Mine...

I love it.

Random thoughts for the day...

Is there any CD better than An Evening With John Denver? I'm so sad he died.

I LOVE getting magazines in the mail. Last Christmas, Amazon was doing a ton of specials and I subscribed to a bunch of magazines. It feels like Christmas again every time I get one.

I just found a box of candles that I somehow hadn't unpacked. I desperately need new ones.

How AMAZING was Tim last night on PR? He has never yelled at anyone like he yelled at Gretchen! She made 2 amazing things in the beginning, but her terrible personality isn't enough to redeem her.

I could really go for some Nutella right now.

JCrew...

The fall catalog came to my house yesterday! Love it! I'm definitely ready for fall.

Aarti Party...

This season's winner of The Next Food Network Star was Aarti. While she wasn't my top pick, I did like her. I watched her debut show, Aarti Party and one of her recipes looked so sinfully delicious! I mean, just look at this recipe!

Creamy Pistachio Pops
Recipe courtesy Aarti Sequeira, 2010

Prep Time:10 minInactive Prep Time:12 hr 0 minCook Time:5 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 to 8 popsicles
Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
4 Earl Grey tea bags
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
Handful finely chopped pistachios, plus extra for garnish
Directions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring evaporated milk to a simmer until small bubbles form around the circumference of the pot. Meanwhile, snip the tops of the tea bags and add to the milk. Whisk in cardamom. Once the milk is simmering, turn the heat off, cover and let sit and steep for 30 minutes.

Strain the evaporated milk into a large bowl. Whisk in the condensed milk, heavy cream and pistachios. Either pour the mixture into ice pop molds, small bowls or a large bowl. Cover the bowls with a piece of plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn and the formation of a "skin". Pop them into the freezer and freeze overnight.

When you're ready to serve, run the ice pop mold under hot water to loosen it. You can do the same thing for the smaller bowls if you'd like to serve it as a little kulfi half dome. Garnish with more nuts if you like and serve.

So, I think the judges may have been onto something here... And I can't wait to make those!

I Like This...

Pondering...

When we got home from my grandparents we had stacks of magazines waiting for us! Love it. One of the magazines I got (which I honestly don't even know if I subscribe to) is People Style Watch. I love it because it has the trendiest of the trendy things to look at. Of course I'm not going to like all of it, but it's fun to see what's going on in the world of fashion outside of Nipomo (I'll blog about that another day.). Well one thing that struck me from this issue was a picture of Megan Fox's nail polish. Each nail was a different shade of gold's/creams/tans. It was actually really beautiful. I scoured the net for pictures, but couldn't find any. The only one I found with the same idea was this:

I don't know that blue would be my first choice, but I think I may like the gradation. One reason is that I get bored pretty easily. I used to change my hair color when I got bored, but am trying to be more practical now. I think I'll ponder on this trend for a while... My main issue is that it reminds me of middle school when I painted every nail a different (BRIGHT) color. That's fine for middle school, not any place outside of middle school.

p.s. That is not my hand. Rest easy, I don't own anything Hello Kitty.

Something new...

I found this 30 day blog challenge and thought it would be interesting to take some of their ideas. I don't generally have difficulty thinking of things to write about, but I thought this would get me to blog about things I don't normally blog about. I'm not going to do all of them, but I thought some of them were pretty good ideas. I'm actually going to start with one of the last days suggestions... 15 random facts about me! I'm going to try to make them obscure though, not things that everyone would be able to answer about me without even having to think. So, here we go.

1) My family nickname is Missy Tutu. When I was little I wore my Tutu EVERYWHERE.

2) I LOVE favorites. I get really irritated with people who can't pick favorites. I make myself pick favorites even if I like things equally. For some (neurotic) reason, I have to have a favorite everything.

3) I really like art. I don't consider myself a connoisseur by any means though. I basically like what I like. I really love sketches. DaVinci sketches are my favorite and I love architectural drawings. I also love impressionism.

4) My all time favorite author is Jonathan Safran Foer. I think he's interesting, but more importantly he can make me emotional. I don't think I'm a really emotional person, so I love the fact that he can make me cry. I sobbed when I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

5) I have always wanted to be Jewish.

