What’s In My Purse?

(Click to make bigger)

My current bag isn’t anything special, and in fact, I’m using it until purse shopping is once again in my budget. Being a nanny, I can’t be held accountable for the things found inside my purse. There are often times I’ll find toy cars and half eaten candies. Surprisingly enough, there wasn’t anything of that sort in there this time! I did clean up a few stray gum wrappers before taking this picture.

1. My mitts and scarf: I wish I had mitts that better match my scarf, but I don’t. Last year, I lost my mitts while downtown, and since it was a –30C day, I needed a new, cheap pair, and fast. These were the first ones I found, and I haven’t replaced them yet.

2. This wallet was a gift from my sister last Christmas. It holds pretty much everything I need.

3. The book I’m currently reading: Alone: A Valentino Mystery, by Loren D. Estleman. I can’t stand being stuck without reading material!

4. My brand new notebook was a gift my from my nanny family. I use it to write down anything I want to remember.

5. Starbucks VIA instant coffee: I was very reluctant to try this, but was needing the caffeine boost in the afternoons at work. I don’t always have access to my nanny family’s coffee maker (the mom sometimes puts it away in the basement) and carrying around actual coffee in my purse just doesn’t make sense. These little guys fit perfectly in my purse and don’t taste as bad as I expected! Although, I do only drink it when I don’t have access to real coffee.

6. Orbit Gum: I always need to have gum. For whatever reason, I love Orbit gum, but can’t find any here in Calgary. I made my parents bring me back some from their trip to Memphis. The strawberry mint isn’t my favorite flavor, but it’s all I have left. Last pack people! Then I’ll have to switch to regular gum.

7. Allergy meds, eye drops & Chap stick: I’m allergic to rabbits, and my nanny family has one. I keep them in my purse, so if I forget to take my pill before work, I can do it once there. Chap stick is pretty self explanatory.

8. iPod Nano: With an hour long commute to work, I need to have music.

9. Tide to Go Pen and Hand Sanitizer: These are things that I have discovered to be essential as a nanny. There’s also Band-Aids in my wallet. There was a time when some of my friends started referring to me as their Mom because of the things they would find in my purse!

10. Pens: I’m not sure why I have 4 pens and a Sharpie marker. I’ll slim that down to one or two pens.

11. Nail Clippers & Nail File: I have brittle nails, and I chew on them. Sometimes I just need to clip them to save my sanity.

12. Keys: My keys are on a Nelly Furtado (???) lanyard. I love the lanyard because it makes finding my keys (in my bottomless purse) much easier.

I’m actually quite surprised that I’m able to fit so much into such a little purse! When I’m going out (not to work), I’ll often take out several of the above items.

Feel free to play along! What’s in your purse?

If I Were…

(Borrowed from Fab Brunette, who borrowed it from Scattered Starlight.)

If I were a month, I’d be February.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Saturday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be 4pm.

If I were a planet, I’d be Mercury.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a seahorse.

If I were a direction, I’d be South.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be an oversized comfy chair.

If I were a liquid, I’d be coffee.

If I were a gemstone, I’d be an amethyst.

If I were a tree, I’d be a Weeping Willow. 

If I were a tool, I’d be a hot glue gun.

If I were a flower, I’d be a lily.

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a sun shower.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a flute.

If I were a color, I’d be pink.

If I were an emotion, I’d be joy.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a watermelon.

If I were a sound, I’d be laughter.

If I were an element, I’d be water.

If I were a car, I’d be a black convertible.

If I were a food, I’d be a cupcake.

If I were a place, I’d be Paris.

If I were a material, I’d be cotton.

If I were a taste, I’d be sweet.

If I were a scent, I’d be lavender.

If I were an object, I’d be a book.

If I were a body part, I’d be the lips.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smile.

If I were a song, I’d be Hold You In My Arms (Ray La Montagne).

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be a pair of red Jimmy Choo peep toe sandals.

(Images via We Heart It)

Blogging Advice

A friend of mine has just created her first ever blog. She’s never had any experience with blogging before, so she’s coming over tomorrow night to get some pointers. This is where you come in: As I still consider myself new to the blogging world outside of live journal, I’m looking for some advice. I know the basic stuff (join 20sb, Blogher, comment on other people’s blogs), but I just want to see if there’s anything I’m missing. She created a Blog Spot blog, so any tips/tricks for that would be greatly appreciated.

