I Wanna Be A Domestic Goddess

Bake It Seasonal: Date & Pistachio Cupcakes

2012-02-01T04:56:00.001-05:00

I am now going to shatter any grand illusions you may have about how the seasonal fruit is chosen for Bake It Seasonal. Generally, the day before the last day of the month, Shirin emails me or I email her asking "Hey, what fruit are doing for Bake It Seasonal next month?" And then the two of us separately scramble to Google what fruit is in season for the month. Well, welcome to the time of year when nothing is in season.

And that is how we settled on baking with dates for January. Sweet, delicious dates.

I really had no clue what to make with dates; absolutely nothing was jumping to mind. As I flipping trough the Betty Crocker Big Book of Cupcakes, I landed on the page bearing the recipe for Dried Cherry and Pistachio Cupcakes. And I was quickly subbing in dates for the cherries in my mind wondering if it would work. And it did! A few other recipe tweaks and I had these amazing cupcakes!

A vanilla (with a hint of almond) cake dotted with chopped pistachios and chopped dates...

...and topped with a vanilla almond buttercream.

Delicious.

A few months ago, my friend Shirin of Diary of a Messy Kitchen and I were discussing the one day sale on peaches that Whole Foods was hosting. In the way conversations tend to evolve between people who blog, we decided it would be fun to start a monthly feature highlighting something we baked using a fruit that was in season. And with that, Bake It Seasonal was born.

Each month, we will bake something using that month's chosen fruit. The recipe can be original or taken from a book or website. The only rule is that the key ingredient should be that month's fruit. Then, we will each post what we made on the last day of the month.

Be sure to pop over to Shirin's blog {here} to see what her Bake It Seasonal creation was! If you joined in Bake It Seasonal this month, post a comment with a link to your delicious treat! For past Bake It Seasonal feature, click {here}

If you would like to join Bake It Seasonal, we would love to have you join in! There are no rules. Just bake something with the monthly fruit selection; the recipe can be made up or taken from somewhere (just give proper credit) and post it on your blog on the last day of the month. Send me an email at iwbadg@gmail.com if you would like to join in Baking It Seasonal.

The February "fruit" will be bananas.

Take Note {and Write a Note} Tuesday: Red Bird & Twigs Moleskin

2012-01-31T18:54:00.001-05:00

This morning, I am loving the sweet simplicity of this moleskin journal by UnaOdd

At just 3.5 by 5.5 inches, this journal can easily be slipped into your handbag and brighten up a cold winter's day! Purchase this journal {here}.

Each Tuesday I feature the most adorably delightfully beautifully stunning notebooks and stationery that I can find. I love love LOVE notebooks. I have a vast collection of notebooks that I either own or admire from afar. And stationery is just as fun. Because writing sweet notes is fun. Because getting mail is even more fun. Previous Take Note Tuesdays can be found {here}.

Have you seen or bought a notebook or journal or stationery that you love love LOVE? Send a link to it to me at iwbadg@gmail.com and it could be featured in an upcoming Take Note {And Write a Note} Tuesday!

Create a Cupcake Flavor and Win! (And help fight poverty!)

2012-01-30T16:21:00.001-05:00

At the beginning of the year, I was offered the Official Store Blogger role at Whole Foods Market Bethesda. Naturally, I accepted. While I had written for the store blog a bit last year, it was in an "on my own time" capacity, now I get to slip my MacBook into my monogrammed pink Lands End tote and head to the Marketing office at the store for a few hours a week to write and brainstorm and laugh with the Marketing team.

And on my first day in the office, I announced "I think we need to do something with cupcakes."

And a few brainstorm sessions later and I am excited to announce the first ever Whole Foods Market Bethesda Battle of the Cupcakes to benefit the Whole Planet Foundation while provide grants to microfinance institutions in Latin America, Africa and Asia who in turn develop and offer microenterprise loan programs, training and other financial services to the self-employed poor.

Battle of the Cupcakes could be the sweetest way to alleviate poverty! We are looking for one amazing cupcake flavor to sell in the Whole Foods Bethesda bakery to raise money for the Whole Planet Foundation. 100% of the proceeds from sales of this cupcake will go to the Whole Planet Foundation.

And because you are all the most clever and creative bunch, we want your help to create this amazing flavor! One entry to this contest via I Wanna Be Domestic Goddess will be a finalist (There are prizes!) All you have to do is come up with a cupcake and frosting combination and enter it in the Battle of the Cupcakes. You just have to come up with idea for the cupcake flavor and the frosting flavor. We will handle the recipe creation!

Each cupcake flavor entry must contain at least one ingredient that Whole Foods Market sources from a country that has received microcredits through the Whole Planet Foundation. One of the following ingredients needs to be included your cupcake entry (The country or countries Whole Foods Market sources it from is listed after the ingredient.)

Bananas (Costa Rica, Honduras)
Blueberries (Argentina, Chile)
Cashews (India)
Chili Powder (Tunisia)
Cinnamon (Vietman)
Cocoa (Sierra Leone
Coconut (Phillipines)
Coffee (Bolivia, East Timor, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Nicaragua, Uganda)
Dates (Pakistan
Hibiscus Juice (Senegal)
Mangos (Haiti, South Africa)

How to Enter

In comments below, post a cupcake flavor, frosting flavor, and any fillings or garnishes if you desire! Be sure to use at least one of the ingredients listed above!

There are four other ways enter a flavor:

Tweet your cupcake and frosting flavor combination to @WFM_MoCo using the hashtags #Bethesda and #CupcakeBattle.
Post your cupcake and frosting flavor combination on the Whole Foods Market Bethesda Battle of the Cupcake Official Contest Page. (This page isn't working quite yet! As soon as it is, I will link to it!)
Leave a comment on the Whole Foods Market Bethesda store blog post {here} with your cupcake and frosting flavor combination.
Complete an entry form in store. The forms are available at customer service, on the bakery counter, and at each of the registers.

Again, all you have to do is come up with a cupcake and frosting combination and enter it in the Battle of the Cupcakes. You just have to come up with idea for the cupcake flavor and the frosting flavor. We will handle the recipe creation!

Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, February 6^th. You can enter once through each of the five methods of entering the contest. So you can come up with five different cupcake entries!

No purchase necessary to enter.

