WorthAFortune

I swear!

2010-04-13T18:08:00.001-07:00

I swear, tomorrow. I blog entry.
About Beardaversary and crafts.
Crafts and Anaheim Comic Con plans.
I cross my heart. I swear it.

CRAFTS!

2010-03-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

So I'm working on something new.
Something I'll *hopefully* be done with before Beard-A-Versary.
I want people to come into the bedroom and say, "Wow, Kay, this is amazing. Where did you get that?"
Its a cork board made out of wine and champagne corks, which will hold a display of my jewelry.
I'm not done yet, nor am I half way through (You need a lot more corks than I thought!) but I'm so excited I'm going to give you a little tiny preview.

That's an awl, hammer, box cutter and self healing mat. In the 3 hours I was playing with cutting these corks I kept feeling like a pioneer splitting tiny logs with an ax. My hands kinda ache.

I got the pretty corks from The Long Beach Depot for Creative Reuse, which I'm pretty much in love with. If you've never been to the one in Berkley or the one in Long Beach and your a crafter, well you are missing out. The Depot had a 5 gallon tupperware full of old corks for 5 cents each. (on a side note, where is the cent sign on this keyboard? I don't think there is one) I couldn't believe my luck!

I sent Woody over there for more today since my picture frame, which will serve as the back of the cork board, is about 17X22 inches.

Hopefully I'll be done with this project by Beard-A-Versary and will be able to post a tutorial on it later this week. I'll miss going to school in the summer because I'll have alot less time on my hands at work to do stuff like this.

Beard-A-Versary food

2010-03-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

I love having people over.
If I thought I could stand the 1950 or 60's misogyny, I'd have fit right in as the perfect little hostess housewife. There is nothing I love better than having my house full of people I love (and a few people I just tolerate) with a glass of something bubbly and compliments on my food.
But I really hate cleaning up after it all.

This year for Beard-A-Versary I get to plan the who shebang. Decorations, food and finally get the house in the order it needs to be in. We've got 30 odd people coming and it makes me very excited to be the hostess. But then thinking about cleaning up after everyone makes me wish I didn't like hosting things so much. On the Sunday after Beard-A-Versary, Woody, me and a few friends have planned to go camping in Death Valley. Yep, you got that right, after a night of drinking and mess making I'm going to pack my ass up and drive five hours to camp in the desert. With this in mind I've planned the menu accordingly. Everything can be done in the week preceding the party and I am taking some major shortcuts. The menu you ask?

I honestly am daunted by the idea of rolling my own meatballs. It is entirely too stressful so I'm taking that whole idea out and instead, going to hunt for some frozen meatballs to try instead.
This recipe is SO easy.

Thunder(meat)balls:
1 (2 pound) bag frozen Rosina Home style Meatballs
1 (10 ounce) bag frozen organic tri-colored sweet peppers
1 (14 ounce) can jellied cranberry sauce
1 (12 ounce) jar Chili Sauce
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Red pepper flakes, optional but recommended
Cooked rice
Instructions
1. Add the cranberry sauce, chili sauce, a pinch of salt, some pepper, and a dash of red pepper flakes to taste to a pot and bring to a simmer. Stir often and turn off heat when the two sauces combine.
2. Place the frozen meatballs, frozen peppers, and sauce mixture into a slow cooker and cook over low heat for about 6 to 7 hours or on high heat for about 4 to 5 hours.
3. Serve over rice if desired.
(Recipe by Laura Flowers)

See how easy? I might just use grape jelly because I've had it prepared with it and its so delicious! All I got to do is toss everything in the slow cooker and, presto, I'm all done.

I am so looking forward to trying this next one. Lady fingers can be bought pre-made and this looks like the only thing I'll actually have to prepare the day of.

Gold(lady)finger toasts with Chambord and Amaretto dip:
LADYFINGER TOASTS:
1 package (3 ounces) ladyfingers
2 to 3 tablespoons Chambord Liqueur (or raspberry extract) or Amaretto Liqueur (or almond extract)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon allspice
Vegetable cooking spray

Lightly spray baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray; set aside. Split and separate ladyfingers. Place on baking sheet, split sides up. Brush with liqueur or extract. In small bowl combine sugar and spice. Sprinkle over ladyfingers. Bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and continue baking additional 15 minutes. Cool completely. Serve with Chambord and Amaretto Dip if desired (see below). Makes 24 pieces

CHAMBORD AND AMARETTO DIP:
1 package (3 3/8 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1/4 cup Chambord Liqueur (or 2 teaspoons raspberry extract)
1/4 cup Amaretto Liqueur (or 2 teaspoons almond extract)
2 cups frozen whipped topping (thawed)

Mix pudding and milk on low speed of electric mixer until blended. Continue mixing until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Divide into 2 bowls. Add Chambord liqueur to one bowl and Amaretto liqueur to the second bowl. Fold 1 cup whipped topping into each bowl. Chill until serving time. Serve with ladyfinger toast and fresh fruit. Note: Chambord or Amaretto can be substituted with any liqueur you desire.

Since it is supposed to be like the James Bond film Goldfinger, I plan on using yellow confectioner's sugar for the sugar in the toasts to make it extra yellow. But I'm not quite sure how I feel about using pudding and whipped topping for the dip. I'm feeling that a combination of plain yogurt and vanilla yogurt might make it a little tangy and tasty. I'm probably going to have to try it out this weekend.

Octopussy Jello Shots:
Not going to lie, this is what I'm most excited about.
This recipe is so perfect!
Just clear jello, ice cube trays, simple syrup, berries and vodka. Lovely! I like it because they look classy and not like what you get at a kegger. My Partner In Crime had the brilliant idea to put gummy octopus inside the jello shots to make them fit in perfectly with the theme. I may have to twist her arm to get her to use Absolut's Apeach or Pears because I don't like blueberry Stoli.

Last but not least;

From Russia with Love Punch:
Ingredients:
One bottle of a bubbly drink. (a sweet Champagne, ginger ale, lemon lime soda, fizzy water, etc)
1/4 - 1/2 a can of frozen concentrated pink lemonade (or any other pink drink in concentrated form)
8 ounces flavored vodka (I'm going to use my favorite Absolut Apeach)
water to taste.

Add all to a large punch bowl or drink dispenser, mix well. Add water to taste. To serve cold in a drink dispenser, do large pieces of ice. They'll melt slower.

The frozen concentrated drink is what gives this a major kick. The sweetness of the concentrated juice will counteract the alcohol. But, can give drinkers MAJOR heart burn if not watered down properly. I had a ridiculous experience after a breakup where I was dead set on using my new blender in my brand spanking new apartment the evening after I got dumped. So I looked up delicious drinks and found the Pink Panty. Frozen pink lemonade, vodka, ice and cool whip. It was delicious, but it knocked me on my ass and the lemonade gave me excruciating heartburn because it wasn't watered down enough. I guess the four shots of vodka didn't count.

In other news, I got my mustache in the mail. It is lovely, and I'm way excited to wear it. All I have to do now is trim it so it looks more natural. I'm counting down the days till Beard-A-Versary. Its ridiculous how excited I am.

Beard-A-Versary, Decorating and Organization.

2010-03-10T16:45:00.001-08:00

Remember those pictures I promised of my lovely organized closet? Well Woody's camera is a little bitch and for some reason refuses to load anything to blogger. Why? Who the hell knows. So in the interm, I'm going to try to post more even if I don't have pictures.

On the organizing and decorating front:
Woody and I have been able to put my closet in order, his closet in order, both of our bookshelves in order and my favorite... the "linen closet" in order. "Linen closet" is in quotes because really, there ain't much linen in it. Its this crazy weird triangular shelf space with doors above a place where a washer might have been but is no longer. It didn't really fit anything until we organized it. We've got cleaning supplies, tools of every shape and form, cat toys, dusters, and rags. Sheets and towels take up a measly shelf, which was haphazardly stuffed, which in turn made the closet doors never close. So on a lovely Sunday night we took everything out of the closet ran to Target and spent 30 dollars on Tupperware. Seriously, Tupperware. Woody had the ingenious idea to fold the towels in a triangle shape for easy storage, and I dug around for a stray fabric box to put one of the two sheet sets we have in it. Its a tight fit but who cares! More space for me!

I'm still trying to get the bedroom finished. Woody bought this lovely frame for me for Christmas and is ordering one of the beard pictures from our beard photo shoot from Costco. They do pretty inexpensive poster prints. (I think it might be 15 dollars if that) I plan on putting that above our Ikea bed and hanging smaller frames around it. On another wall we plan on hanging a limited edition print of Zombie Theme Park by Scott C. (Check out Lumberjacks at Work, its so cute!)

We went to The Framestore this week and got it framed. Let me tell you, framing is NOT cheap. We had two coupons and two pieces to frame and each piece was over $100 dollars to frame. I would NOT frame something for that much, but Woody on the other hand isn't a Cheap Bitch On A Budget so I let him do as he pleases. I'd probably make my own frame before spending that much on framing. Its going to look lovely so I guess I can't complain too much.

I tried to keep the bedroom as clutter free as possible. So we have alot of wall space. (I wanted it to be a place where we could really relax since the living room is SO FULL of books and art supplies and movies and rock band equipment and everything else in the world.... AHHHHH!) I love it because in the morning the bedroom is the first room to get sunshine. Its so great! With the weather being as lovely as it has been I like waking up to the sunshine at 7am. I love reading in bed with the window open and not having to turn on a light.

So when I was thinking about decorating the bedroom, I decided to take a look into wall decals. They are so cute and so temporary since we're renting. But the ones I was looking at (even on Etsy.com, which had by far the cheapest and most variety) were entirely too expensive. I wanted a big tree with long branches that I could "hang" pictures from in the branches. Those run like 120 dollars! Its ridiculous! So instead I saw this post about making your own wall silhouettes out of fabric and liquid starch. So the plan is to get Woody to draw a fantastic tree, that has room to grow around our room and then cut it out of fabric. From what I've been able to ascertain is that the fabric must be washed before hand (bleeding happens as does shrinkage) and stretchy fabrics are a no-no. When you get stretchy fabrics wet, they just stretch more and more. Calico or muslin are the best bet. I'm thinking something lightly patterned would look lovey! I plan on doing this after Beard-A-Versary.

On Beard-A-Versary:
What's Beard-A-Versary you say? Oh just when Woody celebrates the growth of his beard. He negotiated with me the chance to let his beard grow from December to the end of March when Beard-A-Versary is happening. Its starting to look like a forest. I was able to put a down feather inside his beard and he couldn't find it. I miss his strong chin under there.

Anyway, the point is, this year Beard-A-Versary is being hosted at our house. We have a teeny, tiny patio out back that we share with the other three apartments. After gaining the consent from our apartment mates we've (well I've) thrown ourselves into planning the best party ever. Since it is the fourth annual Beard-A-Versary the theme is Thunderbeard, after the fourth James Bond movie, Thunderball. That means fancy dresses, bow-ties and my favorite, CHAMPAGNE! Oh, and yeah beards. Everyone has to wear one. I splurged big time this year and ordered one off the internet. Behold! The Piper Mustache!

Yes! I decided to recreate my beard photoshoot with this lovely thing. It might be a LITTLE too dark for my hair color, but I figured the blonde would be too blonde. I'm going to hunt for a retro evening dress this weekend after watching Thunderball. Then I'll have to brainstorm hair and makeup ideas. Finding a tutorial on 1960's makeup and hair is a little difficult. My hair isn't quite long enough to do the rumpled just tumbled in bed look.

But besides my own costume I'm the one brainstorming food and decorations. (I always wonder how Woody would live without me. I think this is the eternal woman in a relationship question.) So far I've decided to serve in theme, Thunder(meat)balls, Gold(lady)fingers with amaretto dipping sauce, Octopussy Jello shots, and for my hoping to be skinny ass... hummus and veggies with a stray selection of cheese and crackers. I'm trying to get Woody to help me recreate the opening gun barrel scene with black paper and paint. But I guess we'll see. I love being hostess so much I always take on the even all by my lonesome because no one is as excited as I am.

Its going to turn out fantastic! I am counting down the days!

Almost Done!

2010-01-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

... with no pictures (yet!) to show for it.
Prepare to be wow'ed with a post tomorrow with the following.

My brand spanking new closet space full of organized crafts.
A bookshelf packed to the brim with trashy romance novels
And a picture of what I've STILL got to deal with.

So excited to be done moving for a while!

Oh hey look! I'm packing!

2010-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

So here is the first installment of: Kay Moves to Woody's.