6) I love the name Stella and am dying to name SOMETHING Stella.

7) I think this may be my favorite dress that was EVER made. I first saw it on the OC. Marissa wore it to prom. Did I mention it's Chanel?

8) I would love to write a book one day, but am majorly lacking in inspiration.

9) Back to favorites... My favorite song is My Winding Wheel by Ryan Adams. I first heard it in London. That's the main reason it's my favorite song. It has the best memories attached to it.

10) I honestly think I could win Survivor. I took the Strengths Finder test and my first strength was Strategic. My second was Adaptability, and the other 3 all had to do with being able to read people. The test did nothing to help me in my job, but confirmed I would be able to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast.

11) I watch the History channel. I'm really interested in Roman history and early American history.

12) I want to be an archaeologist. I can blame Mr. Whitaker for that one. That may also be why The Search for Whit parts 1,2, and 3 are my favorite Odysseys.
13) The sound of chewing can drive me absolutely crazy. It may be my number one pet peeve. Followed closely by people who can't stand in line correctly.

14) I love repetition. I could watch the same movie hundreds of times without getting sick of it. I could also listen to the same song for days and still love it. When I was little I watched Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken everyday for like a year.

15) I love trees. My mom said that one of the first things I saw when I was born was a tree. She used to sit me under trees when I was a baby for naps too. So I guess it makes sense that I still love them now. When I see them I just want to lay under one and have someone read to me.

Dreaming Again...

I finally saw Eat, Pray, Love. I really enjoyed it, but found myself distracted by planning my very own year long trip. In the movie she goes to Italy, India, and Bali. I believe she spends 4 months in each place. So I created my own imaginary Eat, Pray, Love trip (although I'll have to rename mine based on the places I travel I guess).

I will surely keep Eat in my travel title. That's what I plan to do through all of my first stop, Italy. Gluten free pasta & vino please!

France will be my second stop. I'm thinking either Shop or Art might be good keywords for this country. Or just Croissant.

And I will end my year in South Africa. This could possibly be the best stop of the year. My word for this place? Elephant of course!

I have a feeling that Eat,Shop,Elephant won't be as big of a hit though :)

New GG Season...

Be still my heart. Chuck Bass in Paris?

Julia...

I saw Julia Roberts on Oprah today talking about Eat, Pray, Love. I cannot wait to see the movie! But more than just the movie, I was struck with how down to earth and lovely she seemed. It's refreshing to see an actress with such a grip on reality and priorities. Not to mention I hope to look half as good as she does when I'm 42! Somehow she gets more beautiful as she ages...

Envy...

I am absolutely in love with these rings! The bottom one especially.

Work of Art...

Bravo had a new show this season called Work of Art. It was basically a reality show for all different kinds of artists. I had mixed feelings about it the whole time, but found it intriguing so I finished. Well, luckily I did, because my favorite won! That never happens. My favorite was a guy named Abdi. He was one of the only artists that had real talent, not just weirdness. He also seemed like a legitimately nice guy. The best thing I think he did all season was a drawing called "baptism." It's in the above picture- the black and white one in the background. I tried to get a better pic, but this was the best I could do. I hope this inspires me to start working on my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project!

Currently Obsessed With...

I Love Lucy! This has always been a favorite of mine, but we recently tivo'd all of their European vacation! I love them! Although my absolute favorite episode is the one where Lucy thinks that Ricky is plotting to kill her.

Wouldn't it be amazing to have a pair of hugenormous sunglasses on your front lawn... even better if they are Juicy!

Isn't this cute? I would love this for my room.

We found this little gem in Arroyo Grande. It has this darling little down town area where the bakery is located. The people who run it are AMAZING! So sweet. And so far I've eaten 3 different gluten free goodies! And they said they could make me gluten free things anytime I want... I just have to call in before. Love the small town vibes!

I honestly just really liked this picture. I've been watching Freaks & Geeks again, I know - it's all I watch, but it makes me love him all the more. Can't wait to see him in Eat, Pray, Love!