Winner Selection

One finalist will be chosen from each of the five ways to enter so you can enter all five if you would like A panel of judges will select the winner from the five finalists and the winning cupcake will be sold at Whole Foods Market Bethesda during the entire Whole Planet Foundation fundraiser, February 22^nd – March 31st.

Cupcakes will be judged on

Including whole planet ingredient
Creativity
Deliciousness
Whole Foods Market Bethesda customer appeal

Prizes

Each of the five finalists will receive a prize pack loaded with baking supplies and an official Battle of the Cupcakes t-shirt. The winning cupcake flavor creator will also receive a $100 gift card to Whole Foods Market and bragging rights, of course! All finalists and winners will be notified on February 14^th, 2012.

So start dreaming up an amazing cupcake idea now and enter it in the Battle of the Cupcakes!

Savory Sunday: What could you eat every day for a month?

2012-01-29T09:06:00.001-05:00

One of the crazier news stories making the rounds this week is the story of the 17 year old girl in the UK who has only eaten McDonald's Chicken Nuggets since age 2. As one can guess, she was recently hospitalized due to several vitamin deficiency and anemia and "inflamed veins in her tongue." Now, I love chicken nuggets more than the average person my age probably should but I eat them once a month at most.

As I discussed this story with some friends at work, we all tried to come up with a food that we could eat every day for a month (every day for 15 years is ridiculous) and I think we all settled on pizza. Cheese, bread, tomato sauce, is that ever not going to be delicious?

Naturally I was excited to try a recipe this week that was a variation on pizza. A very delicious variation.

Chicken with Pepperoni-Marinara Sauce

(The most delicious dishes never photograph well. It is like a rule or something.)

I had to laugh a bit when I was reading the reviews for this recipes on the Cooking Light website after I had made it. A reviewer commented that her 2-year old called it "Pizza Chicken"! Because that is what I have been calling it all week. This dish is delicious if you love pizza as much as I do, and if you are 2-years old, apparently.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepan): 5!!!!

Tuscan White Bean Soup

When I try a soup recipe, I am almost always disappointed in the flavor of it. Perhaps I am a Campbell's Soup Kid that never quite grew up but homemade soups always taste bland to me. Apparently what has been missing in my soups all along was a the rind from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The flavor this adds blew my mind! I made this soup for a recent Magazine Monday feature on the Whole Foods Bethesda store blog {here} and will definitely be making it again! It is a great vegetarian option and you can load it up with a few extra veggies.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepan): 4.5

Which food could you eat every day for a month?

Winner, Winner, Christmas Dinner!!!

2012-01-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

Give me a good craft competition and my competitive side rears its sequin covered side.

So I am currently hopping around, tossing glitter in the air celebrating the news that my Christmas card from won the Paper Source Christmas Card Design Contest I entered it in at my local store.

I am so excited. I feel like I won the Golden Globe of crafting. Next year, I want the Oscar!

Full details on my Christmas card available {here}.

Fab Find Friday: One Line a Day Journal

2012-01-27T04:47:00.001-05:00

As much as this blog serves as a diary of sorts for me, over the course of any day there are random little bits of laughter, sadness, annoyance, and every other emotion that happen and that are not really anything that I would write about, they are just life. But some of them, especially the funny ones, I want to remember. I have never been one to keep an actual diary mainly because it seem awfully labor intensive. I just wanted something simple. So I was so excited to receive the One Line A Day journal for Christmas!

The concept of the One Line a Day Journal is to write one line a day for five years. So very simple. And you can start it on any day of the year.

I jot down a line every night before I go to bed and even now, I love paging back through and reading them. Especially the funny ones. Walks to Subway with my coworkers on Subway Friday have been provided me with ample comic relief for my Friday entries. And it is such a great place for recording those stupid things you do every day that you can only laugh at yourself for doing.

The One Line A Day journal can be purchased {here}. I highly recommend it!

Fab Find Friday features items that are Rebecca Approved and Beloved. Basically, it is like a weekly Oprah’s Favorite Things without the unlimited disposable income and probably no car giveaways. And hey now that Oprah is retired, maybe my Fab Find Fridays can take over!!! For previous Fab Finds, click {here}.

{my sweet dc} Frosting: A Cupcakery

2012-01-26T05:01:00.001-05:00

Each week I play a tourist with a sweet tooth in the city I currently call home, Washington, DC visiting bakeries, ice cream shoppes, maybe even a food truck or two. I visit a sweet destination in the DC Metro area, tell its story, and review the delicious treat or treats that I tried there. But I will also tell you what else you can do when visit that place: shops, tourists destinations, restaurants, and how you can get there via public transportation. So sit back and enjoy a sweet trip. For more on how {my sweet dc} started, click {here}.

The DC market is so sweetly saturated with cupcakeries that it seems to defy economic logic in this rough of an economy. And yet most of them seem to be not only surviving but also thriving. To be honest, I find it baffling. But if being baffled is the side effect of having a cupcakery in my neighborhood then I think I am okay with that.

Frosting: A Cupcakery is the lone cupcakery in the Friendship Heights neighborhood that straddles the border of the District of Columbia and Chevy Chase, Maryland. And the neighborhood is all the sweeter for having it!

(Yes, it snowed here!)

The small shop is a perfect gathering place

with cute decor inside. Love this built-in!

The Sweet Factor: On this visit, I had bites of two cupcakes, the Elvis Pretzely: The King of Choc & Roll and the Edelweiss. The Elvis Pretzely cupcake has a pretzel cake bottom with white chocolate ganache and chocolate covered pretzel, pretzel crumbs, and coarse sea salt. The Elvis Pretzely has milk chocolate and white chocolate options. Obviously, I picked the white chocolate.

I liked the crunch factor that the pretzel crumbs added and the sweet and salty contrast was amazing!

And the Edelweiss might be the best cupcake I have had in recent months.

The almond cake and almond frosting combination was heavenly and I had to stop myself from eating it all and going into a sugar coma.

The DC Factor: Is there a greater DC factor than the fact this is my beloved neighborhood of Friendship Heights?! Kidding, of course! But this is where I live and I can recite everything I love about it for hours and hours. But the Cliff Notes version: shopping, shopping, shopping: Neimans, Saks, Bloomingdales, Anthropologie, BCBG, Sephora, World Market, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, Loehmans, Cole Haan. It is all right here.

