Fetish Friday

I know it's not Friday. And I know I haven't posted a shoe in a while, but I just haven't seen any that made my heart skip a beat.... until today. Check out this Nine West sandal. it's regularly $89, on sale for $50, BUT you get an extra 30% off when you checkout.







Then check out this Jessica Simpson boot on sale for $150 down from $189. It has free overnight shipping today. I don't have cowboy boots... I don't know that I want any, but if I did, I would like these. Ben says these are not cowboy boots - he says a cowboy wouldn't be caught dead in them. But I say they are - plus they are for girls, not boys.

Together we can put Ben under the knife!.. or laser.

Ben is in the running for some free laser surgery.
Please go here to vote for his video, "Who doesn't want Laser Eyes, Right?"
You can vote once a day per IP address until Nov 25th.
It's not that I don't think Ben looks hot in his glasses from '92... it'd just be awesome if he could wake up at night and write down his next genius idea w/o searching for them first, knocking things over, and then waking me up, etc. I'm also getting too fat to be crawling on the floor looking for dropped contacts.
Thanks!

Meatballs

I made this Alton Brown recipe for meatballs last night. It calls for lamb, beef, and pork, but I used turkey and beef. Then you sneak in some spinach and it's kind of healthy. I used paanko bread crumbs, one clove of garlic, some fresh herbs and cooked it in the muffin tin like he said. Place foil under your muffin tin to avoid a big mess.
We ate them with spaghetti and marinara sauce. Lucas ate them like a champ, which was surprising, so I think it's a keeper. Anyhow, if you're interested, click HERE for the recipe.

Ugly

It's been a week since I shut my thumb into the car door.
I can't decide which is more disgusting - one purple fingernail or 10 purple fingernails? It's all pretty gross, I think. Is my fingernail gonna fall off? Someone give me a glimmer of hope. Someone?

voting time again!

boom goes the dynamite.

Last Monday while Ben was at work, they were filming a scene for Machete right outside his office window. There was a car crash followed by an explosion. Ben said it was a lot of fun to watch from the upstairs balcony. One of the ladies from the crew came in and talked to them and explained the movie. When it was time for the explosion, she came back and told them to stay inside and away from the windows to avoid any shrapnel. This is a shot of the action. What a fun day at work!

My friend, Sara, became famous today. I had the pleasure of living with her at BYU before Ben and I got hitched. Now Sara and her friend write the blog, Our Best Bites. Check them out!
Here's Sara on a news show in SLC.

The Bomb

Tonight I dropped the F-Bomb at church.
I meant to say, "He gave me fifty bucks..."
Luckily only my friends heard.

Best Thing I Ever Ate... this week.

Today I was feeling a little adventurous, so I tried making Alton Brown's pretzel recipe. The dough came together very easily. Alton's measurements were perfect - I didn't have to add any additional water or flour. The whole process was no more difficult than making bagels - actually a little faster, because they boil for less time, and I didn't add fancy stuff like when I make bagels. The stove, however, was much more messy due to the splattering baking soda in the boiling water.
When I was done it was lunch time, so of course I had to involve a pretzel. I made an awesome sandwich that even impressed Lucas. Delish!

Fetish Friday

I think I would enjoy this studded little heel (as long as there's not too much toe cleavage). It's versatile and simple... and it sparkles.
Rivoli-2 by Pierre Dumas. Available at Piperlime for $49.

Promotion Motion

Hello,

Have you ever needed $10,000? Have you ever had the chance to win 10K based on your awesome friends' voting power? Well, now is Ben's chance.
I know we always bug you to vote, but this one is serious. This is huge. This is for 10,000 big ones. Not only is this design pure awesomeness, but took time. And did I mention it was for $10,000? It's in a contest for Design By Human's anniversary, hence the large cash reward.

So, please, PLEASE, go here and vote for Ben's shirt. You need to sign up for an account if you don't have one, but it's easy, and they don't send you all sorts of junk mail.
When you get there, all you have to do is press the "vote" button. Easy as pie. Easy as those gross pies you can buy from the grocery store bakery - only way, way more rewarding.

Another thing that's easy? You could start your own promotion motion! That would be swell - real swell.