Ten on Tuesday

Fifteen

1. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Making my apartment feel like a home. I’ll be sitting on my couch, looking around my apartment in amazement, because I still can’t believe that I live here, and I’m responsible for taking care of it and adding the special touches. True love.

2. How much did you weigh when you were born?
9lbs 14oz.
(You better believe I just called my mom and asked.)

3. What is your favorite perfume?
It’s currently Bouquet by Vera Wang

4. How many siblings do you have?
Two.
Tracy, 19.
Jessica, 18.

5. How many children would you like to have? (Or how many do you have?)
I’ve given this a lot of thought for some reason. I firmly believe that I need to have kids in even numbers. Not only because I seem to have an aversion to odd numbers, but because I have spent enough times as a kid at an amusement park stuck without a partner to go on a ride with. I kid you not, I am going to have an even number of children, so that they always have someone to go on a ride with. I believed for the longest time that 4 would be the perfect number of children to have, but then I became a nanny for 4 children. Some days I swear I’ll never have kids, but after the first year of saying “if I have to have kids, I’ll only have one”….I’ve warmed back up to the idea of having 4.
(This question just made me realize that there’s a good chance I’m neurotic.)
(Also, I just read my answer to Stephen, and he agrees that I’m neurotic. But he still loves me, so I guess it’s ok.)

6. What’s the best class you took in college?
I haven’t gone to college.
Alternative answer that I was seriously contemplating writing: Your mom goes to college!!

7. What was your favorite game to play when you were a child?
It was a game that my sisters, friends and I made up, called “Drive-by”. We would spend hours standing on this green electrical box, and whenever a car drove down the street slowly, we’d all jump off and hide behind the box, pretending that we were being shot at. I don’t know where the heck we got this idea from, and why on earth we would hide from slow cars (it’s the fast ones that shoot at you!). Again, I’m neurotic. That’s my new excuse for everything.

8. What character on Friends are you most like?
Stephen’s answer: Monica, because I’m neurotic.

9. Are you a phone person? (i.e.: Do you like talking on the phone?)
I only like talking on the phone if you’re the one who called me. I hate calling people, and feel incredibly awkward if I have to leave a voice mail message. Thank God for text messaging.

10. What was the best vacation you ever took?
I’ve never been on any big vacations. In fact, excluding the first two years of my life, I have never been outside of Canada. That being said, my best vacation was last year, when I went to Vancouver with Stephen.

I think I should have re-titled this post “A Neurotic Ten on Tuesday”
Why the heck am I embracing this all of a sudden?

Valentine’s Cards

Valentine’s day is creeping up on us, and I’ve been seeing heart related everything all over the blogosphere lately. Which got me to thinking…I love any excuse to send/receive snail mail. In fact, I am currently assembling an epic Canadian care packed for Fuegita Bonita. But that’s besides the point. Would anyone be interested in swapping Valentine’s cards? I need some craft projects to work on, and these cards would be perfect. If you don’t like Valentine’s Day, but love snail mail, let me know, and I’ll send you a just because card.
Shoot me an email (pinkpunch at gmail dot com) or leave me a comment, and we’ll exchange necessary info.

On The Simple Things…

Sometimes, it’s the little things in life that can bring me the most pleasure. Only problem is, I have to actually slow down once in a while and remember this. This past weekend, I did.

Friday Night
I met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while, so that we could have a craft night. We started off at Michael’s, where I stocked up on cheap ribbon (when did I become obsessed with ribbon?), and then we headed to Starbucks for a caffeine refuelling. We had an amazing chat (which prompted me to tweet this), during which this friend informed me she would like to start a blog! We quickly headed back to my place and got to work on creating her new blog and showing her the awesomeness of 20sb. Another friend called us up to let us know that he had rented a movie and wanted to watch it with us. So much for craft night, but for once, it was quite alright. It was nice spending time with friends that I hadn’t seen in a couple of weeks. The movie was incredibly odd, but we shared enough laughs to make up for that.