Frosting and sprinkles and other things of note: Small orders of cupcakes are placed in paper bags. Larger orders are put in pretty blue boxes. *** There is seating available inside and on the patio (when it is not covered in snow). *** Cupcakes are available for sale after 11 a.m.; prior to that, coffee and breakfast treats are served. *** Frosting now has a Saturday morning running club (the owners are both runners) which includes a three-mile run from the bakery and ends with a breakfast treat and coffee at Frosting. Hmm, almost enough to make me want to run. *** The menu flavor menu varies by day and can be viewed {here}.

Getting there: Frosting is located at 1 Wisconsin Circle in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Take the Red Line to Friendship Heights and take the Western Avenue exit. When you get to the top of the big escalators, there are four possible exits. Continue straight ahead to the Western Avenue and Military Road Exit. At the top of that exit, turn right and walk through the bus stop. Frosting will be right in front of you. Such a detailed description, right? This is my daily commute, minus the daily Frosting stop. If only my metabolism allowed for that....

The Sparkle Factor: I first visited Frosting when it opened nearly two years ago and I am so pleased to see the improvements in cake and service it has made over that time. It is just nice to see a little cupcake shop survive and thrive. When I walked into the shop on Saturday, it was bustling with activity. Four middle school boys sat on the barstool attacking their cupcakes post-soccer practice while one of their moms kept a watchful eye on them. A mother and her young daughter sat coloring at another table. And a couple looked to be having a very serious conversation at another table. It has become a neighborhood hangout and I think that just sparkles.

Visit the Frosting website {here} for more information.

DIY Bracelet Bonanza

2012-01-25T04:56:00.001-05:00

On my trip home over Christmas break, my dad mentioned that he was going to start making bracelets. Given that my parents are two of the most talented and craftiest people on the planet, I had no doubt he would be crafting up some perfect bracelets in no time.

When he asked what color bracelet I wanted, naturally I replied pink! And a pink bracelet arrived in my mail box last week.

It is made from parachute cords and I love it. And as one of my coworkers told me, parachute cords are super strong so if I ever find myself in a situation where I am wearing the bracelet and need to repel down a wall, I now totally can.

(And yes, that is the sleeve of my leopard print bathrobe. Please don't think that I am not someone who lounges about in a bathrobe all day; I need to snap some pictures before dashing off to work one morning and had not quite gotten dressed yet so it had to be done.)

Inspired by my dad's new found bracelet making skills, I was inspired to try making this bracelet that I spotted on Pinterest. (That picture is from the original maker of the bracelet, Henry Happened. Obviously, it is not me since there is no leopard print bathrobe sleeve anywhere to be seen.)

Pinterest has a magical way of making something so easy! And in reality, not so easy! FInding the cord ribbon proved to be the first challenge. None of my usual craft stores carried and my mom couldn't find it anywhere either. So I turned to ebay where I discovered that this type of cord is known by the completely klassy name of rattail. And I purchased a few different colors from this seller who quickly shipped it my way. Bead and rattail in hand, I was read to make bracelets!

When you graduate college and grad school, your professors encourage you to keep all of your textbooks for your professional library. I have been a professional for about 8 years now in my actual field of study and never once have I used my textbook library for professional use. I have, however, used them to anchor down craft projects, quite frequently actually. My professors would be so proud.

Now I am not sure if the original maker of this bracelet had a special kind of beads or magic fairy dust but my ribbon kept slipping off the beads instead of circling it like hers. Reading through the comments on the original post, I was not alone in this problem. So I turned to that which I always turn in times of crafting failure: my hot glue gun.

A tiny drop or two on each bead kept everything in place. Sure it also left some hot glue strings on the bracelets but picking those off will be like free entertainment the next time I find myself in a boring situation: It's a bracelet and an activity!

The final bracelet does not look as perfect as the one pinned on Pinterest but I still like it!

What Pinterest find have you made?

Take Note {and Write a Note} Tuesday: The Anti-Valentine's Day Card

2012-01-24T04:52:00.001-05:00

I had every intention of putting together a second post of Etsy Valentine's Day cards to complement last week's selections because there are just so many creative options. But then I stumbled upon all of the Anti-Valentine's Day cards and after I stopped laughing at all of them, I knew I had to share them.

one: Snarky Valentine's Day card by Foglio Press

two: Anti-Valentine's Day card by adelynStone

three: Valentine's Day Bacon by 4/Four

four: Happy Singles Awareness Day by Vixens Empire

Have you seen or bought a notebook or journal or stationery that you love love LOVE? Send a link to it to me at iwbadg@gmail.com and it could be featured in an upcoming Take Note {And Write a Note} Tuesday!

Snack of the Week: Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Spicy Black Tea

2012-01-23T08:42:00.001-05:00

Every time I read a magazine where a celebrity the key product to their diet/fashion/fitness/beauty routine, I roll my eyes in a major way. Because, yes, of course we'd all be thin/fashionista/fit/gorgeous if we had a meal delivery service, Christian Louboutins, daily personal trainers, and/or $200 tiny tubs of Creme de la Mer. But over here in average person land, those things are not reality.

So I really cannot think of anything I bought because I read or saw that celebrity had it.

Until now.

I was paging through Lucky magazine and on the last page of the magazine they always profile a celebrity and their favorite things, generally eyeroll central for me. This month's issue featured Hillary Scott, the lead singer of Lady Antebellum. I like Lady Antebellum's music and like most country music singers, they seem nice and real, like they could be your neighbor.

The first item Hillary listed was that she never leaves the house without 5 packets of Harney & Sons Cinnamon Tea.

She raved that it tasted so good and for some reason I trusted her. Given that I am coffee's number one fan and generally find tea to taste solely like warm gross water and hate that it stains my teeth so much when coffee does not, I surprised myself when I found myself Googling the tea. When I discovered that unlike Creme de la Mer, I could afford this celebrity's favorite product. Amazon.com had it and it was Prime-shipping eligible so with a click of the computer, the tea was on its way to me.

And friends, this tea is amazing!!! It is like drinking cinnamon red hots. I love it!

I spent a snow-covered Saturday morning sitting in my comfy chair with a stack of magazines, a book, and a mug of tea.