(FYI - Ben's Urban Assault shirt will be printed soon. Thanks for voting! The Taking Tree shirt is all sold out. We should have bought more when we had the chance!)
Thanks so much for your support!

Shirts!

In doing his part to make better dressers, Ben has shirts up on Design By Humans - the same site where The Taking Tree was sold.

Ben would really appreciate your votes:

CLICK HERE FOR TRIANGLION
CLICK HERE FOR URBAN ASSAULT

One of his shirts is actually causing quite a stir in the comments.
Ben could use your support! Thank you!

Totaled my Cake

Pretty colors, huh? It's not paint. It's cake batter. I decided I was going to try a cake that my friend, Sara, made (she's famous, you know). She made cute little cupcakes that would have made Rainbow Bright pee her pants from excitement.
I have to make a cake for the kids at church tomorrow night and I thought they would enjoy a colorful cake like Sara's. So, I turned on Dancing with the Stars, colored my batter and layered the colors into my pan.
By the time I took the cake out of the oven it was after 9:00. Ben was at basketball and Lucas was still gallivanting around the house when he should have been in bed. I debated whether or not to take the cake out of the pan before we went upstairs or wait until after Lucas was in bed. I decided to do it before. BAD idea. The cake was way too warm and cracked. I made it worse by trying to fix it and eventually just called it loss and tossed it around.

I have to admit there as a little part of me that was excited because this meant I could eat the cake. But now a big part of me regrets that decision, and there are sad cake pieces waiting for Ben to take them to work in the morning. Poor cake - If only I would have waited for it to cool more... like until I got Lucas to bed.
I'll try again tomorrow. And I'll also try making Sara's frosting recipe. Wish me luck!

Fetish Friday

The girls over at Our Best Bites mentioned these shoes on Twitter.
They are handcrafted in Chicago by Mohop. Basically you order the platform and get different ribbons to make a customizable shoe each day.
Pretty cool, huh?
$136-$148 at mohop.com

oops. I did it again.

Almost pretty, right? I tried making Smitten Kitchen's challah bread last night because I felt up for a challenge. I was so excited to taste it and when I did it was..... bland. I forgot the salt. AGAIN. I've done this a few times when making bread/bagels and it totally ruins the end result. I was looking forward to something resembling one of Jeana's creations and this was nowhere close. This was the plastic vending machine jewelry to Jeana's Tiffany & Co. broach.
Oh well. I think I'll freeze it and make the best french toast ever when Lij and Logan come to visit. All the sugar and fat in that recipe will totally make up for the lack of salt.

Fetish Friday

Montgomery, meet everyone. Everyone, this is Montgomery.
This shoe jumped out at me because it reminds me of a similar shoe I have. It's the type of shoe that makes you want to buy accompanying outfits just so you can wear it more often.
The color is called "sunshine" and I love it. I'd like to imagine myself wearing these babies whilst basking in the sunshine, sipping on a fruity drink, and floating along on a cruise ship in Greek Isles. As to what I would wear with the shoes whilst sipping and floating... well, the possibilities are endless. And I guess it depends with whom I'm floating.
MICHAEL Michael Kors, "Montgomery" $150 at Dillards.

Fetish Friday

I was having trouble deciding between a $500 shoe today and this shoe for only $26.99. I decided to go with the Payless shoe so all does not seem hopeless in the purchasing department.
It's a gladiator sandal to the least extreme, so it's pretty cute. I still can't handle those gladiator sandals that wind all the way up your ankle. Maybe some day...
Until then, this is the Lapis Stone Gladiator Wedge, from Payless.