Saturday
I informed Stephen that I wanted to actually spend some time with him (blogging and playing Eve didn’t count), and that I wanted him to plan a date for us. After waiting around pretty much all day…he told me our date, due to not so pleasant weather, was going to be playing guitar hero and eating an awesome dinner together. After about 5 minutes of playing guitar hero, we both realized that we weren’t really into it. I looked up movie times, and we were off to dinner (poutine!) and the cheap theatre, where we saw Law Abiding Citizen. Good movie, by the way. On our way home, as we were about to pass Olympic Plaza, I jokingly said that we should get off the train (at midnight!) and go ice skating. Turns out Stephen was all for it, so we got off and headed over. Naturally, we didn’t bring our skates to the movie (we don’t even own skates), so we just spent about 15 minutes running and sliding around in our shoes. It was snowing ever so lightly, and there were twinkle lights in all the trees surrounding the plaza, making it the most perfect 15 minutes of the night. I slid over to Stephen and told him that I didn’t need big, fancy or expensive dates, I’m perfectly content doing little things like this, because we’re spending the time together, away from the distractions of computers and TVs.

Sunday
Andi and I planned another baking date this afternoon, this time to make my great grandma’s banana bread. Her webcam worked this time, so I got a tour of her kitchen! Andi- you need to work on getting your passport so we can have a real baking/craft date!

(Click picture to make bigger) Of course we took pictures for blogs/facebook/twitter!

 
I whipped up three loaves of bread, to put two in the freezer. Banana bread on demand!

What simple things did you stop to take pleasure in this weekend?

Love Harder

Remember when I posted this? Well today, an amazing thing happened. A whole bunch of bloggers united together to help raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Fund in the name of Brandy’s Hot Awesome Dude, because he was indeed diagnosed with multiple myeloma. I didn’t start reading Brandy’s blog until that first post happened, but I immediately started right after and don’t know how I went so long without reading it. She certainly has a lot of friends supporting her. The power of 20sb astounds me! Here’s what was posted around the internet, for those of you who may have missed it.
******

Our Plea:

Our friend Brandy is a brilliant writer, a wonderful teacher, and a generous friend. And she is in love with a man who has just been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

We are raising money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Fund in his name. For the price of a cinnamon dolce latte, half-caf, hold the whip, you can be part of an effort to cure a disease that affects approximately 750,000 people worldwide.

http://www.loveharder.org

Every dollar brings us a dollar closer to a cure. And every donation brings a sliver of hope to a girl who needs all the hope she can get.

Love harder,
Angela

What You Can Do:

Give. Be part of a worldwide effort to cure a disease that affects approximately 750,000 people worldwide. Every dollar helps.

Pass it on. Forward this story to five people. Share this blog post. Become our fan on Facebook.

Love harder. Life is short, love is unbending, and no one knows what could happen next. Tell someone you love them today.

DONATE: http://www.loveharder.org
CONTACT: theloveharderfund@gmail.com
FACEBOOK: http://facebook.loveharder.org
MORE INFO: http://www.themmrf.org

Ten on Tuesday

Fourteen.

1. Favorite book(s) when you were a child and why?
The Velveteen Rabbit. Just the thought of a toy rabbit being turned into a real life rabbit makes me all giddy inside.

2. First “grown-up” book you remember reading (i.e. written for adolescents or with adult themes, such as The Outsiders or Catcher in the Rye).
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews.

3. Favorite movie that came from a book (even if you didn’t read the book and just love the movie).
I can’t even narrow it down to one. Harry Potter stands out at the moment. There’s probably a much better one that I’m forgetting about.

4. Movie that you loved so much that you WISHED there was a book out so that you could find out more about the movie.
Little Miss Sunshine! (is there a book? Maybe I should have googled this first.)

5. Worst book you’ve ever read?
I’ve read my share of duds throughout the years, but the one that stands out the most is The Invisible Man. I don’t even remember who it was by or what it was about, but I remember sitting in the middle of my sixth grade class reading it and hating every minute of it.

