Confession & Circus

I've been lying to you.  I have, and I want to apologize now for that.

This:

 

Plaid top: Old Navy, I think?   Skinny Jeans: Smith's Marketplace   Kicks: Target, on a huge sale

This is how I dress in real life when I'm not trying to impress people.  So all those previous posts, with cute boots and jewelry and bright colors?  That was me trying to impress you. (Ha, I know, my specialty is not in fashion.)

My slumming style was necessary, as I had a play date scheduled with my Little Sister (through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program), and with her?  I never know if we're gonna end up crawling through the trenches at some point.

My Little is 13 and really settling into that teenage stage nicely.  (Sometimes that's a fun thing, and sometimes... it's really really not.)  She lives clear out in the boonies, and the circus we planned to attend was clear out in the opposite boonies.  It's good she brought along her iPod, because we spent 30 minutes jamming out to Rihanna and Neon Trees and Chris Brown (and Carrie Underwood?), and I love being with her because I get to act like a teenager again--even if she finds me embarrassing.

I apologize for the blurry photos.  A dark arena and camera phone do not good photos make.

If you haven't been to a circus lately, I highly recommend it.  I looooved the tigers and the acrobatic-ists and I ate so much cotton candy that my stomach hurt for two full hours.

And to learn more about the BBBS program or show your support, go here:  www.bbbsu.org

winter style.

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as most of you have probably noticed, winter has been a real kick in the face this year. and the hits just keep on coming. this morning marked the first one all week where i didn't get stuck leaving for work (a one-armed man pushed me out yesterday) and i was all sorts of triumphant. since moving to salt lake i've finally learned how to appropriately dress for winter. let's maybe skip over the four years in logan i spent trudging through the campus snow in converse. yeah. 

 

here is my current list of winter essentials.

 

1. thick socks. i like to wear a pair of wool socks over a regular thinner pair to keep my feet extra warm with boots. that's partly because my two pairs of wool socks have holes in them, but i still think it's a good idea. i've also found that brian's socks are a great alternative.

 

2. some tv seasons to pass the time. because, let's face it, i'm not going to brave the outdoors to socialize very often. brian and i bought all three seasons of community with our christmas money and it's been a great investment.

 

3. something i discovered this year (as previously mentioned in my husband style post) is that men's crewneck sweaters are amazing. i thrifted a striped one earlier this year and have to stop myself from wearing it every day. it's warm and the perfect amount of slouchy and i think it looks a tiny bit more put together than my gray hoodie with the orange nailpolish stain.

 

4. crockpot. because when you come inside and your glasses are so fogged up you can't even see your husband's face to kiss it, the smell of simmering soup is really great.

 

5. convertible mittens. this is the only style of gloves i buy anymore because they're perfect. you can go from texting to warm fingers in a matter of seconds. seconds!

 

6. ridiculous boots. ok. if you wear these kind of boots regularly i'm not judging you (unless you're wearing them with shorts. then i feel like i'm allowed to) but i don't personally love them. however, i like that this brand has an actual tread and i like having them around to make late night grocery store runs, or shovel snow, or to wear out to my car when i wear inappropriate shoes to work. also this brand now costs twice as much as when i bought them back in 2010.

 

7. more ridiculous boots. i actually love these but i could imagine they're not for everyone. they keep my feet securely on the ground and my toes super warm. and even though they are a pain to lace up and take off, the bad-ass feeling they give me is totally worth it.

 

8. candy cane cocoa. brian's parents gave us some for christmas and i'm in love. love love love.

 

9. puffer coat. this has been a game changer. i found a less fancy version of this coat at american eagle on super clearance right before christmas. i've worn it nearly every day since. it's super lightweight but somehow still warm. and i didn't realize how much of a difference a waterproof coat would make when i'm dousing myself with snow while scraping my car. (is that supposed to happen?)

 

what do you guys consider essentials for winter? i'm looking to add to my arsenal since it looks like it's not going to stop snowing till july. help us.

