I Wanna Be A Domestic Goddess

Snack of the Week: Frosted Red Velvet Pop Tarts

2013-05-21T04:58:00.001-04:00

Whenever a package arrives from my mom, its contents usually generates about a month's worth of Snack of the Week posts. Which is great because the cool snacks seem to make it to small town Wisconsin long before they arrive here.

And the package that arrived last week was no exception. And it contained new snacks that I had not even heard about.

Including Frosted Red Velvet Pop Tarts.

I do not quite drink the Red Velvet Kool-Aid like some people do. Once you make red velvet anything, you discover just how much food coloring goes into making it. And it is just a lot. And it makes your kitchen look like a crime scene. But every once in a while, I do like some Red Velvet things. So I was intrigued by these Pop Tarts.

They did actually taste cocoa-y in that light way Red Velvet should taste cocoa-y. But then I could not determine if they actually did taste like light cocoa or if I was just convincing myself that they did. But cocoa was actually listed in the ingredients. The filling had a bit of a cream cheese taste to it.

These Pop Tarts were not super strong on flavor. If you weren't looking for the cocoa flavor, you would probably just taste pastry and sweet frosting. Which is fine, that's the point of Pop Tarts. But if you are a Red Velvet fan, you might love these!

Snack of the Week is a weekly feature where I profile the snacks 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.

This Week Currently, Volume 11

2013-05-19T20:16:00.001-04:00

And oh my gosh, it is Memorial Day weekend next weekend. How did that happen? My busiest times at work now seem to overlap with every holiday weekend so my nose is buried in work and deadlines and then I glance at the calendar and am like "Crap, it's summer."

I have said it before that summer is just never my season. I do not really love hot weather at all, I do not really like sweating when the sweat is not the by-product of exercise (and even then…), and bathing suits are just panic-attack inducing. So I tend to hibernate and read inside by the air conditioning. Which means I am about as anti-social as a human being can possibly be in the summer.

So for about half a second, I thought about making a Summer Bucket List of things to do. But then I remembered last summer when I had high hopes for the Best Summer Ever. And last summer sucked. So I have declared the Summer of 2013 to be The Summer of No Expectations. Whatever happens happens. If it is fun, then I can be happy that it was. And if it totally sucks, then I cannot be disappointed.

It is The Summer of No Expectations.

Funny story. I started taking evening spinning classes pretty religiously last October. And I always reserve the same bike in the back of the room by the window. All these months it has been dark outside so it was only recently that I turned around and thought, "Awesome, the sidewalk diners at American Tap Room have a pretty amazing view of my butt." Mortifying. In my head I will just think that the windows are shaded enough so that no one can see (they aren't). I could switch bikes but I am such a creature of habit that I just cannot do it. Maybe those trees will grow some more.

Reading the giant stack of magazines that has once again accumulated under my coffee table.

Eating all my vegetables. I feel like I am FINALLY making good at eating all of my daily servings of vegetables.

Listening to the Summer Hits of the 1990s Pandora station. Any station that starts my morning off with Ice, Ice Baby and the theme to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air back-to-back is a very good station.

Thinking that everyone's eyeliner suggestions were awesome. I have ordered two from Sephora and I will work my way through the suggestions. Thank you all!!!

Craving a grilled bratwurst. A coworker brought me some Wisconsin cheese curds last week and while I was enjoying those squeaky bites of deliciousness, it just made me want a bratwurst. And the bratwursts sold in the DC area just don't compare to the ones back home.

Cringing at women who wear heels that they obviously CANNOT walk in. They could be the most fabulous heels in the world but if you can't walk in them you look ridiculous.

Trying to block the memory of this microwavable meatloaf recipe that I saw in Cooking Light. I love meatloaf and I love simplicity. But any meatloaf recipe that can cook in a microwave in eight minutes, well, that makes me throw up a little in my mouth.

Wearing my hair up in a bun. The infamous DC humidity has returned with a vengeance over the past week and the volume and frizz in my hair has increased in proportion to it.

Laughing at Erin's post about the Old Navy Magic Skirt. When she sent me the link to the skirt after she bought it, I saw the words "pencil skirt" and was like no way. My body in a pencil skirt is just ole no. But then I read the reviews of the Magic Skirt and saw people with exactly my body type raving about it. So of course I ordered it (it was $14). And dang it if it isn't the first pencil skirt to ever work on my body and not leave me looking like sausage. (And the quality of the fabric is better than some of my skirts that cost way more than $14.)

Celebrating the disconnection of the malfunctioning water damage alarm that has been going on off at ear-piercing intervals for the past week. Not to worry, it will be reconnected tomorrow. But at some point over the weekend when my hearing was being damaged by it, the maintenance staff agreed to disconnect it. Related, I did not know I had a water damage alarm until this week.

Loving the new Mi Cocina restaurant that is about two blocks from my front door. I have been there for lunch and for Happy Hour and I love everything about it: Great food, great atmosphere, great patio great addition to the neighborhood!

Wanting to eat all the chocolate chip cookies in the world. I have never in my life preferred chocolate chip cookies over any other cookie or baked good. But now they are all I want. I blame all of the vegetables I have been eating.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

Eyeliner suggestions, I need them

2013-05-15T05:01:00.001-04:00

I must confess that while I upgraded my ancient TV to a fancy widescreen HD version well over a year ago, I never traded in my standard cable box for the HD one.

Why? Well, that answer is a bit embarrassing

It is not that I barely watch TV and I do not really care if Psych is in high-definition or not. Though this does play into it a little bit.

It’s that the Royal Wedding is recorded on my DVR and I don’t want to part with it quite yet despite it being nearly two years later.

That was such a magical and fun day. I remember tweeting with friends at 4 a.m. that day about how handsome Princes Harry and William looked. I remember it being kind of awkward watching the ceremony, like a very public intrusion on a private moment. I remember smiling at the kiss on the balcony.

Not that I have watched it in its entirety since then. But I like that I have that option.

And yes this is all incredibly lame. Maybe that will be my gift to Royal Baby, my old DVR with the wedding footage.

But also on that Royal Wedding Day, I remember being in complete awe that Kate did her own make-up. Talk about high pressure. I could never do that. When my wedding day rolls around, I will for certain be hiring a make-up artist to do mine. On any given Wednesday, I can barely do my own make-up. I always think about taking a make-up class but I have seen people walk away from make-up lessons at department stores and there is usually more blue eye shadow involved than should ever be involved ever.

So I settle for watching YouTube make-up videos and trying to mimic make-up looks I see in magazines. And I remember seeing Kate on her wedding day and thinking, I need to start wearing eyeliner. Granted not as heavy-handed as hers is generally applied.

Eyeliner has always been a bit scary to me. When I put it on, I never quite look like myself. Which is a strange notion to wrap my head around when I see my reflection in the mirror. But I was inspired by Kate to start wearing it more. And now it is such a part of my routine that when I forget to wear it--or more accurately, if I am running late and it is either apply eyeliner or make the train on time, I usually get asked “What happened to your eyes today?”

While I have been wearing it, I have not necessarily found a brand I love. I rotate between blacks, browns, and greys depending on my mood and whatever I can find on sale at CVS.

Despite living in walking distance of every high-end department store ever, a Sephora, and a blue mercury, I generally buy my eyeliner at CVS because make-up counters intimidate me and I always end up buying things I do not actually need or want. (Also I can never tell who actually works at Sephora and I end up mistakenly asking some random customer for help and have to exit the store from sheer mortification.)

But a few weeks ago I was sitting at my desk at work and glanced in the mirror I keep off to the side and had one simple thought “Why is my face covered in glitter?”

Because I left the very misguided “glitter as make-up” phase behind in college.

As it turned out, my CVS-purchased eyeliner was loaded with glitter. Making me ready to go from-the-office-to-the clubs in 2.4 seconds. Because that happen, um, never. And I realized that maybe I needed to get a new eyeliner.

So the point of this unnecessarily long and winding post that started with the Royal Wedding and ended with a glitter mishap is that I want to know what eyeliners you use and love (and the ones you hated).

I like ones that go on smooth and last from morning until night. I have no preference between ones that need sharpening and ones that do not. They can be a CVS brand or higher end brand, though if you are suggesting a $50 eyeliner I am going to need a dissertation to justify that one.