Guster Show

Last night Ben and I went to see Guster at Stubbs. Now that we have a kid, we don't get out much, but whenever Guster comes to town it is a cardinal rule that we must attend.
Ben got there early and saved us a nice spot by a tree. I left Lucas at home with Andrea, and arrived just in time for the show.
A few highlights:
-They played "Red Oyster Cult", and then transitioned into Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." And there was cowbell. It was awesome.
-Making fun of the people in front of us who must have taken 50 pictures of themselves. I really wanted to smack them because they were so drunk and annoying and kept invading my personal space whilst making out and swing dancing. Who swing dances at a concert where people are packed together like sardines? Anyhow, Ben thinks I my long history of patience has finally run it's course.
-They usually mock the encore tradition. Ryan always mentions the encore and tells you there will be an encore, how many encores, etc. This time instead of leaving the stage and making us clap for a long time, they just told us when the show was over and then started the encore without ever leaving the stage. It was great.
-And watching Brian “Thundergod” Rosenworcel is always my favorite part of the show. He plays the drums with his bare hands for much of the show. We could see him up there taping them getting ready for the set. It's amazing.
Now I need to go feed Lucas breakfast... he's downstairs looking for Andrea.

Athleta

While some of us are addicted to shoes, other girls I know are addicted to clothes they can sweat in.
Gap Inc. has a new company, Athleta, just or those girls. I do have to admit that they have some pretty cute stuff - skirts for all sporting occasions. Here's to you, Jeana!

Fetish Friday

Who doesn't love a little ruffle here and there? This is Beauti by Steve Madden and they are on sale - especially if you're a 9.5 or 10! You can get them at Nordstrom in the bronze for $44.90. OR if you like black you can get them at Smart Bargains for $29.97.

Garbanzo & Hominy Soup

As I was eating my leftovers for lunch today, I thought I should share this recipe with you.
My sister told me this recipe yesterday as she was driving and I was doing pilates. It was so easy I didn't have to write anything down and she didn't have to read anything to me. E-A-S-Y!
It was yummy and reminded me of my mom's posole, only 16 times easier and faster.

Garbanzo & Hominy Soup
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large onion)
4 cloves garlic
2 cups water
1 can vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 can Rotel tomatoes (mild or medium)
2 cans of garbanzo beans
1 can of hominy
2 cups of fresh spinach, packed

Cook your onion and garlic in olive oil. Add water, broth, cumin, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add tomatoes, beans and hominy. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste to make sure the seasonings are good. Just before you are ready to serve, add the spinach. It will wilt as you stir it into the soup. Serve with tortillas or crusty bread. I also served it with lime wedges and cilantro would have been good, too.

I accidentally bought a huge can of hominy, so I had about equal parts hominy to garbanzo beans. Because of that, I added an extra can of tomatoes and extra broth. Instead of a can of veggie broth, I just added more water and added beef, chicken, and veggie bouillon. I like to mix it up a little...

This would be good with some chicken or pork added, but doesn't need it.

Fetish Friday

Hello, Spring. I'd like to introduce you to Cinnabar from Carlos by Carlos Santana. I'm a fan of wedges mainly because they are easier to walk in than other heels. And also they provide more space for art work! I love the detail on this little wedge. It also comes in black.
Cinnabar can be yours for $100 from Piperlime.

Easter Talk

So.....
I'm speaking in church on Easter and need to start writing my talk. Just wanted to check and see if any of you have cool, interesting ideas... The subject is Easter and the resurrection, of course. Those of you that will be there, any special requests? Perhaps a secret shout out? Frequent rhymes? American Idol mention? (Remember once I mentioned Sanjaya in a talk? It was awesome).

Fetish Friday

This is what all the kids need here today. This is the Lotus rain boot by Kidorable. They have matching rain coats, umbrellas, and other accessories, too. Check out all their little collections at ComfyKid. Your kid can be decked out as a pirate, fireman, mermaid, fairy, or lotus flower.
Boots on sale for $26.10.

Vote for Ben... again!

It's on Ben's Bucket List to have a shirt make it onto Threadless. You can help him achieve his goal by voting once again. Thanks a million! (If you really like it, click the "$" first, then the 5.)

Gold Bars

When I was in Elementary school, there was a gem of a treat served in the Albuquerque Public Schools called a Gold Bar. It was loads of crispy peanut butter goodness topped with chocolate, and it was awesome. I remembered this tasty treat the other day and wondered if I could ever recreate them. I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try.
I made it for our preschool group today and it was a hit - especially for the moms. Ben also really enjoyed it last night, which means a lot, because he thinks it's hard to make a good peanut butter/chocolate concoction at home. I forgot to add the corn syrup, so that would have given it a little more moisture. Also, I used healthy peanut butter, but it was still just fine. I'm thinking if I would have used regular PB (with all that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup - check your labels!) as well as the remembered the light corn syrup it would have been pretty dang close to the original.