Quickest Cookie and Tight Pants Style

Yesterday  morning, I decided I should wear my pink pants.  I love my pink pants.  I got them last year, while shopping with Lacy (was that while we were in Vegas?  Yes?  No?)  They are beautiful and work in any season and make me happy.

Shirt: so old I don't remember   Pink Jeans: American Eagle   Boots: Charlotte Russe

But there was a problem.  The pants felt tight.  Real tight.  And I couldn't decide if it was because they'd just been washed and this was the normal post-washing shrinkage that stretches out once you wear them a couple minutes, or... I've gained too much winter weight.  Either way, it broke my spirit, hard core.  And I spent the first 9 hours of the day eating like a bird.

I don't mind eating like a bird.  I actually love fruits and vegetables, and I think it's good for the body to cleanse itself out regularly by feeling hungry.

And then, Husband and I made faaaaancy steak burgers for dinner.  Here's a teaser:

I'll show you that recipe at a later date, probably.  It. is. kiiiiiller.

But, this recipe title promised cookies, and cookies you'll get.

(Can you tell how quickly I made up for my fewer-calories morning?  So quickly...)

Late last night, I was like, I want a cookie?  Even though Husband was still so full from the two burgers and ridiculous amounts of fries that we each ate.  Yes.  Two burgers.  That is how good they were and also how gluttonous we are.

So I saw a recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it up.

Have you heard of the mug cake?  That you make in a mug and microwave?  Well, here's his cookie cousin.  The recipe is as follows, all mixed in a regular cereal bowl:

1 Tbs. butter, softened or melted

1 Tbs. brown sugar

1/2 Tbs. sugar

Mix these together til creamed.  Add:

1 egg yolk

a few drops of vanilla

Mix well, and add:

1/4 c. flour, wheat or white

a sprinkle of baking soda

a sprinkle of salt

Stir til you get a cookie dough consistency, and then add:

as many chocolate chips as your heart desires.

 (I went with mini's)

  Put in the microwave for around 40-50 seconds for your desired baked doneness.

I think you could probably use the egg white instead of the yolk for less richness and less calories.  But play with the recipe as you will!  I loved the texture I got.

Enjoy for all your late night, over-eating on a tight-pants day, needs!

movie and snack review. staying-in style.

you know those weekends where you have lots of plans and errands and people to see and many to-do items to check off your list?

 

this was not one of those weekends. my one and singular plan was to make a ho-made (malad joke..) pie. i read up on pie crust to try and ease my fears and part of brian and i's friday night was spent purchasing the needed ingredients. (and a frozen pizza for dinner. we do things classy at our house).

 

i know you're at the edge of your computer chair wondering if i failed at pie crust. so i'm just going to tell you i did not make a pie. i was sick on the couch all weekend, and while visions of raspberry crumble pie danced in my head, there was no willpower to get my butt off the couch and standing in the kitchen.

 

so what, you may be asking, is this post even going to be about if not a delicious pie? firstly, it will be about peanut butter bites and secondly, it will be about movie reviews.

 

 via - how sweet eats

 

let's be real. i didn't take that picture. (but the blogger who did is amaaazing and you should follow her now. finder's fee goes to ashley) i was going to take a picture of the first batch i made but then....i ate them all. and then i made a second batch! but we had people over on friday and they helped eat all but three. (which was the point of me making them, so no hard feelings) i figured three peanut butter bites would make a pretty pathetic photo so....i ate them. are you seeing a pattern?

 

these bites can be whipped up in less than 15 minutes and are full of good stuff like oats and flaxseed. the recipe also calls for chia seeds but i wasn't willing to shell out that much money this time around. i'm considering doing variations on these with cookie butter and crushed up pretzels, or nutella instead of peanut butter.

 

check out jessica's original post and marvel at the rest of her pretty pictures and her hilarity (it includes the line “touch my balls and you’re dead” if that sparks your interest). then make a double batch. thank me whenever.