A perfect morning! This tea gets both a celebrity endorsement...and mine.

Who knows, maybe I have turned a tea-drinking corner? I do have a trip to London coming up pretty soon and I really want to do a few afternoon teas so I better get some tea drinking practice in beforehand!

Purchase the tea on the Harney & Sons website {here} or from Amazon {here}.

Snack of the Week is a weekly feature where I profile the best snack that I am eating. Equal parts healthy and indulgent are how I aspire (and sometimes fail) to eat my way through life and I try to reflect in these snacks. All snacking is done with a budget-friendly mindset as well. To read previous Snacks of Week, click here.

If you have any suggestions for snacks you would like me to try and profile, please email me at iwbadg@gmail.com. Unless it is super weird or expensive, I will probably try it.

Savory Sunday: A not so good hummus among us

2012-01-22T06:21:00.001-05:00

A watched pot never boils. And a watched microwave redefines the length of a minute.

Or three minutes as the case often is when waiting in the lunch line to use the office microwave. Without fail, I watch the seconds tick down for the meal of the person in front of me in line: fiiiiiiiive, foooooooour, threeeeeeeeeee, twooooo, one! Victory is mine! Well, maybe not. But at least the microwave is mine. Wait, the person in front of me pulls his or her dish out, stirs it a little, glances over at me, gives a nervous giggle, and says with smile "It needs a few more minutes, I think."

Office microwave rage, it's the new road rage in my world.

Onto this week's Savory Sunday, one of which needed only 30 seconds in the microwave. The other of which is fish, which should never ever see the light of day in the office microwave. There is no exception to this rule.

Baked Asiago Hummus

I am a Sabra Hummus girl through and through. But when I spotted this baked hummus recipe in the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens, I was intrigued enough to try it. (And I loved that it didn't have tahini in it, mainly because tahini is expensive and I hate buying it for recipes that I am not sure about.) The recipe calls for a chickpea puree topped with caramelized onions and cheese. I was super excited about it. And well, I should have known better and stuck to the Sabra. The texture was weird and the flavor of the caramelized onions absolutely dominated which I was not so wild about.

Foil Packet Salmon and Roasted Aspargus

Courtesy of the little meal planning kick I have been on, I have pretty much eliminated the weeknight trips to the grocery store to get ingredients or dinner as needed. But when I saw that the Friday one-day-deal at Whole Foods was the Alaskan sockeye salmon, I made an exception and stopped in to buy my Friday night dinner. I put my piece of salmon in a aluminum foil packet with some olive oil, basil, oregano, and garlic and baked it for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. When that finished, I roasted some asparagus that I tossed with olive oil and a bit of garlic at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. It was a most perfect dinner!

What recipes are you loving this week?

Fab Find Friday: Bissell Nano Vacuum

2012-01-20T04:55:00.001-05:00

I am a bit of an expert in living in a small space. My tiny palace measures at just 450 square feet and I really could not love it more. I love being able to step through the door and survey my entire kingdom with one simple glance.

And I really love it when it comes to cleaning. One it really forces me to keep things clean because even the tiniest of messes in a small space looks like a big mess. And two, it is not a lot of space to clean. Granted, cleaning still sucks but at least there is less of it.

Recently I was desperately in need of a new vacuum cleaner, one that actually worked well on my mix of carpeting and hardwoods, was not too expensive, and did not take up much space at all. I spent a week researching options and ultimately landed on the Bissell Nano Compact Bagless Upright. I saw the word Nano and my Apple product-brainwashed self immediately thought, "huh, it must be small." And the reviews on Wal-Mart's website from other buyers confirmed that many of them lived in tiny palaces like mine and loved this thing.

When the vacuum arrived, I would not necessarily call it tiny but it also isn't huge.

I keep it tucked away in a corner of "dead space" so it is not really an eyesore. Bonus points that the vacuum matches my area rug.

But good gracious, this thing can clean! Apparently my old vacuums were terrible because the amount of stuff I have cleaned up since getting the Nano is incredible. it has made me rather addicted to vacuuming.

I also really like that to empty the canister where all of the vacuumed up particles go, all I have to do is press a button on the canister over the garbage can

and the base of the canister opens and drops its contents into the garbage can.

And I do not have to touch anything!

I am certain that there are more amazing vacuum cleaners on the market but for $58 (and 97 cent shipping) and a small space, this thing is perfect for me.

Now, you must excuse me, I am sure there is a particle of dust waiting to be vacuumed somewhere around here.

Hockey game fashion etiquette and other things I've thought about this week.

2012-01-19T04:52:00.001-05:00

My Metro commute often overlaps with that of Washington Capitals fans heading to Caps games at the Verizon Center. Is there a hockey fan rule that instead of wearing a coat you must wear a hockey jersey over four hundred layers of clothing? Because I never see them wearing coats but always see them looking like the Pillsbury dough boy with their jerseys over what I assume are seven sweatshirts. I have been to the Verizon Center; I have even been there for Caps games, in fact. And I wore a coat. I do not remember it being an issue. Then again, I spent the whole first period cheering for the wrong team because I got the jersey colors mixed up. So clearly I am not the expert. But I was on Metro on Sunday and it was COLD outside and none of the Caps fans were wearing coats! One guy was even wearing shorts!

Why is a roll of parchment paper so much wider than the average baking sheet? Is there a standard use for it that I am overlooking that requires it to be so wide? I cringe every time I have to trim it to fit and waste paper. (My counter is normally not that cluttered!)

A few weeks into the new year and I holding true to most of my resolutions "Simplify. Slow down. Say no. Make time for my workouts. Write more. Read more. Shop less." And collectively that means I have had a lot of much cherished quiet time and I adore it and am actually really quite selfish with it. Which is probably why I have been so crafty as of late. Because I actually have time for it! And it is why I have had so much time to listen to my full iTunes library on shuffle. Which is a bit like walking down musical memory lane. I love how a song can take you back to a moment in life, a scene in a movie, a television show. And it also has me wondering a few things like Whatever happened to Five for Fighting? Or Everclear? And more importantly, why do I have a HIllary Duff song?