Snack of the Week: Chocolate Covered Gummi Bears

2013-05-14T04:56:00.001-04:00

When I was in grad school, my favorite on-campus study break was to walk over to the little convenience store in the student center. This little store was home to the bulk candy bins. And that is where I discovered the weirdly delicious candy that is chocolate covered gummi bears. They never tasted amazing. But they were not awful either. They were, for lack of better word, weird. The chocolate never tasted like real chocolate and the gummi bears never tasted like real gummi bears but together the two not-quite-real flavors were addictive. And a welcome break from all of the studying.

And I don't know that I have given chocolate covered gummi bears a second thought since I left the Duke campus. (Maybe I have given it a thought. I have a lot of thoughts. I cannot always keep up with them.)

But then I was at World Market last week. World Market is like greatest retail collection of random things that somehow make you feel oh-so-international as you shop. Especially the candy aisle. Which is where I often find myself. (They have Sixlets, one of my favorite candies and they are hard to find.) And where I was reunited with my grad school candy fave.

Of course I had to try them. And yep, they still look weird and taste weird.

But it was nice to eat them without the stress of an econometrics exam looming over me.

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.

Snack of the Week: Nutri-Grain Fruit Crunch Bars

2013-05-07T04:59:00.001-04:00

When I was in middle school, I remember the popular crowd used to eat Nutri-Grain bars for breakfast and I thought that was so cool! Like a pair of Z Cavaricci jeans, I insisted that MUST HAVE NUTRI-GRAIN bars. (Obviously, my bar for determining coolness was pretty low.)

And it turned out that I generally found Nutri-Grain bars to be pretty gross. (Z Cavaricci jeans though, I loved.)

So I can't say Nutri-Grain bars are something I grab when I am perusing the aisles. But the words "apple cobbler" will probably make grab anything, even if it brings up middle school memories.

The Nutri-Grain Fruit Crunch Bars are completely delicious. The crispy/crunchy granola bar tastes so much like real apples and since the ingredients list "dried apples" I am inclined to believe there are real apples in these bars.

And the bottom is coated with what seems to be white chocolate which gives it a sweet kick.

I might have sampled one too many of these during my taste testing. I had to stop so that my Z Cavariccis would still fit.

And last week, I featured a product in the Cracker Jack'd line by Cracker Jacks. Cracker Jack'd saw this and tweeted me a link to sign up and try another product in the line, The Hearty Mix. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, sign up to receive a free sample of the new line here. Enjoy! (PS I hate that blogging has come to having to say this but I get nothing in return for sharing that link and encouraging you to sign up. Just sharing my love of snacks!)

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.

This Week Currently, Volume 10

2013-05-06T07:41:00.001-04:00

On Saturday afternoon, I crashed into one of those glorious naps. Sunny afternoon, window open, perfect napping temperature, it was everything napping should be. And while I intended to nap for just an hour, it definitely turned into the great three hour nap. And I only woke up because I was certain I was going to miss the Kentucky Derby. I love the Derby! I had talked about it all week! I really had no idea what time it was on! I flew out of bed, turned the TV on, saw the commentators chatting away. Which they continued to do for another hour and a half before the race was actually run. I could have still been napping. But since the late nap seriously messed up my bed time, it is probably better that I wasn't.

I love the Derby. I love the pomp and circumstance and the hats. But they are horses. There really is not much you can say about them. Though I think NBC Sports really really hopes that one day they are going to put a microphone in front of a horse and it will talk.

{Tulips on my coffee table.}

Reading the newest book in the Capital Girls series. It is such a silly little series targeted at a crowd probably half my age but I get sucked into it. And I love all of the DC references in it.

Listening to Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. The first time I heard this song, all I could think was "Ugh, this is going to be THAT song this summer." The one that gets overplayed to the point of annoyingness. And I hated it. But then I discovered the remix of it featuring Nelly. And one of my basic rules of life is that Nelly can do no wrong. And so I have listened to the remix approximately 376 times over the weekend. And yep, it is totally going to be THAT song for me this summer.

Laughing at the effect hot rollers had on my hair over the weekend. I was getting ready for a bridal shower and thought it would be good idea to use them. The result was something I named "Possessed Poodle" and I had to tame it down with a flat iron. The end result was probably still "Semi-Possessed Poodle" but it was okay.

Wondering if I overestimate how much my sunglasses hide my eyes. Because I put them on and I think they give me the super power to people watch (er, stare) undetected. I should really verify this is the truth.

Celebrating that I moved up a level in Pilates. I was hoping for a formal graduation ceremony. Or maybe even "walking over a bridge" like in Girl Scouts. But there was zero pomp and circumstance. And just an intense workout in my new level class. But I survived. And hummed "Ode to Joy" to myself as I walked out of the studio.

Loving all of the restaurant popping up in my neighborhood! Le Pain Quiotidien opened last week. Mi Cocina opens this week. This neighborhood has changed so much since I moved here and I love all of the changes and the energy it brings!

Wanting to create a well-edited wardrobe. I am trying very hard to only buy classic pieces and pare down the number "so trendy" pieces that I buy. I have spent a lot of time analyzing which articles of clothing get the most wear and most love. Those "so trendy" pieces get like two wears and then I end up donating them to Goodwill. It is a waste and it is just not worth it. And at some point, I became a fabric snob. If only because cheap fabrics make me sweat so badly. So if it means buying one classic dress over a period of a few months instead of 10 cheap things, I think I might be okay with that.

Needing silver shoes to complete my bridesmaid outfit for a wedding month. I kept procrastinating and then I realized I had six weeks left and should probably focus my efforts a little bit more. This pair is currently at the top of my list. But God, I love these. They totally fit into a well-edited wardrobe, right?

Feeling almost human again after a brutal bout with allergies. I tried not to complain too much and probably did not succeed at that at all but this year was brutal. I just need to remember to block off all of April next year with the goal of merely just coexisting with the pollen. Any attempt to get anything beyond that done even when properly medicated just does not happen. All I want to do is sleep and rub my eyes. I am not quite 100% yet, maybe 80% at this point. But seriously, I will take it.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

My Essentials: Warm Weather Outdoor Workouts

2013-05-01T05:00:00.001-04:00

Last year I realized that I am mentally and physically happier when my week involves multiple walks on the Capital Crescent Trail. The three or four mile loop I do is just my happy place. With my trail playlist buzzing in my ears and my sunglasses perched on my nose, that time on the trail just clears my head and gives me a great workout.

But I used to only take the time to go on the trail in perfect weather conditions, not too hot, not too cold. It was very Goldilocks of me. Which in DC does not quite work because we have like four of those days in April and three in October. And that's it.

So I had to adapt my approach so I could be on the trail year round. I wish I were low-maintenance enough to be to throw on a t-shirt and shorts and go for a walk but I am not that girl. (Mainly because I do not own shorts and will never ever wear them.) And so I had to buy a few things and by the end of last summer and the end of this winter, I had warm weather and cold weather routines down. Granted in the summer it means that I am on the trail at like 6 a.m., just after sunrise (I am never ever on the trail in dark because that is dumb and not safe!) when the humidity is only awful and not yet "I might pass out" awful. And honestly, I love those warm early morning walks. I feel detoxed. And disgusting. But we'll go with detoxed. It sounds better.

And I have seen the results. I get time to brainstorm and daydream without technological distractions and in the past year, I have cut about fifteen minutes off my time and am just in a lot better shape. And I am now incredibly good at jumping from the path of little kids learning to ride their bikes on the trail.

It was matter of finding that form of exercise that I did not hate and did not dread. I needed more exercise and I had to find a way to make it work. Even if it meant a lot of shopping.

And these are the five things that helped me keep up my Capital Crescent Trail time in the summer. (Well except for the jumping away from renegade toddlers on bikes, that's just my cat-like reflexes.)

1.lucy Crossbank Tank - I always carry ID, some money, and my health insurance card with me. Always. I am not entirely sure I need the health insurance card but I never want to be in the circumstance that I do not have it and need it. This means I need a tiny pocket. lucy introduces a new style of this crossback tank every year and it has a tiny zippered pocket in the pack that I can slip everything in. The tanks are so comfy and flattering! Note: NEVER EVER pay full price for this tank, no matter how many times the sales staff there says it is "flying off the shelf." As they phase in new colors every three or four months, the old colors go on sale. And I week later, they go 30% off sale price. I have ALWAYS waited until the 30% point and you know how many colors I have missed out on? ZERO. (The customer service at the lucy I shop at has gone downhill so dramatically as of late that I do not feel one bit guilty for sharing this info.)