Lets start by posting a few pictures huh?

This is my room as of Saturday: Wow look at that mess! My mother would probably kill me if she knew I was posting it. She'd think she let me get away with this horrible mess! Now I'll defend myself by saying, I haven't been living here since I've been at Woody's for over a month. It doesn't give me an excuse to live like a hoarder. As you can see I don't have a bed anymore (its in the living room) and hate to disappoint you, but the Rock Band drums are not mine. I scooted these out real fast.

See my dilemma? I've got to squeeze all of this mess into Woody's tiny ass apartment. Now wait! That's not all. We have yet to look at my closet and book shelves.

Here's a picture of that disaster: The other side of the closet is pretty much cleared out thankfully. That top shelf is FULL of my crafts. I do alot of stenciling, scrapbooking, and sewing. I also cannot bear to throw away my college art history notes. Fail me. As of Saturday I've just had them sitting on top of the top shelf in envelopes and have not utilized any sort of organizational system. This all changed on Sunday.

When Woody was looking for apartments in Long Beach I was adamant about two things: space and parking. Space because I've got a trashy romance novel obsession and parking because it is terrible in Long Beach. I got what I wanted. But I didn't factor in Woody's art supplies. Our living room is pretty packed. I don't mind at the moment, but once my stuff is moved in there I am terrified that we are going to be swallowed by newsprint, watercolor, glitter, ribbon and charcoal. I'll be attacked by rampaging crayons and comic books! So we're constantly working on getting our act together to figure out alternative means of storing our belongings.

First order of business for me? Plastic boxes. I pulled down every single crafting supply I had in my room and went through it. I threw out all of my small scraps. I threw out all my old jeans which I had vague plans for. I threw out paper and half used markers and every project that I've been sitting on for months and months and never followed through with. Then after looking at my pile of crafts, went to Target and spent 50 dollars on storage boxes. Now, as a cheap bitch on a budget, I'd tell you Target is the last place to find storage boxes. Big Lots is your best bet. But honestly, I was so overwhelmed by packing, that Target was the most soothing place I could think of to buy plastic containers. Sometimes it's worth it to spend extra money on things when you know spending less is just going to drive you crazy.

Ten Boxes! This is what I've pared my crafts down to. I made a container for cutting things, stencils, drawing implements, glitter, ribbon and yarn, tape and glue, two boxes for sewing projects. (For the life of me I cannot remember what one of the boxes was for. Figures.) I found the perfect plastic sleeves for my scrapbook paper. I hate that it's such an awkward size and was so excited to find these sleeves in the dollar section of the store. I devoted one sleeve to blank card stock, one to themed paper and one to patterned paper. The plastic file bin the accordion is sitting on, is cleared out of all my college crap and now holds all the minutia I use for scrapbooking.

I find it so much more fun to save little parts of a really good day to add into my scrapbooks. Bottle caps for epic nights of drinking, movie ticket stubs for that HORRIBLE date you had, wrist bands for amazing concerts and the like. But it just looks so cluttered keeping them in a box. Filing them according to event and time in my life makes it easier to keep track of and SO MUCH easier to scrapbook. I can now take out the next event folder and work on that page without having to dig through a box and getting distracted by other events. Although speaking of getting distracted, I was in such a groove with throwing crap out, I totally threw the top of this file box out. Oops. Got to buy a new one. Having everything packed inside a box ready to be put away was great! I packed my large box and took it to Woody's and had it put away within a half hour. I think that is the real secret to moving, is getting everything put away gradually so you don't get overwhelmed.

I do not have any pictures of the after of my room because honestly, its still covered in crap! I'm going over there again this weekend and weeding through my trashy romance novels and clothes once more.

Boo! I was going to upload a fancy project for all the gamers I know and love. So it will have to be less picture heavy. This lovely project is brought to you by my sexy, handy and innovative boyfriend.

It is a way to store those pesky Rock Band and Guitar Hero Instruments. These guitars were being stored in the close I plan to currently put my life in. The closet was full of guitars and a HUGE drum set. (Still not sure how to store those drums) While I was aware of ways of storing traditional guitars, on the wall I was wary of putting holes in the wall since we are renting. Woody came up with this gem. He mounted them on our Ikea shelving!

You'll Need:
Double headed hook.
Screws or nails.
Velcro.
Cost: under 10 dollars.

Essentially, the double headed utility hook will hold the bottom of the guitar and Velcro, placed in strategic places on the body of the guitar will hold it flush against the wall. It is BEAUTIFUL! I'm so glad I wont be tripping over them any more. We now have plans to mount all of the controllers in individual pockets on the outside of the shelf. If only we could figure out where to put the Rock Band drums.

Much love for all of you moving too!

Food!

2010-01-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

So while thinking about new years resolutions I realized that I wanted to cook more.
I had no idea where to start with this.
But I think I've finally figured it out.
I'll go by type of food. This month I'm going to experiment with Greek yogurt/plain yogurt and see what I can do with it.
First recipe?

Chicken Pita's with a Yogurt Dill Sauce.
7 points.

So excited!

New Project

2010-01-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

Oh hey there...
Guess what?
I'm moving again. This time (hopefully) for a while, to Woody's!
I'm going to document this shit from the beginning, (which starts Sunday in cleaning my fucking room) to end.
There will be pictures, and lists and all sorts of tips on how to clean out your shit, and pack it all away.

Things I dread?
Getting rid of shoes. (Boo!)
Getting rid of books. (Double Boo!)
Getting rid of crafting supplies. (a much needed thank god. I hoard them too much)

Thanks for following along on my journey of moves!

Resolutions everywhere!

2010-01-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

Hello! Its been quite a while!

I've been motivated to post today because those I love and follow have been posting such great New Year's lists and resolutions. (also my boss is out of the office and I'm on the morning shift yay!) So now it's my turn!

My New Year's resolutions last year consisted of...
1. Working on my fitness.
- Yes, I did work on it. I went to Karate. No, I didn't go as often as I should go, but I never stopped going all together. I'm stronger and fitter now than I was last year. I'm an orange belt and I don't regret the hundreds of dollars I've devoted to United Studios of Self Defense, nor do I regret having to be a cheap slut on a budget to keep doing this. Now I'm quitting for a few months to get my school life together, but I made a decision to still go to my cardio class there two days a week so I'm not tempted to just quit all together. I'm on weight watchers. Yeah, thats ALSO hard. Yes, I've been pretty bad lately. But if I just keep tracking, and holding on to Woody's hand when I want to go overboard, I should be able to loose weight. I just want to change my habits, not become half the person I am. So I'll be keeping this resolution.
2. Working on my debt.
- Tis done! I got all my shit paid. I'm not getting calls from collection agencies, or multi colored notices in the mail. If there's any advice I'd give those cheap sluts in debt I'd say DON'T wait for those pretty notices to come in the mail. Be proactive. Call your collectors explain the situation and get your ass in gear to pay it back. They do want their money, and they DO accept payments. Its not fun being buried under those notices.
Despite having gotten rid of all my crazy ass debt, I do have a credit card that is maxed out. I'd like to get that paid off before the year is out. So this is also staying on the resolution list.
3. Saving for my back tattoo.
- This resolution started out so well! I was saving 20-40 dollars a month for this. Then ace got sick, and bills piled up and it got pushed to the side. Truthfully, I think this might come off my list this year because I've got so much on my plate that is just more important. Ink is fun, expensive and not nearly as much of a priority as getting my life together.
4. Continuing my education.
- This I did! Got my diploma from UCSC, got my last few classes finished, applied to grad school (didn't get in) and now have looked over my options and shall apply again to more grad schools. I've taken that step to quit USSD for a few months so that I can expediate the grad school financial proccess without pulling out all my hair. This one's a keeper!
5. Streamlining my life.
- Not so much. I started this blog as a move to track and give advice to those who are moving. In Feburary I've got plans to move in with my boyfriend. I'm nervous and excited all at once. I'm also stressed knowing that my space in his apartment is so limited, that I am surely not going to fit all my crap. Which means I'm actually going to have to streamline my life for real. This is a must for this year's resolutions.
6. Working on great skin.
-If by working on great skin this year I mean I increased my sunscreen intake then yes, I worked on great skin. Lancome is just so expensive! Even with my Partner In Crime's employee discount. Sunscreen is really the key for the summer (you're future face will thank you), and moisturizer is key for the winter.
7. Writing in my paper journal more.
- Fail. I just need to be doing this or blogging more. I can't decide.
8. Reading more edifying books.
- Fail. Edifying books are sometimes NO FUN! So this is another maybe.
9. Stop being such a crazy ass girlfriend.
- Success! With my 2008 goal (Dont be a fucking doormat. Communicate. Be everything you want in others. Dont be afraid of confrontation.) such a success, I've really been able to open up and not make the same mistakes I've made with past relationships. I've never had such a healthy amazing love life in never!

So it looks like we've got...
1. working on my fitness.
2. work on debt.
3. continue my education
4. streamline my life
these added to...
5. drink more water.
- at least 96 ounces a day. Being hydrated is so important to great skin. I love the fact that I don't have to wear too much foundation at this time in my life. With the amount that everyone my age drinks its even MORE important to hydrate, and I've fallen off the wagon of late with leaving my reusable waterbottle at home. (Slut on a budget hint on where to get a eco bottle cheap? Walgreens!)
6. blog more.
- Because I love this shit!
7. drink less booze.
- Alchoholism runs in my family. My grandfather had it, and my great uncle had it. I realize that yep, I like booze a little too much. So honestly, I'm going to try and cut back on it. (just think about those extra calories saved!)

I think I've got a good amount of work ahead of me.

I'll now admit to you a guilty pleasure, lists. I love them. All kinds! I especially love year end lists. I've found some pretty awesome lists of things this year that I'd like to share with you!

Best Books of 2009
Souless by Gail Carriger - A novel of Vampires, Werewolves and Parasols. Steampunk, romance, paranormal suspense? I'm so in. 181 pages into the book and its already a keeper!
Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzzane Collins - by far my new favorite series. This is what I'd rather my kids read than Twilight. Post apocolyptic society pits teens against each other to fight to the death. Heroine is fiesty and flawed. I love her. Not a big fan of the cliffhangers but... I'll forgive Suzzane Collins.
Jo Beverly - for the win all year. I powered through her romance series this year and I regret not one moment. I like historical romance with a high end of sexual tension.
SkippyJohn Jones by Judith Byron Schachner- Red this in Seattle for PAX and FELL IN LOVE with this children's book set. A siamese kitten who thinks he's a chihuahua who journeys into his closet for adventures with his chihuahua friends? Score!
Babar's Musem of Art - something I'm sure to read to my kids.
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie- I loved this romance so much I read it twice in two weeks. It was that good!
Coraline by Neil Gamien- Errie and powerful. Had nightmares not going to lie.
Pride Prejudice and Zombies - While I cannot condone Sense, Sensibility and Seamonsters, I LOVED this one.

Best Beauty, Health and Food Discoveries of 2009
Smashbox Heartbreaker Liquid Liner Pen (http://www.smashbox.com/HEARTBREAKER-LIQUID-LINER-PEN) - I've been way in love with eyeliner. Especially 1960's era eyeliner. The thicker the better. My eyes love it! This pen is SOOOOO EASY! Its like a felt tipped pen! It goes on smooth and its not messy at all!
Getting your hair professionally dyed - it makes such a difference!
bosu ball - if you havent tried this at the gym you MUST. Its a ball with a flat bottom that helps you work your core. Your core helps your posture, walk and balance. I have a love hate relationship with this thing. Use it whenever you'd be on the floor working out. Crunches, push ups, even weights (when turned over and used as a balance board) are about a million times harder on this thing.
ea sports active - harder than I was expecting. Good for a rainy day but probably not a subsitution for your regular workout.
Honey crisp apples - Mmm. My favorite apples, only in season in the winter time. Perfect for eating whole.
Red lipstick- So I never felt comfortable wearing read lipstick until just recently. I had a dress that just screamed for some red accents and my heels were just not doing it. The trick? Try on every single shade of red you possibly can. I am a fan of Lancome's L'Absolu Rouge in Absolute Rouge and Revlon's Matte Lipstick in Really Red. Both of these are orange based that go great with my skin tone and are matte or not super shiney. The shine makes my lips look thin. Alot of people get nervous about wearing red because they buy the wrong color. Wearing the right shade of red will give you a super great boost of confidence.
Vintage and short wedding dresses - I know, I probably SHOULDN'T be thinking about wedding dresses. Its really quite horrible. BUT, when I give into the impuse I keep coming back to Dolly Couture's and Whirling Turban's wedding dresses. They are just so goddamn cute! And tailored to your size since they are custom made. That might put some people off but... not me!