I was obsessed with John Grisham books with I was in high school. A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief, and The Firm, I really did not love any of his other book but these three books are some of my favorite reads. My well-worn paperback copies of these books still sit on the bookshelf in my room at my parent's house. And now I am absolutely loving the NBC series The Firm that picks up ten years after where the book ended. I love this idea! (And I also love Josh Lucas as Mitch McDeere so much more than the movie's Tom Cruise in the role). So many times when I finish a beloved book, I take time to think about what would happen next. I have a vivid imagination so I love the tales I can spin. But also love watching this concept on television. Can we do this with The Pelican Brief too? And in like ten years, maybe with The Help too?

Happy Thursday everyone!

Hearts, Rosettes, and Sparkles!

2012-01-18T08:21:00.001-05:00

While I seem to own enough Christmas decorations to cover every square inch of my tiny palace with festive decor, my stash of Valentine's Day decorations is much more limited. So sparse that I do not think I had any until my mom sent me a box with a few decorations. While I was putting those up, I was in the mood to craft a few more.

I have made a few of fabric rosettes wreaths in the past few months, always using a round wreath. My mom and I found some heart-shaped wreaths at Joann's while I was home for Christmas. Rather than cover the wreath in fabric strips as I normally do, I decided to cover it with yarn.

Covering something heart-shaped proved to be a wee bit tricky with all of the angles but a little hot glue helped with that. And it kept me busy while watching the Golden Globes on Sunday night. (And a little hot glue also led to the worst hot glue gun burn of my life.)

Fabric rosettes are a great way to use up any fabric strips you might have! There are several tutorials online for them but I found this one by Craftaholics Anonymous to be the most helpful.

Once you make a few rosettes, the process is very natural and you can churn them out rather quickly. It took me under ten minutes to make the five rosettes used in this wreath.

The finished wreath is rather festive, isn't it?

And because I seem to be on a mission to glitterfy the entire alphabet, I made a little LOVE banner

Combined the wreath and banner bring a little Valentine's spirit (and a glitter puddle) to my door!

Take Note {and Write a Note} Tuesday: Etsy Valentine's Day Card Favorites

2012-01-17T07:40:00.001-05:00

A peek at the calendar this morning had me shocked that next week is already the last full week of January! Time seriously flies and so does Cupid's arrows, Valentine's Day is almost here! Time to start picking out the Valentine's Day cards this week and next week on Take Note Tuesday! For those who think of the holiday as a Hallmark holiday, how about we make it an Etsy holiday and show some love to these great Etsy vendors and their amazing Valentine's Day card designs.

one: Nerdalicious science card by Shop Gibberish - Periodic table love never gets old!

two: Made for each other card by Star Fly Creations - PB & J references will always be my favorite.

three: Red & White Hearts by Rainy Day Colors - Love the simplicity of this one!

four: Project Lifecycle by The Wallaroo - I think requires having sat through project management classes to appreciate this one. But I have and this made me laugh.

five: Green & Black Hearts by A Paper Affair - A valentine in non-traditional colors!

six: Screw Valentine's Day by Art for a Home - This designer has a bunch of funny and sarcastic Valentines. You need to check them out!

Snack of the Week: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps

2012-01-16T09:06:00.001-05:00

Every time I see a yogurt commercial where the person takes a bite of yogurt and then swear that the yogurt tastes just like chocolate mousse/raspberry cheesecake/lemon pie or whatever dreamy dessert they were craving, I have but one thought: What kind of craptacular bakery or restaurant are these people getting their desserts at that yogurt, YOGURT! can be a worthy substitution.

While I am certainly not an expert on dieting or weight loss, my philosophy is that if you are really craving something decadent, then eat it. In my experience, avoiding that decadence and trying to eat substitutions usually leads to more calorie consumption than if I had eaten the thing I was really craving. And as long as this is not a daily occurrence, it really is an example of everything in moderation.

The lone exception to this rule? Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts. Because given the chance, I would eat these every single day. And at over 400 absolutely empty calories for a packet of this deliciousness, it just cannot be a daily thing.

So I absolutely squealed with delight when I rounded the corner at Giant last Saturday and discovered that the Pop-Tarts Mini Crisps now come in my beloved Brown Sugar Cinnamon.

Heavenly little 100 calorie packets!

Tiny little Pop-Tarts.

I will not join the false yogurt commercial claims and say they taste just like the real Pop-Tarts. But for 100 calories, I like it!

If you have any suggestions for snacks you would like me to try and profile, please email me at iwbadg@gmail.com. Unless it is super weird or expensive, I will probably try it.

Savory Sunday: I will take my chicken pot pie to go, please!

2012-01-15T09:19:00.001-05:00

I have this theory about refrigerated tubes of biscuits and crescent rolls. I have this theory that they can sense fear. Whenever I peel back the paper label on the tube, I live in fear of the tube popping open and sending doughy masses all of the kitchen. The tube must sense this fear because they never pop open for me!

Naturally, this week's Savory Sunday features a recipe that called for a tube of crescent roll. Naturally, I was afraid. Naturally, the tube would not pop open. In the end, I had to bang it against the countertop. Take that tube of dough!

Creamy Chicken Pockets

I like to call these Chicken Pot Pie To Go! They are so incredibly delicious. A chicken filling wrapped inside a crescent roll, it would be easy to incorporate other ingredients into the filling. A vegetable filling would probably be amazing. I found that as written, the recipe makes more filling than can fit into the crescent rolls. Also, crescent rolls are a pain to fold up. But in the end, the result was the highlight of my week.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepan): 5!!!!

Tex Mex Chicken and Rice Casserole

We will file this one under "what was I thinking?" I generally do not eat rice. In sushi roll? Yes. Half of the tiny clump you get with your main dish at PF Changs? Yes. Any other time that I can think of at this moment? Nope. So why oh why did I pick a recipe with Rice in the title? I have no idea. Maybe I thought the chicken would dominate. Or the Tex-Mex would dominate. Sadly, neither did. The rice made this casserole so dense; it was like eating a brick.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepan): 1

It was a week of eating the really good and eating the not-so-good! Check back next week for latest Savory Sunday; it will feature the Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo that everyone and their uncle is pinning on Pinterest.

Fab Find Friday: SodaStream

2012-01-13T04:49:00.001-05:00

Santa Claus was very good to me this year and I received so many of the things on my wish list. And I was especially excited to receive the item at the very top of that list: the SodaStream.