2.up&up Continuous Spray Sport Sunscreen - I pretty much spend the summer shellacked in this stuff. I have to be really careful about sun exposure (as does anyone, really) and at the end of last summer, I was as pale as I was when it started despite being outside more than I had ever been.

3.Nioxin Scalp Shield, SPF 20 - Where I was not so pale at the end of summer was on my scalp. I really do not like wearing hats and I have fine hair so I had to invest in a scalp sunscreen this year. Scalp sunscreens are really pretty hard to find and I think it might be for bald guys? I don't know but so far, so good. It doesn't leave to much of a residue on my hair which I really would not care about anyway. I excel at sweating in even the mildest of workouts.

4. Contiga Water Bottle with Storage Compartment - This water bottle was featured in my gym bag My Essentials post but I originally bought it for my trail walks. Because it is so easy for me to get dehydrated so I needed a water bottle to carry along. This one has a handle and that storage compartment is handy as well.

5.Arm Pocket - I cannot walk without music so I always have my iPhone with me. I do like to be hands free on the trail and generally prefer an armband holder. But I have an iPhone5 and it is in an Otterbox. And a lot of accessories have not yet been adapted for the size and bottom headphone plug-in of the iPhone5 but the Arm Pocket has and I love it. I can even leave my phone in its Otterbox when I put the phone in the armband. (I guess I could technically not be so devoted to my tiny lucy Crossback tank pocket because of the pockets on this armband but it is just one of the best workout tops ever!)

Snack of the Week: Cracker Jack'D Power Bites

2013-04-30T05:02:00.001-04:00

Until my sister sent me a package of these, I had completely forgotten about Cracker Jacks. I used to love them as a kid. Well, really, I loved the toy or prize in the box; I do not remember remember having particularly strong feelings about the popcorn mix. It was really about the excitement of the prize. Even though it was probably a five-cent piece of junk, you just never knew! You might get something magical! Or you might get a lame temporary tattoo.

But now Cracker Jacks appears to be targeting an older demographic with its new Cracker Jack'd line. And specifically, the five-hour energy (Is it five hours? Or three?) crowd with their latest product in the line, Power Bites.

Each package contain the caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee. Naturally the very first time I went to grab the package of these from my cupboard, it was 8 p.m. and I was craving something sweet. Considering I am up until 2 a.m. if I have a sip of caffeine after like noon, I am quite grateful that I thought this through before trying them. Instead I had them at like 11 a.m.

The "power bites" are chocolate covered wafers.

They actually tasted really good, in both this mocha flavor and the vanilla flavor. But each package is 290 calories. And for that, I would rather just have the almost non-calorie cup of coffee.

However, if they put a prize in the bottom of the Cracker Jack'd package, I would reconsider this decision.

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.

This Week Currently, Volume 9

2013-04-29T07:40:00.001-04:00

Unless I am wearing a statement necklace or have a really high neckline, I almost always have a Maya Brenner Wisconsin necklace on. With a little gem where my hometown is, I like that I carry a little bit of home with me when I wear it.

But since I wear it almost all the time, I often forget than I am in fact wearing it. And when that happens, it leads to awkward situations like this.

The scene: a crowded elevator. Me, tucked into the back staring at my feet because I hate chit chat on elevator. (Well, I hate chit chat in general but I hate it even more when I am on an elevator. And since my stop is often the top floor I spend a lot of time on the elevator.)

"Is that Michigan?" booms a loud voice in front of me. I glance up from my feet to realize everyone is staring at me.

Me: Huh?

Loud Voice: Michigan. Is that Michigan?

Me {now realizing that I have my necklace on}: Oh, it's Wisconsin.

{Entire elevator continues to stare. And I start to be a little offended that the person thinks it's Michigan. As any Wisconsinite would.}

Loud Voice: Oh, are you from there?

Me {wondering why a person NOT from Wisconsin would be wearing this necklace}: Um, yeah.

Loud Voice: ARE YOU A BADGER? {In caps because it was shouted at me.}

Me {utterly confused because for the first time in the history of saying I was from Wisconsin, I was not immediately asked if I were a Packers fan}: HUH?

{For the love of modern mechanics, this elevator ride is taking forever.}

Loud Voice: A badger? You know, the Wisconsin Badgers. {Entire elevator now staring at me like I am a total idiot.}

Me {Okay, I am a total idiot}: Oh, no.

Loud Voice: Oh, well, then. {The loud sounds a bit offended. Am I supposed to apologize? The elevator dings and the elevator spills out leaving me by myself. I really need to start taking the stairs more.}

{This is an old outfit pic from last October. That outfit had a lot going on. Wow. Owls, polka dots. Sorry about that. I was young and wild.}

Reading the new Sophie Kinsella book, Wedding Night. I feel like after the first three Shopaholic books, Kinsella's every other book is good. I loved the last one, I've Got Your Number but so far I am enjoying this one too despite from rather terrible reviews I read of it. So maybe my logic is off.

Eating everything in sight. Last week was one of those awful weeks where I was exhausted all the time and starving all the time. Which means I did not want to exercise but wanted to eat everything. It is the worst possible combination.

Listening to the REO Speedwagon Pandora station. It is my favorite. It is the perfect amount of Richard Marxx songs that does not make me feel like I should be sitting in the waiting room at the dentist.

Thinking that my goal for the summer will be try some of the restaurants that have lingered too long on my "I Want To Eat There" list. Even if means facing my fear of dining solo. I am not sure how I can love love LOVE vacationing alone but the thought of dining alone makes me a bit panicky. (I do eat on vacation. I am not sure how I accomplish this but I do.)

Laughing that I thought it would be a great idea to run errands on Saturday with a massive headache and an empty stomach. We can all just be glad that I realized the error of my ways before I punched anything. Or anyone. And instead made a quick trip to Chipotle for lunch and headed home. And took a nap.

Wondering if anyone buys the 5-pound bag of Haribo gummi bears that they strategically place in the line at World Market. Because I am tempted every time but know that will end with a stomachache and never wanting to eat gummy bears ever again. And I like gummy bears too much for it to end that way.

Wearing my fleece pajama pants. The weather here was gorgeous on Saturday but the temp keeps getting so chilly that I cannot warm up.

Loving that I finally finished my huge pile of ironing. Just in time for it to start building up again.

Wanting to see any celebrity in town over the past weekend for the White House Correspondents Dinner over the weekend. (Here in DC, it's known as the Nerd Prom.) But no celebs were spotted. And I was even in Georgetown on Sunday! And that is where the celebs seem to congregate. Also, I feel like the Dinner was not quite as hyped as it was in the past. Or maybe I just was not paying attention. Either is possible I guess.

Needing to know if is proper etiquette to wave at cars that stop at a stop sign to let you use a crosswalk. I get the wave etiquette if there is not a stop sign but am I supposed to wave and thank them for obeying the law? I generally do not wave but then I see other walkers and runners wave. And then I feel rude. But if I wave at every single car that follows the law, my arm with fall off.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

Savory Sunday

2013-04-28T17:50:00.001-04:00

Since I am attempting to cook more, naturally Savory Sunday is back. Because I get the bulk of my meal ideas from other blogs, I am just continuing on the Circle of Blog Meal Planning Life. (You can just picture the scene where Rafiki is holding Simba up in the Lion King. Except Rafiki is holding up a MacBook as bloggers across the world gather before him.)

Anyway, I am trying to eat more vegetables. That is one of my goals for the summer. I just need easy ways to incorporate them.

Spring Stir Fried Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots - My favorite recipe of the bunch! I would make this every single day! Except I would probably get sick of it, so maybe once a week. I think it will be my summer go-to recipe because I can mix in different vegetables; I made another variation of it using asparagus and it was equally delicious. The recipe calls for using a wok. I do not have a wok. I used to have one but in a small kitchen I have to make sacrifices and storing a giant wok that I do not use a lot is something I sacrificed. I used a regular pan and it was fine.