6. Book that everyone raves about that you either a) haven’t read and feel slightly dumb for not having read it or b) have tried to read and hated and so feel slightly dumb that everyone is getting something you don’t.
Twilight. Seriously, what’s the obsession? It’s ok, I read the first two books and watched the first movie but… it just doesn’t seem as amazing as every says it is.

7. If you were forced to choose only 3 books that you could read for the rest of your life, which ones would they be? (Or if you were stranded on a desert island, which 3 books would you want there with you?).
The Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Eat Love Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert
(Not so sure on the last one, but that’s what popped into my head.)

8. Name one book that if you could recommend that everyone you know read, what is it?
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.

9. What is your “guilty pleasure” reading?
Ridiculous Chick Lit. I have a weak spot for it.

10. What book (excepting the Bible or other major document of your religion/faith) has changed your outlook on life the most?
Tuesdays With Morrie. (Seeing a trend here?)

S’more Cupcakes & a Date

It all started when Bakerella posted a recipe for these S’more Cupcakes. (That’s a link, click to be taken to the recipe and see some amazing pictures that will make you want to bake immediately.)

Actually, maybe it all started when I got Andi (Fuegita Bonita, who could use some more followers by the way) to sign up to Blogger. She needed some recommendations on some good blogs to read, so I emailed her a bunch, with Bakerella among the list. One night, we were talking about me making s’mores, and then (as if she was reading my mind), Bakerella posted a recipe for S’more cupcakes. Andi mentioned it to me, and then after some planning, we decided to bake together. Only problem is, Andi lives in Kansas and I live in Calgary. We agreed to bake our cupcakes at the same time, while talking on msn. Then it progressed to using our webcams to make it more like we were hanging out. (Yes, I realize how much of a nerd I am.) In the end, Andi’s webcam wasn’t agreeing with her laptop, so we just talked instead. Made baking much easier, since I didn’t have to stop to type all the time. It also sparked a conversation about accents.
(These are pictures taken with my cell phone, sorry for the not so great quality. Click to make bigger!)

  Mixing all of the ingredients together….

  Waiting for Andi to catch up so I could stick my cupcakes in the oven.The finished product! These cupcakes were absolutely amazing. If you’re looking for a little project this weekend, try baking these cupcakes.

Ten on Tuesday

#13 (Roots and Rings)

1. Are you usually late, early, or right on time?
Early, all the freaking time. I’d rather be 30 minutes early than 5 minutes late. It’s like a disease.

2. What is your middle name?
Dorthea. I was named after the woman who was supposed to be my God Mother. Sadly, she was in a tragic car accident just before I was born.

3. What are the last 4 digits of your cell phone number?
8452

4. How big is your bed?
Queen size. Before I moved in with Stephen, I slept in a single bed and HATED it. I was so glad to be upgrading to a queen size, but we’re already wishing for a king size. Funny thing is, even if we do upgrade (one day), we’ll probably still end up cuddling in the middle. It’s just the way we sleep.

5. What are you allergic to?
I’ve recently developed an allergy to rabbits. Other than that, as far as I know, I’m not allergic to anything else.

6. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
The very first thing I have to do before anything else is go to the bathroom. Then I make my coffee.

7. What was your favorite TV show growing up?
Anything that was shown on TGI Friday.

8. Will you, or did you, go to your 10 year high school reunion?
As of right now, I don’t have much of a desire to go. Ask me again in about 4-5 years, when it actually comes up.

9. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?
Yes.

10. What, in your opinion, is the greatest invention? (You know, since sliced bread…)
Whoever figured out the timer function on my coffee maker is a genius. Actually, whoever invented coffee is so amazing that I may just kiss them. On the mouth. That’s how thankful I am.

Rallying the Blogosphere

I’m posting this to try and help Erin help out her favorite family (as she lovingly calls them). Sunday morning, she posted about her friends’ apartment catching fire. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to get this out of my mind. Perhaps it’s the fact that they have a week old baby that it tugged at my heartstrings extra hard, but either way, these guys need some help. Read on to see what Erin posted on her blog, and then head on over there if you feel compelled to help out. I know I’m going to try and help out in some way.
******

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, I posted information on a fire that had destroyed my Favorite Family's apartment. Since then I have been updated of their situation and needs.