I have developed a nasty little sparkling water habit over the past few years. I drink a lot of water over the course of the day and to mix it up, I love the bubbles of the sparkling water. But I do not love paying for all of those bubbles. And now that I have the SodaStream, I do not have to. I am actually certain that my neighborhood Whole Foods is probably experiencing a decline in sparkling water sales due to my lack of purchases since Christmas.

Until I had it, I really never quite understood how the SodaStream worked. And really had no clue that it did not need to be plugged in or need batteries. I interrogated so many people that had one. And since I received mine, a few people have asked me about it so I thought I would walk through how very simple it is.

1. Install the carbon dioxide tank. When empty, I will be bringing mine to either Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table to trade in for a new one which I think cost $16ish. And yes, Safety Sally that I am is slightly terrified of the explosive nature of this tank.

2. Fill the SodaStream bottle with water.

3. Screw the bottle into the SodaStream machine.

4. Press the button on the top to give the bottle carbonation.

5. When the button is pressed, you can see all of the carbonation bubbles burst into the water.

I have found the 4-5 pushes gives me my desired level of carbonation.

6. Pour the water into your glass of choice!

And that is really all there is to it! I love this thing! I have been drinking so much more water since I received this. Which is saying something because I already drink a lot of water! You can also, obviously, make soda with this. While I did receive several soda flavor samples with the machine, I have not used them yet.

Do you have a SodaStream?

{my savory dc} Capital Grille

2012-01-12T05:00:00.001-05:00

Visiting bakeries and eating delicious sweet treats is one of my favorite pastimes. And the basis for that little feature called {my sweet dc} that you normally find right here on Thursdays.

Obviously, I do not subsist on sugar alone. In the past when I have written about DC restaurants I have dined at, CoCo Sala, Oyamel (and the unfortunate grasshopper tacos), and America Eats Tavern, I loved hearing back from those of you who then visited these restaurant after reading about them here.

It is a new year and I am ready to mix things up a little here on I Wanna Be A Domestic Goddess. Today launches {my savory dc} which will showcase my reviews of the restaurants I nibble away at.

A few things to keep mind:

There will not be a regular schedule to the {my savory dc} features; it will all be dependent on how often I eat out.
I am very lucky because sometimes restaurants invite me to menu tastings and I receive a complimentary meal. I will always disclose this in the reviews. This will also never sway my reviews of restaurants to the extent that that is possible. At menu tastings, you are always going to have some sort of preferential treatment; that is just a simple fact.
I am not a foodie. And I actually kind of hate that word. I like grilled cheese. I have never really had Chinese food. I don't really like pasta. I love ketchup.
If you are looking for very in-depth food reviews, I am probably not your restaurant review girl. While dining at today's featured restaurant, I texted this review of an item I was eating to a friend "Not bad. Kind of weird." And that will probably sum up my restaurant reviews skills on the whole: "Not bad. Kind of weird."

So let's kick off {my savory dc} with a trip Capital Grille in Friendship Heights, a restaurant that is basically 28 steps from my front door, that I walk past at least once a day, and that I have somehow have never been to until Monday.

On Monday, I was happy to be a guest of Capital Grille and to sample its new lunchtime Plates menu. This menu gives diners a soup or salad, a sandwich, and a side for $18. The current options:

I am a huge fan of the small plates way of dining. Smaller portions of a few foods allows for such a great combination of flavors. For my meal, I started with the Roasted Red Pepper Soup.

We had a bit of an unforecasted snow surprise here in DC on Monday. As I sat in my cozy booth, eating this soup and watching the huge snowflake fall on the Wisconsin Place Plaze, I kind of felt like I was in a movie. This soup was absolutely delicious. And only 70 calories, I believe.

My sandwich selection was the source of the "Not bad. Kind of weird." review mentioned earlier. I have never had a lobster roll. I have never actually had lobster. Two bites into the roll, I thought "What if I am allergic to lobster?" My hypochondria kicked in I and began checking to see if my lips were swelling and/or my airways were constricting. I have no clue if either of these are symptoms of a lobster allergy but I do know that I am probably not allergic to it. I am glad I tried this but I am not sure I would try it again. Like I said, "Not bad. Kind of weird."

The lobster roll was paired with Truffle Fries which hello, truffle plus French Fries, is that EVER going to be bad? They were amazing.

The {my savory dc} ABC's of Capital Grille

Ambiance Every time I walk past Capital Grille, classy is the first word that has always come to mind. Followed by "I wonder if Bloomingdales (Capital Grille's next door neighbor) is having a shoe sale." One step through the revolving door into the first floor bar area revealed a cozy dim bar reminiscent of supper clubs back home, complete with a mounted deer head on the wall. Up the carpeted stairs to the second floor reveals the bright and busy main dining room. It reminded me of the Ivy League faculty dining rooms as depicted in movies.

Scattered throughout the restaurant are portraits of who I assume are famous DC residents. A portrait of a renowned cardiovascular surgeon hung behind my booth. And it got me thinking about what restaurant would I have such clout with to have my portrait hung up in. And I realized it would by neighborhood Panera. The plaque by it would say "renowned 6 a.m. Hazelnut Coffee Drinker." My portrait would have to include my bed head and puffy eyes. Because I really don't think anyone at Panera recognizes me without these things.

Budget The plates menu is $18 which for the DC is an affordable meal at a very nice restaurant. When I visit the restaurant again, I will check out the prices of the rest of the menu. Honestly, I did not pay attention on this trip.

Clientele My fellow diners included tables of business lunchers, the retired folks that dominate my Friendship Heights neighborhood, and lots of tables of Ladies Who Lunch (I aspire to be a Lady Who Lunches). I was dining by myself because I have no friends who also have Mondays off but really did not feel awkward as a solo diner.

Deliciousness As an added bonus to meal, I was treated to this piece of Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake.

To my coworkers who find my dislike of both dark chocolate and mocha disturbing, I will concede that THIS WAS AMAZING. It was almost like pudding. I am still thinking about it.

Extras I loved that every member of the staff greeted me by name; I felt like I was at the Apple store. Again, I was their guest so maybe that played into this greeting but I hope the restaurant greets all of their diners by name; it just makes a person feel special.

The restaurant's reservation system requires them to seat people on time and not earlier. My advice is to arrive almost exactly time because there is not a lot of space to wait in a non-awkward fashion.