Three Bean Chili - This was so bland! So bland that I forgot to take a picture. I tried to add Annie's Cheddar Bunny Crackers to liven it up a bit but then I almost choked on the bunnies every time I ate one. Which made me wonder if they are designed so that kids (the intended consumer of these animal crackers) will not choke on them but adults will?

Southwestern Black Bean, Quinoa, and Mango Medley - I really loved this salad; it would make a great summer dinner party side dish. But it made SO MUCH. And I swear the leftovers doubled in size every night they spent in my refrigerator. But the the third day, I reached the "I cannot eat this anymore" point. I will make this again, I will just make a third of the recipe.

Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats - I have seen this recipe featured on so many blogs with rave reviews so I thought it would be a safe recipe. Except the week I made it, the grocery store had only the tiniest zucchinis in the history of zucchini. If there was a market for vegetable reality shows, these zucchini could have starred in Little Zucchini, Big Garden. So they were probably not the best zucchini to use for boats to stuff with filling. But I did it anyway. I loved the enchilada filling but the zucchini were so slimy that I could think about was eels. And then I could not eat them.

I am constantly looking for new recipe blogs. Ones that do not use a ton of prepackaged items or Cheez-its coating on everything. I use Skinny Taste a lot but are there other ones that you love?

Snack of the Week: Strawberry Yogurt Creme Grahamfuls

2013-04-23T04:56:00.001-04:00

One day when we have moved onto the newest form of technology and communication (and possibly jetpacks!), I will look fondly upon the memory of this blog and be forever grateful that Snack of the Week introduced me to Grahamfuls. They are one of my favorite things ever. And they keep rolling out new flavors and none of them have been bad! I loved the peanut butter flavor and the banana flavor and I love the new strawberry flavor!

Each little package has two graham cracker pieces with strawberry creme sandwiched between.

They are my favorite little midmorning treat! And while I harbor no grand illusions that the strawberry in the creme is in any way real, I am comforted by the fact that it is not some mutant neon pink.

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.

This Week Currently, Volume 8

2013-04-21T18:20:00.001-04:00

I have been attempting to cook more. Something I have attempted to do one too many times in the history of this blog. Will it stick this time? No clue. But I am trying.

And what it me has noticing more than anything this go round is the difference in my clean-up style between when I am cooking and when I am baking. When I am baking, I do all of the clean-up at the end. My sink is usually overflowing with dishes at the end and it does not bother me. With cooking though, I clean-up as I go. If even a single dish sits in the sink for a minute, I have to clean it up immediately.

Why the total difference? I have no clue! It almost bothers me too much.

{I saw this sign hanging from the Capital Crescent Trail Bridge over River Road one night while I was heading onto the trail. It is nice that in the era of the absurdly and unnecessarily extravagant prom asking shenanigans, a painted bed sheet still gets it done. Related, I noticed in my hometown newspaper that prom is next weekend. FINALLY someone in that school had the common sense to make prom later in the spring. It used to be in like late March, very early April which in Northern Wisconsin means you had to plan your dress and shoes around the inevitable snowstorm that hit.}

Reading Hot Cakes, a cupcake book. Because I read the sequel to I Hunt Killers last week and while it was amazing, that book plus watching all of the news last week when I normally do not watch the news at all left me with some bizarre dreams. I was dreaming that I was on vacation and every view on the vacation was a filtered Instragram shot. So this light and breezy fiction book will hopefully make the bad dreams stop.

Writing my signature on a lease. DC has me for two more years, it seems. (Unless I win the lottery or Prince Charming sweeps me off my feet to a location that does not have high pollen counts ever.)

Eating Funfetti cookies. Because there was a mix in my cupboard just waiting to be made.

Listening to the radio and wondering how much radio silence there would be if they eliminated any song involving Pitbull or Maroon 5.

Thinking the lives of the over-age-75 set in my building truly revolves around the mail delivery schedule. There are ladies who I think sit in the mail room all afternoon waiting for it and discussing the mail's arrival time the day before.

Wishing I were in London. It is where I was a year ago. It seems like so long ago and yet it seems like yesterday. And it seems like it is time to at least pencil in another trip there.

Hoping that my brainstorm for a spice rack idea works out. Thank to email inspiration idea from a friend (Thanks, MaryBryan!) and staring what I already have in my kitchen, I have a plan.

Wearing my formal yoga pants on the days I work from home. I have the opportunity to work from home one day a week most weeks and I try to treat the day like any other work day and get ready as normal in the morning. But I cannot justify actually getting dressed. But I also do not want to work in my pajamas, which are really just my casual yoga pants. The middle ground I have found are my nice yoga pants.

Loving the rumor I heard that a HomeGoods is opening in my neighborhood. That is the best store and one of the few remaining reasons I have to trek to the suburbs every once and a while.

Feeling full from an amazing brunch at Matisse. I have walked past this restaurant about 300 times in the almost eight years I have lived here, been transfixed by how fancy it seems, and never stopped in. My gosh, it was so good. I will be back.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

A Wedding Wishes Bridal Shower

2013-04-15T07:45:00.001-04:00

Last week, I had the pleasure of a hosting a bridal shower for my friend Shirin. She is getting married to Osher this summer and I am super excited to be a bridesmaid in the wedding. And I was pretty excited to throw this party.

{Shirin and four of the six bridesmaids: left-to-right, Maor, Arille, Shirin, Megan, and me}

Since I host a party like once every five years, I like to make the most of the party planning opportunity. And wanted to share it so I took a lot of pictures! Mainly because my mom keeps asking for pictures of everything.

More often than not when I see pictures of parties, I think “Wow, it looks like Pinterest exploded all over this event.” Which is fine. Pinterest serves its purpose but it is just too easy to fall down the DIY rabbit hole once you start pinning. So I actively avoided looking at Pinterest when I was brainstorming for this party. (In all fairness, avoiding Pinterest was not that hard; I feel like I barely use the site anymore anyway.) So I just used my imagination and some things I had clipped from magazines years ago.

When I plan things, I general pick an object to plan things around. This object then becomes something upon which to build the invites, the decorations, and really the entire theme of the party. When I started thinking of the party I wanted it to be an afternoon of wedding wishes. And the saying "when you wish upon a star" came into mind. So a star became the thread that I tied everything in the party together with. And the color scheme was a blue and purple ombre that came directly from the wedding color scheme mood board Shirin gave me to use while shopping for a bridesmaid dress. (Really the decor came down to "How much can I do with a stack of blue and purple card stock?" Turns out, a lot.)

The decorations were tall vertical invites made with Paper Source Gravel paper (A message to Paper Source, by the way, it is time to start introducing some new colors. I think I have used them all and am getting tired of them.) The stars are heat embossed.

I held the party in the party room of my building. They remodeled this room a few years ago and I had not been in there since but it is a truly gorgeous room.

{A pre-party panoramic shot of like 50% of the space.}

And huge. And nothing could be taped or tacked to the walls. These were a few of the challenges when it came to planning the decor. But I started thinking about parties I have attended, specifically showers, and used that knowledge in my planning. The first "stop" in the room was where guest could drop off their gifts.

And later Shirin sat in the designated Bride chair to open her gifts. I made a little gift log clipboard for the gift opening time. Because inevitably at a shower, there is the scramble to find something to write the gifts down on.

The next "stop" in the room was the Sweet Wedding Wishes table.

Here is where guests filled out little wish cards filled with advice for Shirin and dropped them in the jar. It ended up being a great activity while we waited for all of the guests to arrive.

The pencils are just golf pencils that I rolled in tissue paper and tied with a bow. Do people still use golf pencils? Or is it all electronic?

The beverage table was next.

I pondered what else to serve. Do people still make and/or drink punch at parties? I have no clue. So I made a strawberry-infused lemonade. It was delicious!

Despite my attempt not to use Pinterest when planning, I discovered that all of the prior Pinterest browsing and whatnot dominates my party planning mentality because why else would have I have stared at the bottles of water on Saturday night and thought, “Oh my gosh, it IS really going to bother me that these do not have personalized labels.” And then pulled together some labels.

In my head, the food table was going to be the focal point of the decor. And I wanted a glorious back drop to it. I brainstormed and stressed about this thing more than any other detail of the party. As such, this will likely remain my only foray into building something ever. But using three dowels, fishing line, ribbon, tiny clothespins, some vases, and enough paper stars to have me seeing stars, the backdrop came to life.