Best Movies and TVof 2009
Star Trek - the newest movie. Underlying sexual tension between Kirk and Spock? Count me in. I don't care if no one else sees it.
The Office - Old news to some, but this series on Netflix on my computer keeps me sane in the Jesus library late at night
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Another oldie but goodie. I love wasting time on this show.
Watchmen - Alien penis? Score! And despite the die hard comic lover's hate, I really found it at good adaption.
Coraline - Not in 3D! Just as fucking creepy as the book. Jeeze I'll have nightmares about Terri Hatcher's voice for years. Although I do love her pencil skirt.
1990's xmen on DVD - How can I not indulge (FINALLY) in my childhood love of Rouge and Gambit?

Best Websites of 2009
Souless by Gail Carriger - I already gushed about the book. This promotional website is just as awesome. Victorian paper dolls online? YES! So many times yes!
Tastespotting.com - I love this cooking website so much. So many pretty pictures! So many personal blogs. It makes it easy and accessable to first time cooker, me!
Craftzine.com - Always a win for some crafty gift ideas.
BlazedandConfused on Twitter - So you know those ridiculous Harlequin Blaze romances you see in the market and in the used book store? BlazedandConfused tweets the best lines from whatever they are reading at the moment. Hilarity ensues every time I read their tweets.
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books - I can never ever stop gushing about how much I love this blog. Its everything I could ever want!

Best Events of 2009
Disney's Give a Day Get a Day - Technically, its a 2010 event, but I found out about it in 2009. I always thought the "Celebrate your birthday with Disney" was kinda lame, but this new gimmick is totally awesome! Volunteer and get a free day at Disneyland. You'll what Disneyland? You'll *pay* me to volunteer? Score! Add that to the fact that the Jesus library will allow me to take a day with pay to volunteer and its a double score!
Hockey Games - I don't care which team. But I love them, I need to go to more.
Zombie Walks - Also another thing I need to do more.
The Alternative Press Expo - A beautiful fun, less cracktastic alternative to Comic-Con 2009. Sure you won't get the cast of Twilight, but who wants that at their comic book convention? Not me! Support small press and self published authors!
Demolition Derbys and the OC fair - an epic win all around. I did not expect to enjoy 30 minutes of cars crashing into each other but I was SO wrong.
Grand Torino drinking game - Ok, here are the rules, you can only drink Pabst Blue Ribbon and you have to drink whenever Clint Eastwood: shoots someone with his hand, says something racist, the Grand Torino is shown, he drinks a PBR or growls/grunts. It may not seem like much to go on, but by the end of the movie, you'll be falling down drunk.
Ink and Iron Festival - Such a good night! Tattoo expo on the Queen Mary? Live bands? Booze. So good! So fun!

I've just realized how long this is. Ok, I'll stop now.

Google Bomb

2009-10-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I don't know how many of you remember Charles in Charge?
I remember watching it a bit. Its a little before my time. Well the star Scott Baio had a totally FIT on twitter because a conservative romance author decided to publicly break up with him via twitter because of his more inflammatory statements about the president.

Don't get me wrong, conservatives are more than allowed to express their opinions as much as my little liberal ass. They are welcome to express them on Twitter. That's what that shit is for. But if you're going to express them and I, as a follower don't like them, I have an option to stop following you. And since it IS a public forum, I have every right to explain WHY I've decided to stop following you. If you act like the psycho bitch that you are, you deserve to get bombed. This isn't about your beliefs Mr. Baio, its about your asshattery.

Here is the HILLRIOUS back story between Gwen Hayes, Baio and her follower Jamie Harrington. Here and here and here.

My heroes at Smart Bitches Trashy Books have organized a Google Bomb to draw some attention to the asshattery of Mr. Baio. And here is is, click on the link, Chachbag, and the interwebz will count it and explode all over the universe.

How exciting is that?

Yes I'm from Santa Cruz but...

2009-10-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ok I picked up a new book yesterday from Target. I love their books because, well really, they are 25% off the cover price. How can you go wrong? They usually have a lot of best sellers even hardbacks, self help and cook books.

I picked up an author I had read a review on while catching up on my favorite website, Smart Bitches Trashy Books. Her name is Tessa Dare. I was hooked. The story is about a girl, Isabel, from the West Indies (almost always a plot that is a win for me) who is making her debut into London society, and gets engaged to a man who was spurred at the alter by her new sister-in-law. Toby, her new fiancee, is a rake who loves to laugh and teases her mercilessly, and Isabel is having none of that. She's totally a serious heroine who has yet to laugh at anything unless Toby has said it. I hate to say it, but she is a stick in the mud. Want to know why?

She's different from many of the regency heroines I read about in that she is ACTIVELY involved in the plight of the lower classes. Most regency heroines are different in that way. They tend to be very compassionate to others, despite class, but Isabel is determined to marry a man of influence so that she can change the world of the less fortunate. Score one for her.

I'm all for helping the less fortunate, but shit Isabel, get over yourself. I've reached a scene where she's been asked by Toby to go for a ride in his curricle. Toby drives fast and recklessly and all Isabel can do is hold on tight. Speak up for god sakes! Tell him to slow down! Grow a spine for more than slavery! Then he offers to go window shopping, telling her that he needs a new cane, and she quizzes him as to why he even needs to use one, and makes faces when he states that its because its "fashionable" implying that he's frivolous. You have no problem ranting about frivolous spending but can't tell the man to slow down?

Then he tries to make amends and offers to take her to the museum and they can get a sneak peak of Lord Elgin's Parthenon Marbles. Isabel goes off in a fit of pique about who "owns" the marbles because England "stole" them from Greece. AND THEN he offers to go get some tea, he has the GALL to get her an ice, which Isabel has never had before, and then admits to the ice being sweetened with sugar which is produced by slaves on sugar plantations. Isabel flips out and has second thoughts about this engagement because (and I quote) "You would offer me this as a refreshment? Tell me, what is refreshing about human bondage?"

Oh. My. God. And then Toby has the gall to say, "its only an ice." And I for some reason was so mad about Isabel being such a stick in the mud who hates her lush lavish curves that draw male attention (and yet she's dressed in the height of fashion) and cannot enjoy anything because it harms someone, that I was COMPELLED to write this blog on the first 68 pages I've read.

*huffhuffhuff*

Yes, I'm from Santa Cruz. Yes, I'm aware of how American consumerism affects the world. But for God sakes woman, the man is only trying to please you! Tessa Dare has exactly 6 pages to redeem Isabel or I'm going to throw it across the room.

Reading Reading Reading CRAFTS!

2009-10-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

So after Jo Beverley's Lady Beware I was hooked. I've powered through half of her collection like cheap champagne. It was just as intoxicating as Andre Extra Dry; sweet and sometimes a little vomit inducing.

I read, Dragon's Bride, Skylark, Lady Beware, Hazard, St. Raven, My Lady Notorious, Something Wicked, & Winter Fire. Yes, all this in 18 days. (Plus two Jennifer Crusie novels, which are more like peanut M&M's, fatty, sweet and a tiny bit more substantial than regular M&M's.) Out of the 8 books I read I really enjoyed about half of them. Some were wicked on the sexual tension, and others just dragged. But while I may have skimmed through the last 30 pages of a few of them (My Lady Notorious and Winter Fire) I loved loved loved how realistic she portrays her characters in their passion. None of the characters fall in love within 2 seconds of meeting each other. If they do fall for each other, there is a time apart to highten the tension, or they knew each other long before the story began. While I was really frustrated with the lack of consistancy in her sex scenes, (some were really scandalous, while others, just tedious and very late in the story) it made her books unpredictable. I never felt that her characters where a type. Each character was different, unlike some romance authors I read (Amanda Quick/Janye Ann Krenz and Lora Leigh).

Speaking of Lora Leigh. I couldn't even get past the first 6 pages of the one I had checked out. It was soooo painful. And for an erotica, it wasn't even sexy.

Out of Character...

2009-09-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

Did Beverley save the story for me?

Yeah, I guess. I couldn't put it down. I eagerly turned the pages. Thea finally stopped whining to let Cave into her space. And then, wham bam, once she stopped being so bitchy, Cave grows a heart and humor and Thea does reckless things. It was quite frustrating and totally out of character. But did I throw it against the wall? No, cause Beverley really makes the chemistry between Cave and Thea really pop. Her attention to historical detail is phenomenal. And unlike alot of other romance authors Thea and Cave don't "fall in love" in the first 20 pages. They've got some smoking chemistry, and when they kiss Thea can't remember why she doesn't like Cave, and why she's been playing life so safe. There's a push pull. Cave knows his reputation could ruin her life and Thea knows that his reputation for violence is based in fact. She's unsure if she wants to shackle herself to that. Despite the clashing between the characters early

My problems? This is one of the final books in a series. While Beverly doesn't harp too much on the stories of the secondary characters making me feel left out, its enough to make me flounder a bit. My biggest issue? The sex, or lack of it. They hook up midway through the book, (no sex) but at the end, post marriage, the sex scene is SO lame. The chemistry was such a monumental plot line, you'd think that Beverly would have made more of an issue about consumating the relationship.

Ugh, this review is a little half assed. I drank too much last night and this hang over is a bitch.

Halloween is coming. And I think I know what I want to be.

Yep. Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Slutty of course. Because I love making things that totally are NOT slutty, slutty! Like sexy Freddy Krugar from last year. I rocked that shit. This year's costume will entail a long fleece zip up hoodie with wolf ears attached at the hood, a pleated attatched white skirt (made my moi!) and fingerless gloves. Of course high heels are a must. Tights or leggings may make an appearance, depending on how cold it is. I'm really excited about making the crown and scepter. Now all I need are my wild things!

Moar Books!

2009-09-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

Went to the library today.
Got more books.

This batch:
Lady Beware - Jo Beverley - historical romance
Sugar Daddy - Lisa Klepeys - contemporary romance
Something I cant remember the title of - Lora Leigh - contemporary erotic romance

A note: I'm trying again on the Lora Leigh, every time I put the one I rented last week down i pick it back up again at a random moment and am hooked again. The story is SO slow, the characters are fucking ludicrously bad and the sex is sometimes over done. But I can see how people get hooked. I wont be one of them, but I'm willing to give it the good old college try.

I am about a fourth of the way through Lady Beware and I'm having a bit of a rough time of it. Beverly is a phenomenal writer. Her worlds are really well researched. The society reads like a history book. I am constantly putting the book down to research some historical figure or whatever poem she is alluding to. She's kinda been a hit or miss. I read one which I LOVED, and started another which I couldn't get into. This one hooked me in the first 3 pages, but I'm not sure how much I can read.

In this novel she has a major play on words in naming her characters. The hero's name is Horatio Cave. Cave is pronounced Ca-Vey which in latin is Beware. Clever huh? He gets the name Canum Cave (beware of dog) as a jibe which haunts him throughout his life. His reputation was ruined from birth, being from a very bad stock in a society which holds your forefathers and ancestors to the highest standard. When I say bad stock I mean criminal bad stock; lunacy, getting the pox from prostitutes, murder, duels, rape and very heavy gambling. He's ultimately ruined.

Enter heroine, Theodosia Debenham (gift from god). Thea is well mannered and a perfect lady. She gets embarassed by open affection and is restrained in all of her attitudes. (Dollars to donughts that Cave is going to unleash her earthier passions.) Cave helps her family out in a sticky situation and is being championed by her family for it, so that he can clear his name of past deeds.

Yay! Beverley! You've hooked me like woah! But goddamnit, this book is focused on what others think and say about the heroine and hero that I cant even get a sense on what either of them are like. Cave is a little better than Thea. I just want to punch her in the face. She's so cautious that I don't even think she can redeem herself. Any passion will just seem out of character for this cold fish who looks at Cave like he's dog food (heh heh). I am having a hard time seeing the sparks between them because Thea is so worried about what everyone else is talking about behind her back. She so busy evesdropping while floating around the ball room floor, that she is completely ignoring Cave's good looks. WTF Beverley! You better be able to save this shit.

Ack. I'm getting behind in these reviews.

2009-09-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

I now appear to just be listing what I'm reading,

Tender is the Storm - Johanna Lindsey
Hidden Agendas - Lora Leigh
Blue Eyed Devil - Lisa Kelpas
Skippy JohnJones - Judy Schachner
Skippy JohnJones in Mummy Trouble - Judy Schachner
Skippy JohnJones in the Dog House - Judy Schachner

Yikes! So many!