The menu includes calorie counts; I know some people hate this, but I appreciate it. I know that it helped me balance out my small plates choices.

Sodas are served in mini bottles. I rarely drink soda except for when I have French Fries at a restaurant but I like it most when it is served in a bottle!

Fashion Diners in the second floor dining room were dressed nicely; if you are dressed a bit more casual, you might want to dine in the first floor bar area.

Capital Grille in located at 5310 Western Avenue, Chevy Chase, Maryland in the Shops at Wisconsin Place. In shopper speak, it is next to Bloomingdales and across from Talbors and Cole Haan. There are several location in the DC area and throughout the country. Check for one close to you {here}. I was a guest of the Capital Grille for this visit and my meal was complimentary.

It's a marshmallow world in the winter

2012-01-11T04:52:00.001-05:00

Last week, I was perusing Crate & Barrel's Valentine's Day merchandise and found myself scoffing at the notion that they are charging ten dollars! for marshmallows. Ten dollars! Naturally, it also got me thinking about making marshmallows from scratch. I have no issues with Kraft Jet Puffed Marshmallows; in fact, I find them delicious. But I just felt the need to prove to myself that I could outdo Crate & Barrel.

And once I committed to making them--and by committed, I mean I told a coworker that "Gosh darnit, I am going to make marshmallows!"--I had the immediate follow-up reaction, "Oh crumb, I have to make marshmallows now." I had visions of a complicated and messy process.

It turns out it was neither. Friends, I totally made vanilla marshmallows!

And they are delicious, better than the Jet Puffed, actually. They do not have the signature chalky aftertaste.

Using this recipe from Brownie Points {here}, I did not have to buy a single ingredient. Admittedly, I have a well stocked baking arsenal but I think you can buy all of the ingredients for this recipe for under ten dollars.

As I was whipping up this recipe, I thought--as I often do when baking--THIS IS NEVER GOING TO TURN OUT! THIS IS GOING TO TASTE AWFUL! Turns out marshmallows have something in common with sausage and laws, you really don't want to see (or smell) how they are made, but the end result is good!!! And if you have visions of a stringy, sticky mess, it is not that at all.

Left with an abundance of marshmallows, I needed a proper way to store them. Give me a heat embosser, some glittery paper, and the lyrics of a Dean Martin song and I can rule the world!

Or at least create a marshmallow storage receptacle.

In the scenario that I would be someone who would give the gift of marshmallows (I am really not that person), a little baker's twine and a metal scooper make it a sweet little gift!

I love the pops of red!

In the meantime, marshmallows anyone? I have got a few. ;-) And I really took on Crate and Barrel and made some flavored ones too. But I am saving those for a different post.

Take Note {and Write a Note} Tuesday: Inky Co. Notebooks

2012-01-10T04:55:00.001-05:00

Somewhere in Australia, it is summer time. The beaches are packed and no one is having to double dose their Vitamin D intake to make up for the lack of sunshine. And somewhere, someone in Australia is writing in one of these amazing Inky Co. notebooks.

And it is that last one that makes me the most jealous.

one: Earth Spot

two: Earth Diamond

three: Earth Stripe

four: Earth Circle

I adore everything about these notebooks! The color schemes and patterns are so perfect! They all seem like prints you would find on a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, don't they? While Inky Co. does ship internationally, the shipping fees are not insignificant. So I will just have to do without for now!

*All images taken from linked source.

{Homemade} Snack of the Week: Pineapple Cherry Minis

2012-01-09T07:22:00.001-05:00

This year I am going to try to feature more snack recipes as opposed to pre-made and packaged snacks. (Not to worry, I will still feature those too.) Magazine and the Sunday paper coupon section are always full of random snack-idea recipes and I always clip them out with hopes of trying them.

And this week's recipe includes Jell-O. But I bought the boxed mix kind because making homemade Jell-O just seems like an exercise in taking what is simple and making it unnecessarily difficult.

The Pineapple Cherry Minis were featured on the page with coupons for both Jell-O and Dole canned pineapple. Though I bought the store brands of Jell-O and Dole because even with the coupon, the store brand was still cheaper.

A cherry Jell-O "cupcake" filled with pineapple, cherries, and pecans, it was a very festive end of the holidays treat! I lightened the recipe up a bit because there was a lot of juice in it. And in its tiny form, way less gross than a giant Jell-O mold that someone always brought to family reunions or church functions. And they were good! I would suggest eating these within 1-2 days of making them; they get icky after that.

Pineapple Cherry Minis

(Recipe adapted from Dole)

Ingredients

1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups water
1 6-ounce package cherry gelatin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries, thawed, quartered and drained
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Drain pineapple, reserve juice. Heat reserved juice plus water to boiling. Add gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Chill for about 30 minutes until mixture thickens slightly.

Fold in pineapple, nutmeg, cherries and pecans. Spoon into 12 foil-lined muffin cups, lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Chill until set.

Savory Sunday: It's back!

2012-01-08T07:59:00.001-05:00

It would not be a new year if I weren't trying to cook more! I posted Savory Sundays consistently until May of 2011 so the goal this year is make it until June. Seven years from now, I might actually make it through the whole year.

Last year I placed a huge emphasis on leftovers; this year, notsomuch. Because I really do not like leftovers beyond one day and forcing myself to like them makes me hate them even more. This year I am going to focus on cutting down recipes to 1-3 servings and buying one ingredient, for example ground turkey, that I can use in multiple recipes for the week.

Last year I tried to focus my recipe sources on a few cookbooks; this year, I will be using any source I can: Pinterest, magazines, cookbooks, and other blogs (Mrs. Smith always has great Menu Mondays!).

And above all, this year I will still on top of grocery shopping. I ended 2011 with a refrigerator that looked like this:

Pathetic! I need to limit the tendency to pick up the ingredients I need for each night on my way home from work. Mainly because the after work grocery store crowds are not the most delightful crowds. Before I moved to DC, I always did my grocery shopping early in the morning on Saturday or Sunday. I love grocery stores at 7 a.m, cup of coffee in hand. This year will mark a return to that practice; I went yesterday morning, cup of Panera Hazelnut coffee in hand and it was the most relaxing grocery store experience I have had in years.