It probably could have used a few more stars but I think it worked just fine!

When it comes to party food tables, I definitely roll my eyes when every item on the table is labeled. I get it, it looks cute. But do Goldfish crackers really need to be properly identified? Because I have seen that and I am sorry, unless your guest list includes creatures from Mars, every thing does not need to be individually identified. And even then, I bet they have Goldfish on Mars. But where I struggle with this is with baked goods because sometimes they have flavors in them that are not easily identified by looking. And as host, you cannot hover over the table explaining everything. So I decided I could live with myself if I made a menu card. Yes, it contains the words "fruit salad" and I died a little bit of Captain Obvious Syndrome when I typed it.

A party is not the time to bust out the experimental recipes. Nope, that just ends with flour and tears on a tight baking deadline. I stuck to the tried-and-trues. And I went with all sweets because that is what I know. I found food coloring to match the blue and purple ombre look and incorporated it as much as possible along with a few stars.

What I ended up choosing to make included:

Chocolate cupcakes with mint buttercream (I used the shape cutout technique from this {post} by Glorious Treats.)

Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

Mini cheesecakes with an Oreo Cookie crust

Mixed Berry Mini Pies

Fruit Salad (Oddly enough, this was the one thing I was hoping there would be leftovers off. There was not. Luckily, I predicted this would be the case and saved myself a dish of it when I made it.)

The cake was a chocolate and vanilla layer cake, frosted in vanilla buttercream. The top is colored shaved white chocolate that is sprinkled in the ombre pattern found throughout the party. When I finished the cake, I was not completely in love with it. It looked great from an aerial view but I realized it needed some height and detail to the top. So I used two kabob skewers, ribbon, and some tiny paper stars to give it a little oomph. And I gave it my seal of approval.

And Shirin gave it her seal of approval when she practiced her wedding cake cutting skills.

I was going through my pictures from the party and saw this one. Apparently, I was really excited about the plastic forks and wanted to make sure they would be remembered for forever.

After I had baked and frosted all of the treats, I looked at everything and realized I successfully created a menu that was certain to dye everyone’s mouths blue. You know, like when there is retirement party at work with the requisite sheet cake with blue frosting and everyone leaves the conference room looking like Cookie Monster. So I picked up some cleansing water that the Sephora staff assured me would remove any blueness from the lips and set up a little blue frosting removal station.

At the center of the room were the tables. I hate disposable table clothes and only use them when absolutely necessary. So for these tables, I just used Paper Source wrapping paper. It is a thicker paper and you can easily cut to size.

The center pieces were stacks of card stock with tulips from Whole Foods in Mason jars (Pinterest brainwashing strikes again! But I have a ton of these jars and when it comes to vases, it is the cheapest way to create many floral arrangements.). Each vase also had a fun fact about Shirin and Osher atop a kebob skewer (If I were to ever become a DIY blogger, my blog theme would be "A thousand things to do with kebob skewer.")

I really do not like to overplan activities at showers because I have discovered that it is the unplanned chit chat and story telling at these parties that ends up being the most fun. But I knew I had to put together a few games. Super cheesy shower games make me really uncomfortable. I have to force myself not to cringe. So please do not ever make me have to sniff a melted candy bar in a diaper at a baby shower because inside I am dying. So when it came to picking games, I went with non-cheesy yet hopefully fun games. The first was He Says/She Says where I had Shirin and Osher provide answers to the same questions and the guests had to guess who said what. If they thought Shirin said it, they circled the high heel; if Osh, the sneaker because fun fact, Osher collects sneakers. That he never wears.

For the second game, I went with a Mad Libs piece of wedding advice. I love Mad Libs and the final pieces of advice that the tables ended up with were really cute and funny.

I am often torn when it comes to party favors. When did they become the norm? If you think about it, it is kind of weird to give gifts to party guests. But I feel like they have become a social convention so I made some.

And if you EVER need to make favor bags, I highly encourage use to use this freezer paper stencil/acrylic paint method from Martha Stewart. I know, I saw it in her magazine and thought, "Of course it LOOKS easy but everything Martha does looks easy until you try it." But I can testify to how easy these were to make. I made 30 of them in under an hour.

In each of the treat bags, I placed a sugar cookie that replicated the design of the star on the invitations.

And just like that, the party was over. I think everyone had a good time. I had a blast planning it and pulling all of the details together. I loved taking a moment before the party to take it at all in.

And at the end of it all, as I stood in the party room all by myself, wiping down the tables in my party dress and drybar hair, a wave of exhaustion hit me as it often does at the end of a major event.

Naturally, I fought it off by diving into the leftover cake box with fork.

This Week Currently, Volume 7

2013-04-15T07:31:00.001-04:00

There are some weeks when I balance everything--career, social life, workouts, writing, sleep--so perfectly that I just want to give everyone a high five and say "Life, I totally got this."

And then there was last week.

I was so off of my game that I just wanted to shout "BLERGHHHHHHH!"

It was not just any one thing in particular just that general sense of being off and being behind and counting down the days until a free day when I could press the reset button. I generally try not to wish away time because that is just not a great way to live life but man, Saturday could not have gotten here fast enough.

And every thing is back in order. Proper snacks for the work week have been purchased. Meals have been planned. Clutter has been sorted, tossed, and organized. My workout schedule is back on track. My sleep schedule is back to normal. My attention span is longer than five seconds. The week is already looking better.

{Spring must be here! The fountains in the neighborhood park are back on!}

Reading Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. And struggling to finish it. I loved Divergent and flew through it so quickly. I think I should have just learned my lesson with Hunger Games and in these epic series, stop with the first book.

Eating more vegetables. Or attempting too. I am just really bad about eating my vegetables.

Listening to the Lennon and Maisy cover of Ho Hey from Nashville on repeat. I love the original song (and in my rare moment of coolness, I was listening to it a year before everyone else. Seriously.) But this cover, I might like it more. And I really like the show Nashville. It is cheesy and overly dramatic but it is enough to keep me watching.

Smelling fresh-cut grass. And then sneezing. But it is such a great scent!

Pondering what exactly it is about the bench on lower platform at Gallery Place Metro Station at rush hour that inspires so many couples to have a little make-out session during the evening commute. At least twice a week, I spot a different couple lost in their own little world there but putting on a little show for the rest of us commuters. There is really nothing about the suspiciously stained concrete bench on the dimly lit platform that is always encased with the faint scent of urine that screams romance. But to each their own, I guess.

Cringing at the pile of clothes that needs to be ironed. I really just do not like ironing. And I am not very good at it.

Wearing no tights! Finally the warm weather rolled in and I was able to ditch them. Only to discover how many bruises are on my legs. And how desperately I needed some sunless tanner.

Wanting to rub my eyes. Allergies seem to affect me differently depending on the year. Some years, it is all nasal. For a few delightful years, there was no runny nose or congestion but all of the skin on my face molted. It was like Mother Nature's chemical peel and it was disgusting. This year, minus a little bit of a runny nose, the pollen is hitting me right in the eyes.

Loving sleeping with the windows open. I am sure this isn't helping with pollen and the allergies but it is the best sleeping weather!

Needing a spice rack. I currently have a "Spice Ann Taylor Shopping Bag" and it leaves a bit to be desired. I stopped in Bed Bath and Beyond over the weekend to look at some but the sensory overload and the scent of that store are more than I can handle. So I will research online. I really want one that does NOT come preloaded and labeled with spices. There are just so many of those that I do not use and the preloaded ones are often not baking spices which I do actually use. Also, I do not have a ton of counter space. And no convenient place to hang a spice rack. So in short, I will likely continue to have a "Spice Ann Taylor Shopping Bag" for the foreseeable future.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

Snack of the Week: Chobani Bite Yogurt

2013-04-09T04:59:00.001-04:00

When it comes to eating yogurt, I am either loving it or totally grossed out by the thought of it. I alternate between these two phases with no real reason for switching between. Sometimes I really like yogurt, sometimes I just don't.

Right now, I'm back on the yogurt train. But only as a dip for apple slices. When I am eating yogurt, it almost always has to be Greek yogurt and rarely can it have artificial sweeteners (they taste like metal). And right now, I am only eating one flavor of yogurt, the Chobani Bite Caramel with Pineapple Chunks. A 100-calorie container of yogurt that makes the perfect apple dip!