I talked to Wife on Sunday afternoon and she shared with me the story of the fire. She said her and her husband were watching a movie with his family when someone loudly knocked on the door. Husband went to the door expecting a neighbor to be complaining about the surround sound. Instead he heard FIRE! and looked outside. Sure enough, the building was on on fire.

The family gathered up baby Madilyn first and got her out of the building as soon as possible to avoid potential burns and/or smoke inhalation. Next, they gathered as many belongings as they could in the short time they were allowed in the building. Wife grabbed bottles and baby necessities, Husband grabbed the cat, and the rest of the family gathered what personal belongings they could.

Wife said it was devastating to sit in the car for four hours with a sleeping Madilyn and watch the building burn knowing there was nothing she could do about it. As of Saturday night they were certain they had lost everything as the fire ravaged the entire building. Red Cross placed them in a nearby hotel for the night and gave them money for necessities. Over 50 people were displaced due to the fire.

Husband was allowed into the apartment on Sunday and was shocked to see the damage. The kitchen and one bathroom was completely destroyed. But he was shocked to see that most of the apartment was unharmed by the fire (though some places had heavy smoke and soot damage). He rescued a bottle of wine and rum from the kitchen wreckage, clearly needed for a celebratory time like this. Madilyn's room and the master bedroom were basically untouched. How awesome!

Husband would also like to hug high-five the firefighter that ripped the shower curtain from the bathroom and placed it over the TV and other expensive electronics to save them from damage as much as possible. Husband's beloved PS3 and Xbox were saved. (And as much as Wife hated to admit it, she was glad as well.)

After all the damage was surveyed, Fav Family is still in need of many supplies. A lot of items (such as bath items) weren't destroyed but were severly smoke damaged. If you've ever been through a fire (or even been to a bonfire) you know how difficult it is to remove smoke. It permeates everything. Right now they are looking for cleaning, kitchen, bath, laundry, and other supplies of the like.

This is where I turn to you, Blogosphere! If you would like to make any sort of donation on behalf of this family, please email, tweet, gChat, carrier pigeon, smoke signal me and let's make this happen. I am gathering gift cards to home supply stores such as Target, WalMart, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Linens & Things, TJ Maxx, Homegoods, Publix, Winn Dixie or major credit card gift cards. If you would like to donate actual items, please feel free. I am simply trying to cut down on shipping costs as giftcards can be sent with one stamp. Also, giftcards assure you that they will be spent on appropriate and relevant items. (Many are skeptical on sending money, not that I blame you.)

I wouldn't rally for a family I didn't think was not only gracious but deserving. Wife is one of the most gracious people I have ever met. She is thankful for everything. If you decide to donate, please also include your mailing address so that we may send you a thank you in return.

Also, please keep sending them prayers and positive thoughts! Positive energy is an amazing thing. They have been so lucky so far. Let's keep up the vibes.

Thank you all in advance for any help you send! The blogosphere is full of awesome people.
*****

Please repost this if you are compelled to do so. Let's spread the word!

101 in 1001: Update

Original post with list is here.

26. Go to Zoo Lights. Completed December 2009.
We had a bit of a Chinook at one point in December, which provided to the perfect opportunity for Stephen and I to spend a night out at the zoo. It seems everyone else in Calgary had the same idea though, because the zoo was packed! Regardless, it was a nice night. Didn’t get to see any animals, but that was to be expected. This was Stephen’s first time going, and he enjoyed it.

 37. Get G.G’s banana bread recipe. Completed December 2009.
(Side note: G.G. is my great grandma.)
G.G. makes amazing banana bread, the best I have ever tasted. I’m not just being biased, she’s actually been told by other people that they thing her banana bread is the best they’ve ever had. I’ve been trying to find a recipe that would come close to hers, but hadn’t had any luck. I was incredibly nervous to ask for her recipe, because I’ve been told that she will occasionally leave out an ingredient so that the other person can’t replicate her recipe. Finally, after complaining to my mom one too many times, she called up my G.G. and asked her for the recipe. I was allowed to get it, as long as I called her myself. Done deal! I called and got the recipe. Now came the challenge, baking the bread and finding out if it was the same recipe. During my Christmas baking, I baked 5 loaves (we’re banana bread fiends), but didn’t have a chance to sample it before handing out the loaves. My mom and uncle were all too happy to be the taste testers. I’ll spare you the details, but in the end, it was a success! She gave me the true recipe and it tasted just like hers! She even tasted it herself and declared it awesome! She also gave me her recipe for pumpkin pie, and that was another success!

