Come on... Grow a Pear!

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Hair Show - SULTRA

Last Saturday I was in a hair show. It was a huge Armstrong McCall Sales Meeting and different vendors were there trying to sell their stuff. I was with Sultra. I loved the people and the products. I managed to get away with a sweet straightening iron, and would loved to add to my Sultra collection some day! The company's Artisitic Director is Omar Lopez. He works on a lot of celebrities (Cameron Diaz, Maile Cyrus, Kat Von D), so it was fun to talk to him and have him work on my hair. My hair was styled with The Seductress, an iron that can straighten, wave and curl your hair. It was awesome. He didn't expect my hair to curl so much and at one point said, "I made you look 12 years old!" But it was great. The curls stayed and the next day I fixed them up bit. Here are some pics after three presentations, and much playing. In the last pic he had just combed my hair out and my eyes are bloodshot, but that's the only pic with Omar.

Sugar Berry Fairy

I made these yesterday. They'd be a lovely addition to your holiday table. The recipe is from Cooking Light: Sugared Cranberries

I made superfine sugar in the food processor, and let them steep overnight. Lucas and I ate most of them. We let Ben have a few, too.

Sno Balls

While I was in Albuquerque last month one of my goals was to make homemade Sno Balls for my Dad. That's what I would have made him for Father's Day if I lived in the 505. When I was little my dad would buy them once in a while - they were his sweet junk food of choice. Sno Balls kind of became a joke in the family, so I wanted to recreate a super-yummy one for my Dad. Turns out he only got to eat 1 or 2. Poor Dad.
I used the cake recipe from here. And instead of using a 7 minute frosting or Italian Meringue like all the copy cat recipes say to use, we decided to go with real marshmallow. We didn't bother with the filling because I used regular muffin tins, so there wasn't much room or need for the filling. Frosting the little buggers was a complete pain because marshmallow goo is so sticky! But... they tasted oh-so-delicious. We used the rest of our marshmallow and toasted coconut to make normal marshmallows, and they were super-delish, too.
I'm thinking of attempting this in bar form to make it so much easier, yet equally delicious. I'll let you know if I do.

Fetish Friday

This little number by Nine West is so cute I couldn't resist a post before I run to try for a nap. I love the soft pink, the bow, and contrasting textures. It comes in several other colors and is on sale for $55 at endless. You can even get an extra 25% off sandals now, so that makes it even more on sale! So cute... and girly, unlike everything else in my house these days :).

Time to vote on Threadless!

Father's Day Crepes

For dinner last night I made a mushroom crepe cake that I had been wanting to make for a long time. While I was in the process I decided to make half a recipe of a gateau de crepes - also known as a 20 layer cake. It was a fun way to eat crepes, but Ben thinks he prefers a regular old crepe with filling because it's easier to eat.

If I made the mushrooms cake again, I'd add some garlic for sure. And I'd use my own crepe recipe - both of these recipes resulted in flimsy, delicate crepes that were hard to turn. My recipe yields a stronger crepe.
For the dessert crepe, I might alter the filling a little. Maybe throw in a nutella layer every few crepes or make a different filling all together, perhaps with cream cheese involved... And top it with berries.
Anyhow, it was a fun experiment. I hope Ben didn't mind having such a girly dinner on such a manly day.

Key Lime Pie

On our recent trip to Key West we made a point to try a lot of key lime pies. That's actually my goal every time I set foot in the southern half of Florida. My BFF since 6th grade, Joanna, also shares my sentiment for key lime pie. We used to go to Stuart, Florida for spring break to her great-aunt Erna's place (Erna had passed away... Joanna's mom had access to the joint, so we would spend a week in a community where we were mere spring chicks amongst the rest of the crowd). We had a great time hanging at the pool with the old men, then heading to the beach, where there were generally a few people under 60, going to fun restaurants, and saying the occasional ultra-embarrassing remark. For instance once I told Joannie's mom, "Good riddance!" as she dropped us off at the beach. I thought it meant something like have a good trip home. Once I was corrected, I said "Bad riddence." And Joannie exclaimed, "I wet myself!" as we sat in the back of the car one day. "Oh no, Joanna, you didn't," her mom said. Indeed, Joannie had wet herself, but only by spilling her water. A short story longer, we had a thing for key lime pie. We loooved it. So, Joannie sent me this recipe. It's from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, and was featured on Oprah.
It happens to be a very basic key lime pie recipe. Most chef's will tell you their recipe - it's usually 3 or 4 egg yolks, one can of sweetened condensed milk, and 1/2 -2/3 cup of lime juice. This recipe is actually the exact same as the one the Blonde Giraffe uses in Key West. BUT, here they tell you to beat the eggs until fluffy, then beat in the sweetened condensed milk. You don't get those directions usually, and I think it's the key!

I altered the original recipe because it was ridiculously fattening due to two sticks of butter in the crust, but here is my version. Y-U-M!

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 package graham crackers
  
• 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 6 Tbsp. melted butter
  
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt

Filling:

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup Key lime juice*
  
• 1 lime , grated zest

* I use Nellie and Joe's key lime juice and it's as good as the real thing, but don't use regular Mexican limes, and please for the love of all things good and lovely, don't ever ever use the "real" lime juice that comes in the little plastic lime. Ever.

To make crust: Preheat the oven to 325°.

Place graham crackers in a food processor and process to crumbs. Add the melted butter, sugar and salt and pulse until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, forming an even layer on the bottom, sides and edge. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool while you make filling.

To make filling: In an electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, whip the egg yolks and lime zest at high speed until fluffy, or 5 to 6 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to whip until thick, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice until incorporated. (I think all this mixing makes for a smoother pie).

Pour the mixture into the crust and bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 mins, then refrigerate for at least a few hours .

Applaud yourself for making a pie that costs $24 in Key West and probably $7 per slice at Trump's place. Don't forget to top with sweetened whipped cream before serving.

Vote for Ben in 2010!

Happy 2010! So, we're gonna have this kid in a couple weeks, then taxes are due. Basically, we could really use some votes on these t-shirts so we can get some cash in the bank! Thanks.
(FYI, if you don't vote, Obama will have to give us all of your money - how's that for a threat?).

BURN BABY BURN

by benharman

Click HERE to vote for the Mermate. This site in in Portuguese. Press the "5" with the crown, please :).

Click HERE to vote for another Burn Baby Burn. This one's in English.

And finally, click HERE for the awesomely bright Trianglion. Sometimes this site in is French. Click on the heart if you would.

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!