I didn't even write about being a classy cheap ass slut on a budget in Seattle.
Actually, when I was in Seattle I was far from a classy cheap ass slut on a budget. I spent the whole of my savings on food, booze and fun. I fail.

Pre Review: Susan Elizabeth Phillips Hot Shot

2009-09-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

I always love this author.
But this was a miss already.
I can't quite put my finger on it why, but I kinda want to punch someone?
...or maybe hug them.

No more Old School SEP, only new ones.

To Review

2009-09-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

I've read a crap ton of books since I reviewed Julie Garwood's Mercy.

A list now, for me to remember to review all of them.

All U Can Eat - Emma Holly - Erotica - A
Ain't She Sweet - Susuan Elizabeth Phillips - Contemporary Romance - B
Bet Me - Jennifer Crusie - Contemporary Romance - A+
King and King - Haan and Nijland - Childrens - B-
Someday My Prince - Christina Dodd - Historical Romance - Epic didn't finish

Currently Reading:
Hot Shot - Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Contemporary Romance

Next on deck:
Breathers: A Zombie's Lament - S.G. Browne - Fiction
AND
Pride, Predjudice & Zombies - Jane Austin & Seth Grahaem Smith

Trashy Romance Novel Review: Julie Garwood's Murder List

2009-08-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

Oh Julie Garwood.

I have such fond memories of you. You helped me survive 6th grade with your historical romance novels. Your spunky unconventional heroines were role models for my 12 year old self. Your brooding and rake heroes begged for reformation. I drank your romance novels like coke on a scorching day!

Ms. Garwood, now that I am older and wiser I'd have to say I've grown out of you, and here is why.

Ms. Garwood was exclusively a historical romance writer. Even as a pre teen I knew her stories were formulaic. Her heroes are an interesting mix of brute meets dreamer. He's always some sort of warrior. Either he works for the home office, or he's a barbarian conquering the Saxons. She's also well known for her formulaic heroines. Wiki says "Garwood's novels are particularly known for the quirkiness of her heroines, who tend to have an ability to get lost anywhere, clumsiness, and a "charming ability to obfuscate and change the direction of conversations to the consternation, frustration, but eventual acceptance of the other party." Sexy huh? Innocent is more like it.

Murder List is a contemporary suspense. I love my suspense littered with romance. Its the best. Hell, the marker of a good romance is the suspense between the characters, yeah you know they're going to end up happily ever after, but you're still sitting on the edge of your seat thinking, "Will they? Won't they?" What girl hasn't entertained the notion of the modern day knight in shining armor? She, in trouble, he an authority figure, helps her in her time of need through information and protection. Talk about 20th century fantasy material! I was so excited to read this back in 2004 when it was originally published because Garwood was only releasing maybe a book every few years, so when I saw it in the library's book bin, I was all for paying 10 cents for it. Was it a mistake? Maybe, but reading it was enlightening because it really showed me how much my tastes have changed in just five years of reading these!

Murder List is about Regan Hamilton, a hotel heiress who is in charge of her families vast philanthropic foundation. Alec Buchanan is a NY detective assigned to body guard duty because he pissed off his superior. Regan is looking into some shady self help guru who is stealing money from his clients and maybe even killing them. While looking into this guru's practices with her crazy rich friends (who are all doing work that pays them nothing while living off the family fortune. One friend is a high school science teacher who teaches auto mechanic classes at night, while the other is the art and style writer for the local paper) she is stalked by someone who has a grudge against her. The crazy shady guru (who is in the book for the first chapter and the last. Way to go Garwood! ::sarcastic::) has the group compose a murder list as an exercise to help the group cleanse themselves of their anger. Regan conveniently drops hers. Shady character picks it up. Proceeds to kill only TWO of the five people on her "murder list," like, a month after she drops it. Garwood makes it clear that Regan is having a hard time choosing names because well, she's just so gosh darn nice. Regan meets Alec because of the first murder and the killers subsequent psychotic love of sending her proof of the murders. Alec is attracted to her, they spend the entire book flirting and organizing her office with little to no detective work. They sleep together. They tell each other it won't happen again. Add in a new job offer in a different location, a false suspect arrested and a chase through the forest and you've got yourself a really really mediocre romantic suspense novel.

I can't even get into how much this book annoyed me. I have the other four contemporaries she's written as sequels and I don't remember them being this annoying. Regan is too nice for her own good. She'd never catch a dangerous fox of a detective/soon to be FBI agent like Alec in a million years in real life. Yeah, books are escapism, but I like my reality to be in the chemistry of the characters. I didn't feel this chemistry. Maybe there would have been more if Regan had been less sweet. Sweet in the way kids breakfast cereal is sweet, the kind that makes you a little nauseous and you know is a shitty way to start your day. But damn didn't I love this when it came out in 2004. It was like crack. Now I was just frustrated. I wanted her to be on top of finding this killer, instead of burying herself in organizing her office files and leaving the detecting to the big boy cops. Alec didn't even do anything, he sat there and alternated watching her tv and her legs the whole time.

Don't even get me started on the bad guy. He was just that, some random ass bad guy. The reader couldn't discover who he was in a million years. Garwood had to tell us it! Lame!

Now wait, its not ALL bad. I read these trashy romance novels when I was way to young to be thinking about sex all the time. I also read them with my head up in the clouds, wondering when I'd find my own prince charming to come save me. On a scale of the trashy romance novel's I've read and how they have impacted my poor adolescent brain? Lets look at the pertinent facts: nice girl gets reformed bad boy, bad guy gets punished, heroine, while sweet, is plucky in her own way, and while the chemistry is luke warm, Garwood makes an effort to show that Alec and Regan love each other.

Now for the good stuff: the sex. On the scale of 1-5, was a 2 (I think I need to really mull over this sex scene rating at length. Heh, length). Would I give this to my 12 year old daughter? Sure. She could be reading Twilight. Better she read about a couple who loves each for other reasons than how they smell. Better she fantasize about an idealized version of what really happens in bed between a couple than someone passing out because of the pain of a sparkly, venomous penis penetration.

What stack does it go in? Stack Three. "So glad I only paid 10 cents for this shit. Used bookstore here you come!"

If you like romantic suspense with law enforcement and stalkers try: Linda Howard's Dying to Please

Ridiculous

2009-08-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

So I keep meaning to post more, because well, that's what this thing is for.
I've got recipes galore to post, that I've cooked in the past month, and pictures I need to start taking of said food.
I'm sure I'll have crafty bitch things to post and fantastic frugal living hints, to add to the ones I've found this month.
I also think I'm going to add a few book reviews to this lovely thing.
Damn I got to be more on top of this.

Ok recently I've made these:
Honey Chicken stir fry with sugar snap peas, broccoli and onion.
I perfected my mini Macaroni and Cheese hors d'oeuvres.
-I had to cave and add American cheese (blech!) and bigger elbow macaroni. Also to support these tender cheesy morsels I had the idea to put them in muffin cups for easy handling.
My favorite meat turnovers
An authentic Mexican breakfast burrito with Longaniza(or chorizo).
- if you've never tried either, they are AMAZING cooked in a burrito or my favorite, with eggs!
And a ton of grilled cheese. I got lazy.

And thats all I can remember at the moment.

as for frugal living:

I just discovered big lots. Silly I know! I moved Ace in with Woody last week and needed things to make his transition easier. Big lots is an epic win for that! Really cheap (and high quality) cat toys for a dollar, a mat for under his cat box for five dollars, and cat litter (the good kind) for 5 bucks too. I also got body lotion, a box for all my toiletries at Woody's, Batman placemats (I couldn't resist), cotton rounds for a dollar (I've been looking everywhere for some cheap ones!), all for under 20 bucks! How can I say no to all of that?

Craftiness is at an all time low.
Woody and I are going to Seattle for the Penny Arcade Expo in September and then in October I'm going to the Alternative Press Expo in SF with him. I'm going to get crafty there so I can promote Woody's art like a bitch.

(if you haven't seen his stuff yet here's the website, www.betweenmars.com if you like ridiculousness and whimsy you'll love his stuff!)

As for books, well, I've been a book slut.
This fuses mightily with my love of being thrifty.
I canvas the used bookstores in the vicinity of my places of residence and haven't found too many places, but goddamn does the library in Palos Verdes have a good book sale section.

So after I finish reading Murder List by Julie Garwood I'll post a Yea or Nay for this lovely piece of trashy romance nove literature. And cue my start to begin blogging again!

Baking is my crack.

2009-06-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

So I wish I could update this more but the Salvation Army filter at work is a total jerk. For some reason it does not like me blogging at all. It also does not like OkCupid, YouTube, my instant online Netflix and anything related to games. (note: I have no reason to go on OkCupid anymore but I get livid when anyone tells me I cannot do something).

This weekend I was comissioned with baking a dessert for the La Familia Leon reunion. This reunion is done every year for my mom's side of the family. Since my Ace disaster required that I was unable to pay my mother her 300 dollar rent, I decided I'd make dessert so she wouldn't need to stress out too much. My desserts of choice?

Ameretto (or sometimes flavored Tequila) Sprinkle Cake
and
Home Made Girl Scout Samoas

Below I will detail how to make both. The Amaretto Sprinkle Cake is by far the easiest. I used to make it in Santa Cruz for everyone's birthday. It became a Team Gay favorite, I even believe that there was some drama once over who got the last piece of cake. I believe it was a girl I detested. She did not endear herself to me by eating the last slice of my Lesley Lovah's birthday cake.

Amaretto Sprinkle Cake
One box of Pillsbury's Funfetti cake mix.
4 to 6 oz of Amaretto liquor. (I use Trader Joes Amaretto di Amore imitation which is 8 bucks, vs. the 20 dollar Disaronno. I used to use Almond Tequila, but got that in Puerto Vallarta tequila tasting and they don't sell it online. I still like that better!)
1 cup of powdered sugar.
1 cup of chocolate chips. (Any kind really, I like milk chocolate but I think I'll try semi-sweet. Dark chocolate would be amazing!)
1 bunt cake pan.
Non stick spray.

Directions:
Prepare cake according to box.
Add 1-2 oz of Amaretto liquor to the batter.
Pour into greased bunt cake pan. (The pan makes the cake look great since you don't put any ridiculous frosting on it.)
Bake according to box.
Allow to cool. Place on large platter.
Once cooled poke a few hole in the cake with a fork. Pour 1-4 oz of Amaretto on the cake slowly, allowing it to be absorbed.
After the liquor has been absorbed somewhat, pour the powdered sugar in a sifter and lightly distribute the powdered sugar on the cake.
Melt chocolate chips according to package. (Usually one cup per one minute)
Dip a fork in melted chocolate and drizzle over the bunt cake.

Enjoy! My mother has eaten this as breakfast for like forever. I've used a "real" cake mix a few times, but its so stressful. I'll keep my funfetti cake near and dear to my heart!

Home Made Girl Scout Samoa's
(Found on Tastespotting, my favorite website ever!)
Adapted from OnceUponAPlate
Orange comments are mine

Recipe for Cookies:
1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
up to 2 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball.
(Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky or if too dry add milk in small quantities.)

Roll the dough (working in two or three batches) out between pieces of wax paper to about 1/4-inch thickness.
(I find that the dough is very sticky at times. If this is the case, I find that putting it in the fridge between batches/at the beginning makes it much easier to handle.)
Use a 1 1/2-inch round cookie cutter to make rounds.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat with remaining dough.
(Not really all that important. The hole makes the cookie more authentic and lighter but my tummy doesn't really care.)

*Alternatively, use scant tablespoons of dough and press into an even layer in a mini donut pan to form the rounds.*

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set.
*If using a mini donut pan, bake for only about 10 minutes, until edges are light gold.*

Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
(Very important! If you don't let them cool, the Carmel wont stick to the cookie.)

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
(Don't forget to stir it! I always burn my coconut if I forget to stir it. This step I always do before I bake the cookies.)

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
(Be very very careful! The carmel and coconut is very hot and I always burn my fingers when frosting the cookies)

Set carmel topping by sticking the cookie sheets in the fridge.
(Carmel takes a while to set and you need to prepare it so the chocolate on the bottom can set also. Putting it in the fridge lets you manipulate the cookie without it sticking to everything.)

Melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching.
Ice the cookie with the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper carmel side down.
Allow to set in fridge.

Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
(I never do this. I have yet to really understand how how I'm supposed to stick piping hot chocolate into something plastic and not burn my hands or melt the bag)
Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Makes about 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.
(if you make the dough really thin.)

These cookies are pretty time consuming to make. A good idea is to have a friend help you. Woody helped me and we got it done in an hour!

Ta-da. Everyone was impressed! They were gone within an hour. The picture is of the last two I stole from my mother for the photo op.

The highlight of my weekend besides spending some good quality time with La Familia? Getting a really tacky chandelier and cleaning it up. Once Woody saw it in the sunlight, he was eager to put it in his new apartment. Sqeee! Now its time to help Woody move in. How exciting!

OMG

2009-06-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Its about fucking time that you blogger finally allowed me online. I've been without posting (and stalking) access for a whole month.

I have nothing to post except that Ace got sick. A vet bill is something you CANNOT skimp on. I wish I could live like a slutty bitch on a budget with this, but my hell beast's life is something I cannot skimp on.

He's doing much better, and is as bratty as ever.

I am watching the Sarah Connor chronicles here at work while my boss is gone for three weeks. My inbox is full, my book cart is loaded, and I've done nothing. I blame it all on my weakness for trashy romance novels and canceled tv shows.

I leave you with this, a lovely photo shoot that Woody and I had at the Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills for a book signing.

Woody loves his beard. I love his beard. So when he asks me to put one on, I don't hesitate. Honestly though, I'm more of a mustache girl.

"Summer Days Driftin' Away..."

2009-06-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday night after work I had made plans to go with The Boyfriend on a double date with his BFF and her boyfriend. Our plans included going to see Pixar's new film, Up. While it wasnt my FAVORITE Pixar movie to date, (that award goes to Finding Nemo) it sure did make me bawl for the first 15 minutes. Even Woody got choked up! Its pretty much the cutest love story ever. One of the main components of the film was this thing called The Adventure Book. Its totally cute and something I decided to do for this summer to document my adventures with Woody. We've had quite a few adventures already; Vegas, go kart racing, mini golf, park trips and road trips. Many of these haven't been as photo documented as we'd both like. I said to him, "Well, damn, I guess it means we're going to have to go again!"

Below are a few things I've been thinking about doing for quite some time, and this summer seems like the perfect time to do it.

My Summer To Do List:

1. Go to a water park.
-Um, I don't know about anyone else here, but the last time I went to a water park, I was maybe 10. That age is totally when you start thinking about what you look like in a bathing suit. I kept my shirt on the whole time and was not a very good swimmer. I could only go on the slides that had 3 feet of water or less at the end. My worst nightmare at 10 was having my cover up fall off me early on in the day and almost drowning in the "Laguna Storm Tower Cylone of Terror" and having some very attractive 14 year old life guard save me. At the present, while I'm almost as uncomfortable in a bathing suit as I was when I was 10, my swimming skills have improved and my new retro black one-piece is pretty flattering. I've proposed to Woody that we go and beat up the little kids at one of the waterparks in the area and have fun. He's totally game. For the reference of my readers and a hope that they'll drag out their inner 10 year old and pack away their inner self contious woman for a day and come with me, I've listed the prices below.

Knotts Berry Farm's Soak City, Buena Park Ca: $24.99 (The closest! Three blocks from Woody's)
Hurricane Harbor, Los Angeles CA: $19.99
Wild Rivers, Irvine Ca: $31.98
Raging Waters, San Dimas CA: $39.99

2. Disneyland for the boyfriend's birthday.
- While Disneyland has that *amazing deal* going on about free admission to the park on your birthday, I find it a total scam. Why would I pay full price to go on SOMONE ELSES birthday? So instead I plan on exploiting my younger cousin who works at the park to sign us in if we cannot go on the actual day of his birth. Then I can take her out to lunch and have a grand old time not worry about the $70 dollars I'll be out just for park entrance.

3. Zoo trip!
- I'd be lying if I didn't want to make the boyfriend face his fear of abnormally large bugs. He squeals like a girl when confronted with the tiniest daddy long legs. My favorite thing about living in LA is that there are so many options nearby! San Diego, Los Angles, and Santa Ana, all within a half hour's drive from my front door! And hey, look! So many different choices on what kind of date you want to have, cheap or expensive!

Los Angeles Zoo: $12.00
San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park: $35.00
Santa Ana Zoo: $7.00

4. Help the boyfriend find a kick ass apartment.
-He's moving out. He's asked me to move in. There are a thousand multi-colored butterflies in my stomach zooming around like they're being chased by an ADHD kitten named Babette. Deciding to learn from my mother's mistakes, I declined for the moment. I told him that we've been dating less than a year and that's not long enough to know one another or for me to feel comfortable moving in. We talked about it and will renegiotate in six months. I'm determined to find him a place he'll love. Not one I'll love but one he'll love. We have plans to get a pair of bikes and go bike riding on the weekends. I want a beach cruiser with a huge wire basket, and I want to be able to cook for him. I can't wait to pick out produce at the farmers market and bake almond shortbread jam cookies. I can't wait to tease him about his meticulously sliced produce and draw little pictures on his sack lunches.

5. Have more bonfires and BBQ's.
- Dockwiller, Huntinton, Bolsa Chica, they are all so close, and so cheap! I love bonfires, the hotdogs, the red cups, the cold sand, the bonfire hair. I like watching the guys try to be macho by breaking wood and attempt to light the fire. I love park bbq's. Right near Woody's house is a lovely little park. Its pretty large and quiet with quite a few charcol BBQ's. Yesterday we went and sat out in the sun for a tiny bit and read. I was just thinking how nice it'd be to get a group together to blow bubbles and fly kites together.

6. Work on my golf swing.
-Yes, I just said that. The Boyfriend wishes he could be more of an avid golfer, so this weekend we went to the driving range so I could learn. My boobs get in the way for a perfect golf swing sadly, but I've got mad putting skills.

7. Go on a hike.
- Ever since I saw a long ago friend from High School's hiking album on facebook, I took the notion of taking up hiking to heart. I'd like to be able to go on my first hike this summer since there are so many tiny trails right here near work that all end in my favorite place, the beach.

8. Go camping.
-My dad has a trailer that he keeps in Soledad Canyon. A little camp ground between Lancaster and Pomdale. They have a pool and lots of hiking space. I hope I can get The Boyfriend over his fear of bugs to come with me. I love camping, as long as I have my trusty air mattress packed.

Not About Moving, Beauty, Baking or Romance.

2009-04-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

This one's about diet food.

Like most of the American female population I freak out about my weight. When I'm single I totally freak out about my weight. But since I'm in a relationship, this is the first time I'm attempting to balance that "Fat and Happy" mindset that I usually get with my issues about being more than a little plus sized.

I've been taking Karate at the United Studios of Self Defense for 9 months. I've lost an inch all the way around and ten pounds. I attempt to go three times a week. On a good week I'll go four times, but usually I skip Wednesday because of Happy Hour at the Belmont Brewing Company. After a hard night of drinking I just want to sleep in till 10 and be sucked into The Boyfriend's bed. When I fall off the wagon and don't go, I notice I'm more moody, sad, and prone to tears. I'm not the best at the actual martial art by any means, but working out three times a week makes me feel like a million bucks.

I also love to cook. If I could cook every weekend I'd be a very very happy woman. I also think, if I cooked more I'd be less likely to pig out on stuff. When I bake, I never want to eat anything I bake, its almost as if, while baking that delicious cake, cookie or brownie, I force out the desire for it. But sadly, with my very awkward schedule and budget living (Mostly my crappy schedule) I am unable to cook. So I don't eat as healthy as I'd like to. But recently I've found a few ways to skirt the corners when packing my own lunches and snacking on things I totally shouldn't be eating.

1. Sarah Lee's 45 Calories and Delightful Sandwich Bread.
I literally can't eat any other bread (except beer bread) with my sandwiches without feeling disgustingly full. This bread comes in four flavors; Honey Wheat, White, Wheat, and Multi Grain. I've only tasted the honey wheat myself, which has a hint of sweetness where the others do not. It does have a SLIGHT tendency to stick to the roof of your mouth if your sandwich is a bit damp from veggies, but doesn't taste rubbery or diet-y at all!

2. Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips. In Hickory Honey BBQ.
OMG. I love crunchy things. Chips and crackers are like my biggest weakness at bonfires and get togethers. Add dips and cheeses and I want to fucking die! I love love love Kettle Brand's Buffalo Blu with a fucking passion, but they are SO fatty. These Hickory Honey BBQ chips have only 140 calories for 20 chips and don't taste like the nasty Baked Lays. These are a good substitute for the Buffalo Blu. They are hearty, thick chips with the tasty potato edges still on them. While yes, they have that baked snap to them, they have just enough BBQ flavor to drown out the "less fatty" part of it. I may be converted forever! Well, maybe like every other bag I buy.

3. Quaker Chewy Granola Bars in Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
I CRAVE peanut butter and chocolate like a fiend. These totally soothe my craving without making me feel "belch" as I would if I had a peanut butter cup. My only problem? Sometimes they get a little stale. Or if I leave them in my car for too long and they get cold and not as chewy to eat. Despite that, these are totally a plus for when I need that pick me up after karate. They even have ones with extra protein in them! (A plus for building healthy muscles!)

4. Reece's 100 Calorie Peanut Butter Wafer Bars.
Orgasmic! Yes, literally. When I'm craving something really chocolaty I go straight to this! Two per pack they are heavy on the peanut butter and chocolate and light on the wafer. Its just like having a peanut butter cup but not as bad for you! I try to ignore the 2.5 g of saturated fat (a bad fat, good fats are monosaturated and polysaturated) in these, and don't eat them every day. I keep meaning to try their other flavors but really, they had me at peanut butter.

5. I Cant Believe It's Not Butter Spray.
I have a wicked craving for grilled cheese sandwiches after a hang over. They are my poor man's cure, when I cant afford In N Out. This shit is amazing. I don't bake with it, but its great for grilled cheese and any other sauteing I need to do. Mmm thinking about grilled cheese makes me want to bake Billie's beer bread with the BBC's Strawberry Blonde Ale.

Speaking of beer...

6. Becks Premier Light Beer & MGD 64. (no link, because they aren't direct)
I haven't tried any of these, but if I'm sure to be drinking copious amounts of beer for beer pong, BBQ season, bonfires and the like, this is what I'm buying. I can get trashed and not have to worry about my girlish figure. (Well, kinda, they both have a low alcohol content, 2.4%) Both have 64 calories (vs Bud Light's 110 and Michelob Ultra's 94) and according to my Partner in Crime don't taste too bad. I won't be pairing it with my pizza in public (I like dark beers for that) or ordering it at my local brewery (be a locavore for that!), but in Hermosa when I want to fucking shake it, I'll stick with these two.

(p.s. awesome site this beer100.com, I guess I need to say fuck you to MDG and Becks and just drink steel reserve at 8.1%)

Ok, enough for now. Get your vitamin C guys! Oranges are in season! You're sure to get tasty ones. With pig flu (and other flu) going around lots of sleep and lots of oranges will do you wonders!

On Romance. Trashy Romance at That.

2009-04-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

I read a lot. Like in a book every two days. Yes, they are 90 percent of the time trashy romance novels. I'll defend my guilty pleasure till the end of time. Whenever I tell anyone that I love them, that I read them voraciously (a word I learned from said trashy romance novels) and that I read them openly in public, I always get a few typical questions. One of my favorites would have to be "Do you read those novels with the half naked men on them? Haha!" Sigh.

No I don't. First off any of the half naked hero/heroine romances, often called bodice rippers, tend to be published in the1980's 1990's and are usually out of print unless picked up by a large publishing house for a reprint. If I am caught reading one of them they tend to be dog eared and falling apart from moves from one house to the other, rain soaked storage in backpacks and purses and rips from hiding them long ago when I was ashamed of my habit at 11 or 12. The ones that do feature half naked covers tend to be really hilarious Harlequin "Category" romances. Most Harlequin romances are a single in a series, like the hilariously titled: The Greek Millionaires Secret Child or The Ruthless Billionaires Secret Virgin which cater to the poor employee/rich man fantasy. There are genres in the Harlequin world that deal with single fathers, and NASCAR. They have sub genres which include paranormal romance, erotic fiction, and Christianity (which usually have no sex and deal with romance in the scope of God and worship).