(My uncle providing photographic evidence that my banana bread looks like G.G’s.)
(My G.G. declaring the pumpkin pie a success!)

63. Have D’arcy and Greg over for a meal. Completed December 23, 2009.
(Side note: D’arcy and Greg are my uncles)
Both of my uncles hadn’t seen our new apartment yet, so I figured the best way to show it off was to invite them over for dinner while D’arcy was visiting from Vancouver, over Christmas vacation. Greg brought his new boyfriend Jerry, whom I met for the first time. Stephen made amazing Thai food!

Blogging Through My School Years: Kindergarten

I’ve been reading a series of these posts done by two other bloggers (Just a Titch and Writing to Reach You), and started to constantly think back through my school years. I figured it was time for me to join in and write my own posts.

My first day of Kindergarten, I walked into the class and was looking for a spot to sit in the circle. That’s when I noticed it; two boys were fighting over who would get to be my boyfriend. I walked over to them and settled the fight, I straight up told them that I was going to be Brian’s girlfriend. Which basically meant that we sat next to each other and played together. One day though, Brian showed up with a new haircut, and I hated it. I hated it so much in fact, that I dumped him on the spot.

My favorite thing to play at school was “house”. We had an awesome house center, complete with fridge, stove, table, plastic food and dress-up clothes. During one play session, my friend and I decided that we were going to be the family’s cat and dog (as the dog lover, you can bet I played the dog). Our teacher was making his rounds, and when he arrived at the house center and realized what we were playing, promptly told my friend and I that we had to stop pretending to be a cat and a dog because he was allergic to animals. Are you kidding me? Even at that young age, I understood that he was completely crazy for saying that to us.

One of my best friends in the neighborhood was in grade five. I honestly can’t remember her name, but the only thing that sticks out to me is that she was so much older than me, yet was still my best friend. I also remember that when playing at her house, I was either not allowed to use their washroom, or had to let them pull off a set amount of toilet paper for me, because I used too much.

Some Things To Consider

As part of my desire to become more active at 20SB, I voted in the 20SB Bootlegger Awards. There are some seriously amazing blogs nominated, so if you’re  a member, I seriously suggest you take a few moments to cast your vote. You can do so right here. I do believe that voting ends this week, so if you’re going to to do it, do it quick!

Nominations for the Tenth Annual Weblog Awards are open. This is my first year voting, and I’m really hoping that some of my favorite blogs are nominated. You can cast your vote here. Nominations close January 12th. More information can be found on the website.

I convinced my youngest sister Jessica to get a blog. She started one on Live Journal, but before she could become invested, I convinced her to switch over to Blogger. You can find her over at playpen. She’s still brand new (only one entry so far), so be gentle! Tell her I sent you.

A Glimpse Into Our Conversations

Stephen and I are walking from out apartment, downtown to catch a train. We walk past an art gallery where we pause to point out what we like. I point out a large black and white painting of Tulips that I think would look great over our bed, Stephen points out a giant statue of wolves, and tells me that he has to have it. I tell him that one day, when we're rich enough to build our own home, he can come back to purchase the statue and put it in his "Man Room", where I never have to see it. Stephen gets really excited over this prospect and starts to list off all of the things he wants to put in there: Screen and projector, several lazy boy recliners and his computer… with at least two monitors. I tell him that if he gets a man room, then I get a craft room. My only requirement is an endless supply of ribbon that I will display like artwork. Stephen tells me he'll even build me the shelf to display it all.