I love the little equation on the label!

The Bite style of Chobani also comes in a Raspberry with Dark Chocolate flavor and in a Coffee with Dark Chocolate flavor. I have not tried either of them yet; I am not sure how they would be as an apple dip.

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.

Snack of the Week: Carrot Cake M&Ms

2013-04-03T04:56:00.001-04:00

In this neverending trend of trying to fit new flavors into beloved snack food forms, there comes a time when you taste one and think "I have no idea what this taste like."

And that time arrived with the Carrot Cake M&Ms.

Because I kept eating them trying to figure out what they tasted like and all I got was a bellyache and no clear answer what they actually taste like except that I do not think it is carrot cake.

The filling appears to have several spice cake inspired flavors. And the coating is white chocolate (I presume to stand in for the cream cheese frosting that often covers carrot cake.) All of the pieces that one would hope would make a carrot cake flavored something are there. But the combination of them is just weird. Not awful, just weird.

My advice is to taste four or five M&Ms and if you still cannot decide what they taste like, stop. Your belly will thank you.

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.

That Is How I (Easter Egg) Roll

2013-04-02T05:00:00.001-04:00

One of the truly great things about DC is that most everything is free. The museums, the monuments, the zoo, there are just very few places that charge an admission fee. And events on the National Mall are almost always free and open to the public.

This is all amazing until it comes to the free events controlled by the National Park Service and requiring tickets. These events would be the National Christmas Tree Lighting and the White House Easter Egg Roll. People used to line up for tickets in the olden days (and by olden days, I mean like five years ago). Now tickets are distributed--in theory--by an online lottery. I say "in theory" jokingly because I am not entirely certain anyone wins. No one I know has ever won and everyone seems only to know "a friend" who has won tickets. I think this friend is an urban legend.

Obviously, I have only ever gotten the "Sorry no tickets for you" email from the Park Service. And I am just a little bitter.

So when I got an email letting me know that Whole Foods was working with the White House Easter Egg Roll once again this year and that as a member of the Marketing team I might have a chance to work at the event, I replied as quickly as possible. And then the next day the headline on the news was "Sequestration may lead to Egg Roll cancellation." Of course it would. I was so close to actually getting to go.

But it did not get cancelled. And then my credentials were approved for working the event. But I barely said a word about it to anyone because I was afraid of jinxing the situation. Until that little pass was on me yesterday, I was certain it would all fall through. Years of Park Service lottery disappointment had made me jaded.

But then, take that Park Service Lottery!

The White House Easter Egg Roll is basically the day that the First Family (and the Secret Service) graciously open the gates to the (ticketed and screened) public and say "come on over!" The entire South Lawn is a party.

And the place is filled with people wearing their Easter finest and loads of seersucker! And yep the Easter Egg Roll is a thing.

{To the kid in the striped shirt with arms up in victory, I dig your enthusiasm!}

Celebrities read stories in the story time area. And with the First Lady's Let's Move campaign, there is a huge emphasis at the event on healthy eating and exercise. I spent the morning handing out apples and coloring books to the kids. And right behind our little tent, the President played basketball with the kids (and some very tall guys who I presume were professional basketball players) on the White House basketball courts.

And we were able to see the White House gardens.

And there are celebrities everywhere. I saw Al Roker (He is walking with a limp. Did he hurt himself?) and I met the White House Chef, Sam Kass. One of the coolest parts of the day was meeting the family of the Kid President when they stopped by to get an apple. The Kid President was busy having a meeting in the Oval Office (you know, like a 9-year old does). The family was truly one of the nicest groups of people I met during the day. You get why the Kid President seems like the coolest kid ever when you meet the family surrounding him! (Seriously, watch some of the Kid President videos on YouTube. They are great!)

Everyone at the event is just accessible. Because you know, this happened:

The First Lady could not have been nicer. She greeted every one that she possibly could and did it with a big smile, working the crowd for longer than I have ever seen any DC political type work a crowd. And look at her stack of bracelets. And that seersucker fitted jacket! And the mixed pattern floral and stripe shirt. It is really amazing to see one of your fashion role models in person. I have always been on the fence about pattern mixing but now I may have to try it with my summer clothes.

I had a really great time at the Egg Roll. The "work" part of it was fun because kids get really excited about free apples and it is adorable to watch. And the weather was perfect despite a cold and foggy start.

So I may never win the lottery. And that is okay! Park Service, I forgive you for this one. Now about that Christmas Tree Lighting….

(If you happen to be "the friend" who actually wins the Park Service lottery in the future, here are my tips for the Easter Egg Roll based on my observations. Leave the heels at home; you are walking on a lawn, flats are your friend. Eat before you come; except for the apples for the kids, there really is no food.)

This Week Currently, Volume 6

2013-04-01T04:46:00.001-04:00

Easter Monday. The day we all wake up from our sugar comas. Easter was pretty quiet for me, the weather here was super gloomy on Sunday and all I wanted to do was nap. But I did brunch at Le Chat Noir, which has the best French fries in the city. And the Eggs Benedict is amazing as well. And I got to wear my bunny blouse which is one of those pieces I bought and then thought "When exactly should I wear this?" Why Easter, of course!

Reading The Introvert's Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World.

Eating all the Easter candy. The Easter bunny apparently reads my blog because I got all my Easter candy essentials.

Listening to the REO Speedwagon Pandora station. It might be my favorite.

Cringing that baseball season starts this week. I have no strong feelings about the sport; I really don't care. But what I do have strong feelings about is that my commute swings through Navy Yard where the Nationals play. And while I know day games are probably fun experiences for the fans, dealing with drunk baseball fans on the train when I am leaving work is among my top ten least favorite things about Metro commuting. (Number one is sitting by a gum cracker, number two is loud music that can be heard through headphones. Stick with me on these Currently This Weeks and maybe you will discover the remaining seven.)

Wearing an Easter bonnet. Kidding, I am not really. But I do remember that being the highlight of my Easter as a kid.

Loving the weather that we had on Saturday. Realistically, DC gets about two weeks of spring. It goes from cold to super humid before you even have a chance to process the spring weather.

Clicking on What Ali Wore. Just the cutest little outfit of the day blog you will ever find. Ali, please don't go the route of every other outfit of the day blog and start accepting sponsored items. You keep it real. And that is awesome. And adorable.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

Annual Weighing of the Reese's Easter Egg

2013-03-31T07:36:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter Sunday!!!

The Easter weekend meant I stepped into my once-a-year Reese's lab and got all scientific in the Annual Weighing of the Reese's Easter Egg.

This all started in 2008 while I was contemplating why exactly the Reese's Easter Eggs were so much more delicious than a regular Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. My theory was that it was all in the Peanut Butter-to-Chocolate Ratio. And this theory was proved correct. All the way back in 2008, the Peanut Butter-to-Chocolate Ratio was 1.43 in the Egg and 0.67 in the regular Cup. In non-ratio terms, over half of the weight of the Egg was made of peanut butter. In the regular cup, only forty percent of the total weight was peanut butter.

And after that I just kept weighing and analyzing the data every year because I enjoy having very specific knowledge about a completely random topic that is so completely random that I never even bring it up at parties when I am struggling through a fit of social awkwardness for something interesting to talk about.

And because I am a total data junkie. And it was interesting to watch that ratio change over time as the recession hit (since we attribute changes in everything to the economy, why not Reese's too?) and settled in and companies made everything smaller. And it was particularly interesting to analyze last year when peanut butter prices spiked.

And above all, it has left me wondering what on earth the quality control accuracy interval is at Reese's. Because while the package has always said 34 grams, the weight has fluctuated from 33 gram in 2012 to 37 grams in 2011. (I know, small sample size alert. Refer to my disclaimers at the end.) Most people get excited at the mere thought of the deliciousness of the first Reese's Peanut Butter Egg of the year; I get excited when I see the wrapper and exclaim, "Oh my gosh, it still weighs 34 grams!" as everyone in CVS stares at me.

This year though, I was afraid it would not be very interesting. I could not really think of anything that could possibly impact the ratio. Peanut butter prices seem to have stabilized (I think, I have not bought peanut butter in a while but I also have not seen many complaints about the prices in my Twitter feed.); the economy, well it is what it is. My theory was that the ratio was going to be comparable to last year.

