household, so I usually get an idea or two from there. I also try to alternate between non-meat, poultry and beef dishes so we aren't eating the same thing every night and it is much healthier this way.

Bon appetit.

Friday Reprise

Jimmy Fallon is the funniest guy on late night, hands down. His renedtion of Friday with Stephen Colbert, Taylor Hicks and The Roots last night had me rolling. Although lyrically terrible, this song is doing a lot of good. Rebecca Black is donating all of her profits from the song to Japan for earthquake relief. And Stephen Colbert held up his end of the deal last night, by promising if Jimmy's fans could raise $26,000 for an online charity by Friday, he would come back and sing Friday with The Roots. Enjoy.

Lemon Cheesecake

I attempted cheesecake for the first time and overall I was happy with the result. Unfortunately I think it fell flat because I tried to make a "healthier" version with reduced fat ingredients, but flat or not it still tasted delicious. It was also a great reason to try out my new springform pan from Pampered Chef, which I love, thanks Mom!

Lemon Cheesecake Recipe:
Crust
6 whole graham crackers
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Filling
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F.

For Crust: Finely grind graham crackers in processor. Add butter and lemon peel; blend using on/off turns just until crumbs are moist. Press crumbs firmly onto bottom (not sides) of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake until crust is set, about 10 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, lemonade concentrate and lemon peel in large bowl until smooth. Beat in 3/4 cup sour cream. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Pour filling into crust. Bake until center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 50 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool 5 minutes. Run small knife around sides of cake. Chill cake uncovered overnight.

Garnish with whipped topping and lemon sprinkles.

I had some left over lemonade concentrate that I didn't want to waste so I whipped up a quick vodka lemonade to sip on while the cheesecake was baking.

The Numbers Are In

After a month of committing to plan out meals, spend less at the grocery store and eat out only twice a week we saved $249.71. We spent a total of $415.03 on food in the month of March, compared to $664.74 in February...and hello, there are three more days in March.

Not only did I save money but planning out menus was fun and evenings were less stressful because I knew what I was going to make when I got home instead of searching through my cupboards trying to come up with something on the fly.

April might be more difficult with a move, more visitors and a vacation planned, but I'm always up for a challenge.