One of the reasons I don't read very many category romance writers is because of Harlequin's strict writing guidelines. I find that many of the books are formulaic (duh!) and the characters are hard to develop in 150 pages. But who am I to judge. You have to hand it to them, they know how to produce something that sells and by producing books that follow strict guidelines they are able to appeal to a broader reader base. I'm sure there are some evangelicals who would balk at buying an inspirational Christian romance from a publisher that also publishes novels such as The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom & Their Lover but I am sure there are few publishing companies that crank out as many as Harlequin does. They even publish romance novels in Spanish and have been one of the first to jump on the Ebook wagon, realizing that these do get devoured and need to be purchased in bulk.

My only issue is that they don't publish queer romance, but then again, would I read it? And here is a major side note, I've read my fair share of queer romance. A lot of the time its either straight erotica or the worst purple prosed novel on the planet. On par with Twilight even, and that's the worst insult I can think of.

But this side note leads nicely into my next explanation, while Harlequin to some (even me!) is scoffed at, the romance genre would not be what it is today with out it. Truthfully, with those writing guidelines set out they've crafted I am sure it has made better writers out of some of the crappiest romance novel writers.

The bottom line of this silly post I've been sitting on for like a million years is that there are four stacks I stick the trashy romance novels I buy in.

Stack One: "Dude this was Great! I'm totally glad I paid 7.99 for this piece of fluff! (Emphasis on the fluff part)"
Authors include:
Amanda Quick, a historical novelist, who has a recent annoying tendency to add the paranormal into all her novels no matter what the pseudonym. Yes, all three of them. Her historicals tend to be lighter on that crap.
Linda Howard, a contemporary author who's pretty good about combining the romance with the serial killer action.
Christina Dodd, but only her historical romance. I'm not so much a fan of her contemporary, her plot lines are a little too convenient. Don't even get me started on her paranormal, I like to forget I wasted three hours at the airport on A Touch of Darkness

Stack Two: "OMGOMG I feel like my eyes are going to pop out of my head because the story is so riveting and/or because the sex scenes are making me blush like a virgin school girl!"
Authors include:
Sabrina Jeffries. The woman sure does know how to shock me by inserting masturbation and kinky sex scenes into Victorian time periods. Her heroines are feisty
Susan Elizabeth Phillips, another contemporary author who makes me cry every time I read one of her books. Even the really crappy civil war era romance.
Janet Evanovich. Not a romance author per se, but she writes some good romantic tension while making me laugh so hard I pee myself.

Stack Three: "Eh, going in the used bookstore pile. I skimmed the last 50 pages of this book."
Authors include a smattering of the above listed authors. These books once were combined into this last column. Thank god for Book Again. I will never toss another trashy romance novel in the goodwill pile ever again. I can now get more trashy romance novels for half the cover price and twice the lulz because of the cranky old ladies who work there and love romances more than I do. Plus they have a pretty impressive collection of erotic fiction. Oh wow, potential ew factor now that I think about it.

Stack Four. The Wall Dent Pile.
This stack is epic. I don't usually have many of these issues. But since I started going to Book Again and haven't had to count my twenties when the option comes to buy enough books to last me the work week, I've been taking risks on my trashy romance novel obsession. Just this week I had three wall dent books.

Arnette Lamb's, True Heart. I hate, hate, hate, with an epic fury, fake amnesia stories. You know the ones, the heroine has some troubled past, usually of her own making (in this case sneaking away to see her fiancee and gets kidnapped and shipped to America as a bond servant) and fakes amnesia once her loved ones find her so that she doesn't "hurt them once they know about the horrors she experienced." Ugh, I got 50 pages in and tossed it across the room. I was so excited because I had read the book before it and wanted to know how it ended.

The second was Christina Dodd's Treasure of the Sun. I did want to finish it. The plot was clever, set in colonial California, a American housekeeper employed by a rich Mexican. Totally cute what you did there, playing with the status quo, Dodd. Really cute. Too bad you didn't deliver! The story dragged so much I ended up skimming to see if the sex scenes were going to redeem it. Nope. Not at all! The heroine and hero don't even get to have sex in the pages I skimmed, because she's too shy. Fuck that! I don't read trashy romance novels to see the heroine get shy! I like my historicals non historically accurate in that sense. The other "real" sex scenes must have been hidden by her relentlessly slow story line.

The third was Elizabeth Boyle's Confession of a Little Black Gown, which I picked up last minute at Target because I was spending an impromptu night at The Boyfriend's and needed something to read while he was comic making. (Side note: Target = best place to get bestsellers. They are 20%-40% off the cover price sometimes!) This book might not have been as irritating if I had read the first in the series. There is nothing I hate more than buying the book right in the middle of a series and the whole story is a reference to The Secrets of the Little Pink Dress or some such nonsense. Ugh. I am not a big fan of detailed story arcs in romances. An author who is notorious for this is Johanna Lindsey. She spends 90% of her book in back story of secondary characters. It is not worth my time to even pick up anymore.

Really though, just to put it in perspective, none of these are the epic fail of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. I put the book down like a million times with my "Really SMeyer? Really?" face on. The characters were so one dimensional I could see through the pages. The writing was so purple I thought it was bleeding.

Don't even get me started on how I feel about the main characters and what is considered abuse in an unhealthy relationship. Maybe I'll purchase the series and write a paper on it, I have so much ammunition for the Twihards out there who think Meyer is a goddess and LUUUUUUURRRRVVVVV Edward Cullen with every inch of their virgin lives. Oh, I can't forget the twimom's who think about Edward Cullen when their husband is making love to them at night. I really don't know who's more pathetic.

When I finished it and realized it was just a set up for the next book in the series I hurled it across the room. Fuck you Stephanie Meyer. Fuck you. I want three days of my life back. Thank god I bought it used at Powells bookstore, I'm glad I didn't fund you another 15 dollars!

Sigh, I finally think I'm done with this. It took about a week, but I think that's it. I may sit down with the next romance I've got and make notes so I can post a review here. Humph, we'll see how well that idea goes.

No Such Thing as too Much Housewarming...

2009-04-21T18:13:00.001-07:00

Unless its 101 degrees outside and my tiny apartment has ten people in it.
This weekend I had my first housewarming party. In hindsight perhaps not the best idea ever.

Friday night I had a spare five seconds between the most recent fight my Stepmom had with my dad and me trying to sleep to get my grocery shopping done. I had mini mac n cheese, "meatless" meat turnovers, home made guacamole and a shit ton of Champagne on the menu. So while listening to my stepmom bitch about things both of us know are never going to change about my father, I picked up my room and whisked Ace hair off everything.

Saturday night after going to an interesting grad show with The Boyfriend, (I say interesting because one artist was a sub par comic strip artist and the other was a pretty amazing digital artist who specialized in fantasy art, not really my cup of tea.) I cleaned like a bitch. I even mopped the floor. I stepped on glass, found enough stray cat litter to fill a box, and washed every dish we owned. I went to bed twitching, trying to figure out how I was going to fit everything I needed to do into the hours before 4pm the next day.

Saturday dawned balls hot. Its never THAT hot in LA. Yeah, it may hit about 100 in the valley, but the South Bay area is NEVER that hot. 91 degrees, is too hot! I delayed the cooking as much as I could. I kept everything in the fridge prepared and ready to stick in the oven. I drank as much water as my bladder would hold in the meantime as I washed dishes and dished out ice water to Ace. I knew I'd be drinking once guests arrived and I did not want to become the one to pass out because I was dehydrated. I am so glad to have moved out and have such a large kitchen at my disposal. It was fantastic despite the heat.

Gem of the Day: Appetizers you can make the night before are amazing! You can make them the night before and stick them in the fridge to be ready to just pop in the oven the next day before your party. This is great so you can focus on more important things like your apperance.
Sadly I didn't plan for this since I was so busy thinking about my dirty faux hardwood floor the night before. So while I wanted to look cute, I instead had messy hair from the oven heat and sweaty clothes. I

I made Mini Mac N Cheese, Meatless Meat Turnovers and Guacamole.

The Mini Mac's came out delicious. Unlike the recipe I did not use american cheese. I hate it with a passion. In hindsight I probably should have since they didn't quite stay mini. They fell apart and I ended up having a plate of macaroni and cheese. I also used cayan pepper instead of paprika, because I like spicy. I think there may have been like a cup full of the stuff left over once everyone was gone.

The Meatless Meat Turnovers are called that because usually one uses ground beef, onion soup mix and browns it then sticks in cheese to melt. You then place the mixture into the triangles of the crecent rolls and bake for 15 mins till they bake. The Boyfriends good friend is a vegitarian so I decided to try using smart meat, with success. I'd never want to eat tacos with the stuff, its much too salty and weirdly flavored but paired with the bread it was just perfect. I'd use it again because its lower in fat, but I would probably not add extra garlic or onion. There were five left over after everyone left, which I ate for breakfast this morning and they were SO good.

Of course despite the fact that I forgot tomatos and added too much jalipeno for most of my guests my Guacamole rocked.

My almost disaster: the couch. Since the only shared space is the Kitchen I had to figure out a way to fit 10 people into my room. Now I definatly didnt think about this all the way through. My mother has a love seat in her bedroom. My brother and I had the WORST time trying to get it out. It involved alot of cussing, some sibling regressive fighting, (you know the kind, where you're a college graduate with a mess of experience under your belt but for some reason your little brother can always bring out the yell-y, scream-y, 'I hate you' claiming bitch in you, never mind that you deal with more irritating people on a daily basis) removed couch legs, and a removed door from its hinges. After all that headache, my brother sits down for, like, five seconds and is able to figure it out himself. Talk about almost tear inducing.

As "payment" I was charged with helping him hang posters. Which was frightening enough. I encouraged him with the phrase "less is more." Thankfully, I only had about enough tacks for 4 posters. Only one which was atrocious, a Gundam Wing poster of some sort.

Once guests started ariving and food was put in the oven, the temperature in the room went up a good ten degrees. Thankfully everyone was a good sport, no one stayed too late, the not so much Star Trek fans left by 6 or 7, and the die hard fans stayed till about 9 and everyone pitched in to help clean.

For my first housewarming party in my new apartment we did pretty well. And now I have enough left over beer to fill a keg. I want to have people over more often. Yay!

Not about moving or beauty...

2009-04-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

This one's about cooking.
Well, baking specifically.
One of my FAVORITE things to do.

I made Glazed Apple Oatmeal Muffins last night since I had nothing to do after work.
I had most of the ingredients at home except unflavored oatmeal, lemons and granny smith apples. This was such an easy recipe to make but they didn't come out as nicely as they should.

As you can see they are a bit flat. Compared to the blog above's picture, they are pretty lame. They tasted amazing, but were heavy and not light and fluffy as muffins should be.

They tasted really apple-y, with just a hint of the lemon bite in the lemon/sugar glaze.

I attribute this heaviness to the fact that I may have overmixed the batter, the apples were a tiny bit too juicy, or I may have not cooked them for long enough.

The problem with baking is that one has to be VERY careful about the steps. In some cooking you cant just skip steps, but with baking, there's no cutting corners. Adding an egg when you should have waited till after you combine flour and liquid mixture, is sure to be a disaster. Like I did with my poor lemon chiffon cake, jiggled like jello but with an egg consistency all because I added an extra egg white too early. I'm determined to get these muffins to be light, and fluffy. I have one more granny smith apple waiting at home that I'm going to use to bake another batch on Monday.

Earlier that morning I made The Boyfriend and I french toast. I don't know why I even bother with it anymore. I cannot for the life of me make presentable french toast or pancakes. (Although I did find a recipe for beer pancakes which would be amazing with the Belmont Brewery's Strawberry Blonde Ale) I think I'm just going to stop attempting cute, healthy, breakfast in bed kind of breakfasts. I'm Mexican, and can refry beans and fry potatos like no one's business. My grandma makes this amazing breakfast dish with triangles of corn tortillas and scrambled eggs so its like you have tortilla chips in your scrambled eggs! So totally not healthy for you, but god, so good!

But tonight, once I get out of work, I'm going to make goat cheese twice baked potatoes. And I keep hoping I wont screw up.

FINALLY!

2009-03-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

After it feels like a million years of moving in, I've FINALLY unpacked almost every single one of my boxes. I have to get a few of those stick on hooks for my purses, and figure out what to do with my bag of high heels but... its nice to have a room that looks grown up. So here are said pictures of my new home.

This, is obviously my bed. I've had that red comforter since I moved into college. A big purchase that I'm going to have to save up for is a new comforter with a down, or down like alternative in it, (they run about 50 bucks at ikea) and a new duvet cover. The black one I bought hoping to cover this awkward one was too small. (Silly colleges and their extra long twins.) My partner in crime and I are going to craft a headboard at some point. Once I find some good brocade to put to work matching my color scheme. She claims they are really easy to make.