And it was, with a bit more peanut butter so the ratio went up to 1.25 compared to last years 1.2. But still the second weakest peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio to date.

Reese's Item	Year of Weighing	Total Weight (g)	Peanut Butter Weight (g) (% of Total Weight)	Chocolate Weight (g) (% of Total Weight)	Peanut Butter-to-Chocolate Ratio
Easter Egg	2013	36	20 (56%)	16 (44%)	1.25
Easter Egg	2012	33	18 (54%)	15g (45%)	1.2
Easter Egg	2011	37	22 (59%)	15g (41%)	1.46
Easter Egg	2010	34	19 (56%)	15 (44%)	1.27
Easter Egg	2009	35	20 (57%)	15 (43%)	1.33
Easter Egg	2008	34	20 (59%)	14 (41%)	1.43
Original Cup	2013	21	9 (43%)	12 (57%)	0.75
Original Cup	2008	20	8 (40%)	12 (60%)	0.67
Big Cup	2008	40	10 (25%)	30 (75%)	0.33

I also realized I had not updated the measurements on the regular Reese's Cup since 2008 so I was due to do so.

And I found that the peanut butter content of the Original Cup was up 3% compared to the Cup in 2008 but the peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio of 0.75 is still much lower than 1.25 ratio of the Egg.

And general deliciousness aside, I definitely notice the ratio difference between the Egg and the Cup when I am dissecting them for weighing. With the peanut butter heavy egg, the process is more an act of scraping the chocolate shell off of the peanut butter; the peanut butter egg shape stays intact. With the Cup, the dissection is focused on scraping the peanut butter from the chocolate shell; the chocolate shell stays intact.

But in the most important Reese's Peanut Butter Egg news, they now exist in white chocolate form. And you need to find them. Because they are delicious!

Disclaimer #1: Due to the general stickiness of the peanut butter and chocolate together, there are some parts that cannot be separated. This happens to both sides so I generally wave my hands and call it a wash. I call it the Kitchen Scientist's Theory of Reese's Easter Egg Stickiness.

Disclaimer #2: As an analyst by career, I know that I should use a larger sample size for this experiment and dissect a few more eggs. I think about that every year. But after I have peeled apart all the tiny bits in one egg, I say, "eh, that's good enough" and take a nap instead.

Disclaimer #3: This experiment is conducted annually exclusively in good fun. I have no real science training. I mean I took Chemistry for Business Students in college (note: I was not a Business Student. I just took advantage of their very special science class). What I do have is a pretty decent sense of humor and curiosity. My only resume-worthy scientific experience to date was a rockin' good time at Science Camp in 8th grade.

My Essentials: Easter Basket Candy

2013-03-27T04:59:00.001-04:00

Last week I was perusing Buzzfeed's Ultimate Ranking of Easter Candy and found myself passionately agreeing or disagreeing with their choices. A summary of the internal dialogue I had while reading:

Easter KitKats at number 17? I mean come on, there is nothing special about these except that they are in pastel wrappers.
Wonka SweeTarts Chicks in the number 12 spot here will never be in my top twenty. While they may be good, they cut up the roof of my mouth and destroy my taste buds for days!
Nestle Crunch Chocolate Easter Nests in 5th place. I love a good Nestle Crunch but when all of those foil-wrapped eggs are in my basket, I have mistakenly gotten my hopes up for a Nestle Mini Egg and instead bitten into a solid chocolate egg, or worse yet, a chocolate egg with a fruit filling. Nestle needs to work on distinctive packaging before I would ever highly rank them.
Cadbury Mini Eggs at number 3? You were robbed mini eggs. I think the judges must have a vendetta against Cadbury.
Russell Stover Chocolate Bunny is number 2. I know it is Easter but I have just never gotten the hype of a solid chocolate bunny. They are never all that delicious. I have still eaten them though. Ears first. Always eat the ears first.
Starburst Jelly Beans declared the champion? Top Ten maybe but definitely not the winner. Especially when there are Cadbury Mini Eggs to be had.

And it got me thinking of my ultimate Easter Basket candies. I still get an Easter basket from my parents. I hope I always do. Granted, they send me the contents of the basket and I have to assemble it all into my Easter basket. And I cannot really hide it unless I develop short term amnesia. But I still get all of the delicious candy!

My Easter basket essentials in order of my love of them. And if you thought filling out an NCAA bracket was hard, I encourage you to try ranking your favorite Easter candies. I was getting into arguments with myself about the order.

1. Mini Cadbury Egg - And not the ones with the gross filling! This was written in all caps in response to my mom's email asking me for my Easter basket candy requests. I love the ones with the crispy coating and the most delicious chocolate filling in all of the world. They are the best. I will not argue this point. I am right. And you are wrong.

2. Mini Robin Eggs - I do not like the regular sized one. The coating-to-malted-center ratio is off in those. In the minis, it is perfect.

3. Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs - Give me a bag of these and I am pretty sure you'd find me an hour later passed out in a sugar coma with peanut butter and chocolate spread all over my face. (Coming up later this week: The Annual Weighing of the Reese's Easter Egg)

4. Classic Jelly Beans - It just is not an Easter basket without them. And I like the black ones.

5. Snickers Egg - If Reese's had never invented its egg, I feel as though Snickers would be named the winner of the "Best Candy Bar in an Easter Egg Form." And its speech would be much less grating than Anne Hathaway's Oscars speech. They are just that good. But not quite as good as the Reese's eggs. But much like the Reese's egg, I like Snickers in egg form more than I do in candy bar form.

6. Peeps - In the chick form as Mother Sugar Nature intended them to be. And I have to open the package and let them get crispy for like a week or two before I eat them. They are most delicious in this form.

7. Starburst Jelly Beans - The initial amazing deliciousness of these outweighs the impending "Good God, why?!?!?!?" that accompanies Starburst Jelly Bean Tummy after you eat more than a few.

8. Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs - I have loved these since I was a kid. I will never stop loving these. I always thought the egg carton container was so clever!

9. Reese's Mini Eggs - Not quite as good as the real ones, but certainly popular in the office candy dishes the week after Easter when everyone brings in their candy. And that is totally okay with me. Because they are perfect for when you do not really want to commit to the full-sized ones.

What are your Easter candy essentials?

Snack of the Week: Chewy Chips Ahoy Gooey Caramel Cookies

2013-03-26T04:59:00.001-04:00

I actually bought these on accident. Sort of.

I thought I was grabbing a package of the Chewy Chips Ahoy with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and did not realize my mistaken grab until I was at the register ready to pay. While I did end up running quickly to the cookie aisle to get the Peanut Cup cookies (There was no line, the store was practically empty, I was not that annoying person who holds up the line to "get one more thing."), I kept the Gooey Caramel ones too because once I looked at them, I wanted to try them too.

So purchasing them ended up being a delicious and happy accident.

The cookie is the standard Chewy Chips Ahoy...

but has a caramel filling in the middle.

So it is basically a Chocolate Chip Caramello (Do they still make Caramello candy bars? They were always my favorite when I had to sell candy for band in high school. And by "sell" candy, I mean eat it all and pay for it myself.)

I was a fan of these! I am forever grateful for whoever put these in the wrong place in the cookie aisle for me to accidentally grab.

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.

This Week Currently, Volume 5

2013-03-25T07:31:00.001-04:00

I can usually tell how busy my weekends are by analyzing my yoga pant hours to real clothes hours ratio. (And my yoga pants are not lululemon so these are not "transparent in the bottom area yoga pants hours.") In general, this ratio is about 3 to 1. This weekend, I think it was 1 to 3, filled with activities and events I actually needed to get dressed for: a Gilt City warehouse sale, brunch at American Tap Room, a shopping event at Madewell, etc. Events where everyone probably wishes they could be wearing yoga pants but no one does.

But after I faceplanted into a comatose nap on Sunday afternoon and woke up with some serious pillow crease wrinkles on my face I realized that my optimal yoga pant hours to real clothes hours ratio for the weekends is probably not 1 to 3, maybe I need to aim for 1 to 2. I just like my weekend yoga pant hours.

{Colorful office supplies at Madewell. Basically my favorite thing.}

Reading Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell. And Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. I was reading Insurgent before bed and having really bad dreams so I had to switch to a lighter read before bed (I have to read before I can fall asleep even if it is only one page.) Insurgent is now my lunchtime read.