For you PB freaks, here you go:

2 cups crunchy peanut butter
2 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 tablespoons melted margarine or butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 large Hershey chocolate bars*, melted

Method: Mix peanut butter, Rice Krispies, powdered sugar, melted margarine, and light corn syrup until well blended. Press mixture evenly into a 9-by-13-inch pan that has been lined with plastic wrap over light oil. Melt chocolate bars in double boiler (or microwave). Spread evenly over Rice Krispie mixture; chill until set but not hard (chocolate will begin to lose its shiny appearance). Cut into pieces of desired size. Return to refrigerator until chocolate has hardened completely. Remove from pan and store in tightly covered container in refrigerator until ready to serve.

*the original recipe calls for 11 regular Hershey bars, which seems ridiculous. I think three big bars would be perfect. I used 2 big bars and 1 regular bar.

Wasting Time

Yes, I finally have a reason to waste two more hours of my life each week. Dancing With The Stars is back for yet another season. I watched most of is last night and I was glad to see that Edyta wore the outfit she borrowed from me last week... she looks almost as good as I do in that little number. If you only knew the hours I put in to bedazzling all those rhinestones on that thing you would be amazed!
We'll see how the season unfolds. They tried to put all sorts of relationship twists in it this year. Julianne Hough is dancing with her real life boyfriend, Maksim and Karina and engaged and competing against each other, and Jewel was supposed to compete against her husband. BUT, Jewel and Nancy O'dell were both injured and replaced at the last minute. O'dell by Playmate Holly Madison, and Jewel by that Melissa chick that got dumped last week by the dreamiest Bachelor ever.
I think she's in a much better place now... totally worth the heartache to be on DWTS! She'll be just fine. (Plus, she scored well after only 2 days of practice).
If I had to put money on anyone it would be Cheryl and Gilles, Julianne and Chuck, or Derek and Lil' Kim. We shall see...
(And no, I don't watch The Bachelor - this show is my only weakness)

Fetish Friday

Wedding season is just around the corner. The one thing I regret about my wedding is my shoes. They were simple. They were white. They blended. They were cute mary janes, but could have been much more exciting.
If I were doing it all over again, I would ban the white shoe and go for something fun - red, orange, green or yellow. Pictured here are Rage, Electra, Mika, and Monique. They would love a walk down the aisle.

Uneetee Voting!

Yes. Once again it is time to vote for Ben and his t-shirts on the interweb. This time they are on a site called Uneetee.
When you vote, all you have to do is click "Cast My Vote" and you're set - no tricky number hierarchy, no button declaring your plan for purchase. Just one step.

VOTE FOR MERMATE
VOTE FOR GIRLY BUTTERFLY
VOTE FOR TRIANGLION
VOTE FOR SAME OLD STUFF

We greatly appreciate your votes. If Ben wins, we can buy some brand name Cheerios, and we all know they are ten times better than generic. Thanks!

(FYI, girls: I also think it was rude to cut that guy's face off. I mean... come on, Ben!)

Fetish Friday

I think these are some pretty cool man shoes. I love the color and the stitching adds some pizazz, too.
Rush by Gordon Rush Shaw. $135 at Piperlime

Pancake Mix Recipe

My totally platonic TV boyfriend, Alton Brown, gave me this recipe last night.
Best pancakes I've ever made.

Addiction

We watch Cars several times a week... like 4 or 5. It's ridiculous. But, I really like Cars, so if Lucas wants to watch a movie I am much more likely to promote Cars, than say, Teletubbies. And I think I like the Cars toys just as much, if not more, than Lucas. I have to stop myself from going to the toy section at the store and seeing what they have. Is it wrong if I want Ramone in every color? I am from New Mexico, after all.
I think I have a problem.

Fetish Friday

I found an article on the top 10 most expensive shoes in the world. Six of them were designed by Stewart Weitzman. He teamed up with jeweler Le Vian to make this pair.
They have 185 carats of tanzanite and 28 carats of diamonds. At the time the article was written, no one had worn them yet.
The best part is that they would totally match that replica of the The Heart of the Ocean you bought in 1997.