As you can see above my bed I've got my two collages, and various smaller frames. I may get a few more nicer larger frames in the near future as the wall looks a tiny bit bare. This is the FIRST time ever that I've got pictures in FRAMES!

Here is my vanity. (Man this is a way crooked picture, sorry guys) I could not function without it. Its just big enough to see a full length look of that outfit you're not sure of, and is the perfect size for awkward collages, my monthly budget (in lime green) and making sure my winter foundation matches my summer tan. I love it. I keep hoping I'll have time to stain it the same color as the piece that my tv is sitting on. One day...

The photographs above my bed are pretty shadily acquired. My ex Michelle had all these way trendy, emo, angsty, indy girls as her friends. Oh, you know the ones, who shop at kid robot and cut up their own clothes but aren't very nice despite their nerdiness. The one's who love photobooths and poloroids. (Ugh, I still gag thinking about "what-if's" and that relationship!) Well, on my last trip up there to see her, one of those friends showed off these proofs of these ferris wheels. I really wanted one. Like, really, really. Michelle refused to give me one, because she liked them so much and they were from HER friend anyway. So since I had a purse, michelle only carried a 12 year old's baby blue backpack, I was stuck holding them. I guess I happened to forget to remind her about them at the end of my trip and came back to LA to, at some point, frame them. I was so torn up about her when we broke up I hid them. And only discovered them when I was moving. Yay for me, I like them as much as I did when I saw them first.

Last but not least, my closet. Which is pretty full. Entirely too full as far as I'm concerned. I need to figure out what to do with everything in there. Maybe next weekend.

There's my brand new bookshelf. Which I bought at ikea for 40 bucks. Full to the brim of too many good things to read. I had to resort to filling the top of the shelf full of books so I could get them all to fit. The trick here is ladies and gentelmen, if you have alot of paperbacks, or books that are the same size you stack them horizontally as well as vertically. I hope that tomorrow night I'll be able to get a close up of the two bookshelves in the house, which are literally packed with trashy romance noves and fluffy books. I DO have a pretty impressive collection of books on medieval art, chicano art, and mesoamerican art, which I think I'll try to start reading in conjunction with my trashy romance fix. And what is my room without some cute pinups for me to look at first thing in the morning?

What do you think? I kinda want to squeeze in my really comfy chair from my dad's house in, but that might be overkill. I just get so tired of sitting on my bed and reading. And its a prety ugly olive green color, its just so very nice to sit in. We'll see.

One room down

2009-03-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my new bathroom. I didnt realize how hard it was to get any sort of picture of the whole room. The weird cord you see is the sea horse lamp.

I haven't decided if I want to put my pin ups on the wall. I'm afraid it will look too cluttered. Maybe I'll just be really discriminating and post only cute ones that match the color scheme of the room on the walls.

I love that boat print by the way. When I did the Acres of Books library shoot at the store last year i found this in a chest along with a pretty hilarious last supper print. For 3 dollars I got both. I've wanted to do something with these prints forever. I'm glad I'll get to use it in the bathroom. I guess with the seahorse lamp and the mother of pearl shell soap dish Olivia got me from the Caribbean (or someplace), a nautical theme is appropriate. Ugh I just think its so trite.

I started hanging things on my walls this morning. I think I went WAY overboard on the framing things. I don't think I have much room left on my walls. And now I think it looks too cluttered. Damn. Oh well. Thankfully I only used tiny nails so the holes wont be so conspicuous. I'm totally going to have to move everything and maybe take some shit down. Lame.

They are changing my hours here at the library. I now will work an even more awkward shift. 1:30 pm to 10pm. FML. I won't even have a social life. No one wants to hang out at freaking 11 pm!

A Grown Up House

2009-03-10T16:17:00.001-07:00

You know what the difference between a grown up house and a college house is?
Frames. Yep, plain old fashioned picture frames. Silly I know.
My coworker and I talked about this a bit at break when she asked how settled I was in my new apartment. I told her I was still drowning in boxes, empty and otherwise. (goddamn trashy romance novels!) And how I spent a ton of money this weekend on frames, and trying to make my room look grown up and not so childish. She related to me her realization on "grown up" homes, when she went to a house party that a friend was throwing with her boyfriend. She walked in and all the dinner and flatware matched. Posters and pictures were in frames and there was a color scheme going. That's when she realized SHE was a grown up.

One of my really good friends from college is living with her much much older boyfriend, and she is/was always the type to worry about matching and stuff. Now that they live in his house she's even more aware, even though she really cant change anything without his consent. My Partner In Crime is similar. She loves the color combination of purple and grass green and has crafted her room at her parents house to showcase those colors. When I was living in the California house I choose every color of red imaginable and decked my room out in that. But it was still a college room, with posters that didn't match and Christmas lights. So I threw out my Christmas lights, and decided on something a little different for a color scheme. Orange, black and golden yellow. My mother and best friend insist that its going to look like Halloween. But I think if I'm careful and go heavy on the black and light on the orange (or tend toward a more bronze orange) I should be ok. I'm kinda nervous. I'll be a grown up.

Yesterday I took one large step in being a grown up and purchased 50 dollars worth of picture frames. Three poster sized ones, one long narrow ones, four 8x10's, and four little ones. I framed some of my favorite pictures from Team Gay in Santa Cruz. I took two of the large poster frames and collaged my last weekend in Santa Cruz Polaroids, juxtaposed with a few of my favorite (This one is called "Wrong Nail") Gil Elvgren pinups. I always had a collage wall in the dorms with things I found interesting; articles, ads, flyers, pictures and bottle caps I found around campus. I decided to toss all that crap and keep only a few cherished ones for my pin up polaroid collage. I have about six or seven fans that I want to put up on the walls also, that I've collected over the years. Now its all about moving things around and getting a stud finder.

Today's Gem: Ikea has the best frames for your money
For fifty bucks I got 14 frames. I bought six black frames and eight clip frames which consist of just glass and particle board for backing with silver clips keeping them together. The tiny clip frames come in a pack of four for 2.99. The large clip frames which were measured about 20x13 or something were only 4.99. The black frames were 4.99 and 7.99. I swear you cant go wrong because they were 20 dollars a piece at Michaels!

These large clip frames are ideal for a collage of pictures. I saw these really cute frames at target which were about the same size that consisted of different panes of glass in one frame which gave each picture placed on each glass panel depth. They were so expensive. So I settled for these clip frames instead. I went to Michaels and got scrapbooking paper in my highlighting colors (orange and gold) and placed them as the backing. Then collaged them to give them some depth all on their own. I tend not to be the type to want symmetry for some reason. I like everything to be a tiny bit asemetrical. So mine are all at odd slants and going wonky directions. We'll see how it looks. For more practical reasons these clip frames are ideal because if you decide your color scheme is different you can change out the back paper for your new color. I have a feeling this will happen every six months or so for me. I get so bored easily.

Gem #2: Michael's > Joann's for crafty stuff, but Joann's > Michael's for price.
Ugh I paid six dollars for yarn for beardaversary. WTF! I'm pretty sure it would have been cheaper at Joann's. And I feel like I'd also get a ton more of selection. My beard btw is going to be rockin'.

Hmm, I think that's about it. Oh, yeah, one more: always always always check the As-Is area of ikea. I snaked a rockin' black shag rug from the As-Is area for 53% off. (And by snaked I mean I literally snaked it out from under some hipster/scenester/goth/punk girl, she was just staring at it with her hands on her hips and Partner in Crime whipped it off its hanger and we stuck it on my cart. Man did we get the stink eye) It was only 24 dollars. It was the floor model so it did have some left over sticky paper residue in the corner but with some tweezers and carpet cleaner it looks as good as new. And now I can use my huge hardwood floor for more than just walking. Like impromptu champagne-taco bell-picnic-framing-parties with the Partner in Crime on my clearance urban outfitters square floor cushions. Or as Partner said, "Now you can have sex on your floor!" Hmph. That'll be the day.

Not about moving

2009-03-07T16:29:00.001-08:00

Today's post is about beauty.
One old favorite, and one new discovery, each made by Sally Hansen.

I wax my own eyebrows. I've been complimented on it often. I used to use the nasty pot of wax that you microwave but it gets a little icky and old really fast. And that waiting for it to cool, ugh, sucks! So I discovered these they are pre-waxed strips that are lovely to use! No gross mess, no microwave. I cut them to follow my eyebrow line. I am at work and did it in three minutes!

My newest discovery is the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color. I will never go back to any other brand. (ok maybe I lie but...) Its only about 4 bucks, one coat is all you need, they've got some kick ass colors, (I'm wearing sonic bloom) and it drys so fast! And the brush is so perfect! The only crappy part is you have to invest in the top coat. An extra 4 bucks but, it makes it all shiny. And I painted my nails on thursday and it appears they may last through the entire weekend.

that is all!

mystery bruises.

2009-03-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

I didn't want to post today, but I'm silly. This blog is all about moving and I did it! Move that is. My new home is perfect. Sizable and oh so exciting for its decorating possibility. My walls are painted a really neutral peach color with white baseboards and off white closet doors. I refuse to take any pictures until I've completely unpacked everything but my books and hung my pictures. I have put everything away except my arts and crafts stuff, which I have too much of and need to purge like a bitch.

As for the move itself. It went really smoothly. I had my lovely boyfriend and fantastic best friend come over around ten and keep me sane. My brother and his 3 friends did the actual moving of the large items. With Boyfriend and Partner in Crime to help we managed to make the move go a lot smoother than if it was just my brother and my mother. We came up with the original idea to stick the heavy items on a blanket and drag them around on the hardwood floors so it wasn't so difficult to lift everything. It also allowed us greater access to seeing how things fit in rooms and didn't scratch the floor. I kept the movement of boxes and things to a maximum by sticking things that belonged in each room in their respective rooms. It gave us so much more space. I kept my clothes in their drawers. Minus the fact it highlighted my weird phobia about people touching and seeing my underwear, it totally worked. No extra boxes and they stack pretty nicely. Then you can just stick the drawers back into their chest and you have no stray boxes taking up space!

(By the way I looked up phobias and there are no clinical terms for my weird phobia of people touching or looking at my underwear. I hate it. The boyfriend ALWAYS teases me, by getting really close to the discarded underwear near his bed next to my pile of clothes, or covering his eyes and saying "I didn't look! I swear I didn't look at them!" I have since learned to hide my discarded underwear in the pile of clothes.)

I did have two accidents. I ran into the corner of a table while carrying a box. I now have a large bruise the size of Canada on the top of my thigh. Or maybe Wyoming. Maybe even Montana. Maybe all three put together. Either way it hurts like a bitch, and I fell onto the floor in pain. This thrills the boyfriend since he LOVES poking my bruises. This one I have made sure to smack his hands away from. He got in one poke and I howled so loudly in pain he covered my mouth in embarrassment and shame. I have a tiny but dark mystery bruise on my forearm which I have allowed him to poke because he has been such a good sport. I ran into something and cut myself on my foot. It bled for a while and I didn't even bother to clean it since things were so crazy. Mystery injuries are so awkward.

I did a bad thing for my budget. I spent thirty dollars on my credit card and got pretty jewel toned towels and a bathmat. I was so excited to at least have one whole room done. I decided on red, turquoise and a dark orange for the bathroom since its so white and sterile. My brother insisted I stick the orange ikea seahorse light in the bathroom because "its so freaking sweet!" Uh, ok, sir. So I worked around that. I have to get my pin up girls laminated so I can mount them in the bathroom. It gets really steamy so I dont want them to get limp and fall apart. I love them so much! I'd do my whole house with half naked girls if I could.

I am the most unpacked in my house since I had all day Monday to work on my space. The kitchen is in a really awkward stage between unpacked and in shambles. We've been eating pizza for the last three days, because my mother bought all the movers pizza and they didn't eat nearly as much as we thought they were going to. I finally got fed up with it and went to the store after Karate last night. Since we only have my tiny college mini fridge, I had to be frugal for space constraints.