I bought the new Miley CD and instantly became obsessed with this song! So good! The sound is a little strange in this recording, but she hasn't made a video yet, so what's a girl to do?

Pretty Sure...

I'm pretty sure these are the most amazing yoga pants ever made. Wish I knew where to get a pair.

This is one of the many reasons I'm a fan of Whitney :)

Cheese Cake...

No. Not that kind of cheesecake... an actual CHEESE CAKE! I was perusing one of my favorite blogs (Cup of Joe) when I found this! It's an actual wedding cake that is made with layers of different cheeses.

Could there be anything in the world that screams "MEGAN" more than this. I don't think so. It's the perfect gluten free alternative. The real trick will be finding a guy that thinks this is ok :)

p.s. I think this cake will go perfectly with my camp theme... check out the website (I honestly don't remember what it is, but go to Cup of Joe, then find it) because they have lots of different designs and you can choose all sorts of cheese. Mmm... makes me hungry

Adventures in Walmart...

There are two types of people in this world: those who like Walmart, and those who like Target. I am way over on the Target side. Partially because in college, I lived next to the absolute scariest Walmart ever invented. Seriously. There are occasions where I have to go to Walmart though. Unfortunately, today was one of those days. I know normal people shop at Walmart, they just never seem to be there at the same time I am. You have to know what I'm talking about... after all, they have a whole website devoted to those who shop at Walmart. Go to peopleofwalmart.com - bonus, you can search by state!

This little gem is from people of walmart... It was actually really hard to pick just one photo to share... I decided to make it G-rated :)

While at Walmart, I did happen to go to the movie section. I found Adventures in Babysitting! It is such an awesome movie! It was made in 1987, so it has that 80's charm a lot of movies made around the same time had. Seriously, go see it if you haven't already.

I'm assuming most people haven't seen the movie so I included a short synopsis from IMDB (I love that website too!)

Chris Parker agrees to babysit after her date stands her up. Expecting a dull evening, Chris settles down with three kids for a night of TV... and boredom. But when her frantic friend Brenda calls and pleads to be rescued from the bus station in downtown Chicago, the evening soon explodes into an endless whirl of hair-raising adventures! Babysitter and kids leave their safe suburban surroundings and head for the heart of the big city, never imagining how terrifyingly funny their expedition will become!

Penguin Classics...

I'm so excited they came out with Little Women in this style! I've been collecting these since last Christmas, and have thoroughly enjoyed all the classics they did release. Little Women is just so special though. It's my all time favorite movie (Hello Christian Bale!), and one of my favorite books. I think these designs are genius.

OPI...

Sephora is a very dangerous place. You go in content with life, but you leave feeling as if you have nothing. One fun (cheap) beauty item that's my fave is nail polish!

I realize this gold is a little crazy, but I think I may be in love.

And the main appeal of this green is the name: Leaf Him at the Alter.

LOVE my adventuremate...

THIS made me so incredibly happy. It's proof of my theory that in order to be true friends you need to be able to have ridiculously shallow conversations...

Make sure to check out this fab text conversation HERE.

Family Outing...

Back when I was in Santa Monica, I got a 40% off coup at Gap. It was only good for 3 days, and I certainly was not going to let that one go to waste. My mom and I decided that neither one of us wanted to parallel park (parking in SLO is not terrible, but definitely not as easy as we're used to), so we waited for my dad to get home and made it into a family outing!
While at Gap, I actually had a hard time finding something that was not on sale (in order to get the discount, the item had to be full price). I did discover these little gems though! Pardon the picture quality. I just thought they were quite possibly the most glamorous moccasins in existence. And even better than that, they are comfy and fit my pitting edema foot :)

After my successful shopping trip, we found this awesome little food place called Mondeo (or something like that). My friend Veronica had actually pointed it out a while ago, and said that it was amazing. She was so right! It had a very casual environment, but the food was awesome. We started with sweet potato chips (which were a little warm and chewy in the center! Yum!), and I had Swordfish with rice and veggies in a butter macadamia sauce!

I love spontaneous fun nights! I also love discovering fun new places!