Price tag: $2,000,000

my new obsession

The bagel. A few weeks ago I decided I should try making bagels. For my first try I used an Emeril recipe that left me with flat bagels due to flipping them while cooking. The other three times I'm used this recipe from Baking Bites and it's worked much better.
I am the girl who always messes with a recipe, so I have never made a plain bagel. Mostly I have made raisin/cinnamon/walnut with part whole wheat flour and part white flour. So, at least they are a little healthy. And they are pretty yummy, too. If you want to try, use about a cup of raisins, soak them in hot water and a sprinkle of cinnamon for 10 minutes or so, then squeeze most of the water out. Then throw some cinnamon in the flour mixture and add a good amount of walnuts, too. This will require you to add more flour to get the right consistency due to the raisins.
Yesterday I wanted to try a New Mexico bagel - green chile and cheese! I was a little nervous at first, but they ended up just fine. I used about 7oz of green chile, but they could have used more, then about a cup of cheese in the dough, plus some sprinkled on top. They are pretty dang good as well; although, I feel more guilty after eating them. But, I did use some whole wheat flour with these ones also, so there's a bit if nutrition, but just a bit.
I don't know what kind to try next. Any ideas? What about cranberry something?

HUGE SALE.

FYI - Dillards is having a huge shoe sale. I just bought Antonio Melani Vanish in red/black. They were $26 (70% off). It seemed like the whole shoe section was 70% off!

Fetish Friday

Meet Monique by Via Spiga. With her patent leather rose, she'd be a lovely accessory to your little black dress.
Can't you just see yourself wandering through the streets of Paris with your hot mystery man (or your husband)? And then when you reach the Eiffel Tower, its lights sparkling, he envelopes you in his arms kisses you fervently. Onlookers are amazed at the passion you two possess... but more amazed at the beautiful shoes bestowed upon your feet.
$198.00 at Piperlime.

Fetish Friday

Pretty sweet for a little dude, right?

Puma Infants "Voltaic" - $48
see them here at Dillards.

evidence of a yummy day

Fetish Friday

There's a sale going on at Piperlime until Saturday. If you order a sale item, you can receive another 20% off the sale price using the code SALE at checkout.
Originally $110, Carlos by Carlos Santana's Conspire is on sale for $69, so you could get them for about $55... They come in blue or chocolate. I was immediately drawn to the chocolate, but I really like how the blue has blue in the platform, too. Aside from the colors, I dig the shape of the heel. You could totally rock these.

Old Age

A friend of mine was saying that her parents always get excited for their favorite TV show to come on and say, "Oh, LA Law is on tonight," when in fact, LA Law is not on... some other show is. It's just habit from the 80's.

I've got the exact same problem. Every week I say how excited I am for Friends on Thursday night. When in fact, I really mean The Office. But I do miss those college days when we would all be home at 7:00 and gather around the TV to see if indeed Rachel and Ross were gonna hook up. Then I'd go swimming at the late hour of 7:30.

Now I watch The Office, put Lukie to bed then do something boring like clean. I guess I'm getting old...

The Snoogly

Spike Fereston's response to the Snuggly...

Baby Jingles

I got this little gem with the ads on Tuesday. I immediately noticed the fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. Too bad the banana doesn't come with Baby Jingles... for $30 I think they should throw in the banana. Just remember, Baby Jingles is not a toy, it's a fine collectors item.
If only Christmas were this month - I guess I can always hope for next year.

Cheesecake Goodness

My mom and I made Barefoot Contessa's Mixed Berry Cheesecake on New Year's Eve for my sister, Carrie's, birthday. It was wonderful. We used half the lemon zest (and could have still used less). Instead of using all the berries on top, we used two packages of raspberries, mixed with the currant jelly. Then we had additional toppings available made from frozen berries. You could have your cheesecake nearly naked or fully dressed. Mmmmm.

Fetish Friday

Happy New Year! Spring is right around the corner and these Via Spigas would look cute with anything from jeans to skirts. I really like the wood platform and the leather detail in front. Plus, you know how I love the peep toe.

They can be yours for $215.