So I started my new decision to eat healthier since my mother and (kinda) my brother are more adventurous eaters than my stepdad was. (I swear the man never ate anything that wasn't frozen or didn't come out of a box. There always had to be a meat, starch and canned veggies. There is nothing grosser than canned green beans! They taste like nast!) When we lived with him we almost had a schedule. There was bbq chicken, pork chops (always way too salty!), roasted chicken (which I will miss forever!), and t-bone steak. Sides consisted of mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, and sometimes a rice a roni. We always had a crappy canned veggie. Thrown into the mix was frozen pizza, Hungry Man tv dinners, meatloaf, bisquick casserole and the stray meat n gravy over rice thing my mother would make on occasion. It got SO OLD. I'm not saying I don't like routine. If it were up to me I'd eat chicken or ham sandwiches with goldfish and fruit for lunch every day, but when it comes to dinner, I'd like something special on occasion! As I said I'll miss his roasted chicken with a passion, but I wont despair for too long, because my mom knows how to make it she just doesn't. Since we have this weird gulch of despair thing going on in our parking area, where if you back up too much you'll fall off and your car will get stuck, I'm going to invest in a Weber and get perfect at roasting a whole chicken so that the meat just slides off the bone. (Sorry to any reading vegetarians. I do love chicken!)

For our tiny fridge till we get a full sized one I got granola bars, yogurt, bananas, peanut butter, apples, milk and juice. I never thought such simple fare could be so good! This weekend I'm going to use Billie Murdoch's fantastic beer bread recipe and christen our new stove, for something other than warming pizza, and fill our Virgin Kitchen with the smell of baking bread. I plan on showing my mom that living with me damn well has more perks than just the sudden friendliness and playfulness of my temperamental cat Ace.

Speaking of Ace, he appears to be adjusting to the move swimmingly. He sleeps under my bed for the time being because he is nervous about the moving noises but he's ventured out quite a lot during the night, damn him. Complete with meows, chirps and chasings of weird dust/lint things. He loves the sound of his claws on the hardwood, a sure sign I need to cut them, likes stretching them out. He's got a lot more energy now that the dogs are not there to harass him, which is a blessing, because I was worried he was depressed, and a curse because he freaking wants to play at the most inconvenient hours! "No Ace! Four am is NOT a good time to chase little plastic balls around the room!" He is enamored of my mother's room and won't leave her alone. Nor will he stop trying to get into the windows he's NOT allowed to get into. So I've had to be vigilant with the spray bottle. Its pretty hilarious to see him run away from the water and tear around a corner only to see him skid because he has no carpet to give him traction on. I have renamed him "the hell beast," after last night and his playing. He did come cuddle with me twice, once around five am and again this morning around nine am. He hasn't done that since the dogs have come. Its a nice change.

Too bad I couldn't sleep well last night. Lame I know.

No Gems today, I'm too sore from karate.

On Cleaning, Family and Friends.

2009-02-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Status of the move: 8/10ths done.

If there's one thing I've learned in my moving is that you can NEVER have too many hands. When it comes to hauling boxes and hiking up stairs, one really must have friends to spare. Since I come from a pretty traditional Mexican family, we know how to treat our helpers. Since I'm a raging lush, I know how to treat MY helpers. Why lunch and mimosas of course! They'll deserve them once they have to drag all our furniture up the stairs. We have 8 large pieces, two tvs, and two beds to move tomorrow. My room is almost done, just my clothes, and the bare necessities are left. Oh and another huge under the bed storage box full of books.

About moving: Really, if you're a bibliophile like me, moving is never going to be easy with the books you cannot bear to part with. I even purged them, and planned on taking them to the used book store (so I could get MORE books at some point) and still I have seven boxes of books and no place to put them.

Back to the subject, I am having my fantastic and overwhelmingly lovely boyfriend and equally as charming and wonderful best friend come over and help me move and unpack tomorrow. I have invited a few choice flaky friends to also help, but we'll see if the draw of free booze will be worth them showing up. I plan on putting my two favorite people to work alphabetizing my trashy romance novel collection, and strategizing on where to put my furniture. I have a very worn bedroom set that I am pretty sure dates back to the 1920's. Which is in various states of refinishing. But I could never give it up, I have this HUGE vanity mirror that I adore more than anything. Its just frustrating because its so damn large. And then hopefully, if time permits, I can drag them both to ikea and we can look at bookcases and shelving. Once we have a bit of an understanding of how many books I have and how much space I'll need. I even contemplated making a cinderblock bookcase, but I'm not quite sure how classy that will look.

My grandmother came over today to line the kitchen cabients. Liner keeps dust and other nasty things from invading your dishes. I stole some of the cling liner and lined my medicine cabienet and bathroom drawer. It really makes gross boring drawers look much cleaner and less shady.

Today's Moving Gem: The 99 cent store is god for many things.

I'm sure my college friends would be sure to tell me that the 99 cent store uses sweat shops, cuts down rain forests and child labor. But honestly, at this moment in this economy, I could give a flying fuck less. I was able to buy every single cleaning product (plus shower stuff for my brother, paper towels, toilet paper and toothpaste) for 23 dollars. I'm not kidding when I say every single cleaning supply you'd ever need. It costed more to get a mop and a broom at walgreens (ok so WAY overpriced) than for me to get all that stuff. And I found it quite charming, if inconvienent, that they charge for plastic bags. In addition, they also sell condoms. How win is that?

While my grandma meticulously lines the cabinets, my brother bitches and moans about being unemployed, and living in the living room and how crappy it is. I really am not sure how living with him is going to be. I can't even get into how frustrated I am at his whining. The point of my grandma mention is, that my mom doesnt have a bed yet, so she has to sleep on my air mattress, but like a dumb ass I packed my air mattress with all my sex toys. So this is how the conversation went:
"babe? I'll need the air mattress. Is it in one of the boxes in your room?"
"[shit!] Uhhhh, let me look mom, I think I uh, maybe its still at home."
[Frantically search for the box with air mattress and strap ons in room hoping against hope that it is there and not at my stepdad's house. No such luck.]
"no, um its well, at the house. [stare at grandma guiltily] If you go pick up the boxes dont open them. I uh, well I think there might be some scandalous, and really shady things in there. [please don't let her ask what I mean, please dont let her ask what I mean.]

Thankfully my mom loves my use of the term Shady and Scandalous and laughed awkwardly and let it go. I thank god every moment that my grandmother is hard of hearing, because that would have been difficult to explain.

Gem Number 2: Never Pack Your Sex Toys in a Box Your Mother Would Look in.

Next Post: Just How Many Trashy Romance Novels Does This Slut Have?
(She MUST be exaggerating, no one has seven boxes of books full of bodice rippers.)

146th Street My New Home

2009-02-27T19:05:00.000-08:00

I'm Kay.
I love blogging.
A lot actually.
I love searching other people's blogs and reading their writing. I have a few other more private blogs which I keep carefully hidden, and in which my writing is more of a stream of consciousness and less well thought out.
But, I decided to finally give into this blogspot thing and make a specific blog for a specific purpose.

That purpose you ask? Why my new apartment.

I rolled over one morning, after my mother and I found a new apartment because of her impending divorce, and realized; I've moved quite a lot.

From my childhood home (a rental and a duplex), to my elementary school home (another rental and another duplex), to my adolescent home (bought and paid for), to my mother's apartment (rental, post divorce), to my step dad's house (bought and paid for, pre and post marriage), to my college dorm (+ a roommate), my college apartment (on campus + same roommate), a hotel (converted to college dorm housing, - a roommate), to my little house on California street (a duplex, + cat, + housemate), and back to my step dad's house. That's ten moves. This is not counting the every two week switch between my mother's apartment/step dad's house and my dad's house during my mom's first divorce. I'm pretty much a moving pro.

Every living situation is different. My dad is a little crazy, childish and over protective. My mother has always been able to make any place we stay, apartment, trailer, home or tent, a home. My brother, used to be my best friend and now is just annoying. My step dad is the same as my dad just mix in a dreadful temper. My old roommate from college was fun, neat and pretty much my best friend. My housemate at the California house was a dominatrix sometimes, kept baby possums and was about the most kick ass woman I've ever met. So I decided to blog about these experiences in hopes that my tips and tricks may help someone out.

Truthfully, I'm of the mind that every story here is Worth a Fortune.

Today's Gem:
Find a constant in your life and depend on it.

When my mother and dad got divorced at first, I was only in middle school. My constant was this big green army issued duffel bag. I think it was my dad's when he was in the army. Anyone who asks a divorced kid if they "had two of everything" has been reading too many Babysitters Club books. (Does anyone even remember that, about how Stacy was SO lucky because she could have two of everything?) I was too poor to have two of everything, so I stuffed every ounce of clothing into that huge green duffel bag and carted it back and forth from one house to the other. I really don't know what I would have done without it. It was so huge I could stick almost my whole wardrobe in it with room to spare.

Now that I'm not 13, I have something a little more spacious. My car.
I keep it in good working condition, despite the bird poop, dents and Oktoberfest disaster thanks to my dad. He's a mechanical genius. I realized once I moved back from college, and never knew where I was going to spend my night after I got out of work late in the evenings, that I got tired of borrowing girlfriends tampons, beach towels, pajamas, makeup and high heels. It was so frustrating to put on a friends drug store makeup before we'd go out bar hopping when I KNEW I had a ton of Lancome at home. I hated having to make the extra 45 minute trip out of my way to home when I would get out late from work to pick up "going out clothes" and pajama's and end up missing the pre-partying all together.

So I did some brain storming. Why not keep a bit of everything with me? After about a MILLION trial and errors I have put together the perfect "Slut Bag" for all my after work needs.
How do you ask? I took notes on where I usually ended up after work (bar hopping, a friends house, my boyfriends, karate class, the gym) and where I would be likely to go before work on on a weekend while out with friends (the gym, the beach, the park). And I made a list of everything I would need for each place.

The Gym/Karate:
I've been taking karate for almost a year and always need something extra for class. It never fails.

Medium sized duffel bag:
Karate Gi and belt
Sparring gloves
Sports bra
Trial size febreeze (for when you haven't had time to wash that shit)

Small awkward triangle backpack:
You know what kind I'm talking about, the ones you NEVER use but ALWAYS get as swag. The one that cuts your boobs in half?

jump rope
extra socks
Ipod shuffle (that I bought when my car swallowed my large ipod and then spit back out again)
lock and key (I can never remember combinations)

Evening and weekend stuff:
Very Key: Invest in two large duffel bags or a really large canvas sacks. One is to keep in the car to clear out the worn clothes, shoes, books and other junk you've brought with you, and the other one is to keep in the trunk. This probably takes up the most space

Trial sized (in your favorite scent) shower and lotion accouterments. Take your full sized ones and fill 3 ounce bottles full of it.
A bath towel.
Break down and really invest in your slut bag's makeup bag. Nothing is worse than using inferior brushes and pallets when you're trying to get laid.
Nail polish, remover, cotton balls, nail file and clippers. Nothing says class better than freshly painted nails. They can dry while you drive.
Whatever your facial regime is outside of traveling, it should be the same within, take those travel bottles and fill them with toner and your facial moisturizer. You never know what kind of hard water is coming out of the spout!
a hair dryer and other hair supplies. You don't need anything fancy, I keep bobby pins, a really good root lifter in my car and a tiny bottle of hairspray. You just want some volume before you go out, not a total makeover.
shower flip flops, because gross, you never want to shower at the gym without them.
a pair of pajama pants
an extra pair of underwear
tampons are a MUST!

Just for fun:
I know this may sound silly but... really, you never know. I keep everything in one of those little cloth drawers in the corner of my car. It takes up little to no room!

water balloons
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. (Well, any good book that you wouldn't mind reading again, nothing looks lamer than you sitting there texting while waiting for someone because you don't want to look alone. That does not allow anyone cute to come up to you and make conversation.)
sidewalk chalk
bubbles
sunglasses
a beach towel, suntan lotion, tanning oil, and bathing suit in its very own bag.
a box of granola bars (I'm always hungry after Karate, and I don't want to stuff myself).
A quart of synthetic oil. Any slutty bitch knows when her oil is low or needs to be changed (every three months or 3,000 miles) and checks it before and after any long trip. A flashlight and tire gauge.

You may laugh at this post. But really, you don't know how many times I've been asked to hang out with people who say, "man I wish I had x,y and z" and I take great joy in telling them, "Oh let me get it out of my trunk!" When I am going to take a trip and have to fly, I just take out the large duffel bag with my makeup, and shower stuff and don't have to worry about the liquid flying rule since its already set! And I cannot tell you how good it makes me feel to be able to come to work in the afternoon, after a hard night of drinking and being scandalous, to a clean face, pinned up hair and fresh deodorant.

Ok, I'll leave it at this for now. I've got plans to see some of my college friends for drinks tonight.

Next Post: The Move and Unpacking My New Apartment