Watching the Top of the Lake miniseries on the Sundance channel. I read about this miniseries last weekend as a "must watch." Since it did not involve a reality diving or dating show competition, Ryan Seacrest, or any of the Kardashians, I gave it a try. It is far more violent and cruder than anything I typically watch, the accents are so thick that I had to turn on the closed-captioning, and I almost gave up on it a half-hour in, but I stuck with it and am now hopelessly hooked on it. My week has become a countdown to the newest installment on Monday nights.

Listening to Hey Pretty Girl by Kip Moore. Who is this guy and why am I just now learning about his amazing voice?

Thinking about Zero Dark Thirty. I watched it On Demand over the weekend. Despite knowing the outcome (it is sort of like watching Titanic in that respect), it was the most intense movie I can remember watching. So intense that I actually stayed up until 11:30 to watch it. This is huge for me and my strict 9 p.m. bedtime. Also, it definitely reminded me of how I found out bin Laden had been killed. It is a cautionary tale of what happens when you sleep in and don't turn on the news or check social media and go to a doctor's appointment where your podiatrist gets one large fact in the story wrong {the story is here}.

Smelling ketchup. I spilled it on myself somewhere and now it is all I can smell. And I hate the smell of ketchup. There is a wardrobe change in my future.

Wishing Metro could run as smoothly on the weekends all year long as it does during the Cherry Blossom Festival. The trains this weekend were better than they are during rush hour during the work week. Related, the tourists, they have arrived in droves.

Wanting to know the algorithm for how Pandora determines songs. Because my Goo Goo Dolls channel has become a oldies/Motown channel. Which is totally great but it is also like a Choose Your Own Adventure book that went wonderfully awry.

Feeling ready for a little Easter weekend break. Chore-list-wise, I definitely need one.

This Week Currently is my variation on the Sunday Currently post and link-up hosted by Lauren.

Cheesy Good

2013-03-22T05:00:00.001-04:00

Without fail, whatever someone else tweets/says/blogs/emails that they are having for dinner, it ALWAYS sounds better than whatever I am having. This is like a rule of my life.

So I have started making a list on my iPhone of whatever everyone tweets/says/blogs/emails that they are having for dinner that sounds good. I have to say it is my best meal planning resource ever. Rather than staring blankly at my cookbooks every week, I have a list of awesome foods to reference. I highly recommend doing it.

And that is how I ended up making Cheesy Taco Soup on Sunday. Because someone tweeted it earlier in the week and it sounded amazing. And it was! (Soup or meat never photographs well. Sorry. But it tastes delicious!)

And then someone else tweeted they were having garlic bread. And so I had garlic bread with my Cheesy Taco Soup.The danger of this meal planning method is that you end up eating two things together that really do not go together but separately are completely delicious.

I made the soup from scratch using this recipe. I used ground turkey instead of beef. If you wanted to make it vegetarian, you could probably double the beans.

Did I make the garlic bread from scratch? Why would I do that when I can buy the Alexia frozen garlic bread loaves? I did use the broiler to melt some parmesan cheese on the top of the bread slices though. In general the broiler terrifies me. It reminds me of the fire flames that used to shoot out in the dungeons of the old-school Mario Brothers games. So I always feel like such a risk-taker when I use it. But for cheesy garlic bread, I was willing to take the risk.

My Essentials: Night Time Skin Care

2013-03-20T04:55:00.001-04:00

About two seconds into pulling this post together, I stopped and thought "Whoa, I really am high-maintenance." I never realized how many steps it takes me to get my skin ready for bed. (To be fair, three of the products are rotated throughout the week and not used every night. )

The whole process take about five minutes which I think is a reasonable amount of time. And I can never not clean my skin before bed. Oh my gosh, the thought of going to bed with make-up on my face grosses me out.

These are my essentials right now. I have a pretty firm rule that if a product works, I have to use it until it is gone before I buy something new that does the same thing. So I do change things up eventually. But right now my skin is looking pretty good so I am reluctant to mess with too much of the routine. And as always, if I can find natural products without the scary junk in them and that actually work, I will always prefer those over anything else. But sometime the reality is that the scary junk is what makes stuff actually work.

1. Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes - I use these to remove my make-up. I usually attack my face with one of these the minute I get home and in for the night.

2. Peter Thomas Roth Blemish Buffing Beads - I feel like I could easily get addicted to exfoliating. I try to limit it to twice a week. Right now, I use this one because I got it on sale. I have used drug store or Whole Foods products in the past and the results are the same.

3. dr. brandt Pores No More Cleanser - Do you ever have streaks of intense skin care concerns? Like for example the one day when you exclaim "Oh my gosh, my pores are huge!" and then research every product to fight large pores, and place an order and by the time it arrives, you've moved on to your next skin care concern. That is how I ended up with this cleanser that I use twice a week. And this product could benefit from merging with the baby shampoo No More Tears because if you get this cleanser in your eyes, you will find yourself doing to the "THIS IS BURNING MY EYE" dance in your bathroom twice a week. Or maybe that's just me.

4. Clearasil Ultra Acne + Marks Wash and Mask - I never thought I would still be buying Clearasil products when I was no longer a teenager. But my skin thinks otherwise. I use this one two times a week, leave it on for two minutes and wash it off.

5. Dr. Hauschka Clarifying Toner - Hauschka is pretty much the wise grandpa of high end natural skin care line. They were doing it well before anyone else even thinking about doing high-end natural skin care products. And they really do it well. A lot of their products smell a little too earthy for me but I like this toner. I spritz it on my T-zone and press it in with a cotton pad. Hauschka is pretty pricey but it does go on sale.

6. Yes to blueberries Eye Firming Treatment - I like keeping the area around eye super soft and well-moisturized. I started using this treatment a few months ago and I have liked it. I never really know how to accurately review eye creams because really do you know if they are working if you generally don't have dark circles or puffiness as it is?

7. derma e Hydrating Night Creme - I used to be firmly in the camp of "let your skin breathe at night." But my non T-zone skin can get pretty dry and moisturizing is your number weapon in fighting the signs of aging (or so some articles claim) so I apply to this my cheeks and my neck and my skin feels so nice. It contains hyaluronic acid which is an uber moisturizer. And it smells good.

8. Mario Badesco Drying Lotion - Best overnight pimple treatment I have found. And sometimes I forget to wipe of the residue when I dash to get coffee on the weekend mornings. So the staff of Panera and my fellow 6 a.m. coffee drinkers are all well-aware of my devotion to this product.

9. Ole Henriksen Exfoliating Lip Salvation - The last step! I bought this at the beginning of winter because I was determined not to have chapped lips this year. I apply it every night and it is the first winter I have not had to deal with chapped lips at all. I am not sure if it is entirely due to the product and my use of Aquaphor during the day but whatever it is, I am going to keep doing it.

What's your favorite night time skin care item?

Snack of the Week: Pop Tarts Oatmeal Delights

2013-03-19T05:00:00.001-04:00

For the bulk of my life, I would only eat maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal if I were eating oatmeal. And then I started reading healthy living blogs a few years ago and misguidedly started thinking a bowl of oatmeal with 300 different toppings and mix-ins was a healthy breakfast. It's not; it's a calorie bomb that hurts my stomach. But during that time, someone, somewhere on the same floor of the office I work in started eating maple and brown sugar oatmeal that was so concentrated with maple syrup that the scent was overwhelming

And that was the end of my love of maple and brown sugar oatmeal. I cannot eat it anymore. Actually, even the thought of oatmeal in any form kind of grosses me out.

But put something in Pop Tart form and I will re-consider it.

Pop Tarts have a certain power over me. I think they could make spinach Pop Tarts and I would probably try it even though spinach in any form except spinach artichoke dip tastes like dirt to me.

In Pop Tart form, Mapley Brown Sugar is decent. The filling tastes like maple brown sugar oatmeal. The pastry tastes like a Pop Tart pastry.

But why I will never be a huge fan is that it VERY CLEARLY says Frosted on the box. This is NOT FROSTED!

This is drizzled. In the toaster pastry world, there is a difference. And toaster pastry aficionados know this differences. Pop Tarts, you should know better. I'm disappointed in you.

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.