I pause to think a moment, and tell him that before we make the perfect craft and man room, we need to design the most amazing kitchen ever. My requirements are: 4 ovens, two kitchen aid stand mixers and a pizza oven. Stephen sees the value in 4 ovens, but laughs at my request for two kitchen aids. I tell him it's so I can bake enough stuff to fill our 4 ovens. Then Stephen realizes that I said I want a pizza oven and starts to question that. (I rarely make my own pizza) We then proceed to argue during the rest of the walk, about why I need a pizza oven. My only defence? Because it's cool.

Ten on Tuesday

#12 at Roots and Rings

The questions this week are actually ones that I came up with and submitted! That makes this week’s questions extra awesome.

1. Are there any movies that inspire you to bake/cook?
How much do we want to bet that a lot of people are going to say Julie & Julia? It’s so true though. Once my mom and uncle watched the movie, they both conference called me to announce that I am exactly like Julie Powell. The scene where she has a meltdown and is seen laying on the kitchen floor? That may have happened to me once or twice.

2. What’s your favorite food blog and why?
When I thought of this question, I thought I could pick one, but I just can’t. They’re all like food porn to me. Here are my top favorites: (Click on the names, they’re links)
The Pioneer Woman
Bakerella
Joy The Baker
I Am Baker
Not Without Salt
Savory Sweet Life
Smitten Kitchen
Sweetopia                  

3. Who’s your favorite celebrity chef?
I’ve been asked this question a lot recently, and came to the realization that I don’t really have one. I do enjoy Michael Smith, Anthony Sedlak, Alton Brown and Duff though. (Clicking on their names take you to various websites telling you who they are) Huh, would you look at that? Apparently I do have some favorites.

4. What’s your favorite kitchen tool?
Would it actually be a surprise if I said my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer? Seriously, it’s truly amazing. You know what else is amazing though? Your hands. Sometimes not even my Kitchen Aid can do what my hands can.

5. When it comes to cooking/baking, what’s your specialty?
I wouldn’t say that I have a specialty just yet…but banana bread is what I get the most requests for. Especially now that I have my great grandmother’s recipe, I’ll have to start baking a minimum of three loaves at a time. And that’s only because I only own three loaf pans.

6. When in the kitchen, do you wear an apron, if so, any cute ones you’d like to share?
I wear an apron 95% of the time. I have boring ones though: a green Starbucks apron and several castoffs from the restaurant Stephen works at. I’m dying to own a cute apron. Specifically Jessie Steele.

7. Is there anything that intimidates you when it comes to baking/cooking? (ex. Pie crust, yeast breads, sauces, etc…)
Yeast breads used to scare me a little bit, mostly because I can be impatient and didn’t want to wait out the rising times. Then I tried it and can’t believe I ever doubted making my own bread. When I make it, it’s like I’ve got heaven baking in my oven.
Right now though, I’m intimidated by pie crusts. The first one I made was pretty good, but by no means pretty. The second one I made ruined the taste of my apple pie. I’m nervous to try again, but I put “conquer pie crust” on 101 in 1001 list. I will win.

8. What’s the weirdest gadget in your kitchen?
We actually don’t own any weird gadgets, but let me tell you a story about my rolling pin: It’s a bit larger than most standard rolling pins, and the first time my old roommate laid eyes on it, he loudly exclaimed; “F***ing bakers. Not even normal rolling pins are good for them?” (FYI: He’s a Sous Chef that can’t bake worth a damn.) I told him to watch it or I’ll beat him over the head with it.

9. What’s your go-to music for cooking/baking?
Cheesy pop music. The cheesier, the better. You can often find me dancing like a ridiculous fool while I’m baking. I love it!

10. After several failures, what do you do to motivate yourself to get back in the kitchen to try again?
I read baking blogs. Some of these women post about their failures too, and it inspires me to keep on trying. Sometimes I’ll find my most trusted go-to recipe and bake that for a little confidence boost.

It’s All About Me!

I finally wrote an about me section. I’ve had this blog since July, and for some reason, I never started off with an about me post. You’re in luck, because if you go here you can find out some answers to questions that I know you were dying to know more about. Things like: how I met Stephen, how old my mother was when she gave birth to me, where my friends live and a few others. Why I decided to write about some of these things, I’ll never fully know. That’s just who I am. Random.
And now? It’s time for me to finish watching reruns of Sex and the City and enjoy the last night of my vacation.