 

 

since my entire weekend was spent on the couch, we did get some movie watching done. i had already seen pitch perfect in theaters with ashley, but i've basically been wanting to watch it again since we drove out of the parking lot.

 

guys. just watch this. it's great. i laughed. brian laughed. the cats slept.

wins all around.

 

 

 i loved this movie. i think anyone could enjoy it, but it's extra relevant for anyone attending or who has attended college. a guy who graduated ten plus years ago can't quite move past his time at school and then elizabeth olsen shows up......conflict! ok, it's way better than i made it sound, but i'm finding out doing movie reviews might not be one of my strengths.

 

also weird side note, i really like elizabeth olsen's face. she's pretty in a really interesting way. feel free to chime in and agree with me so i don't feel like such a creeper.

.........

 

here's to sick weekends and eating too much peanut butter!  

 



Bangkok Style

Get it?  Like I told you we were gonna do Gangnam Style?  But I'm going with a different Asian city instead?  Right?  ...Okay.

Happy Friday!

And welcome to my first outfit post.  It's a momentous one, because not only am I being brave and wearing red lipstick like it's a normal thing.  But.  BUT.  I ALSO successfully, for the first time ever, curled my hair using the wrap-around method without burning my fingers!  This is big news. 

(I know, I know, you probably mastered this in your teenage years or something.  Congratulations.)

 Sweater: Nordstrom Rack   Tank and colored tighs: Target   Skirt: Target, from like 5 years ago   Boots: Charlotte Russe   Necklace: gift from Husband

I'm feeling rather good about successfully putting together an outfit.  I'm sorry I don't accessorize much.  But I'm telling you, even getting this far, like adding tights and red lipstick?, made me 15 minutes late for work.

What I'm not telling you is how I ate a Beto's burrito for breakfast.  Like the entire thing.  I'm also not telling you about how every time I drive by the Bangkok restaurant sign, I giggle like a teenager, because, dirty...

 Also, I'm glad the weather is still cold, because it means I get more use out of my favorite, favorite coat.

Coat:  Vintage eBay find 

Cinnamon Almonds, Mall Style

I'm going to see how many posts we can go with "style" in the title.  Maybe we'll post about Gangnam Style soon.


So, think back to about six-ish weeks ago.  You're in [insert appropriate name] Mall, and you're listening to the tenth rendition of Little Drummer Boy you've heard today.  You smell cinnamon almonds, because of course you do in December in the mall.  No matter how much you try to avoid that alluring cinnamony, vanilla goodness, you cannot. I think they maybe pipe it into the areas of the mall that aren't close enough for the smell to reach naturally, just to be jerks.

Okay, so can we talk about how those teeny tiny snack size bags of cinnamon almonds are five bucks?  Can we talk about how Christmas time makes me poor, and I want to cry that I can't afford snack almonds?

Guess whaaaaaat, now you can afford them! And it doesn't even have to be Christmas time, because I made these babies last night, what.

Okay, the recipe is as follows....

2+ T. butter

1 egg white

A pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups whole almonds

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp.+ goooood vanilla

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Melt down your butter in a small bowl, and set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk your egg white and salt together til frothy, then slowly pour in the sugar whilst whisking. It will become thick and glaze like. While you're whisking, you'll see it start to hold peaks, and then you're good.  Toss in 1 tsp. of the cinnamon, then all your almonds, and the second tsp. of cinnamon on top, and stir stir stir till it's all well coated.  Then, dump in your butter and vanilla* and stir more til everything is coated.  Taste that glaze, because, good crap, you'll die.

Dump your almonds and glaze onto a greased cookie sheet (a quarter sheet [9"x13"] cookie sheet if you've got it) and place it in the oven.  After 10 minutes, take it out and toss with a fork to re-coat and rotate the almonds.  Repeat this after another 10 minutes.  In about 5-10 minutes more (so a total cooking time of 25-30 minutes), you'll notice the glaze rather set and chunky on the almonds, and they're ready.  Don't wait for the glaze to be completely dry, you'll be too late!