Onto the recipes I tried this week. Since I cook at night, the pictures are not going to be all natural light amazing; we will learn to deal with this.

White Bean And Sausage Stew

I had clipped this crockpot recipe from a magazine a while back. By the title alone, it does not seem like something I would love but this was my favorite dish of the week! I substituted pinto beans for the white beans because the grocery store was sold out of the store-brand white bean and I didn't want to spend two dollars more the name brand. And I used a chicken sausage.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepans): 4.5

Turkey Mini Meatloaves

I am a well-known meatloaf junkie. And I love making mini meatloaves in silicone cupcake baking cups. They make freezing and transporting to work for lunch so much easier. And I do not have to use my pretty paper cupcake liners then. (Not to worry, I NEVER bake cupcakes in the silicone baking cups so there is never baked good/meat crossover!) This recipe was decent but I have definitely had better meatloaf before. The vegetable-to-turkey ratio was off in this one.

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepans): 3

Oven "Fried" Pickles

There was a restaurant in Eau Claire (where I went to college) that opened my junior year and served the most amazing fried pickles. And even though college seems so far away in the past, I still often think of those fried pickles. Because Safety Sally that I am would be in a perpetual state of anxiety if I had a deep fryer (crazy fire possibilities would keep me awake at night), I knew I needed an oven made option. When I found Pennies on a Platter's oven "fried" pickle recipe on Pinterest, I HAD to try it! They were super easy to make but the combination of cajun seasoning and hot sauce gave them a little more zip than I am used too; I will tone down that zip in the future. Because I will be making these again!

I paired the pickles with a basic turkey burger. For a dipping sauce, I used Trader Joe's Low Fat Parmesan Ranch dressing based on a rave recommendation from Day Old News. It was a really good low-fat ranch (most are gross!)

Do any restaurants in DC serve quality deep fried pickles?

Deliciousness rating (scale of 1 to 5 saucepans): 4

What recipe did you LOVE this week?

Fab Find Friday: Jokari Key Card Holder

2012-01-06T04:57:00.001-05:00

Every year my mom and my dad agree not to buy each other Christmas presents. Every year, my dad buys my mom something. Every year, my mom yells "We weren't going to buy each other gifts!!!!" as she gleefully tears through her present.

This has happened every single year that I can remember. I would almost be worried if it didn't happen.

And this year as my mom was pulling all of the treasures out of the gift box from my dad, my eyes landed on something that I wanted: a little keychain to hold of all of those silly loyalty cards that clutter up my keychain. (And yes, I am aware that there are apps on the iPhone and Droid that one can scan all of the keycards into but I am a member of the Blackberry Brigade for a few more months.)

Not to worry, I didn't steal my mom's but my mom and dad did send me my own Jokari Key Card Holder a few days later when I had returned to DC. (The skin safety junkie in me seriously wants to lecture Jokari for including 'tanning cards' in its use for list.)

And gosh, I love this thing!

The holder itself is super lightweight and I love that it holds all of my key cards in one place; I have them organized by frequency of use.

It also has a built-in magnifying glass. Which I probably will not have to use for the foreseeable future but it is a nice added feature.

My dad found these at Menards but a list of other stores where the holder can be purchase can be found {here}.

How many key cards do you have on your keychain? I have 8; so does my mom.

{my sweet dc}: Sprinkles

2012-01-05T04:55:00.001-05:00

Each week I play a tourist with a sweet tooth in the city I currently call home, Washington, DC visiting bakeries, ice cream shoppes, maybe even a food truck or two. I visit a sweet destination in the DC Metro area, tell its story, and review the delicious treat or treats that I tried there. But I will also tell you what else you can do when visit that place: shops, tourists destinations, restaurants,. and how you can get there via public transportation. So sit back and enjoy a sweet trip. For more on how {my sweet dc} started, click {here}.

Sprinkles has the distinct honor of being the first and only food truck I have ever ordered and eaten from. I know food trucks are oh-so-trendy and popular right now but I am totally okay if my food truck eating career started and ended with the Sprinkles cupcake truck in Los Angeles. Because that was one very delicious cupcake.

Naturally, when Sprinkles opened its first East Coast location in Georgetown in March of 2011, I was so excited.

During the week leading up to its opening, I kept meeting the Sprinkles cupcake truck in traffic on my way to and from Pilates. I wanted to roll down my car window and do a cupcake handoff right in the middle of Wisconsin Avenue; it is not as though the traffic moves swiftly there anyway.

But since I so rarely trek to Georgetown it was not until mid-November that I actually made it to the Sprinkles location there. After having brunch at Ris with my friend Shirin on an unseasonably warm November day, we made the walk from Foggy Bottom to Georgetown to window shop and have cupcakes.

(I am wearing my winter coat in this picture and sweating. Lovely. It was warm but not so warm that I wanted to carry that heavy coat.)

The Sweet Factor: I am a big fan of Sprinkles cake-to-frosting ratio and the density of the cake. On this trip, I enjoyed a Pumpkin cupcake and loved it! And I really loved the turkey gumpaste art adorning the cupcake!

The DC Factor: Sprinkles is located on the east end of shops and restaurant lining M Street in Georgetown, near Paper Source. It is a perfect cupcake stop after battling the Georgetown crowds and rarely has the down-the-sidewalk line that its down-the-street neighbor Georgetown Cupcakes has.

Frosting and sprinkles and other things of note: There are a few tables in the cupcakery for you to enjoy your cupcakes inside. *** Single cupcakes are placed in brown paper bags. *** The shop sells the Sprinkles cupcake mixes that are also sold at Williams-Sonoma. I have tried these mixes in the past and did not love them. *** Cupcake flavors rotate by day and by month; check out the flavor schedule {here}. *** Cupcakes can be delivered.

Getting there: Sprinkles DC is located at 3015 M Street. The Circulator bus runs from the DuPont Circle Metro station to the Rosslyn Metro Station. Additionally, on a nice day, the walk from DuPont Circle Metro or Foggy Bottom is actually an enjoyable one. And it helps burn off the cupcake calories!

The Sparkle Factor: This Sprinkles cupcake was also the sturdy cupcake that I wrote about {here} that survived going airborne through a city bus in a very scary near traffic accident. Sparkle Factor times ten!

Visit the website {here} for more information.