Take them out of the oven, and let sit for a minute or two, then toss and break up any chunks.  Store them in an air-tight container - that is, if you don't eat them all at once.

This recipe is super easily doubled.  Dooooo it.

*I home-make my vanilla to get a strong and deeeeelicious flavor in all my baked goods.  I love, love it. In this recipe, try to use a real vanilla if you have it.  If not, imitation is fine.  But real is better.  Maybe someday soon, I'll post a how-to on homemade vanilla!

husband style.

guys. one of the unexpected great things about cohabitation was suddenly having someone else's closet to pillage! i haven't yet tried to wear one of brian's button up shirts (though i've seen it done and aspire to such things) and i won't ever try to wear his pants.
 

[sidebar. a blogger i follow wore her husband's pants. but since they were too big she just left them unzipped and crossed one side over the other and belted it. i just don't see that jiving with actual life. like...there's nothing keeping all of your pants together....]
 

 i have had my eye on some of his v-necks, but as for now i've just commandeered the sweater section of his wardrobe.
 

cardigan: c/o brian (forever 21), button up: shade clothing, skirt: h&m, map shower curtain: target (old), green mirror: walmart
 

i actually gave brian this cardigan for christmas last year. who knew it would end up benefitting me someday? also, aren't mirror shots great?
 

 sweater: c/o brian, button up: h&m, jeans: american eagle, moccasins: minnetonka, cat: Oskar
 

this is basically my favorite kind of outfit. i would be wearing it right now if a. i was allowed to wear pants to work and b. the ice rain outside didn't make socks so essential.
 

i'll keep you updated on what other husband clothes i steal. except for pants.
 

never pants.

hello. and welcome!

i just wanted to say welcome! welcome welcome welcome welcome.... i am going to stop there before i go into a full blown she's the man quote.

because that's no way to start a blog. (actually i think that's probably a great way to start a blog, but i'm trying to be more of a grown up? or something?)

 

anyway. welcome! ashley and i are thrilled and excited to start this new blog together. and since neither of us want to have children anytime soon, this can be how we spend our spare time. this blog will showcase our efforts to be "lifestyle" bloggers (those quotes are on purpose...) and probably include things like recipes, crafts, and maybe even an outfit of the day situation?

 

i also plan on asking for advice with those grown-up things that plague me. like liquid eyeliner. who has the time or knowlege of how to properly use that stuff? i'll be awaiting your input.

 

now for anyone who doesn't know us...introductions!

 

i'm lacy. i  recently married the nerdy cool guy of my dreams and we both really like cats and records. i got my degree in sociology and am currently not using it at all in my job as an administrative assistant. i like to fill my time looking at nailpolish, pretending to know how to cook, pinning crafts i'll probably never do, reading product reviews, waiting for summer, and wishing my hair was thicker.

 

....

 

Hi, this is Ashley. You’ll recognize me on this blog as the one who doesn’t make small life decisions (hey, I’m good either way!), and cannot make big life decisions without turning into a ball of anxiety-ridden, pro-con list making and tossing, life-examining mess. My job is accounting, but don’t worry, I won’t tell you about that. My passions are… no, strike that, passions sounds dumb. My life-long joys include, wait, that seems trite, too. Okay, I love to cook or bake anything (except pie crusts). I like summer so I can ride my beach cruiser and go boating. I like winter so I can shovel snow and wear hats in a believable way. I like spring and fall because, well, they are definitively the best. My husband is super great in all the necessary ways, and I’ll probably always refer to him as Husband on this here blog instead of by his name, which is Raymond.

....

so that's us in a nutshell. as you follow along on the blog you'll get to know more about us and our delightful personalities. happy blog-stalking!